Guilty Feet Have Got No Rhythm

I was in California by 2:47 a.m. Friday morning, my bags in hand and Claudia’s address flashing on my phone. I had made her promise she wouldn’t come pick me up, seeing as it would be extremely late and she would have a big day ahead of her, full of setting up and getting ready for the Tour.

I hailed a cab, sending it to the address Claudia had supplied with me. We had planned for me to spend the night at her apartment until Sunday, when we’d leave for tour. The cab ride took about twenty minutes, and in that time I had passed out against the window. I awoke to a knock against the window, starring up at a tired Claudia.

“C’mon, Sleeping Beauty, the cabbie wants to go home,” she teased. I hurried from the back seat, wiping my mouth subconsciously to see if I had drooled.

“Hi,” I smiled, holding out my arms for a hug. We did an awkward shuffle, but still managed to wrap our arms around each other. “It’s been way to long!”

“Yeah, it has. Now, get your bags,” Claudia instructed, stepping away. She stepped back, her arms wrapped around herself as I struggled to tug two rather large suitcases and my purse from the trunk, falling a few times. When the cabbie was paid and my bags (and self) were righted, Claudia led me into her apartment building and into the elevator. By the time the elevator pulled up to the sixth floor, I was ready to fall asleep.

“Alright, so my boyfriend’s asleep,” she whispered once we entered the room. “And he doesn’t know you’re here. The retard never picked up his phone, so if you get a weirdo waking you up in the middle of the night, it’s either him or his friends, okay?”

“Okay,” I yawned. “Just point me in the direction of a bed, and I’ll be good to go.”

“Here’s the thing,” Claudia apologized. “We only have a pull out couch. That’s cool with you, right?”

“…I’m cool,” I nodded. Claudia opened a closet door and pulled out two blankets and a pillow before pointing me in the direction of the bathroom. I quickly changed into an oversized tee-shirt and a pair of plaid pajama shorts that were fairly faded. I climbed onto the couch, burrowed under the blankets, and fell asleep almost instantly.

“Claudia,” a man hissed, waking me up from my slumber. “There’s a stranger on your couch!”

“Looks like a hot girl,” another added as a finger poked my head. “Is it dead?”

“Poke me one more time and I’ll cut that finger off,” I murmured, shying away from it.

“Guys, leave Holly alone, she flew in last night,” I heard Claudia chastise. “Who wants breakfast?”

“Mornin’ babe,” someone yawned, moving closer to me. Suddenly, I could feet what was defiantly a butt coming down on my legs. I yanked my feet away from the offending person, causing them to scream and shove me from my warm cocoon on the couch.

“Oh my god!” I sat dazed on the floor, blinking heavily through sleep deprived eyes.

“Bryan, what the hell?” Claudia laughed, moving into the living room.

“Who the hell is that?” the man shrieked, pointing at me. “What is she doing on the couch?”

“Holly, are you okay?” Claudia asked, reaching a hand out for me to grasp. I stood on wobbly legs, still groggy from my lack of sleep and jetlag. I nodded, suddenly embarrassed.

“Bryan, dude, you sat on some random chick!” a man with black hair teased through his peals of laughter. The other man was already doubled over, unable to breathe from laughing.

“Claudia, who the hell is she?” Bryan hissed, a dark red coating his face. “And what is she doing here?”

“Bryan, I told you, I was having a friend come to help me sell on tour,” Claudia sighed, grabbing one of the fallen blankets from the floor and folding it neatly. Noticing his blank face, Claudia rolled her eyes. “I swear to god Bryan, it goes in one ear and out the other with you!”

“I…I’m going to go to bathroom,” I muttered, pointing towards the hallway and scooting sideways. I wasn’t missed, seeing as Dark Hair #1 and 2 were still in hysterics and Bryan was still staring at Claudia.

When I returned, they had moved to the kitchen, plates and mugs of food and coffee steaming before them. I stood to the side, watching them awkwardly as I fiddled with the hem of my shirt.

“Good movie,” Dark Head#1 nodded, looking up from his coffee. I glanced at him like he was crazy, feeling confused. “Your shirt, it’s from Dreamland. How’d you manage to score it?”

“Oh,” I blushed, realizing he was talking about my mother’s old t-shirt she was required to wear for one of her earlier movies. “I stole it from my mother’s closet.”

“I didn’t know they made copies,” he continued as he sipped his coffee.

“It’s not a copy,” I smiled, moving to sit down.

“Dude, how much did she pay for that?” the man laughed. “It must have cost her a fortune!”

“No, she got it for free,” I shrugged. “I mean, it’s not like they weren’t going to give it to her, anyways.”

“What mad connections does she have?” Bryan asked, staring at me in shock. I stared at them like they were crazy.

“She was in it,” I probed. “And she asked for the shirt, and they gave it to her.”

“Oh cool, that’s awesome!” Dark Head #2 exclaimed through a mouthful of food. “Was she like, an extra or something?”

Claudia burst out laughing, dropped her head as her shoulders shook. I started to giggle as well, staring at them like they were morons. The three men looked at each other, obviously confused, while Claudia and I continued to melt into hysterics.

“My mother wasn’t an extra,” I managed to giggle. “She was the lead!”

“Wait but that was—OH MY GOD!” Bryan shouted, jumping up from the table. “Claudia, why didn’t you tell me!”

“What? Bry, dude, I don’t get it,” Dark Head#2 whined, tugging on his shirt.

“How the hell do you know Holly Williams and why is she sitting at the kitchen table?” Bryan continued. Both Dark Heads turned to look at me before jumping to their feet, pointing and shouting.

“You’re Holly Williams!” Dark Head#2 shouted, still pointing. “Oh my god!”

“Hi there,” I smiled, waving slightly.

“Alright boys, take a photo, it’ll last longer. Holly, there’s coffee over there and Bryan did make you a plate of eggs,” Claudia announced, pushing Bryan back into his seat and sitting on his lap. Bryan instantly wrapped his arms around her waist, although still staring at me in shock.

“How....wha…” Dark Head#1 babbled. “How do you know each other!”

“Roommates in high school,” Claudia explained. “Freshman year through Junior.”

“What about senior?”

“I got my own suite,” I quickly cut in. “Perks of having a famous mother.”

“Hey, eat quickly,” Claudia instructed, staring at the clock on the wall. “We need to be at the studio at one.”

“I should get dressed,” I murmured, standing from my seat and snagging a piece of toast from the center of the table. “Thanks for breakfast, and it was nice meeting you, uh...”

"Oh, sorry, this is Bryan Donahue, my boyfriend, and his bandmates, Martin Johnson, and Paul DiGiovanni," Claudia introduced me, placing a hand on each other their shoulders. "I think you've heard of their band, Boys Like Girls? Remember, Clarissa Deckmen was like, obsessed with them?"

"I think so," I nodded. "Anyways, boys, it was wonderful meeting you. Now, please excuse me so I can go get dressed."

[&cut]

Two hours later, Claudia shuffled me into her car, speeding down the road towards the large warehouse where she kept her merchandise. She led me into a back warehouse, and shoved a stack of clothes into my arms, instructing me to try them on for a promotional photo shoot.

“I’ve never even heard of these bands,” I muttered, tugging a green and white shirt that screamed “Forever The Sickest Kids”.

“Come on out, Holly!” Claudia called from outside the dressing room. She was positioned next to a tall man with a rather large nose, who squealed at the sight of me.

“Ohmigosh, Claudia, you devil!” he exclaimed. “You got me a celebrity!”

“Happy early birthday, Tommy,” Claudia laughed. “Now, I was thinking she should be completely natural, I’m not selling sex, I’m selling the clothes.”

I had to change outfits at least twenty times, and each time it was with a band I had never heard of, save a few. They were awesome designs, very sweet and gentle, but still held a certain passion for the band. It seemed as though Claudia had interviewed and met with each member to create the perfect shirt.

Every time I came out with a new shirt, Claudia’s eyes would light up as she hurried to my side to swat at the cloth and mend it to her shape and will. She would work her magic until I looked like a hundred bucks, standing in front of a camera with her work on. I modeled shirts for bands, for companies, and for Vans, each one becoming more foreign that the next.

“Okay, so now that the photos are done,” Claudia muttered, shoving me back in the changing booth. “We’re going back to the apartment to pack, and then get ready because the first tour date starts tomorrow.”

“Jesus, this is going so fast,” I muttered, changing back in to my original clothes. “Where’s the first date?”

“It’s here, and then we head up to San Francisco, then we move out East,” Claudia informed me. “Bye Tommy, thank you so much!”

“Goodbye, darling,” Tommy smiled, kissing both her cheeks. “You bring me back another celebrity soon, alright?”

“Will do,” Claudia laughed, pushing me into the waiting cab. She followed after me, giving the cab driver her address before slouching down with a yawn. “We have even more work after this,” she sighed.

“What else is there to do?”

“Well, for starters,” Claudia snipped, “We need to choose the best of the photos, create the banners, and make copies for the tour. Then I have to attend a meeting with the bands I’m representing—”

“Am I going?” I interrupted, half-hopeful. She gave me her famous what-are-you-smoking look.

“I don’t know,” she said slowly, as though sounding out every word. “I guess…”

“You know what? It’s fine,” I chuckled, nervous. “I’ll just catch up on some forms I need to fill in for Autumn, I completely forgot about them.”

She nodded, and quickly pulled out her cell phone, texting someone. I shifted my weight so I was turned away from her, and watch the city fly by.