Never Wanted to Dance With Nobody

Two weeks after the interview, Harry found herself yelling “Can somebody help me here?” while trying not to be crushed under the huge amp she was stacking on top of a few others. She was quickly assisted in the form of two large hands helping her heave the monstrosity into the correct position.

Harry followed the arms attached to the hands until she found a face, surrounded by extremely fluffy brown hair. “Thanks,” she said. She even smiled at the guy! But he won’t get out of her way so she can continue setting up the stage. “Umm… can I get back to my job now please?” she prompted him eventually.

He’d been looking at her, trying to figure out who she was. “Who are you?” he asked her. “I’m Ray Toro. I’m part of the band. I’m also bored, so I’m helping,” he continued so as not to be rude.

She put on her best I’d-love-to-stay-and-chat-but-I’ve-got-some-serious-business-to-attend-to face and said “Call me Harry. Nice to meet you, but I really gotta get back to work. I need this stage ready for your sound check in half an hour, and I’m still trying to get amps in place, as you can tell. If you wanna be helpful, find the guy taping wires. He could probably use some extra hands.” She started walking halfway through her little speech to make sure the last load of equipment was laid out in easy reach of whoever might want to do their job as part of the crew. Harry really needed this job.

Later, Harry was walking through the hallways in the back of the venue when she heard a familiar voice through a door. “…our new sound tech earlier. She’s kinda hands-on. Kinda bitchy too.”

Without really thinking, Harry was through the door to respond. “I heard that Mr. Tor – oh…” she trailed off when she saw all the pairs of eyes on her. But Harry was always a quick thinker. “Good, here you all are. Sound check, now.”

She waved a bit and added a “Please?” when no one really responded. “Okay. Hello, My Chemical Romance and friends! I’m Harry and I’ll be your sound guru on this lovely tour. I look forward to getting to know you all, really I do, but now, we have jobs to do. Sound check, away!” She finished up with a dramatic turn and stalked off to the stage, letting the band shuffle behind her.

“Dude, she’s kinda weird. What the hell kind of name is Harry for a chick, anyway, huh?” Harry saw the smallest of the guys “whisper” to the others out of the corner of her eye as she turned a corner.

“I heard that, shorty!” she called back before she ran out on the stage, leaving a very confused group of guys to collect their instruments from the neat piles she had everything stacked in.

The band played a song and Harry fixed up the wiring so both guitars could be heard in the audience and her work was basically done until the show actually began. “Okay, guys, thanks, you can go back to whatever you were doing before. Seriously, put all your shit where you can find it later and stop prancing!” she directed the last bit at the singer in particular and went outside for a smoke while she could. Half the band followed behind her, of course, but she found a secluded spot to relax away from anyone else eventually.

The show that night went off without a glitch and soon the buses are leaving for the next venue. Harry kinda hates the actual traveling part of tours, but now she’s too grateful for the job and too tired to care. She claims the first open bunk she can find and is asleep before she can get her pants off or meet her bus mates for the tour. She hums quietly in her sleep as the buses get all loaded up and roll out down the highway at seventy miles an hour.