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It Wasn't Meant To Turn Out Like This
Offer
McKenna shrieked and jerked her head forward, dragging her dark brown hair from Mayza’s grasp as she did so. She wheeled in her chair, resting one hand over her ear, and glared reproachfully at the fairy standing behind her. Mayza frowned back, holding the blistering hot straightening iron in her hand a safe distance from McKenna’s head.
“I wasn’t moving a fucking inch that time,” McKenna snapped, touching the cartilage of her ear where the straightening iron had made contact. It stung like hell. Her other ear had been burned as well only a few minutes previously, and she was half-tempted just to do her damn hair herself, even though when Mayza did it, it looked ten times more fabulous than McKenna could ever make it look.
“You’re fidgeting around like your ass is on fire!” Mayza retorted. “If you were sitting still, I wouldn’t have burned you.”
“I’m sorry!” McKenna answered, relaxing and turned back towards her vanity. She met Mayza’s eyes through the mirror as Mayza patiently started where she’d left off. “I’m just excited, you know? None of us have seen Brian very much lately, since he moved out and he’s been working almost non-stop with the band. And it sounds like he has some really good news for us! I miss him a lot.”
“We all do, Kenna,” Mayza said sympathetically. “It’s been a lot quieter without him around. Too quiet.”
“Yeah, I can actually hear myself think again,” McKenna giggled. “And half the time, I don’t really want to hear my own thoughts.”
Mayza smiled and both girls fell silent as Mayza continued working on McKenna’s hair. McKenna was now a fully mature senior preparing to graduate that summer. Mayza knew she would miss McKenna when she went off to college; Mayza had grown close to both McKenna and Brian during her time with the family. She rarely saw Brent; he’d moved elsewhere searching for job opportunities and could hardly find time to ever visit. Mayza wasn’t looking forward to the loneliness once McKenna moved out.
The band’s popularity continued to expand. Shortly after their first tour, a manager contacted Matt saying he thought their music was awesome and wanted to know if they’d like to have a manager. The guys were reluctant at first, not knowing exactly how they would benefit from having a manager, but agreed to go to lunch with Larry, their future manager and good friend, even though they didn’t know it at the time. By the end of lunch, however, Larry had convinced them of his abilities and what he could do for them and Avenged Sevenfold found themselves a manager.
Shortly after their first tour, Brian had moved out and into an apartment with Jimmy. The Haner family always joked that the landlords would never make the mistake again of allowing those two men to room together. None of them ever saw Brian anymore. He hit the hay in a different place than he once had, so there wasn’t even the promise of him returning home for dinner anymore. Mayza knew better than anyone else that things change, however, and she’d long since grown to accept it and get on with life.
When the family showed up at the restaurant Brian had specified, he was standing just inside the door in the little waiting area. He looked around as they stepped into the door, and a huge smile broke across his face at the sight of them. He stepped forward and hugged his parents, kissing his mom on the cheek and shaking his father’s hand. He turned with a grin towards his little sister, pulling her into a one-armed hug and messing up her hair with his other hand. McKenna hugged him briefly before swatting his hand away and looking around for a mirror to check herself in.
Brian then turned to Mayza. She was rather surprised to see what a handsome young man Brian had grown into. She’d seen everyone else around her age over the past several years, but Mayza hadn’t aged a bit so far. She wouldn’t age very much for a little while anyway. Her body had matured slightly more over the past several years, but nothing else had changed.
“Look at you! You don’t look a day past sixteen!” Brian exclaimed.
“A mature woman trapped in a child’s body, that’s me,” Mayza answered with a smile. Brian laughed and hugged Mayza before turning and giving the maitre‘d his last name so she could check his reservation.
A waiter led the way to a table outside underneath a wide silver umbrella. The wooden patio offered a spectacular view of the lights of the pier and the ocean and beach around it. The sun had only recently disappeared, leaving the horizon turquoise transitioning slowly to navy blue and then velvet black. Everyone ordered their drinks and then Brian focused on his family.
“I have great news,” Brian announced. He paused, glancing from face to face, before going on. “Larry managed to get us a spot on Van’s Warped Tour.”
“Congratulations!” Suzy exclaimed, reaching across the table to pat Brian’s hand lovingly. Senior clapped him on the shoulder and McKenna excitedly hugged Brian.
“Can you please explain what that is again?” Mayza asked once everyone had settled down a bit, feeling color begin to sneak up her cheeks. She recognized the name but couldn’t place exactly what was so important about it.
“It’s a traveling music festival,” Brian answered. “There are many well-known bands that do it, but it’s also an awesome place for up-and-coming bands to begin to get known a little more. It’s an annual thing and it’s really fun and it’ll be a big boost for the band.”
“Congratulations, then,” Mayza said, slightly delayed but no less sincere. Brian smiled before looking back at his parents.
“Val is going to be accompanying us again,” Brian added. Mayza had met Val a few times before. She was dating Matt, and from what Mayza could tell, she was a really sweet girl with a killer scream in those vocal cords of hers. “But we don’t really want to force all the responsibility onto Val again like we did during our first tour.” Brian looked at Mayza. “So, if it’s alright with my parents for me to borrow you, I’d like for you to accompany us as well. Just one extra pair of hands would help a lot.”
“Well, of course that would be just fine,” Senior assured Brian. “I think it’d be a great idea for Mayza to get out of the house and experience Earth for herself a little bit.”
“What do you think, Mayza?” Brian asked.
“I think it’d be a lot of fun,” Mayza answered. Brian instantly grinned.
“Great, we’ll be leaving in a couple of weeks.”
“I wasn’t moving a fucking inch that time,” McKenna snapped, touching the cartilage of her ear where the straightening iron had made contact. It stung like hell. Her other ear had been burned as well only a few minutes previously, and she was half-tempted just to do her damn hair herself, even though when Mayza did it, it looked ten times more fabulous than McKenna could ever make it look.
“You’re fidgeting around like your ass is on fire!” Mayza retorted. “If you were sitting still, I wouldn’t have burned you.”
“I’m sorry!” McKenna answered, relaxing and turned back towards her vanity. She met Mayza’s eyes through the mirror as Mayza patiently started where she’d left off. “I’m just excited, you know? None of us have seen Brian very much lately, since he moved out and he’s been working almost non-stop with the band. And it sounds like he has some really good news for us! I miss him a lot.”
“We all do, Kenna,” Mayza said sympathetically. “It’s been a lot quieter without him around. Too quiet.”
“Yeah, I can actually hear myself think again,” McKenna giggled. “And half the time, I don’t really want to hear my own thoughts.”
Mayza smiled and both girls fell silent as Mayza continued working on McKenna’s hair. McKenna was now a fully mature senior preparing to graduate that summer. Mayza knew she would miss McKenna when she went off to college; Mayza had grown close to both McKenna and Brian during her time with the family. She rarely saw Brent; he’d moved elsewhere searching for job opportunities and could hardly find time to ever visit. Mayza wasn’t looking forward to the loneliness once McKenna moved out.
The band’s popularity continued to expand. Shortly after their first tour, a manager contacted Matt saying he thought their music was awesome and wanted to know if they’d like to have a manager. The guys were reluctant at first, not knowing exactly how they would benefit from having a manager, but agreed to go to lunch with Larry, their future manager and good friend, even though they didn’t know it at the time. By the end of lunch, however, Larry had convinced them of his abilities and what he could do for them and Avenged Sevenfold found themselves a manager.
Shortly after their first tour, Brian had moved out and into an apartment with Jimmy. The Haner family always joked that the landlords would never make the mistake again of allowing those two men to room together. None of them ever saw Brian anymore. He hit the hay in a different place than he once had, so there wasn’t even the promise of him returning home for dinner anymore. Mayza knew better than anyone else that things change, however, and she’d long since grown to accept it and get on with life.
When the family showed up at the restaurant Brian had specified, he was standing just inside the door in the little waiting area. He looked around as they stepped into the door, and a huge smile broke across his face at the sight of them. He stepped forward and hugged his parents, kissing his mom on the cheek and shaking his father’s hand. He turned with a grin towards his little sister, pulling her into a one-armed hug and messing up her hair with his other hand. McKenna hugged him briefly before swatting his hand away and looking around for a mirror to check herself in.
Brian then turned to Mayza. She was rather surprised to see what a handsome young man Brian had grown into. She’d seen everyone else around her age over the past several years, but Mayza hadn’t aged a bit so far. She wouldn’t age very much for a little while anyway. Her body had matured slightly more over the past several years, but nothing else had changed.
“Look at you! You don’t look a day past sixteen!” Brian exclaimed.
“A mature woman trapped in a child’s body, that’s me,” Mayza answered with a smile. Brian laughed and hugged Mayza before turning and giving the maitre‘d his last name so she could check his reservation.
A waiter led the way to a table outside underneath a wide silver umbrella. The wooden patio offered a spectacular view of the lights of the pier and the ocean and beach around it. The sun had only recently disappeared, leaving the horizon turquoise transitioning slowly to navy blue and then velvet black. Everyone ordered their drinks and then Brian focused on his family.
“I have great news,” Brian announced. He paused, glancing from face to face, before going on. “Larry managed to get us a spot on Van’s Warped Tour.”
“Congratulations!” Suzy exclaimed, reaching across the table to pat Brian’s hand lovingly. Senior clapped him on the shoulder and McKenna excitedly hugged Brian.
“Can you please explain what that is again?” Mayza asked once everyone had settled down a bit, feeling color begin to sneak up her cheeks. She recognized the name but couldn’t place exactly what was so important about it.
“It’s a traveling music festival,” Brian answered. “There are many well-known bands that do it, but it’s also an awesome place for up-and-coming bands to begin to get known a little more. It’s an annual thing and it’s really fun and it’ll be a big boost for the band.”
“Congratulations, then,” Mayza said, slightly delayed but no less sincere. Brian smiled before looking back at his parents.
“Val is going to be accompanying us again,” Brian added. Mayza had met Val a few times before. She was dating Matt, and from what Mayza could tell, she was a really sweet girl with a killer scream in those vocal cords of hers. “But we don’t really want to force all the responsibility onto Val again like we did during our first tour.” Brian looked at Mayza. “So, if it’s alright with my parents for me to borrow you, I’d like for you to accompany us as well. Just one extra pair of hands would help a lot.”
“Well, of course that would be just fine,” Senior assured Brian. “I think it’d be a great idea for Mayza to get out of the house and experience Earth for herself a little bit.”
“What do you think, Mayza?” Brian asked.
“I think it’d be a lot of fun,” Mayza answered. Brian instantly grinned.
“Great, we’ll be leaving in a couple of weeks.”
♠ ♠ ♠
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