Learn to Fly

There was nothing sweeter than the sound of people screaming your name; people wanting and excited to just look at you. People paid twenty bucks, if not more, to come to this small venue and listen to your feelings and take on life that you expressed musically. It meant the world to John O’Callaghan.

If someone would have told him five years ago that this is where he would be now, he would’ve laughed in their face. He would have retied his muddy converse shoe and ran back onto the baseball field, where at the time he was hoping his future lied. He was just a young boy then; his sandy brown hair clung to the back of his neck in sweat and his fourteen year old body was still long and lanky. His green eyes held so much energy and joy—he had a passion for life.

Then again, not much had changed. His hair was a bit shorter than it was then but it was still the same color of sand. His eyes were still a sea green though there was much more understanding in them now that he was much older. But he still had his excitement for life; at this point in time it may have been at its peak.

“You guys and gals are beautiful. Thank you so much for your time tonight! We are The Maine!” John yelled into the microphone before running off stage.

The guys were all around him bathed in sweat, as was he. He took a towel to his forehead and ripped off his t shirt, wiping the perspiration off of his body. “That was amazing,” Kennedy Brock said from next to the boy.

Jared Monaco began laughing next to him, “So is that blonde girl at the bar.”

All the guys peeked out from backstage and looked at the girl. She was very tan and had breasts that were in no way real. Garrett Nickelsen laughed, “Good luck with that there Jared. Looks like Nick is already swooping in!”

The boys watched as Nick Santino sauntered his way over to the female smoothly, and she was instantly caught by his charm. John laughed as he walked towards the backstage lounges and he slapped Pat Kirch on the back of the head, “Go find a girl Rat Boy. I’ll drive tonight when you’re tired.”

Pat gave him a big grin, “Thanks John Oh!”

John walked into the back lounge trying to find some peace and quiet. It was achieved until he heard a loud crash. He looked over and saw a skinny boy with brown hair sprawled out on the floor. A quiet “ouch,” omitted from his lips.

John started laughing as he stared at the kid who had been his best friend for years now, “Halvo, what the hell man?”

A skateboard rolled across the floor and suddenly a large dark security guard entered the room, “Every time you come here, Eric Halvorsen, I swear. No skateboards kid!” His loud voice boomed.

Halvo laughed as he scurried out of the room with the security guard hot on his heels. John chuckled as he laid back into the cushions of the couch behind him. He pulled out his iPhone and sighed as he looked at the screen saver. He missed her.

Her long brown hair was in curls and she wore a tight fitting dress—it was the picture that they had taken together on their senior prom. Her tanned skin accented her perfectly white teeth and her shining blue eyes. He typed in his pass code and his phone unlocked and he felt his heart drop. She hadn’t even sent him a text.

John dialed the familiar number and pressed the phone to his ear. There were four rings and no answer. He listened to her familiar voice message, “Hey guys, its Melissa. I can’t get to the phone right now so leave me a message and I’ll call you back. Kisses and hugs.”

“Hey, baby. We haven’t talked in a few days so I just wanted to call and see how things were going,” John sighed. “I really miss you and I wish you were here. It’s pretty crazy actually, we have fans!” He paused, running his hand through his sweaty hair. “All right, well just give me a call sometime, yeah? I love you, Melissa.”

John sighed and threw his phone on the seat next to him. Melissa hadn’t made the effort to call him in a week and that scared him a lot. He and Melissa Butler had been dating for three long years now and he was worried that their time was soon coming to its end.

John watched as his best friend sauntered back into the room skateboard in hand. “Dude I don’t even understand! She is so weird!” Eric exclaimed.

Nick covered his face from behind him, “Stop talking about her like that, she’s my cousin!”

“I know that’s why I didn’t understand her to be such a freak. She does all these weird things that I don’t understand and it’s just weird! Like, I had hope in banging her at first you know? She’s super hot, but she is so weird!” Halvo exclaimed again.

John laughed as Halvo’s lack at finding a better adjective for this “weird” girl.

“How is she weird?” Nick asked finally.

“Uhm I don’t know, maybe the fact that she made us drive twenty miles out of the way to see a crop circle and when we got there she ran away crying because she was so scared? What was that!?”

John gazed upon the arguing band mates, laughing as he listened to their conversation. “Who are we talking about?” He laughed.

“Nick’s weird cousin,” Eric mumbled.

“Dude, you just don’t understand her,” Nick countered.

“And you do?” Halvo asked, his eyebrows raised.

“Well, no! Of course I don’t she’s weird!” Nick laughed. “But, at least she’s not one of those freaks who never talks you know?”

“I’d almost rather her be! When she talks she makes no sense.”

“She’s just too intellectual for you,” Nick laughed.

“Exactly; she’s so hot that she’s not supposed to be intellectual! And then BAM! Weird!” Halvo retorted.

John looked at a shorter blonde boy entered the small lounge. “Nick, I think your cousin is super nice,” Justin Richards said.

“Yeah, well nice get’s you nowhere, Justin. Look at John, he’s a total douche bag and he’s extremely successful!” Halvo laughed.

“Hey!” John yelled in offense, wondering where he was even involved in this conversation. “I’m not the one who told that six year old girl that Santa Clause wasn’t real!”

Eric’s eyes widened, “I thought she knew, okay!?”

John laughed, “Well she didn’t until you made her cry.”

He frowned, “Yeah and I had to pay her twenty bucks to get her to shut up.”

John laughed before stealing a glance at his phone that lay silently on the couch next to him. It still hadn’t made a sound. He stared at it longingly, not noticing that Nick and Halvo were taking worried looks at him. Nick took a seat on the couch next to him and swiped up his phone in his hand. “She’s not calling dude. Just end it okay?”

“You don’t end a three year relationship just because you’re missing a few phone calls,” John replied irritated.

“A few phone calls is different than three weeks, John Oh. We’re going on back to back tours; it’s over man,” Halvo said honestly.

John rubbed his hands over his eyes. “I can’t though…I love her.”

Halvo patted him on the back as the guys began to exit the room, “Love is a two way street.”

John sat alone in the room, letting Eric’s words echo in his mind. What did Halvo know about love? Nothing. John stood up angrily as he slammed the backdoor to the venue open. He stepped out into the warm summer air instantly regretting not wearing a tank top rather than his light long sleeve t shirt. It was the humidity that was killing him—something he wasn’t used to in Arizona.

He pulled a cigarette out of his back pocket before lighting it. He pressed the stick to his lips and took a long drag, letting his eye follow the smoke he was releasing to the sky above him. The stars were shining brightly and he wondered if Melissa was somewhere looking at the stars as well, thinking of him.

John listened as he heard voice across the small street. He saw a petite blonde girl who looked semi familiar, but he couldn’t remember a name at all. She was dressed in small jeans shorts and a loose fitting tank top. Her new converse shoes showed that she didn’t fit the scene she was in; she sat on the side of the road next to an aged man whose cardboard sign had fallen to his feet. His beard was long and mangy and he had dirt all over his cheeks. His clothes were old and ruined and John almost swore he could smell him from where he was standing.

He watched as the older man spoke with the younger girl who must’ve been only eighteen at the most, and she seemed at ease the entire time—unlike most people would be if they were sitting next to a beggar.

They seemed to be completely engaged in conversation never once noticing his presence even though he was only about forty feet away. He watched the way the girl talked to him; she was extremely animated at times but then serious at others. Her laugh echoed throughout the air and he couldn’t help but to gaze adorningly as she finally noticed his presence, giving him a small shy smile.

John gave her an innocent smile back, feeling an unusual tightening of nerves in his stomach as he let his cigarette fall to the floor and stomped on it with his Tom clad foot, putting out the small fire before it ignited.