How to Date Alexis Brighten

Thank goodness for the weekend. I didn’t know if I’d be able to deal with another day of school after the torturous week I’d endured. Daniel seemed to materialise everywhere I went to make me feel worse, and Lacey was furious. Justin had turned on me and started a rumour that messed up everything. It felt like everything that could possibly go wrong, was doing just that.

I didn’t have any plans for the weekend, not after what had happened with Lacey. My parents would be home to take care of Isaac, so I had no reason to stay at home. My weekend was completely free. This was unusual, as I always had something planned, and I found myself wondering what on earth I would do.

I figured that if I walked around for long enough on my own, Daniel would just miraculously show up out of nowhere. He’d gotten into a habit of doing that lately. He was the last person I wanted to see. I didn’t want to think about him or Lacey or Justin or Spanish or anything to do with school.

At school, I was Alexis Brighten, the school socialite. Little Miss Popular. The person that everybody wanted to be. I had to fix my hair just right and make sure I chose the right clothes to wear. I had to act a certain way and only talk to particular people. There were many rules when it came to being Alexis Brighten, the ‘Queen of High School’.

At home, I was no one special. I was mostly ignored by my parents and nothing more than the babysitter. I did my homework, I read books and I listened to music. I wore ripped jeans and baggy tee-shirts. My brother called me ‘Allie’ because he couldn’t pronounce my name properly. At home, I was just ‘Allie’. No one more. There were no expectations and I was free to be whoever I wanted to be.

It was Friday night, and as no one had invited me to go out, I decided I’d just go on my own. The local under 18’s club was hosting two unsigned bands that I was interested in seeing. None of my friends knew how much I loved music, neither did my family. But the mysterious list-writer hadn’t missed it. It was right there on the Pros list. Number Five – Really into music.

No one knew that about me at all. But the list-writer hadn’t missed it. They’d got me in one. It was like they had found a way inside my mind for the sole purpose of tearing it apart. If that was what they were aiming for, it was certainly working.

I pulled on a pair of black jeans and a grey v-neck tee-shirt, with my denim jacket over the top. It wasn’t exactly the most stylish outfit, and I hoped that no one from school would see me. I doubted this, because most of them didn’t even bother going to the under 18’s club. They all had fake IDs to get into the ones in the City. I pulled my hair up into a messy ponytail and grabbed my wallet before giving Gizmo a kiss on my way out. He opened his eyes lazily to acknowledge me before closing them again and drifting back off to sleep.

“Mum! I’m going out!” I hollered up the hallway on my way out.

“Stop right there, Alexis!” My Dad yelled. I froze halfway out the door. I didn’t even know that he was home. I turned slowly to face him and swallowed nervously.

“Yes?” I squeaked. The stern expression on his face lifted up into a broad smile.

“You can take my car,” he said, tossing me the keys. I caught them in one hand and threw him an appreciative smile.

“Thanks, Dad,” I said.

“No problem, kiddo. Drive safely,” he said in leaving. I nodded and walked out the door to the driveway where my Dad had parked his Jeep. I got in the large car and put my seatbelt on before starting the engine. It roared to life and I turned the lights on as I reversed slowly and cautiously out of the driveway. My Dad trusted me with his car, but I knew that he’d still be watching from the front window. Once out on the street, I took off toward the venue.

Once there, I parked the Jeep, locked it and pocketed the keys. At the door, a guy handed me a flyer with information about the two bands playing. The first was called Dealing With Dakota, and were described as pop-punk. The second was the one I was interested in, an indie-rock band called Static Exchange.

When I entered the venue, there were more people than I expected milling around with drinks in their hands, waiting for the first band to go on stage. Most were juniors, but there were a few that looked to be around my age. I didn’t recognize any of them as being from my school. That was another reason I liked the venue. It was on the other side of town, so most of the people that went there weren’t from my school. I took a seat on a stool by the bar and bought a Diet Coke.

I sat and watched the first band play. They were alright, I guessed, but the music was much too loud and fast for my taste. Everyone was cramped up together at the front of the stage, jumping up and down to the beat with their hands in the air. The band interacted well with the crowd and the air inside the venue felt alive.

When Static Exchange took the stage, the crowd thinned out considerably. Some headed out the doors, while others made their way over to the merch stand for Dealing With Dakota, the band that they’d come to see.

I stayed where I was at the bar and watched the members of Static Exchange fiddle with their instruments. There were four guys, one drummer, a bassist, a lead guitarist and a lead singer. They all looked like they were in their twenties, apart from the lead-guitarist who looked considerably younger than his band mates.

“Hey, uh, we’re Static Exchange,” the lead singer said into the microphone awkwardly. His eyes scanned the small crowd in front of the stage and he looked really nervous. The drummer picked out a beat and the band launched into their first song, an original called ‘Paper Hearts’ that I really liked. More people started to leave as they played and I couldn’t understand why.

Maybe they weren’t as loud or as fast as the previous band had been, but their songs meant something. They weren’t just playing music for the sake of making a few extra dollars. They were playing music because they loved it. I could tell by the way the lead singer closed his eyes as he sang the chorus, the way the drummer concentrated fully on what he was doing, the way the bassist bowed his head and the way the lead guitarist rocked back and forth on his heels slowly.

As they played, I couldn’t stop thinking about the lead guitarist. Something about the way he looked was so familiar, like I’d seen him somewhere before. My mind struggled to come up with a possible solution. I knew that I’d seen him somewhere before, I just couldn’t think of where.

Static Exchange played through their set, and by the time they had finished, there wouldn’t have been more than fifteen people left hanging around. The boys looked disappointed, but thanked the people who had come out anyway.

I watched them as they played one final song, another original called ‘The Shadow Of You’. I watched the lead guitarist as he leant into the microphone to sing the backing vocals. At the chorus, his eyes flicked up and scanned the small crowd. He looked over at the bar and must’ve seen me there, because his eyes locked with mine. I stared back at him as he sang. Every word that came out of his mouth felt as though it was being permanently burned into my brain.

Don’t let yourself get in over your head
That’s what someone once told me
But you’re always so far ahead
Long gone, too far to see

And they’ll watch you leave with smiles
I’ll sit and stare at the view
They’ll watch you leave for miles
And I’ll live in the shadow of you

It was like the song had been written for me. It described exactly how I felt about Isaac sometimes – I was constantly left in shadow, while he was the one that shone. The lead guitarist didn’t drop his gaze. I looked down at my hands awkwardly, but when I looked back up, he was still staring at me. I looked at his shaggy blonde hair, which reminded me so much of Isaac. It hung in his eyes, which looked almost black. He was lanky and wore a loose long-sleeved tee over baggy jeans.

His eyes bored holes into me, and again, I was hit with the overwhelming sense of familiarity. I just knew I'd seen him somewhere before. His gaze was unfaltering and confident, but not arrogant. I was sure that I knew him, but my mind just couldn't place him. The way he looked at me was like he knew me. If he knew me, then how didn’t I know him?

After the song had ended, he left the stage with the other guys. No one made their way to their merch stand and the venue soon emptied out. I ventured over to where the lead singer now stood behind the merch stand. I bought a copy of their CD.

“I really liked that last song,” I told him.

“Thanks,” he said, a smile spreading across his tanned face. “We don’t get a lot of support around here. I guess we’re not what’d you’d call radio-ready.” He let out a short laugh, but I could tell that he was disappointed.

“What was it written about?” I asked him.

“The Shadow of You?”

“Yeah.”

“Our bassist has a hard time. Feels like he’s second best to his older brother,” he explained. “You can relate?”

“Totally,” I gushed. “I’ve never heard a song quite like it. It’s like it was written for me.” I could feel a blush working its way across my features. I was never nervous, but Static Exchange had rendered me almost speechless.

“Glad you enjoyed the show. We’re playing here again next month,” he said. “Maybe we’ll see you again?”

“For sure,” I said.

“I’m Denny,” he introduced himself, holding out his hand. I obliged and shook his hand in greeting.

“Alexis,” I said with a slight nod. I saw the lead guitarist coming out from the side of the stage, but I didn’t want to stay around to talk to him. After what had happened, I knew that any sort of conversation with him would just be awkward.

“I’ll see you next time,” I said, before running off. I got into the Jeep and started up the engine, before slipping the CD into the player. I skipped to ‘The Shadow Of You’ and turned up the volume as I pulled out of the parking lot.

I sang along as my thoughts drifted to the lead guitarist. I just had to find out who he was.