Dressed up in Faded Costumes

It wasn’t until a week later that we had one of the most important calls of the band’s life. Without that call, our first gig wouldn’t be as good.
I was with Liam and Matt in a music shop in the mall when my phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Is this Michelle?”
“Yes it is. Who is this?”
“I’m Lisa, the girl asking from YouTube? Remember me?”
“Oh my God, Lisa?” I said, my voice probably too loud inside a shop. This was also the time that both Matt and Liam ran toward me and stooped down to my level to at least try to listen to the conversation I was having.
“Lisa, can you hold on for a second?”
“Yeah, sure, no problem.”
I sprinted to a corner where the two guys followed me, and put the phone on loud speaker.
“Hey,” I said trying to calm down. “So, how’s the party planning?”
“It’s going great. Also, I’ve decided to really ask you if you guys can play at my party. I have faith that you guys are good.”
I screamed without sound and my smile reached miles.
“Of course! Thanks very much! Where do you live?”
“I live in Sacramento. I will pay for everything, down to the food and gas money. I’ll send you all info needed via text message, and all you guys need to do is be here by the 7th of July or earlier. The party will be on the 8th.”
“Okay, that’ll be great! We will definitely be there.”
After we said goodbye, the three of us didn’t even need to say something to get the idea that we were so psyched and we had a problem that went with it.
“So… Anyone have a car to use?”

It was a week before the road trip. We had planned that Matt, Liam and I would go to Sacramento with Garrett, Leila and Maria. Garrett at the time had already grown close to the four of us, and grew fond of having new people in their house everyday.
It was a few minutes past 9am and I was already out of the house with friends. The studio became our headquarters. It was our escape. This was where we hung out when we just wanted to be up and out of the house; even if what we do in the studio is just sleep. All of us were troubled in a way. So this turned out to be our own haven; where we could go even if we still had our jammies on. I was still wearing a pair of shorts, a concert tee and I just brought a jacket. Maria was wearing something like mine, and Leila was wearing the dress I gave her.
We were so busy rehearsing that at one point we panicked because we didn’t even have a name we would introduce ourselves with.
“What should we call the band?” Matt asked.
“Oh, damn, we forgot about that.”
“Hmm…”
Matt, Liam, Maria, Leila and I were in the studio trying to think of a good name for the band. It wasn’t very long until we were starting to spew out very random names that made us crack up.
“Rabbit hole.”
“Fecal matter.”
“Steeped milk.”
“Carnival.”
“I am getting sleepier.”
“FML.”
“Epic Fail.”
“Can you call Alex, Maria? Maybe he can come over and help us,” Liam said.
“Sure.”
And so Maria went and took her phone from her bag and gave Alex a call. To our amazement and pure luck, Alex was in town and was in the studio with us in less than an hour.
We made Alex think for a name too, and ended up with a name that was obvious, yet at the same time not.
“So it’s decided. We call the band ‘Summer’s Mistake’. (Band Name taken)” I said.
“Okay, then. Now, we think of the songs we’re going to perform.”
“I suggest you perform an ATL song,” Alex said smiling at us.
“Oh, can we take Alex along on the trip?” Maria asked.
“If he’s free, sure why not?” Matt said. “Are you?”
“What trip?” Alex asked.
“To Sacramento. They have their first gig.” Leila asked.
“Sure,” he smiled looking at Maria. “It’ll give me time to spend with Maria before the band leaves for the tour.”

It was the 6th of July; the day we started off the road trip to Sacramento. We all had permission to go on the trip as long as there was a person above 18 who came with us. We chose Garrett and Alex too at the last minute. This was going to be one heck of a trip.
It was 3 in the morning, and we all gathered at Matt’s house. All of us were groggy, except for Garrett—who was going to drive.
“I can take backseat with Michelle,” Liam said.
“Alex, Leila and I can get the seats in the middle,” Maria said.
“Okay, then,” Matt said. “I’ll be upfront with Garrett.”
We got in the van, luggage and equipment almost everywhere, and Garrett started the engine.
“Everybody ready?”

We all fell asleep; no one was really used to waking up at 1 in the morning and leaving at 3. I woke up with the sun shining on face, and Liam’s arm around me.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” Liam said.
“Hey,” I smiled.
Alex and Maria were asleep, head over head. Matt was in front, also asleep with his head hanging from the side of the seat in an unusual position. His neck was going to hurt bad if he didn’t wake up soon. Leila was looking out the window and checking out everything.
I smiled at the scene. This was the first time I had friends like them—they were like family.
“What time is it?” I asked Liam while rubbing my eyes a bit.
“It’s only 8 am,” he said as he kissed my head.
“Are we in a hurry to Sacramento?” Garrett asked.
“No, not really,” Leila answered.
“Good morning, Leila,” I said.
“Morning,” she smiled. “I’m getting hungry.”
“So am I,” I laughed.
“We’re gonna be stopping by diner any moment now, so wake those two up,” Garrett said.
Leila and I shot a glare at each other and smiled mischievously. Liam smiled at the both of us.
We started poking Alex and Maria and both of them tried to swat of our fingers like they were flies. Both Leila and I laughed without sound and went on and did it again because they continued to sleep.
“Breakfast?” I whispered in Maria’s ear.
She didn’t mind us and so did Alex. Heavy Sleepers, I guess. Garrett woke Matt up easily, and not even 5 minutes from then, we arrived at a diner.
“Do you think we should wake them up?” Leila asked.
“Nah, let ‘em sleep,” Liam said with a smirk.
I shook my head with a sudden care for my stomach. I let them sleep in the car as we left the engine going so the AC could keep them cool.
Breakfast was good. The guys had some eggs with bacon, while Leila and I had some pancakes. When we were all done, Garrett paid for the bill and we all went back to the van. Alex and Maria were like in a where-are-we trance when they woke up to the sound of the door opening.
I gave off a little snicker and went on to the backseat with Liam. We all took our places and to our surprise, the two went back to sleep.
“What?” I asked laughing. “They can’t possibly still be sleepy.”
We went on ahead and took another pit stop to fill up the gas tank. This was the time when Alex and Maria really woke up.
“Hey, sleepyheads,” Leila said while we were sitting in the car waiting. “So glad you came to join us!”
“Where are we?” Alex asked.
“In the middle of California,” Leila said.
He looked at Maria with a sincere smile and told her, “Good morning.”
Maria smiled at him and gave him a quick, little smooch.
“Get a room,” Leila teased.
Alex smiled with a tinge of timidity. Maria was the same. Garrett came back with a few snacks from the store, threw it backseat and went ahead to continue the trip.
While we were in the car, we started a little confession to keep us from being bored.
“Let me ask first,” Maria said. “Liam,” she called.
“Me?” Liam asked nervously smiling.
“How much do you like Elle on a scale of 1-10?” Everybody looked at me with teasing eyes and I just blushed.
“Michelle?” Liam said. “That’s easy. I’m gonna need a bigger scale to answer that.”
I smiled from behind Liam.
“Aww,” Leila said laughing a cute giggle. “What about you, Alex? How much do you like-like Maria?”
“Same,” Alex said.
“Don’t you have a cheesy line of your own?” Maria asked laughing.
“Okay,” Alex said. “I love you more than you think; more than everybody thinks. I love you more than the sun shines, more than the moon glows and as much as the stars that twinkle every single night. That cheesy enough for you?”
Maria nodded with tomato cheeks. Alex kissed Maria on the cheek while he held her face; old school sweetness.
All of us smiled at their honey-drenched sugariness and continued the conversation.
“You know, Leila,” I said. “I haven’t heard anything about your love-life.”
“My love-life?” Leila blushed. “Oh, it’s non-existent.”
“Oh come, on,” Alex said. “You must at least have a crush!”
“A crush? I don’t have one.”
“Celebrity crush, then,” Maria said.
“Hmm… Matthew Goode?” Leila said giggling.
“Well, Garrett sorta looks like Matthew Goode,” Matt laughed.
And Matt wasn’t lying. Garrett and Matthew Goode looked alike; they were like twins. Crazy as it seems, but that line from Matt was what sparked something in between 15 year-old Leila Montgomery and 24 year-old Garrett Ward.
“Garrett?” Leila said. “Dear, gosh. That dude?” she laughed as she pointed at Garrett.
“Hey, I happen to be exactly like Goode,” Garrett said in his awkward defense. “Only thing I don’t have is his accent.”
“Are you saying you’d like to be Leila’s crush?” Matt asked.
“I merely stating a fact about me,” Garrett said.
“Oh, sure you were,” Matt mocked.
Garrett just smiled and continued his focus on driving without another word.
We all looked at Leila with faces that kept in little teasers. Leila simply blushed just like any other girl in her position.
After fast driving and a few more pit stops—more than the average number—we arrived in Sacramento at 10pm. Now, it was time for us to find a place to stay.
I got my phone and gave Lisa a call.
“I hope I didn’t wake you up,” I said.
“No, don’t worry,” she said. “So, what’s up?”
“I just wanted to give you a heads up that we’re already in Sacramento,” I said.
“That’s great! Well, can you drop by tomorrow afternoon so we can discuss the setlist?”
“Oh, of course,” I said. “We’ll see you tomorrow then, bye.”
I put back my phone in my pant pocket. I looked at everybody in the van. Only Garrett and I were awake.
“How you holdin’ up, Garrett?”
“I’m good,” he said. “So, where are we going to stay?”
“I don’t know, yet,” I admitted.
“Why don’t you sit back and relax,” he said. “We’ll find a nice place for you guys.”
Our little road trip was about to end, and our big step towards the first gig was creeping closer. Everything was starting for us.