Have Faith in Me

“Rachel, you have some explaining to do,” Sheryl said as she walked into my office a few days later. I looked over at her curiously and noticed the package in her hand.

“What do I have to explain?” I inquired. She turned the package towards me that was adorned with a large deathbat.

“Why the fuck are you getting a package about Avenged tour info?” I reached out for it but she held it out of my grasp.

“That sexy man you sent up the other day was here to offer me a job as their photographer.” Sheryl’s eyes widened. She was a huge fan of Avenged herself.

“You lucky bitch! Have you talked to Mr. Boss about it?”

“Yeah. He said it was all right for me to take some time off of here to go do this. He knows how big this is especially for me.” With three years as a photographer under my belt, two of which have been spent at Revolver, it’s unusual for a rookie like myself to get an offer like this. I usually did tour photography for small, up and coming bands that toured their home state.

“Well all I gotta say is don’t comeback and tell me that you fucked all of them.” My face flushed, causing Sheryl to laugh.

“You know I am not a whore.”

“I know.” Sheryl tossed the package to me. “There, lucky slut. Never will I forgive you for not telling me about this offer.” She walked out of my office as I tore the package open. There was a list of tour dates, venues, and cities. Along with the list of dates, there was a contract she had to sign and mail back as well as a list of things she should expect. On the back of said list, there was a small list of their cell phone numbers in case of an emergency. I glanced again at the list of tour dates. At the bottom I saw scrawled in somewhat messy handwriting:

Leaving tomorrow. Text me your address so I can pick you up tomorrow. -Matt

I gathered my belongings before running out of my office.

“Leaving tomorrow! See you in who knows how long!” I called to Sheryl as I ran past her. I heard her call out her good-bye but I didn’t really hear what she said.

***

I paced around my kitchen impatiently, glancing out the window every now and then. I had texted Matt last night my address and he said he’d pick me up at around eight. I washed my now empty bowl of cereal as I threw another glance out the window. As I stowed the bowl in the cabinet, my phone started to play Our Sick Story (Thus Far) by Atreyu. I jumped for my phone and flipped it open.

I’m here. Need help with your bag?

Before I could even reply, there was a knock on my door. I ran over and opened it.

“Hey,” I greeted breathlessly.

“Someone seems a little flustered,” Matt laughed. I felt a light blush find a home on my face.

“I’ve just been running around all morning making sure I have everything. I keep thinking I left something I need for my camera or I forgot my deodorant or something.”

“Well if you did we’d just buy it, dur.” He looked around. “Where’s your bag?” I pointed to the black and gray duffle bag on the floor. Next to it sat my camera bag. Matt picked up the duffle bag and went to grab my camera bag but I grabbed it before he could. He raised an eyebrow questioningly. I responded with a sheepish smile.

“It’s my camera. I’m… cautious about it.”

“That explains some of it.” He led the way out to the black Mustang parked in my driveway. I climbed into the passenger side as he put my bag in the trunk. “We’re gonna head back to my house to wait for the bus there,” he informed me as he pulled out of my driveway. “Say good-bye to home. You won’t be seeing it for some time.”

“It won’t be the first time I’ve been away from home for a period of time.”

“But this is for a couple months. Probably longer than you’ve ever been away.” I pretended to think about it.

“Yeah, I’ve only ever been away from home for about a month at most.”

“Then our couple of months beats you month.” Nothing more was said as we drove towards his house. Metallica was quietly coming from the speakers. We pulled up to one of the many houses along the beach.

“What I would do to have a beach side house,” I sighed as I climbed out of his car. I pulled out my camera and took a shot of it.

“I thought you were taking pictures of us, not my house,” Matt joked. I took a picture of him in response. “Smart ass.” I smiled in return. “Come on in. We got another ten minutes or so before the guys and the bus get here.” I followed him in, mentally smacking myself for being so shy. “Anything to drink or snack on?”

“No thanks. I’m fine.”

“You can sit down,” he added when he saw me awkwardly standing in the hallway. He motioned to the counter in front of his kitchen. I slid onto one of the raised seats as Matt moved around the kitchen, grabbing a banana and a water bottle. I snapped a picture of him taking a bite of his banana. He raised an eyebrow at me.

“You did hire me to take picture of you guys.” He rolled his eyes. A loud honk came from outside.

“Come on. They’re here.” Matt grabbed a bag by his door as he led the way out. He locked up and stopped by his car to grab my bag.

“Welcome to your new home,” Zacky said as he opened the door and stood back to let me on. I climbed in and saw Johnny, Brian, and Mike Portnoy there. Johnny and Brian waved as I walked in.

“Hey. I’m Mike,” Mike greeted as he stood up and offered me his hand.

“Rachel,” I quietly responded as I took his hand.

“I’ll show you where you’re sleeping,” Brian said as he stood up. I followed him to the back. “This is our lovely bunks where you will be squished with us. You’ll be up here, above Matt.”

“Small bunks you got there,” I commented, eyeing them. Brian shrugged.

“You get used to them. That and the constant fast food. It’s hard to eat healthy out on the road.” I shrugged.

“I’ll get used to it. Wouldn’t be the first time I had to live on fast food.” I walked back out to the lounge area with Brian behind me.

“So as a heads up, this place will eventually get to be a pigsty. If it bugs you, just let us know,” Johnny told me. I shrugged.

“I’d probably pick things up before things got out of hand. It’s a habit of mine to keep things pretty clean.”

“At least things will be clean for once,” Matt muttered. I sat on one of the couches.

“Get ready for a one of a kind experience,” Zacky said as he threw an arm around my shoulders. I looked at him before looking at everyone else, wondering what could possibly happen on this tour.