The Plan

Now that the tour was finally down the coast in Virginia, my nerves were finally off edge. We’d gotten there before noon and the boys had chosen to play soccer on the beach while Simone and I strolled along the shore.

“It’s really pretty here,” Simone commented. It was a weekday so there weren’t many people on the beach. A few people sat in the sand but it was only April regardless and the water was so cold that Simone and I could barely keep our feet in it.

“Yeah it is but it kind of makes me miss home.” That much was true. The apartment I shared with Andy and Simone reminded me of a simpler time when I worried about what to eat and whether or not Andy liked me that day.

I wasn’t usually the person that missed home, at least not this early in the tour. Mike was always the first person to miss the privacy of home usually followed immediately by Simone.

“How do you miss home already?” Simone exclaimed, hitting my arm lightly, “You love being on tour!”

I shrugged as we walked back toward the boys. If I pretended really, really hard, I could imagine us all really happy and partying every night and Simone and Mike being together. My imagination was overactive but not enough to even convince myself.

“Home is stable,” I answered simply, trying not to provoke any bad feelings. Simone was in a good mood today and I wasn’t trying to change that. Band and crew continued to kick balls at each other and Mike was, as usual, nowhere to be found. “But tonight’s show is gonna be crazy.”

Virginia Beach was the first venue on the tour to be sold out. It was also, coincidentally, one of the largest venues on the entire tour. The boys were all excited and now that Simone and I made up, I was welcomed back on the bus with open arms.

At night I still opted to drive with the boys from A City In The Sky, all of which I’d gotten insanely close to. They were sweet and drama-free. On top of all that, there was zero pressure when I hung out with them and I found myself laughing more than thinking.

“We’re gonna be dealing with so many kids, fuck my life,” Simone groaned. I laughed and pushed her as we walked in the sand. I knew what she meant though. As much as I loved the fans, they could be wild, fangirling animals.

I saw Max walking towards me from the boardwalk and waved. It wasn’t hard to tell it was him. He was short and his long brown hair was always half hidden under a snapback. Simone shifted as he approached. Max and his band were mostly my friends.

“Hey Kell, what’s up?” he asked, pulling me into a hug.

“Life’s a beach man.”

“You wanna get some lunch? We found a diner down the block from the venue. Simone, you can come too,” he said, smiling at my blonde best friend. I turned to her with a questioning glance.

“Wanna go?” She shifted uncomfortably and then shrugged.

“Mike Hranica’s with us too, we found him wandering,” Max piped up. My eyes flashed over to gauge Simone’s reaction. Her eyes went hard but then she adjusted quickly, raising her head a fraction of an inch.

“You know, I had some breakfast on the bus so I think I’ll pass,” came the answer I already knew to expect. Max didn’t look taken aback. We’d all seen Simone’s wrath a week ago. I was thankful that the screamer knew enough to mention Mike’s presence.

“Okay, well, d’you want me to stay with you?” I asked. She shook her head and pushed me toward Max.

“No, no,” she said firmly, “You go and when you get back we’ll start setting up.”

I nodded and started walking away from her. I felt bad that she couldn’t even come to a lunch but I knew how Simone could hold a grudge. It scared me how well she could hold a grudge. I had to strike fast and fierce to be able to fix this, before the issue became even worse.

“I don’t know why we can’t all just get along like we did in middle school,” Max said after we reached the wooden planks of the boardwalk. I raised an eyebrow at him. “What? Mean Girls is my favorite movie.”

“Whatever Twinkle Toes, let’s go eat our feelings and sing Kumbaya.”