On the Road

Kristen was nervous, apprehensive to what lay behind the door ahead. She was following behind Gabriel, his long strides making it hard to keep up, his heavy footsteps echoing in her ears. She was walking through what seemed like an endless hallway, when suddenly, Gabriel came to a sudden stop. He turned to her.

"You ready?" Gabriel asked, grinning. "'Cause you know, once you're in, you're stuck."

Kristen took a deep breath. "As ready as I'll ever be,"

Gabriel led her into a large, white room. There were posters all over the walls, mismatched furniture, and sound equipment and instruments everywhere. But what most caught Kristen's attention was the three guys sprawled over the couch, a chair, and the floor.

"Dude, what's with the chick?" a gangly boy with mousey brown hair asked. Kristen shot him a look.

"Haha, nice going, loser!" replied a well-built boy with blonde hair and a lipring, tossing a drumstick at the other boy's head. He dodged it, then stuck his tongue out at the person who threw it.

"Guys, this is Kristen James. She could quite possibly be our new guitarist." Gabriel said. "Now, smarten up and introduce yourselves instead of sitting around like a bunch of cavemen." Kristen snorted a laugh.

"Yeah, uh, so I'm Mark," the tall gangly one said, not making eye contact through his horn rimmed glasses. "And that's Ryan," A tall, caramel coloured skinned boy stood up, his curly, unruly reddish brown hair distracting Kristen for just a moment.

"And I'm Blake," the blonde with the lipring said. He twirled a drumstick between his fingers.

"So, Kris, can you play, or what?" Mark asked lazily, appearing to be the more obnoxious of the four. Kristen scoffed.

"How about, Kristen, you sit and listen. We'll play a song for you, and maybe you can jump in after?" Gabriel said jumping in, trying to keep the peace.

Ryan picked up his guitar, and plugged it into the amp that was against the far wall. Blake joined him, sitting behind his drumkit. Mark pushed himself off the couch, grabbing his bass, and Gabriel was last to join them, standing up behind the microphone.

"Alright, guys," Gabriel said, grabbing the microphone. "One, two, three, four."

He banged his head to the drums that started playing, and soon joining him was Ryan with an intense intro on the guitar. Mark then gracefully moved his fingers, playing an upbeat, fast paced bass groove.

And while Kristen couldn't help but smile once Gabriel's smooth, angelic voice filled the room, she couldn't keep her eyes off of Blake, and how his head banged with his rythym, and how swiftly his arms moved. She watched him as he played, staring into his crystal blue eyes.

Her fingers danced over the strings, her head banged with the rythym, her feet started tapping, and she just couldn't stand still. She got lost in the music she was creating, wishing, hoping, pretending she was onstage, performing, and satisfying her fans. She ended the piece on her back, on the floor, letting the last note ring out. Her chest heaved, trying to catch her breath. She noticed the clock beside her.

"Oh shit!" she said, missing her chance at relishing in her happiness. Quickly getting up, she dashed out of her room.

"You're late, Kristen!" Devon, her boss, said as she ran into work that afternoon. She threw on her apron and hat as she approached the cash.

"I know, I know," Kristen replied, pasting on a smile and she started to help the next customer in line.

Kristen was sitting at a small table near the front window of the shop, her legs propped up on the table top. She sipped on her bottle of water, imagining why anyone would want to eat anything made in the place where they worked. She was distracted by a bell, signaling that someone had entered the shop.

It was a man with longish, greasy black hair. He was wearing dark sunglasses, the darkness contrasting with his extremely pale complexion. He was talking on his cellphone as he entered, and sits down at the table behind Kristen.

"I know, man. But I don't know what to do," he says, obviously distraught. "Yeah, I mean, there's Phillip, but he's already got that other band he's in." The man sighs, listening to the person on the other end. "If we can't find another guitarist by Friday, we can't do the gig next week."

Kristen's eyes lit up. Maybe she could help him out. She took a deep breath, and turned around, tapping the man's shoulder. He stopped mid sentence, and turned around.

Noticing Kristen, the man said, "Let me call you back, man."

"Sorry, I don't mean to bother you, but, my name's Kristen." she paused. The man waited for her to continue. "You see, I overheard your conversation, and you might just be in luck"

Kristen came back to reality, just in time to hear the last minute of the song. She was still watching Blake, and this time, he caught her eye. He smiles, a smile that lights up his face, and winks at her. Kristen blushes, and quickly looks away.

"So, what'd you think?" Gabriel asks, once the song is done.

"It was great, awesome." she replied.

"You ready to try it?" he asks, hopeful.

"Definately," Kristen says, smirking.

She grabbed a guitar, and let the guys start. She bobbed her head to the beat, and picked up the rythym. Her fingers danced, moving quickly, herself becoming a part of the guitar. She jumped around, head banging. She forgot everything around her, and got lost in the ectasy.

"You played amazing!" Mark said, patting her on the back once it was done.

"Yeah! How'd you like it?" Ryan asked.

"Awesome. It was awesome." Kris replied, "I've never played with a full band before, but it felt amazing."

Gabriel smiled. "So you're on board, then?"

Kristen smiled back. "Definately."