Perfection With Some Flaws

The next morning, I woke up at 8:30 am, an amazing feat, considering Rock Band had been blasting for hours. I wondered how Anthony, our bus driver, could handle all the noise and craziness we made. I took a quick shower and dressed in jeans & an Interpol t-shirt. I decided I might as well promote them as I walked around during the festival. We were at the Boomer Music, Arts & Fashion Festival in Pomona, California. It was a great festival considering you could catch your favorite bands, discover new authors and artists, and buy essentials for your wardrobe at deep discounts. It was one event that tons of people looked forward to, and flocked to, every year.

I walked into the kitchen area and spotted Carlos passed out on one of the couches, controller still in hand. I shook my head at him and poured myself some milk and cereal. As I was eating, Sam sauntered into the kitchen, stretching.

“Hey Raq. Have a good night’s sleep?”

“As good as I can with him around,” I motioned to Carlos, who lifted his head to look at us, his eyes drooping in exhaustion. He opened his mouth to speak, but his head fell before he could. Sam chuckled to himself as he grabbed one of Daniel’s granola bars and some milk.

“I’m going to go walk around. I’ll see you later,” he said, walking off the bus.

“Bye,” I replied, going back to my Cinnamon Toast Crunch. When I was done, Paul and Daniel walked out of the bunk area. Daniel was already fully dressed, Paul was wearing nothing but boxers and bed head.

“Paul, can’t you put some clothes on? We don’t want to see everything…”

Daniel looked behind him and groaned. Obviously he hadn’t noticed Paul trailing him earlier. Paul simply waved his hand in annoyance at me, opening the fridge to look inside. Daniel began rummaging through the cabinets, ruining the organization I had managed to create in them.

“Where’d my granola bar go? I had one more left and I was looking forward to it.”

Daniel trailed off, scratching his head and trying to think back. Paul looked at him, then me, then back at the fridge, mumbling something about how bland grain was. I finished up my cereal, squeezing past the two mildly confused boys to wash my dish and utensil. Paul finally decided on just a bottle of water and plopped down into the seat where I’d been only moments ago. Daniel glared at Paul, who had grabbed one of his waters.

“And that is why I can never find anything…”

Paul nodded, taking a sip of his water, then capping it and jumping up, going towards the bunks again. Daniel came and stood by me, watching me wash the dishes.

“So, are you going to walk around and check out all the deals?” he asked, casually leaning against the counter. I dried my hands silently, turning to face him when I was done.

I smiled and nodded. “Yeah, would you like to go shop with me?”

“Only if you buy me breakfast,” Daniel grinned. I laughed in return, slapping his arm playfully.

“Fine, but you owe me,” I replied, walking towards the bunks to change. Paul opened the door before I could, fully clothed, thank goodness. He peered down at me, then looked behind me at Daniel. He raised an eyebrow, to which I shook my head.

“I‘m not going to blackmail him to wear girl pants again. Don‘t worry. Besides, he stretched them out last time…”

“Hey, I didn’t say anything. Whatever suits your perverted little fantasies,” he shrugged, walking past me. I saw him stop to talk to Daniel before I closed the door to rummage through my stuff. I pushed the thought out of my head as I dug through my luggage for my wallet. When I found it, I dumped everything onto the bunk above mine and ran out to meet Daniel. He was busy trying to wake up Carlos, who kept mumbling that he’d already done his work for the day. Daniel looked up at me, then back down at Carlos.

“We’re going to go eat and shop, Carlos. Want to come?” I lightly shook him, taking over Daniel’s failed attempts. Carlos batted my hand away and rolled over, the controller wire tangling around his wrist. I looked down at Daniel, who shrugged.

“Maybe they have burritos?” Daniel stated, although it came out sounding more like a question. Carlos’ eyes fluttered open and he squinted at us.

“Really?”

“Well, maybe…” Carlos quickly got up at Daniel’s assertion and ran back into the bunk area, only to emerge a few seconds later fully clothed and ready to go. Daniel and I stared at him.

“So, are we going or not?”