Drunken Lullabies

Her third shot went down a little smoother than the first two, and she knew it would be a matter of minutes before her nerves were calmed enough for her to handle the concert alone. Tossing the half-empty bottle of whiskey under the passenger seat and taking one last look in the mirror, Isabelle took a deep breath and readied herself. The door squeaked as she opened it and stepped out of the car. She adjusted the small red halter to show a little more cleavage and began walking toward the concert hall, her matching red heels clicking on the wet pavement. A few hours more and she would be standing face-to-face with Josh Todd; her heart began to beat a pace faster and her eyes lit up at the idea.

She drew closer and closer to the large group of people standing in line outside and wished she had her friend with her to share in her excitement and help calm her nerves a little. Isabelle knew she looked good, but it was getting a little hard for her to exude an air of confidence alone; after all, there were thousands of girls here, and she was no fool. She didn't have access to the band yet, and it was not going to be an easy task gaining it.

What if I fail? she thought, What if I don't get in?[/] If she couldn't figure out how to get on that tour bus by the end of the night, she would have to make her way back to where she came from, defeated. She didn't have the money to follow the band around on their tour, and she was sure her car wouldn't last another month.

"Watch it, bitch!" Isabelle was startled from her thoughts by a hoarse female voice. She had hardly noticed knocking the woman's shoulder when she passed, but it was apparent the woman had. A mere 5'2", the raven-black hair and sharp features of the woman gave her an intimidating appearance.

"That was my last cigarette you just knocked outta my hand!" the woman cried with disdain.

Not wanting to start a fight and ruin her outfit, Isabelle reached into her purse and pulled out a pack of Camel No.9, and held it out to the woman. The woman's sharp features scoffed, but her small hand reached up and grabbed three cigarettes out of the pack. After looking Isabelle up and down for the third time since their encounter, the woman spun back around and headed for the entrance. Isabelle gave a silent sigh of relief as she walked off. The small ones were always scrappy, and she couldn't afford to get too dirty tonight.

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Maddison couldn't help but shiver as she stepped onto the small stage. The club wasn't that big, but there were plenty of people and this was her first performance with the band. She needed a couple more minutes to gain her composure, but the rest of the band was not going to wait; the lead guitarist strummed the first few chords of a song, and the rest of the band began to join in.

Maddison's heart began to race and she realized she couldn't remember the words. Of course, it wouldn't have mattered if she did - her mouth was dry as cotton and she could hardly breathe. She missed her cue, and the band kept playing. Maddison was frozen on stage and had no idea what to do. What the hell was this, anyway? She had never had a problem with stage fright in the past. But tonight, the lights seemed hotter and the crowd seemed louder, and she couldn't even clear her mind enough to gather the lyrics for the first verse. She stared straight ahead, motionless, as the guitarists glanced worriedly at each other.

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