Walls
Ready or Not
Limping up to the doors of the Beacon Theatre, I flashed my ID to the security guard before making my way inside, CVS bag in hand.
As I stuffed my iPod into my pocket as an attempt to muffle the New Found Glory song that was now playing loudly through the speakers, I rushed through all the techie’s setting up for the show tonight. I stopped by my boss’s office on the way to my sound booth to tell him I was finally here; even if I was ten minutes late.
The thing about Jacob is that he’s an overbearing, obnoxious type of guy. He’s openly gay, and it’s obvious to anyone with a brain. He could talk your ear off, and I could not deal with him 99% of the time. The reason I stay at this job in the first place is because it allows me to be involved in music without performing, he’s lenient about when I work, and it pays pretty well for what it is. All of that for putting up with an annoying boss? I’d take it.
Besides, it’s not like I have much of a choice as a college drop out.
“Hey Jacob, sorry I’m late, I ran into some… unexpected trouble.” I spoke, bending down to apply my Elmo band-aid to the gash on my knee without even glancing up at him. I was praying that not making eye contact would make this conversation as short as possible so I could get behind my sound booth; my comfort zone.
“That’s fine, just don’t let it happen again,” Jacob replied, the same response he had for every time I was late; which was sadly more often than not thanks to an alarm clock that only worked half of the time.
Satisfied with my first aid job on my hands and knee, I began to limp out of the room biting my lip as an attempt to mask the pain. I was proud of myself that I had so expertly escaped Jacob’s obnoxiousness for the night.
My thoughts were proved wrong however, when I heard Jacob’s nasally voice calling me back into the cramped office. Sighing, I turned and began to retrace my steps.
“Braedynne, there’s someone I’d like you to meet,” Jacob called before I had even reentered the room.
Being so caught up in applying my bandage, I hadn’t even taken notice to the man with the lip ring standing in the office along with Jacob. Smiling politely at the man, I shot a questioning look at Jacob. Jacob never had people in his office; ever.
“Braedynne, this is Matt Flyzik. He’s the tour manager for the band playing tonight,” Jacob stated, only granting me with half of his attention as he sat typing away at the computer.
“Their normal sound tech’s sitting this tour out, and they are in need of a good sound tech fast. Matt called me, and I volunteered you.” Jacob finished.
Ignoring the demeaning way he spoke to me for the second, I was shocked and unsure of what to say so I stuck with silence. With no warning at all, he just dropped the bomb that I may be going on a tour with a random band that he volunteered me for; as if I got no say in this.
Now fully pissed at his patronization of me, I still chose to stay silent with the knowledge that touring sound techs got paid almost double the stationary ones. And let’s be honest here, I am in desperate need of money.
Coming to the conclusion that Jacob was done speaking for now, I turned my attention fully on the man standing by him. Taking this as his turn to speak, the man stepped forward and addressed me.
“Hi Braedynne, Jacob told me that you’re his best sound tech and that you’re willing to tour,” Matt trailed off, making his statement sound more like a question. From the lengthening silence, I assumed it was my turn to speak.
“As for being the best, I don’t know, but as for willing to tour, I’m going to need a little more details,” I stated, looking the man directly in the eye. Now was the time to be serious, no bitchy or sarcastic remarks I reminded myself.
“Yes, of course. Well, the band is All Time Low if you didn’t know, and this tour would be for two and a half months in America, and another month in the UK and possibly some other parts of Europe. Our sound guy’s mother is ill, and he’s spending time with her and isn’t sure when he’ll be able to come back. It could be anywhere from two and a half months to five months,” He trailed off, looking to see my reaction to the news.
Five months?
That’s a long time to be away from home. But that led to another question in my mind; what’s holding me back here? I don’t have a home. Instead I have a cheap studio apartment in a bad part of town that I can barely make rent every month. My parents don’t care about me, my sister’s gone, and it’s not like I have any friends that actually give a damn about me. But still, spending five months with a band that I’ve never met before? I needed time to process this information.
“When do I need to let you know?” I asked the man, looking down at my feet as I could feel myself shutting down.
“Well this is all really short notice, and I apologize for that. I’d obviously have to see how you do tonight, which I’m sure you will be fine. You’d also have to meet the band and crew. We play here tonight and tomorrow, after that we have a day off for press so if you could let me know after the show tomorrow?” He trailed off again, knowing how short notice and unprofessional everything was.
“I’ll let you know by then,” I smiled up at him once again; this time the smile felt forced.
I don’t do well with short notice, and generally don’t make great first impressions. For example, the first time I met Matt I was fifteen minutes late to work and applying an Elmo band-aid to a gash on my knee while trying to give a half assed excuse for my lateness.
I’ve always kept to myself more than most, but since March it’s as if I’ve closed myself off from letting people in completely. It was because of this new development in my life that the idea of being on tour bus with a ton of people for five months didn’t exactly appeal to me. Tour buses mean little to no privacy, which in turn meant that I’d have to keep up the happy façade I had going all day every day. It sounded exhausting.
“Alright, well I’ll go introduce you to the guys, just follow me,” He walked out the door, slowing down until I was beside him as he expertly maneuvered in and out of the stressed techies setting up the stage for tonight’s show.
I already like Matt better than Jacob; he wasn’t patronizing at all and talked to me like a friend instead of dirt on the bottom of his shoe like Jacob had a tendency to do. That alone may be enough to get me to tour away from Beacon Theatre for possibly five months.
“So this is their dressing room, and I’ve got to warn you, two of them can be a little… overbearing at times, but they generally mean well,” He finished quickly before opening the door.
My eyes widened instinctively, what the hell was that supposed to mean?
The first thing my eyes take in as Matt opens the door is a tall lanky man dressed in his boxer shorts old who had taken apart the ceiling and now was attempting to swing on a pipe by jumping from a table while another man in the room hummed an awful rendition of the Mission Impossible music. Failing miserably at whatever he was attempting to do, he landed on his ass. Stifling a giggle, I bit my lip and looked down at my shoes, a nervous habit of mine. I pulled the sleeves of my sweater tighter against my wrists and forced myself to look up as Matt began to speak.
“Jack, get your ass up. I don’t need to be paying for another broken pipeline,” Biting my lip harder to keep from laughing again, I took in the rest of the people occupying the room. There was one with a nose ring that was currently lifting weights as he laughed at the lanky one getting scolded for his actions as if he were a toddler in preschool. The other one with a shaved head was splayed across the couch with a beer in hand, also laughing at the lanky boy.
“Braedynne this is Jack, Rian, and Zack,” he pointed them out respectively as they stopped what they were doing to study me curiously.
“Guys this could be our sound tech for this tour if you don’t scare her off first,” Matt finished as they continued to stare.
Not used to having attention on me, I shot them a quick smile before once again finding interest in my shoes and the floor surrounding them. In my mind, I was trying to figure out where I recognized these men from. All Time Low sounded familiar and I’m sure I’ve heard some of their songs, but their faces looked familiar as well. Not being able figure it out, I figured I’d just Google them later to solve my mystery for me.
After hearing a collective hi, I saw a flash of movement out of the corner of my eye. Before I could do as much as glace up, I felt a body come into contact with mine forcing me to take a step backwards to retain balance.
Tensing up immediately, I began to twist; trying desperately to get away from whoever this was. That is, until I realized he was just trying to give me a hug. Feeling stupid, I awkwardly patted his back before stepping out of the odd and forced embrace and looking at my attacker.
The lanky one that was hanging from the ceiling. Jack. I met him thirty seconds ago, and I was already not surprised that he was the one who attacked me.
“I’m Jack,” he stated, smiling down at me before skipping back to the table in the middle of the room to reclaim the beer that he had been drinking.
I could tell this was one of the overbearing ones Matt had warned me about.
“I like girl Evan. Matt, can we keep her?” Jack questioned.
Ignoring his question, Matt asked one of his own.
“It’s almost time for sound check, where’s the princess?” He asked, looking around the room.
“He went to get coffee, should be back any minute,” Rian replied, swatting Jack’s hand away from his phone.
“I’m here, I’m here; and I come bearing coffee,” I heard a familiar voice behind me.
Scrunching my eyebrows in confusion as to who it was, I turned to face the voice.
“Alex?” I questioned before I thought better of it.
The man’s jaw dropped from the smirk it had previously held before one word escaped his lips.
“Braedynne?”
As I stuffed my iPod into my pocket as an attempt to muffle the New Found Glory song that was now playing loudly through the speakers, I rushed through all the techie’s setting up for the show tonight. I stopped by my boss’s office on the way to my sound booth to tell him I was finally here; even if I was ten minutes late.
The thing about Jacob is that he’s an overbearing, obnoxious type of guy. He’s openly gay, and it’s obvious to anyone with a brain. He could talk your ear off, and I could not deal with him 99% of the time. The reason I stay at this job in the first place is because it allows me to be involved in music without performing, he’s lenient about when I work, and it pays pretty well for what it is. All of that for putting up with an annoying boss? I’d take it.
Besides, it’s not like I have much of a choice as a college drop out.
“Hey Jacob, sorry I’m late, I ran into some… unexpected trouble.” I spoke, bending down to apply my Elmo band-aid to the gash on my knee without even glancing up at him. I was praying that not making eye contact would make this conversation as short as possible so I could get behind my sound booth; my comfort zone.
“That’s fine, just don’t let it happen again,” Jacob replied, the same response he had for every time I was late; which was sadly more often than not thanks to an alarm clock that only worked half of the time.
Satisfied with my first aid job on my hands and knee, I began to limp out of the room biting my lip as an attempt to mask the pain. I was proud of myself that I had so expertly escaped Jacob’s obnoxiousness for the night.
My thoughts were proved wrong however, when I heard Jacob’s nasally voice calling me back into the cramped office. Sighing, I turned and began to retrace my steps.
“Braedynne, there’s someone I’d like you to meet,” Jacob called before I had even reentered the room.
Being so caught up in applying my bandage, I hadn’t even taken notice to the man with the lip ring standing in the office along with Jacob. Smiling politely at the man, I shot a questioning look at Jacob. Jacob never had people in his office; ever.
“Braedynne, this is Matt Flyzik. He’s the tour manager for the band playing tonight,” Jacob stated, only granting me with half of his attention as he sat typing away at the computer.
“Their normal sound tech’s sitting this tour out, and they are in need of a good sound tech fast. Matt called me, and I volunteered you.” Jacob finished.
Ignoring the demeaning way he spoke to me for the second, I was shocked and unsure of what to say so I stuck with silence. With no warning at all, he just dropped the bomb that I may be going on a tour with a random band that he volunteered me for; as if I got no say in this.
Now fully pissed at his patronization of me, I still chose to stay silent with the knowledge that touring sound techs got paid almost double the stationary ones. And let’s be honest here, I am in desperate need of money.
Coming to the conclusion that Jacob was done speaking for now, I turned my attention fully on the man standing by him. Taking this as his turn to speak, the man stepped forward and addressed me.
“Hi Braedynne, Jacob told me that you’re his best sound tech and that you’re willing to tour,” Matt trailed off, making his statement sound more like a question. From the lengthening silence, I assumed it was my turn to speak.
“As for being the best, I don’t know, but as for willing to tour, I’m going to need a little more details,” I stated, looking the man directly in the eye. Now was the time to be serious, no bitchy or sarcastic remarks I reminded myself.
“Yes, of course. Well, the band is All Time Low if you didn’t know, and this tour would be for two and a half months in America, and another month in the UK and possibly some other parts of Europe. Our sound guy’s mother is ill, and he’s spending time with her and isn’t sure when he’ll be able to come back. It could be anywhere from two and a half months to five months,” He trailed off, looking to see my reaction to the news.
Five months?
That’s a long time to be away from home. But that led to another question in my mind; what’s holding me back here? I don’t have a home. Instead I have a cheap studio apartment in a bad part of town that I can barely make rent every month. My parents don’t care about me, my sister’s gone, and it’s not like I have any friends that actually give a damn about me. But still, spending five months with a band that I’ve never met before? I needed time to process this information.
“When do I need to let you know?” I asked the man, looking down at my feet as I could feel myself shutting down.
“Well this is all really short notice, and I apologize for that. I’d obviously have to see how you do tonight, which I’m sure you will be fine. You’d also have to meet the band and crew. We play here tonight and tomorrow, after that we have a day off for press so if you could let me know after the show tomorrow?” He trailed off again, knowing how short notice and unprofessional everything was.
“I’ll let you know by then,” I smiled up at him once again; this time the smile felt forced.
I don’t do well with short notice, and generally don’t make great first impressions. For example, the first time I met Matt I was fifteen minutes late to work and applying an Elmo band-aid to a gash on my knee while trying to give a half assed excuse for my lateness.
I’ve always kept to myself more than most, but since March it’s as if I’ve closed myself off from letting people in completely. It was because of this new development in my life that the idea of being on tour bus with a ton of people for five months didn’t exactly appeal to me. Tour buses mean little to no privacy, which in turn meant that I’d have to keep up the happy façade I had going all day every day. It sounded exhausting.
“Alright, well I’ll go introduce you to the guys, just follow me,” He walked out the door, slowing down until I was beside him as he expertly maneuvered in and out of the stressed techies setting up the stage for tonight’s show.
I already like Matt better than Jacob; he wasn’t patronizing at all and talked to me like a friend instead of dirt on the bottom of his shoe like Jacob had a tendency to do. That alone may be enough to get me to tour away from Beacon Theatre for possibly five months.
“So this is their dressing room, and I’ve got to warn you, two of them can be a little… overbearing at times, but they generally mean well,” He finished quickly before opening the door.
My eyes widened instinctively, what the hell was that supposed to mean?
The first thing my eyes take in as Matt opens the door is a tall lanky man dressed in his boxer shorts old who had taken apart the ceiling and now was attempting to swing on a pipe by jumping from a table while another man in the room hummed an awful rendition of the Mission Impossible music. Failing miserably at whatever he was attempting to do, he landed on his ass. Stifling a giggle, I bit my lip and looked down at my shoes, a nervous habit of mine. I pulled the sleeves of my sweater tighter against my wrists and forced myself to look up as Matt began to speak.
“Jack, get your ass up. I don’t need to be paying for another broken pipeline,” Biting my lip harder to keep from laughing again, I took in the rest of the people occupying the room. There was one with a nose ring that was currently lifting weights as he laughed at the lanky one getting scolded for his actions as if he were a toddler in preschool. The other one with a shaved head was splayed across the couch with a beer in hand, also laughing at the lanky boy.
“Braedynne this is Jack, Rian, and Zack,” he pointed them out respectively as they stopped what they were doing to study me curiously.
“Guys this could be our sound tech for this tour if you don’t scare her off first,” Matt finished as they continued to stare.
Not used to having attention on me, I shot them a quick smile before once again finding interest in my shoes and the floor surrounding them. In my mind, I was trying to figure out where I recognized these men from. All Time Low sounded familiar and I’m sure I’ve heard some of their songs, but their faces looked familiar as well. Not being able figure it out, I figured I’d just Google them later to solve my mystery for me.
After hearing a collective hi, I saw a flash of movement out of the corner of my eye. Before I could do as much as glace up, I felt a body come into contact with mine forcing me to take a step backwards to retain balance.
Tensing up immediately, I began to twist; trying desperately to get away from whoever this was. That is, until I realized he was just trying to give me a hug. Feeling stupid, I awkwardly patted his back before stepping out of the odd and forced embrace and looking at my attacker.
The lanky one that was hanging from the ceiling. Jack. I met him thirty seconds ago, and I was already not surprised that he was the one who attacked me.
“I’m Jack,” he stated, smiling down at me before skipping back to the table in the middle of the room to reclaim the beer that he had been drinking.
I could tell this was one of the overbearing ones Matt had warned me about.
“I like girl Evan. Matt, can we keep her?” Jack questioned.
Ignoring his question, Matt asked one of his own.
“It’s almost time for sound check, where’s the princess?” He asked, looking around the room.
“He went to get coffee, should be back any minute,” Rian replied, swatting Jack’s hand away from his phone.
“I’m here, I’m here; and I come bearing coffee,” I heard a familiar voice behind me.
Scrunching my eyebrows in confusion as to who it was, I turned to face the voice.
“Alex?” I questioned before I thought better of it.
The man’s jaw dropped from the smirk it had previously held before one word escaped his lips.
“Braedynne?”
Notes
Hey guys! I hope you liked this chapter; it kind of begins to set up the plot and everything.Let me know what you think, comments are much appreciated!
XOXO,
Lilly
i love this story btw^.^
1/22/13