6
Pacey
“How in the world did I get so drunk last night?” Amanda asked.
“Hmm, maybe it was all the times you ordered another drink just for a chance to talk to that bartender.”
“God, he was fine as hell. But I don’t need you to be so sarcastic right now,” she said, putting her fingers on her temple and massaging it.
We were on the subway to our rehearsal, it was around noon so I managed to get a few hours of sleep after I left the coffee shop.
We stopped at the next station, and a lady got off freeing up a seat in the crowded subway car. I gestured for Amanda to sit down because it looked like she needed it more than I did.
The subway doors closed and accelerated back into the dark tunnel.
“Why do you have a smile on your face?” Amanda asked, looking up at me.
“What? I’m not smiling,” I said.
“You totally are. Look at that smirk on your face.”
I looked into the reflection of the glass, and sure enough, I was smiling.
“You won’t believe who I…bumped into on the way home last night,” I said.
I wouldn’t have been able to talk so freely to anyone else, but because it was my best friend, Amanda, I didn’t really care.
She raised her brow, waiting for me to tell her. I leaned in and whispered Adam’s name to her so that no one else around could hear.
“What? He’s in the city?” She asked, with her hand over her mouth.
“I was surprised too,” I said.
“Damn, he’s so fine. I should have stayed a bit longer but you were practically forcing me to go home.”
“Well, because you were almost passed out drunk.”
“That’s true.”
In college, I had told Amanda what happened between Adam and me before he left to follow his dreams. She helped me a lot just by listening to me get it off my chest.
We got off at the next stop, a horde of people waited for us to get off before they funneled into the subway car behind us.
“So, what did you guys talk about?” She asked as we went up the escalator.
I thought about our conversation in the coffee shop. “Nothing really, neither of us said much. He…wasn’t feeling too well.”
“Really? You haven’t seen him since high school and you had nothing to ask him?”
“Well, I had everything to ask him,” I said, adjusting my glasses. “But I didn’t think it was the right setting to ask. It’s been so long, you know.”
“Well, are you ever going to see him again?”
“Probably not, I mean I don’t even think he has the same phone number since he left.”
“And you didn’t get his number? Pace! What’s wrong with you? You rookie,” Amanda punched me in the shoulder as we got off the escalator.
“I didn’t think of it, okay? I was just so…overwhelmed.”
“I could imagine. Is he as handsome in real life?”
“He’s always been handsome, but even more so now, with his beard and tattoos. I barely recognized him when…I saw him.” I said.
I didn’t want to mention how I carried him out of a dark alleyway and into a coffee shop to wait until he was conscious again.
“God, I feel like you’ll regret it later,” she said.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because you had a perfect opportunity to finally get the answer you were looking for.”
We walked across the street to the symphony hall, and flashed our ID card to security who let us through the gate.
We went through the door to the stage where most of the musicians were already on stage.
It was a special day.
We were rehearsing for a show in the summer that was going to feature pop icon, Carly Rae. She was scheduled to rehearse with us today.
Amanda and I parted ways.
She walked to the front where the other violinists were, and I walked to the back, where my harp was already set up.
The lights in the seating area were dimmed, and only the spotlights facing the stage were on.
I pulled out the binder of sheet music from my brown leather briefcase. Then, took off my navy pea-coat and hung it on the back of my chair. I rolled the sleeves of my crème turtleneck. Then, I adjusted my glasses before setting the music on the black metal stand.
I was always nervous before rehearsals, even more so during performances.
There was something about being the only harper in the orchestra that was nerve-wracking. If I screwed up, there was no one to fall back on, and the thought of letting everyone else down terrified me.
Of course, the fear was a bit irrational. I would never possibly be able to screw up that noticeably.
As a harper, I sat in the back. Most of the audience sitting in the music hall couldn’t even see me during performances. Only a few sections of the balcony could.
I liked being hidden in the background.
Our conductor finally walked out. He was a brilliant man with messy grey hair and circular, gold-framed glasses. Everyone stood up as he entered the stage. Carly Rae followed behind him. I was a huge fan of hers, and it was hard to maintain my cool.
Our conductor stepped onto his platform.
“Good afternoon, everyone,” the conductor said, taking a bow to all the musicians. “As we all know, we have a very special guest who will be rehearsing with us today. We are fortunate to have this session with her, and I can already tell it’s going to be so much fun. Pacey, the harper back there, is especially excited.”
The musicians all turned to me and smiled.
I hadn’t been able to contain my excitement since I found out that we were going to be doing a performance with her. I guess everyone knew how much of a music geek I was.
Carly waved with both her hands in a shy and modest way. And I’m sure it was in my imagination, but she gave me a little wink as well. Her skin was smooth and she radiated underneath the spotlights.
We started with one of my favorite songs by her.
The radio hit was transcribed for the Symphony Orchestra. There was a complicated harp riff that I had practiced for weeks to perfection.
I didn’t want to let anyone down, especially Carly.
We started the song, and I waited for my cue from the conductor. Then, it was like muscle memory as I played my part.
Carly sounded like a dream as she sang.
She twisted her body in a playful way as she looked out into the empty seats of the music hall. It was exactly like how I’d picture her to sing that song.
I got ready for the next part of the song.
Right as I was waiting for my cue from the conductor, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. Then, I heard the sound of an incoming text message.
Oh my god, I forgot to turn my phone off.
In my shock, I missed my cue, and I couldn’t transition back into it very gracefully. The conductor stopped everyone from playing and he glanced over at me.
I knew it wasn’t good.
“Phones off, Mr. Rivers,” he said.
He had ears that could hear everything.
“I’m sorry,” I uttered, feeling blood rush quickly to my cheeks.
This time, no one turned around as I fumbled in my blue trousers to turn my phone off. As I did, I saw that it was a message from an unknown number.
Who was messaging me?
We started the song again, this time it went a lot smoother.
We practiced for another hour before Carly had to go to catch a flight. For the rest of the session, we went over some songs for our current winter show. The conductor wanted us to improve on the ones that needed work in our last performance.
Before we knew it, it was already eight in the evening, and we had been there for the entire day.
The tips of my fingers were sore, and calluses were forming over existing ones. My stomach was growling, and the conductor finally let us leave.
I said goodbye to some of my fellow musicians as I waited for Amanda to pack up.
I turned my phone back on to see who messaged me. It was from an unknown number in an area code that I wasn’t familiar with.
But as soon as I read the message, I knew instantly who it was from.
I was a bit surprised to hear from him, but I was excited that I did. I had a feeling last night at the coffee shop wasn’t going to be the last time that I’d see him. At the same time, I didn’t expect him to message me either.
I read the message over many times to take it in.
Hey Pace, I scored two VIP tix to the show on Friday. Want to give them to you as a thank you for what you did last night. Let me know if you want them. If not, it’s cool.
Only people who knew me well called me Pace. It was surprising that he was thinking about me at all.
The screen on my phone absorbed all my attention, and I hadn’t noticed Amanda looking over my shoulders. Instinctively, I turned it away.
But it was too late.
“Oh. My. God,” she said. “He wants you at his sold-out show!”
The hall was empty and it was just me and her in the large, dark space.
“I don’t think I should go,” I said.
“What? Are you crazy? People would die to be there. Literally, die. Did you hear about the girl who jumped in front of a car just to try and take a picture with Adam?”
“People are insane, I don’t get the hype. Kingdom 4 isn’t that good.”
“You sound bitter,” she said.
“Call it what you want, but I’m not going.”
“Well, if you’re not going, can I have them? I know plenty people who want to go. Maybe I’ll take someone on a date with me.”
“No, you can’t have them. He’s giving them to me,” I said.
“Well, you’re not going to take them. If you don’t, he’ll probably give them to someone else.”
“God, Fine. I’ll take them, only if you go with me, though,” I said.
“Deal! Oh my god, my first Kingdom 4 concert, and they’re VIP tickets. I’m so excited,” Amanda said.
“Settle down, I doubt we’d be able to enjoy it with all those girls squealing over him.”
“Hey, be careful what you wish for. I’ll probably be one of those squealing girls. I mean, how can they not? Adam is a stud. Even you know he’s a sex God.”
“I know he’s handsome, but sex God? That’s pushing it a bit. He’s just a normal person.”
“To you, I guess. You don’t even mean that. Don’t even try to lie to me like that.”
I rolled my eyes and started walking towards the exit of the music hall. Suddenly, the thought of having to see Adam again made me nauseous.
I hated that feeling.
Sometimes I didn’t even know why I decided to be a musician. I felt my stomach churn whenever I was nervous, which was before every single performance.
Only, why was I feeling this way when it was Adam who’d be performing in front of hundreds of people?
Why did I feel nervous for him?
Or was I nervous because I was going to see him for the second time after six years of waiting for him to come home?
I didn’t know what to do, and the more I thought about it, the more nauseous I felt. Whenever I came across a problem in life, I always got through it by thinking of what Adam would do. But it was weird in this situation because he was the problem that I was having.
I reached for my phone to reply to him.