[a.n./ The chapter ends in a weird spot. Sincerest apologies.]
Nick bounced around excitedly backstage as he waited for the show to start. The rush he felt before hitting the stage was something he couldn’t describe. “I love performing outside,” he chided. “And inside too.” Everyone laughed at his antics before doing one last equipment check. As the curtain was about to rise, the band said a prayer before taking their spots.
Isla could hear fans screaming from inside the cab. She strolled slowly down the pier, clutching her zip up tightly to her chest. The air was still very cool after the sun set. When finally she reached crowd control, feelings of unease overtook her once confident mindset. “Isla Allison,” she announced. The monitor lifted an eyebrow at her. “I’m supposed to be on some list. I’m not really sure where to go.”
The woman with the over bleached blonde hair chewed her bubble gum obnoxiously and pointed behind her. Isla approached a rather large man, dressed entirely in black. “Name?”
“Isla Allison.” Her folded arms further conveyed her nervousness. The man nodded and instructed the guard stationed beside him with where to take her. She thanked him and followed the much smaller guard around barricades and ropes until finally they reached a large gray door that read “Authorized Personnel Only.” Isla peered at him curiously.
“Right through that door,” he announced, clipping a pass to her belt loop. Isla tugged the door hard and stepped inside. The atmosphere was much calmer in here than it had been outside, and for this she was thankful. Navigating the hallways was a relatively easy task, and before long, she found herself face to face with the woman from the night before. “Hello dear!” she greeted. “Welcome back!”
“Hi,” Isla replied. “I’m Isla.” She offered her hand and a weak smile.
“Denise. I’m the boys mother.” They exchanged pleasantries for a bit longer, before Denise offered to show her to the stage. “Joe said you might be coming tonight.”
She nodded. “Oh.” Isla had never been very good with small talk, especially not with parents. It was a social skill she lacked. On stage left, Isla settled in with a few other girls her age. She assumed them to be contest winners with the way they excitedly screamed and threw their hands up to their faces.
Seeing them perform was much more difficult than Isla had anticipated. Firstly, she did not know them, and secondly, she had a bit of angst against the guitar. While she looked on, she tried to push Andrew from her mind. She was out have fun and try new things. As she looked up from the ground, she locked eyes with Nick. He nodded in her direction, and the other two guys peered curiously. Joe hadn’t mentioned to either of his brothers that she may be attending that night’s performance, and they all looked pretty surprised. Joe winked and continued singing into the microphone.
“Joe totally winked at me,” the girl in front of her screamed excitedly. Isla rolled her eyes and walked over to the chair that Frankie was sitting in.
“How’s the video gaming treating you?”
“Fine.” He sighed. “But it’s Pirate Fest and I really wanted to go see the pirates.”
Isla was confused. “Here?”
Frankie nodded and heaved another sigh. “Inside the building. I saw the poster earlier today.” Isla wished she could take him to enjoy it; she was overwhelmed by the amount of people in such close proximity to her, however she was still considered a stranger. “I heard they have balloon animal hats.”
“What’s stopping you?” He looked at her lamely. They both knew what was stopping him. “I mean, I’m pretty free….” It was worth a shot at least; a chance for her to escape, and for Frankie to break away from his video games. “If your mom is up for it.”
He darted away and returned with a hesitant Denise in tow. “It’s not that I don’t trust you,” she started. Isla knew where this was going.
“I understand completely.” She paused thoughtfully. “I’m just not a big fan of crowds. I figured we could both get away for an hour.” Isla smiled. “But you don’t even know me, so….”
Frankie threw himself back into his chair and started fiddling around with his game. “Be back by eight thirty,” Denise warned, handing Frankie her cell phone. She also asked for Isla’s phone number, and called it once, just to verify. Frankie jumped around blissfully. The thought of seeing the pirates and the performers really excited him. “If anything happens to him-“
“You can have my life.” Isla smiled. “Ready?” Frankie nodded and took off toward the door. Denise called after him and warned that he better stay with Isla.
“We only have an hour,” he said, hopping on one foot. Isla sank her hands into the deep pockets of her sweatshirt, thankful to be away from the screaming girls. “I definitely want to get my face painted. And watch the show, and….” His voice trailed on. She wondered what it was like to be amused by such simple things. “Oh, thanks for taking me.” Frankie had a bright smile that warmed Isla’s heart.
“My pleasure.”
As he ran through the building, he questioned her. “Don’t you like the music?” He picked up a pirate sword with a sharp blade and his eyes widened.
Isla took the sword from his hands and placed it safely back onto the table it had come from. “I like the music just fine; I’m not good with people.”
“Why?” Frankie lifted a stuffed parrot fitted to attach to a child’s shoulder. “This is awesome.”
“Let’s keep looking around,” she encouraged. “If you still like it at the end, we’ll come back and get it.”
Isla adored children. Most of her time in high school had been spent working with children, whether it was babysitting or in a daycare. The parrot would be a small price to pay for the enjoyment it would bring to Frankie. Tossing the parrot down gleefully, Frankie raced over to get his face painted, after which he had a pirate sword made for him out of balloons.
As the hour drew to a close, the two made their final purchases, which included a large bag of cotton candy, the parrot for Frankie, and an eye patch for Isla. Denise greeted her son warmly, thankful for his safe return. “Well look at you,” she laughed. She turned toward Isla and pulled her into a hug. Isla couldn’t recall the last time she’d had such close personal contact. “Thank you for this. I really appreciate it.” Frankie and long since left them and was attempting to sword fight with some of the stage crew. “I try to do my best for the boys, especially Nick and Frankie. They’re still so young. I hate that Frankie misses out on so much of his childhood because of these tours.”
“I think he’s doing all right,” Isla replied honestly. In her opinion, he seemed well as well adjusted as one could hope. “Family is what’s really important. He’s better off here with you than at home with someone else.”
Denise smiled and patted the girl’s shoulder. “The boys asked that I send you to their bus when you got back.” Isla peeked onto the stage and realized it was now a girl performing. Nodding, she strolled outside and knocked gently on the door of the bus; almost instantly, Kevin appeared.
“Hey you.”
His smile brought a slight blush to her cheeks. “Hi PK. Great show.” She followed him to the back of the bus where she assumed she’d find Nick and Joe battling in a video game. The discomfort and unease she’d felt the night before seemed to have disappeared, and Isla coolly seated herself on the couch. Kevin sat down on the armrest beside her.
“How much of it did you see?”
She shrugged and gazed up at him. “A song, maybe two. I’m not very good at staying in one place,” she lied. He nodded, not questioning her any further. Try as she might, Isla could not come up with anything to talk about. Twirling her blonde hair around her bony finger, she cleared her throat. “So, you guys are pretty much a big deal.”
Joe paused the game and smiled at her. “Who says that?” Everyone laughed; Isla attempted to hide the blush that had crept onto her cheeks. “You know what? I didn’t think you’d actually show up. I give you credit.”
Isla rolled her eyes. “How do you decide which fans to meet with and bring up on stage and stuff? I’ve always wondered.”
“Really? I wouldn’t peg you for a big boy band fan.”
“I loved me some ‘N Sync back in the day.” Kevin couldn’t help but grin. Something about her mannerisms amused him. She looked up at him curiously, waiting for an answer.
Nick was the first to begin explaining. He said that usually they met with fans that either got to the show extremely early or won some sort of radio call in contest. The next to interject was Joe; he explained they offered many of the members of the fan club backstage passes. “As for letting them come on stage, I think we just go for someone close to the stage.”
“I usually pick the girl who looks the happiest, or who’s crying,” Kevin concluded.
“So crying girls are your kind of thing, hm?” They both thought back to the night before when he’d found her all alone at the edge of the pier. “Interesting.”
Kevin ran his fingers through his curly brown hair. Although she was trying to make light of the situation, he was still worried. It wasn’t often he stumbled across such an emotional person; there had to be more to the story, if only she’d let him in.