You good doe?

The girls set about writing their names on their badges before handing back the marker. Jordan’s handwriting had always been better than Marie’s but Marie made up for it with the way she dotted the ‘i’ with the tail of the ‘e’. With their badges securely around their necks, the girls had the venue as their playground. They entered a heavy metal door and were plunged into the darkness as the door slammed shut behind them.

“Jesus, I can’t see shit,” complained Marie.

Jordan groped for Marie’s hand in the dark, elbowing her in the ribs in the process. “Just give your eyes some time to adjust.” Jordan found Marie’s hand and the two stood still, waiting for the dimly lit backstage area to slowly come into focus. When they had enough light they could see another large, unmarked door. Jordan began walking towards it, pulling Marie behind her. Jordan was about to grab the door’s handle when it swung open, throwing a bright rectangle of light into the dark hallway.

“There you are!” a man’s voice called from the light.

“Did we die?” asked Marie, her forearm covering her eyes. “Am I dead? Is that Jesus?”

Jordan yanked on Marie’s hand. “No, idiot. It’s Phil.”

“Yeah, it’s just Phil,” said Phil. “Although I’ve been told I have the voice of an angel.” He laughed and the sound bounced off the stark cinderblock walls. “I don’t have much time so we can’t hang out for too long.” He held a hand out to Jordan. “Let me show you around really quick.”

Jordan slipped her hand into Phil’s and the three of them began walking through the maze of a hallway. It wasn’t long before they arrived at the room designated for the band. Marie scanned the room hoping to spot Bruno but he was nowhere to be found. Phil noticed Marie’s searching gaze and patted her gently on the shoulder. “He’s either off talking with Brandon or doing laps backstage. The boy still gets full of nervous energy before we play.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s fine,” Marie stammered. “I wasn’t looking for him anyway. It’s cool.”

Jordan stared at her best friend. “You’re dumb.”

“Nuh uh, you’re dumb!” Marie quickly countered but Jordan’s point had already been made. She crossed her arms. “Where are we supposed to watch during the show?”

Phil grinned. “I’m glad you asked. Let’s go check out your seats.” Phil’s grin had turned into a chuckle by the end of his sentence. He turned and headed down one of the arena’s many hallways, leading the girls closer to the stage. The dull murmur of the crowd grew steadily until it was just this side of a roar. Only a black curtain separated them from the audience.

A look of soft awe washed over Jordan’s face as she reached her right hand towards the curtain. “Sounds like a few people out there,” she said quietly as her hand grasped the curtain to pull it back.

Phil grabbed her wrist and gently pulled it away from the curtain. “Just a few shy of 22,000.” Phil pulled the very edge of the curtain away from the wall, allowing Jordan and Marie a small peek of the audience. “This curtain will be gone by the time we hit the stage so you guys can either watch from here or out there in the seats.” Phil let the curtain fall back into place. “Up to you.”

Jordan looked back over her shoulder at Marie. “What are you feeling?”

“I kinda want to walk around for a bit.” Marie shrugged. “We could watch from the stage? That would be pretty cool.”

“Sounds good!” Phil said, clapping his hands. “I gotta go find B and then get ready for the show. You two gonna be good without me?”

“You know I’m only bad when you’re around,” Jordan said with a small smirk.

“Ugh, gag me,” Marie said. “I’m going out there.” Marie pulled the curtain wide enough to step through, not waiting for Jordan. A few girls in the front row screamed, expecting someone else.