"Hey," called July as she stood from her seat and made her way toward the stage, where the food that Drake bought was placed.
"So, how's practice?" Drake asked as he rolled his sleeves up and searched for a specific paper bag.
"It went well. We still have a few hours to practice until show time," said July as she hopped above the edge of the stage, watching Drake. "What are you looking for?" She asked.
"I ordered something specifically for you. They must've mixed up the orders," said Drake.
"What did you order for me?"
"Your favourite strawberry latte and a cheesecake."
"That's so sweet, thanks," said July, and climbed the stage to get Hugh's electric guitar.
"Here you go," said Lawrence as he handed her the guitar, preventing her from climbing the stage.
"Oh, thanks."
July caught how Drake eyed the guitar the moment she held it.
"Hugh's?" Drake asked, glancing at the guitar.
"Yes."
"He let you use that?"
"Uhm..."
"He's never let anyone use his things," said Drake flatly.
"Oh, I see – " said July, her voice fading, tainted with a hint of shame.
"He's not here, besides. I gave her some permission. Now shut it, Mctyler," Enzo interfered as he grabbed a paper bag.
"Strawberry latter and cheesecake – that's sweet of you Mctyler," Enzo mocked as he took the food with him.
"You're fucking welcome, Enzo, but you got the wrong bag. That's for July," said Drake, toned with thick sarcasm.
"Too late," said Enzo as he began eating the cheesecake.
"It's fine, Drake. I'll have the pasta instead," July reassured, trying to cover up the behaviour of her cousin.
Drake shrugged his shoulders and gave her a quick faint smile.
"I have to go now. They need me at the assembly. Gwen will assist you with the concert later this evening. I'll see you later."
"See you later. Thanks for this," said July.
Drake smiled and left the practice room. After lunch, the band resumed their practice, and it lasted for almost eight hours. They almost missed dinner, but Enzo insisted to order food for the band and did not wait for Drake to barge in and deliver dinner.
"Thirty minutes before show time, everybody!" Gwen announced backstage as the band prepared.
July sat in front of a vanity mirror, staring at her reflection with her heart almost wrenching itself out of her ribcage. The crowd was loud and hyped up already. The little voice inside her head whispered piles of doubts to her.
"Relax... This is just a school band performance – not a concert, July. Now relax," she whispered to herself. She took deep breaths and massaged her own tensed hands.
She might not be able to handle the shame when the loud crowd drops off quiet when they saw a random girl with the band, instead of Hugh Melvin Morgan. It was a fear she never knew she could have. She was occupied humming the melody of one of the songs, with her eyes shut as she tried to ease the tension within her when her cell phone vibrated. Drake's name appeared on the screen, along with a text message.
Drake:
Hey, sorry, I can't be there with you backstage.
I'm needed here at the office, but I'll try and
Come see you later from the audience.
Good luck!
The text drew a curved her lips into a smile, and when she thought her heart would be at ease...
"Twenty minutes before showtime!" Announced Gwen as she peeked over the door of the mini dressing room.
"Ready?" Gwen asked as she walked over to July who looked as grey as the stormy sky. "Are you okay?"
Gwen sat next to her and grabbed her hand. "You'll be okay. Enzo wouldn't have trusted you if he doesn't see potential in you," Gwen assured.
"I'm scared I might disappoint the audience... Have you announced it yet? That there are some changes to tonight's concert? They surely are expecting Hugh to perform and not some random girl from nowhere," said July as she rubbed her palms together, face painted with worry.
"Don't worry about that. If the band trusts you, then they surely know that everyone will love you including their fans. Besides, Enzo won't let anyone hurt his girlfriend —"
July stiffened.
"What?" Gwen asked upon witnessing the look on July's face as they studied each other's faces.
"He's my cousin..." said July, expression unchanged.
Gwen's eyes widened as her jaw dropped. "Oh, my god – I'm so sorry – I thought. Oh – this is embarrassing," said Gwen as she tried to laugh it off, but the awkwardness lingered and grew thick the longer she tried to defuse it.
"Don't worry, we thought the same thing too," said Ashton.
"Yeah," Benn added.
"Agreed. I mean – Enzo's always surrounded by girls, so yeah," said Lawrence as he scrolled through his phone.
The band spent their twenty minutes of spare time, fixing their clothes, humming to some songs in the lineup, and chatting a bit before showtime. July was occupied rubbing her palms together as they grew numb due to the cold from her crippling nervousness.
"I hope Dad doesn't see this," she whispered to herself.
"All right! Three minutes before showtime!"
Time seemed to pass too swiftly, it had only been a moment when Gwen announced that there were still three minutes before they had to appear on stage, but the crowd went wild as the host announced that the concert will start at any moment then.
"You can do this! Just like what we practised, okay?" Said Enzo and tapped his cousin's shoulders.
"Are you sure it's okay that I use Hugh's guitar?"
"I'm sure it's fine – besides who cares about Hugh?" Enzo replied.
"Please welcome, The Broken Glamour!" The hosts announced from the stage.
"Show time, everybody!" Said, Gwen.
"What if I get lost and ruin the performance and – "
"You're the singer, July. You set the tempo, and we'll follow you. We got you, okay?" Lawrence assured as he put on his earpiece.
The lights were everywhere, flashing within the university function hall. As July observed, it was bigger than their mansion's great hall. The mixed screams and cheers of the crowd hollered from one wall to another. The ground could shake due to the blasting sound of the upbeat song playing in the background as the band made their way to the centre stage.
Enzo made his way toward his drum set. Ashton, Benn and Lawrence made their way to their spaces on both sides of July who stood in the middle with Hugh's electric guitar. Her lungs constricted, and she had to gasp for air. Her eyes wandered through the audience, she was thankful for the way the lightning dimmed the audience, but she couldn't see the facial expressions of the audience though a spark of anxiety lingered. July ended up comforting herself into thinking that most of them were freshmen and had no idea about Hugh — yet.
She knew she had to introduce the band to the audience, but for some reason, her tongue tied into a tight knot, and her jaw locked.
The music began filling the whole venue with blasting live music as Ashton began. She hauled a deep breath and then turned away from the mic for a bit to clear her throat. She clutched the strap of the guitar during the first few seconds of the intro.
"And Danny ran into some complications."
The lights flashed on beat along with the beat of the song, another factor of hyping up the crowd.
"He falls asleep during conversations – He's gotta search the street when he's on vacation – The worse thing is that I'm in the same situation."
The harmony of the other band members brought a smile to her face as she heard them clearly in her earpiece. Her limbs seemed to have the instinct of dancing along to the beat, but she had to carry on with playing the chords in her – Hugh's guitar.
"And all I do is sit and think about you – if I knew what you'd do – collapse my veins, wearing beautiful shoes – It's not living if it's not with you..."
She was engulfed with euphoria as her body began to adjust to the moment. Her foot tapped on the floor, and her body began to sway with the beat. She wasn't used to dancing while playing an instrument and singing at the same time — there she decided to sway the way she was comfortable.
"And Danny says we're living in a simulation – But he works in a petrol station"
"(selling petrol)"
"He says it all began with his operation – And I know you think you're sly... But you need some imagination..."
As she opened her eyes, she could see the crowd dancing along and jumping to the song.
The flow of the euphoric energy in her veins continued, giving her enough courage to keep her eyes on the crowd. Wandering her sight along the enthusiastic crowd, then her eyes caught someone watching just below the stage. As to her estimation, he could be almost six-foot tall. He wore a black T-shirt and a pair of black cargo pants. He had dark curls, a few longer lose curls fell, obscuring an eye. It didn't make him look messy at all, he looked rather better — as though put in the right place.
He was nodding subtly to the rhythm of the song as he held a can of vodka soda. She wasn't sure if he looked proud, happy or if was only being sarcastic with that look on his face.
The light was distributed generously near the stage, giving July a rather decent view of the audience near the stage, allowing her to study the man standing on the left side of her point of view.
"And all I do is sit and think about you – if I knew what you'd do – collapse my veins, wearing beautiful shoes – It's not living if it's not with you..."
Her eyes departed from him for a while then landed back on the man after a few lines of the song – her mind dragging her attention back to him.
"I can't stop sweating or control my feet – Got a twenty-stone monkey that I just can't beat. I can stage a situation but I just can't eat – And there's a feeling you're replacing embrace – It's true that..."
As her sight landed back on him, his eyes met hers. A strange emotion crossed her chest, overpowering the euphoric energy beating in her system. At the swift beginning of the eye contact, he managed to lock her gaze with his. He fixed his posture and stared at her intently, his head still nodding gently to the beat.
Desperate to put an end with the encounter, July panicked, and her eyes frantically darted somewhere else, before she could do so, she caught the necklace around his neck, hanging over his T-shirt. It was a metal pick. The same metal pick she noticed that each member of the band was wearing.
Her eyes went back to his face, and as she studied him, she caught him crossed his arms and waited for her eyes to meet his gaze once more.
Her breath hitched, cutting a few lyrics as she did so – good thing the hype was on along with the instruments, and the audience barely noticed, though she knew the band caught it as the band covered for the parts she missed.
A smirk appeared on his lips as he raised his drink, as though offering a toast to July with his can of the vodka soda. His sight trailed down to the guitar in July's arms.
July swallowed and tried her best to play it cool, but the pressure seem to weigh her down as though she was sinking onto the stage floor. She was certain it was Hugh, the band vocalist below the stage watching her using his guitar, performing with his band. The way his eyebrows creased when he recognized his guitar, and the way he seemed to make fun of her when she accidentally forgot that she was playing and singing live. She hated to judge, but a certain vibe struck her spine. She wondered if it was a warning or a notice that she had met the first jerk of her new university life.
"And all I do is sit and think about you – if I knew what you'd do – collapse my veins, wearing beautiful shoes – It's not living if it's not with you..."
The first song ended after a moment as July tried to keep herself from glancing back at Hugh. In her mind, she kept wondering of where he could be. Was he disappointed at her performance? Was he mad that she used his guitar? Was he upset that she took his place?
Panting due to the energy she had exerted, she ran her fingers through her hair, and looked far at the audience, flashing a wide smile when the lights focused mainly on her.
The music faded to an end when she betrayed herself and glanced at the spot where Hugh stood, and he wasn't there anymore.
A beat from Enzo's drums remained, and a soft instrumental from Ashton's guitar lingered as Enzo began to introduce the band.
"Good evening, everyone! We are The Broken Glamour," said Enzo over his mic.
"I am Enzo – my friend right there with the bass is Benn," said Enzo as he pointed over in Benn's direction.
Benn bowed and then waved to the audience.
"Over at the right side with the keyboard, is my friend, Lawrence."
"Nice to meet y'all!" Lawrence yelled over the noise and bowed.
"At the left side of the stage, you can see my buddy Ashton for the rhythm," said Enzo.
Ashton walked over to the edge of the stage, making his presence known.
"At the centre of the stage, that's my amazing cousin, July Watson – she will be performing with us, temporarily, filling in for Hugh's place, our original vocalist who couldn't be here for some reason."
"Good evening," said July through the mic, and to her surprise, the audience burst into applause and cheered for the band, making her heart flutter. The anxious tension in her joints and muscles soothed down in a pleasant way she'd never felt before as though magic flowed freely through her body.
"Just like most of you here, I am also new to this university. We're all tensed about this new chapter in our lives, and this is just the beginning of it – so, uhm, let's enjoy and live the moment!"
As she closed her speech, she couldn't help but admit she cringed over it.
The crowd responded rather joyfully. The atmosphere still felt new to her. Being on the stage, playing with her cousin's band, filling in the place of the seemingly troubled vocalist.