“The First Rule of Robo-Spinners” (78.12) (Anastasia)

It took far too long to wheel a terrible cart with horrible wheels that barely spun across campus, but at least I got our gear ready. There were some volunteers from the grades above us setting up our equipment. I paced around backstage, eyeing past the curtain every few steps. The inside of the dome was incredibly fancy, surprising me given how quickly they slapped the thing together. 

I found myself wandering out at one point, looking around, imagining that in just a bit I'd be out there, performing for the biggest crowd I'd ever been in front of. That crowd being made up of my classmates felt less cool than playing for strangers for whatever reason, but it was still big.

My bandmates, Nikki, Kloudia, and Sofia were with me, each feeling the pressure in their own way. Nikki, chill and casual as she was, took it in stride.

"This is crazy, isn't it?" Nikki said. "Like...our biggest show yet."

"Yeah..." I said.

"This is big for us, big for The Band at Your Prom," Nikki said.

"Are we still into that name?" Kloudia said. "That ass setting up on stage said it sucked."

Kloudia pointed to one of the student volunteers, one from Wildfire Hearts that I recognized.

"Oh, that's just Rock Solid Dropkick Stevi, she makes a bad impression on everyone," I said. "If you want, I can tell her off, that usually works."

"Always so aggressive," Kloudia said.

"Aggressive Ana," Sofia said.

A twinge hit my gut. "R-right."

We were all given a list of the schedule. Three bands would be playing, ours first, then a nu metal band called Eclectic Skullduggery and Stale Donuts, then one called Radiance.

"The hell is nu metal?" Sofia asked.

"Like, a foundational genre, come on," I said.

"Sorry I'm not an expert on weird offshoot genres," Sofia said.

"It's not an offshoot, hell, we have nu metal songs, You Broke My Spirit is so nu metal," I said.

"If you say so," Sofia said. "Seriously, so aggressive all the time."

I didn't have a response for that. Another pang of something that threatened to overwhelm the excitement of the concert.

"Hey, it's all cool," Nikki said. "We're all gonna have a great show, right?"

"That's right," Sofia said. "Then, after this, we'll do some evaluating on what we want to do next."

I barely heard that, too focused on myself, but if I did register it then, I probably would have sensed the ominous tones from it. With my band tense, I took a minute to step away, noticing my classmates were arriving now. Including my friends, who waved me over. I maybe wouldn't have so eagerly ran to them if I noticed Lillia was with them.

"Hey," Sai said. "We ran into Lillia, so she's hanging out with us."

"Alright..." I said. That put us at a higher chance of running into Faleur at the dance itself if they were all still together by the time my song was done, but I supposed I couldn't be too mad about that. Lillia was the most tolerable of that crew, anyways.

Lillia nodded at me. I wasn't sure what to say to her.

"You look a bit...off, everything good?" Esther asked.

"I mean, I can guess why," Sai said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I said. "And I'm fine. Just a bit nervous about this concert part."

"You're gonna do great, so don't get too in your head about it," Esther said.

"We've seen you play, we know you rock," Myles said.

"Yeah..." I said, turning back to the stage. My jaw nearly dropped when I saw who strode out to it. The most beautiful girl I'd ever seen, one with pink and green hair. I'd seen her before, she played after one of my shows.

The girl who'd been swirling in the back of my mind since I saw her first electric performance. The singer who made everything feel right for just a moment, even when everything was falling apart for me. The one I couldn't find anything about, even though I saw her photo on an ad at the mall. The one I had a photo of that I'd looked at from time to time in moments when I needed the comfort of someone as gorgeous as her.

"Sai." I smacked Sai's shoulder. "Sai."

"Quit hitting me, what?" Sai said.

"That's her," I said, wonder in my voice.

"Who?"

"It's the girl I saw at the concert," I said.

"That doesn't narrow it down," Sai said. "Which concert?"

"Yes it does narrow it down, the one where...!" I realized it didn't really. "We saw her play once. I've been trying to find out her name, the one who was on that ad at the mall, the one..."

"Ohhh," Sai said. "Yeah, yeah, I remember her.

I couldn't help but beam. "I'm gonna be playing in the same concert as her..."

"You technically did that already," Sai said.

"Yeah, but this time I'm aware of it!" I said. "I'm gonna talk to her."

"You don't have to announce it to me," Sai said. They patted my back. "Knock 'em dead."

The girl was leaving the stage, heading to the back. I pushed through the crowd of students mingling, ignored my bandmates when I got backstage. Only one thing mattered in that moment, and it was talking to this girl.

Maybe things were finally looking up for me.

The girl was by herself, I didn't even check if her band was around. She smiled softly as I came up to her. Was this really happening?

"Hi, um, excuse me," I said.

She was even more radiant up close. Her twin toned hair was matched by her eyes, one green, one pinkish. She was so pretty, carried herself in such a lovely way, I almost fell to my knees from the sheer cuteness.

"Hey there," she said.

"H-hey," I said.

I froze. Now what the hell do I say?

"I'm Anastasia," I said. "I'm...playing in...my band is...are you?"

"I'm the lead singer for Radiance," she said. "Zoey."

"Zoey," I repeated, trying not to giggle with glee.

Her name's Zoey. The cutest person to ever live is named Zoey. And she's talking to me.

"I'm the bassist for...uh...it's kind of a crappy name, we change it a lot, but we're the Band at Your Prom," I said.

"I remember," Zoey said. "I've watched you before, I like watching the other bands I play with."

She was aware of my band? She remembered.

"Back then, I had the, uh, the helmet," I said, making a box with my hands around my face. "So now I don't. And I'll play better, too."

"Uh huh,"

"I really loved watching you play back then," I said. "I've been thinking about it a lot since I first saw you. It's really awesome you're here right now."

"Thanks, Anastasia," She giggled, a truly heavenly sound.

"So, I uh, yes," I said. "I hope you like our performance here, too."

"I'm sure I will," Zoey said. "Look forward to mine, too. I'm not one for long goodbyes."

"H-huh? Yeah, I guess I'm not either," I said, wondering if she was shooing me away.

"No, silly," Zoey said. "It's the name of my favorite song that we play. You've heard it, I'm sure. I think you'll like that one the best."

"I know I will," I said.

Foolishly, I jammed up there, unable to ask her much else other than nervous stammering. I cursed myself for wasting too much time talking about bass strings when I could have asked for her number or any contact info. I didn't even get her last name.

But seeing her was the boost I needed. I was going to put on the best show I could. And then, maybe after, I'd get to dance with the most perfect girl I'd ever seen.