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Her eyes narrow as she crosses her arms. “No.”
“No?”
Hiking one leg up, she gets comfortable. “I’m not leaving until you tell me the name of the song.”
“I would have told you at the party, but you had to storm off like a child.” I expect her to take offense, but she just keeps watching me expectantly, waiting for what she came here for. Sighing, I say, “Song: ‘Do I Wanna Know?’ Band: Arctic Monkeys, Album: AM.”
She smiles. “Thank you.” Then she gets to her feet, and without another word, heads toward the door.
“Oh, and Margot?”
She stops and turns.
“Listen to the whole album. I think you’ll like it.”
Her shoulders relax and she falters. “Oh. Okay, I will.”
And she’s gone.
21
margot
“I think it’s right up here!” Rae says as she looks down at the map on her phone. We parked Matt’s car in a parking garage, and now the three of us are headed to the small bar where Jackson has his first gig tonight.
The sign above the door reads West End, and we file inside, showing our IDs at the door and getting a black X on each of our hands in exchange. A long bar takes up the left side, and there are a few tables in the back with standing room in front of a small stage.
The place isn’t packed, but it looks like the band has a local following. Rae, Matt, and I stand as close as we can to the stage, but we’re still about halfway back because we didn’t get here early enough to beat the crowd.
“Have you ever seen him play live?” I ask Matt over the sound of excited chatter.
He shakes his head. “Never with a band.”
“Wow, big day.” I suddenly feel guilty for not wanting to come at first. I didn’t see the point. If Rae wasn’t dating Matt, I wouldn’t be here—that much I know for sure. I told them I didn’t want to be the third wheel, but they insisted it wouldn’t be like that. They said it would be a great way for us to go out and have a fun night. I tried inviting some people on our floor, but as much as Izzy said she’d love to go, they all had other plans to go to a foam party at a frat.
If I had gone to the party with everyone else, maybe I could have written about it. But the last thing I need is to be around Keith while he drinks again. I would have been a little nervous about drinking with them, and the thought of being the only sober one in the group didn’t sound like much fun either. Rae is my comfort zone, so as pathetic as it may be, I feel better about following her here.
Who knows, maybe I’ll still find something to write about tonight.
I’ve never cared to know anything about the band Jackson joined. It meant he’d be practicing less around the dorm, and that was good enough for me. I didn’t even know the band’s name until I saw a sign that said they would start performing at 9:00 p.m.
American Thieves.
The name alone makes me think it won’t be my type of music.
“Do you think he’s nervous?” I ask Matt for the sake of having something to talk about.
He considers my question but shakes his head. “I don’t think so. Jackson doesn’t really get nervous, and he’s been wanting to do this since middle school.” He laughs. “I think the only time I’ve seen Jackson nervous was when his dad told him he had to go to college, and he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to get into the same school as me.”
“That’ll do it,” Rae says with a laugh. “Margot and I were worried about the same thing.”
“Yeah, school has never been his thing. It’s not because he isn’t smart. He just thinks doing the work is stupid and doesn’t want to waste his time with it.” He shrugs. “He’s never failed or anything. He just does the bare minimum.”
“Except when it comes to music,” I say as I watch the stage. The band walks out, and the people in front cheer at the sight. As I focus on Jackson, it doesn’t take long to see Matt was right. He doesn’t seem nervous at all. He looks like he does this every weekend—perfectly at home.
The lights dim, casting shadows on Jackson’s open dark gray and black flannel rolled up to his forearms. He positions his guitar and looks out over the small audience, his eyes landing on me. His head tilts like he didn’t think I’d be here. I didn’t think I’d be here. His lips pull tight before he laughs to himself and shakes his head like the fact that I actually showed up here is funny to him.
Matt leans in closer so I can hear him over the crowd. “And except when it comes to trying to piss you off apparently.”
