AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yeah. Field quest
ions when they come up and of course…the game.”
“Right.” She flipped her hair over one shoulder until it was tangled into the bib of her overalls. She carelessly started braiding a chunk of it as if it was a nervous habit. “I didn’t realize there would be talking.”
I laughed and hooked my arm into hers. “We’re going to get along just fine. We’ll both be nervous Nellies together.”
“You?”
I dragged her along to the hallway. Cole and another of the security guys followed us. “So nervous. Last time, I did a super awkward Q&A, and I definitely didn’t want to do that again. I’m just not that interesting.”
“I beg to differ.”
“You’re sweet. But it was really bad.”
“That one was in California. Too far for me. I’m an East Coast girl.”
“I hear that one.”
We chatted as we walked down the stairs to the B-stage. The house lights were up, making it feel intimate. There was a hum of conversation that quickly turned to excitement.
I waved and headed for my piano. I took one of the microphones and handed one to Bailey. “Hey guys. I can’t believe there are so many of you.”
Butterflies were an understatement. There were usually only seventy-five people at the events prior to the rehearsal. It wasn’t a cheap ticket. We didn’t gouge, but this sort of thing was reserved for people who actually cared to hang out. Not people who were using it to boost their social media status.
I did a quick bit of mental math and wished I hadn’t.
Well over a hundred. Maybe even one hundred and fifty people were here to see me. Alone.
Dear God.
Even in my dreams, I didn’t expect this. It was like a real version of that late night at Purgatory. Only instead of empty seats, there were people there just to see me. I’d asked the crew to point my piano so I could talk to the fans. I pulled out my bench. The familiar leather and rivets soothed away some of the nerves.
“Guess I should start off with introductions. I’m Teagan Daly, and Lindsey lets me play piano. She used to do it a lot more, but she wanted to stay out front more often. And now here I am living out my dreams with Brooklyn Dawn.”
The group clapped. Within the hushed murmurs, there was laughter and smiles as they looked back at me expectantly.
“I know this is a little different than the normal fan club event. This has been a year of shakeups, so what’s one more, right?”
I tried to ignore the camera guy who was filming off to the side. There was a big difference from the roving cameras that put our faces on the screens for the arena and the recording that would be going live in the fan club group. The entire thing wouldn’t be streamed—that wouldn’t be fair to those who paid for their tickets. But I wanted to include them as a perk.
The band had been all for it. We’d always been forward thinking when it came to technology. Jamie and Lindsey had done more than a few live jam sessions in the forums.
I waved at the camera. “Hope the feed is okay out there.” I sat down at my piano and tucked my microphone into the long-armed stand beside me. “So, my family has called me the human jukebox for as long as I can remember. I play like six different instruments. Put something in my hands, and I’ll learn to play it.”
I nodded to the saxophone in its stand. “My mom used to listen to an artist named Candy Dulfer, and I decided to learn her most famous song for her birthday present.” I laughed. “I see a few blank faces. It was the nineties. I won’t hold it against you.”
I reached for the sax and picked it up with trembling fingers. “Normally, I’d need a bit of a guitar accompaniment to make it work, but you might know the song.” The sad notes of “Lily Was Here” filled the arena.
There were a few sparks of recognition, but the camera phones were up and filming. I played half the song before I let it peter out to become the signature song from the soap opera General Hospital. That brought out a lot more laughter and cheers.
I tucked the sax back into the stand with a laugh. “Thanks for indulging me. Sometimes you just gotta do stuff for your mom.” I looked over at Bailey. “Now because I’m a dork and I love the jukebox thing. I’m going to use Bailey to help me. She’s going to play MC to this impromptu version of that game Rockstar.” I dropped my voice. “Aka karaoke. I’m taking requests.”
I sat at my piano and played the opening chords to “Stripped Away” and the laughter turned to whoops. “So, you know that one. How about a deep cut?” I changed to “Waiting” from the first album.
A group of girls in the back immediately started singing the song. I smiled and leaned into my mic to help them out. By the end of the song, everyone was singing. “Little bit of trivia. I have lots of trivia since we’re stuck on a bus or a plane for a lot of hours between shows.”
“We want to know it all,” came a voice from the left.
