Jem…Chapter 43

Chapter 43

I can feel it…

The crowd…the cheering them just as caught up in this as we are…waves of sound…of life washing over us from the crowd and I can feel it…

Everything…

It’s like a rock movie, and almost a slow motion scene where I grab the guitar, settle her against me and turn to face the crowd.

Step up to them.

Start playing the rhythm, Kimmie’s instantly there with the drums and the crowd’s singing even before I am!

“Na, na, na, na, na, na, na!”
“Na, na, na, na, na, na!”
“Na, na, na, na, na, na, na!”
“Na, na, na, na, na, na!”

“I guess I just lost my boyfriend”
“I don't know where he went”
“So I'm gonna spend my money”
“I'm not gonna pay his rent”

“I got a brand new attitude”
“And I'm gonna wear it tonight”
“I'm gonna get in trouble…” I yell the hold the microphone out to the crowd and it’s loud!

“I wanna start a fight!”

“Na, na, na, na, na, na, na…” Me…and the band.
“I wanna start a fight!” The microphone and the crowd.
“Na, na, na, na, na, na, na…” Me…and the girls.

Then everyone..

“I wanna start a fight!”

Then I’m belting it out just so into the song, the crowd.

“So, so what, I'm still a rock star!”
“I got my rock moves and I don't need you…”
“And guess what, I'm havin' more fun”
“And now that we're done I'm gonna show you tonight!”

“I'm alright, I'm just fine and you're a fool”

“So, so what, I am a rock star!”
“I got my rock moves and I don't want you tonight.”

“The waiter just took my table”
“And gave it to Jessica Simps”
“I guess I'll go sit with drum boy”
“At least he'll knows how to sing”

“What if this song's on the radio?”
“Somebody's gonna die!”
“I'm gonna get in trouble…”
“We’re gonna start a fight!”

The next song’s so much of a gimmie and a treat for u because well I mean I’m me and the whole Jase/Jem thing and the whole Dee Snyder thing…Kimmie starts the song up with the also signature beat for this song. *We’re not gonna take it.* By Twister Sister.

*Bad Reputation* Is our next one but we actually sound a lot closer to The Dollyrots cover of this which is to me a lot better than the Avril cover and closer to Joan Jett’s cover. Joan however is the one woman that’d ever get closer to the original.

*Bitch.* By Meredith Brooks is next and a really great song and a crowd pleaser too that gets them dancing again and singing along with the song. I like this one because It’s that easy to sing along to and I go to me and Raven singing, then over to me and Brooklyn and then back and sing along with Kimmie.

More water…Mike passes us all both a small juice and bottles of water…I hold my hands up while drinking and one of the wait staff has brownies.

“Mmm…oh…chilies…” I playfully moan into the microphone…lick my fingers off…redo my lipstick with Raven…me doing hers, she’s doing mine.

I start lifting one foot and then stomping it ontop the stage….Kimmie starts after twenty seconds matching it on the drums.

*Mamma, We’re All Crazy Now!* Another lost great song by Quiet Riot a really, really good band and this is a great stage song. Great plain old rock and roll.

*Invincible.* By Hedley and one of my all time favorite bands, they have so many great songs and Raven steps up dancing to the microphone to sing the rap part of the song from their video. I love the way she throws some of that goth chick attitude in there like automatic street cred. This song fits everyone in the band…everyone in the room so you can feel it…and it rocks too which is always good.

*Crush, Crush, Crush.* By Paramore is the next song that we crank out and I really like this band it’s in my opinion like Garbage, and The White Stripes just really undervalued. It might also that I very closely resemble Hayley Williams when I’m Angel/Jem like seriously we could be related.

*Heaven’s Gonna Wait.* Another Hedley song but one I’ve wanted to sing…It’s one actually of my favorite songs, yeah I have a lot of those but this is a really great song. And it says so much to me about hot I feel that Raven/Rayne and I are going.

*Can’t Stop* By the Red Hot Chili Peppers is a great tune for the drums and then both the guitars going and I sing, going for like Pink was doing a Chilli Peppers cover. I’m also spazz dancing as I’m singing because the song just makes me want to dance.

*Magic Man* By Heart which is a great tune though I’m trying to put my own spin on the voice by trying to go a bit more Chrissy Hynde with it to get that kind of an edge to it. Instrumentally it’s great…awesome actually and when I’m not singing I’m dancing. Hell half the time up there I’m just dancing with stuff tonight…most to/with the crowd to keep them worked up.

From Magic man and the songs and the constant rocking out and dancing is winging us down so I move the girls doing up the next tune. How do we do that? All our songs and covers are numbered. I’ve always wanted to sing this one for a crowd for a long time too.

*Dream on.* By Aerosmith…..

“Every time when I look in the mirror”
“All these lines on my face getting clearer”
“The past is gone…”
“It went by, like dusk to dawn”
“Isn't that the way”
“Everybody's got the dues in life to pay…”

The thing is this is one of those songs that everybody knows and they start to sing along when I get to this part…

“I know nobody knows.”
“Where it comes and where it goes”
“I know it's everybody sin”
“You got to lose to know how to win”  

I can’t help but get close right up to the edge of the stage …lean on the microphone stand. The lighters are coming out and people are doing the concert sway.

“Half my life”
“Is books written pages.”
“Live and learn from fools and…”
“From sages.”
“You know it's true, oh…”
“All these things you do come back to you…”

And there’s that build up there of that energy and the crowd joins in with me.

“Sing with me, sing for the years.”
“Sing for the laughter, sing for the tears”
“Sing with me, just for today”
“Maybe tomorrow, the good lord will take you away”

I don’t even sing the next part…I just close my eyes and hold out the microphone stand out over the crowd. They sing the next part…just…

“Yeah, sing with me, sing for the year!”
“Sing for the laughter, sing for the tear!”
“Sing with me, just for today!”
“Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away!”

I sing along with them as we are all into this…sometimes it’s the crowd, the fans that actually make the song, the music.

“Dream on”
“Dream on”
“Dream on”
“Dream until your dreams come true”
“Dream on”
“Dream on”
“Dream on”
“Dream until your dreams come true”
“Dream on”
“Dream on”
“Dream on”
“Dream on”
“Dream on”
“Dream on”
“Dream on”

“Sing with me, sing for the year”
“Sing for the laughter, sing for the tear”
“Sing with me, just for today”
“Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away”
“Sing with me, sing for the year”
“Sing for the laughter, sing for the tear”
“Sing with me, just for today”
“Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away.”

The song fades out and I’m spent. Just drenched in sweat and tired and panting…even if you’re doing covers if you’re really into the music it’s work. I go from where I’m at to actually sitting on the edge of the stage and Mike’s there with out stuff near there so he’s sort of playing body guard too but Rayne and Brooklyn and Kimmie join me sitting there at the edge of the stage and we talk to the people that showed up for our show.

There’s just talking about how good we are and I chime in with. “It’s just as cool if not more so for us. Up there on the stage you can feel all the attention and the focus you all put out and when you all cheer it’s like a wave that hits your skin and charges you right to your soul.”

Mike’s got a camera on us while we’re jawing and getting thanked and talking music stuff wile signing autographs for the crowd. The technical talk does go on for quite a bit and the place is closing around that time or rather late. I mean when was the last time that a small city café closed at midnight.

Mike helps tear down and we help clean up and Raven’s counting the tips and she’s smiling as she’s doing so with the glasses on and looking everything over and handling the tee-shirt sales as well.

Mr. Walker looks at me then over to her. “I thought you were the leader of the band?”

“Nope just a member, the newest one at that and defacto band manager but Raven’s the Chief founding member of the band.”

“Oh it’s just usually I’m and others are dealing with you.”

“Raven is still keeping a day job and the other two are in school.”

“And You’re not?”

“I’m thinking of it? I haven’t decided on whether or not I want to go back to school or to try for my GED then maybe onto other things.”

“Like?”

“Well I’d always wanted to go to college and study music and all the stuff that the real and technical side of it but very recently I’ve been thinking about taking something to do with business.”

“Sounds like a good idea you can do both.”

“What be a business and arts student?”

“Yes actually, if the music is you’re main thing then major in that, I’m recommending the business classes so you’ll actually know what you’re doing.”

I look at him and nod. “I’ll give it some serious thought sir.”

I’m going to really have to give this some thought. I mean I’m really not sure how long this thing with Adam’s going to take to get me free and clear and I know that Dad isn’t too keen on me not being in school and all of that. But the thing is Angel Benton doesn’t really have school records and stuff.

But not right now, not tonight…I’m actually tired and so are the other girls and we’re running on low after the extended show and the rush has worn off. The leftovers from the new menu are set out and we’re eating and the café staff’s eating and the kitchen guys…there’s two are out here with use now and it’s kind of staff…homey in this sort of grown up way?

It’s kind of cool when we’re sort of the youngest here but they’re treating us like we’re in our twenties or so. Raven’s nibbling but counting and recounting and the four of us, the four servers and the two kitchen guys and Mike…the tips come to $23.25 each…then the servers take their tips and set them on the table. I look at the girls and so does Raven.

“Hey, fair’s fair you girls were the draw for the crowd here tonight.”

I look at them. “Not meaning to be trouble but the kitchen guys too, I don’t know if you guys share tips with them?”

Mr. Walker shakes his head no. “No but I have a tip jar at the cash for the kitchen staff.”
He goes and gets it and we redo everything and split the tips equally. Only one girl looks miffed but she’s really hot looking and I hate to be a bitch but she needs to learn how to share. Actually she from the bits I seen last night tended to chat people up more than really work so…having to share two nights of the week might do her some good.

Huh…maybe I’m starting to flex my bitch muscles a bit?

The end result though is almost double the amount from what we had at $44.17 each. Like I said one’s miffed and I think two of the other girls might have made more than that too in their tips but they’re more than happy with it. It’s still decent cash on top of their pay and everyone is happy…everyone wins. I loved the looks of holy shit on the faces of the kitchen guys. They might get some tips but this is a lot more than what they’re used to I think.

There’s a round of goodnights and hugs and Mr. Walker gives us each an envelope with out pays from the two nights. “There’s and extra thirty in there for each of you fot the help and staying and playing. I’ll see you next week girls.”

We’re all smiles and we look in and it’s a check and the thirty is cash. I pull a ten and give it to Mike.

“Hey, what?”

“Gas, and other stuff.”

“Angel, you don’t have to.”

Kimmie, Brooklyn and Raven all take tens and stuff them into his jeans but Brook’s kissing him. “Mmmm…Magic Mike.”

And we’re laughing because he’s blushing like crazy and that’s because of the Channing Tatum movie that’s coming out.

He’s stuttering and trying to fish tens out of his crotch and I’m not lying that there’s part of me that kind is having fun with that power that girls have when they have a guy on the ropes.

We get things packed up pretty fast as we’re getting better at this and we head off for home.

It’s still pretty high spirited fun when we get home and unpacked and everything and get the stuff set up again for the computers and we start posting videos from tonight up on the sites and even that’s getting easier with Mike helping me and us using different sites to upload onto getting stuff up faster with us using different computers.

I get Kimmie to actually do an intro for us and telling them what’s going on in all of this for our fans in Japan. It’s sort of cool that we have some fans there and then we take turns getting showered and coming back to talk a bit to the fans online, even Skyping some with some of the teen night owls.

I find it cool that they find it cool that we’re talking to them unplugged and without our make-up and stuff.

We actually keep it sort of short with us calling it quits and heading to bed about two in the morning and I took the time while the girls were talking to slip into the kitchen and make some BLTT sandwiches for tomorrows lunches.

Oh they’re tuna fish salad with a little bit of chopped celery, onion and chopped bacon I cooked crispy in the microwave, and there’s lettuce and tomato too on homemade bread. I add some cookies, a small baggy of chips and the rest can wait until morning. I make coffee and set the timer, whip up some milk and egg and cinnamon plus re-cut some bread for French toast tomorrow then mix up a thing of frozen OJ for the morning.

I know I’m doing what sounds like a lot but really it’s not that much work.

I should look into getting a bunch of small milks in the house and juices. I mean the junk food they were eating really. I mean dad and I did that for some months but that and eating out got really old really fast.

I give Mike the leftovers from the cabbage rolls to take home.

I’m yawning and stretching when Rayne pulls me down on the couch. “Mmm…it was a good night.”

“Yeah it was…” I kiss her and smile. “We should really get to bed.”

“No rush, I’m taking tomorrow off.”

“What’d your boss say?”

“He’s cool with it I snagged his daughter a tee-shirt.”

“So…I have you all day tomorrow?”

“Yeah…you do.”

She kisses me back and it’s that really hot French stuff she does but deeper and slower and she’s slipping around until she’s on top.

God she’s so beautiful…