Simon rushed from the stage and toward the exit. He saw that a tall man wearing black was standing by the door.
"Are you Tony?"
"You Simon?"
"Yes. Here's what you need."
Simon handed the man a hundred dollar bill. A few seconds later the man handed Simon a brown pouch, which he quickly hid under his shirt.
"You're a lifesaver. Thank you."
"I'll always have what you need, Simon."
He then went back inside and proceeded to get changed into his street clothes. Alvin looked over and thought he had saw something, but dismissed it.
"Why did you take off so fast like that, Simon?"
"I had to use the bathroom. Really bad."
"You know we have toilets backstage, right? You don't have to go outside."
"Sorry."
"It's okay, Si. Let's get back on the bus."
While his brothers were busy getting changed, Simon ran back outside and onto the bus. He removed the pouch from under his shirt and held it in front of him.
"Ah yes…. The sweet stuff. Thank you!"
He placed a bit of the material into a tiny pipe and inhaled.
"Oh yeah…. Take me away…."
Simon then heard the bus door open, causing him to extinguish the pipe and hide everything under his bed. Theodore pulled back the curtain and stared at Simon.
"Are you okay? Jeanette is really worried."
"I'm fine, Theo. I'm feeling just fine! Tell Jeanette not to worry."
"Okay."
Simon wiped away a dab of sweat from his brow as Theodore closed the curtain. A few seconds later, Jeanette opened it and sat down next to him. She could smell something odd, but said nothing.
"Hi…hello beautiful." Simon uttered in a monotone voice.
"Hi. Are you okay? You seem like you're out of it."
"I'm fine. I love you!"
Jeanette kissed him on the cheek before jumping from his bed and heading toward her own. As the night wore on, Simon sat up in his bed, patiently waiting for everyone to fall asleep. Once all of the lights were off, he tiptoed from the bed and headed toward the cabinets.
"Come on… Where is it? I know Dave keeps them in here somewhere. Aha! Bingo!"
Simon spotted the small bottles of wine that were normally kept in the fridge and locked. He grabbed one and retreated to his bed. Simon drank the entire bottle just as he saw his brother's light turn on.
"Shit…. How do I hide this?"
He tucked the bottle under his sheets and laid down, hoping to fool his brothers.
"Simon? Is that you? I heard some noise."
"He he….. No, it was a ghost. Boo!" Simon laughed as his curtain was pulled back.
"Simon Seville! I'm ashamed of you…"