Concert Anyone?

Ike was sitting in the kitchen, counting up all the money he had saved up for the last four months. It was a lot of his salaries from working at the library, and doing other odd jobs for the people of South Park. He had a total of five thousand dollars. He was rich! … Well…, okay, he wasn't rich, but he had enough to enjoy himself at the concert he and Fillmore were going to. They just needed someone that was not a minor. Sixteen year olds would never be able to go on their own to any event that was not in South Park. Especially if they had a mom named Sheila Broflovski. Kyle was away at NYU, and so he had trouble coming up with the right person that would want to take them to this concert. He got a text message from Fillmore just as he was about to give up. It had only one name.

Kenny.

"That's it!" Ike shouted at the top of his lungs, making his mother drop a set of knives in the kitchen.

"What aw you screaming about, bubby!?" she asked bitterly as she came into the dining room.

"Mom, you know how you said I could go to the Damian Marley concert—"

"—Only if you had an adult with you!" she interrupted.

"Mom, that's just it, I do." Ike said as he stood up. "Kenny can go with us." He explained.

"Kenny? McCormick? Absolutely not, bubula!" she shouted.

"Mom, you said an adult!" Ike whined.

"I meant a competent and civilized adult." She explained. "Kenny isn't exactly that, bubby, and you know it." She sighed. "I'm sorry, Ike. Yuh just going to have to wait until he comes around next time. Maybe yuh dad or I will have the time to take you. Right now is just not the time, bubby." She sighed as she came forward and hugged a disappointed Ike.

"Mom, please. I have worked, so, hard to get the money to go. I really, want to go see him perform in Denver. I will do all my chores with no fuss for the next…, however long it takes. Kenny will take care of us, mom. Fillmore and I really want to go. Please." He moaned.

His cell phone started to ring. He looked at his mom.

"Let me think about it, Bubby. I really need time to think." She said bitterly.

He nodded, and took the stairs two at a time as he called Fillmore, who had been trying to get ahold of him when he was talking to his mom. He got an answer on the second ring.

"Hey, bro." said Ike softly. "What's the word?" he asked.

"Kenny McCormick isn't very well liked in South Park, is he?" Fillmore asked sadly.

"No. not really." Ike muttered as he closed his door and sat on his bed.

"Why? I have a lot of pictures that say otherwise from past Christmas pageants." Fillmore said bitterly.

"Let me guess…, your mom said no." Ike guessed. "The reason she said no, is because you told her you were going with Kenny?" he asked.

"Yes." Fillmore said bitterly. "That's exactly it. My mom wouldn't hear it, and my dad agreed. He said he couldn't take us because he had work to do." Fillmore muttered.

"I have an idea…," Ike whispered. "…Let's sneak out." He proposed.

"I can borrow my mom's extra car." Fillmore said softly. "We both have driver's licenses, and we're both honor students." He explained. "Let's do it?" he asked.

"Okay. I'll meet you at Jim's Drugs down the street." Ike proposed.

"What are we going to do about our parents?" Fillmore asked hopefully.

"We're going to see a movie." Ike explained. "We are going to see a double feature, and will be home around two in the morning."

"Let's do it." Fillmore said determinedly. "Meet you in an hour. I gotta get ready to go." He explained.

"Bye." Ike said as he hung up the phone.

He walked down to the kitchen very confidently. This was so going to work. There was no way anything could go wrong.

"I love you, son." Sheila said as she hugged him when they ran into each other in the kitchen. "I am so sorry I can't let you go to that consuht." She sighed sadly. "It's just too long a trip, dawling, and I don't trust the streets." She said sadly. "If yuh brother was heuh, things would be different." She mused.

"It's all right, ma. I'm just going to go hang out with Fillmore at the mall, and at around nine we're going to catch a double feature." Ike explained. "So, if you try to call me and my phone's off after ten it's because of the fact that I am at the theatre." He said softly.

"All right, Bubby." She said softly. "Want any dinnuh?" she asked.

"No. I'm saving my appetite for the movie food. I am going to saturate my system with movie theatre nachos, hot dogs, and slushies." He said gleefully. "Even an honor student has the right to partay!" he said grinning.

"I love you, son. Be safe." She said as she hugged him again.

An hour later, Fillmore and Ike were in Fillmore's mother's extra car, headed to Denver. They were headed to the gas station to fill up. When they got there, They waited until their tank was full, and Ike drove them to a different parking spot.

"What are you doing?" Fillmore asked. "I want to get there for early seating." He said breathlessly.

"We have to go over our check list if we want to be responsible." Ike said as he took out his backpack. "I'll take care of the items we need, and you can be treasurer." He ordered.

"Cool!" Fillmore shouted as Ike gave him the money. "Together we have…," he paused for a while as he counted up the bills. "…Nine thousand dollars!" shouted Fillmore as he put the money into a wallet. He put his wallet into his inside pocket of his jacket. "What's in the backpack?" he asked.

"I have a couple of refillable water bottles," Ike said as he looked through all his stuff. "Some pairs of gloves in case we get cold, a couple plastic bags for food, a roll of paper towels, (We need napkins, you know.), a flash light, and a first aid kit." He said as he took out the first aid kit. He opened it, and made sure everything was there. "We are on a roll, my amigo!" he shouted as they high fived. "Oh, and I have the maps." He said as he reached under the seat, and pulled out an atlas.

"Dude, we're just going to Denver." Fillmore said as he eyed the atlas. "We really don't need all that mapping." He explained.

"I don't want to get us lost." Ike said as he rubbed his hands. "This is our first concert, and I don't want to get anything wrong." Ike explained.

They started up the car, and drove off. Ike turned the music on and started playing some Bob Marley. They were singing and having a blast. Everything was absolutely marvelous.

"Hey, Ike, weren't we supposed to be there by now?" Fillmore asked as he looked at the clock. "At this rate, we won't get good seats." He moaned.

"Don't worry." Ike said as he drove on. "We are so close. I can tell. I've been reading the signs." He said as he turned left.

Twenty minutes later, they stopped at a gas station to get more fuel. They asked for directions to the stadium, and were told where to go. At least they had directions.

"I hope we don't get lost." Ike muttered as he drove off.

"I think we're lost." Fillmore said thirty minutes later, as he tried to make out where they were. He hoped they got there on time.

"The one time I win tickets from a radio station, and we have to get lost." Ike muttered as he tried to think. "Hey! There's a doughnut shop there." He smiled as he drove into a parking spot. "I'll be right back." He said as he turned the engine off and got out of the car.

He slammed the door shut, and went inside. He was getting ready to go up to the lady and talk to her, when he heard the jingle of bells and the door opened again. Fillmore was right behind him.

"What are you doing here?" Ike moaned.

"I want a doughnut." Fillmore complained. "Chill."

"Who's watching the car?" Ike moaned as he started to panic.

"Hello, kid?" the lady was waving at him. He sighed as he stepped up to the counter. "How may I help you two?" she asked.

Fillmore got his doughnut, and Ike asked the lady where to go from here to get to the stadium. They got the food, and the directions. Ike took the paper she gave him, and they both left.

"Hey!" shouted Ike as he faced an empty parking space. "What the fuck happened to our car?" he asked.

"I'm looking for it. Don't worry." Fillmore said as he bit into his food. "It was right by the dumpster."

"It's not there anymore!" Ike screamed.

"It is too." Fillmore said as he finally looked up from his food. "See, there's the bike rack, the tree, the dumps—" He stopped. "Uh oh." He muttered.

"Why the hell did you get out of the car?!" Ike yelled at the top of his lungs. "I was going to get directions, you could've told me you wanted a doughnut!" he shouted.

"I didn't know they would take our car!" shouted Fillmore as he tossed his napkin and parchment paper into the garbage. "I had no clue what was about to happen!"

"You have the keys with you?" asked Ike knowing the answer.

"No." Fillmore said softly.

"You left the keys in the ignition?" Ike asked as he punched the side of the building. "Fillmore, you are the top of our class! How could you do this to me?" Ike asked bitterly.

"Is everything all right?" asked the lady who had just helped them out in the shop.

"No!" Ike shouted as Fillmore hung his head. "This idiot whack job left the keys in the ignition, and we just lost our car!" he screamed. "The only reason we didn't lose our money was because you wanted a doughnut!" he shouted as he advanced on Fillmore. "The lucky reason we didn't lose all the maps and my backpack, is because I was smart enough to take it with me!" he shouted. "How do you get dressed in the morning?" he shrieked.

"Calm down, son." The lady said bitterly. "Let's go back inside, and report the car to the police." She said as she led them inside.

"We can't do that." Ike said as Fillmore nodded.

"We have to. It's a car." Fillmore said gasping for air. "It's my mom's car, I have to report it stolen."

"I'll handle this from here." Ike said as he found a table with Fillmore.

"Are you sure?" she asked as she watched them sit down.

"Yes. Thanks for your help." Ike said waving her away.

"Ike, she was going to help us report the car missing." Fillmore said as tears filled his eyes.

"Do you want to report the car missing?" asked Ike as he thought for a moment. "The car will be reported missing, and your mom will be notified. Our location will be given away, and we won't be able to go to the concert. Let's just wait—"

"—The concert?" Fillmore squealed. "You think I want to go to the concert after my mother's car got stolen?" he asked.

"Fillmore, look. I know how you must be feeling right about now." Ike said as he laid a hand on his friend's shoulder. "But think about it. If we go back now, we won't ever get to experience a Marley concert. Dude, we have tickets, a bus system, and we aren't hurt. We can make it back to the mall, report the car stolen after the concert, and call my dad to come get us." He said softly. "Everything can still work out."

"I don't know, Ike, I really think we should call home and let them know we're in trouble." Fillmore explained.

"Come on, Fillmore." Ike whined. "We made it this far. Don't you want to have the last fun we'll ever have before we get grounded for all the rules we just broke?" he asked softly. "Think about it. We'll confess, and we won't get anything short of grounded for the rest of our lives."

"I guess you're right." Fillmore muttered softly. "We broke all the rules, we might as well get all the stuff we came out here for." He muttered. "Thanks, Ike. I almost ruined the whole night for us." He said grinning.

It was about nine fifteen. They needed to get to the stadium. The concert started at eleven. They got help with the bus system, and got on the right track. They would be at the stadium in no time.

"It's a zoo over here!" Ike shouted as they held hands. They didn't want to get separated.

"How are we going to find our seats?" asked Fillmore.

"Let's just try to blend in, and maybe some herd of people will lead us in the right direction." Ike said as he pulled Fillmore into him as a wave of screaming girls came thundering by. "I think I got sweat in my eye, and it's not mine!" Ike yelled as he tried to clean his face.

"It's gross here!" shouted Fillmore as he pressed up against his best friend.

They wandered around for what felt like forever. Soon, the opening act was starting. It was a local band that played reggae. It wasn't so interesting, but they needed to get to their seats soon.

Ike felt someone tap his shoulder. He jumped, and turned around, holding Fillmore tight in his right arm.

"Kid, do you both have tickets?" asked a lady in a uniform. "We are sold out at the door, and if you don't have tickets, you have to come with me." She explained. Her name tag said Natalie Schwartz.

Ike took his ticket out, and showed it to her. Fillmore took his ticket out as well. She looked at them, and nodded in approval. "You guys have fun." she said as she left.

"Wait!" they both shouted. But it was too late. She was gone in the crowd.

"Lame!" Ike shouted bitterly. "She could've helped us!"

"Don't worry!" shouted Fillmore as he looked around. "Someone will be able to guide us in the right direction."

They were lost for the next hour. Three times they came very close to being separated. It was kind of scary.

"And now! For your listening pleasure! Damian…, Marley!" the man on the stage shouted.

"Shit!" Ike yelled as someone stepped on his foot. "watch where you're going, bastard!" he shouted.

"Ike, we're missing it!" Fillmore screamed.

"Don't you think I don't know that, egg head?" Ike moaned. "I don't know what to do! We can't find our seats!" he shouted.

"You guys need help finding your seats?" asked a burly man as he came walking over to them.

"Yes!" Ike and Fillmore shouted as he made his way to them through a line of people.

"Let me see your tickets, and I can show you where to go!" he shouted.

"Thank you!" Fillmore shouted as he and Ike handed over their tickets.

"Thank you!" the man shouted as he ran off.

"Hey!" shouted Ike as they tried to catch up with him. He was lost in the crowd.

"Fucking shit!" Fillmore shouted as he burst into tears. "That's it, Isaac! I don't know what the hell I'm even doing over here, we have to get out of here!" he shrieked. "This is the worst day of my life. We lose the car, we lose the beginning of the show, and now we lost our tickets!" he stamped his foot.

"It's going to be okay, Fillmore!" Ike shouted as he hugged his friend. "Let's just chill and go look around for Merchandise, and hope no one asks us for our tickets." He advised. "We won't get to see much of the concert, but at least, we're in the same stadium as Damian." He explained.

"Hey, you two!" shouted a man.

"Uh oh." Ike muttered even though no one heard him through all the noise.

The man motioned them to a clear spot away from all the crowds. He looked kind of angry.

"May I see your tickets please!?" he asked.

Fillmore and Ike started talking to him all at once. He raised a hand up to silence them. "No tickets, no entry. If you can't produce the tickets, I'm going to have to ask you to leave, or call security." He explained.

"Sir," Ike said bitterly. "We had tickets."

"Yeah. Yeah. Let me guess, you left them at home? Or maybe, your dog ate them? Or your mother is bringing them in a half hour? Or, your boa constrictor ate them? I've heard all kinds of excuses, boys." He explained bitterly. "Am I gonna have to call security?"

"No." said Ike as he heard Fillmore start to cry beside him. "We'll go." He muttered. "It's kind of cold out there, so can you just wait until we get someone to pick us up?" he asked softly.

"You either go now, without a fight, or I'll call the security to escort you out of here."

"Call security!" Ike shouted as he grew bolder. "I have been through the worst experience, trying to see Damian Marley perform. My car got stolen, my tickets got stolen, my mom thinks I'm in South Park at a movie, and I'm going to get grounded when I get back home!" he shouted as he stood there looking the man in the eye. "I won't have it! I am here to see Damien Marley, and I will see him, god dammit!" he exclaimed.

"Well, then, security it is." the man said as he pulled out a pair of hand cuffs.

Before they knew it, Ike and Fillmore were hand cuffed, and sitting in chairs. The man walked out to get security. Fillmore was sobbing in his seat. He didn't even look at Ike as they both sat there. Soon, they both fell asleep. Going to a concert was exhausting.

Ike felt someone shaking him by the shoulder. He opened his eyes, and looked up. It was a familiar lady. He smiled sleepily at her.

"I've seen these two. They showed me there tickets at the door." She said bitterly looking at the man who had dragged her in here. "What happened here?" she asked.

Fillmore was crying again, and Ike had to explain the story to her. She smiled as she looked directly at the man who had pulled them to the side of the stadium.

"He's right. I caught the boy vandalizing one of the stadium walls." She said smiling softly. "I caught him trying to sneak in some friends. He had a total of eighteen tickets, but no receipts or proof where he got them. It's easier to believe that you bought two tickets, than to believe you bought eighteen." She said sighing. "Unfortunately, since I am the only working security guard, it took Walter here, a little over two hours to come get me. So the concert is three fourths of the way over." She explained.

"Lame." Ike muttered.

"I just want to go home." Fillmore sobbed. "This was the worst trip ever, and I am going to get in so much trouble." He was renewed with more sobs.

"Where are you two from?" Walter asked calmly.

"South Park." They both muttered.

"Well, if you both wait here, for a bit, I'll take you home." He said softly.

"Thanks." Ike muttered.

"Are you sure you don't want to go see the rest of the concert?" Natalie asked.

"Nah." Ike muttered softly. "I just want to sleep." He explained. "I am tired of all this."

Sheila was sobbing as she paced the living room. She had called her son, her son's friend, the theatre, and no one was there. The boys had lied. Had they gone to the concert? She didn't know. Had they been hurt? She didn't know. She called Karol, and Kenny was sitting in his room moping, because he couldn't afford to go to the concert. So he hadn't gone with them. She felt so horrible. The phone rang. She answered it on the second ring.

"Hello?" she sobbed.

"Sheila?" It was Fillmore's mother. She too had a weepy voice. "I just got a call from the police. My car was found in Boulder, on the side of a road, completely stripped. No sign of the boys." She sobbed. "I don't know what to do."

The time passed by very slowly for the families. No sign of the boys. They would've gone to search for them, but they didn't even know where to begin searching. SO they had no choice but to stay put. The phone rang again.

"Are you there, mom?" It was Ike.

"Hello?" she asked through a sob. "Wheh aw you?" she sobbed.

"I'm at the Damian Marley concert, and I'll be home in three hours. Around three in the morning. One of the security guards is giving me and Fillmore a ride home." He explained.

Sheila hung up the phone. She was crying as she walked up stairs. She just had it with her son. When he got here, he would pay.

Ike and Fillmore opened the door, and walked into Ike's house. The living room was empty, and Ike was a little afraid. He had tipped the guard for bringing them home. He was afraid his mother was going to sneak up on him. The house was quiet, and the lights were all on. He wondered where they all were.

"Hey, Ike, there's a note on the coffee table for you." Fillmore muttered as he walked into the living room and stared at the table.

Ike put down his bag. He sighed.

"I'm so tired. And I smell like…, concert." He moaned.

He picked up the note. "I have a voice message. Hmm. It'll have to wait 'til tomorrow." He muttered.

"I have a voice message." Fillmore muttered. "I think it's my mom, going to yell at me." He predicted.

"I wonder if it's Kyle?" Ike said as he saw the answering machine blinking. "Are you going to see what your mom said?" he asked.

"Nah. Let's see what you have?" Fillmore suggested.

Ike and Fillmore walked into the kitchen and Ike pushed the button. There was crinkling of paper, and some bodies shuffling around, and finally, the voice spoke.

"Isaac, this is your father. I am tired. Your mother is tired. What you did, was tired. I just want you to know, Isaac, that you are going to be grounded, until your ears grow hair. You are going to be grounded, Isaac, because we are so angry. In fact, we are so angry, Isaac, that we are going to call Kyle, and ground him, too, because there's so much extra grounding left over from your grounding. We can't ground you enough. We will discuss this in the morning. No, wait. We will discuss this, … sometime tomorrow, when you are awake, and able to come out to us. I'm sure after all that partying you did, you won't want to be awake in the morning. Goodbye, son." Said Gerald as he shuffled some more things. The phone clicked off, and the voice mail ended.

"Oh…, man." Ike muttered. "Oh…, man."

"My turn." Fillmore muttered as he looked down at his cell phone.

He dialed his cell phone and it rang. He put the phone on speaker, and the voice mail came through.

"Hello, Fillmore. This is your father speaking." Said a male on the other line. "I am not going to go get you from the Broflovski house. If you want to come home, son, because you feel the need to disturb your mother and I, you can walk home. You went to a concert. You know what it's like to be unsafe, and fend off all the fiends. You can make it home, all by yourself. Your mother is so upset, she refuses to speak to you, and I am getting very tired. I am going to sleep. We will discuss this in the morning, and see where the hell would be a good place to send you, and what punishment would suit you. Good night, Fillmore. I hope you sleep well. Oh, and get plenty of sleep, son, because that's the last bit of good sleep you'll get before I send your ass to military school." He explained. "Goodnight, Fillmore." He said as he hung up the phone.

"Shit." Ike and Fillmore said at the same time.

"Do you think he really would send you to Military school?" Ike asked softly.

"I don't know." Fillmore muttered. "I just don't know."

"You want to stay tonight?" Ike asked bitterly.

"Naw. I think I'm going to call Kenny. I'll have him drive me home. There's no way I'm walking." He muttered softly.

"Well, I'll wait here with you." Ike muttered softly.

"Thanks, Ike."

It was four fifteen by the time Kenny came and got Fillmore and took him home. Ike walked up the stairs, and went into his room. He took off all his clothing, and tossed it into the hamper. He put on his robe, and went into the bathroom, and took his shower. It was five fourteen when he finally pulled the covers over his head, and closed his eyes to go to sleep.

When he awoke next, it was one fifteen in the afternoon. He picked up his cell phone from the night stand, and looked at the screen. No text from Fillmore, and no missed calls. He sighed as he put it back. He put his legs over the side of his bed, and stretched. He got up, and put on his shoes without bothering to get dressed. He was in for it, he just knew it. He was totally in for it.

"Hello, Isaac." Gerald said softly as he walked into the kitchen.

"Where's mom." Ike asked softly.

"Making lunch, Isaac." She said from the other side of the kitchen.

"We're glad you're awake." Gerald said bitterly.

"Uh…, thanks." Ike muttered as he poured himself a glass of Orange Juice. "What's for lunch?" he asked.

"I am making a stir fry." Sheila said from the stove. "There's honey cake for dessert." She explained.

They all ate in silence. You could hear a pen drop in the kitchen as they ate. Ike had no clue what he was supposed to do. He was sweating, and he could feel it. He got done with his meal, and washed his dishes. He felt like he couldn't even finish his dessert. He wanted to cry.

"Can you just say what you have to say, already!?" Ike shouted as he started to cry. "The suspense is killing me!" he shrieked.

"What can we say, Ike?" Gerald asked softly.

"Punish me! Shout at me! Do something!" he shouted.

"We are very disappointed in you." He said as he got up and put his dishes in the sink. He turned around and left. Ike looked over at his mom.

"There is nothing to say, Isaac." She said as she turned away from him and started washing the dishes left in the sink.

Ike felt so terrible. He wiped tears from his eyes, and swallowed. "Mom, it's better if you just yell at me!" he moaned. "It sucks to see you disappointed! When you yell, at least, it's better. I know I'm going to be grounded, or you'll cry, or something!" he moaned. "But this is fucking crazy!"

"You don't care, Isaac." Sheila said bitterly as she turned around. "You don't care. You didn't care that you were lying to me, and yuh fathuh. You didn't care that you wuh breaking a million rules. Isaac, we set rules fuh you to follow, becaws we care about you. About yuh safety, and yuh wellbeing. We don't do it to punish you, or to make you miserable." She said as she stared at him. "You don't care. You didn't care that Fillmore's mothuh's caw got stolen. No! You just went on with yuh lives like nothing. You didn't even report the caw missing, did yuh, Isaac? No. You didn't care what I went through, and if I was woyied, or not. You didn't care." She said bitterly. "You wuh off having the time of yuh life."

"Mom!" Ike said through the tears. "I didn't have the time of my life! I got lost on my way through to Denver, I had to stop and ask for directions. I got the car stolen, and I got our tickets stolen too." He relayed the story of the tickets to his mother. "By the time we had a chance to see the concert, we were so sleepy, we didn't care anymore! Mom, before you say anything, I just want to say this. All that time, I felt guilty. So there's that which spoiled my concert time. Then all this stuff started happening to me! I hated it! I hated it! I hated it! We didn't have fun, at all! And the only reason I snuck out in the first place, was because you wouldn't let me go with Kenny! Mom, I won those tickets in a contest on the radio! You didn't make time to go with me, dad didn't make time to go with me, and I came up with a good solution, and you said no! Kenny isn't a bad boy! If you remember properly, Kenny was the boy all the South Park Mothers would bend over backwards to feed!" Ike shouted.

"When you aw small, you make good choices, Isaac!" she shouted. "Kenny grew up, and none of his choices aw good. None!"

"Why?" Ike asked as more tears fell from his face. "Because he doesn't go to college? Because he works at Jim's Drugs, and doesn't have a better job? Mom, he's not my dad! He's not a lawyer, and he's not a doctor! He's not Kyle! Just because someone makes shitty choices, it doesn't mean you can't trust them. And don't tell me to watch my language, because I have to say what's on my mind! I gave you a choice! What was I supposed to do, just let those tickets go to waste? I was going with Fillmore and Kenny! Not Fillmore and Cartman! Or Bebe! Mom, we would've been fine! But I had to sneak out, because I thought I would have fun. So there. Punish me if you have to, I did what I wanted, and learned, It wasn't so great after all. I just hope Damian Marley comes back around when I'm over twenty-one, so I can actually go see him." He muttered. "I worked my ass off for all that money, and so did Fillmore. I thought, maybe once, I could have something nice." He muttered.

"Ike, why the hell didn't you just say that in the first place?" Gerald asked bitterly.

"Becaws I was too carried away with being his mothuh, to let him gathuh his thawts like he just did, Gehold." Sheila said bitterly. "I'm glad nothing happened to you, Bubby. I am very sorry." She muttered.

"Next time you have a solution for us, when your mother and I can't do something with you," Gerald said softly. "We will try to take it into consideration, and see if we can make it happen." He said softly.

"So, I'm not grounded?" Ike asked softly.

"No." they both said sighing. "Yuh not grounded." Sheila finished sadly.

"Thank you." Ike said as he hugged both his parents.

Fillmore texted him fifteen minutes later, and told him he wasn't grounded either. Ike felt better about this. He hadn't gotten to see Damian Marley, but he had gotten to be in the same room with him. Ike could deal with that. His clothing from yesterday still smelled like "concert" to prove it. He had an okay time. And, he was alive.