I hated going in to work on days when some well known 'rock' band was headlining. Too many little fan girls swooning over man far too old for them. Not that I was some old lady myself, turning twenty in a few weeks, I couldn't stand when jailbait chicks would flaunt themselves in front of men who couldn't touch them even if they wanted to. I looking in the mirror, adjusting my studded denim vest and ruffled my hair a bit before blasting it with hair spray. I analyzed my look in the mirror. Wearing a cropped black shirt tied above my waist to show off my naval ring, cut-off shorts with my ripped sheer black tights that had seen a few too many adventures, and black Vans, I looked like I was heading to some punk rock funeral rather than work. I touched up my deep purple lipstick a bit before heading out and lighting a cigarette while dashing out to my car. I was running late as usual. I was rarely on time for anything.
"Oie! Lonnie!" I called up to my shirtless neighbor who was indulging in an afternoon beer on is balcony.
"Roxy? Shouldn't you be at work? Big night all, ya know." He yelled back down at me.
"Yeah, yeah. I know. But hey, feed Kyrie in a few hours for me?" Kyrie was my pet snake. She was a red tail boa, and the only real friend I had. Lonnie nodded and waved as I jumped in my car and sped off.
"Fuck. Almost half an hour late." I mumbled as I saw the venue pop into my vision as I sped down the road. I was shocked I hadn't gotten fired yet considering I was late nearly every day. If it wasn't for the fact my boss and I bonded one night over some a six pack I probably would be out of work. I whipped my black Camero into its parking spot and ran inside.
"Sorry, Matt. Awful traffic and shit, ya know?" I said hoping I could get off with just one of his sarcastic comments and a stern look. He just stared and raised one eyebrow.
"You're fucking lucky you get a good response from people." He said, referring to the fact I bring in the most revenue for him; from the bar at least. I hugged him and said a quick 'thank you' before heading over to the bar to prepare for the few people actually of drinking age here tonight. I wasn't even sure who the headliners were tonight, but judging by the line that had already begun to form outside, it was going to be a long night. I seriously hoped that I wasn't going to have to work this alone tonight, I wasn't sure how many ignorant band guys and their little fan girls I could take on my own tonight. Often times before the show the band members and their 'ladies of the evening' would stock up on drinks so they wouldn't have to face the crowd later, and I was usually the girl to put up with it. Thank god I saw Lily hopping over to my rescue. Her long brown hair bobbing up and down as she skipped over to the bar. Lily was gorgeous. She was about five-foot-five, petite frame, stunning green eyes and naturally tan skin coming from her Italian background. She wore a plain, white v-neck shirt and acid wash denim shorts with a pair on peach colored heels. Her style never quite fit in here, but it worked nonetheless.
"Scared you were all alone, Roxy doll?" She said, a little smirk spreading over her bubblegum pink lips. I rolled my eyes.
"Did you see the line yet? It's going to be a rough one, Lily." She gave a slight laugh.
"Well, I've got the first shift so you're off the hook for a bit."She said with hint of malice in her voice. Thank fucking God.
I decided it might be a good idea to see what all I could do before my shift to try and make sure I stay on Matt's good side. After wandering around aimlessly for a while I began to hear the first band doing there sound check and figured it might be a good idea to run up to the corner store near the venue and get a pack while I still had time.
"Hey, Matt. I'm going to run up to the store right quick, Lily's got first shift." He grunted and waved me off.
"Get me one of those frozen drink things. The blue one." He spoke as I had already begun to walk away. I shot him a thumbs up and heading on my way. By the time I walked out the door, taking the back exit to avoid the crowd, I could already hear some band member bitching out their tech guy.
"Poor man." I whispered. I knew the guys pain. I had helped out with set up a few times before and boy were the bands super anal about how their shit was done. I was almost half way to the store when I saw a familiar face off in the distance. 'Oh holy shit.' I thought to myself realized who it was and ducked into an ally. It may have been a pretty indirect route to the store but it was better than the awkward situation that would have occurred if I had kept walking. I quickly pulled out my phone to text Lily.
'We've got a problem.' I hit send and jogged the rest of the way to the store. My phone buzzed with a new message.
'Problem? Should I be concerned, Roxy doll?'
'You should know in a few seconds.' I got a blue slushie, a granola bar, and a pack of Marlboro Blacks. The clerk gave me a wink and handed me my stuff. I scoffed and rolled my eyes before walking out. My phone buzzed again.
'Well shit, babe. Good luck with him tonight. Need me to give him a talking to?' I laughed a bit at her reply and told her to just wait till I got back. This really was going to be a rough night, and I still didn't even know who the headliners were. I had a feeling I was going to need a little more than cigarettes to get me through this. Reluctantly, I walked back to the venue. This time I entered through the front, flashing the security guard my laminate. I could feel the glares of the people in line waiting.
"Relax, y'all. Doors open in a few minutes." I called out to them before walking in and I could hear cheers break out in the line causing me to laugh a bit.
"Hey, Roxy. You ready? Tonight's going to be pretty hectic." One of our security guards, Erik, stopped me.
"Uh, I guess so, man. I honestly don't even know who's headlining yet. I'm aware that Woe, is Me is here. Found that one out the hard way." I mumbled that last part. Erik let out a laugh.
"Yeah, I think we've all noticed that one, hon. And heard that story." I rolled my eyes. "Anyways, How do you not know who is headlining? You work here."
"Dunno. Just haven't been informed." I shrugged. Erik pointed to a poster hanging up on the wall.
"Oh shit." The poster had Black Veil Brides written on it in bold leaders followed by the other bands playing tonight.
"Told you tonight is going to be hectic." Erik scoffed before heading outside to help with the lines.
