Another obvious cliffy at the end!
12. More Surprises
The final rehearsal day went off perfectly. The dancers had perfected their steps, the band began and ended exactly on cue and the crew had finished setting up the lights, sound and stage.
"Everything looks perfect," Aunt Alice said on the day before the concert. We had dropped in at the venue to check the statistics, the system, the electronics, the stage and the lighting.
"Sounds perfect, too," Caleb said. "The concert's sold out."
"Holy crap!" I gushed. "How many tickets?"
"About twenty-thousand."
"Wow."
"Enough of this," Aunt Alice said. "You guys have all day and night tomorrow to think about the concert. Today, I don't want any mention of it starting now."
"Oh . . . kay . . ." Caleb and I replied. We just looked at each other and shrugged when Aunt Alice wasn't looking.
For the rest of the day, we went shopping and hung out at my and Caleb's lounges. We had a rocking time trying to beat each other at guitar Hero.
"It's best you get going," Caleb said when it was seven in the evening. "We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."
"Yeah," I replied, standing up. "Goodnight, Cale."
"Goodnight, Ness," he replied. "You too, Alice."
"Thanks a lot," Aunt Alice replied. "It was nice hanging out with you."
Aunt Alice drove us home in dad's Volvo. I challenged Uncle Jazz and Uncle Em to Guitar Hero at home.
"Renesmee, bed," Dad said at three in the morning.
"Already?" I moaned.
"Tomorrow's a big day. Well later's a more accurate term, but you know what I mean. You need your rest." He gripped my shoulders tight and pushed me to my bedroom. He hooked my old mp3 player (the one I got on my first Christmas) up to the speaker system in my room and played my lullaby.
When I woke up, Mom, Dad and I went to the venue to check for any problems. Aunt Alice had taken everyone shopping for the after-party.
The day passed uneventfully. Then at four in the afternoon, we all arrived at the venue for sound check.
After sound check was the very last rehearsal while Aunt Alice checked if my wardrobe was in tip-top shape. Then finally, time for hair and make-up.
"You look absolutely fabulous!" mom gushed when they finished dressing me up. Again, there was no need for any make-up.
"Of course I do," I replied. "What do you expect from the joined forces of you, Aunt Alice and Aunt Rose?" I had to wear some sort of schoolgirl uniform for the entrance.
"Nessie, it's time," Cale announced. We hurried under the staged and I put myself on the platform. Everyone had been talking at once outside, but suddenly it all went quiet. I heard the smoke being puffed from above me. Then the platform began to rise slowly. I began playing the piano.
"I'm just a little bit caught in the middle
Life is a maze, and love is a riddle
I can't do it alone, I've tried
And I don't know why
"Slow it down, make it stop
Or else my heart is going to pop
Coz it's too much, yeah it's a lot
To be something I'm not
I began walking down the stage to the center. A giant box (with my change of clothes) was beginning to rise slowly.
"I'm a fool, out of love
And I just can't get enough
The box closed around me completely and I began changing. I was done in five seconds and the box began sinking. I heard the crowd screech as they saw me.
"You guys ready to rock it?" I asked the crowd. They responded with loud applause and much shrieking.
"Are you overloaded
Candy coated
Your life's imploding now
"There's a risk worth taking
A pain worth aching
On this hollow ground
"We can!" the crowd replied when I held out the microphone.
"Let go
Don't hold on to all of life's hardest parts
When we think of stopping
Let's keep on rocking
To the rhythm of our hearts
"We can, we can
Break out of here
Jump on over there where the air is clearer
We can, we can
Forget the pace
Win in our own race
Become a broken chain, yeah
We are broken chains
Good and broken
I continued to sing remembering that night at prom. There was so much energy in here that I want to give them more.
"Get off your seat, pull your feet
Raise your hands, feel the beat
Let it go, lose control
Feel it in your soul
Don't you know what you can do
If you have faith in you
Let's not be invisible
There's no red light in life just go!
Once again, I held out the microphone and they began singing the chorus to me.
"We can, we can forget the pace
Win in our own race
Become a broken chain, yeah
We are broken chains, yeah
Good and broken, yeah
"We can, we can, we can, we can, we can
Good and broken
The crowd cheered madly and waved their banners. Wow, this was crazy.
"Good evening!" I greeted. They cheered for another solid meaning. "Wow, thanks for coming."
They still hadn't calmed down enough.
"Wow, thank you!" I said when they were finally quiet. "Thank you all so much for coming and also, thanks for all the webmasters who created those awesome sites—" I was cut off by more cheering "Wow, that's fantastic and uh, well, enjoy the show!" More shrieking.
I sang a couple more songs before taking a really short break.
Jacob was calling.
"Hey, nice show so far," he said.
"Did Dad hook you up via satellite?"
"Doesn't matter. By the way, I like how your hair looks like tonight. And I can't believe they let you wear that shirt that buttons down on the back."
"Well, it's all part of—hang on, how can you see the actual style of my hair? And how did you know about my shirt?"
"Just turn around, will you?"
He said the sentence as if he was whispering in my ear and I could feel the warmth of his breath on my neck.
Guess who? Haha, no need :)