37. Chapter 37
Chapter 37
Sloane
I 'm so grateful that Tameka decides to come to Atlanta anyway and brings her friend Ray with her. "Hey honey," she says as she pulls me into hug when I meet them on my driveway. "We're so sorry about tonight."
As we head inside, I say, "I sold the tickets to Miranda, so at least she’ll get to enjoy the show." We walk into the family room, and I look at Tameka, then Ray. "Thanks so much for coming here anyway." My shoulders sag, and I lead them over to the sofas feeling like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh .
"Of course," Tameka says, and Ray nods.
We sit down, and I tell them, "I've ordered a pizza, it should be here soon."
As we're catching up, Bryn comes downstairs and pulls out plates from a cabinet for the pizza. She knows I'm still mad at her and is trying to do nice things to make amends, but I'm still so aggravated about the whole thing. Once the pizza arrives, she joins us in the family room, and you could cut the tension with a knife.
"Evan Dando was on 99X today," I say to Tameka and Ray, referring to the lead singer and guitarist of The Lemonheads. "He sounded so sweet and even gave out his hotel and room number on the air! Can you believe that?"
"What? That's crazy," Ray says.
"I know," I agree. "He said if anyone wanted to come by and say hi, to come to his hotel. It would be so cool to go down there."
"Why don't we?" Ray says.
"Yeah, why not?" Tameka adds. "It's not like we have anything else to do."
I huff out a laugh. "Because we have to stay here with Bryn, remember. It's the reason why we're missing the concert."
Ray looks at Bryn. "Do you want to come with us?"
Bryn's eyes light up. "Sure!" she says eagerly.
"Guys that's not gonna work," I say.
"Why not?" Ray asks honestly.
"Because, I don't want her to freak out if something happens," I reply. "We could potentially meet Evan Dando. We have to be cool."
Tameka looks at Bryn. "Will you be cool?"
Bryn nods. "Yeah. I promise."
I give her a serious look.
"Sloane, I promise," she assures me.
"Let's do it," Ray says.
I inhale deeply and look to Tameka for her opinion. "Yeah, let's go. She said she'll be cool. We should go."
I feel a flutter of excitement in my chest. "Okay, let's do it!"
We eat our pizza and strategize about when to leave and what to do when we get there. We try to figure out what time the show should end and when we should head into town. I can't believe we're doing this, but we might get to meet Evan Dando!
***
We have so much time to kill after we eat, and we can only sit around the house for so long. We tried watching a movie to pass the time, but since the show won't be over for a while, we have so much time. We decide to pile into Ray's car and head to Little Five, the quirky, artsy neighborhood known for its eclectic collection of shops, restaurants, and clubs. Since it's late and the shops are closed, we don't spend long there. We make a pass by the Masquerade, and it appears the concert is still going, so we decide to go to the Hard Rock Café to get some food. We have to wait a while for a table and by the time we eat, it's after 12:30 a.m., and we head to the Masquerade again to see if the show is over. Finally, the club is emptying out, and we take the scenic drive to the hotel which is on Peachtree Street in Midtown. Ray parks his big, old, noisy car in the parking lot, and we head inside. Surprisingly, Bryn has been cool so far. I think she’s enjoying this adventure like the time she snuck out with Tameka and me last summer. We rode around with two seniors from the DHS baseball team that Tameka was friends with. We listened to "The Humpty Dance" over and over and Bryn thought it was so much fun. I realize she wants to feel included just like I do.
As we walk into the lobby, I notice how tiny it is, and quickly realize there is no way we can hang around there until Evan Dando arrives. We'd surely be kicked out for loitering. So, I say, "Let's go upstairs to meet them," acting like we're supposed to be there in case the lady at the front desk can hear us.
We walk to the elevators, press the up arrow, and wait. My heart is beating fast, and I hope no one says anything to us. The elevator dings, the doors open, and we get on.
"What floor?" Ray asks.
"Ten, I guess. He said room 1018," I say, and Ray presses the button.
I look at my friends. "The lobby felt too small to wait in. Let's just go to the room and see if he's there. If not, we'll figure something out."
When the elevator arrives at the tenth floor, we walk out into the dimly lit and quiet corridor. Ray looks at the number signs and motions for us to follow him toward room 1018. When we get there, he looks at me and says quietly, "Okay, showtime."
"Me?" I whisper.
He nods. "Yeah, you're the biggest fan."
I inhale a deep breath and let it out slowly to calm my nerves. I lightly knock on the door, and we wait. And wait. I look at my friends, "I don't think he's here yet."
"Or he's already asleep," Bryn says.
Tameka laughs. "He’s a rock star, I don't think he's sleeping." She moves to the door and puts her ear up to it. "It sounds like the message bell is ringing on the phone," she says as she steps back. "He probably hasn't come back yet."
"Where should we wait?" Ray asks.
"Maybe the stairwell?" Tameka suggests.
"Good idea," I say. "We can't just hang out in the hallway."
As we're walking to the stairwell to the left of the room, I see a door a few paces down on our right. "What's this?" I whisper.
We push open the door and realize that it's the service elevator bay. "Why don't we wait in here?" I suggest. "It's closer to the room, that way we can try to listen and see if anyone comes by."
My friends and sister nod in agreement. We walk into the service elevator bay and wait. There are two chairs and a large trash can. My stomach is a ball of nerves as we wait because I don't want to get caught and get in trouble. Thankfully, it's late and so far, no one is using the service elevator, so that's good. We chat in whispers while we wait.
"I wonder how long we'll have to hang out in here?" I say.
"Hopefully not too long," Bryn says. “I’m getting tired.”
"Who knows," Tameka says. "At least Ray thought to drive by the club, so we know the concert is over."
After about ten to fifteen minutes, we hear voices in the hallway.
"It sounds like a man and some women," Ray says.
"I think I heard someone ask for an autograph," Bryn says.
"Maybe it's him," I whisper as I sit up straight and feel my eyes go wide. Adrenaline courses through me.
"Let's wait a minute and then go see," Tameka says. "If it's not him, we don't want to get in trouble."
Once the hallway gets quiet again, we decide to make our move. Ray opens the door and peers into the hallway. "The coast is clear." He pushes through the door, and we file out of the small service elevator room and into the quiet hallway.
Again, my friends make me knock on the door, but I make Ray stand by my side. My heart is pounding. I'm anxious enough as it is, and my nerves are humming as I'm knocking on a rock star’s hotel room door. After a moment, the door opens, and my wide eyes land on the most beautiful human in the world. Evan Dando, lead singer and guitarist for The Lemonheads, swings open the door, and I swear I can hear the angels singing from the heavens.