Chapter 1: The B96 Summer Bash

Chapter 1: The B96 Summer Bash

“We are here at the 2002 B96 Summer Bash having the time of our lives!” Faith said into the camera Spaz Lieberman was holding only inches away from her face. They were both only about 18 years old with the deepest of brown tans from being in the sun too long. While Faith was nearly six feet tall, Spaz needed four-inch heels to compete with her. She also had to put in contacts to achieve the bright blue color that Faith’s possessed. Both wore basically the same outfit: a pair of soft denim capris and a plain cotton tank top.

Faith pulled her other friend, Morgan Fisher, into the shot and added, “So, Morgan, what’s it like, seeing your first big concert?”

“This kicks ass!” Morgan yelled as she smiled and held up her beer cup. “So far I’ve seen Nelly, Enrique, Ashanti, and Shakira, now I get to see Darren Hayes in less than 20 minutes. What more could a girl ask for?”

Morgan was the only odd one in the group. While Faith and Spaz both had long blond hair with dark roots, hers was a natural shoulder length black, as were her eyes. Morgan wore a pair of faded denim shorts along with a black short-sleeved shirt. She stood much shorter than Faith and Spaz, only about five foot three, but didn’t care that she was so short. No one ever dared to make a comment about her height or Faith would be all over them. She always came to the rescue with her wit and strength.

“How about three backstage passes to meet some of these people?” Faith asked as she held up three laminated passes that had been hidden in the back pocket of her denim carpis.

“Oh, my God!” Spaz shrieked in the highest pitch her voice could reach, which was pretty high considering she was an alto. Faith squinted at the sound as she handed her and Morgan their passes.

“Where did you get these?” Morgan questioned as she put hers around her neck.

“Hmm… Maybe my dad is friends with one of the station owners and he managed to get these for us at the last minute,” Faith retorted.

“You dad is the coolest,” Spaz commented as she handed the camera back to Faith and put on her own pass. “So, when can we go backstage?”

“How about right now? I wanna meet Enrique!” Morgan replied as she began to make a run for it.

“Hey, hold up!” Faith yelled to her. Morgan stopped in her tracks and impatiently waited for the other two to catch up to her. “Jeez, little miss Speedy Gonzales. You’re in such a rush.” Together, the three of them walked up to one of the security guards and were escorted to the nearest backstage entrance.

Behind the tents and the stage stood hundreds of people, bustling around as if they had nothing better to do. It was much cooler than being outside, though. The temperature must have been at least ten degrees cooler. Faith began walking around as if she knew what she should be doing. At the refreshment stands, she stuck her hand in a basin full of ice and pulled out her favorite beer, Miller Light. She quickly popped it open and began chugging it down.

“Hey, what yourself,” Spaz warned as she came up behind her. “You don’t wanna get plastered before you meet the man.”

“Oh, please. You know it takes at least four of these to buzz me. I’m still on number two,” Faith retorted as she threw the empty can into a trashcan beside the basin. “Now come on, lets find him and get a few autographs.”

* * *

Darren Hayes was standing beside his manager, Leonie Messer when her phone began to ring. She quickly answered thinking that there was a change in the schedule.

“Hello?” she yelled over the hum of the crowd. “Yeah, what is it Ben?… What! Now way! All of them, down to the last one? That can’t be possible. How can all three of them be sick at the same time?… Food poisoning! Oh, bloody hell. Now what are we going to do?… Get another road crew? How are we supposed to find another road crew in less than three hours?… You want me to look in the crowd? Are you insane? Have you lost your mind? How much did you drink today?… Bull shit, nothing is not like you before a show… That’s better, only two beers. Not bad, but still, you must be a little buzzed to give me that suggestion. It’s plain crazy… Fine, fine, fine… I’ll take up your suggestion when you take up mine and start going to AA. Goodbye.” Leonie turned to Darren and said, “We have no road crew.”

“What? No roadies?” he asked in surprise.

“No, all are sick with food poisoning, and we need to find some new people otherwise we’re screwed this summer,” she replied.

“And let me guess, his idea was to find people in the crowd?”

“Yeah! Can you believe him? He couldn’t possibly have two beers and come up with that odd idea.”

“Yeah.” Just as he looked away from Leonie, Darren saw three gorgeous girls weaving through the crowd. They had their arms around each other and wide grins on their faces as they talked amongst each other. The tallest one, a girl wearing a scant light blue tank top with a silver chain around her neck, caught his attention. She had the clearest blue eyes he had ever seen. He was beginning to fall in love with the way her luscious lips curled into a smile on her face.

Faith had a strange feeling that someone was watching her. She turned her head in all directions making sure that there were no weird people around. After making almost a complete circle, she looked ahead to see a guy with sandy blond hair and blue/gray eyes staring at her. He looked so familiar, yet Faith was unable to put a name on his face. He was cute, though; wearing a pair of black mesh shorts that went just a little past his knees and a plain white tee with a pair of sunglasses perched on his head.

“Dude, Darren Hayes is checking you out!” Morgan yelled into her ear over the crowd.

Doing a double take, Faith realized that it really was her idol gazing at her from across the tent. “Oh, shit! Oh, shit! Oh, shit!” she replied. “How do I look? Is my hair okay? Are there any little green things between my teeth?”

“You must look okay, because he is really digging you, girl,” Spaz said. She pushed Faith forward and added, “Talk to him! He’s not gonna stand there all day. Now move that sweet tushy over to him.”

Faith began to move away from her group of friends towards the one guy she could never stop crushing on. She couldn’t stand the wait any longer as she slowly walked up to him, her gaze set into his, and a wider smile creeping on her face.

“Hi,” Faith said. “I saw you looking at me and decided to introduce myself. I’m Faith.” She stuck out her hand for him to shake.

“Darren,” he simply replied as his palm slipped into hers.

“I know who you are,” she said, flashing another smile.

Darren was ready to melt in her gaze. ‘Faith,’ he though, rolling the name around in his head. ‘What a pretty name.’

“So, you gonna talk to me or should I start the conversation?” Faith asked, noticing his stare again.

“Oh, sorry,” Darren chuckled. “I’ve just never seen such a beautiful pair of blue eyes.”

“Yeah, those are 100 percent real. I don’t wear contacts, unlike some of my friends, who are still standing back there waiting for me to wave them over because they’re too chicken to come by themselves,” she joked as her hand went up and her fingers motioned for them to start walking. Once within earshot, Faith introduced them. “The blond one is Spaz and the short one is Morgan. Don’t dare mess with Morgan about her height or you’ll have me to deal with.”

“Don’t worry. I never say things intentionally,” Darren replied as the other two girls reached them.

“Oh, my God! I can’t believe this,” Spaz squeaked as she stood in front of him with the goofiest smile on her face. “I’m Spaz, by the way.”

“Morgan,” the other one barely whispered.

“Mor, speak up. The man can barely hear you,” Faith said. “She’s always been the shy one. Give her some time and she’ll open up to you. Right Mor?”

“Yeah,” Morgan said a little louder this time.

“Um… This is Leo, my manager,” Darren introduced the woman standing beside him talking on a cell phone. She simply waved as she continued her conversation. “She’s in a bit of a rut with the crew right now. We just lost our roadies due to food poisoning. She needs to find some new people by tonight, or we’re not getting out of Chicago.”

“How many people do you need?” Faith asked.

“Three is probably enough.”

“Why not us?” Spaz spoke up. “We’re three strong young women. I was a package handler at UPS, Morgan is a basketball, softball, and volleyball player, and Faith was on the wrestling team this year. Scored pretty high too. One of the top ranked players in the DVC actually.”

Faith flexed her arm showing off the muscle she had gained in strength training classes she took during her last two years of high school. “I can take anyone down, even some of the top guys on our team,” she said. “You wanna try me?”

“Maybe you should ask Ben or Karl. I’ve never been into full contact sports,” Darren replied. “But maybe you’ve got a good idea. You three look pretty strong. Talk to Leo and she’ll make the decision. Right now, I need to be onstage, so I’ll see you three later.”

“Okay,” Faith replied as she turned to watch him go. Facing her friends once again, she said, “Oh, my God! Can you believe what just happened?” she squealed.

Spaz held up her hand and said, “Yeah, we’re gonna be touring with Darren Hayes this summer!”

“Guys, you need to talk to his manager about this,” Morgan reasoned. They both shot her back glares. “Hey, I’m not trying to burst your bubble or anything, I’m just saying you should talk to her.”

“Alright, Mor. Whatever you say. We’ll talk to her when she gets off the phone,” Faith replied. Suddenly, the three of them heard a loud grunt and angry growl. They turned to see that Leonie was finally off the phone, but not in a good mood.

“Faith.”

“Spaz.”

“Morgan.”

The three of them kindly introduced themselves. Leonie studied their faces and replied, “Pleased to meet you,” as she began to walk away.

“Hold up, where are you going?” Faith asked.

“To find a new road crew,” Leonie grunted.

“Wait! Darren told us about the problem, and we’re here to help,” Spaz replied.

Leonie stopped and turned towards the three of them. She studied them again, this time looking each one up and down, sizing them up.

“I bench 400,” Faith said.

“I life heavy boxes for a living at UPS,” Spaz added.

“And I’ve played almost every sport there was in school,” Morgan put in her two cents worth.

“Are you just saying that to get on the tour?” Leonie asked.

“No!” the three of them answered in unison. Faith walked over to one of the heavy speakers that weren’t being used in the corner of the tent and proceeded to pick it up with ease. Spaz and Morgan also took at turn at lifting the heavy object.

Leonie was thoroughly impressed when she realized that the thing must have weighed at least two hundred pounds. “Since we’re desperate, you’re all hired. Meet us at the Embassy Suites in downtown Joliet tonight after the show and we’ll discuss everything,” she said as she began to walk off again.

The three of them waved her off then began jumping up and down like maniacs. “Oh, shit! We’re gonna be touring with Darren Hayes this summer!” Faith yelled as she jumped in circles.

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