Page 9 of The Devil's Tattoo
“I booked us a gig,” he said like it was the most normal thing in theworld.
“And you’re dumping this onmenow?”
“Yep.”
“When?”
“Tomorrownight.”
“Tomorrow?” This couldn’t be happening. I needed time to mentally prepare myself. I was going to hyperventilate. I needed a brown paperbag…stat.
“Tomorrow night at Cherry,” Dee saidproudly.
“Cherry?” Cherry Bar was probably Melbourne’s most famous rock venue. It sat off AC/DC Lane in the city and was a tiny hole in the wall. It attracted rockers, punks, indies, and all kinds of alternative types. It wastheplace to play tobeseen.
“We’re supportingIpswich.”
I knew Ipswich was a hard rock outfit that had been doing pretty well locally. The thought of playing before them made me even more edgy. There’d be a lot of peoplethere.
“We’ve got the songs, Zoe. With a cover, we have a tight set. This will beamazing.”
The thought flowed through my mind that there would be people I knew there. People who didn’t like me all that much. What if I bombed? It would give them fodder foryears.
Dee seemed to read my mind. “It’s your chance to rub their facesinit.”
“But—”
“No buts,” he scolded me. “I’d say picture them all naked, but that’s a bitcliché.”
I rolled my eyes. “And it’d scar meforlife.”
“Ugh, don’t gothere.”
“You went therefirst.”
Dee pulled into the drive of my apartment block and kissed me on the cheek. “If I don’t see you tomorrow, I’ll pick you up at six thirty sharp. Doors ateight.”
“Okay,” I replied, getting out the car and retrieving my guitar fromtheback.
As he drove away, I couldn’t help but feel my stomach churn, and a mountain ofwhat-ifsbounced furiously around in my brain.Ping,pinglike I was inside a pinballmachine.
Before, when I thought about becoming fodder for gossip again, that was my only real fear. After what I’d come to callArmageddon, everyone turned on me. They didn’t want to hear my side of the story, and ‘Walls’ was my side. What would happen if someone I knew from before was there and heard it? What would happen then? I was worried it would drag everything back up the moment I began to feel happy and destroy the great thing Dee had createdforme.
Was I destined to feel afraid the rest of my life because of what someone else didtome?
Was this as good asitgot?
I really hoped itwasn’t.
* * *
The guysin Ipswich were actuallyprettynice.
They’d listened to our hastily recorded CD of songs and were happy to have us along to support after another group dropped out at the last second. They had been hanging around in the alley out front of the bar when we arrived and chatted to us like we were already friends, putting my nerves somewhatatease.
They had four members like we did, but they were all guys, and all of them were dressed like they were Guns N’ Roses and AC/DC hybrids. Black skinny jeans, torn T-shirts, and long hair ranging from below the ears to almost as longasmine.
Being in the band meant you had to be there early to set up your gear. In a small venue like Cherry, you had to do it yourself. There was no such thing as a roadie, and you even had to find someone to help with the sound. Luckily, Ipswich’s guy helped us out since we’d come on at such late notice. We were doing them a favor, apparently. Even they didn’t have enough songs to filltwosets.
