“I hear that one.”
We chatted as we walked down the stairs to the B-stage. The house lights were up, making it feel intimate. There was a hum of conversation that quickly turned to excitement.
I waved and headed for my piano. I took one of the microphones and handed one to Bailey. “Hey guys. I can’t believe there are so many of you.”
Butterflies were an understatement. There were usually only seventy-five people at the events prior to the rehearsal. It wasn’t a cheap ticket. We didn’t gouge, but this sort of thing was reserved for people who actually cared to hang out. Not people who were using it to boost their social media status.
I did a quick bit of mental math and wished I hadn’t.
Well over a hundred. Maybe even one hundred and fifty people were here to see me. Alone.
Dear God.
Even in my dreams, I didn’t expect this. It was like a real version of that late night at Purgatory. Only instead of empty seats, there were people there just to see me. I’d asked the crew to point my piano so I could talk to the fans. I pulled out my bench. The familiar leather and rivets soothed away some of the nerves.
“Guess I should start off with introductions. I’m Teagan Daly, and Lindsey lets me play piano. She used to do it a lot more, but she wanted to stay out front more often. And now here I am living out my dreams with Brooklyn Dawn.”
The group clapped. Within the hushed murmurs, there was laughter and smiles as they looked back at me expectantly.
“I know this is a little different than the normal fan club event. This has been a year of shakeups, so what’s one more, right?”
I tried to ignore the camera guy who was filming off to the side. There was a big difference from the roving cameras that put our faces on the screens for the arena and the recording that would be going live in the fan club group. The entire thing wouldn’t be streamed—that wouldn’t be fair to those who paid for their tickets. But I wanted to include them as a perk.
The band had been all for it. We’d always been forward thinking when it came to technology. Jamie and Lindsey had done more than a few live jam sessions in the forums.
I waved at the camera. “Hope the feed is okay out there.” I sat down at my piano and tucked my microphone into the long-armed stand beside me. “So, my family has called me the human jukebox for as long as I can remember. I play like six different instruments. Put something in my hands, and I’ll learn to play it.”
I nodded to the saxophone in its stand. “My mom used to listen to an artist named Candy Dulfer, and I decided to learn her most famous song for her birthday present.” I laughed. “I see a few blank faces. It was the nineties. I won’t hold it against you.”
I reached for the sax and picked it up with trembling fingers. “Normally, I’d need a bit of a guitar accompaniment to make it work, but you might know the song.” The sad notes of “Lily Was Here” filled the arena.
There were a few sparks of recognition, but the camera phones were up and filming. I played half the song before I let it peter out to become the signature song from the soap opera General Hospital. That brought out a lot more laughter and cheers.
I tucked the sax back into the stand with a laugh. “Thanks for indulging me. Sometimes you just gotta do stuff for your mom.” I looked over at Bailey. “Now because I’m a dork and I love the jukebox thing. I’m going to use Bailey to help me. She’s going to play MC to this impromptu version of that game Rockstar.” I dropped my voice. “Aka karaoke. I’m taking requests.”
I sat at my piano and played the opening chords to “Stripped Away” and the laughter turned to whoops. “So, you know that one. How about a deep cut?” I changed to “Waiting” from the first album.
A group of girls in the back immediately started singing the song. I smiled and leaned into my mic to help them out. By the end of the song, everyone was singing. “Little bit of trivia. I have lots of trivia since we’re stuck on a bus or a plane for a lot of hours between shows.”
“We want to know it all,” came a voice from the left.
“Well, I only have an hour.”
“We’ll let you go longer!”
I waved to the girl with space buns at the end of the first row. “Come on, you know you want to see Lindsey and Jamie.”
“We’re good.”
I laughed. “Anyway, so you know we’re music junkies just as much as you guys. Maybe even more. And we have tons of inspiration. Well, the story goes that Jamie gave Lindsey crap about playing this one song over and over by a band named Lifehouse.” My fingers sought out the keys to the sweeping and sad song, “Broken”.
It just happened to be one of my favorites, as well. All the longing and the fissures of emotion thanks to life and broken hearts. Finding meaning in something bigger than yourself.
As the last notes of the song faded, I glanced at the small crowd, ready to see bored faces.
Instead, almost everyone had their phones up.
Bailey was sitting at the edge of the second row with her fingers wrapped so tightly around the mic.
“Okay, I had my fun. How about you guys give me a song?”
“Can you sing anything?” Came a voice from the back.
“Jukebox, remember.” I moved my hands down the keys and started singing “Stockholm Syndrome” from One Direction.
A girl on the left side squeaked. And just like that the entirety of the crowd, even a few of the guys, all joined in.
I laughed. “I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t mind a little time with Harry Styles
