BlueSilkenSky
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
I hope you like... it might be a boring conversation, but it had to happen! I didn't do any revision on it either, so sorry if there's any bad writing!
Um... and I guess this never happened either?
At home in the hotel, I lie down for the first time today. Ah… man, that feels good. I stretch out each muscle and work on completely emptying my mind. It works after a while, and I become calm and relaxed enough to sit up- Portugal and The Netherlands are only separated by one hour. And if it’s twenty-two-thirty or so now, Lina will be in bed. But there’s no wasting time here…
I wait with a racing heart for Lina to be aroused by the ringing on her end. She’s probably sleeping in my bed instead of the couch tonight, always anxious for a chance to have that privilege, and that would put her closer to the receiver. I cross my fingers and think of nothing, holding my eyes closed. Lina, please pick up, we need to talk…
“Hello?”
A voice even more blurred by sleep, but a voice all the same. And it’s Lina’s voice, more importantly. I try to speak softly, not wanting to scare her all at once. “Lina, it’s me. Marieke.”
I picture the face on the other end. A face struck through by shadows through the blinds, her blond hair askew and clinging in a love embrace to her face. The face matches the voice that sighs and sounds more focused as she speaks my name. “Marieke.” I can almost feel her movement towards the kitchen area for the light.
“I had to call you now. I just got back to the hotel.”
“What time is it there?” she asks. My ears pick up the snap of a light switch, which adds meaning to the groan I hear a second later. I picture Lina with her hand over her eyes. With that, she’ll feel the hair on her face and begin pulling it away, running her fingers through her too-tangled hair to try and brush it smooth.
“It’s twenty-two-thirty-three now.”
“What, were you out partying with U2 all night?” she asks, and laughs exhaustedly.
“Well…” I think about it. “Well… I did…”
She cuts in swiftly, and from the sharp tone of her voice I can tell she’s completely awake. “Oh, come on! You really are tired.”
Maybe Lina’s right, or maybe it’s just my short memory getting in the way. “Well…” I continue, trying to think of every detail. “It wasn’t really a party?”
Now Lina’s shocked. “You met the band again?”
I try to explain: “Not again. Last time it was just two of them.”
“Oh, come on!” she says again, but in a dazed, wondering sort of way, not a you need some sleep way.
Talking about it invigorates me. “Yeah, I got a backstage pass. It was really fun. They’re great guys.”
“Tell me every single thing!” Lina insists. I envision her leaning against the counter with the phone pressed to her ear, the cord stretching back to the cradle. I know she’ll tangle the cord with her fingers, anxious to hear my story, and then look back at the cradle when the cord won’t stretch out any farther. I see her in my head latching onto that image of the cradle, remembering something, and then-
“Marieke,” Lina breathes. “Was that you calling me earlier tonight?”
I smile.
“Did you like that? Edge was very willing to do my bidding. I was surprised.”
But Lina doesn’t sound happy anymore. “Oh, darn it!” she moans. “I got a phone call from my favorite celebrity, and I fainted before I could say a word!” I hear a smack, presumably Lina’s palm upon her forehead.
“Hey, don’t worry,” I try to encourage her. “Just think, that’s exactly what could have happened to me when I got Bono’s phone call.”
“But… but it wasn’t Bono this time,” she complains, sounding sulky. I want to laugh at her tone, reminiscent of a little kid who wants more dessert.
“I know it wasn’t,” I say soothingly. She’s easy to rile up and easy to calm down. “Check your answering machine.”
A pause on the other end. Then the click of the machine, the announcement that there is one new message, and then Edge’s voice projects across the phone line, followed by mine explaining the prank in Dutch.
When it ends there’s another pause. Then Lina’s voice comes back on, and it’s obvious that she’s smiling, like me. “Thank you! I’m never going to erase that machine now.”
“You’re welcome,” I laugh back to her.
Then I sense her growing confused. “Just how long was I out?”
I wonder about that. If she fainted in the middle of the first call, then didn’t pick up for the second, and when woken up now at twenty-three-thirty and didn’t remember a thing of the call until she’d seen the phone cradle, well… I can’t really say.
“Marieke, I love you,” she tells me, unable to see my blush at the other end. Then, forcefully- “Tell me everything!”
So I launch into a detailed description of the show and the meet-up with the band, starting from the moment the band took the stage all the way to their good-byes. Lina interrupts a bit at first, but then shuts up and enjoys my story. I assume she’s switched out leaning on the counter to sitting on it.
“Then you went out?” she asks at the end of my tale. “You came back to the hotel?”
“Yeah, Eric led me out,” I say. I think of his offer, which brings me back to the original reason I called our flat. “Hey, would you-“
“That’s so awesome!” she gushes, interrupting me at last. “Did you buy anything? I have a shirt; if you bought something we could match. Oh, did you get more pictures, or was that just Max and Valeria? There sure were a lot of people you met. Eric sounds nice. What are Adam and Larry like? You didn’t mention them much. Oh, and what about Jack? Did he even say anything that whole time?”
“Argh!” I say, forgetting for a moment she’s not really there and holding my hand out to stop her tongue from moving. “Too many questions! Calm down, I want to tell you something.”
Lina waits.
“Eric… gave me an offer of something, tonight. He wanted to know if I’d be… interested in working with him on the tour. You know, doing backstage stuff probably close to the band… I don’t know what kind of job he has in mind-“
Anticipating Lina’s response, I scream into the receiver at the exact same time she does, to show her how annoying it is when she raises her voice.
“Blow my ears out, will you?” she grumbles. I shrug, knowing full well that she can’t see that reaction, and then wait for her to say, “That’s perfect! That is perfect. Who would turn down that chance?”
“Obviously not you,” I say.
“Obviously neither of us! But there’s one issue…”
I sigh, knowing it’s coming.
“Your work. How can you just leave your job at the airport? Even if you have enough holiday hours, how can you afford to take such a long break? Would they be paying you with the crew? Or are you just going to kind of follow the band without doing anything? This is weird. You can’t quit your job!”
Once again, my friend is right. And I don’t want her to be right. Could they get a temporary replacement for me, for as long as the tour lasts? But how long will it last? I never expected it to go on into 1993- though really I shouldn’t have been surprised, seeing as this is a world tour. But still, all those days I miss at work could affect something. What if I fall into debt again?
Lina is right. I can’t take this chance. I open my mouth and tell her so.
“Good.” Her briskness signals that she’s not totally happy, and it shows in her next, decidedly not brisk words. “I wish you could do it, honestly! That’s, like, one of my dreams. It’s hard to decide between pleasure and practicality… but you know which one has to win. Truly, I’d love to see you take this offer.”
The receiver feels heavy in my hand. “All right,” I say. “I’ll call Eric…”
Eric?
Eric works for Zoo TV. Eric has a job working for the band. Eric’s job is real- whatever it is- and he gets paid for it. Eric makes enough money.
This silent reasoning takes first place in my mind. If Eric has a real job with the band- why can’t I get one?
“Lina-!” I lean forward and push away the strings of hair that fall in my eyes. “Wait. I think…”
In my head, Lina’s eyes widen. Her voice on the other end comes out- “Are you going to do it?”
“I’m taking on that offer,” I say, and air rushes out of Lina’s lungs audibly.
“How are-“
“there are real jobs working on tour,” I say. “The crew members get paid, don’t they? The people who work backstage- they get money. I can have a job too…”
“Would you quit your job at the airport for this?” Lina asks dubiously.
“No.” I start to smile again. “It’s just part time.”
The conversation lasts a long time. My idea is to use all my holiday hours to join U2 on tour and maybe get a job with the crew. Lina, of course, tries to counteract my every move, depressing my spirit with withering comments on money and time and future plans. I’ve known she’ll do this, however, and pretty soon have her on my side, though she won’t admit it. The battle’s easily won- Lina would never force me to do something I didn’t want to, and definitely not something that she wants as badly. She caves soon, and I declare my triumph.
“All right. You’ve won… this time,” Lina sighs. “Just be happy it’s late and I’m too tired to form a proper argument!”
“You wouldn’t have stopped me even if you tried- which you wouldn’t have, and you know it!” I say, smiling.
“That’s nice. Okay, can you please hang up now, Marieke? It’s midnight here.”
“But that’s just the beginning of a new day.”
“I still need sleep!” Even though it’s dangerous provoking Lina when she’s sleep-deprived, it’s worked out fine now. There is a teasing tone in her voice, not anger. “And it’s, like, twenty-three o’clock there. Go to bed, babe.”
“Night-night,” I laugh, and we hang up.
As soon as that’s over, I fall back onto the pillows, my hair billowing out and the cool fabric washing through the hot skin on my neck. Must I sleep in my clothes again? The suitcase is across the room, but I’m too tired to go and drag it out. More phone calls- to Eric, to my family, to KLM- will have to wait for tomorrow. I’m just so bone-tired… and when I close my eyes, the last thing feel is excitement for what’s next.
Um... and I guess this never happened either?
At home in the hotel, I lie down for the first time today. Ah… man, that feels good. I stretch out each muscle and work on completely emptying my mind. It works after a while, and I become calm and relaxed enough to sit up- Portugal and The Netherlands are only separated by one hour. And if it’s twenty-two-thirty or so now, Lina will be in bed. But there’s no wasting time here…
I wait with a racing heart for Lina to be aroused by the ringing on her end. She’s probably sleeping in my bed instead of the couch tonight, always anxious for a chance to have that privilege, and that would put her closer to the receiver. I cross my fingers and think of nothing, holding my eyes closed. Lina, please pick up, we need to talk…
“Hello?”
A voice even more blurred by sleep, but a voice all the same. And it’s Lina’s voice, more importantly. I try to speak softly, not wanting to scare her all at once. “Lina, it’s me. Marieke.”
I picture the face on the other end. A face struck through by shadows through the blinds, her blond hair askew and clinging in a love embrace to her face. The face matches the voice that sighs and sounds more focused as she speaks my name. “Marieke.” I can almost feel her movement towards the kitchen area for the light.
“I had to call you now. I just got back to the hotel.”
“What time is it there?” she asks. My ears pick up the snap of a light switch, which adds meaning to the groan I hear a second later. I picture Lina with her hand over her eyes. With that, she’ll feel the hair on her face and begin pulling it away, running her fingers through her too-tangled hair to try and brush it smooth.
“It’s twenty-two-thirty-three now.”
“What, were you out partying with U2 all night?” she asks, and laughs exhaustedly.
“Well…” I think about it. “Well… I did…”
She cuts in swiftly, and from the sharp tone of her voice I can tell she’s completely awake. “Oh, come on! You really are tired.”
Maybe Lina’s right, or maybe it’s just my short memory getting in the way. “Well…” I continue, trying to think of every detail. “It wasn’t really a party?”
Now Lina’s shocked. “You met the band again?”
I try to explain: “Not again. Last time it was just two of them.”
“Oh, come on!” she says again, but in a dazed, wondering sort of way, not a you need some sleep way.
Talking about it invigorates me. “Yeah, I got a backstage pass. It was really fun. They’re great guys.”
“Tell me every single thing!” Lina insists. I envision her leaning against the counter with the phone pressed to her ear, the cord stretching back to the cradle. I know she’ll tangle the cord with her fingers, anxious to hear my story, and then look back at the cradle when the cord won’t stretch out any farther. I see her in my head latching onto that image of the cradle, remembering something, and then-
“Marieke,” Lina breathes. “Was that you calling me earlier tonight?”
I smile.
“Did you like that? Edge was very willing to do my bidding. I was surprised.”
But Lina doesn’t sound happy anymore. “Oh, darn it!” she moans. “I got a phone call from my favorite celebrity, and I fainted before I could say a word!” I hear a smack, presumably Lina’s palm upon her forehead.
“Hey, don’t worry,” I try to encourage her. “Just think, that’s exactly what could have happened to me when I got Bono’s phone call.”
“But… but it wasn’t Bono this time,” she complains, sounding sulky. I want to laugh at her tone, reminiscent of a little kid who wants more dessert.
“I know it wasn’t,” I say soothingly. She’s easy to rile up and easy to calm down. “Check your answering machine.”
A pause on the other end. Then the click of the machine, the announcement that there is one new message, and then Edge’s voice projects across the phone line, followed by mine explaining the prank in Dutch.
When it ends there’s another pause. Then Lina’s voice comes back on, and it’s obvious that she’s smiling, like me. “Thank you! I’m never going to erase that machine now.”
“You’re welcome,” I laugh back to her.
Then I sense her growing confused. “Just how long was I out?”
I wonder about that. If she fainted in the middle of the first call, then didn’t pick up for the second, and when woken up now at twenty-three-thirty and didn’t remember a thing of the call until she’d seen the phone cradle, well… I can’t really say.
“Marieke, I love you,” she tells me, unable to see my blush at the other end. Then, forcefully- “Tell me everything!”
So I launch into a detailed description of the show and the meet-up with the band, starting from the moment the band took the stage all the way to their good-byes. Lina interrupts a bit at first, but then shuts up and enjoys my story. I assume she’s switched out leaning on the counter to sitting on it.
“Then you went out?” she asks at the end of my tale. “You came back to the hotel?”
“Yeah, Eric led me out,” I say. I think of his offer, which brings me back to the original reason I called our flat. “Hey, would you-“
“That’s so awesome!” she gushes, interrupting me at last. “Did you buy anything? I have a shirt; if you bought something we could match. Oh, did you get more pictures, or was that just Max and Valeria? There sure were a lot of people you met. Eric sounds nice. What are Adam and Larry like? You didn’t mention them much. Oh, and what about Jack? Did he even say anything that whole time?”
“Argh!” I say, forgetting for a moment she’s not really there and holding my hand out to stop her tongue from moving. “Too many questions! Calm down, I want to tell you something.”
Lina waits.
“Eric… gave me an offer of something, tonight. He wanted to know if I’d be… interested in working with him on the tour. You know, doing backstage stuff probably close to the band… I don’t know what kind of job he has in mind-“
Anticipating Lina’s response, I scream into the receiver at the exact same time she does, to show her how annoying it is when she raises her voice.
“Blow my ears out, will you?” she grumbles. I shrug, knowing full well that she can’t see that reaction, and then wait for her to say, “That’s perfect! That is perfect. Who would turn down that chance?”
“Obviously not you,” I say.
“Obviously neither of us! But there’s one issue…”
I sigh, knowing it’s coming.
“Your work. How can you just leave your job at the airport? Even if you have enough holiday hours, how can you afford to take such a long break? Would they be paying you with the crew? Or are you just going to kind of follow the band without doing anything? This is weird. You can’t quit your job!”
Once again, my friend is right. And I don’t want her to be right. Could they get a temporary replacement for me, for as long as the tour lasts? But how long will it last? I never expected it to go on into 1993- though really I shouldn’t have been surprised, seeing as this is a world tour. But still, all those days I miss at work could affect something. What if I fall into debt again?
Lina is right. I can’t take this chance. I open my mouth and tell her so.
“Good.” Her briskness signals that she’s not totally happy, and it shows in her next, decidedly not brisk words. “I wish you could do it, honestly! That’s, like, one of my dreams. It’s hard to decide between pleasure and practicality… but you know which one has to win. Truly, I’d love to see you take this offer.”
The receiver feels heavy in my hand. “All right,” I say. “I’ll call Eric…”
Eric?
Eric works for Zoo TV. Eric has a job working for the band. Eric’s job is real- whatever it is- and he gets paid for it. Eric makes enough money.
This silent reasoning takes first place in my mind. If Eric has a real job with the band- why can’t I get one?
“Lina-!” I lean forward and push away the strings of hair that fall in my eyes. “Wait. I think…”
In my head, Lina’s eyes widen. Her voice on the other end comes out- “Are you going to do it?”
“I’m taking on that offer,” I say, and air rushes out of Lina’s lungs audibly.
“How are-“
“there are real jobs working on tour,” I say. “The crew members get paid, don’t they? The people who work backstage- they get money. I can have a job too…”
“Would you quit your job at the airport for this?” Lina asks dubiously.
“No.” I start to smile again. “It’s just part time.”
The conversation lasts a long time. My idea is to use all my holiday hours to join U2 on tour and maybe get a job with the crew. Lina, of course, tries to counteract my every move, depressing my spirit with withering comments on money and time and future plans. I’ve known she’ll do this, however, and pretty soon have her on my side, though she won’t admit it. The battle’s easily won- Lina would never force me to do something I didn’t want to, and definitely not something that she wants as badly. She caves soon, and I declare my triumph.
“All right. You’ve won… this time,” Lina sighs. “Just be happy it’s late and I’m too tired to form a proper argument!”
“You wouldn’t have stopped me even if you tried- which you wouldn’t have, and you know it!” I say, smiling.
“That’s nice. Okay, can you please hang up now, Marieke? It’s midnight here.”
“But that’s just the beginning of a new day.”
“I still need sleep!” Even though it’s dangerous provoking Lina when she’s sleep-deprived, it’s worked out fine now. There is a teasing tone in her voice, not anger. “And it’s, like, twenty-three o’clock there. Go to bed, babe.”
“Night-night,” I laugh, and we hang up.
As soon as that’s over, I fall back onto the pillows, my hair billowing out and the cool fabric washing through the hot skin on my neck. Must I sleep in my clothes again? The suitcase is across the room, but I’m too tired to go and drag it out. More phone calls- to Eric, to my family, to KLM- will have to wait for tomorrow. I’m just so bone-tired… and when I close my eyes, the last thing feel is excitement for what’s next.
I'm not really sure what kind of job they'd hire her for though.
