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"The Rejects" in concert
🕑 Added 2021-01-20 02:53:21 +0000 UTCEthan sat in his uncle’s camper van strumming his guitar with the radio turned down next to him.
On rainy days like this, he liked to park just outside of town where he wouldn’t be bothered by traffic, open up the windows, lay across the old tye-dye sheets on his bed, and look out at the city lights glimmering in the night.
Each building higher than five stories jutted up into the sky like spears of light, cutting through the darkness and winking in and out of existence like dancing Christmas lights as the rain trickled down over the glass.
Sighing in contentment he placed down his guitar to grab his raincoat so he could venture outside and attach the old antenna he kept around to watch TV. But as he stopped strumming he heard something over the radio that caught his attention.
It was a song he’d never heard before. With a beat that...well, it was just too good to ignore.
Pushing aside a stack of cassettes that were in the way, he turned up the volume and let the music wash over him. Punk rock wasn’t exactly his style but for some reason, the lyrics and the melody just stuck with him. Laying back on the bed he closed his eyes as the voice of the singer seemed to lift him up out of the camper and into the night itself.
The song, nearly seven minutes in length, was over all too soon.
As it faded out as the DJ came on. Ethan’s ears perked up as he sat forward and turned up the volume more so he wouldn’t miss the name of the track and its artist.
With his face inches away from the radio, it would have been hard to miss the corny DJ’s voice announcing that it had been an up and coming local band “The Rejects” playing their surprise hit “The Ballad of a Teenage Psycho.”
Moreover, the DJ tacked just before the commercial break that The Rejects would actually be one of the bands playing in tomorrow’s Punk Rock Concert at Vailstone Stadium.
Ethan stood up so fast he practically hit his head on the van’s low ceiling. Launching himself past the multi-colored drawstring beads that blocked the light between the back of the bed and the driver’s seat he unparked and drove down the slick roads towards the concert arena.
Skidding to a halt in the mostly empty parking lot he hastily pulled on his rain-coat as he ran towards the stadium box office.
He nearly knocked the wind out of himself on the counter as a rather bored-looking box-office attendant blew a bubble with the gum she was chewing while watching him bolt to the window in order to reach her before closing time.
Out of breath, Ethan struggled through his panting to order a single ticket to the concert tomorrow, as close to the stage as he could get. But as he looked at the prices on the board and at his wallet, he realized he had just enough for something else as well. Stopping the girl behind the counter for a moment he smiled apologetically as he amended his order to add one backstage pass as well.
The attendant chewed her gum lazily as she slowly typed in the information at her register and handed the teen a ticket and badge through the plexiglass window.
Slicking back his now wet hair, Ethan composed himself and put both in his pocket doing his best to calmly jog back to the van in the rain. His wallet might be empty but who needed food anyway? A punk rock melody was feeding his soul and ramen was cheap.
The next day, Ethan was the first in line to the concert having camped out in the parking lot overnight.
As soon as security removed the gate blocking his path he bolted down to a sectioned-off area of the arena near the stage that was reserved for VIP ticket holders.
Two hours later the show began, he waited patiently through the opening bands liking a few songs but too excited for what was coming to really enjoy them.
Then, the lights to the stadium darkened. Fog began to leak over the edges of the stage. A red spotlight illuminated the band as The Rejects rose from the ground, frozen like statues.
The crowd cheered and the lead singer, Nitro, smiled. The drummer could be heard shouting a quick countdown as the band instantly began to thrash and play, launching immediately into one of their songs.
The opening wave of the band’s sound nearly blasted Ethan out of his shoes as his eyes went wide and an astonished grin began to creep onto his face.
Soon he was cheering and jumping along with the others in the section.
And that...is when he saw the lead guitarist. Not just as some punk specter moving with the rhythm through the lights and haze, but actually got a good look at his face.
Cody finally stood still for a moment to back up the melody of the song giving Ethan the first glimpse of this burgeoning punk rock god.
Ethan stopped.
He wasn’t jumping, or cheering, or even listening to the song anymore.
He was just looking at Cody as the guitarist closed his eyes and helped belt out the chorus.
Stars seemed to twinkle into existence around him as Ethan began to feel a flutter in his stomach.
Then, Cody opened his eyes and the teen could swear the guitarist was looking straight at him. Their eyes seemed to lock for a moment. And out of nowhere, Cody gave a playful wink that nearly took Ethan off his feet.
The world moved in slow motion before suddenly throwing him back into reality as the song shifted key and the beat transitioned like a car skidding to a halt.
Snapped back to his senses Ethan shook his head and began cheering again wondering what had just come over him.
The band went through their list of songs, of course, saving “The Ballad of a Teenage Psycho” for last.
Ethan moved and swayed with the crowd as the band’s energy culminated and peaked before falling silent.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, he could feel his own voice straining as he realized just how loudly he’d been cheering during their set.
Shouldering his way through the crowd, Ethan made his way to the security guard blocking the back of the stage and showed him his backstage pass.
The guard nodded and waved him through.
Taking a look around, Ethan was more than familiar with the layout of the stadium. His own band had performed there just a couple of years back as one of the openers for a rock and roll concert.
Granted he and “Fanboy,” which he’d always thought was a dumb name for a band, had parted ways about a year ago. “Creative differences” was the polite term for his mostly amicable departure.
Still, he knew exactly where Cody would be as they left the stage.
Moving past the busy stagehands, Ethan found his way to the open hallway where The Rejects were chilling and found Cody cracking open a beer, downing it, tossing it over his shoulder into a trash can that had to be quickly adjusted to intercept it by an attentive roadie, and then opening another one.
Ethan snickered and with some gentle sarcasm asked if Cody was thirsty.
The lead guitarist blinked and scanned Ethan quickly noticing the VIP badge hanging from his neck.
Cody smiled and took another sip, explaining that beer after a crazy set like that is great for muscle recovery. Or at least that’s what he’d been told by one of his friends that ran marathons.
Ethan nodded, taking in the little factoid, before introducing himself.
To his surprise, Cody apparently recognized him from the crowd. The realization that the wink had actually been for him sent a strange tingle throughout Ethan’s body.
Apparently more than willing to chat it up with a fan Cody sat down on one of the equipment lockers, offering a seat next to him so that Ethan wouldn’t be in the way of the busy roadies buzzing back and forth.
Sitting down next to him Ethan began to go into how he’d heard Cody’s band’s song the night before and that he’d picked up a ticket just to meet him. It was rare for songs like his to have such an effect on him and he’d wanted to see what else The Rejects could do.
As the two began to talk the concert continued on in the background vibrating the halls of the stadium at times. Though Ethan wasn’t sure if it was the music that was vibrating him or his own body that was reacting so strangely in the presence of the surprisingly personable punk rocker.
Cody went through two more beers and was starting to look a little buzzed as he waved goodbye to his band telling them he’d catch up with them later.
Nearly an hour into their conversation about music, TV, school, and all manner of other things, Ethan began to realize that they were actually hitting it off. While they’d lived fairly different lives the two teens had actually come to a lot of the same opinions on a number of subjects.
And while Ethan was certainly more into Grunge and Classical Rock compared to Cody’s Punk preferences the two couldn’t contain their almost giddy fascination with all things music.
But as the concert started to die down, and the two began to realize it was getting late, Ethan helped a wobbly Cody up from the black box he’d been sitting on. The two laughed as he jokingly feigned helped Cody walk outside to the parking lot where he could give the rocker a ride to whatever diner the rest of the Rejects were eating at.
But as they walked out of the stadium their conversation took an interesting turn to the topic of Senyoko.
As it turned out, both of them were Senyoko trainers.
The two mulled around Ethan’s van geeking out about the recent Senyoko Championship tournament, including the Champion Blythe’s less than surprising win, when slight playful disagreement began to emerge.
Within moments, both teens’ laid-back attitudes began to fall away revealing to each other the dueling competitive natures that had been lying in wait just under the surface...
