Mystery Woman At First Sight
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“Hey, you!” A tall guy in a white T-shirt and jeans stepped out of the crowd and stood next to me. He had a beard and his hair was dyed an unnatural shade of red. “I think I saw you at the airport.”
He was smiling at me, but he looked like he was going to vomit on my shoes. “Yeah,” I said, trying to remember if I’d seen him before.
“You were in line for the bathroom, right?”
I shook my head. “No. I was standing in front of the toilet, waiting for someone else to get done.”
“Oh, that’s right. You’re with the band. Are you one of them?”
“What band? We don’t have a band.”
“Uh-huh.” He smiled at me again. “Are you going to be playing tonight?”
“No,” I said, looking around at the crowd. “We’re not even here.”
The guy stared at me. “So why are you here?”
I shrugged. “It’s a festival.”
“Right. So you’re just hanging out.”
“Well, yeah. It’s a festival.”
He grinned at me. “You know what I mean.”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“You know. You’re young. You’re cute. You’re probably single. And you’re here, so you must be interested in some of these guys. You’re probably having fun.”
“Maybe.”
“I bet you’re having fun.”
“You don’t know anything about me.”
“Sure I do. I see you walking around with that one guy all the time. And I see you and another one of them playing together.”
“Playing together? What are you talking about?”
“That’s why I wanted to talk to you. You’re like a new band member.”
“A new band member?”
“Yeah. You know. A friend of the band. I think you might be fun to hang out with.”
“Why would we want you as a friend?”
“Because I’ll make it worth your while. We’ll split everything fifty-fifty. You’ll get paid every time we play. And you can come on tour with us.”
“You’re a roadie?”
“Not exactly. I’m the manager.”
“So you’re going to manage us?”
“No. But I can hook you up with our agent.”
“Our agent? Do you mean the band’s agent?”
“Yep. We don’t have an agent yet. You’d be our first, but you’ll get half of everything we earn.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“Nope. But you won’t be our only new friend.” He grinned at me again. “Come on. I’ll introduce you to everyone.”
“No thanks.”
“What’s wrong with you? I thought you were having fun.”
“I am. I’m just not interested in you.”
“You’re sure?”
“Absolutely.”
“Okay. If you change your mind, let me know.”
“I won’t.”
He frowned at me. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“All right. See you later.”
I turned away from him and headed toward the food stands. He was still standing there, watching me. I heard his voice behind me. “Hey. Where are you going?”
“To eat,” I said over my shoulder.
“Did you hear me?”
“Yes.”
“Then come on back here.”
I ignored him. There was a hot dog stand nearby, so I bought a couple of them and then walked around to the other side of the stage where the band was set up.
“Hey, guys,” I said when I got close enough to be heard.
They all looked up at me. “Hi,” said the drummer, who was playing his drum kit.
“Have you met our new friend?” the guy in the white T-shirt asked.
“Not yet,” I said. “Do you know him?”
“His name is Evan. He’s our manager.”
“That’s right. I’m Evan.” He smiled at me. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”
“And I’m sure you will,” I said. “I’m not interested.”
“How can you say that after you’ve already met me?”
“Because I’m not interested.”
“Well, it’s going to be worth your while.”
“I’m sure it is.”
“You might as well come with us. It’s a great way to make some money.”
“I don’t want any money. And I’m not interested.”
“Come on. I’ll buy you a drink.”
“No thanks.”
“Okay. But I think you should reconsider.”
“I won’t.”
“But you will.”
“I won’t.”
He frowned at me. “What’s wrong with you? I thought you were having fun.”
“I am. I’m just not interested in you.”
“Fine. Then go away.”
“You’re not going to come back and talk to me?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m not interested.”
“Come on. You know you want to hang out with me.”
“I don’t.”
“Then why are you standing here talking to me?”
“I’m not.”
“Then why did you turn around and walk toward me?”
“I didn’t.”
“What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
“Is that a no?”
“No. It’s not a no.”
“Good. Now we’re getting somewhere.”
“We’re not.”
“Are you going to come with us or not?”
“No.”
“It’s going to be fun.”
“I’m not going to have fun.”
“Okay. Then come on back here and let’s play.”
“I’m not playing with you.”
“Then come on back here and we’ll get out of here.”
“I’m not coming anywhere near you.”
“Come on, Evan. I promise you’ll like it.”
“I won’t.”
“You can leave whenever you want. No one will stop you.”
“I won’t.”
“Don’t you want to come with us?”
“No.”
“Do you want to be a roadie?”
“No.”
“Well, then. Let’s go.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“That’s okay. I’ll come back another time when you’re more interested.”
“I won’t.”
“All right. I’ll see you later.” He smiled at me again. “Bye.”
He turned away from me and walked over to the other band members. The lead singer was watching him. “Hey, guys,” he said. “Come on. We’re ready to start.”
The lead singer shrugged. “Let’s do it.”
“Okay. Then let’s get this show started.”
I turned around and headed for the food stands. Evan was still standing there.
“You need anything else?” he asked.
“No thanks.”
“Okay. Well, see you later.”
“Yeah. Okay.”
“Have a good night.”
“I will.”
I took my hot dogs and got out of there as quickly as I could. When I got back to the van, I told Dave what had happened.
“You were too nice,” he said. “You should have just ignored him.”
“I know. But I was trying to be polite.”
“You can be polite without being so damn nice.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t want to hurt his feelings.”
“Did you really think you could?”
“I don’t know.”
“It doesn’t matter. You made your point.”
“I know. It’s just that I hate being rude.”
“He wouldn’t have been offended.”
“But it would’ve bothered me.”
“He was only trying to get your attention.”
“I know. And I don’t want to be rude. But I didn’t want to hurt his feelings either.”
“You need to learn to separate your emotions from the situation.”
“I know. I’ll try not to worry about it next time.”
Dave was right. I knew he was right. But it still bothered me.
***
The next day was a repeat of the first one. Only this time we were in a different hotel. We all had good practice. Afterward, we went out to eat and then went back to our rooms to relax for a while before we started setting up for the show.
“Hey, Evan,” I called to him when he came into the room. “Do you want to go for a walk with me?”
“Sure. Where are we going?”
“I don’t know. Just out and around. Somewhere fun.”
“Fun? What do you mean?”
“Like, I don’t know. You know. Fun.”
“Where are we going?”
“I don’t know yet. But we’re going somewhere fun.”
“What do you mean fun?”
“It’s like a word you use when you don’t know what else to say. You know, like funner.”
“Okay. I don’t know what funner means. I’m not sure I even want to know. But I guess if you say it’s fun, then it must be.”
“You’re okay with that?”
“Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because it doesn’t make sense.”
“It makes perfect sense.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
“Oh. I see. No, it doesn’t. You know what? I’m going to get off the phone now. I have to go out and find some fun. It’s not funner unless you’re having fun too. Okay. Bye.”
He hung up on me. I laughed.
“You okay?” Dave asked.
“Yeah. He’s just being a jerk. But he can’t really hurt my feelings. I don’t let him.”
“He’s trying to get your attention.”
“I know. But I’m not letting him.”
“Maybe you should talk to him.”
“I already did.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing. I just told him I’d talked to you. That’s all.”
“What’s the point of that?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he’s bored. Maybe he wants to make conversation.”
“Maybe you should just ignore him.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You’re not the one who has to deal with it.”
“But you know you shouldn’t let him bother you.”
“I know.”
“So why don’t you tell him to go away?”
“Because I don’t want to hurt his feelings.”
“What about your own feelings? If he’s bothering you, you need to tell him to stop.”
“I know.”
“Then why don’t you?”
“Because I’m not good at confrontation.”
“You’ve been in a band for years. You must have dealt with it before.”
“Not like this. Not where we’re staying.”
“We’ll be done soon. Then you won’t have to worry about him anymore.”
“Yeah.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Did you just say something?”
“No.”
“Are you sure? You were talking to me, right?”
“Yeah. I was.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t want to.”
“Okay. Just remember that if you need someone to talk to, I’m here.”
“I know. I appreciate that.”
“And Evan?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re not going to be bothered by him anymore, are you?”
“No.”
“Good. I’d hate to lose a good friend over something like this.”
“I wouldn’t let it come to that.”
“Well, then. We’re cool.”
“We’re cool.”
The End