222. Changed

Warning: language,  drug references and lots and lots of pink ahead

Monte Vista, present day...

After a few sessions of band practice, The Drifters felt confident enough to showcase their hard work. They were smart enough to know they wouldn’t become instant hits, or get famous overnight. But they did expect a warm reception.

Their first public appearance was at the local park, and they managed to pull in a decent crowd; after all they’d been spreading the word around town throughout the week. Of course they all knew Michaela was the biggest draw card since she was the daughter of two legendary musicians.

Sadly though for The Drifters, their first show was a total flop. 

Michaela, still reeling from her phone call to Cameron, was so nervous about her first public appearance; she made a big mess of things. She couldn’t remember the lyrics to Faith Hill’s Breathe. She missed quite a few chords on the guitar too, throwing off Hayden and Lowell. And the crowd (most of which had given up their afternoon siesta to watch the performance) was unforgiving, they jeered at her relentlessly.

Unable to handle the barrage of criticism, she threw down the microphone and ran off the stage, abruptly ending  what was supposed to be the band's big debut.

Rene and Lowell packed up their instruments while Hayden ran after Michaela.

He found her in her room at the commune, crying and sobbing on the bed.

“Leave me alone,” she yelled into her pillow when she heard the door creak open.

Of course Hayden didn’t comply. He crossed the room instead and lay beside her. He gathered her in his arms and held her. Michaela cried harder, soaking his T-shirt with her tears and snort. 

“If you keep this up, I might have to go and change,” he admonished her gently, making her laugh in the process. 

“I’m sorry I ran.”

 “Why did you?” Hayden asked. He sounded genuinely concerned, like her explanation mattered.

“I just couldn’t take the pressure, I could see it in all their eyes, they expected me to be as good as my mom. But I can never be like her, I can never play the guitar like she does, or sing as well as she does.” She explained.

“You don’t have to. You just have to be your own person, find your own voice, and strum that damn guitar like no one else.”

“What if I can’t? What if music is not in me?” Michaela argued.

“Would Cameron have given you his most treasured possession if he thought you don't have it in you?” Hayden shot back.

Michaela kept quiet then, thinking about his question. “No, I guess not.” She concluded at last. 

“I think he has a lot to do with why you ran. You’re obviously still upset with him. Maybe you should call him,” Hayden suggested.

Michaela pulled away then. She prowled the room a few times before she came to an abrupt halt in front of the window. “No. I’m not calling him. He’s obviously moved on, he had another woman in his house.”

“It could have been anyone, his mother, his sister, someone from O+ Records, his maid-” Hayden would have carried on, but Michaela cut him off.

“Whose side are you on?” She frowned at him.

“The Drifters.” His response was prompt and firm as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her hair. “I’m always on the band’s side. We need you to be at your best, but you can’t if you keep allowing your emotions to get in the way. Rene’s father pulled a lot of strings to get us the gig at the Café Saturday night. Let’s not mess it up.”

Michaela nodded her head. “I’ll do my best.” And she meant it. She’d practice more over the next few days, and when Saturday rolled around, she’d leave emotion out of it…

Saturday, the day they were supposed to perform their first real gig at Mystic Dust in downtown Monte Vista, dawned gray and gloomy, matching Michaela's mood perfectly.

She’d had a bad night’s sleep; her dreams had been haunted by Cameron and his new girlfriend, they had chased her down dark alleys, screaming at her to leave them alone.  She’d awakened from the dream at the crack of dawn, her sleep shirt drenched with sweat and her heart banging wildly against her rib cage. Hard as she’d tried to go back to sleep she couldn’t. She’d finally dragged herself out of bed when it grew light outside, and she’d been strumming her guitar since then.

A knock on the door pulled her away from the melody at her fingertips.“It’s open,” she called over her shoulder.

Rene walked in with a mug in her hand.

“Good Morning Rock Star,” her friend cried in a singsong voice as she handed her the mug.

Michaela sighed disappointedly when she saw it wasn’t coffee.

“We have to get your voice in tip top form to hit those high notes,” Rene explained the hot water. 

“Coffee would have done the trick too, you know?” Michaela complained.

Before Rene could reply, Lowell rapped on the door,“Are you decent?”

“Always! No vajayjays insight." Michaela turned bright red at Rene's reply. Sometimes, like now, the things her friend said made her want to hide under the bed. And judging from the flush creeping up Lowell's neck when he walked in, she could tell he was just as embarrassed by Rene's comment.

Unlike his brother, Lowell wasn’t much of a talker; in fact he was downright shy and socially awkward.

 “I-e…” He stammered near the door. 

Michaela smiled patiently at him. 

“I just wanted to say good luck tonight, and don’t worry about, you know-” He threw up his hands impatiently; he was struggling to organize his thoughts.

“It’s okay, Lowell.” Michaela let him off the hook. She understood what he was trying to say, in a nutshell they were all behind her, and she could count on their support.

“Okay, great! See you later then,” he cried as he beat a hasty retreat from her room.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Rene threw herself on the bed and sighed dreamily. “How sexy was that?”

Michaela was about to tell her it wasn’t sexy at all, but then she saw the look in her friend's eyes, it was the same look she imagined she had whenever she thought of Cameron...

They spent the rest of their morning, and most of their afternoon pampering each other. Michaela did Rene’s nails and makeup. And her friend returned the favor by doing her hair. Michaela had wanted to go to the hair salon to trim her hair, but Rene insisted she’d do an even better job for free.

Two hours later though, when Rene finally allowed her to look in the mirror, Michaela wasn’t sure whether she should cheer or cry.

It’s pink!” She finally settled on cheering. “And so short!” 

“Not, just any pink, but hot pink, darling!” Rene bowed dramatically at her, and they danced in each other’s arms, jumping and screaming the whole time.

“It’s so not me though,” she cried when their excitement died down.

“No, it’s so not your mom! This is edgy and dramatic. Everything you’ll be on that stage tonight. And if anyone expects you to be just like your mom after this, I’ll personally go after them with a pair of scissors!” Rene told her, the laughter in her eyes from earlier was now replaced by a seriousness Michaela had never seen in her before.

“Thanks,” Michaela gave her friend a hug before she turned to the mirror again.

The longer she gazed at her reflection, the more she fell in love with her new look. Yes, it was edgy and dramatic, everything she’d never have imagined she’d ever be.  But it was also everything Joshua could never touch nor taint because he was dead. It was her new self that Joshua would never shatter or break.

Tears of relief flooded her eyes then. This was part of the closure she’d been searching for all along, that small nudge to let go of the person she used to be, and embrace the person she wanted to become.

She understood now why people cut their hair sometimes after major changes in their lives; it was symbolic of new beginnings and moving forward. And she was ready to let go...

And that night, at Mystic Dust, she finally did, when she lit up the stage with her raw energy and new-found voice.

For their hour long set, they covered their favorite songs, preferring to keep their new material for their demo.

The atmosphere grew electric when they sang 'Living on a Prayer', the crowd cheered and stomped their feet along to the beat.

They closed their set with Faith Hill’s Piece of My Heart. And that’s the song that made them a household name in Monte Vista.

Adrian and Sofia, their biggest fans and loudest cheerers in the crowd, recorded the last bit of their performance when they suddenly remembered they’d brought their video camera. And when they got home later that night, with Lowell and Hayden’s help, they put it up on YouTube.

And by the next morning it had over five thousand views and a decent amount of likes.

Back in Bridgeport, Krisis was in his office, going over the label’s financial records with his team of accountants when he was called out of the meeting by his producer.

“This had better be good,” he growled as he followed Mark to the conference room.

“It is,” the producer assured him.

Cameron and K-Infinity’s band manager were already seated , and deeply engrossed in the video on the screen.

Cameron refreshed the page to reload the clip. And for almost six minutes no one breathed in that room as they watched Michaela light up the stage in a small café in Monte Vista.

“She has to come home,” Mark was the first to speak long after the video had stopped.

“I’ll arrange with legal to draw up the contract,” Stanley added.

Krisis just nodded his head, he still couldn’t speak. He was floored. Watching his niece was like seeing a younger, untamed version of Krimsyn. Her raw energy was so potent, her stage presence so strong, it made him tremble.

And when she sang, sweet Jesus, he wanted to bow his head and weep.

“Gentlemen, I think it’s safe to say I’m going to Monte Vista,” Cameron finally spoke; he sounded as awestruck as Krisis felt as he lit a blunt and took in a long puff.

Later that evening when Krisis and Leigh showed the video to J.D. and Krimsyn, tears of pride filled both their eyes.

“My little girl,” Krimsyn cried over and over. She’d been so worried about her, and now she could finally let go of all her fears. Michaela looked so different in the video, but she was happy and healthy and that’s all that mattered to her...