Free Intensity by S. Briones Lim Page A

speak and nodded quietly. “Brian said you’d be showing up around this time. Come in.” He unlatched the gate and motioned for the girls to follow him.
    Sharing one quick glance, the two followed the man and soon found themselves entering a bright red door. They struggled to keep up with him as he navigated through a series of hallways. When they reached a large room, the man grabbed a clipboard from what appeared to be a case of amps and unclipped two lanyards. “Here,” he said, holding out the plastic cases towards them. “Wear these and don’t take them off. No point in getting arrested again, right?” He began to chuckle. Ruthie’s face grew red with embarrassment while Celine just grabbed the pass with irritation. The man grinned. “Intensity is going to be here within the hour. Just sit in the green room and wait for them there and don’t touch anything.”
    “Yes, Mom,” Celine quipped. He glanced down at her with annoyance.
    “Shh,” Ruthie whispered. “Don’t piss him off! Don’t you want to be here?”
    Celine sighed. “Yes, I do. I’m sorry. Don’t mind me. I guess I’m still recovering from the thought that I almost spent the night in jail.”
    The man must have overheard because he started laughing. “Trust me, Sweetie, it could have been worse. Besides, after a while you get used to the whole thing.”
    Celine didn’t even want to imagine what this man (who they were trusting enough to follow down a dark hallway) could have done to have gotten “used to” being in jail. Luckily, the walk didn’t last long.
    “Here’s the green room,” he said, gesturing towards an open door. Celine peeked inside and was surprised to find a regular white-walled room, with two couches, a table and a TV set. She had always heard of the crazy “riders” celebrities often demanded from venues. The fact that the room was quite simple only made her love Intensity even more. The man instructed, “Stay here and don’t go wandering around. You’re already a liability being in here to begin with, but I have other stuff to take care of.”
    “Yes, sir!” Ruthie replied, stepping inside. The man pursed his lips, unsure of whether to take Ruthie’s response as sarcasm or agreement. Nonetheless, he left both girls alone.
    “I can’t believe we’re backstage! Like officially backstage!” Ruthie grabbed at her lanyard and pulled at the plastic sleeve excitedly. She thrust it forward and pointed to the Intensity logo scripted in the front. “Look! We even have passes.”
    Celine pursed her lips and refrained from reminding her that they would have had passes all along if Ruthie had only listened to her. Not wanting to start a fight, Celine walked over to the table and noticed a bowl of candy. “Do you think we’re allowed to have some?” Without waiting for Ruthie to answer, she began digging through the bowl in attempt to find her favorite candy bar.
    “Hey! Don’t touch that!” a voice called out from the door. Celine froze automatically, dropping a piece of taffy from her hand. The voice began to laugh. “Just kidding! Go ahead, have some! One of these days, the guys’ blood sugar levels are going to go through the roof!” Celine watched as Brian walked into the room and sucked in her breath. His hair had the same messy sexiness that he was known for back in high school, but without the spikes and blond tips.
    She stepped back from the bowl and smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, I have a weakness for Caramel—”
    “Crunch?” Brian interrupted, laughing. “Yeah, I remember.” He walked up next to her and dug into the bowl. He lifted his hand, revealing two Caramel Crunch bars and handed them to Celine. “How could I forget? You’d be munching on one every single day before fourth period!”
    “Wow, I can’t believe you remember that!” Celine breathed, glancing at the red wrappers in her hand.
    Ruthie sat quietly on the couch, watching the exchange. She raised an eyebrow as Brian