Free Big Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Aurora Dupree Page B

approaching, and shook his head sternly.
    “ Back of the line, miss.”
    “ Um, I have a backstage pass.” I held the laminated ticket up. He looked at it, and nodded.
    “ Oh, I'm very sorry. Right this way.”
    He removed the rope and ushered her through. I joined other fans heading down a long, narrow tunnel, where they were met by some ushers.
    “ Your seat is in the first two rows,” the usher said, examining my ticket. “Anywhere you like.”
    I continued forward, and soon the large, curved amphitheater of the Colosseum stretched out before me. The place was really huge. It definitely held ten thousand people, easy. Fans were starting to trickle in more and more now, and the place was getting crowded. I found a seat in the first row, next to bunches of rabid Unholy Night fans decked out in their merchandise. Even though I had absolutely no idea what to expect, I was kind of excited. There was an electric atmosphere in the place that was contagious, and soon I found myself tapping my feet and clapping along with the rest of the audience, shouting “ We want Unholy Night! We want Unholy Night!”
    After what seemed like an eternity, the lights finally dimmed and an uproarious cheer rang out through the crowd. The guitar player, bassist, and drummer all came out onto the stage to rapturous applause, holstering their instruments. They were all handsome dudes, with long hair, and they looked like they had attained a level of coolness which I doubted I could ever achieve. Last out onto the stage was Clyde, who received the most applause of all. He was wearing the same getup from the dive bar, and he was so close that I felt like I could reach up and touch him. He approached the microphone with a wide smile on his face. He raised his hands in the air and shouted “ How's everyone doing tonight? Are you ready to rock?”
    I found myself screaming in affirmation along with everyone else. Unholy Night launched into their first song, with frantic guitars and a blisteringly fast bass line. Clyde sang in a deep, low baritone, and his voice was unbelievable. Although I didn't know any of the songs, after the first ten minutes I was singing along with everybody else, eager for more. Clyde was a natural showman on the stage, running all over the place, pointing to the audience, shaking around with the rest of his band mates. The songs kept coming, harder and faster, and I couldn't believe how good they sounded, or why I'd never heard of them before. Looking at Clyde, it was as if he was born to be on the stage, to play to a large group of people. By the time the show ended, two hours and several encores later, everyone was a sweaty mess, but somehow I was still hungry for more. It was without a doubt the best show of my entire life, and that's saying something.
    I stood around while the mass of exhausted, happy fans swarmed around me. I turned to leave with them, before I remembered that I had backstage passes. Grinning, I headed over to the bouncer who was guarding access to the rear. He let me in without a fuss, and I was ushered down a long corridor to a small lounge room where Unholy Night was relaxing.
    The band was seated on plush leather couches, looking tired but happy. There were maybe twenty people in the room, all diehard fans aside from me. The band was taking pictures, signing autographs, chatting with their fans. I stood in the corner, waiting for Clyde to notice me. Finally he did, his eyes widening in delight, and he came strolling over in my direction with a sly grin plastered on his face.
    “ Debbie,” he said. “You made it. I was wondering if you were gonna show.”
    “ How could I miss it?” I asked. “That was the show of a lifetime. I can't believe I'd never heard of you guys before.”
    “ Well thank you, thank you very much,” he said, doing a little exaggerated bow. “Come on, let me introduce you to the rest of the band.”
    He led me over to the other members of Unholy Night.
    “ This is