Free God In The Kitchen by Brooke Williams Page A

remembered why I liked being on the air. I was alone in a room all by myself with no one to see me when I made my mistakes. This was a different story and I could feel my palms begin to sweat.
                “Let me introduce you to the guys,” the manager said as he suddenly stopped his near run and swung a door open to his right.
                “Guys,” he said, leading the way into the room as my nerves began to build. “This is Jared Jones. He’s going to introduce you on stage today.”
                The men around me looked way cooler than I could ever dream of being. They had on faded jeans with rips in all the right places. Some of them wore leather jackets that were fitted perfectly to their bodies. One had ear length hair while another one had a shaved head. The amount of hair really didn’t matter, they all looked polished and unique in their own ways.
                “Hey,” I said, raising one hand, trying to keep my knees shaking. I met bands all of the time and I wasn’t usually star struck, but “This” had special meaning in my life because of their recent song.
                The guys surrounded me, clapping me on the back, shaking my hand and introducing themselves as if I didn’t already know all of their names.
                “Anything you need before we go on?” one of them asked and I immediately recognized the voice as that of the lead singer’s. He was from Australia and his accent showed through on the songs. It gave his tune a unique vibe.
                “Why “This?” I asked, knowing it was probably something they heard all of the time.
                The guitar player laughed and the drummer rolled his sticks over his fingers and back so quick I couldn’t follow them with my eyes.
                The lead singer put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me into his side. “It’s like this,” he said, stretching his hand out across the room. “It’s all about this, right? I mean, who knows what tomorrow will bring, but this…this we can grasp.” He clenched his fist and drew it in to his heart. “This is what’s important. This…is what matters.”
                I nodded, trying to act as if I followed everything he was saying, though I wasn’t really sure I understood.
                “What would happen if you died tomorrow, Jared?” he asked. “Where would you be? What would you do?” He didn’t wait for an answer before he went on. “Though I know where I’m headed, I don’t know what it’s going to look like…what it’s going to be like. So I have to hold on to this…for as long as I have it.”
                “Jones,” the manager stuck his head back into the room. “It’s time. We need you on stage.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
     
     
     
                I followed the manager as he snaked his way through the small corridors backstage. There were a few stagehands bustling around, checking last minute details but the lights were already dim and the crowd was murmuring with excitement.
                “Use the mic on the right,” the manager said.
                I nodded, feeling the nerves coursing through me as my hands began to sweat. I watched as the lights dimmed further and a couple of colored lasers raced across the stage. The crowd began to roar and I felt the manager give me a nudge. I took a few steps out onto the stage and stopped. It was too black for me to see much farther than my own fingertips and I knew the stage was littered with cords and instruments.
                It only took a few seconds for the spotlight to find me and once it did, I put on a smile and made my way across the stage, only slightly tripping on one thick mass of cords.
                I pulled the microphone down a bit so it would be close to my lips. “Hey everyone!” I said, raising my hand to the crowd and