Angels and Guardians Pt. 04

"Oh, right...I keep forgetting the two weeks in the hospital."

Jim sounded skeptical for the benefit of the listeners. "Sure...bet you can't list the Alliance races."

"Ugh, I'd rather not. I hate Alliance."

"Very well, Horde then."

"Fine...there's orcs, tauren, trolls, undead, and blood elves."

"Uh huh, and what do you play?"

"My main is a female blood elf paladin. She's T-7 equipped, and dual specced for heals and tank. My guild, Crumbsnatchers, know me as SheRah."

Rob asked, "Obviously you do play, or at least did. What made you start?"

"Well, I'm a Navy officer's little girl, so we moved around a lot. I didn't have many stable friendships, and someone once asked if I played. I checked out the game, and made a lot of friends online. No matter where I moved after that, I could take my friends with me. Plus, it's great for losing your worries of the real world."

"Nerd," Kim blurted.

"Noob," Ashley replied, giggling.

Rob thanked each girl for joining him, to which each returned with a thanks for the invitation. He asked Kim what her favorite radio station was.

She replied, "K-ROK, 97.3! Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!"

With that, they signed off. The girls took a few pictures with people in the crowd who wanted them, and then, together with Joe, helped Rob break down the remote. When everything was packed, Rob asked them to call Brett when they could, as he was interested in signing them up for future remotes. He said goodbye, and headed out the door. The club manager came up to them and thanked them for their part. He handed each girl a $150 check, saying they were worth every penny, as they had helped draw a crowd that packed the house. Then, he invited them to stay for the concerts. The girls told him they were going to the car to change, but would be back in. He was happy to hear it, and told the bouncers at the door to let them come and go as they pleased.

The girls went to Jill's vehicle and changed out of their cheer stuff. The height of the truck and tinting provided enough privacy from the large amount of people still milling around outside. They returned shortly to join Joe. Jill and Ashley wore the same t-shirt, tied as before, and tight jeans. Kim and Jasmine opted for short skirts and sleek tops. The group entered the main room just as the Glowing Newts took to the stage.

They played a mix of their original stuff, as well as crowd favorites from other popular bands. The group mixed with the crowd, jumping and dancing. As they rounded out their final song, Peter pointed to Ashley, her red hair making it easy for him to find her, and motioned that she should be near the side of the stage. She, and the rest of the group made their way through the packed floor to where he pointed. There, the bouncers had made a space for them, ensuring front row position for the feature band.

Soon, the room was darkened, save the lasers and spotlights chasing each other about, and the professional announcer started his introduction of the main event. The anticipation of the crowd grew until the guitars started playing, and Tales Of The Blind was announced in theatrical manner. The stage lights blazed on and pyrotechnics were set off at the first collective chord of their popular opening song. The band was welcomed with solid screaming from the crowd as they played.

Tales Of The Blind played for about a half hour, when Jon paused to talk to the crowd, asking how they were doing, etc. Then, "well, now the manager here tells me that a lot of you weren't going to show..." There were some half-hearted boos. "He told me that many of you like us, but said you weren't willing to pay the ticket price..." More boos. "Well, I gotta ask you, was it worth it?" An enthusiastic cheer rose up. "Good! Glad to hear it. I guess y'all owe the good time to a group of girls who were on the radio earlier, busily convincing y'all to grab your wallets. Give it up for Ashley, Jasmine, Jill, and Kim!" The spotlights swung to shine on the group of waving girls. The crowd clapped and screamed. Jon continued after the applause died down. "This is the last stop of our fall tour, and as such, it's traditional for a touring band to do something special on their last stop. Since we got in today, I've heard rumors and praises on the radio and through the grapevine about a local talent. Well, I'm curious what all the fuss is about. We don't allow fans to come on stage, normally, but what the hell, this is our last stop. Ashley, will you join us up here?"

Ashley's face contorted in mock shock as she ascended the stage steps. In truth, however, she was starting to get used to being ambushed in this manner. She was handed a microphone at the top of the steps and waved at the cheering crowd as she walked up next to Jon. "Hello! Thank you!" she said to the crowd as she stopped. Jon waved his arm up slightly, as if giving her the go-ahead to play to the crowd. When the cheering died down, she asked them through the microphone, "aren't y'all glad we asked you to come out?" Cheers and screams erupted again. She laughed lightly in flattery as she looked at Jon. He repeated that he was curious as to what she could do. "What do you have in mind?" she asked.

"Oh, let's throw you into the fire and give you a solo. It's not ours, but it fits kinda in how you got up here." He looked at his keyboardist and nodded. The first piano notes to "Uninvited" were played, and Ashley smiled as she started singing. The guitars and drums joined in at the usual place, and Ashley quickly got into the performance, singing to the crowd and dancing across the stage. The piece ended to thunderous cheers, screams, and applause. Ashley gave a "thank you," and expected to walk off stage, but the band started right into one of their own popular songs. She joined Jon in singing, sometimes as duet, others in taking turns on lead. Ashley was brilliant in her performance, never overbearing, yet filling her role as lead when expected. She danced and worked the stage, engaging every portion of the audience during the songs. She did so well that the band played the rest of their concert with her on stage. When their last song ended, the crowd went wild, cheering and screaming for a solid five minutes. It finally died down, and Jon thanked the crowd, then Ashley for her fine performance, which resulted in renewed cheering. Jon said, "that was the last song of our concert, but I want to do one more that the Glowing Newts showed us before we started tonight. It's called Ashley's Song." The crowd was familiar with the song now, after it was requested, and played all week on K-ROK. They cheered mightily at the title's mention. The band played it's introduction bars, and Ashley sang her song flawlessly. More than a few of the crowd recorded the performance on their cell phones, and several of the videos were posted on YouTube later that night. The song ended with Ashley taking a bow, and the stage lights dimmed as the crowd screamed.