Ok, I'll kill the suspense right now and tell you that we didn't get our automatic third place because we were the only band with horns. Nor did we get first or second place. Or the honorable mention. So according to the judges, we were in the worse half of the bands that played. But according to our fan base, which was a considerable size, the judges didn't know what the hell they were talking about. So that's good, at least.
Seriously, I feel pretty good about how we did, especially since the band that won is really talented and really serious, and even has stuff you can download online. (Note me if you want the link.) Our only problems had to do with balance. People were dancing to our stuff and seemed to like it, and out of all the bands, we definately stood out the most.
The whole thing was ridiculously disorganized. We were left to figure out for ourselves how to set everything up on "stage." (which looked like someone's living room and had only overhead flourescant lights.) No one was sure what order we would be playing in until a few minutes before we started. I never saw the "judges" at all. Hm.
Oh well. It was basically one big party anyway. Molly, Emma and Helen showed up. They snuck up on me when we were setting up on stage. Helen gave me a hug and scared the crap out of me, Emma gave me flowers, and Molly gave me her hat to wear. Then after we played I hung out with them and Dave and Julian for the rest of the concert, and it was pretty cool. We talked a lot, and I even danced. Maya came too. I used to hang out with Maya all the time, but now she's homeschooled. Molly still sees her for orchestra and ballet, but I haven't seen her in forever, so it's just kind of awkward. She was visibly upset through most of the concert because of Elijah.
"Maya, you shouldn't let it bother you..." I saw Molly saying to her at one point. I was standing away from them a little, with Julian and Dave.
"I know..."
"He's nothing like he used to be you know. He's a stoner..."
"I know! I don't care!" She looked so sad. I wanted to talk to her. But then, it's been so long since I've seen her, I feel like I don't even know her well enough.
"What's going on?" said Julian, to me. "Is she after Elijah or something?"
"She used to go out with him. They broke up last year. But this always happens when they see each other, because she obviously cared about him a lot and he... well... He just doesn't care at all."
"Oh. I just heard her say, 'He's a stoner, but I don't care.'"
"Well, that's because she does care." Maya is a devout Catholic who grew up with very strict parents. I sighed. "I hate stuff like this. So awkward..."
"Heh. Awkward. Have you heard about the awkward game?" I'm pretty sure the change in subject was intentional.
"How do you play the awkward game?" I said.
"You try to make the other person feel as awkward as possible. I saw Tom playing it with one of his male friends, and they were just like, 'Awkward game!' and then they started like, touching eachother..."
"...Okay..."
"Yeah. I mean, you've got to hand it to them - two guys who are just joking around, all like, putting their knees in eachother's crotches and stuff - you've got to be pretty secure." He didn't really sound like he was making fun of them.
"Yes... Secure..."
There was a pause.
"Awkward game!" said Dave, and stepped toward me.
"Woah! Woah! Not cool!" I said, and they both laughed.
"I win," said Dave.
By the end of the concert, most people had gone home, including Emma, Helen, and Maya. Because we were really tired, Molly and I ended up lying down across folding chairs, singing "Yellow Submarine" and saying whatever popped into our heads.
"There is a girl over there," she said, "with a shirt that says, 'Geeks are Hot.' But I don't think she actually thinks geeks are hot. I think she just likes the idea of geeks. Most real geeks are not that hot. coughJuliancough"
I said nothing. It's hopeless, I thought. Completely hopeless. I mean for one thing, he's probably gay. If he's not, he's too much of a dork to understand flirting and stuff. Jesus, I can't even tell anyone. They'll laugh at me. But this hopeless crush thing is becoming more and more severe. Damnit damnit damnit. I always pick the bad ones.
She spoke again. "Sometimes I imagine that events in my life are scenes from an emo movie. This is one of them." She lay back on her folding chairs, stared at the celing, and looked mopey. I laughed.
Dave came over and looked down at us. "In the town... Where I was born... Lived a man..."
"Hey, where's Julian?"
"He can't stand the metal. He went outside."
"Oh." He walked away.
I looked over at Molly. She was still staring at the celing. I have a feeling she's depressed most of the time, for real.
We gave Julian and Molly a ride home. They both seem to be pretty comfortable with my mom, so it was generally kind of fun and not awkward. It was about eleven thirty when I got home. That means I was at the church for five hours.
And it's over. I'm kind of disappointed and relieved at the same time.
Ooh, it should also be mentioned that out of approximately fourty people, I was the only female on stage the whole night. Score points for me.
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