Standing By-an Avi Kaplan fanfic

Chapter 3: Convention Day

  The next day passes by in a blur. Lorraine and I go book seats at the CN centre for the convention, and Gran takes us to the mall and I buy a rhinestone PTX piano keys phone case.

  That night, I can't sleep. I'm way too excited for the convention tomorrow. Seeing Pentatonix in person has been my dream for 5 years, and although I can't exactly meet them, I might get a chance to ask a question or two. I mean, it's one thing to watch them on a screen, but seeing the, in the flesh? Awesome.

  My head is swimming with thoughts. What should I wear? What question should I ask? Will they see me in the crowd? I did book third-row seats... Should I take a video or some photos instead? Oh, will they sing a song?

  Amongst all the thinking, my brain finally wires down and I fall asleep.

  "RUBY, GET UP!" Lorraine shouts, poking her head into my room. I sit up, rubbing my eyes, still half-asleep.

  As I'm slowly clambering out of bed, the realization hits me: it's February 7th--convention day!

  It snaps me fully awake, and I move faster than I normally do. I finish my hair and makeup in less than 10 minutes--a personal record--and quickly get dressed. I run upstairs and Lorraine and I eat waffles like starving lions who haven't eaten for days.

  It's half an hour before the start of the convention and Lorraine and I run through the the snow to the bus stop at the end of the road. We chatter like monkeys the whole ride to the CN centre, and the closer we get, the more wired up I become.

  We get off the bus and run to the entrance hand in hand. We go inside and I'm overwhelmed by the crowd that's already forming. We show the doorman our slips and he leads us to our seats.

  "Third row!" Lorraine whispers excitedly as we squeeze past a few people and get seated. "This is crazy."

  "I know," I agree, and look up at the empty chairs onstage. "I can't wait!"

  The lights then dim and there's a spotlight on the stage. The whole arena goes up in screams and catcalls as each member of PTX comes out from behind the curtains, smiling and waving. We're sitting so close that I can see them all crystal clear--the red highlights in the beautiful mezzo soprano Kirstie Maldonado's brown hair; the SpongeBob tattoo on the adorable tenor Mitch Grassi's upper arm; Kevin Olusola, the dark, broad vocal percussionist's glimmering chocolate-brown eyes; the patters on tall blond lead baritone Scott Hoying's SnapBack; and the attractive bass vocalist Avi Kaplan's single hoop earring and signature beanie.

  Everyone erupts into applause as they each claim a chair.

  I'm in awe, beaming from ear to ear, and I can't stop staring at my idols, sitting a few meters in front of me. I scan each of their faces at least thrice.

  "Heeeeeeeeeeeey, Prince Geoooooooorrrge!" Scott greets us, and everyone whoops and hollers in response. "Glad to be back here today! Y'all were an awesome audience last night." More clapping.

  Kirstie smiles and scans the crowd. "Who missed out on the concert?"

  About a quarter of the people here raise their hands, including me and Lor.

  "That's unfortunate," Kevin says, shaking his head. Then he grins. "For the people who weren't here...Do y'all wanna hear a song?"

  "YES!" we all scream in response, and some people even stand up, pumping their fists in the air.

  Avi's deep laugh booms through the speakers. "All right!" he says enthusiastically, and I become entranced as his bright green eyes flash with excitement.