Obstruction

Iris

- The Goo Goo Dolls, Iris -

- June 27th -

The next day we simply set up our band gear in the Academy courtyard. We were booked to play at the annual Academy graduation party and for once we were staying on campus. The stage was the same as the one set up on our first day when the head of the Academy had held his speech.
We had added a sound rig and a shielded backstage area for our boxes, instrument cases, drinks and other chaos we generally needed.

Ethan was reduced to a nervous mess. Something was making him worse than ever.

"Is this about playing for people we know?" I asked trying desperately to help him out.

I saw how his hands were fidgeting and longed to reach out and hold his hands still.
To calm him.
Or take the nerves from him.
And I wanted to make up for the gigs where I hadn't been as supportive.
And I wanted him to feel confident.

"Not really," he said looking at the floor.

"You've not been this bad for months. We are better than ever. All the songs are in our blood. You can do this blindfolded!" I said trying to encourage him.

I picked up his acoustic guitar and strummed it. It sounded like a strangled cat.

"Do you want me to tune this? It sounds all wonky?" I asked, wondering how on earth the guitar had gotten this badly out of tune.

He flattened his lips and shook his head.

Odd waved me over to him so I left Ethan's out of tune guitar with him before I walked over to our drummer.

"I really don't think you can help him today, Izzy," Odd said quietly.

"I have to do something! I can't just let him sit there," I said.

He was really pitiful. Shaking like a leaf. He hadn't even looked up from the floor once.

"I've got it. Go warm your voice up or whatever," Odd said with a firm set to his face.

"I wish I could make his trouble go away," I muttered.

Odd looked at me with a crooked smile.

"I know," he said.

We were about halfway through the gig when Simon stepped up to the mike.

"Right. We're giving our talented Izzy a quick break. Ethan here is going to sing a song," he announced with a smile.

My gut dropped.
Of course.
This was why he had been so nervous.
But why hadn't they told me?
There was nothing on our set list to say he was going to sing anything.
The only break my voice was getting was 'Chase the Ace'.
We hadn't practiced any songs for him either.

I sighed heavily.
Stupid boy.
Why did he put himself through this?
This is why dropping practices was a bad idea!
I considered going for a toilet break while Ethan was putting himself through hell.

"Don't go anywhere. This won't last long," Odd whispered as he saw me heading away.

I threw a quick look at the stage and felt a surge of sympathy towards Ethan.
He looked terrified. Both him and Simon threw little looks towards me. I gave a supportive, half-hearted thumbs up and a matching smile.

"I'm not sure about this," Ethan muttered away from the mike as he picked up the acoustic guitar and slung the strap over his head.

"Trust me. It's all good," Simon grinned back and patted Ethan's shoulder.

Ethan closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, obviously fighting down some nerves. Seeing him this vulnerable gave me a big lump up in my throat. Then he looked at me with a strangely frightened look in his eyes before he turned around towards the audience and signalled Odd to start playing.