Junk and Other Stories

Like Dreamers Do

I don't know how it happened, yet it did.

I was strolling along the street, happier than I've been in a long time, with that magical piece of paper in my hand. That piece of paper was more valuable to me than anything - possibly even more valuable than my Beatles CD collection, and that's saying something! I stared down at this wondrous object and fantasized about the event that lay before me.

My friend was walking with me, and she seemed just as excited as I was. She was bouncing down the footpath as if her shoes were made of rubber, a huge smile plastered on her face. I stared at her, unsure which friend she was meant to be. She seemed to be a combination of my two best internet friends: Shae and Lauren. She had Lauren's face and Shae's enthusiasm. It was amazing.

"I can't believe this is happening!" Shae/Lauren gushed.

"Neither can I!" I replied. "I'm still a bit skeptical. We can't actually be going to this concert, can we?"

"We can, and we are!" Shae/Lauren said. She turned to stare at me, a solemn expression in her eyes. "This concert is as real as real, and there is no way in hell we're going to miss it."

I laughed and told her I had no intentions of missing such an awesome gig. We hurried along the road like two streaks of lightning. As Shae/Lauren said, there was no way in hell we were going to miss it. We arrived at what looked like a large, squarish box. It didn't seem very big and I began to worry if we'd messed up with the address of the concert venue.

"Is this really the place?" Shae/Lauren asked, staring up at the box in confusion.

I glanced at the tickets. The address matched the one embossed on the front of the building. "Apparently so," I said, tucking the precious tickets away in my purse.

"Odd place to have a concert," Shae/Lauren remarked. There was a moment of silence then she grabbed my arm and hauled me into the foyer.

There were an awful lot of people in the foyer (lobby, to you Americans), and they were all dressed very strangely. They all had big backpacks on or suitcases in their hands. Shae/Lauren and I exchanged worried glances. It seemed that we had wandered into an airport terminal by mistake! I recognized several people looming in the crowd, but Shae/Lauren tugged me away before I could say hello to any of them.

"We're here to see Queen in concert, remember?" she said fiercely. "We can't afford to have any distractions around!"

"Oh, what, I can't say hello to a friend I haven't seen for months?" I retorted.

"No, you can't," Shae/Lauren replied. "We're here to see Queen and that's all, right?"

That's right. We were going to see Queen, live in concert.

* * * *

The concert was amazing, of course. Everyone in the crowd was cheering and screaming and singing along as Queen (with all of its original members) performed. By the end of it, Shae/Lauren and I were breathless, completely drenched in sweat, and experiencing a major adrenaline rush.

"That was bloody amazing!" I cried, wiping my soaked forehead with the back of my hand.

"I know!" Shae/Lauren wept. "I know! Oh my God, Brian May waved at me!"

"I know, buddy," I said, pulling her close. "You're such a lucky puppy."

The large crowd had thinned out by now, the remaining spectators filing out towards the exit, but Shae/Lauren and I stayed where we were, too mesmerized to move. We just stared up at the empty stage in awe, wondering what to do next. Then I had a crazy idea.