Turn My Page | Led Zeppelin

Communication Breakdown

  "Come on! The relapse will serve you good!" Jackie shouted from outside Vicky's door. Vicky had since told her about the mishap between she and Jimmy, and now Jackie had taken it upon herself to fix her depressed friend.

  Jackie and Robert were going to Philadelphia for a family thing, anyway, so Jackie had made the suggestion that she and Vicky go to The Spectrum for the Led Zeppelin concert. Jackie had already bought three tickets.

  "No!" Vicky yelled, burying her face in her bed as she threw a pillow at the door, where it ricocheted and covered the balled up Jimmy Page poster on the ground.

  "Victoria Sorentino, get your ass out of bed or I'll get in there some how."

  "Go away," Vicky groaned.

  "Fine, but I'll be back," Jackie warned. There were some creaks as Jackie left and soon Vicky was alone on the second floor, save for the radio on her bedside table. Stairway to Heaven came on, as if a sign. Vicky covered her head with pillows, unwilling to listen.

  There came a small bang from outside, a small tink noise, and repetitive banging of metal. Vicky groaned and ignored it.

  Warm breeze wafted through her open window, and the sound of distant bird song helped her focus on anything but the song on the radio. She felt too lazy to turn it off.

  "Lazy ass," came Robert's voice, startling Vicky. She sat up immediately and looked at her window. Robert stood there, gripping the rungs of a latter and grinning a mischievous grin. "This'll be fun."

  "No!" Vicky yelled and threw her cocune of blankets and pillows away from her as she stumbled toward the door.

  Robert climbed inside and ran toward her. She slipped on the plum shag carpet and fell forward on to her knees. Before Robert could catch her, she reached up and opened her door, then stood and ran out and down the hall toward the stairs.

  "Vicky!" Robert shouted. Vicky ran and he pursued without hesitation. Eventually she shuffled down the stairs and into the kitchen, where she hid behind the island, panting.  She heard Robert hop down the steps and enter the kitchen. She hopped up and faced him.

  "Vicky!" he repeated. She turned to run but he ran around the island and grabbed her around her waist and carried a violently squirming Vicky into the den where Jackie was waiting.

  Vicky placed a perfectly aimed kick to Robert's knee and he released her. She scurried over to Jackie, her greasy, filthy hair shielding her view. Jackie grabbed Vicky's shoulder and pulled her up. Once they made eye-contact, Jackie's expression softened.

  "Go take a shower, put on something nice, we're leaving in two hours," Jackie ordered.

  "What time is it?" Vicky asked, a screwed-up expression on her face.

  "Two," replied Robert from behind her. She glanced at him, then back at Jackie.

  "Babe," began Jackie, taking Vicky's shoulders, "take a shower, you'll feel better. And how great would it be to see Led Zeppelin again? How many people do you know that have been to TWO concerts? Two!"

  "I don't want to go," Vicky retorted. "I don't really--"

  "Don't say you don't like them anymore because of that whole thing with Jimmy. Do you realize how many people would have killed to be in the same position as you?"

  "Like murderers?" Robert asked. Jackie looked around Vicky and gave him the shut-up glare. He understood.

  "Fine, I'll go.," Vicky sighed, not wanting to waste such wonderful tickets. "How much were the tickets?"

  Jackie thought for a moment, then replied, "Six dollars and fifty cents each."

  Vicky nodded in approval and turned back toward the kitchen. She walked slowly up the stairs and into her room, where she collected a handful of clothing that she took to the bathroom next door.

  After she had finished scrubbing the filth, grease, and tears from her body, she got dressed in a purple top and dark blue bell-bottoms, paired with silver sandals that had went so perfectly with that little silver bracelet she had lost.

  All of the sudden a streak of rage and wrath shot through Vicky. All she wanted at that very moment was for Jimmy to suffer. Nothing more, nothing less.

  She wanted him to miss her, wanted him to not stop thinking about her, wanted him to think about her and her name and the misery it would bring him. This drew a smile on her wicked face. In fact, the mere thought of it did. She grinned evilly in the bathroom mirror.

  Vicky's head rocked steadily as the car drove down the highway. She had packed everything she would need for and over-night trip to Pennsylvania. Robert and Jackie had decided to drive all the way to Pennsylvania, and that had to be at least four straight hours of driving.

  There had been a traffic-pile-up on of one the roads in Philadelphia, making the Grand Am an hour late, leaving them five minutes to get to The Spectrum to at least catch the last thirty or so minutes of the showing.

  However, by the time they had got there, there was only time for one more song. Regardless, Vicky jumped out of the car and ran in, her shoes clopping on the freshly wet (it had rained) asphalt.

  She blew off the ticket collector and ran in until a crowd of people began to push out of the hall. She tried to grab the attention of each person who passed her, desperate to get a recap of the night's events.

  Eventually she grabbed the elbow of a young lady's jacket and pulled her back. She faced Vicky, her very attractive qualities shinning in the dim light as she waited for Vicky to say something.

  "I missed the concert," Vicky panted. Before she could add anything, the girl had caught the idea.

  "Jimmy used a violin bow to strum his guitar and it made the most bitchin' noise!" the girl exclaimed.

  Vicky froze. She had missed her idol use a bow? I have never seen him do that before and I  missed my only opportunity to see it? she though. "Anything else?"

  "Robert matched the pitches Jimmy was making with the bow with his voice," she recollected. "Oh, and Moby Dick was cut short."

  "Why?"

  "Time I guess," the girl replied. "Look, I'm sorry, I gotta go--"

  "Okay, thank you, ma'am," Vicky called and turned to run into the hall until a hand grabbed her shoulder. She turned to see Jackie.

  "Come on, Vick! Robert's mother is expecting us," Jackie informed.

  I must being going through some menstrual thing, Vicky thought, because I want to cry. "Do you not even care that we missed out on this new thing Jimmy did? That you wasted your money? Do you not care at all?" And with that, Vicky had caused herself to break out in tears due to frustration.

  Jackie stood, mortified. "Vicky, what's gotten into you?" Something hit Jackie and she grinned. "You still love Jimmy."