A Dreamers Dream

Birmingham England - Part Three

By the time I've signed my name to basically a small forest's worth of pieces of paper and Paul has made notes on what feels like my entire life history, it's nearly five, and I am already exhausted despite the fact that I've not actually done any real work yet. He's given me a temporary crew pass so that I can get around tonight but warned me that tomorrow will be picture day so that I can get an official one. Best make sure to find some time to wash and straighten my hair tomorrow before we head off to our next stop I think to myself as I stow the hotel key Paul has also given me away in the stupidly small handbag. Cursing myself for leaving my regular sized one, in which I can fit more than a pencil, in my car. We also had a quick chat about the next few upcoming tour stops, and Paul has synced my phone calendar with the crew schedule, so I have no excuses for not being in the right place at the right time. I know that the crew buses are leaving Birmingham tomorrow afternoon to head up to Manchester for the next show the following night.
The list of destinations is overwhelming enough, but as I flick through the flight itineraries, long bus rides and a couple of social events, I am beginning to see that this isn't just a job I'm taking on here, it's a way of life. And talk about being thrown in at the deep end, I've only got four days to get my head around all of this before we hit one of the biggest stops on tour, the o2 arena in London. The only good thing about going back down South so soon is that at least then I can hopefully find enough time to pop home and pack up a few more items, or maybe have Michael bring them to me if all else fails. Now that I officially know I'm going to be on the road for the next few months the meagre amount of clothes I packed seems stupid even to me.

I follow along behind Paul as he leads me down to the floor of the arena and twist my head this way and that as he points out various people to me. When we finally make our way out onto the main floor I am amazed by the change in the hour or so that I've been gone. The stage looks to be wholly assembled now, and lights flash in every direction as the engineers run their pre-show checks. We make our way through the scores of people running this way and that, over towards a tall, pretty blonde, who flashes me a smile that shows off all of her perfectly white teeth as Paul introduces me and she reaches out a hand to shake mine
"Maddie, great to meet you. We're running a little behind tonight, so we'll have to get to know each other as we go I'm afraid, wanna give me a hand with the catwalk?" she asks me in a friendly voice as she turns the light catches her hair, and I spot a shock of bright pink in the back of her blond tresses, and I instantly decide that I like her
"Sure! Sorry I didn't catch your name?" I reply as Paul leaves us to work
"Sammy," she tells me with another smile
"Erm, so catwalk? Thought this was a concert, not a fashion show" I ask, confused as Sammy leads me over to a massive stack of what look to be black metal fence panels by the side of the newly erected stage.
"Ha! Once you get to know H, you'll see that it's kind of a bit of both!" She laughs, and although I really don't get the joke I try and smile along with her as she continues to explain the set up "See that stage down there? H and Mitch, that's his guitarist, they head down there mid-show to sing two acoustic songs. It's H's way of ensuring that even the people in the cheap seats right at the back of the arena's get a good look at him, I think. Anyways he walks straight through the crowd, you know, grasps a lot of hands, receives a lot of flowers, says thank you a lot. Gives poor Jeff a heart attack each and every single night bless him, but H loves it. So we set up the catwalk every night for him to walk down."
"Wow, I'm not surprised Jeff's not too happy about that, must be a security nightmare! One question, though, erm H?" I say raising my eyebrows at Sammy. I've already gathered that this is a nickname for Harry. Still, I'm kind of surprised to hear one of the lowly crew members referring to him by it, let alone implying that I'll be getting to know this mythical man. Surely he keeps his distance from us, little people?
"H is kind of just what everyone calls him. Of course, he's still Harry Styles to you right now, but that'll change. Don't worry, you'll see. He's the best boss in the world. Now grab the other end of this would ya and follow me."