Solstice

Chapter Five

After the best night's sleep, she can remember, Elizabeth was rudely awakened by the sounds of hammers, drills and shouts from workmen coming from outside her bedroom window. She groaned and turned on her side covering her face with her pillow. She tried to make herself go back to sleep but the laughs and giggles from the workmen outside made it impossible. After around five minutes of groaning and swearing under her breath, Elizabeth threw the covers off her and tossed the pillow back to its original place. She lay on her back staring at the ceiling trying to regain some semblance of relaxation. She couldn't remember the exercises that she had been taught to try and drown out unwanted sounds and really wished that she had paid more attention in class that day. She closed her eyes and tried some deep breathing exercises hoping that the concentration on her breathes would get rid of the sound of the work being carried out. It didn't. Eventually, Elizabeth knew it was hopeless and screamed through gritted teeth as she pushed herself up on the bed and swung her legs over the edge. As she did so, the singer caught sight of herself in the mirror, realising that for the first time in forever she had forgotten to take her makeup off before bed. She looked in horror as she saw the day old mascara form rings around her eyelids and streaks down her cheekbones.

"I haven't looked this bad since I played Eponine in Les Mis," Elizabeth mumbled to herself as she tried to wake herself up even more only causing more make up damage in the process. "Bloody great." She said looking down at her now foundation streaked hands. The singer glanced over at the clock by her bed. It had just gone seven in the morning, way too early for any normal functioning, she thought as she lowered her head. She got up off the bed and just as was regaining some tranquillity, the thunderous sound of a very of out of tune guitar chord came streaming down the corridor.

"For fuck's sake!" she screamed as raced towards the door and threw it open almost sending it off the hinges.

Elizabeth stormed down the corridor not really caring that all she was wearing was a rather skimpy pair of pyjamas that we only covering the bare essentials. In hindsight, she wished she had gone for a bigger size but for the moment her mind was focused on killing a certain someone. She passed three of the doors in the hallway all of which seemed quiet but the noise just seemed to be getting louder. Stopping at the fourth door, Elizabeth almost covered her ears from the sheer pain.

"Right!" she said to herself as she knocked on the door politely. When there was no response, just more monstrous abuse of the six strings, Elizabeth continued to knock on the door, the knock slowly turning into a loud bang. Eventually, the guitar playing stopped and Elizabeth could hear footsteps heading towards the door. She took a deep breath as she looked down to see the brass handle being turned and the door opening. Elizabeth needn't have worried about her dignity as stood opposite her was the lead singer of Britain's top rock band dressed only in underpants, socks and sunglasses. Suddenly she felt rather overdressed!

"Well, if it isn't Little Miss High and Mighty from downstairs," Ricky said leaning up against the door and removing his glasses. "Up early this morning aren't we?"

"As are you," Elizabeth answered folding her arms. "What the hell do you call that noise you were just making?"

"That noise as you call it," Ricky said raising one arm so that it was above his head on the door frame and placing the other on his hip, "is what I call music. It's the new single actually."

"Is it?" Elizabeth said raising an eyebrow with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "Well, I can't imagine who would buy it. People with no taste may be?"

"And you would know all about tastes in music," Ricky said grinning.

"More than you would think," Elizabeth said knowingly without giving anything away. "But getting back to my original point, could you keep it down some of us are trying to sleep."