Girls Who Play Guitars

•going home feelings•

~RENT-A-WRECK~

Squashed between suitcases, bags and her guitar in the back seat of the cramped hire car, Ellie stuffed her face with her breakfast of Burger Rings. Running late after a sleepless night, she'd crammed her stuff into her suitcase before tearing down to the lobby to hand her key back and kick at the vending machine when her Burger Rings got stuck in the drawer.

As Kim and Meg waited in the car, Ellie had pushed her things into the tiny spaces they'd left for her in the boot and flopped into her seat, exhausted and uncomfortable with the heavy mood inside the car.

Going home to Port Lagan.

She hadn't been home for nearly four years.

It was her birthday.

And everything was up shit creek.

Meg and Kim were quiet as they drove over the Westgate and headed out of the city. Well, Kim hadn't said two words to her since seeing her come of out Daniel's dressing room. Lachy had driven them to their hotel and Kim had marched off to her room without a 'goodnight'. Meg had left Ellie alone to find the party and was most likely sporting a hangover the size of Russia.

Ellie munched away in the back seat, gazing out the window from behind her sunglasses, picturing Daniel's hurt face. It made her whole body ache with the idea that she may have made the biggest mistake of her life. But she shoved more Burger Rings into her mouth and thought about the next Slider gig in Melbourne, after her birthday. She had to impress Brenin - bring out the big guns and play as if she were channelling Angus Young, Malcolm Young and Neil Young all at once. Then she could prove to him he could get her where she needed to be. Up there. The shining star he knew she had the potential to be ...

Ellie chomped on more chips and tried not to think about Daniel.

Except Meg wasn't helping.

"Is it true Daniel's not coming anymore?" Meg asked when they'd got out of the suburbs and onto the open road. She drove with a cigarette hanging out the corner of her mouth and her foot permanently planted on the accelerator as she overtook trucks and cars. She had on an enormous baby blue wind-cheater that had a picture of a koala with a wonky face hand drawn on it in red puff paint.

Kim slumped in the front seat wearing a black Slider beanie pulled low; all her hair tucked inside it. She tugged it over her eyes and crossed her arms.

"I ... I think so. I told him not to come. I mean, you probably know more than I do." Ellie flicked her glance to Kim and shoved her hand back in the chip packet.

"Apparently Brenin's getting a private plane for everyone, and everything," Meg garbled.

"I said I don't know, Meg," Ellie grumbled. "You and Coral invited everyone so you should know all this stuff."

"Why would you tell Daniel he couldn't come, though?" Meg asked over her shoulder. "He was so stoked about it and it was all organised. He's such a cutie. And Coral invited him anyway. Not you."

"Thanks for the support," Ellie muttered, looking back out the window where her pale face was warped and disfigured in the reflection.

Meg looked at her through the rear vision mirror. "I mean, it'd be a bit shit if everyone else got to try your olds' mega weed stash and Daniel missed out."

Ellie paused with her hand in the plastic packet. "Meg! Oh my God! Who the fuck have you been telling about my parent's weed stash?"

When Meg said nothing more and Ellie noticed her lips pulled together into her cat bum mouth, she pushed against Meg's shoulder.