I never thought I’d die alone
I laughed the loudest who’d have known?
I traced the chord back to the wall
No wonder it was never plugged in at all
I took my time, I hurried up
The choice was mine I didn’t think enough
I’m too depressed to go on
You’ll be sorry when I’m gone
I never conquered, rarely came/ 16 just held such better days/ Days when I still felt alive/ We couldn’t wait to get outside/ The world was wide, too late to try/ The tour was over I’d survived/ I couldn’t wait till I got home/ To pass the time in my room alone
I never thought I’d die alone
Another six months I’ll be unknown
Give all my things to all my friends
You’ll never set foot in my room again
You’ll close it off, board it up
Remember the time that I spilled the cup
Of apple juice in the hall
Please tell mom this is not her fault
I never conquered, rarely came/ But tomorrow holds such better days/ Days when I can still feel alive/ When I can’t wait to get outside/ The world is wide, the time goes by/ The tour is over, I’ve survived/ I can’t wait till I get home/ To pass the time in my room alone
--Blink 182 “Adam’s Song”
Part one-
Stephanie sat in her hotel room thinking. She had called her “best friend” Diana to see what was new. Apparently, Diana didn’t want to talk to her. She said that she “was busy,” and, “can I call you later?” Stephanie was wondering if her friendship was deteriorating. Ever since she had made it into the music business all of her friends from before she was famous were suddenly “too busy” to talk to her or to even get together when Stephanie was home from TV tapings and appearances.
Stephanie was now going to be kicking off her first US tour, opening for the Backstreet Boys. Stephanie was thrilled at that aspect, considering she was a huge fan of theirs. However, the thought that she was loosing all of her friends made her totally depressed. She didn’t know how she would survive the two month long tour without talking to her friends. Stephanie sighed and picked up her backpack, which contained her CD player, CDs, a change of clothes, her cell phone, and her address/phone book. She was due at the arena for sound check at one and it was 12:30. Stephanie exited her room and got onto the elevator and headed to the lobby. She managed to get out of the hotel without any trouble from fans and boarded her tour bus.
“Hey Sam,” she said to her driver. “What’s new?”
“Nothing new Stephanie,” Sam replied giving her a smile. “There’s a little surprise for ya in the lounge at the back of the bus,” he winked.
Stephanie smiled and headed towards the back of the bus. She first stopped in the lounge/kitchen area and grabbed a bottle of water, and then continued on to the back. When she got there she found a N64 system hooked up with many games—including her favorite, Mario Kart—in a pile on the floor.
“Oh yeah! Video games!!” Steph said and immediately sat down to play Mario Kart.
After many games, and twenty minutes later, she arrived at the arena. The first show was in Miami, and Stephanie couldn’t wait to perform. She had been rehearsing for the tour for two months with Fatima. Stephanie loved Fatima’s work, and immediately wanted her to be her choreographer. Fatima was going to be at sound check to check Stephanie’s dance moves and to polish anything that might be a little messy.
“Dang…look at all of these people!” she thought as security led her into the building. Steph was immediately shown to her dressing room, which was across from the BSB’s dressing room. Stephanie smiled to herself. Maybe someone would be shoved out of the dressing room in their undies. Stephanie grabbed another bottle of water, her pager, and cell phone and headed towards the stage.
The stage was centered and was very large. Stephanie knew that she was going to have fun performing. She climbed up onto the stage and set her stuff down near one of the edges of the stage to be out of the way. Stephanie was warming up when Fatima walked in.
“Hey Steph! How ya doin’ today?”
“Great Fatima! I can’t wait to get started.”
“Ok well the backup dancers are going to arrive later, so right now you’re on your own for sound check. Let’s start with the moves for Why.” Fatima cued the music and Steph started dancing. Fatima and Steph when through her 4 song set before the sound people handed her her headset microphone. She tested to see that it was on. The music for her current hit “My Time” started. Steph started singing and dancing along with the song. At the end she was greeted with applause. She looked to see who was applauding and was surprised to see the Backstreet Boys, along with Fatima, clapping. Being the ham that she is, she took a few bows before hopping down from the stage.
“Great job Steph! Keep it up and the audience is in for a great show.”
“Thanks Fatima,” Steph replied wiping her forehead with the towel that she brought.
”Well I’m sure that you know who these guys are. Meet Brian, AJ, Nick, Howie, and Kevin. Guys this is Stephanie,” Fatima said introducing the guys and Steph to each other.
“Nice to meet you guys,” Steph replied shaking each of their hands. “And you can just call me Steph. Stephanie is too formal for my tastes.”
“Ok. Great job!” Brian replied. Steph smiled and turned slightly pink in her cheeks.
“Yeah. How old are you again?” Howie asked.
“17 this October.”
“17?! You look over 21 to me!” AJ replied.
“Nope. I’m just 16 at the moment.”
“Dang. A teenager is taller than me!” Howie said joking around.
“Yeah no fair!” AJ and Brian replied.
Steph shrugged her shoulders. “I can’t help it that I’m tall. I actually hate it sometimes.”
“Why would you hate being tall?” Kevin asked.
“All the guys that I like are always shorter than I am. Very hard meeting guys that are taller than I am. I’m almost 6’.”
All of the guys let out a whistle. “The youth of today is getting taller…” Nick said.
“Oh stop it Nick! You just turned 20 this January. You’re not that older than me.”
“I’m four years older.”
“I was born in ’83. Try only around 3 hun.”
“She got ya there Frack,” Brian whispered.
“Whatever…”
At that moment Steph’s pager went off. It was her mom. “I need to call someone guys. Please excuse me.” Steph went and got her cell phone and dialed her mom’s number.
“Hey mom, what’s up?”
“Sorry to disturb you hon, but I need to ask you something.”
“Sure! What?”
“Well I need to know how many tickets and backstage passes you need for your friends when you come to Chicago…”
”And near Kabi…”
“And near Kabi. Do you know?”
“Well gee, since all of my ‘friends’ back in Chicago seem to not want anything to do with me anymore, why should they get tickets?”
