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Kiss Me At Midnight: Chapter One
By Miriam
A Venus Fanfiction Crew Production
DO THE CREW!!!!
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October 18, 1999
Miriam, Rachel & Sarah warmed up with a few short melodies & a couple harmonic chords. They had a show tonight, & an important talent scout was going to be sitting front & center. The girls knew how important it was for them to do good tonight. This could be a great opportunity for their group, Inspired.
The girls had formed Inspired a few years ago & had been the only members to stick with the group through all it's ups & downs. Their dedication & hard work were being rewarded by the talent's scout's presence tonight. Miriam, Sarah & Rachel had sacrificed a lot for their dream. They had to miss out on a lot of fun social events with their friends, because of rehearsals or shows. They also had not been able to date much, because of time constraints, & had lost contact with a lot of their friends. Where other people might have complained about Inspired ruining their social life, the 3 girls almost never made a peep. Inspired was their top priority & they had been working towards the group's future for most of their lives. Tonight their dreams might finally come true.
Although they were just an opening act, Miriam, Sarah & Rachel were thankful for any time that could benefit their group. The girls were amazed that they were considered good enough to open for one of the most popular groups of the summer, Bliss. The four girls of Bliss & the three girls of Inspired had become close during their months of touring together. Bliss was helping Inspired in the same way another popular group, *N Sync, had helped them. *N Sync was still a very popular group; at the peak of their career, they had chosen Bliss as one of their opening acts. Bliss had shocked the crowd & soon caught the eye of *N Sync's record label, Jive. Leaving their "small - name" label, Bliss immediately signed to Jive. They were now helping Inspired get into Jive's line of vision. When the girls of Bliss had free time, they loved to tell their new - found friends stories from their tour with *N Sync. The Inspired girls ate these stories up, & someday hoped to meet the members of *N Sync, their biggest inspirations. Through Bliss' stories, they felt as if they already knew them.
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A knock sounded against the door, & a member of the backstage crew peeked his head into the room. "Come on girls, you are on in five." The crew member walked away, leaving the door open for Miriam, Sarah & Rachel to follow him.
The girls took their places backstage. They embraced one last time in a group hug, before waiting silently in the dark wing. The girls had finished their pre - show rituals a few minutes ago, while warming up, & were now focusing on the performance ahead. Butterflies fluttered in Miriam's tummy. Even though she had been performing for most of her life, she still got a bit nervous before each show. To her defense, also, was the fact that this was one of their most important shows. Miriam couldn't stop thinking about the talent scout in the first row.
Sarah looked over at her friend & noticed how she tugged at her skirt. Recognizing how scared Miriam was, she leaned over & gave her another hug. Miriam smiled, then adjusted her costume for the last time. She was wearing a short black skirt, which was begrudgingly forced on her by her groupmates, who hated short skirts, & a silver vinyl halter top. Accenting the outfit were high black boots that matched her skirt, a silver armband & black butterfly clips in her hair. The outfit looked stunning on her. Miriam glanced at Rachel, who was playing with the tie on her long silky cargo skirt. The dark silver of the skirt looked awesome with her fitted black tee - shirt. To match her outfit, Rachel wore a silver ribbon in her hair, & a funky silver bracelet. She wore black sneakers on her feet; it had taken her an argument & a half to gain permission to wear them. Catching her glance, Miriam smiled at Rachel, then looked one last time at Sarah, who had her head down & was again focusing on the show. Sarah's clasped hands hung just in front of her black pin - striped pants. The narrow stripes of silver threaded through the pants matched perfectly with her long - sleeved silver v - neck shirt. Her accessories included a fancy silver choker, silver bangle bracelets, & silver butterfly clips in her hair.
Suddenly another member of the backstage crew bustled into the wing.
"Ok girls, you are on in a few seconds." The crew member sounded extremely frazzled as she gently pushed the girls into their "ready" positions. The girls had to be ready to run onto their starting spots on the stage in a few seconds & each had an assigned spot in the wing that would be the easiest to run from. The opening scene had the girl's dancers curled up in different positions on the floor, with the girls standing in varied positions around the stage.
"Ok girls, you are on...now!!" The crew member, Donna, pushed the girls towards the stage, just a few precious seconds after the lights had dimmed. Butterflies tumbling in their stomachs, the girls took their places on the stage. As they listened for their cues, Sarah, Miriam & Rachel forgot their nervousness, & even forgot the talent scout in the front row. Everything else faded, except for the performance ahead of them, & the roaring crowd in front of them. They became totally focused on listening for the musical notes they had become so accustomed to hearing. As the first notes of the song blared over the crowd, the lights slowly came up. Three spotlights focused on the girls of Inspired as they turned & began dancing. They stepped forward & over the dancers in front of them, in a sultry swagger that brought them to the front of the stage.
"Ooooooohhhhhh yea.." The girls sang in a perfect harmony as they neared the front of the stage. Miriam caught sight of the talent scout just as their harmony ended. Terrified, she paused for a fraction of a second, almost missing her cue, but quickly got back on track, hoping nobody noticed her blunder. Looking the scout right in the eye, she whispered huskily into the microphone.
"Oh yea baby, I'm right here, waiting for ya."
She was rewarded with a hearty smile from the talent scout. The three girls did a quarter turn & started one of their hardest dances, while singing one of their future singles, "Waiting For Ya". The crowd roared. Catching Sarah's eye, Miriam grinned. Maybe they would make it in the music industry after all!
