Broken Business [Red]

Yeah that was probably the most accurate way to put this performance. Seriously why had so many people recommended this band to her? And more importantly... Why were there so many people here watching it! She could probably go up onto that stage right now and play better music, ya know, if she had her guitar with her, or if she could be bothered to. There were a lot of people here to possibly mess up in front of. But that was beyond the point! She could totally play better music than these scrub lords. Red was almost tempted to put on her headphones and just listen to her own music, anything would be better than this by this point.

Oh well, not every outing can lead to a brilliant adventure. Gotta have one sour monstrosity every now and then to even it out. Hmm, she wondered if anyone else was thinking the same thing right at this moment, it'd be funny if half the crowd were just faking the fact they liked this garbage for their lovey dovey other wovey. Out of curiosity, Red would take a quick scan of the crowd. Strangely it did seem as though most people were enjoying themselves. Like this was meant to be a youth band, you know, one of those bands that connects to younger kids and teens. Wait, was she getting old already in her tastes of music? Oh god. Let that not be true. It couldn't be. No, this band was just awful. Don't let anything or anyone tell you otherwise!

However, Red's eyes did finally land on someone a little way out of the crowded... Crowd? Who seemed they weren't quite enjoying themselves as much as they'd hoped either. Eh, there was nothing better to do. Time for awkward small talk to commence! Woo! "Not enjoying the festivities either ey?" Red would question once she had walked over to the other big fan. "Wasn't quite what I had in mind for them. After all the positive things I had heard about them. Their lead guitarists has hit that chord wrong the past three times for crying out loud!" She'd continue with a slight smirk. "So, what about you? Dragged out here by someone else's ill advice too or something?"

Yuuuuuuupppp. That was awkward. The girl barley took a look at her before continuing on towards wherever they were now heading.  Welp. She knew the first step was always the hardest, and most awkward, and genuinely the one she fucked up the most. "What are you in such a rush for anyway?" Red would call out, more because of her overly curious nature than anything else. "Ya know, if you're heading for backstage, you are aware you need passes to get back there right? They don't let you in without them." She'd say, placing her hands in her jackets pocket and fiddling with two of these said passes she had in her possession. They had been a gift from the person who told her about this band, Red originally was going to come here with her little sister but she ended up feeling too poorly to come. To be honest, she lucked out. Honestly at this point Red wasn't even going to use them, the band wasn't good enough to stick around for the whole performance let alone go backstage afterwards.

"Working?" Red would repeat mainly to herself, working on what?... Wait, did she work with the band? Is that why she was given the cold shoulder when she insulted them? Naaaahhhh. "And I'm not a lost puppy!" She'd call out defensively, before whispering. "If anything I'm just a bored one..." Sighing, Red would give up trying to follow the girl for the moment and instead decide to hang back and watch. With any luck, she might be in for a good show watching her try to get pass security. It'd be more entertaining than anything else going on here tonight anyway.

"Haha..." Red would laugh awkwardly as the girl gave her quick a firm look before taking off. "Nice talking to you." She'd mutter, waving her off. Well now. That couldn't possibly had gone any worse. Actually, it probably could have, although she doubted it could of gone any more awkward at least. Slowly the droning music from the stage would make its presence clear again once Red had lost sight of her new friend and the distraction of the whole thing was over, with no security entertainment either. "Damn, the music almost sounds alright when you're not paying attention to it." Slipping her hand back into her pocket, the girl would pull out her phone and slip the headphones that were around her neck over her ears and plug them into her phone. "Finally I can listen to something decent." The red hooded girl would think to herself, leaning against a wall and putting on one of her favourite songs.

After a short time had passed and a few songs had played through on her phone. It was about time Red was getting quite bored, plus her throat was itchy. She could really go for a drink actually. Wait, didn't the person who gave her these backstage passes say they gave out free refreshments backstage? Eh, it was worth a shot. Worst case scenario they don't and she just leaves again and pays for a drin--... She had used the last of her money earlier on a pinball machine... Hadn't she... Damn you overly addictive, expensive games! This backstage thing better work then or she was fresh out of luck. Who knows, maybe she'd get lucky and run into Miss Sociable again. Sparking new light into the awkward dimension!

"Pass?" A gruff voice would suddenly burst her trail of thought as she tried to aimlessly walk backstage.

"O-oh right, here you go big guy!" She'd reply teasingly, pulling one of the passes out from her jackets pocket, slightly embarrassed by the look of 'are you stupid?' the man asking for the pass was giving her. But all was well and she was in! Now then, time to find those drinks!

Left? No, no, right. Or is it straight on? Naaah it was definitely left. Probably. Why didn't these backstage passes come with little maps printed on them... Even a sign or something that could tell her where she had to go, anything would do. Like an arrow pointing down a hallway, a chauffeur ready to gracefully lead her to her destination or even that conveniently placed "Refreshments this way" sign... H-huh. That'll do quite nicely actually. Following the signs advice for directions, cause lets face it a plastic sign knows way more about this place then she did, Red quickly found herself to the backstage snack bar. "Sweet!" She'd call from underneath her headphones which were still playing music into her ears. Thank god there were actually drinks back here, she was so parched!

"Ah ma gawsh that is sooo much better." The red hooded girl would sigh happily to herself after practically downing a full cup of juice provided, her throat feeling instantly more refreshed and revitalized. It almost felt as if it made the entire day worth it, the terrible band, the awkward conversations, the almost spilling the drink down herself with how fast she tipped it back. Naah, the drink itself made it all worth it. Deciding to not let good food go to waste, Red would then scan the selection of snacks on offer before picking up three cheese cubes and tossing them all into the air. The first landing directly into her mouth with a slam of her mouth, the second being a little trickier and having to readjust her head quickly to land it into her mouth and the third bouncing just off of her cheek and rolling down onto the floor up to the feet of...

"O-oh. Fancy, uhm... Fancy running into you again so soon." It was time for the ultimate face off, girl vs girl, awkward vs mean, Miss Red vs Miss Sociable, the conversation of a lifetime was about to be set in motion or be horribly destroyed in a matter of moments, l-like... I-it was... Before... Ahem. Red Rhythm's time to shine was about to get underway, will she manage to hold her nerve when she gets her second attempt to strike up a friendly conversation!? "I, sorry. Dropped my cheese cube at you're feet." That's it, I quit.

"Heh, heh. Yeeaaahhh... I have two backstage passes, my younger sister was meant to come along too but she ended up feeling too poorly to come. I was going to offer you one of them if you needed it before you ran off... Yet I guess, you didn't really need it, huh?" The red hooded girl would reply honestly, it was what she was initially trying to do, find someone who she could maybe have a little chat with and then offer to go backstage for snacks with them. Red's plans usually fell apart though. "Uhh. One sec." She'd quickly bend down and pick up the cheese cube that sat by Miss Sociable's feet before tossing it into a near by bin, it felt like a waste but seriously. She wasn't trusting these floors.

Red would look at little Miss Sociable with confusion for a moment, where did the line cross from 'get the hell away from me' to 'entertain me'? W-was it something she said? Was is the cheese cube? Was it the girls dying soul giving up and deciding to try and make the most of a bad situation? Hey, that last one sounds like herself. "Entertain you? Uhm, okay, I guess... Let me see here..." Taking a quick scan of the snack bar, Red tried to figure out what she could do that may entertain Miss Sociable over here. She'd guess it wouldn't be an easy task, but that's what made the challenge sound all the more fun, hey maybe if she did a good enough job they could actually be friends afterwards!... Acquaintances at least...

"Oh! I got an idea!" Red would reply, a spark of excitement in her voice. Now, she hadn't done this is quite a while, but she was sure she couldn't be too rusty! It's just like playing any other of her instruments! Quickly, she'd gather up a number of different glasses of various shapes and sizes and organized them into a certain order before filling each one with a specific amount of water. "Sorry, long prep time. It'll be worth it, promise!" She'd say, just as excited as before as she finished filling the last glass before dipping her fingers into one of the glasses to make them a little wet. "Let's hope I remember how to do this..." Would be her last words before beginning to whirl her fingertips around the various glass tops.

Open After Reading:

Carefully circling her fingers slowly around the last few glasses to end off the tune peacefully, Red would take a step back and nod. Sweet! She did remember how to do that still, she'd always found that one of the more interesting ways of playing music, it was such a different way of doing it than most common placed instruments and it often amazed people a lot more too. So with any luck, Miss Sociable would appreciate the performance provided for her. And if she didn't, weeeellll... Red was out of other ideas, she barely thought up this idea in time, her mind often goes kinda blank when asked to do something suddenly out of the blue. Nerves and all.

"Hehe, glad you liked it." Red would reply with a light smile and a slight bow. "Oh, I've always just had an ear for music, melodies and rhythms and what not. From quite a young age I was able to just pick up nearly any instrument and copy a song I had heard just from memory of what it sounded like. My younger sisters helped a lot too, they'd always been my inspiration and my best audience." She'd say, taking the headphones she was wearing off of her ears. "That music I was just playing on the glasses was just me copying what I was listening to at the time, I can usually do that with most music I listen to." It was nice to know that she had successfully done something to impress someone who seemed quite clearly hard to impress, it was a reassuring feeling. Although, Red kinda wondered what Miss Sociable would of done in her shoes. "So... What about you? How would you go about trying to entertain me?"

"The Wandering Parlor Ghost?" Red would repeat in a slightly confused tone. "Is that what I call you? If so, that's a very interesting title. Guessing you're not on a first name basis then, huh?" She'd ask, not expecting much of an answer in return. This girl was clearly not well trained in social behaviors just like herself, or maybe she was and just liked to stay to herself? Regardless, she'd managed to break the ice now, no point trying to demolish it completely. "My names Red by the way, creative name that suits me well wouldn't you agree?" The red hooded girl would say, teasing herself. "You're title definitely stands out way more than mine, that's for sure."

Taking the card from the girl, Red would look over it curiously whilst listening to what she had to say about how she'd go about amazing her. "You have your own private venue? That's awesome! I bet it will amaze me, can't even imagine what someone like you would do to design their own place. Must be a pretty interesting place compared to the blandness of most places in this city." She'd pocket the card and nod appreciatively at Ms Ghosty. "So, when abouts would be good for you for me to come?"

Note: