The Road to L.A. (12 page)

Just when she thought she couldn't take it anymore, the imposing grandfather clock struck eight o'clock, confirming the time with eight piercing chimes.  Five minutes later she heard the car horn she had been eagerly waiting for.  She swiped her purse from the kitchen counter and headed out the front door without so much as a single word to her parents.  Lydia Cabrerra opened the front door and yelled after her daughter to come home at a decent hour, to which Carly yelled back that she would.  Soon thereafter they were on their way. 

When they arrived, the parking lot was crammed with cars.  Roy, who had caught a ride with them as well, stared wide-eyed at the large procession of people forming a long line at the entrance to the club.

              “Wow, it’s going to be a while before we make it inside,” he remarked.  

“No worries,” Amanda said rather smugly, “I have passes that Garrett gave me this afternoon so we don’t have to wait in line.  Just show them to the bouncers, and they’ll let us right in.”

              “Now that's what I'm talking about,” Roy replied as he took a pass. 

After bypassing everyone and making it inside, Carly’s eyes widened with disbelief as she surveyed the bodies packed in tightly.  The noise was deafening, making it hard to talk to her friends. She couldn’t fathom how the rest of the people still lined up outside were going to fit inside. 

              “I bet the owner is making a killing tonight,” Roy said.  He scanned the room and spotted an acquaintance standing at the front of the stage.  He excused himself, leaving the rest of his friends to find a good spot to stand before the show.  After waiting patiently for close to an hour, a burly man wearing a Lakers hat suddenly appeared on stage.  The crowd cheered with excitement as the presenter introduced himself. 

              “Oh my God, isn’t that Tony Capone from FM 106.34?” a girl standing next to Carly gasped. 

Tony Capone addressed the crowd about events that were coming up and acts that were scheduled to perform in Cleveland in the coming months.  He then went on to introduce the band.  A roar rose up from the crowd, and Carly could have sworn she heard the football players chanting Jake’s name.  Now came the moment she had been waiting for.  The lights onstage flashed in a wide array of vibrant colors, and a fiery spray blasted upward on either side of the stage. Several moments later, the Flaming Dogs appeared.  A sudden energetic charge erupted from the crowd. 

              “There you are!” Carly exclaimed as Roy reappeared.  “They’re about to play their first song.”

              “It’s about time!” Roy exclaimed.  “I’ve been waiting for this all night!”

As usual, Jake played the guitar with such fierce intensity, rhythmically moving his body to the pounding music.  The crowd continued to grow wild and out of control, and Carly began to feel sorry for the waitresses who were trying to make their rounds without being jostled about. 

Somewhere between the eighth or ninth song, Roy turned to Carly and shouted over the music, “I didn’t know Jake was this good.” 

“Pretty good, huh?  ” Carly asked while grinning proudly. 

              “Yeah,” Roy admitted. “Never really liked rock.  But Jake's playing, so it's all good."  He grinned and then turned back to the stage. 

Carly suddenly took note of a group of girls yelling and flailing their arms as if to catch Jake's attention.  The Golden Boy made his way over to them and touched their outstretched hands, to which they screamed with delight.  She was pretty certain those girls were her classmates, and she could only imagine what Monday morning would be like.  No doubt the girls of Lakeview would assail her to find out more about Jake - particularly his relationship status.  Not that they didn’t do that already, but it would definitely be worse after tonight.  Interestingly, a tinge of jealousy reared itself inside of her.  She relied on her usual tactic to rid herself of this feeling - denial and avoidance.  Turning to seek out Susan's whereabouts, she spotted her at a table near the rear of the club.  Not surprisingly she was preoccupied with her phone, and it looked like she was texting pretty furiously.  Carly only rolled her eyes and shook her head. 
How could anybody not be enthralled with Jake's music, she wondered.

After finally finishing their set, Jake surprised her by moving to the edge of the stage and announcing into the microphone, “I just want to send a shout-out to four special people out there tonight.  You know who you are.  Thank you for all your support.” 

The crowd cheered.

He continued.  “And I also want to send a special shout-out to my best friend, the hottest girl at Lakeview.  Thanks for having my back.” 

And again, the crowd exploded.  Jake winked at her while grinning mischievously.  Carly felt her cheeks suffuse with embarrassed heat.  That would not go over well with the female population of Lakeview High School - particularly Susan.  No doubt that by Monday morning rumors would be floating around school.  Susan definitely wasn't amused by Jake's stunt.  Looking back at the table, Carly watched as the blonde shot up from her chair and stomped off. 

              “Did you see her?” Carly gulped uneasily.

              “How could I miss it?” Amanda said.  She was enjoying it - a bit too much.

Carly sighed at her friend’s devilish smirk.

              “I need to get backstage," the twin said somewhat frantically.  She turned to grin at Carly, and Carly immediately saw the twinkle in Amanda's eyes.  "It's gonna be quite a show."  With that, Amanda was off. 

Carly, Aaron, and Roy followed reluctantly.  They anticipated the worst.  Much to Amanda's chagrin, a burly security guard foiled her plan and they had to wait outside for Jake.  Amanda was pacing in the parking lot and kept grumbling that she was missing the best show of her life.  Meanwhile, Carly, Aaron, and Roy opted to wait in the car.  They had all the standing they could take in one day.

              “Jake's my boy and all, but he dug himself into a hole with that remark.  Susan's gonna chew him up and spit him out,” Roy said from the front seat.  He was shaking his head to indicate his disbelief.

              “Yeah,” Carly and Aaron retorted in somber unison. 

They maintained surveillance of the back door.  Amanda had finally stopped pacing but was still grumbling and cursing.  She reached into her purse to pull out a cigarette, then looked at Aaron.  She shot him a threatening glare and said, "You better not tell mom and dad."  

              "Since when do you smoke?" Aaron asked, ignoring the venom in her eyes. 

              "I only do it when I'm pissed off," she replied.  She was now fumbling in her purse for a lighter.  She halted in her efforts, however, when she heard the back door crash open.  It was Susan, and she was surrounded by her group of friends who were working hard to console her.  They happened to pass by Amanda's car and it was obvious to Carly that Susan had been crying - her face was puffy and her eyes red and swollen.  Susan noticed the car's occupants and narrowed in on one person in particular.  Her eyes focused in on Carly and she shouted in a screeching tone, "You slut!  You took my boyfriend away from me!  You'll pay for this, you bitch!" 

Carly felt her heart race.  A cold wave of dread spread through her paralyzed body and she gulped hard.  She wondered if Susan would try to physically assault her.  Thankfully, though, Susan's friends coaxed her away from the car and pressed her to move on.  Susan's relentless wails filled the air and loud curses spilled from her trembling lips.  Carly was certain that most of those curses were directed at her. 

Amanda broke the silence. "What the hell was that?" 

Roy broke out into laughter and said, “She was about to go off on Carly.  It was about to be a girl fight.” 

Carly shot him a disapproving glare and replied, "I really hope you'd have my back."

Roy stopped laughing and simply smiled as he retorted, "Of course, Cabrerra.  Can't have anyone messing up that pretty face." 

              “This night is just getting better and better,” Amanda said, all the while chuckling heartily.  She returned the cigarette to the box.  "No need for the smokes anymore."   

Shortly thereafter, Jake and the rest of the band emerged.  They piled some equipment into Garret's van, which was parked in front of the steps leading up to the back door of the club.  After helping load up, Jake shook hands with his band mates and then sprinted towards Amanda's car.  Halfway there, however, Carly and Amanda accosted him. 

              “What happened to Susan?” the two girls asked in unison, waiting in anticipation for his answer.  Before Jake could respond, Aaron and Roy had joined them.  

              “What the fuck is wrong with you guys?  I played my ass off tonight.  Not to mention, we signed up for a band showcase next week.  And all you girls can ask me about is some chick I don't give a shit about anymore?" 

Carly and Amanda fell silent, then apologized.  Roy was the first to congratulate him, then Aaron.  Amanda's lips transformed into a broad smile and she jumped at Jake, wrapping her arms as far as they would go around his broad chest.  "I am so excited for you, Jake!  You're gonna make it big, I can feel it." 

Jake's eyes fell on Carly and he grinned at her.  Still feeling embarrassed about her shallow interest in Susan, she lowered her eyes and said sheepishly, "I'm so proud of you.  Sorry about the whole Susan thing." 

Amanda released him, and Jake stepped towards his best friend.  "Don't worry about it."  His voice was so gentle it made her heart jump and her stomach tingle.  He hugged her and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. 

              "Hey, where's my kiss?"  Amanda asked.  She was smirking, but Carly was certain there were vestiges of hurt in those eyes.  Jake simply laughed at Amanda's supposed affront.  He then turned to address everyone and explained, "This showcase could be our ticket, guys.  There’ll be a bunch of unsigned bands from all around the country performing.  And from what I was told, there’ll be reps from the nation’s top recording labels, and they’ll be looking to sign new bands.”

              “That’s awesome, Jake,” Carly said enthusiastically.

              “You have a really good shot at getting signed,” Aaron said.  “You guys are awesome.  And I'm not being biased when I say that you are the best one in that group." 

              “Thanks, man,” Jake replied, playfully jabbing the twin in the stomach.

              “Yeah, man.  Even I enjoyed it.  And you know I don’t listen to rock,” Roy said, chuckling.  “So, coming from me, that’s a compliment.”

              “So,” Amanda said, changing the topic of conversation.  She wanted to be cautious about how she approached it, not wanting to offend Jake again.  But she was still highly interested in finding out what had transpired between Susan and him.  She asked,  "Is your handsome ass back on the market?" 

Jake groaned and finally conceded in satisfying everyone’s curiosity.

              “I broke up with her,” Jake said matter-of-factly.

Everyone glared at him as if expecting more.

Jake sighed and continued. 

“I’m guessing you wanna know why.  We just didn’t have the same interests.”  Jake paused, feigning deep thought, then added, “Plus, she’s annoying and not really my type.”

              “Not your type, huh?” Carly snorted.  “I could have told you that.”

              “We both could have told you that,” Amanda corrected. 

Jake then turned to face Carly.  She immediately took note of the apologetic expression on his face.   

              “Um, Carly,” he stammered, “I may have gotten you kicked off the cheerleading squad.  Susan said something about me telling you that you shouldn't bother coming to practice anymore because she's gonna make your life a living hell." 

To Jake’s surprise and immense relief, Carly just laughed and replied, “I don’t care.  I didn’t fit in with those girls anyway.”

              “I am so glad to hear you say that,” Amanda declared joyfully.  “This has turned out to be the best day of my life!” 

Carly laughed.  She couldn’t have agreed more with the twin.  The fact that Jake and Susan were no longer together pleased her immensely.  The question that nagged her, though, was why she felt so happy and relieved about it.  It wasn’t as if she would now date him.  So they had shared a wonderful kiss at the old baseball field.  So he sometimes looked at her with that tenderness in his eyes. So he sometimes said things or touched her in such a way that would send sparks shooting up and down her body.  The fact of the matter was that she and Jake would never be anything more than just best friends.  And there would be plenty of other girlfriends in Jake’s life that she would have to deal with.  And there would be boyfriends in Carly’s life that Jake would have to deal with - once her parents allowed her to start dating, of course.  She wondered, then, how she would handle the next girlfriend that came into Jake’s life.  

Chapter Ten

              The Cabrerra house was bustling with activity that early morning.  Juan’s family was flying in from Florida that afternoon, and he was running behind.  Carly was brimming with excitement at the thought of seeing her grandparents, Aunt Nici and Uncle Tito, and her two cousins.  She especially couldn’t wait to see her cousins, both of whom were close to Carly’s age.  Angelica and Gloria were always fun to hang around with.  Carly particularly enjoyed hearing about her cousins’ latest infatuations.