Adrenaline Rush was coming to Sunnydale to perform a concert.
Adrenaline Rush!
In Sunnydale!
She couldn't even begin to fathom how awesome it would be to be in that arena, listening to Spike, the lead singer's voice, the beat of the drums and the strum of the guitars and bass surrounding her live. She was ecstatic! Adrenaline Rush was her all time favorite band. She was obsessed with them and their music. Especially the songs that Spike would write. They were so... deep. Profound. His words coming straight from his soul and touching hers.
It was easy for her to say that she was in love with him. Not only was he uber-talented, he was extremely sexy as well. His platinum hair, his bluer than blue eyes, razor sharp cheekbones, come-kiss-me lips... he was just amazing, and British. She had to contain her fangirl giggles and squeals whenever she saw new pictures of him.
Now, all she had to do was convince her mother to let her go to the concert and everything would be perfect...
She ran into the kitchen, knowing her mother would be in there, and Buffy slapped her hands on the table trying to catch her breath. It was a long run from the school, but it did nothing to calm her nerves or excitement. “Mom!” she shouted, making Joyce jump and flail her arms. Buffy gasped as she saw the carton of orange juice almost fall out of her mother's hand.
“Jesus, Buffy!” her mother hollered and spun around from the fridge door. “Don't do that!”
Buffy looked a little sheepish. “Sorry...”
Joyce put the carton of orange juice on the island and turned to get two glasses. “You're lucky I didn't spill this all over the floor,” she said then started to pour some of the juice into the cups and handed one to her panting daughter. “Now, what is so important that you had to run home and give your mother a heart attack for?”
A big smile bloomed over Buffy's face as she set the cup down after draining it of its contents. “Well...” she said, then took a deep breath. “Adrenaline Rush is coming to Sunnydale and they are going to play at the Sunnydale Amphitheater and it's totally awesome and I really, really want to go,” she said in one long, rush of a sentence.
When her mother just stared at her without saying a word, Buffy felt a ball of dread form in her stomach. “C-can... Can I go, please?” she asked, almost afraid of the answer. Surely her mother wouldn't say no, right? Her mother wouldn't say no to a huge moment in her daughter's life. It was impossible.
Joyce took a small sip of her juice, then sighed as she placed it back on the counter. “No,” she said simply, then turned to go to the living room.
Buffy's jaw dropped and tears formed in her eyes as she let the small word sink into her brain. No. Her mother had said she couldn't go to the concert. Buffy's dreams felt like they were being crushed. How could she say no?! It was Adrenaline Rush! And Joyce just said no, like it was nothing. Buffy started to get angry, really quick.
She stormed after her mother, stomping her feet as she went, and all Joyce could think was 'Here we go...'
“No?! No?!? You're saying no?!” Buffy shrieked, her cheeks staining an infuriated red.
“That's right. No,” Joyce replied then sat on the couch and set her glass on the table.
Buffy clenched her jaw and fists, ready to fight this until her mother changed her mind. “And why can't I go?”
“Because I said so” Joyce answered in her most motherly tone. “Your grades have been slipping since you got into this band, so much so that I had to hire a tutor. You focus too much energy on them, and not on your studies. I'm not going to allow you to waste your time on that band, at the concert when you have your tutoring lessons.”
“I will put extra effort into my studies! I will take an extra hour of tutoring! I will do anything, just please, let me go to this concert! I will even pay for it out of my allowance!” Buffy pleaded, almost dropping to her knees and clasping her hands together as she begged for this amazing privilege.
“I can't take your word on that, Buffy. How many times have you said similar things to me, with no follow through? I'm sorry, but my answer is no.”
Buffy felt the rage bubbling up from inside of her, simmering just beneath the surface as her mother sat there with a smug look on her face as she took this away from her. “Mom...” she said in a warning tone.
“No, Buffy. And that is final!” Joyce cut her off then stood up to put her hands on her daughter's shoulders. “I'm your mother, and I feel that you should pass high school with decent marks on your report card. I want you to get into a good university and have a good career so you don't have to work so hard for the things you want in life. Now, go upstairs and do your homework. I don't want to discuss this any further.”
Buffy had to hold back the urge to hit her mother, she would never disrespect her that way, no matter what she did. Instead, she stomped over to the stairs and turned to face her mother before she went up. “I. Hate. You,” she spat, enunciating every syllable, every vowel, just to get the point across.
Then, she ran up the stairs and slammed her door as the tears streamed down her face.
Joyce sighed and shook her head. She wasn't going to allow her only daughter to get mixed up in rock and roll any further than she already was. That way led to drugs, orgies and violence. Buffy should go to a good school, marry into a good (preferably rich) family, and live the good life. This was just a phase in Buffy's young teenage life that she would get over, and be thankful that her mother hadn't let her run wild.
Joyce couldn't have been more wrong.
Buffy hurled herself onto her bed, and held a pillow to her face as she screamed out her anguish. It wasn't fair. Her mother was holding her back from the one thing she wanted, and it just wasn't fair. There had to be a way around this. Some way that she could see the band, and her mother would never be the wiser.
Like a girl on a mission, she went to her desk and flipped open the laptop that was there. She opened Internet Explorer and started to type in the band’s official site. She was going to this concert, no matter what her mother said.
She clicked the link to read through the recent news, and gasped when she saw something that had just been posted. A contest. To meet the band. To spend a full hour with the band before the show.
Holding in her squeal so her mother wouldn't hear, she clicked the “Enter Now!” link and started to fill out the form.
As she clicked 'Submit', she prayed to anyone who was listening to give her this opportunity. She wanted it with every fiber of her being, and hoped that she would win.
TBC