Chapter 1
The two friends were sitting in what could laughingly be called Buffy’s office, a screened off area of the old cloakroom that was drafty and hardly private, everybody could hear what was said!
Buffy wasn’t really listening to her friend’s excited chatter; she was more intent on reading a report from the social services on one of her more troublesome charges.
“Buffy! I said, it’d be fantastic! Don’t you think, won’t it – huh?”
Buffy read to the end of the paragraph, and then looked at her friend.
“Sorry Will, what’s that?”
Slightly exasperated, Willow said,
“The talent show at the Bronze!” Buffy frowned
“Oh that, huh, you really think so? Coz I heard that that Jonathan What-his-name has got a ‘heavy metal’ band together…they’re going for it, and if the spring dance was anything to go by…”
“The only thing ‘heavy’ about them, is their instruments, they can hardly lift them! Anyway, I think they changed their line-up” Willow joked, and Buffy smiled.
“Still, you’ll be a little light relief then!” Willow continued. Buffy was just about to continue reading the report when it registered with her exactly what her friend had just said…
“S’cuse me – light relief – I don’t-”
“You, your song, Will love find a way”
“What about it?”
“I um…I put your name down for the contest” Willow looked a little sheepish and bit her bottom lip.
“Oh. YOU DID WHAT?” Buffy stood, the report papers fluttered to the floor all around her desk.
Willow jumped up and began gathering the papers up, babbling away.
“Honestly, Buffy, it’s SO good, and you have every chance of winning! The prize for winning the first round is a thousand dollars – and you get to go to LA and everything, and be on TV, the finals of Search for a Star –“
“Hold it right there! I don’t stand a chance of winning!” Buffy sat down, trying to sort the report.
“But you DO!” Willow whined
“I don’t for one plain and simple reason, I’m NOT doing it!”
“But Buffy!”
“Don’t Will, ok? Just don’t! I wrote that song…um…well over a year ago now, Riley’s well gone, and – well I don’t have time for one thing! I’ve reports to sort out” She waved the report at Willow.
“Wrong Buffy, you have ONE report, that’s singular, and you DO have time…we’d go to the Bronze anyway on Friday night – it’s ok, you don’t have to do it” Willow thought she’d try a little psych on her friend…
“Good. Coz I’m not!” Buffy, having sorted the report back into sequence, tapped the bottom of the papers on her desk, and then stapled them together.
“Sorry Buffy. I should have realised that you don’t have the guts” Willow tried to look rueful, all the time studying her friend’s face. Buffy nodded, then snapped her head up.
“What did you say?”
“I said, I should have known that you don’t have the stones. You’d be too chicken. Haven’t got the guts to do anythi-“
“I BEG YOUR PARDON!” Buffy stood up again, so did Willow. Buffy was trying for indignance, but hit lame excuse mode instead………
“I’ve got the stones! I’ve got the guts! I just, well…I just don’t w-want to-“
“It’s ok, it’s ok, Buffy, you don’t have to make excuses, I DO understand” Willow made her way over to the door.
“Where are you going? Lunch isn’t over yet!” Buffy pointed to the unopened sandwiches.
“I’d better be getting back to the campus, I need to see my tutor. You know Buffy, this could be a way out of here for you, if you but know it.”
“But I like it here! – It’s a step up from the Double Meat, anyway!”
“Yes well, just keep on telling yourself that, that you like it here, that you make a difference, I’m sure you’ll convince yourself in the end. See you later, bye”
Without a backward glance, Willow left. Buffy tossed the social services report into her ‘out’ tray, and resting her chin on her hand she thought about what Willow had just said.
She was in a rut all right. The job was…well let’s face it, boring as hell, but at least she didn’t reek of grease every night when she got home. Home…the house.
The dwelling that was haemorrhaging money faster than she could earn it, there always seemed to be something that needed doing, besides the basic bills.
Next thing to go would be the washing machine; it had suddenly developed a worrying squeak. She sighed and toyed with the unopened cheese sandwich. Did she have the nerve to sing in public?
Did she have the stones to sing a song about her feelings, all laid bare for public consumption? Buffy thought back to Willow’s babbling. Didn’t she say that the prize for winning was $1000?………
Buffy swooshed the mascara wand back and forth very quickly in the tube and leaning forward to look closely into her dressing table mirror she applied a light coat to her lashes. Smoothed her lipgloss and fluffed her wispy tendrils of hair by her ears. She took a long look at herself. She had butterflies. Fixing her late mother’s locket around her neck to take off the bareness, she said to her reflection,
“YOU can do this!”
“You CAN do this!”
“You can DO this!”
“You can do THIS!”
The doorbell ringing made her jump, and she grabbed her purse off the bed and ran downstairs to open the door.
“Hi – wow look at you!” Willow said, grinning. Buffy smiled, did a twirl around.
“You like? Stylish but affordable!” Buffy smoothed down the front of the little black spaghetti-strapped dress she’d bought on the way home from work.
“Looks great!”
“Thanks. Are you sure Oz doesn’t mind being my accompanist?” they left the house and Buffy locked up.
“Sure I’m sure. In fact, I asked him before I even mentioned this thing to you!” Buffy grinned and got into Willow’s car.
“Ok, Ok people! Let’s have a little hush now…please…come on you guys…” the compere on stage asked the crowd at the Bronze, after much ‘shushing’ the crowd quietened.
“Ok ladies and gentlemen, for your pleasure and delight, tonight we have the regional heats of Search for a Star!” (The crowd roared)
“All right, quiet you crazy cats! We have a dozen acts for you, and voting will take place at the end on the evening.
First on stage, will you please give a big, Bronze welcome to two lovely young ladies, and they call themselves 1+1 and they are going to give us their rendition of the song, ‘We are Family, ladies and gentlemen, 1+1” the crowd roared, and the two girls stepped up on stage, and began singing.
Buffy sat at a side table with Willow and Oz, sipping a diet soda. The butterflies she’d experienced earlier were now more like raging elephants but she just fixed her mind on that $1000 prize money and how it would pay for the washing machine to be fixed, and cover the phone and the electric bills………
“Break a leg!” Willow whispered as Oz and Buffy made their way to the stage.
Buffy kept her eyes down, and the compere announced them.
“……………I give you, Buffy, singing one of her own compositions, called, ‘Will love find a way’ the lights went down, and a soft spotlight fixed itself on the small blonde. She closed her eyes and swayed to the opening bars Oz played, and then she began to sing………
Everything reminds me
You’re everywhere I see
Couples stroll hand in hand
Once like you and me
Will love find a way
Will love find a way
To bring you home to me
Baby
Will love find a way
And bring you safe home to me
Held in your arms
I bathe in the glow
Please tell me baby
I want to know
Will love find a way
Will love find a way
To bring you home to me
Baby
Will love find a way
And bring you safe home to me
I think of you so often
I love you more each day
I want you to be near me, babe,
But you are far away
Will love find a way
Will love find a way
To bring you home to me
Baby
Will love find a way
To bring you safe home to me
Buffy opened her eyes while Oz played the last few bars of music. The lights went up, and the place erupted! Cheers, screams, shouts ands whistles, Buffy glanced stage left and saw Willow grinning and giving her double thumbs up.
Buffy’s tension broke and wreathed in smiles she and Oz made their way from the stage, people hugging her and slapping her on the back.
The compere tried to get some semblance of order and introduced the final act.
“Ok then ladies and gentlemen…if you want ‘Hard Road’ to win, all shout, now!” there were loud shouts from a table of six lads that were obviously with the band, polite clapping from everybody else.
“Thankyou…all right then next up, lets hear it for Buffy and her song-“ the compere didn’t even get to say the song title, the huge roar, whistles, foot-stomping and cheers that went up left nobody in any doubt, Buffy was the winner.
Willow hugged her friend to her and Buffy felt the tears welling up.
A token gesture was made to the last band as regards voting, but it was pointless really, Buffy had won without a shadow of a doubt.
“Hey, come on…you can’t cry, you’ve got to go and sing it again now, and accept the cheque!” Willow gently brushed the tears off her friend’s cheeks and they hugged again.
“Thanks Will, I’d have never done this without you, you know!”
“Go on, go! Your public awaits!” Willow gently pushed her towards the stage.
Buffy was LA bound………
squawks
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!