Dreams

Bianca Hawthorne loved music. Ever since she was a little girl, she always turned up the volume on either the radio or TV and danced along to whatever was playing. She wasn't all that fond of country songs, but there were a few exceptions. Her favorite type of music was pop rock.

She could watch programs like MTV for hours. She scribbled lyrics on paper. Melodies were always churning around in her head. For her 15th birthday, her parents bought her a drum kit. From then onwards, she was hooked. She had enthusiasm and even took lessons, which really helped to develop her skills.

Her chance to shine came, when she heard that her cousin Tyler was looking to put a band together. At first, he and his friends Mitchell and Jake, were not keen to try out a female drummer. Then she began banging away on those drums and the three of them soon changed their minds.

The girl had potential. Tyler went over and gave his cousin a hug. "Welcome to our inner circle." Bianca spent the rest of her afternoon talking with the boys. They already had snippets of ideas for original songs. She pulled out her spiral notepad. And so, Firefly was born.

Mitchell was the oldest on lead guitar and the only guy in the group who drove a car. Tyler was the lead singer. He'd failed his most recent driving test. Jake played the bass guitar and preferred riding a bike. Bianca had gotten her license the previous year, but had no wheels. Yet.

When she eventually bought her car, she knew that the color would be a bright red. As the days turned into weeks, Bianca somehow managed to fit in rehearsal times, between shifts as a waitress and occasional babysitting duties for the couple who lived next door.

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Bianca left high-school when she was sixteen years old and she wasn't sure what to do with herself. She had no intention of allowing her parents to keep on paying for everything, now she was old enough to start earning money of her own. Her father suggested that she contact his sister Elena, who was a manager at Spring Day Diner.

Her aunt agreed to take her on. Bianca learned fast. She was friendly, yet professional. Some of the customers started to request that she be the one who took their orders and served them their food. Her coworkers were nice and she got a lift home whenever she needed it.

You could see that Bianca and Tyler were related. The cousins had similar features and each grew to be exactly the same height; 5 foot 6. Both had olive toned skin and brown hair. She'd added caramel highlights to hers a little while ago. Her eyes were very dark, almost black. His were a few shades lighter. Tyler worked as a swimming instructor.

Mitchell was over six feet with hazel eyes and dirty blonde hair. He'd found himself a job in a music shop, quite useful when you're in a band. Jake was shorter, with blue eyes. He changed his hair color as often as his wardrobe style. On the day Firefly came into being, it was neon green. He had two part time jobs. Somehow, the combination of their looks and personalities worked.

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Much to the band's surprise, their first gigs in the local tavern, brought down the house every time. Sure they knew they had something special, but now total strangers were beginning to talk about Firefly. Of course Mr. and Mrs. Hawthorne worried for their daughter, as any parent should.

Still they had raised her to be a confident and independent young woman. Several months had passed and this music thing, seemed to be at last starting to pay off. It could become an actual career, which was a concept that neither of them had taken seriously before.

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One Saturday evening, Firefly was scheduled to perform at a party being held inside the posh Sands Hotel. It was a week before Christmas and people wanted some good live entertainment to kick off this holiday season. The crowd was mostly made up of fellow musicians and their dates.

A few close friends and a couple of relatives said they would stop by, it was an open invitation after all. Bianca's boyfriend Reece showed up. They had just gone past the one year mark. Tyler's girlfriend Megan came with him. Mitchell was flying solo after a nasty break up. Jake's other half Darren, stood close by his side.

Firefly decided to choose a few popular songs to cover and mix them in with brand new material. Before they went up on the stage, they had some time to themselves. Mitchell gave the best pep talks. "Okay my friends. This is only a small step up from the venues we usually play at. But it is also a step in the right direction for greater things to come. We know what to do, so let's go rock out!"

The show was a hit. There was even cheering for an encore. Later that night, the band was having fun and celebrating with a few drinks. Bianca excused herself, needing a short trip to the ladies room. The toilets were located around the back corner of the main room. Not very well lit, but at least the facilities were hygienic.

She did her business and made sure to wash her hands. She began walking back towards the tables her bandmates had taken over, so happy that things had gone well for them. There had been no technical difficulties, nobody missed a cue, or forgot the lyrics and Tyler's voice sounded great.

It was easy to maneuver around those who'd just had a little too much alcohol. She did have to slap away a strange guy's wandering hands, but that only happened once. He apologized with a sheepish drunken smile. She shook her head as he moved past her.

When she sat down again, Reece put his arm around her. "Are you okay?" She smiled at him. "I'm all good." "Have I told you how gorgeous you look?" "Sure, but tell me again." He did so, and received a sweet kiss for it. "You guys were terrific by the way. Firefly could really go places, you know." "I have the same feeling."

Tyler stood up, all set to make a speech. Everyone in the room was focused on him. He raised his glass half full of beer. "Thank you so much for being here tonight. I believe this was our best show yet. I am grateful to my band mates. Jake, Mitchell, we are on our way! It was definitely the right call, to make my cousin Bianca our drummer. She is the missing piece to the puzzle. Let's hope that good fortune continues to smile upon us all. Cheers!"

THE END