Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen - Dyan Sheldon [53]
“This isn’t going to work,” Ella hissed in my ear.
I tightened my grip on her hand as we finally started shuffling towards the entrance.
“Yes, it will,” I hissed back.
It was the old “if you want to hide a tree, put it in a forest” trick. I saw it in a movie. The hero was being chased by the bad guys, and the only chance he had of losing them was to disappear into a packed football stadium. Only he didn’t have a ticket. And, because he’d had to leave the house in a hurry and had forgotten to take his wallet, he didn’t have any money either. So he attached himself to a group of guys from out of town and just strolled right in with them.
The problem was finding a large group of very noisy and active people among whom we could lose ourselves. Most of the kids filing into the concert were in couples. And they had no choice but to be pretty orderly, because there were guards on either side of each doorway, taking the tickets one by one.
“It’s a little tricky,” I admitted, sotto voce, “but I think it’s possible. Just follow my lead.”
Ella started deep breathing. “I’m not going to be able to do this, Lola. I’m terrified.”
“Stage fright,” I assured her. “It’ll pass.”
More or less in front of us was a group of four handing over their tickets on one side, and a group of five on the other. Between us were two couples. It was now or never. I squeezed Ella’s hand.
“Come on,” I ordered. “Do what I do.”
I edged through the couples in front of us and attached myself to the group of four on the left. Smiling, I started talking to the back of the girl nearest me.
“I’m so excited,” I told her, inching forward. “I feel like I’ve been waiting for this forever … what song do you think they’ll start with…?” Inch … inch… “I hope they do ‘Love Loser’, that’s got to be my all-time favourite…” Inch … inch… “I wish they let you bring cameras in here…” Inch … inch… “Wouldn’t you just die for a photograph of Stu on stage?”
Still talking, I stepped into the foyer. My heart was racing, my cheeks were flushed. A hand fell on my shoulder and yanked me backwards, none too gently.
“Just a minute,” said the young man in the Sidartha T-shirt with the radio clipped to his belt. “Let me take another look at your ticket.”
I don’t know where he came from. He must have been lying in wait because he wasn’t one of the guys on the door.
“My ticket?” I smiled as though I had nothing to hide. “Sure.”
I dug my hands into the pockets of my cape, but – to my horror – my ticket wasn’t there.
I smiled again. Nervously. “I must have stuck it in my bag,” I mumbled. I opened my bag and started shoving things around.
The young man didn’t smile back. He just stood there looking both expectant and bored.
“It’s not here.” My voice was surprised, innocent, confused. I looked at the ground in desperation. “I must have dropped it.”
He grabbed hold of my elbow. “Come on,” he said. “No ticket, no concert.”
“But I have a ticket!” I shouted indignantly. “I had it just a second ago. I—”
“No ticket, no concert,” he repeated, dragging me after him.
I dug in my heels as much as you can on a solid floor. “You can’t do this!” In my red satin dress and black velvet cape, I was in one of my Gone with the Wind moods. And, like Scarlett O’Hara, I was not about to be trifled with. I tilted my head back defiantly. “I demand to see your supervisor!”
“You can see him outside,” he said, and yanked me through the throng moving in the opposite direction and back to where I’d started.
“You really want to see the supervisor?” He held on to my elbow. He must have done this before, he wasn’t taking any chances.
But I wasn’t paying any attention to him by then. I was looking the other way, my eyes on Ella, who was standing on the other side of the entrance, staring at me with a look of shock on her face.
THE NIGHT CONTINUES AS IT BEGAN
After we were firmly escorted from the Garden (I re-creating Joan of Arc being led to the stake, the noble head held high; Ella staring at the ground in case someone she knew passed by), we hung around outside with the