InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Garage Band Mondays ❯ Welcome to Garage Band ( Chapter 3 )

A/N: Hey everyone. I'm back. So a bunch of crazy things happened. I got bogged down with school, then my computer got a virus from Limewire so I had to have my hard drive wiped, so I lost everything-mostly my music-and I can't write this thing without it. Then my dog got hit by a car and everything got put to the wayside.

 

Anyway, it's getting close to finals, so I figured I'd try to update before I can't anymore. And from now on, the only songs I'm going to put in the Soundtrack thingee are the songs they play, unless someone really wants to know what songs I listen to while I'm writing. I don't know why you would though. Also, I'm going to warn you, when I started writing this thing I was suffering from Guitar Hero withdrawals, so if you notice a lot of the songs from the Guitar Hero game series, that's why.

 

One last thing, I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed-shikiori(nsi), Bronwyn, and CanineKagome.

 

Soundtrack:

 

When All Hope Has Faded- Unknown, zircon (Chrono Trigger ReMix)

 

Chapter 3: Welcome to Garage Band

 

The drive to the city was uneventful. The entire way I blasted the music on my mp3 player and thought about what would happen when I got to the hotel. What would it be like? Would the other kids like me and play nice? Ha. Sometimes I really wish I was back in elementary school, so the kids had to play with me and be nice. When you're an adult people are evil. They'll spread lies behind your back one second, and then smile and make small talk the next.

 

That's another thing about adults I'll never understand. Whoever thought up small talk needs to be shot. Seriously! For the first part of it, it's about the weather. When the weather's done, it's onto the job, or school, or some other mundane topic, and then before you know it, it's back to the weather. If God wasn't so giving to us humans by giving us multiple forms of weather, I swear adults would have nothing to talk about. But I digress…yet again…

Anyway, I got to the hotel and went to the front desk where my key was. And to top it off, the key was one of those key cards that you have to swipe through the scanner on the door. It's so cool and I love those things!

 

My room was actually a suite that I would share with a roommate who was also in the competition. The first room I entered was like a giant living room in some rich person's house. The carpet was an off-white, kind of creamy color that matched the walls and was oh so soft. The wall facing the city street was made entirely of windows so I just had to check it out, except when I got over there I remembered that I'm terrified of heights so after of course I started to panic. My heart started racing and I ran backwards straight into one of the couches, so of course I tripped and flew over the couch. I picked myself up off the shards of the glass coffee table and decided to never go near that wall ever again. I mean seriously, we had to be on at least the twenty eighth floor!

 

On one of the other walls was a giant plasma TV, and not just any TV, one of those new flat screen ones which came with 5.1 Surround Sound whatever that means. (There was bunch of couches and stuff surrounding the TV and spread through out the room, but it was all done in white too. I hate white. I just wanted to let you guys know that so you didn't think this hotel was a chinsy place. Quite the opposite and it smells so good!)

 

Underneath the TV were a bunch of cabinets which I assumed held movies and a DVD player, so I had to check it out of course, because everybody knows you can tell how your stay at a hotel was going to be based on the perks they give you in your room.

 

But what I didn't remember was that you can buy movies on Pay-Per-View, so there would really be no point in having a DVD collection in the room because people suck and would end up stealing things anyway. So when I opened it up, all I found was a gallon sized Ziploc bag full of powdery white stuff-it actually looked like powdered sugar-so I assumed one of the maids left it by accident and would come to get it later so I put it back. They had to come and clean up the coffee table anyway, so I didn't want them to think that I was one of those nosy customers who are always up in someone's grill.

 

After looking around the common room, I decided to check out the other rooms so I could get the best one. So first I opened a door on the right side of the common room and came to a beautiful bedroom. Now, I'm sure you've seen movies where someone goes to a hotel and has a beautiful room, so I'm not going to describe it, because in reality, a hotel room is just an amped up bedroom. But I will tell you it was done in shades of reds and purples, and it was attached to a bathroom, complete with shower and Jacuzzi tub. And the tub came with those smelly soaps that make everything smell fantastic. I picked this room.

 

And to top it all off, it also had a balcony, which I decided never to go near, because if the window incident was any indication, then I would probably end up doing something stupid.

 

The other room was nice too. It was pretty much the same except done in blues and greens, and instead of cucumber melon soaps they had coconut lime scented stuff. (Which, by the way, smelled so fantastic I wanted to chew my arm off after I put the lotion on because it made me very, very hungry.)

 

So by the time I finished checking out the room and breaking a bunch of stuff there was really no time for me to unpack my stuff because I had to meet the Garage Band people in the a private dining room downstairs. I put all my stuff-my luggage full of clothes, my guitar stuff, and my backpack-on the bed, took one last look at my boy self in the mirror, then locked the door and went downstairs by way of the elevator-and I must say-it STINKS!

 

If you've ever been in a dentist's office, you may know what I'm talking about. It's a caustic kind of scent that stinks to the hairs in your nose and makes you want to sneeze until your lungs pop out of your nostril. It's like a mix between old person smell, Novocain, and the anguish of having your teeth cleaned. That's what this elevator smelled like. Seriously. You'd think in a hotel they'd be able to fix it, but they probably just ignore it because they're smart enough to take the stinking stairs. But you try and walk up and down twenty eight flights of stairs!

The dining room wasn't that big, and was full of round tables covered in white table cloths that could hold about eight people each. Floor to ceiling windows lined the wall to let the early morning sun filter into the room giving it a soft, warm atmosphere. Time seemed to slow as I realized I was about to enter the next phase of my life. My entire future rested on this competition, and there was so much more I needed to do than the other guys, because really, if you think about it, how many cross dressing females can be in one competition? I had to make a good impression on these people, and the best way to do that, was well…walking into the room I guess.

 

Walking into a room full of your peers and associates is crucial to a first impression. Everything from the way you carry yourself to your clothes say something about you, so I had to make sure my strut was perfect. My strut left something to be desired though.

 

When girls walk, they try and make it look dainty or cute, and try to find ways to flaunt their assets. When guys walk, it's usually purposeful and powerful-straight and to the point. When I walk, I walk by putting one foot in front of the other and hope that I can get where I need to go without injuring anyone, because, I, I'm sorry to say, am spastic.

 

I have weak ankles so then tend to turn on me so I fall. One second I'll be talking to Sango on the sidewalk, the next she'll look over and I'm lying in a pothole of my own creation. My arms flail because I'm also usually always late, and the only way I can relieve my stress is by flailing my arms, but then I tend to hit people. (That was one of the reasons why my parents got me a car. After I failed at walking I tried biking, but we discovered that my arm flailing is not limited to walking. But, in my defense, that old lady was going to get hit by a car if I hadn't gotten to her first. That's how slow she was.) So where was I? Oh yes, the dining room.

 

As I stood frozen in the entryway, staring at the room, this guy totally slammed into my back making me fall flat on my face, and then, to add insult to injury, he fell top of me with an “oomph”, and absolutely no apology! He got up quickly from the floor, but I was not so lucky. I groaned on the floor a little, trying to make him feel guilty and offer up an apology, but to no avail. After I made sure my wig was on tight and none of my hair was falling out from underneath it, I pulled myself to my feet and stared at the guy.

 

He was about a head taller then me, and had a fierce scowl on his face. And when I say fierce, I mean it. Have you ever seen that episode of Scrubs where the Janitor, Nurse Roberts, and Ted are trying to give Carla a dirty look because she's filling in for Dr. Kelso? They have the creepy ritual sacrifice music going on, the Janitor's all squinty eyed, and Ted is just, well, Ted. The music cuts out and the Janitor said something about them not giving dirty looks and Ted says the only look he's got is the sad and defeated one.

 

MAN! I heart Ted.

 

Anyway, it was like that. This guy staring down at me all fierce like and it made me a little afraid. Now, under normal circumstances, if I was my Kagome self instead of Go, I'd cringe and run away in fear, but I was not Kagome, so I don't care how many silver-haired, golden eyed guys gave me the stink eye! I'm not going to take it! Especially when I think I popped a disk in my spine! (I made sure I lowered my voice like Rin taught me before yelling at the guy. I had to hide my identity you see.)

 

“Watch where you're going crap head!”

 

“Watch where I'm going?! You're the one standing in the middle of the door way staring at everything like a convicted felon in a whore house!”

 

“What the heck does that even mean?! You're the one that ran into me! If I was taking up as much space as you said I was, maybe you should look where you're going and then get a new prescription four eyes!” (I must say, I was very good at insults back then.)

 

He started looking really frustrated at this point.

 

“What are you? Four?!”

 

This was the point where he growled and shoved past me into the room. I resisted the urge to wince and pout, because guys don't do that kind of thing. They are not pansies! They suck it up! But OW OW OW!

 

The only perk of this little encounter was that I didn't need to worry about making an entrance or a fool of myself. It was already done for me.

 

Thanks to ol' Crap Head, everyone was staring at me and I no longer had to worry about making a good impression, because well…yeah…

 

So instead of standing in the door way anymore and looking like an idiot, I just went and sank down into the nearest table which had a bunch of guys there and was far away from Crap Head. I also made a mental note to stay away from him for the rest of the competition. Who needs a jerk?

 

The guy I sank down next to started talking to me at this point. He was nice. Kinda cute too. Not my kind of cute by the way, but Sango's. She's into that kind those narcissistic ego maniacs who are entirely full of themselves. And let me tell you, this guy had it in spades. This was how that conversation went, and let me tell you, I'll never forget it.

 

“Hi. I'm Miroku. I'm a former Canadian porn star.”

 

Now that is a great conversation starter-and he told me this while I was taking a sip of the complementary water on our table.

 

After dying a little bit, I gave him a nonchalant wave and told him my name and I was here for the guitar competition. I found out he wanted to be a singer, and gave up a role in a movie called Star Whores. That sounds like it was going to be an instant classic don't you think? The tag line was “May the Force be in you.”

 

Cough. Cough.

 

So after Miroku made me completely and utterly uncomfortable with his talk of the “optimal position for female pleasure when in a meat locker”, there was one of those loud and painful microphone squeals that made everyone cover their ears and look to the back of the room. (And when I say back, I meant it was farthest from the door.)

 

Up at the front of the room were some long tables, and seated behind it were all the executives and creators of Garage Band. In the middle of the center table there was a podium and a microphone, and behind the podium stood Creepy Man Naraku. The meeting had begun.

 

“Welcome contestants to Garage Band, where we hope to find the best and the brightest of America's youth and create a beloved and best selling band.” (That was a whole lot of b's! And apparently, we are the best and the brightest hoping to become beloved and best selling! I told that to Miroku and he laughed to-hey! I'm funny! Who knew?)

 

The guy kept rambling on and on, giving us the rules and procedures we would have to follow over the next few months. I'll give you the highlights.

 

Garage Band is a competition divided into four categories based on the positions in an average band-Singer, Guitarist, Drums, and Bass. The judges would divide the contests into “bands” each week and then the band would have to decide on a set list to perform to the audience. The audience would then vote for individuals in each category and then for which sound they liked the best. The latter vote was only for reference for the judges when making up the band lists. It all seemed pretty straight forward to me.

 

Since each band would only have four members on a given week, if a band picked a song and needed an extra guitarist or a keyboardist or something, then the executives would find a suitable fill in. They also mentioned they would try and get famous people to come and help out if they could-to increase the publicity of course.

 

After Naraku was done with the rules, another woman, Kanna, I think, got up and gave us the list of the first week's bands. As fate would have it, I was stuck with the singing Canadian porn star! Can I never catch a fricking break?!?! My other band mates was a guy named Shippou on the drums, and another guy named Kouga on bass.

 

Since I didn't know anybody except Miroku, I was at a complete loss of what to do. The first thing on my mind was getting together to practice, because we only had a week and a half before the live broadcast, and if we didn't practice and pick some decent songs, it was going to be a complete and utter suck fest.

 

But I guess being a porn star and seeing people naked for a living doesn't make one shy, because Miroku already knew the other members of the band, and told me to meet him in the studio in an hour and a half. He was going to collect the other members of our little group, and I imagine give his life story. I decided I had enough time to go up to my room and unpack my stuff, have a sandwich, and maybe some Price is Right reruns. (Why Bob Barker? Why??!)

 

I hopped into the nasty elevator and passed out around the fifteenth floor, only to be woken up on the twentieth by a kid with a bunch of Pokemon cards. I got to the twenty eighth and was very pleased with myself because I wrangled out a holographic Charizard from the kid (not like I collect them or anything) and swiped my card through the door-it didn't open all the way at first. I thought it might have hit something. Oh well.

 

I forced my way through, and since I wasn't looking where I was going because of Charizard's reptilian beauty I ran face first into a hard chest, and when I looked up, I was staring into the golden eyes of my roommate.

 

Oh crap.