I was so stoked about my first concert. You see, I’m in a band, but not a very good one. We’re called "Sirius Electra;" we’re an alternative rock band. I play lead, Isis plays bass and sometimes plays duet lead with me, and Reggie plays the drums. Anyway, it’s not really a concert, it’s just our first time playing in front of a live audience. We were all excited, but there was one slight thing I was worried about. I had to play a solo part, and it was sort of hard. Okay, it was really hard. And the bad thing was, no one was giving me any support.

"I can’t wait! I’m still kind of worried about my solo," I told Otto as we were sitting on the couch in my living room watching VH1. "I can’t wait to see you play your solo either. Are you sure you want to go through with it? It seems kind of hard," he asked hesitantly. I muted the TV and looked at him, hopelessly. "What? What do you mean by that?" I interrogated him suspiciously. He shook his head nervously, "No, I don’t mean anything by it. I’m just saying, are you sure you want to play that solo in front of all those people? It’s a really hard piece to play." He had no hope in me; I felt he didn’t.

"You don’t think I can do it do you? You don’t think I can do it because I’m some air-headed, brunette surf chick, who doesn’t know anything else but how to ride a wave," I accused him. "No, I’ve never thought that! Sunny, you’re different from other chicks. You don’t think about your looks all the time, and you don’t care what others think of you. That’s why I like you, and nothing’s going to change that," he explained. I still wasn’t convinced.

"I didn’t ask for an explanation of why you like me. I want to know if you think I can play it or not?" I requested of him. He didn’t answer for a few seconds. "Yes. Yes I do. I just don’t want you to screw up, and then you’ll really feel bad," he said. I could clearly tell he wasn’t helping. "Well, you’re not making me feel much better, when it comes to motivation anyway," I said furiously as I scooted away from him. He tried to put his arm around me but I pushed it away and made the most sour face you could imagine.

"Sunny, you’re acting like a little kid! Stop making that face!" he said, frustrated. "Go, go and degrade someone else! I don’t need you to come to my concert, you crazy fool!" I yelled at him as I stood to my feet. He looked at me and asked sarcastically, "So now you’re going to be a drama queen? Let me guess, this is our first argument, and it’s ‘all my fault,’ right?"

I could have killed him. "Get out of my house, kook! You’re not helping! I need to be alone to resolve my insecurities," I screamed at the top of my lungs. He frowned, in which he said, "Okay. I’m still going, even though you hate my guts now, I’ll still watch you play. I’ll be cheering you on. Love ya, babe. Later," and walked out the door. It didn’t even phase him, which infuriated me even more. I grabbed the nearest pillow and screamed into it. I went up to my room, and my dad called up before I had a chance to slam the door. "Don’t slam the door, I heard the whole thing. I think the boy’s right, maybe that solo is a little complicated," he bellowed from down stairs. "Maybe you’re brain and his is a little complicated, because I can’t seem to figure either of you out! UGH!" I shrieked at him and slammed the door.

I felt guilty after a while, about what I had said to my dad and Otto. I wanted to pick up the phone and call Otto and tell him how sorry I was, but I was too proud. I also wanted to apologize to my dad. I decided to anyway.

I walked downstairs to the living room. Slowly, I sauntered beside my dad. "Dad, I’m sorry I yelled at you and slammed the door," I apologized. He turned around, "It’s okay honey. I understand the stress you’re under. Maybe you should call Otto and apologize to him, too." I nodded, " I was thinking the same thing. Maybe I should tell him in person so he’ll know I really am sorry." Dad agreed and I drove over to Otto’s house.

As I strolled slowly up to his door, I was already brewing up an apology speech. I hesitantly rang the doorbell. He opened the door, somehow looking better than usual. "Um, Otto, I came to apologize. I’m sorry about what happened this afternoon, and if you want to dump me I can understand," I poured my guts out.

He looked at me with the most serious face and said, "Well, I am a kook and a fool. Why would you want to date me?" My heart dropped and my eyes started to water. "You mean, you’re really...?" I muttered with eyes full of tears. He smiled and put his arms around me. "No, I would never dump you. Especially with those big green eyes, you can’t ignore them. You know, you’re a pretty good actress, with the ‘Get out you kook, you fool!’" he said and laughed. "I know," I agreed, "but I wasn’t acting when I was about to cry." He smiled, "I know, I could tell." "You know me all too well," I said. I then knew why I loved him so much.

It was thirty minutes before the concert, and I was shaking in my shoes. "Oh, I am so nervous. What if I do screw up?" I asked Otto. He shook his head, "No you won’t." My crew and I were setting up on stage. I got out my guitar and started to practice my solo. "Ugh! I messed up," I yelled at myself. I peeked out from behind the curtains. People were already starting to come in and take their seats.

A lady walked up to us to tell us we were on in ten minutes. "Well, wish me luck," I told Otto. "Luck," he said and hugged me then walked off. My friends in the band must have seen my worry. "We’re all nervous, Sunny," Reggie tried to comfort me. I heard the hot crowd outside quiet down. Someone was evidently on stage about to announce our appearance. I strapped my guitar onto my shoulder and stood in position, ready to play and to sing. "Now, it’s time for you to give it up, because tonight, we have a special guest. Sirius Electra is here to play for us, so give them an extreme round of applause, because here they are, Sirius Electra!" he shouted.

We began to play, and the spot lights were blinding me and making me more nervous. I looked at Otto, who was smiling at me and he gave me a thumbs up. Finally, we finished our first song. After that one, we would play "First Kiss," which then was when I had to play my solo. Too bad that song didn’t last very long. Well, it was time for me to play my big solo. I pulled the microphone closer to me. Before I started I decided to say something, so I told my crew in my head set what I was going to do. "I’d like to dedicate this song to someone, my boyfriend, Otto. This is how I felt when we first me not so long ago. This song’s for you," I said as I smiled at his face in the audience. So I sang,

"When life turns a little unkind, I just look into his eyes. And I see something that I’ve never seen before... I see a man in the shape of a boy.

There’s something behind the shades, the tan, the attitude, I know that deep inside him, there’s a guy who’s love and true.

Baby you can’t hide but for so long, it’s gotta come out soon. I think I’ve found you out, and I think you know it too."

There was so much more to the song, but it’s really long. When I was through, I have never heard any crowd cheer so loud. I waved for Otto to come up on stage. He walked up there a hugged me and told me I did great job. I pointed to Otto and said to the audience, "Now you see why I sung that song!" They cheered harder and I heard girls scream. I guess I really knew who would always be by my side.