Read Online Life's A Cappella by Yessi Smith - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Yessi Smith
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and kissed it, making my cheeks flush a crimson red.
We wound up listening to the Chili Peppers with some Cranberries snuck in between. Trent pretended to protest listening to The Cranberries, but in all honesty, who could possibly dislike Dolores O’Riordan’s voice? Or the accompanying lyrics?
While the weather looked sketchy, I was deliriously happy the concert was outdoors and had packed blankets for us to sit on. If it rained, we’d get wet. And dance in the rain. I could already picture myself pointing my face towards the sky, wet and delirious with the ecstasy I found from live music.
I had been seventeen years old when I went to my first concert. My friends and I had gone to a small club where a heavy metal band had screamed their discontent about their life and the world around them. While the atmosphere itself had been bleak, the night had consisted of plenty of liquor, weed and laughter. As usual, my friends had been loud, boisterous, wanting to be recognized for the youth that emanated off of them. I had sat back and watched them, rarely ever speaking. Even then I had known I would never really fit in with them, but they hadn’t seemed to mind or even notice. That was what I liked most about my stoner friends; they had simply accepted me, never asking why I rarely talked.
But none of that mattered when I listened to the band. Their instruments cried out just as loudly as the screamer of the band, and drowned out any thoughts my brain tried to form. So I sat back and listened. In those moments, I had felt ethereal. Somehow, the worries that had become a part of me had lifted, leaving me with a small but weightless reprieve.
When I got home that night, I had found my mother inside our mobile home passed out on the floor with her face and hair plastered to the vomit around her. I checked to see if she was breathing and felt a small stab of disappointment to see that she was. I thought about leaving her there, but the truth was that I had always been the parent in our relationship, and leaving her like that somehow felt wrong. So I helped her up while she swore at me and tried to smack me for moving her. But I kept moving, and with each step I took with her I mentally distanced myself from her, and the hatred that was so prominent I thought my heart would turn to black stone at any moment. I had to leave, I knew. And I would. One day I’d leave her and she’d finally be dead to me.
Our friends had arrived before us and had already claimed a spot on the ground, close to the stage, just outside the mosh pit area. Barefoot and with beer in hand, we talked and listened to the opening act. Leaning against Trent’s chest, I looked up at the sky, watching it change colors as the sun finished its descent. A few drops of rain fell on my face as I watched the dark clouds draw closer to us. It wouldn’t rain hard or long. Just a quick spring shower, typical South Florida weather.
I listened to Trent and Jermaine complain about being dragged to the concert and I rolled my eyes. “You boys are such martyrs,” I teased.
“We deserve a prize,” Jermaine added.
“Prize, my ass,” I responded, and Brianna laughed.
The crowd around us began to thicken as the opening act introduced Imagine Dragons. As they made their way to the stage, we got to our feet to welcome them, jumping and screaming. Without delay, they started to play, instantaneously energizing their fans. While dancing, I noticed the mosh pit wasn’t like the mosh pits I was used to. Rather than the punches and slams I expected to see at a rock concert, people were simply jumping and dancing together. In unison. Fueled by the music and ambience the band created, I grabbed Trent and Camilla and led us to the mosh pit with the rest of our friends close behind.
Side by side with the most important people in my life, I sang. Drunk from a euphoria alcohol could not replicate, Trent twirled me as I lifted my face to the sky and laughed.
I could never
We wound up listening to the Chili Peppers with some Cranberries snuck in between. Trent pretended to protest listening to The Cranberries, but in all honesty, who could possibly dislike Dolores O’Riordan’s voice? Or the accompanying lyrics?
While the weather looked sketchy, I was deliriously happy the concert was outdoors and had packed blankets for us to sit on. If it rained, we’d get wet. And dance in the rain. I could already picture myself pointing my face towards the sky, wet and delirious with the ecstasy I found from live music.
I had been seventeen years old when I went to my first concert. My friends and I had gone to a small club where a heavy metal band had screamed their discontent about their life and the world around them. While the atmosphere itself had been bleak, the night had consisted of plenty of liquor, weed and laughter. As usual, my friends had been loud, boisterous, wanting to be recognized for the youth that emanated off of them. I had sat back and watched them, rarely ever speaking. Even then I had known I would never really fit in with them, but they hadn’t seemed to mind or even notice. That was what I liked most about my stoner friends; they had simply accepted me, never asking why I rarely talked.
But none of that mattered when I listened to the band. Their instruments cried out just as loudly as the screamer of the band, and drowned out any thoughts my brain tried to form. So I sat back and listened. In those moments, I had felt ethereal. Somehow, the worries that had become a part of me had lifted, leaving me with a small but weightless reprieve.
When I got home that night, I had found my mother inside our mobile home passed out on the floor with her face and hair plastered to the vomit around her. I checked to see if she was breathing and felt a small stab of disappointment to see that she was. I thought about leaving her there, but the truth was that I had always been the parent in our relationship, and leaving her like that somehow felt wrong. So I helped her up while she swore at me and tried to smack me for moving her. But I kept moving, and with each step I took with her I mentally distanced myself from her, and the hatred that was so prominent I thought my heart would turn to black stone at any moment. I had to leave, I knew. And I would. One day I’d leave her and she’d finally be dead to me.
Our friends had arrived before us and had already claimed a spot on the ground, close to the stage, just outside the mosh pit area. Barefoot and with beer in hand, we talked and listened to the opening act. Leaning against Trent’s chest, I looked up at the sky, watching it change colors as the sun finished its descent. A few drops of rain fell on my face as I watched the dark clouds draw closer to us. It wouldn’t rain hard or long. Just a quick spring shower, typical South Florida weather.
I listened to Trent and Jermaine complain about being dragged to the concert and I rolled my eyes. “You boys are such martyrs,” I teased.
“We deserve a prize,” Jermaine added.
“Prize, my ass,” I responded, and Brianna laughed.
The crowd around us began to thicken as the opening act introduced Imagine Dragons. As they made their way to the stage, we got to our feet to welcome them, jumping and screaming. Without delay, they started to play, instantaneously energizing their fans. While dancing, I noticed the mosh pit wasn’t like the mosh pits I was used to. Rather than the punches and slams I expected to see at a rock concert, people were simply jumping and dancing together. In unison. Fueled by the music and ambience the band created, I grabbed Trent and Camilla and led us to the mosh pit with the rest of our friends close behind.
Side by side with the most important people in my life, I sang. Drunk from a euphoria alcohol could not replicate, Trent twirled me as I lifted my face to the sky and laughed.
I could never
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