Chapter 11

"Okay kids! It's almost time for the show! You have twenty minutes before you have to be backstage!" Ann the secretary shouted into the dark room. Her loud booming voice and light from the lamps woke me up in no time. I heard every word that she said so I decided to wake up everyone so we would have enough time to touch up before the show.

"Wake up Tay! It's almost time for the show!" I sleepily said as I gently shook Tay's shoulders till he started to moan. It was pretty obvious that he was not a morning person. But it didn't take long for him to wake up.

"What! Why'd you wake me up?" Tay sleepily yawned. as he rolled over on his back and stretched.

"Come on Tay, it's time to get up! We have only twenty minutes till be have to be backstage!" I repeated to him.

"Oh so soon? Darn, I was in the middle of a dream about postage stamps!" he sarcastically said as he eased himself up so a sitting position.

"Help me wake the others would you?" I asked as I stood up and yawned.

" Yeah okay." He replied as I helped him to his feet. Then we walked over to wake up Ike and Zac, it was pretty easy to wake Ike up. But Tay had to hit Zac with a pillow to get him up. Then I walked over to get Lolo and Binkies up. I didn't have too much trouble with them because I knew exactly what would wake them up.

"Oh my gosh! The pet store is on fire! Someone save the kittens!" I shouted. With a jump them both woke up.

"Where! Where's the cats!" They both asked ready to dash into some fire to save them. Then they realized that there was no fire or cats and plopped back onto the couch.

"Come on people! We have a concert in fifteen minutes!" I reminded them. With time running out, and no one ready. We all started to really freak out. First Bianca, Lo Lo, and I applied some blush and lip gloss. Then we had a group warm up session to get our voices in tune. Then everyone went off to different sections of the room to get themselves warmed up so they could play their instruments with ease.

"Okay, are we ready?" I asked as I finished cracking my knuckles. They all nodded.

"Okay, I think that we should give thanks to the Almighty for everything that has happened to us. So lets all sit in a circle and pray. First we'll pray individually, then we'll take turns out loud." They complied and we all sat in a circle. We took about 2 minutes then we started taking turns each praying to God.

"I thank God for giving us all the opportunities we have had, so that we could learn and succeed as a band. And for giving us 3 new friends." I said as I looked at everyone and smiled.

"I thank God for letting me meet a band I have always wanted to meet ever since I heard them. It is really a dream come true." Tay said as he glanced at me and smiled.

"I pray that we will to a great job today. And that Diamond Bay will soon be a household name. And I too thank God for giving us 3 new friends." said Zac with his eyes closed and head down.

"I pray that everything will go smoothly and that no one gets hurt or nothing goes wrong. And that we will have all the fun in the world!" Ike prayed.

" I hope that no one is too nervous or scared. And that God will send more opportunities like this for us." Lolo said.

"I pray that all of us will keep in touch forever and that we will try and visit as much as possible. Because we have never had friends as great as them before, even if we haven't known them for even a day yet. But I know that God has set a great thing here for us today! And whatever God does for us, can't be all that bad." Bianca prayed. We all giggled at that. Then we looked up, and just sat there in silence for a few moments.

"Okay, I think that I should give a pep talk just to be on the safe side okay!" I said as I stood up in front of them.

"A few years ago, when I started this band. I wasn't sure if we would even get this far. But we all worked hard, and now, here we are! Out for people to see! But I didn't want to start this band for the fame or the money. I started it because I was thinking of the fun, and the lessons and stuff we would learn through this. And because I really loved music, and I wanted other people to enjoy our music. And I believe that this is personally what God wants us to do. Because unlike most bands, we have had a lot of luck and lots of windows of opportunity have flung open for us." I paused and took a deep breath. " So today, lets have fun, and do the best darn concert we have ever done!" I said. I think it helped, because when I looked at them all, they just seemed so riveted and excited. Then I glanced at the clock. We only had 3 minutes to get backstage!

"Uh oh! Times almost out! We had better hustle!" I shouted as I ran for the door. Then they scurried after me. We reached the elevator and got in just as it was getting ready to go down.

Down to the first floor we went. Then we raced down the long hall past the secretaries desk and out the back door into the long, wide street sized ally that was frequently used for concerts and festivals. We ran past all of the hustle and bustle of volunteers making meals and up to the back of stage that faced hundreds of people, sitting in tables and chairs. All of them, hungry and homeless. But there were also lots of T.V. cameras and reporters there to journalize the whole event. Then we slowed from our run and started to walk. We were on the opposite side of the stage so all we could see were the volunteers rushing about with trays of food and the back of the stage. But we could hear all the commotion on the opposite side. Then we saw a huge tarp draping down from the top of the stage and on some support poles and down to the ground. So it resembled a tent like structure.

"Well, I guess that's backstage!" I said as I pointed to the tent. Then we made our way there and we walked into the tent. There my mom was standing talking to some lady and man.

"Mom! Dad! You made it!" Zac shouted as he walked towards the people my mom was talking to. Then I walked over to my mom and hugged her.

"Well it's about time you got here! Don't worry, we just wanted you here a little bit early so you could survey your audience okay!" my mom Debbie assured. I breathed a sign of relief.

"Okay mom! We'll do that!" I said as I rounded the rest of the gang up and we walked outside and around the corner. We didn't walk much further because what we saw, just blew our minds away!