Chapter 1
The After Hours Festival was packed as people from many parts of the country gathered to witness the main event, the reason why they attended such a concert in the middle of the week. It was headlined by a rock band called Misfit Mods, thought to be on their way to becoming one of the most famous musicians in the industry since first emerging four years ago. They were already among the most famous at a time when people sought the twangs of the electric guitar, the rhythms offered by the drums against the backdrop laid out by the bass, and songs had muses.
The Misfit Mods were popular because they had an air about them that reminded many of the past and how music in their genre used to sound. They reminded people of that time in rock and roll history. Everywhere they went, they were met with screams and flashes from cameras along with the occasional requests for photos.
The band was a quartet, made up of Caleb Richards, who played the drums, Henry Moon on bass, Adele Barrett as the group’s singer and rhythm guitarist, and Norah James on lead guitar.
The four of them embodied the spirit of the era they sought to dress up as even when they weren’t performing. Bellbottoms and berets mixed with fringe vests, minidresses, peace sign medallions, and boots of varying heights and styles. Feather boas and stays mixed with a lot of glitter and sparkle, and cut creased eyeshadows with very prominent lower lashes.
Their mismatched outfits from that time in history was what led them the name. They weren’t supposed to go well together style-wise, and yet they did. The proof was in the music they created and sought to create.
“Good evening everyone!!” Adele, sporting a glittery red makeup look, yelled into the microphone to cheers from the crowd. Playing a few chords as if hinting what they would play next, Adele gave the nod toward the rest of her bandmates, who took turns playing a little – their way of building anticipation and excitement.
“This is a little something, to thank you all for coming tonight,” She strummed a little more, to increased cheers and shouts. “You know what, you’re all so gorgeous, so very gorgeous tonight!”
“Let’s go!” Norah suddenly yelled, followed by the opening riff of their latest song, called “Drop Dead Gorgeous.”
The rest of their set was made up of their crowd-pleasing songs from their previous records, Norah flashing her trademark smirk followed by her casual confidence whenever a guitar solo was required, Henry’s fingers effortlessly strummed and slapped the bass while Caleb hit the snares with a messy kind of precision.
The stage was when Norah felt her best. Her most confident self was displayed on the stage for everyone to see and everyone, their fans who followed them throughout all the other stops in their tour, the ones who attended to see every other performer, and even the uninterested venue owners, saw and felt it. Norah was considered by local fanbases as a crowd favorite because of her infectious energy and joy in playing the guitar.
Each time Norah got on stage, she felt seen and heard, surrounded by people who supported her and encouraged her. She was living her dream, the dream she’s always had since high school.
While she didn’t want to remember that time in her life, Norah was considered a dreamer by the girls and boys she went to school with. They would often say her head was always in the clouds, and she was called weird or a wannabe or naive for even thinking that she was good enough to succeed. Take that, posers, she’d think.
By the end of their set, the four members of the band took their bows while some stage hands unplugged their guitars for them to leave the stage. Caleb flashed a wink at the crowd before leaving, drumsticks sticking out of his jacket pocket. He was warned not to throw them to the crowd this time as it was his last pair at the moment.
“Oh, that was amazing,” Norah sighed, grabbing the water bottle from their manager Brian Eberhardt before he could speak, passing the rest around to Adele, Henry, and Caleb, who quickly removed his jacket from how sweaty he had gotten.
Henry loosened his tie and wiped his black-rimmed glasses with it, being extra careful this time as it was the fifth pair after losing the previous four in their earlier gigs. He wasn’t going to call that one groupie he spent the night with in their last show in another city. He could barely remember her name. He was of the old money sort, the manners and etiquette never leaving him despite living the life of a rockstar for some time.
One could only imagine the surprise of his parents when he told them he plans on pursuing a musical career. The rock and roll lifestyle called out to him more, and the fact that he was quite good-looking wasn’t something anyone could complain. Henry’s presence somehow acted as a lure for people to check out their music.
Brian, who remained all smiles despite the exhaustion of his job beginning to show on his face, offered the rest of the bottles to them, simply gesturing as a sign to everyone else that they were not to be disturbed and were already set to leave. “Good job as usual, the four of you,” He grinned, casually taking a thick envelope from who might be the venue owner before closing the door of their dressing room.
“I don’t know if everyone knows we won’t be going on a show for a while,” Adele suddenly mused, her red feathery jacket plopped down on the table in front of her while she downed the rest of her water. She was the more cheerful one, the bold and vivacious one, as evidenced by her flaming red hair, paired with a glittery green eye makeup to match. Adele, or Addie, as everyone in the band including Brian called her, became part of the band out of her simply asking if she could be. She had the voice to match the style, and her fashion sense was already there.
Caleb co-founded the band along with Norah, when the two of them met in university. Caleb was studying music production, while Norah was learning production design at the insistence of her parents, who remained skeptical of a musical career yet relented on her major. Norah wasn’t one to back down, especially when it was something she really cared about and took seriously. Caleb, on the other hand, had always been rebellious in the eyes of many and like Henry, entertained multiple groupies at a time.
“They’ll understand, they always do,” Brian was quick to point out, distributing takeout boxes to the four of them, while other roadies packed up their gear. “This time, no trouble? Hmm?” He eyed each of them. “Just take it easy, immerse yourselves in the creative process, and then get back to me when it’s time to set up recording.”
“Yeah Caleb, no trouble,” Norah teased, with Caleb responding by blowing a raspberry.
Brian was the type who always thought several steps ahead when he became their manager. He also genuinely loved and cared for the band, and they cared for him just as much, thinking of him as a big brother figure seeing as he was ten years older. That was why they usually stayed clear of the boisterous rockstar activities of decades past, even as Caleb really wanted to experience what it was like. It was the adrenaline, he’d always argue.
“Got it,” Norah offered an assuring smile. “I’m honestly looking forward to coming home and relaxing.”
Adele grinned. “I bet you do. Who is he?”
Norah shook her head. She had been largely private about her personal life, mostly because there really wasn’t anything there. She had been single for a while, having grown tired of pursuing relationships with men who ultimately revealed that they were only interested in her because of who she was on stage rather than who she was as a person. These days, said men were looking to get engagement online.
Adele understood and decided not to press further. “I, on the other hand, will be playing pickleball with my sister and her friends. There’s this place downtown that has a really good court.”
“We should all have a pickleball day,” Henry suggested.
“Yeah! Pow!” Caleb crumpled up their setlist and pretended to hit Adele with it. Adele was quick to catch the paper ball, throwing it back to him.
Norah hummed in amusement. She wasn’t particularly good at anything sporty, despite being proud that she was able to run in heeled shoes since high school despite her bigger frame. She closed her eyes, momentarily recalling that time of her life where she was made fun of for being different, for being too much into classic rock, for dressing like a groupie, until she met the very boy who seemed to change her for better and for worse.
Ugh, she frowned when she remembered his face. Garreth West, the tall, soft-spoken boy with a mop of brown hair on his head. Garreth, one of the athletes in school, a midfielder in the school’s soccer team. That same Garreth who became her first boyfriend, with their relationship crashing and burning a little into her college years.
Norah didn’t want to remember how things ended, but nobody really forgets how their first relationship crashed and burned. He didn’t care much of what she wanted to do, yet counted on her to support him in his aspirations of putting up his own beer line. It came to a head during a party after graduating from high school where he drunkenly let slip that he thought she wouldn’t amount to anything because of how she looked out of the guise of only being realistic, of wanting to keep her from embarrassing herself.
Looking back, she didn’t know what she was thinking when she realized that they had been together for that long. Norah wondered how she thought to stay in that relationship when Garreth treated her that way.
She would have to put that thought away the next day when the van they were riding in had already reached the familiar surroundings of their town. Touring the country for a few months, the four of them sighed in content upon seeing the familiar signs, street lights, and buildings of home.
“Home sweet home,” Adele muttered, her smile growing the further into town they went. She looked over at their drummer. “There’s going to be a party at your parents’ house, huh?” Adele tilted her head over at one particular building ahead that was decorated with a few posters of the band. Caleb’s parents owned a restaurant and he spent much of the downtime helping his parents and two sisters manage it.
“Yeah, it’s my sister Alicia’s birthday,” Caleb muttered.
Brian looked over from the passenger seat. “Is it? Tell her happy birthday from us,” He said, suddenly tossing their concert t-shirt over to him. “Here, in case you didn’t have a present for her.”
“Thanks,” Caleb held it up as the van slowly pulled up in front of the restaurant. It was busy as it usually had been since local fans found out that it was owned by his family. Henry opened the door, letting him squeeze himself out, and slinging his backpack over his shoulder. “I’ll let you guys know if you’re all invited later ,” He opened the back to take out his luggage.
Caleb waved at them one more time before Henry slid the door closed and Brian signaled the driver to move ahead. Norah sat back, almost sliding a little to relax, knowing that she was the last person to be dropped off. She was intent on getting some much needed downtime before their first session recordings started. She was also intent on finding inspiration for some new songs.
But as fate, or the universe would have it, Norah might find that inspiration in the last place, or the last person she would ever expect to be inspired by at this time in her life.
As she eventually arrived home, she spotted a new club across the street from the building where she lived. Liquid Courage was the name, written in neon yellow lights.
Intrigued, Norah put her bags down at the lobby and crossed the street, sudden yells and shouts of recognition coming at her as she approached the doors. “Wow, new club?” She asked the two large men playing chess in the corner.
The two men stared at her incredulously. “You new here?” They asked.
“No, no,” She shook her head. “I’ve just been away on tour for a while so I only noticed this now,” She said.
That seemed to make them understand. “Then yeah, it’s a fairly new club. Not sure if it’s going to be around much longer.”
“What do you mean?” Norah was confused. From where she stood, the inside of Liquid Courage looked like it could be a jazz club, with its 1920 or 1930-esque interiors. “It looks beautiful in there.”
They scoffed. “Yeah, well, as beautiful as this is, the owner needs to make it exciting, I’ve been telling him to get a band to play or something,” they said.
Norah chuckled, amused at the ensuing exchange between them. No, she was going to take a break from live gigs for now, she thought. “Anyone playing tonight?” She asked.
“Just the usual house band. Wait a minute, you just said you came back from a tour,” one of them said, getting up. “You play? You look like you came from Woodstock or something.”
Norah shrugged, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious. From a distance, she could sense a small crowd having recognized her, approaching with their phones and cameras already out. “I play a little bit, yeah.”
Before they could say anything further, a tall man in a suit burst out from what seemed like the alley leading to the club’s back entrance. Norah stepped back, hearing the crowd that recognized her coming closer. He was arguing with someone on the phone.
“Yes, Mr. Cornish, yes, you will get your downpayment once the contract to have your boys come and do a show at Liquid Courage is signed,” He let out a resigned sigh. “No, we agreed on half now, half later. We won’t pay the other half until after the show is done. The downpayment will be given to you once you sign that contract. What’s not making sense here? If you sign the contract, then your downpayment will be sent-you want your boys to do a show here, right? We want them to do a show here too.”
He hung up and ruffled his hair. “What is it with these people? Honestly,” He pocketed his phone.
“Mr. Curtis,” the larger man gestured to Norah. “Weren’t you looking for an act?”
The man then turned to Norah, just as the crowd finally came near. He looked her up and down, then gestured to the crowd. “You seem to have some fans, miss,” He said in amusement.
Norah forced a smile, turning slightly as if to engage just a little, before quietly signing the concert merch that she recognized was being handed to her. “No pictures right now, I’m sorry,” She said, trying to sound as polite as possible.
“You must be popular,” He observed.
“Popular’s an understatement. She’s in the Misfit Mods!” One of the fans, a man in a leather jacket with long hair, chimed in, before they dispersed.
“Misfit Mods, sounds, vaguely familiar,” He looked impressed despite his tone hinting otherwise. “I’m Lee Curtis, I co-own this club.”
“Norah James, nice to meet you,” she shook his hand.
Lee, in a way, reminded Norah of Brian. He turned to the security. “Angus, pull up the velvet rope tonight. If Mr. Cornish ever keeps his word, tonight’s going to be exclusively for his guests,” He rolled his eyes. He then turned to Norah.
“Got it, sir,” Angus did a salute before returning to his chess game.
“You’re welcome to come tonight, Miss James. Always good to have some famous faces turn up,” Lee offered.
A small truck suddenly pulled up in front of the club, with cases and boxes of champagne as its cargo. Lee gestured for Angus to bring down the shipment. “Right on time, right on time!” Someone called from the back entrance until they emerged, and Norah’s expression dropped when she recognized the voice, and the face that it belonged to, and she took another step back.
Lee handed out a fat wad of bills from his pocket to the driver. “Speaking of which, Miss James, this is my business partner and co-owner, Garreth West,” He said, gesturing toward him.
Garreth turned around, nearly dropping the case he was holding when he saw her. His expression fell as the two of them stared at each other. “...Norah?”
“Garreth,” She said, nodding as she realized that it made perfect sense. “It’s been-”
“Years, yeah,” He agreed.
Lee observed the two of them. “You two know each other?”
Garreth pursed his lips as he glanced at his colleague. “We used to date back in high school,” He replied. “A little into university, at least a little into when she entered university.”
“Yeah,” Norah blurted out, the memories coming back to her again. Just when she was determined not to reminisce about those times, the very person she didn’t want to remember would do that for her. She turned to leave, any intention of appearing at the club that night disappearing the moment she saw him.
“Always welcome to come!” Lee would call out to her as she crossed the street, in which she waved in response. As Norah entered the building and out of sight, Lee turned to Garreth. “You didn’t tell me you dated a rockstar.”
Garreth shrugged. “Well, we didn’t exactly end our relationship amicably. We, or, I, didn’t know any better.”
