Who knew I would make it to center stage with a drummer at my back and guitarists flanking me on either side? I didn’t when I stumbled out of my bedroom, sleepily singing the song that popped into my head upon awaking. My roommate never warned me when her friends were coming over, so why would she tell me her band would be working on a new song on a Saturday morning?
As I realized I was the center of an impromptu concert, my mouth slammed closed. I sucked down a scream as my tongue got caught between my teeth. I gazed at my unexpected audience in petrified fear. They gazed back at me in surprise. Lon, who happened to be my roommate Terry’s boyfriend and the band’s lead guitarist, grinned at me.
“I think we found that new sound we’re looking for,” he nodded his head sagely as he continued to stare at me.
My roommate and I shared an incredulous look, but with the drummer and rhythm guitar backing Lon’s assessment, we got outvoted. I have a feeling Lon would have said I didn’t get a vote unless I joined the band had the vote gone the other way. So here we are at center stage. I sing my heart out to a capacity crowd, forgetting the years of being told to sing lower so no one could hear me. I just needed the right sound and the right backup.
As I paused to take a sip of water between songs, I looked out over the crowd, reveling once more in the cheers and smiles of appreciation. As my eyes fixed on a little old lady who had to be there with her grandchild, a circle of greenish light spotlighted her. My water bottle dropped at my feet, spilling its contents on my platform shoes as she hovered off the ground and rose up into the air. I followed her progress until she disappeared into a giant metal disc in the sky. I gasped and roved my eyes over the crowd, realizing this one fan wasn’t the only one selected to see the stars.
“What do we do?” Lon asked as he sidled into my space.
I glanced at Terry. She shrugged.
“Channel my aunt Maggie?” I suggested.
She cringed, which I took as agreement given the situation. I turned my microphone back on and turned to face the crowd, most of whom remained oblivious to the danger hovering over our heads.
“I am so sorry for what our ears are about to experience, but hopefully it saves our lives,” I nodded to Terry and leaned into the microphone.
As I performed my best imitation of Aunt Maggie singing along to her favorite country love ballad, extra twang crept into each word. Terry followed a step behind with her own off key warble. Lon and Tom stared at us in confusion as a laser show from overhead took down a drone that flew too close to our unwelcome concert attendees. The confusion mirrored on the faces of our fans turned to terror at the first burst from above. Then panic sent them racing for the exits, except for a few more who were traveling on beams of light to an uncertain destiny.
I launched into my next heartrending throwback song. As this tune twanged across the thinning crowd in the amphitheater, something stirred above us. I looked up but doggedly kept belting out my song. The ships hovering in midair seemed to be about to move. I sang louder and further off key as I realized how foolish my decision to remain at center stage truly was. Then green beams of light alighted on the stage around me. Terry screamed and disappeared backstage. Lon and Tom forgot to provide backup as we all stared up at the beams of light. My voice cracked and faded out as people began descending around me. Their return took less time than their ascent as the ships hovering overhead launched themselves back toward the Earth’s atmosphere.
The microphone dropped from my bemused grasp as the returnees shook off their own shock and slowly stepped toward me. Soon trembling arms enveloped me as hoarse voices found enough strength to thank me. I took this all in stride as I returned hugs and joined in glances heavenward to watch the ships disappear. As we held each other close, our eyes continued to creep heavenward to reassure ourselves the invaders were not returning to fulfill their goal.
After a while, the returnees released me. Tom and Lon stepped closer and joined me in repeatedly searching the skies above. Finally, we took the risk that my vocal stylings had sent them scurrying back into the stars and went in search of Terry. We found her cowering in our dressing room with tears streaking the heavy makeup on her pale cheeks. She looked up at us, wiping away a tear with the back of her hand as she turned hopeful eyes to me.
“Did Aunt Maggie save us?” The light faded a little from her eyes as she scanned our faces. “Or have you come to take me to our new overlords?”
“We have to watch better shows,” I muttered as I opened my arms toward her.
She stepped into them and buried her face in my shoulder, “So everything turned out okay?”
“As far as we know,” Lon stepped forward to rub her back.
“As far as we know,” Tom repeated, looking up toward the ceiling as if to check again that the aliens have not returned.
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