It was a typical August night in Edinburgh. Festival madness, tourists, performers, freaks everywhere you looked.
The throng of people wasn't a problem for Seth; originally from the west coast of Scotland, he didn't share the contempt most natives had for the Festival invasion. On the contrary, he always enjoyed this time of year. The opportunities to cash in and have fun whilst doing it were almost limitless, and Seth was hoping to do both tonight.
The bar was just off the Royal Mile, a regular gig for Seth and his band. Every Friday, midnight till 2am, usual fee £200 split 3 ways. Since the bars were always packed during the Festival, he had managed to squeeze an extra £100 from the manager for the next few weeks and the chance to play to a full house of often crazed, drunken foreigners was a pleasant change from the usual apathetic crowd. Just turn up the amps, throw in a few crowd pleasers and let it roll.
After the first set he headed outside for some fresh air and a smoke with Stevie, the drummer. Although he often cursed the smoking ban, it did more or less allow one to smoke weed in the street with impunity. He lit up, taking a couple of long draws before passing it. Seth & Stevie were a somewhat incongruous pair, the drummer tanned, muscular with close-cropped hair, constantly in motion, bobbing & twitching like a boxer on his way to the ring. Seth was lean, with a tousled black hair and pale skin, poised & still as he leaned against the wall, seemingly unaffected by playing for the last hour in the packed sweatbox of a bar.
They discussed the next set, Stevie rapping out ideas for songs, Seth murmuring in agreement or nodding occasionally. "'Brown Sugar' last, man, that always rocks," Stevie said, wiping the sweat from his brow & jerking his head to a rhythm only he could hear.
"Yeah, fine. Maybe start with 'Alabama', make it a good old 70s rock set, eh?"
"Right, right!"
Seth smiled, both at Stevie's enthusiasm and the pleasant buzz he felt from the fresh air & fine smoke. Just then, a voice from behind him intruded: "That smells nice, you mind if I try it?" The voice was young and somewhat low, female & American; when Seth turned to face her he had to use every ounce of self-control to stop the amazement showing on his features. He recognized her instantly despite the funky crocheted wool hat & rather geeky horn-rimmed glasses. "Ah...sure... Miss Trachtenberg..."
"Oh, you can call me Michelle," she said, taking a toke. "I'm supposed to be in disguise... I liked your music."
"Thanks...I'm Seth. This is Stevie. So...what are you doing in Edinburgh?"
"Oh, this film festival. Promo for a new movie, you know?" She handed back the smoke & Seth couldn't help noticing the pale pink lipstick on the roach. "Jeez that is fine," she continued, coughing slightly. "Yeah, some guy at the hotel said this is a good place for live music so I thought I'd check it out."
"Well, we're doing another set in 10 minutes, You should stick around."
"I don't know, I kinda got an early start tomorrow."
"C'mon, I'll play you a song," he said smiling. "Anything you want."
"I'll stay if you got any more of that," she replied, indicating the smoke.
"Deal..."
"Well, OK. I'll catch you later." She shook hands with him and smiled before heading back into the bar.
"Jesus," Seth murmurmed, lighting a cigarette to calm his nerves.
"Who the hell is that?" Stevie asked.
"Michelle Trachtenberg? She's Buffy's little sister."
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer??"
"Yeah!" Seth went on, seeing Stevie's look of incomprehension. "Eurotrip? Gossip Girls?"
"Dude you know I don't watch TV. She's cute though."
