Oh?
Gangle left that class feeling better than ever. She had made a new friend and they had bonded over her favorite thing, Art! Gangle always had more of an anime, cartoon style of drawing, but Pomni had a more wild style to her art. Crazy colors, wild dimensions, not enough to be abstract but enough to be deemed weird, and Gangle loved it. It reminded her of the Marylin Monroe painting by Andy Warhol, beautiful and unique. They had shared tips and tricks they used in their arts, figuring out what made them so different at the core, while also giving them insight on each other's art, providing a new perspective to it all. It was wonderful. They had exchanged numbers at the end, and Gangle found herself quite fond of the artistic accountant.
She opened the door to her dorm, expecting her roommate to be there so they could meet, hoping they weren't so they could draw in peace. Much to her satisfaction the living area was empty, almost untouched. If her roommate was here, they were in their room, minding their own business. Gangle slipped into her room, devoid of everything ‘Gangle’. A shallow reflection of the school's age, dim, dusty, and painfully plain. She regretted not bringing any posters from her old room. She longed to see bands and anime decorate her walls, bringing some color to her new home.
Maybe I could go buy some posters when I get paid, though I doubt I'll find anything in the realm of The Veronica's or Night Club here. Maybe Tegan and Sara if I'm lucky. She recalled the posters she had at home that hung on her ceiling. I wonder if there's a record store here? She hadn't actually explored this new town since she arrived, she had no idea what secrets were hiding here, what the history of the area had been, or if they had anything going for them besides good art.
“Well I know what I'm doing tomorrow “ Gangle thought aloud. She didn't have work, or class that day, so she could spend it getting used to the area. Finding all the secret gems this place had to offer, even if it was just a graffiti tunnel in the middle of the woods that had been tagged by local teens. She loved seeing the beginnings of art, sloppy and free, motivated but nothing but the want to create. That died out in her as she got older. Defined by rules and social ideals for what ‘good’ actually meant, even though art is subjective and it is all both good and bad at the same time. So anytime she saw street art something inside of her came back to life, it made her smile. All art did, drawing, painting, music, poetry. The idea of creating something out of nothing always mesmerized her, it's part of the reason she drew. Art was just an idea brought into existence by pure will. Poetry was emotions willed into words and thrown onto a piece of paper. Music was the same, emotions and thoughts organized into a story that was conveyed by people who related to the message they had created. Art was beautiful. Art was free.
Gangle sat down on her bed and stared at the boxes that laid against the wall when something caught her eye. She stood up and grabbed the rectangular item before plugging it in. She went through her boxes until she found the one that contained a part of her soul. She grabbed something out of the box and placed it onto the item, smiling as she set the needle down, waiting for the music to start. She set the sleeve of the record back into the box before she started silently dancing to the music. An angelic voice started ringing out, echoing off the walls and bouncing right back into Gangle's ears. Loud enough for her to hear, but quiet enough to not disturb anyone outside. Tegan and Sara had been one of the earliest bands she had ever listened to, they were the band that inspired her to write her own songs, albeit she'd never shown them to anyone and she never would. They were there for every emotion. Every breakup, every failed project, every late night drive, and they were here now, her first day of college. Along with various other artists and bands that decorated the record sleeves and CD cases held within the box next to her. She danced the strum of the guitar and tapped her foot to the drums, humming along to lyrics until it all died out and gave way to the next track. She smiled at the peace she was feeling, secluded from the rest of the world, just her and a melody. Her peace was disrupted by a ding from her phone.
‘Hey, are you free tonight?’ Pomni had texted her. She suspected that this would happen, just not so soon.
‘Yeah, why?’ Was all she could type, not wanting to weird out the only friend she had so far.
‘There's a show tonight, down at The Void. All my friends are going, and I think you'd like some of them.’ A social gathering, her worst fear. On the brightside there would be music at the very least, so if all goes wrong she could just disassociate. Plus she didn't want to be the weirdo with one friend that never socialized or left her dorm unless she was working or going to class.
‘Sounds dope, what time should I head over?’
‘HELL YEAH! I totally thought you were gonna say no and I was gonna have to drag you out.’ Gangle laughed at the response, she knew she seemed shy but she didn't think it was that bad. ‘Doors are at 6, but I'll probably be there around 5:30 ish.’ Why the hell would you show up to a concert early? Usually you'd wait until 30 minutes after doors, but she wasn't one to question other people and she wasn't going to start now.
‘Cool, I'll be there.’ Gangle shut her phone off and set it down after the text had been marked as read. She glanced at the boxes once more.
“I have to figure out what to wear to this. Shit.” She let out a groan as she walked back over to her box filled corner.
///
Gangle starred in the mirror once more, smiling at the outfit. People often assumed that she always wore frilly skirts and pastel pink due to her interests and hobbies, don't get it twisted, she did, just not all the time. Tonight she went with a fishnet undershirt, and a Melanie Martinez shirt tucked into a pair of black jeans. She wore a studded belt semi loosely on her waist and a pair of vans that had been doodled on with sharpie. She wasn't one for makeup, but she decided that some tiny red stars on her checks couldn't hurt. They'd highlight the faded red in her hair and the pink on her shirt while also contrasting the black outfit. She looked at her phone for the time and was glad to see it was only 5:50, she had enough time to go stop and eat before heading out. She didn't know what kind of concert this was, but if it was more punk or metal, then she needed to be prepared for a mosh pit. She may be small and look frail, but she can take a hit, she just cries easily sometimes. With a final look in the mirror, Gangle smiled, grabbed her wallet, keys, and phone, and then headed out the dorm.
///
The Void was a smaller venue that was clearly meant for more intimate crowds. Gangle bought her ticket at the door and entered inside, able to see just how small it was. There was a smoking deck that led to an outside area. Inside was a bar, a vending machine, the bathrooms, and then the stage. The floor was pretty open near the back, because everyone had crowded towards the front of the stage, cheering for whoever was playing. Gangle had arrived around 6:30, so whoever was playing was clearly an opener, but the instrumental admittedly rocked. Gangle walked around the crowd of people, looking for her friend, but gave up after 5 minutes of looking.
She could be anywhere. Outside, in the bathroom, late. I might as well just enjoy the show.
Gangle stood in the back of the crowd, simply voting to whatever was being played, completely disregarding the lyrics. She had been nodding her head to the beat and tapping her foot along for a little while before someone called her name, causing her to turn around. Before her stood Pomni in a black T-Shirt that read ‘CREW’ in bold white letters.
“What's up?” Gangle said, nonchalantly, causing Pomni to smile.
“Not much, just finished setting up everything for the rest of the show.” She motioned to amps that were half covered by the black curtain draping around the stage.
“You work here?” Gangle asked, genuinely surprised.
“More or less. I help out when they need it and they pay me for that night. It's easy money and I don't have to work scheduled hours. Pretty nice”
“Sounds like it, I'd prefer that over working 40 hours a week and getting yelled at for half of it.” Gangle responded as memories of Spudsys flashed through her mind, sending a shiver down her spine.
“Retail?”
“Something like that.” Gangle said with a sigh. “Shitty customers all the same.” Pomni nodded her head in understanding.
“Hey Pom, why’d you run away?” An unfamiliar voice called out. It belonged to a red head in a shirt matching Pomnis.
“Sorry Rag, I saw a familiar face and just wanted to say hi.” Pomni motioned to Gangle. Gangle waved shyly towards the girl.
“Well hello there, Who might this be?”
“I-I'm Gangle” She said, tripping over her words.
“She's in my art class.” Pomni added. “She's really good at drawing, especially proportions, and hands.” Gangle smiled at the comment, glad that someone else liked their art.
“Well that's good, right? Sorry I don't really draw.”
“ It's okay, I get it. Yeah that's good. Hands are hard to draw and proportions can be tricky, so drawing them well shows a person's surface skill level.” The red head nodded her head along.
“Cool, you'll have to show me sometime.”
“Oh sure.” She paused. “I don't think I got your name.” Gangle said embarrassed.
“Ragatha, nice to meet ya.” She said with a smile as she placed her hands on her hips.
“Do you go to the University, Ragatha?”
“Oh yeah, I'm studying Zoology.”
“That sounds fun, I've always liked animals.” Gangle thought about her cat back home with fondness.
“It really is. I grew up around horses and other animals so it was always a dream of mine to learn more about them.”
“What do you plan to do after you graduate?”
“Enroll in veterinary school, then help all the animals I can.” Ragatha spoke with a certain edge that showed her dedication to her dreams. Gangle just smiled and gave a nod of understanding. “How about you Ms.Artist, what are your plans?” It was a question she'd thought about often, but she never came up with a definitive answer.
“Well I'm not sure.” She spoke slowly. “Right now I'm working on a web comic, it's got some traction but not enough to qualify as a career. I considered being a painter or a tattoo artist. I just don't know if I'd be any good at it.” Ragatha glanced at Pomni with a smile.
“We know a tattoo artist if you want to ask them about it.” Ragatha said.
“They're kinda antisocial though. They come off as distant and dismissive, even if they're actually interested in the topic at hand.” Pomni added, carefully choosing her words as she spoke.
“Really? Do you think they'd even want to talk to me about it then? I mean it's work and I'm a stranger.” Pomni and Ragatha glanced at each other once more.
“We can find out tonight.” Ragatha said hopefully.
“What do you mean?”
“They're here. They're probably somewhere over there” She said, motioning towards the backstage area. “They'll come say hi at some point, they always do. And then we can introduce you two.”
“Alright, cool” Gangle said, trying not to show how nervous she actually was.
First I had to come to a crowded place in a new town to meet new people just to please the only person I knew. Now they're saying I have to meet another person who apparently doesn't like people, just my luck.
“Hey Rags look.” Pomni pointed to the stage, breaking Gangle of her spiraling thoughts.
“It's about damn time.” Ragatha responded excitedly. “Let's go.” She grabbed both Pomni and Gangle by the wrists and navigated them through the crowd, towards the front of the stage.
“Who is playing?” Gangle asked, confused by the excitement radiating off the taller girl.
“Our friend, the very tattoo artist.” Pomni cheered as the first song began.
“What instrument do they play?” Gangle asked.
“Quite a few.” Pomni replied
“I meant like, right now.”
“Oh, they're playing the bass.” Pomni pointed to the stage. It was so bright that Gangle couldn't see much. She was used to dancing and moshing at these events, rarely did she ever look at the band's appearance. This time was different though, she was supposed to meet this person, so she scanned the stage every time the lights stopped blinding her. The guy singing had purple hair and was wearing yellow contacts, a nirvana shirt, and a studded belt. He looked smug as hell as he sang. Behind him was the drum player, but she couldn't make out their features behind the kit. Lastly she looked to the left where she saw a guitar sitting in its stand. It's aux cord laying over it, ready to be plugged in. Beside that was the aforementioned tattoo artist. They were wearing ripped black jeans and an oversized violent femmes T-shirt. Their wrists were decorated with various spikes and bracelets that shifted as they strummed the bass. Their hair was dyed various colors, pink and blue being the most vibrant. It looked as if they had dipped their hair in various paint buckets and walked on stage. Gangle couldn't help but stare at them for a little bit.
“Woah.” Gangle said as Pomni looked at her, appearing puzzled. “They're cute.” Pomni chuckled a little bit at the remark. Gangle felt her whole face flush in embarrassment as she realized she had said that out loud. “M-my bad.” they said, the sound being muffled by the hands covering her face.
“For what? You didn't say I was cute.” Pomni smiled.
“Don't tell them I said that, please.” Gangle said to her friend.
“don't worry, I won't.”
“Neither will I.” Ragatha said with a smile. “But if you two happen to hit it offfff” Ragatha dragged that last word out. “They are single, but you didn't hear that from me.” She clicked her tongue towards the stage. Gangle couldn't respond, out of embarrassment and disbelief.
“Good to know.” Gangle said sarcastically.
It is good to know though, isn't it.