The following day after we had gotten set up, Hannes showed me what he taught me on the drums. We spent some time playing simple arrangements.
"I think you're ready to learn your first song," Hannes smiled.
“ Already?”
"Yes, like I said, you're really good. You have a natural talent for it," he chuckled. "How about I teach you how to play...Shiroyama?"
I smiled eagerly and nodded excitedly. Hannes smiled and started teaching me how to play the first part of my favorite Sabaton song. Time seemed to fly by and when we were half way through the song, it was time to start getting ready for the show. I thanked him and gave him a hug. He smiled and hugged me back.
Like before, they called me up for Shiroyama. I continued going on tours with them, and each time I got more and more comfortable being on stage. Hannes also kept teaching me how to play the drums, and soon I became very good at playing Shiroyama. It was our last tour in America when Hannes asked me if I wanted to play it during the concert.
“ Do you think I'm ready?”
"I do, but what's important is if you think you are."
I took a deep breath and thought. I was almost completely comfortable going on stage doing sign language. I really wanted to play my favorite song in front of thousands of people, but anxiety and doubt kept getting in the way. Seemingly reading my mind, or at least noticing I was unsure, Hannes put a gentle hand on my shoulder.
"If you'd like, I'll be right by your side the whole time."
I smiled and nodded.
“ Okay, I want to give it a try.”
"Okay, you're gonna do great. Just remember, have fun and relax. If you mess up, just jump right back in."
I gave him a thumbs up. His encouragement and knowing he would be right there helped a lot. The other guys were excited for me, too and were also very encouraging. I rehearsed Shiroyama with them, then while they did the rest of the songs, I texted my friend about it. She told me she was excited and knew I'd do great. As people started coming in about thirty minutes after they finished rehearsing, I was surprised to see my best friend right up front, a few people between us.
She was a short and muscular, cream skinned woman with friendly, hazel eyes, smooth cheeks, ears that stick out and a square face. She had straight, gold hair dyed with electric blue-colored roots, toned arms, and straight hips, and she was wearing pinkish blush. Since there were no chairs, I made my way over to her as she kept looking around. When she saw me, she smiled and came towards me too.
"Surprised, Soph?" she laughed as we hugged.
“ Very! I had no idea you would be in town.”
"Well, it's only a three hour drive up here and my grandparents are here so when I heard you were coming, I decided to surprise and support you before you left the country," she explained with a light chuckle.
“ I'm so glad you came! You have to stay after the show so I can introduce you to the guys.”
"You bet! I'm eager to finally meet them so I can make sure they'll be good to you," she said half-jokingly and I smiled.
She had always been like that, especially after the one family I was put with when I was fifteen. After I had been with them three months, things started to go downhill. The wife and husband started fighting a lot, and because I was their only child, the wife would often take it out on me, verbally and physically. I don't remember what the husband looked like, but I remember the wife very well.
She was about five feet tall, had pink skin and a very dominant feel about her. She had a noticeable scar on her right ear which most likely resulted from one of their fights before she started hurting me. Her medium-long, luscious, brown hair was straight permed. She had expressive, wide set brown eyes, angular eyebrows and thin lips with strong legs, and small hands. She often wore sensible clothes that were mostly pastel-colored, and often wore a scarf. Whether that was due to her own choice or her husband's, I didn't know.
My best friend found out after about two months, and fought hard to get me out of there and live with them for a while so I could heal from it. Ever since, she continued to look out for me.
After about forty-five minutes, when the area was pretty filled, the lights dimmed and everyone cheered as the music started. They played a few songs before they paused and Joakim spoke.
"Tonight is our last performance in the US for a while, so we'd like to do something a little different. Our friend, Sophia, who usually does sign language for this next song has been learning how to play it on the drums, so tonight we're giving her the opportunity to debut her newfound skills by playing Shiroyama with us."
Most people clapped as he helped me up and led me to Hannes.
"You ready?" he whispered and I nodded with a small smile.
He smiled back and helped me up then stood by me. I took a deep breath and nodded at Joakim. He smiled and the music started. I focused all my attention on drumming and surprisingly was able to keep myself relaxed despite the few mistakes I made. By the end of it, I was breathing heavily, yet I was super happy and had so much fun. Hannes helped me down as everyone clapped and cheered. Joakim brought me up to the front.
"Give it up one more time for our friend, Sophia!" he encouraged and this time, almost all, if not all, of the audience clapped and cheered for me.
I just simply smiled as I still wasn't used to this much attention from so many people. Then, he helped me back off the stage next to my friend, who immediately wrapped me in a hug.
"You were amazing!" she complimented.
“ Thanks, but I messed up a few times. “
"Really? I didn't notice," she said seriously but with a small smile. We enjoyed the rest of the concert and afterwards, I took her backstage to meet the gang.
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