Galactic Girl Grace Chapter 2

I watched on in horror as Dave walked closer and closer towards me. I closed my eyes, wincing in anticipation and opened them to find...

Dave talking to Anna behind me. Damnit. I guess a part of me was secretly hoping that he was looking to chat with me instead. I tried my hardest to shrug off the incident and approached James. I asked him the first thing on my mind.

"Why the sunglasses inside?"

James gave a cheeky smile in response before speaking up.

"I'm practicing how to be cool. I saw Ringo wearing these and thought that maybe I should give them a whirl too. I'm done with my old nerdy act Grace, this is the new me."

I was more than surprised at this comment.

"You decided to base how to be cool off who is objectively the least cool beatle?"

James' previously enthusiastic demeanour seemed to completely dissipate. I admittedly felt guilty about this, I wanted to have fun banter with him not hurt his feelings. The mature response would be to apologise, but I'm a little too stubborn and proud for that. 

"Don't be like that Grace. Everyone loves Ringo. Don't tell me you don't grin like a moron whenever you hear Octopus' garden?"

James started to hum octopus' garden with a large smile spread across his face. I tried my hardest to keep my stubborn composure, attempting to hold a very serious expression. After a few seconds however, James' charm managed to win me over and I found myself smiling too. 

"That's unfair, you know how much I love that song. It was my favourite growing up. Emily used to always play it to me on her old guitar."

James took off his 'cool' glasses and placed them on me. 

"I remember that well. Hey, what did she used to call that guitar again?"

Emily (much like myself) was heavily involved with the Fremantle punk scene. This was a scene that mostly consisted of people with incredibly progressive left wing political views. Yet, for some frustrating reason it also had vague connotations with skinheads and Nazism. Any true punk completely hated and fought against this unfortunate subgroup, hence the name scrawled across Emily's guitar with cheap marker.

"The Nazi destroyer 3000. She always did have a flair for the dramatic." 

"And phenomenal political views. Y'know, It's nice to finally see you smile tonight, Grace. I was starting to get a little worried."

I looked down at the ground shyly, unable to make eye contact with James. It was finally time for me to swallow my pride and apologise. I had been an anxious, grumpy mess all week and he unfortunately took the brunt of this. 

"I'm sorry I've been such a grump recently. I haven't been very fair on you at all".

 

James' eyes grew wide with shock. 

"An apology... from Grace? This has to be one of the top ten most shocking things to happen to me."

I finally gained the courage to make eye contact with him, glaring in the process. 

"Oh yeah? What takes the number one spot then?"

James started to let out an arrogant giggle.

"This is going to blow your fucking mind. Listen to this, Dave vale himself invited me out for drinks later."

"This can't be true. This is another one of your fabricated schemes isn't it? You know how I feel about Dave. He's beautiful." 

James looked both ways before leaning in close and whispering.

"I'm telling you Grace, it's all about the sunglasses. They've changed me."

I stared blankly at James for a few seconds, a dead look in my eyes. 

"Why did you whisper that to me as though it was some important state secret?"

"Oo that reminds me, have you seen State Secret? It's one of my favourite films from the 50's. An undeniable classic in every sense of the word."

This time I decided to lean in and whisper. 

"I think your cool might be wearing off. You won't catch Dave talking about obscure 50's cinema."

James just about jumped out of his skin when I told him that. State secret was indeed a total classic that i'd seen more than a dozen times... No one at this venue needed to know that though.

 

The familiar sound of guitars being tuned signaled that it was time for us to go and watch the show. Anna caught back up with us and we entered a large room with a slick, wooden stage in the middle. Four men with completely shaved heads and all black attire ran onto the stage. This included their beutiful frontman, Dave Vale. He proceeded to nervously speak into the microphone. 

"Uh, we're.. uh.. Darkness Dogma and we.."

Dave's fellow band members all crossed their arms disapprovingly. One of them started to yell at Dave.

"Come on man, say our new name!"

There was clearly alot of unspoken tension between the members of the band.

"But I can't stand it! Couldn't you guys think of anything better?"

"Hey it was three against one man. Just say it!"

Dave let out a defeated grunt before returning to the microphone.

"We're... the... Douche Devil Dragons.."

The audience instantly erupted into loud obnoxious laughter. 

The band proceeded to unleash a cacophony of intense, unhinged punk music. I watched on in adoration as they aggressively strummed their guitars and Dave screamed into his microphone. Nothing helps me escape my reality more than going to a punk gig. There's something about that overbearing noise that just takes me somewhere different. Suddenly I find all my insecurites and problems fading away.

 

After the brilliant performance Anna grabbed me by the hand and led me outside. We were both leaning up against a wall outside the venue when Anna offered me her joint. I took a large drag before curiosity got the better of me.

"Hey, who do you get this stuff from anyway?"

Anna's face instantly lit up as a few small chuckles escaped her mouth.

"You're not going to believe this. Remember Mr Daniels, the nerdy biology teacher with bottle glasses?"

I could hardly forget him, he taught science at my old school and made sure that everyone In class knew just how bad I was at the subject. He singled me out in front of everyone on multiple occasions in order to poke fun at me. Even know I've been out of high school for more than a year, I still hold a great deal of resentment towards the man. I'm one of those people who did terribly in subjects such as Math and Science while excelling in English and Media. My brain is hardwired for creativity and nothing else, it's just a damn shame that you're less likely to get a Job this way. 

"He's who I buy off." 

 

I could hardly comprehend what Anna had just said. This teacher was the biggest hard-ass I knew. He used to always talk about how he'd never touched a drop of alcohol with a sense of pride that was intoxicating. 

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me?! I didn't think he even knew what pot was. He was quite literally the epitome of uncool. Isn't this also the same guy who said that rock n roll was the devil's music?"

"Yeah, he also believed that Elvis was Satan's right hand man sent to earth in order to corrupt the local youths."

It's amazing to me how low the bar is set for teaching requirements. This man is literally insane and still managed to get hired. You think teaching would be one of those Jobs that required people who were actually mentally stable and didn't subscribe to nonsensical conspiracy theories. 

"So how does someone like that start selling illegal drugs?"

What came out of Anna's mouth next blew my mind. 

"Jesus Christ himself."

My jaw just about dropped to the ground

"He said that while travelling through Brazil he had an intense spiritual encounter with the man. Apparently while in some rundown cathedral, Jesus approached Mr Daniels and told him about his true purpose in life."

"And his true purpose in life is Selling drugs??"

Anna mimed shooting me with a gun, signalling that I was correct.

"Bingo." 

"Crazy fucker. I'm not complaining though, this is some great shit."

"Praise the lord."

As I took another drag I couldn't help but smile. This was the most relaxed and in control I'd felt in weeks, things were finally starting to look up for me.

"You know, this has been a great night Anna. Thanks, this is exactly what I needed."

"Hey, no problem. I knew that this would help you take your mind of.. well... uh.. um"

I turned to Anna and gave her a warm hug.

"You're a good friend Anna. You've stuck with me through so damn much."

"Why of course, although if you start seeing Jesus in Brazil. Don't expect me to still hang out with you. Well actually no, I'll still see you but not as a friend."

This comment confused me and admittedly hurt me a little. I'd stick by Emma no matter what, even if she did completely lose her mind. 

"How do you mean?" 

"I'll strictly see you as my new dealer."

I let out a sigh of relief, she was clearly only joking. 

"The bible neglected to mention Jesus pushing people into the drug industry, huh?"

We both laughed together, nearly rolling around in the process. My peaceful mood was suddenly shattered by a single realisation. I remembered that I still had uni the next day and hadn't even started work on my major assignment. 

"Hey I'd better head out, I've got a presentation at uni tomorrow."

"Oh come on! At least stay for one more.."

Before Anna could finish her sentence Dave Vale poked his head out the door. 

"Hey Anna, me and James are about to grab some drinks. Your friend here can join if she wants?" 

In that moment I knew that there was no way I was going to be home in time to get my work done. I had to take any excuse to talk to Dave.

"Oh she can't she's got a-"

I frantically cut Anna off before she could say another word.

"No no it's fine, I can go."

Dave looked directly into my eyes and smiled. This was going to be a night to remember. 

 

The night admittedly started off incredibly slow. I found myself awkwardly sitting at a small table with Dave, Anna and James all Bunched on it. We all sat silently, not a single word shared between us for what felt like an eternity. There is honestly nothing worse than an awkward silence. Time seems to stand completely still and every thing you could possibly say sounds ridiculous and stupid. This was until James jolted out of his seat, frantically grabbing Anna by the shoulder. 

"Anna I just remembered! Our group assignment is due tomorrow morning!"

Anna's face went white with fear.

"How could I possibly forget! Sorry guys but we have to head out right now!"

James and Anna sprinted out of the venue leaving Dave and I sitting in the suffocatingly silent air. I tried my hardest to start a conversation with him. At this stage I was willing to do anything to end the awkwardness. 

"So Dave, quite the venue huh? I like how the walls are.. painted. It's a nice wholesome black."

Dave said nothing in response, he just looked forward as though he hadn't heard a single word. God I'm such a jackass. Wholesome black?! What the hell does that even mean?! I hate how the ability of speech escapes me every time I attempt to talk to someone I don't know. I decided that it was finally time for me to leave, this interaction wasn't going anywhere. 

"You know, I should probably leave as well. I've got a presentation tomorrow and.. uh yeah. I gotta go." I got up to leave when Dave finally spoke. 

"Grace Hooper. We go to the same Uni don't we? I thought I recognised your from somewhere, you're the girl who did the presentation on the importance of 70's punk."

I could hardly contain how happy I was. That presentation was a complete disaster, I didn't think anyone was even paying attention. To think that Dave was actually listening is enough to make me feel content and happy for weeks. 

"That was me! Even know 70's punk doesn't have that modern hardcore sound it's still just as interesting and fun." 

Dave turned to face me, making eye contact with those incredible blue eyes.

"I couldn't agree more. Acts like Wire and Television are much more important than people realise. They're actually a really big influence on my bands sound."

"I thought that was the case! You know, I've been wanting to meet someone who enjoyed the same bands for a long while now." 

 

Dave quickly launched himself up from his seat and raised his fist into the air. Within what felt like two seconds, all of Dave's band members had assembled around the table. They all threw their fists into the air in unison and started to shout. Dave's drummer, a lanky fellow with a poorly cut fringe and sunken eyes stepped forward. His movements reminded me of a soldier that had just received orders from his superior.

"You signalled for us Dave."

"Yes, I wanted you all to meet my new friend Grace. She goes to my Uni and enjoys listening to Wire so I think it's safe to say that she can be our new drinking buddy for the night. What do you guys think? 

They all nodded in unison. It was a strange sight to see, Dave seemingly had everyone wrapped around his finger. The next few hours were some of the best of my whole life. We all ran around drinking, dancing and screaming in erratic fashion while discussing our love of music in intense detail. This was it. This was exactly how I pictured being 19. After months of feeling miserable, life had finally thrown me a curveball. A truly wonderful night. As the night was nearing it's end, I decided to grab one final drink. I asked for my standard Rum and Coke and awkwardly looked around the venue with a dumb smile on my face. I couldn't help but notice that Dave and I had a surprisingly good dynamic. He was no where near as difficult to talk to as I had first anticipated.

My smile instantly faded, however, when I spotted Dave making out with some random girl by the stage. My mood went from the most ecstatic I had ever been to dour within half a second. I snatched my drink from the counter and attempted to leave the venue. 

 

Strangely enough, with each step I took I felt myself sinking further and further into the ground. I assumed that this was due to drinking and smoking profusely throughout the night but still felt uneasy. I had never hallucinated like this from just weed and alcohol before. I felt fear surging through my body as my vision went blurry and I found myself slowly but surely disappearing through the ground. I tried my hardest to scream and shout, desperately flailing my arms around. No one around me seemed to notice, they all just carried on drinking and dancing as my sense of reality started to deteriorate around me. I suddenly found myself floating around a psychedelic, warped version of space. Stars and lush colours surrounded me as I stared at my surroundings, confused and scared. Just as I was ready to declare myself insane, a shabby brown dog appeared in front of me. The dog gave a toothy grin and began speaking with the strongest Australian accent I had ever heard. 

"Hey, I'm Rupert. Sorry if I gave you a fright back there, I just really needed your help. It was very, very important."

At this moment my mind completely broke, all of this was beyond my understanding and all I wanted was to close my eyes and return back home. I was shaking profusely, hoping that this terrible nightmare would be over soon. I responded to Rupert in a erratic, pained manner. 

"Where am I? What's happening? Who are you? How do I get help. I don't where I am and I can't see people and I-"

Before I could finish my crazed ramblings, Rupert gently floated up to me and placed his paw in my hand. 

"Oh lord, this isn't my first time seeing this. You've gone into shock I'm afraid, not quite used to being in the outer realms I guess."

I nodded with a dazed expression, even more confused and anxious than before. 

"You humans have such limited understanding. You can't handle anything slightly out of the ordinary. Do me a favour and think of this all as one big dream. You understand dreams don't you?"

Rupert proceeded to shoot a beam of bright blue electricity from his paw straight to my forehead. 

"No need to be afraid, this procedure won't hurt you. I just don't have much time and need to send you this vision directly." 

 

I awoke on a large throne in the centre of a beautiful classical castle. It's interior looked like something straight out of a children's fairytale. These gorgeous multicoloured vines climbed the pulsing, breathing cobblestone walls. I was surrounded by thousands of peasants, all bowing down at my feet. I looked down and saw that I was wearing what looked like a flowing, regal ball dress that felt entirely out of place on me. A gold, heavy crown lay atop my head. One of the peasants spoke up. "Oh Princess Ophelia, how do you plan to protect us from the Alien threat. I understand that you are trying your very best but we are all just so afraid."