West of Mars

Someone commented that Mitchell and Trevor are their favorite members of ShapeShifter. No wonder, I thought. You guys rarely if ever get time with Eric and Daniel. So here’s something from Daniel’s viewpoint.

It was lucky, Daniel thought, that Val was with them on the road when they got the news. Massive had just gone Platinum. ShapeShifter finally had their first million-seller. Celebrating with your girlfriend rather than some faceless, nameless tits and lips was definitely the way to go.

“Here we go!” Val cried, opening a tin of pate. “We’re the big time now. Gotta party like rock stars!”

Daniel didn’t ask where she’d gotten it. Or the caviar. Or the little squares of cracker-like bready stuff that she said they needed in order to eat it properly. He figured it was some chef’s magic. Some secret knowledge of where to buy it all, even when you were in some city you’d never been to before in your life.

Mitchell leaned over the pate and took a whiff, his nose wrinkling and his face paling. “Uhh, no thanks. I’ll be over here with the strawberries.”

“You are what you eat,” Trevor told him. “Fucking fruit.”

Mitchell picked up a strawberry by its green top. “Dip this baby in some chocolate and girls’ll be all over it. Dip that in chocolate and what’ve you got?”

“Wuss,” Trevor said. “It’s about the image. Who cares how this shit tastes when it means you’ve made it? Would Val have showed up with it if we weren’t a Platinum band? Fuck, no. So shut up about the stupid shit and focus on what it means already.”

Mitchell shrugged and ate another strawberry.

Trevor took a step closer to Val, looking over her shoulder. “So that’s what a fish egg looks like, huh? Are they really as salty as jism is?”

“Trev…” Mitchell growled. He tossed the top of his strawberry at the bass player.

“Hey,” Daniel said, stepping between the two. “Let’s not ruin this with the usual shit, okay? We’re here to celebrate.”

“Where’re the girls?” Trevor asked. “We can’t celebrate without the girls.”

“Charlie’s rounding some up,” Mitchell said. “They’ll get here.”

“We trashing the room?”

“Only if you’re paying for it.”

That meant, Daniel knew, that Trevor wouldn’t even move the chair away from the desk. He wouldn’t even mess up the bedspread until the girls showed up. Once they did, though, forget it. Bedsheets weren’t the only things that would be flying.

Despite the very real threat to his wallet, Trevor was grinning. “Look at this. If we do this for Platinum, what are we gonna do for multi-platinum?”

“More,” Mitchell said and picked up a third strawberry. “Bigger.”

“We’ll give Val a budget,” Daniel said and leaned around from behind her to kiss her cheek.

Eric popped the cork on the first bottle of champagne. “Before the girls get here,” he said. “Just us. We need to drink to our first Platinum album.”

Daniel expected someone to hand the stupid plastic cups around. Instead, Eric held the bottle up in a gesture of a toast, took a swig, and handed it to Val.

Trevor sulked at that move, but he also didn’t take the bottle away from her.

“To Platinum!” Daniel said when it was his turn.

“To Platinum!” Mitchell laughed. “No,” he said, stopping with the bottle touching his lips. “To our first Platinum! All the old shit’s gonna follow, and so is everything we do after this.”

“May the good Lord be willing,” Eric said and dug into the pate. “Am I doing this right?” he asked Val, who beamed and turned to help him out.

And then the girls arrived, led into the room by Charlie, who cracked a smile at the sight of the caviar. He picked up the little spoon Val had produced and shoveled some of the dark eggs onto it — and then right into his mouth.

“Mmm. Man, I love this shit,” he said and started to go for seconds.

Daniel grabbed the spoon away from and immediately had a girl hanging on his wrist, asking him to feed her a taste.

And the party was off, with the food the center of attention, at least to start.

It was official. ShapeShifter. Rock Stars. One and the same.

Behind him, he could hear Eric saying, “Dream on. For dreams are sweet. But the champagne you get when the dreams come true is way better.”

Daniel freed himself from the girls Charlie had rounded up and grabbed Val. Dreams may have been sweet and the champagne better, but having Val there was best.

Not only did this indulge the Sunday Scribblings, but it also works for Carry On Tuesday. Gotta love it. And don’t forget to ride the Poetry Train!