October 25th: Backstage Pass

 
Red- and green-leafed creeper growing through a lattice fence. Overlaid text: "#drabbletober".
 

Day 25 of my drabble-a-day challenge! Here is today’s drabble:


Backstage Pass

Gary spotted her before she spoke: glossy lips, cheeks pinker than rouge, eyes sparkling like the stage lights.

"Sebastian invited me," she whispered, the gold chain wrapped around her finger.

At least she looked sixteen. He opened the door, and she hurried towards the dressing room where Seb waited.

Go home, Gary wanted to say. Forget it. Sometimes he tried. They never listened.

"Excuse me?" A girl no older than his daughter looked up at him. "Sebastian invited me backstage."

She held out the chain and heart-shaped token that Seb handed someone every night.

Behind him, a gunshot exploded.


This was one of the stories that was quite hard to squash into a hundred words - I feel like it could have been a lot better with just a little more context. I’m never sure if I’ve taken out so many words that what’s left doesn’t quite make sense any more.

Still, if a completely arbitrary challenge is worth doing, it’s worth doing by the rules!