The Rock Star's Fortune

The Rock Star's Fortune-


" Wait a minute, did you say a pay cut?", asked Lex incredulously.

" Yeah, that's what I said.", replied Chet looking up from his nightly paper work.

" I don't understand. I'm always here,  I always give my all..you know, keeping the crowd rockin'."

"Yes," sighed Chet, " that would all be well and good provided there was a crowd, but these days...economy in the crapper and all...people just aren't going out to the clubs anymore. Regardless of the entertainment. And let's face it hoss, you haven't really been packin' 'em in lately."

Sure it had been slow lately, but it was a slow time of year in a slow kind of town. Certainly nothing that warranted a pay cut.

" So, let me get this straight, you want me to keep on doing what I do for half the money? Dude, I am so gonna take advantage of the free drinks."

" Oh right!" said Chet, " I almost forgot, I can't offer up the free drinks all night anymore. You'll get three and after that you're gonna have to pay."

Lex was nearing the end of his tether, he could feel the belligerence welling up inside of him. Play it cool, he thought to himself , don't burn this bridge too.

" You seem to be forgetting who you're talking to. You do remember who I am, don't you?"

With an almost sympathetic look, Chet removed his glasses and set them down on his desk before folding his hands in front of him. " No, Lex, I remember who you were. This sense of entitlement you seem to have may have flown when you were still in the band, but now you're just a washed up hack who can't even fill a fifty seat pub. Look, I feel for you, I really do, but until you can start packing them in, I'm afraid that's the best I can offer. Just be happy it's as generous an offer as it is."

" I don't have to take this you know." muttered Lex, unable to even make eye contact with his current " boss".

" No," replied Chet, " ...no, you don't have to take this at all,Lex. As a matter of fact you can feel totally free to leave it."

Anyone who had ever had dealings with Chet knew that the angrier he got, the more congenial he appeared until eventually his rage would burst forth,in a violent and unexpected manner. Judging by the strained smile he was now wearing, that point was rapidly appraoching. So instead of pushing him any further, Lex decided it would be best to just keep his mouth shut and try looking for a new gig in the morning.

On his way to the door out front he made eye contact with an exotic looking lady sitting in a booth in the far corner of the bar. There was a certain something in her look that compelled Lex to at the very least give her a nod.

" How ya doin' ?" , he asked.

"I'm just fine," She replied . " Why don't you take a seat, Lex ?"

Since he had nothing better to do, and since spending time with an attractive woman always seemed to soothe a bruised ego, he agreed. They began with the generic banter so commonly found among the pub crowd, and rapidly branched out from there. Lex felt inexplicably drawn to this woman, and abnormally at ease talking to her about personal things that he generally wouldn't discuss with a stranger. Hopes, dreams, failed relationships, heartache. All this in a span of less than an hour. He began delving into his current problems when suddenly she asked, " Would you like me to read your fortune ?"

Great, thought Lex, another one of these loopy spaced-out new-agey type chicks. How'm I gonna get outta this?
"A fortune teller, huh?" , he replied non-commitally. " What do ya do? Read palms or tea leaves or somethin'?"

" No, nothing like that, Lex, I use these.", as she said this she reached into the inside pocket of her jacket and produced a small black pouch with a drawstring cinched tight around its' top. She gave the bag a little shake, and Lex could hear the faint rattle of something inside, a rattle that sounded dry and brittle and made his skin crawl.

" What have you got there, now ?", he asked apprehensively.

" Some bones...I read bones." said she, as if he were foolish for asking. " Would you like to hear your fortune or what? You never know, it may cheer you up ."

" Well since you put it that way...".

She opened the small bag and emptied the contents into her hand. Extending her hand over the surface of the table she closed her eyes as if in deep contemplation. After remaining this way for a moment she suddenly snapped her eyes open at the same time opening her hand and depositing the bones on the table where they came to rest in an apparently random pattern. She looked over the table and a smile spread over her face.

" Well, look at this," she said, " there is some interesting stuff ahead for you."

" All I see is bones.", responded Lex in an attempt at glibness.

" Seriously, look over here, this cluster could be interpreted as fame, and this one up here speaks to me of stability... you know, maintaining the present course, and then this one way up here all by itself would suggest that events are already in motion and will present themselves very shortly."

" OK, then..." said Lex ,losing his interest in the whole charade.

" Come on, Lex, have a little faith. Put into laymen's terms, the bones tell me that there will be something major happening in your life regarding music within the very near future. Believe in it, Lex, believe !"

" I believe I shall be leaving now," , chuckled Lex, "But it was nice to meet you... and your bones."

He rose from the table and without looking back, slid out the door into the cool night. As the door eased closed behind him, he could hear the fortune teller yelling something about the old band, and front page news.

He walked briskly down the mostly deserted streets with his mind racing. What next? Should I maybe swallow my pride and talk to the old band , see if they'll take me back? Who the hell was that chick anyway? Is she for real? So many points to ponder had arisen in such a short time that Lex was completely lost in thought as he continued on through the night. So deep in reverie was he, that he never even saw the bus that bore down on him as he stepped off the curb.

*  *  *  *  *

In a small town such as Granville, not much happens. So when the biggest band to be spawned from these parts returned for a homecoming concert, it was a newsworthy event. And when one of the former members of the band was run down by said bands' tour bus, it was one of those quirky, "stranger than fiction" stories that was bound to make the front page.