lights in the sky

i had a spare ticket for that evenings show so as i was checking into the hotel i asked the girl behind the counter if she like nine inch nails. she said she was a big fan and i told her she could have the ticket if she wanted it. she said thanks and said she wanted to go. as the tickets were at the will-call counter at the civic auditorium, i got her number from her and told her i would meet her outside the venue at 7.30pm. she said that was fine but we found out when she tried to text me from her phone, that she couldn't because it was an international number.

at around 7pm i picked up the tickets and texted her to let her know i was waiting outside. a few minutes later i got a call on my phone. it turned out to be her mum and she said that sam, the girl that was supposed to meet me, had a car accident and she had called her and had asked her to call me and let me know she wouldn't be able to make it. i asked if she was ok and her mum said she was shaken up but no injuries. part of me kind of thought maybe she just didn't want to come to the show with me, but you never know.

i went to the show on my own and it was incredible. the best concert i have ever been to. NIN always play well but this time they had added a very elaborate and complex stage show and it was mind-blowingly good. if they play in london i will definitely go again.
at around 10.30 pm i got a text from my friend saying he was 50 miles from st louis, having been on the road for 6 and half hours. what an idiot!. actually i am glad he didn't come otherwise i wouldn't have met sam and also the ticket would have been wasted on someone who likes amy fucking winehouse.











the next morning i came downstairs to the lobby and sam was there. she made a sad face and asked me how the show was. i told her it wasn't very good and she didn't miss much. she then told me the story of what happened and she said that she hit a car as she was leaving the parking lot after she finished work. she said that her car was pretty beat up and that she tried calling me and texting me but that she just couldn't get through and that she called her mum who was at work and could call internation to let me know. she then said she just went home and cried because she was missing the show and was so upset. she seemed very genuine about the whole account of things. i told her that the spare ticket was cursed after my friend didn't want it even though i bought him it, and then she didn't get to use it because she had a car accident right after i offered it to her.

we said our goodbyes and then i headed off to the bus station to get a greyhound bus to memphis.