A Weekend Of Music

Some of my best memories come from Warped Tour. It’s a day filled with fun, enjoyment, endless laughter and good times to be had by all. Warped Tour may be one of the best days of my year but it’s still held during the hot, muggy summer time. I went the year of 2018 with my best friend Arianna. Most don’t know her, she lives a few hours away up North in the town of Carthage. Warped Tour is one of the few times of the year I can actually see and hang out with the girl. 2018 seemed like the hottest and muggiest year yet and we had decided to stand in the scorching sun to keep our spots in the very front row, waiting through band after band for our favorite.

“It’s so hot.”

I had to agree with her, I could feel sweat beading down my forehead and I had placed it on the barrier in front of me many times in an attempt to keep my face out of the sun. I contemplated the idea of going to get some waters for the both of us, but that would require me leaving my spot and there was no guarantee Arianna would be able to hold the spot from other people wanting to get close to the stage nor was there any guarantee that I could manage to squeeze my way back to my spot next to her. I really wanted to be very front and center for Waterparks, the band I was most anticipating but the hot air was getting dry and I felt the sudden urge for water or anything cold. I was about to leave, giving in to our needs but a man caught my eye.

He was at the other end of the stage, on the opposite side of the barrier handing out fruit pops. They were three dollars a piece and I couldn’t help but smile. I called him over, buying both myself and Arianna one of the pops and let her choose whichever she wanted. Sure it doesn’t seem like much but we ended up having to wait in that sun for hours. I bought lots more of the pops, thankful that I had managed to save up lots of money for the concert. Eventually Waterparks had ended, we went our separate ways and we didn’t see each other again until the very last band of the night. I was rather happy that I could help her out though and keep the both of us cooled off. It was a normal occurrence for people to pass out at Warped Tour due to overheating, they had a medical tent right on sight for things like this but once you went in, more often than not you were sent out of the venue.

Arianna has helped me in so many ways. We’ve been best friends since I was in Kindergarten, it’s been a good 10+ years so trying to pinpoint just one specific thing she’s done to help me is rather hard, but I’m going to stick to this theme of Warped Tour. We ended up staying in a hotel in Rhode Island. We had lots of time to waste as Warped Tour wasn’t until the next day so we decided it’d be best to hit up the Providence Place (their mall) and waste some time. We really couldn’t contain our excitement when we got there, the place was giant compared to any malls we have in Maine and there were so many different places to explore. I had my mind set on one store in particular, the second I saw it on the map of the mall I knew I wanted to go there. Newbury Comics, home to all kinds of merchandise, cds and posters. It’s extremely hard to find any KPop in Maine but Rhode Island was full of it and I was ready to get my hands on some cds. We started from the bottom floor and I was getting anxious as it wasn’t until the 4th floor when we hit Newbury. I was really concerned money wise. Sure I had packed quite a bit of money but it still wasn’t too much, t shirts at Warped Tour alone were around fifty dollars.

I had my eyes drawn to a NU’EST cd. I had a few at my house, I had bought them online (for a ridiculous amount let me tell you) and I instantly felt like I needed it. It was exactly what I had come to Newbury for, KPop. My heart dropped thought when I saw the price. Thirty dollars. It wasn’t anything unusual, the cds contain more than, well the cds, they also contain special photo cards and photo books. I knew if I bought the cd I would be sacrificing a shirt for tomorrow and I put it back on the shelf, I couldn’t help but feel a bit gloomy.

Arianna had been standing next to me and seemed to notice my sad look. I had told her many times how much I loved NU’EST’s music. She took it off the shelf and smiled.

“How much money do you have on you?”

“A hundred but I have to save for food and stuff for tomorrow. I guess it’d be a different story it it was only like $15.”

She didn’t say anything, seeming to be thinking to herself before digging into her wallet. She handed me a 10 and a 5 and I stared at her, unsure of whether to take it or not. “I’ll give you 15 and you can pay the other 15.” She told me, a happy smile still plastered on her face.

“You really don’t have to, I’m okay.”

She wouldn’t take no for an answer though, she seemed to know that I secretly wanted the cd more than anything. I took the money and cd from her and went to check out while she explored the rest of the store. I paid for it and speed walked my way over to her, sneaking up behind her as she approached the wall of POP figures and hugged her from behind, thanking her a million times over again.

Arianna really has been the best friend I could ever ask for. She’s done so much for me and I sometimes feel as if I’ll never be able to pay her back for all she’s done. I love her like family and I can’t imagine what my life would be like without her. She gives me the strength and encouragement to keep pushing forward and chase my dreams while always being there to help pick me back up when I fall down. I love her more than anything else in this world and I can’t wait to see what other adventures we have in store as time goes on.

Photo on Foter.com