I ran onto the stage to light applause and stood by the side of River's drum kit. He handed me a drumstick, then he clapped his sticks together to start the song.
I felt woozy but forced myself to stand straight. I also had to force myself to stop grinning so much while I waited under the bright stage lights. The song got going, and I started to move. At first, I felt a little self-conscious being on stage. Was I dressed wrong? Was my dancing wrong? Were the fans annoyed?
Then I decided to let it all go. After all, I was there with the Fiery Boys, helping them play the most important song of my life. How could I not rock out?
The song seemed to progress much more slowly than ever before. I heard the notes distinctly, as if they were being played in isolation. When it was time for the chorus, an autonomic muscle response moved my arm and I crashed my stick to the cymbal. Then, without thinking about it, I started to pound with the beat.
Whoa! I was drumming with the Fiery Boys. I felt as if I'd passed through the looking glass of my high school poster and had emerged on the other side, jamming next to the incredibly sexy River Sticks.
The chorus ended much too quickly, and I caught myself just in time, stopping my rhythmic crashing at the right moment. River gave me a huge grin then turned back to thrash the drums like a madman.
I fell back into my dance easily, proud to be part of the song. As the guest groupie, playing with the band under the approving gaze of the world's hottest drummer, my life had never burned as brightly.
The song ended and I stood there, basking in the applause. Then, as if my fairy godmother had waved her magic wand over the audience, the applause transformed into the Annalisa chant from Minneapolis. Suddenly, thousands of fans were yelling, "Annalisa. Annalisa. Annalisa." Even the Fiery Boys joined the chant, pumping their fists in the air.
I stood by the drums with a huge grin on my face. Chuck came over so he could lead me to the front of the stage. He hugged me and gave me a kiss on the cheek while the audience continued to chant.
I tried to take all of this in, but I still couldn't believe it-my life was more than bizarre. In mere months, I had gone from a nobody who rarely got noticed to a well-known rock personality who stood at the front of the stage while thousands of people shouted my name.