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The Fiery Boys had been on tour for the past week, but their first Chicago shoas coht As we approached the back lot of the arena, the band's tour bus was instantly recognizable Mostly black, with bold red fla upward, the artwork from their first album filled all four sides of the bus The band name was spelled out in fat red letters that hovered in the blackness, just out of reach of the flames Either I was a little too excited to be here, or that hot red bus carried a phallicbillboard for the Fiery Boys sat abus with the band name written in appropriate-size letters And over by the arena, two tractor-trailers were parked at a loading dock The band name on the trucks was also reasonably sedate A part ofin that advertisement-on-wheels, but another part of ot closer, I saw a small crowd, desperate to see a rock star but thwarted by a makeshift fence that protected the busses and trucks I couldn't blame the fans-I wanted to see these rock stars, too But unlike them, I was about to do just that I tried to suppress the feeling of superiority that I knew I didn't deserve

We pulled up to the fence, and the fans gathered Mostly female, they squinted into the car to find out who had arrived Even though the ere tinted, I shrank down, afraid of their reaction to athered, and I was surprised by what I saw If I didn't know there was a famous rock band close by, I'd have wondered if these women were hookers They were dressed in so outfits, not all of which were street legal Clearly, they were hoping to seduce a Fiery Boy or two

On the other side of the fence, people ran back and forth, consulted clipboards, yelled instructions, and hauled equiper uy was tall and solid, like two Marines squeezed into one body He leaned in and squinted at me "You're Annalisa?"

I nodded, and the er Tim" He certainly was "Fiery Boys head of security" He punctuated his job title with a curt nod, then grumbled as he stood back up "Didn't expect you this soon"

Bigger Tim seemed upset to seeto wait, if you're not ready for me"