Teeth chattering, Ella's shoulders shook with nervous shivers, her chin wiggling as she tried to jump out of the cold sweat of a nervous overload. Sure, she hadn't played a show in England in a while, certainly not in Diagon Alley for a long ass time, but this was fine. Sure, people knew her here, but what were the chances she would see someone anyway? In Paris this was easy. The little brats didn't even speak English, so she couldn't let them judge an English girl they'd never understand. She liked her shit flat on la rue de la Reine-Blanche. She missed her kitty, too. A sick feeling came up her throat and she swallowed it as soon as her own name hit her ears a moment later.
'Just two songs,' She thought, looking over the "unplugged" set they'd put together for her. Just a guitar. No magic. No effects. As long as she didn't fuck her own songs up, things would be cool. With a starry-eyed glance towards the crowd, she saw that the attendance was somewhat scattered. A couple on a date right up front, it looked like. A few groups in the back, but the seats were half-filled. Fuck...
"Er... Haiii" She laughed nervously, her eyes masked by dark round sunglasses. "Name's Ellaaa..." She settled onto the stool and looked around the room again. Ah... Blo S.K. was here... How easy on her nerves...
Blo wasn't famous per se, but it was certainly in Ella's best interest to know who she was. For new and up-and-coming artists, Blo could break you or make you. One shit show and she could write your ass right out of the business. She could spark a lifetime of irrelevance with one radio show. Ella found herself wishing she had taken another shot before coming out here, forgetting her nervous urge to puke.
She fought an internal struggle between not wanting to look dead on stage and not wanting to look like she was trying too hard. Throughout the short performance, she kept thinking about how thankful she'd been for the sunglasses, about how she'd wished she'd worn a bra, about what they must think of her hair... Ella had met the Entertainment expert a time or two before, but she hadn't played anything since long before she'd gone to Paris, and she wasn't even sure if she'd be able to start her career over in the U.K. It felt a little bit like the stars aligning, like fate or good luck. That was, assuming even Blo liked it.
When she finished her set, she knew immediately what she had to do even if she didn't want to do it. Her natural introverted-ness wanted her to run out back and dip out the side door, but Ella bounded over to Blo instead.
"Thanks for listening, I hope you liked it." She smiled, her voice low, hoping the other woman would shake her outstretched hand.
