“Hey…” David poked his head into the bus. Freddie, Brian, John and roger had already left for the photo shoot twenty minutes prior. David was out of breath. “…any a’ you got experience talkin’ to the press? There’s a reporter…” David stopped to catch his breath. “…there’s a reporter with the photo shoot…she’s…she’s outside. She wants to talk to you…” David huffed and puffed some more.

 “Who?” Veronica asked. David shook his head and pointed.

 “All of you…she wants all of you. You wanna’ come outside or should I send ‘er in here? Don’t answer anything you’re not comfortable with.” David wiped his forehead on his sleeve.

 “Send her in here. It’s hard for Veronica to get up and down.” Mary said.

 “I’ve talked to press before.” I said to David. “But…you should know it’s mostly been about horses…not...what’s been happening in this bus.” Mary and I laughed.

 “That’s fine. I’m sending ‘er in. Remember, if she pries a little too hard just send her back out. The four a’ you hold more power than ya’ think. She’s already talked to your other halves.” David didn’t say anything else. He scurried off the bus.

 “Oh my god! I’m so nervous! What do we do!? What do we say?” Chrissie grabbed my hand and put her other hand over her heart. I shook my head.

 “Well, I look like shit! I don’t know. Don’t be nervous. It’ll be fine.” I assured her even though I didn’t have a clue.

 “You don’t look like shit but this bus looks like shit. We haven’t cleaned since last night! She’d really gonna’ wonder about these Scrabble tiles everywhere.” Mary said.

 “It could be worse….we could all be pregnant and swollen and hardly able to leave this stupid couch without help.” Veronica laughed at herself. There was a knock on the door. The four of us looked at each other rather nervously as the door of the bus squeaked open. I looked at Veronica as she pushed herself up on the couch.

 “Hello?” a voice called as a woman tentatively walked up the three steps that lead into the coach. She allowed her hand to slide up the chrome handrail as she peeked her head inside. Instantly, the reporter seemed shocked at the sight before her. “Oh…oh…hi there…hi. I’m Abigail…hi…” she smiled a bit tentatively at the four of us, still looking taken aback. I’m just certain we all looked like possums in the headlights. We were all silent for a moment.

 “Would…would you like to sit down?” Mary asked standing up from the couch beside where Veronica was lying.

 “Certainly, thank you.” The reporter had a small tablet in her hand with several pages flipped back. She smiled and sat down a bit awkwardly on the edge of the couch.

 “Um…sorry…for the mess in here…we haven’t yet cleaned. We…we had planned on it though.” Chrissie said smiling as relaxed as she could. She fidgeted with her fingers and shifted her weight back and forth on the couch.

 “Oh, oh…S’ alright.” The reporter licked her finger, flipped a page in her little notepad and clicked her pen.

 “I’m…I’m sorry. I just…I wasn’t expecting…this.” She said smiling strangely and pointed to the four of us.

 “What were you expecting?” I asked of the reporter, reaching for my cigarettes. Even I was feeling a little unsettled.

 “I…I…don’t really know.” She smiled anxiously again. “Um…I guess…maybe something…I guess I…thought you’d all be strippers or something.” The reporter began to turn a little pink.

 “Do you…want us to take our clothes off? I mean, we’re stuck together on a bus for days. We’re not modest people.” Mary said. It made the reporter let her guard down a bit as she laughed at us.

 “Can I quote you?” she asked.

 “Just don’t quote me incorrectly.” Mary cautioned her.

 “Would you like somethin’ to drink? Tea? Um…oh, we have coffee and coca cola….uh…do you want some vodka or…whiskey? Champagne? How about wine?” I rambled off some choices to the reporter onto to realize most of them were alcoholic. The reporter laughed again.

 “Um…maybe some…water? Or is that too plain?” she asked.

 “Yeah, we’ve got water.” Chrissie said jumping up from the couch.

 “So, um…Ver…Veronica. I’m assuming that’s you since you’re the pregnant one and when I was speaking with John he had mentioned…well, both of those things. Tell me. What’s it like being married to an up and coming music star?” she smiled pleasantly. Veronica pushed herself up a little more on the couch until she was sitting up. Chrissie handed over a glass of water to the reporter.

 “Hmm…well, I’ve never really…thought of it that way actually. John is…just John to me. He’s been my very best friend for so long. I’ve never regarded him as an up and coming music star. He’s my husband and he’s soon to be a father. That’s really all that matters to us.” Veronica told her very candidly. The reporter smiled again and seemed a bit confused.

 “Oh…oh…kay. That’s…that’s not the answer I was expecting at all but…that’s very nice. And um, which one of you are…Mary?”

 “That’s me.” Mary nodded.

 “I can’t believe I’m sitting across from the girl whom Freddie Mercury is so fond. He’s quite the front man and his presence is one you can’t miss. Is his like that all the time?” she asked.

 “No, Freddie is reserved and rather shy. Around us he’s quite himself but most generally he doesn’t prefer large crowds nor does he like much attention drawn to himself or myself.” Mary motioned for me to hand her a cigarette.

 “How is it that you find the energy to keep up with such a flamboyant man?” the reporter questioned.

 “It drains me because Freddie can certainly be a handful…but I…I love him…very deeply. It’s like…we’re soul mates.” Mary’s response was sincere as the reporter took some notes.

 “Goodness.” The reporter took a sip of water. “You girls aren’t anything like I thought I would find. I’m really just at a loss for words. “Lydia?” she questioned. I blew a cloud of smoke in front of me.

 “Yes.” I answered.

 “Let me say the obvious. Roger is very beautiful. He…oh god…he made my heart flutter just attempting to interview him. He’s almost too beautiful to be a man.” The reporters’ cheeks flushed a bit as she was talking to me. She contained herself as she got more and more excited. “Anyway…um…what I’m wondering is…now that Queen has gained a little popularity…a bit of a following; there’s a lot of attention on Roger. Mainly, attention from the female fans. Does it make you jealous? Does it worry you?” She finally asked. I took another puff on my cigarette and stared at her.

 “I have nothing of which to be jealous.” I answered her. I could tell by the way she squirmed that wasn’t the answer for which she had hoped. I also noticed that Chrissie had become increasingly uncomfortable for whatever reason. It appeared as if she were thinking about something. “What is it I should be worried about? It seems you are implying somethin’.” I turned it around on her.

 “Nnn..no…no…no of course not…no. Um…Chrissie? Yeah?” she directed her attention to Chrissie. “Brian mentioned that you and he have had a very deep and intense connection since the two of you met. What are some things about Brian May that…make you so attracted to him?” the reporter smiled at Chrissie. Chrissie still had that look of concern over her face.

 “Oh well…um…goodness, I don’t even know where to start! Brian is very sincere and he’s quite sensitive. He’s smart and I don’t have to tell you that he’s so very sexy. Gosh…Brian is just…he and I are…we’re like a glove on a hand.” Chrissie couldn’t help but smile. “I’m very happy and blessed to be a part of this tour with him.” The reporter just stared at Chrissie. It sickened me a bit because I could the look on her face was insinuating: ‘what the hell is a girl that looks like this doing with Brian May?’ And frankly it pissed me off. Furthermore, I could see her give those somewhat judgmental eyes to Mary and Veronica as she scanned the four of us. However, when she made eye contact with me, I got a very different set of eyes the look I got was ‘You’re as pretty as your boyfriend.’

 “It’s been quite eye-opening talking to the four of you. What advice do you have? Just…about all this? About being on the side of a rocker?” the reporter asked.

 “Always be ready and be flexible. It can change in the blink of an eye.” Chrissie said.

 “Never leave home without a change of underwear and money for liquor.” Mary added.

 “Love. Love, love, love and then when you think you’ve given enough; give a little more.” Veronica offered. The reporter wrote away.

 “Stop imagining what you thought it would look like, and appreciate the view you have.” I said, taking a drag on my cigarette again. I won’t lie. I was partially directing that comment at this damn reporter. There was silence again as the reporter took another drink of water.

 “I must say, I wasn’t expecting such delightfully earthy answers. The four of you have certainly changed my perception from glamour to…typicality. What the public sees is not always the complete picture is it?” she smiled genuinely.

 “No. No, it’s not.” Veronica assured her.

 “I’ll leave you alone for now. Thank you. Thank you so much for giving me a glimpse into your lives.” The reporter stood up from the couch as Mary followed in suit to let her out.

 “Well, thank you…for…being interested. We’ve never done anything like this. It’s all new to us as well.” Mary shared with her.

 “I do have one more question that weighs heavy on my mind. "Have any of you wondered what it would be like...to be with someone else? As in, what if you were with Freddie or you with John..." The reporter asked, pointing to Mary and Veronica. Chrissie looked at me, I looked at Mary, Veronica looked at Chrissie and Chrissie looked panicked. Sure we had all wondered it. Many times the four of us pondered it out loud. It was no big secret: what would it be like with John or...what’s it like being with Roger? How does anyone keep up with Fred or is Brian as gentle as Chrissie insinuates? In fact, we had had many conversations among ourselves about this very subject. And even though we had shared the most intimate of details, only the four of us would ever know for sure. However, if there was anythin' I had learned from talking to the press from the horse world it was this: if a question was asked that would discomfort you...lie.

 "No." Was my response. "We have our hands full as it is let alone speculating the what ifs." Mary breathed a sigh of relief and Veronica began to stand up from the couch. Mary saw the reporter out the door and quickly closed it behind her. We would now be known as "the queens of Queen" after we were leaked to the papers. Another thing I had learned about talking to the press through my horse career: if you appear boring, the media leaves you alone. And as far as this reporter, Abigail, could tell; we were as boring as watching paint dry. And for the most part, to outsiders, we were boring. All eight of us. She really should have come back after 11:00 that night when she would see the side of us that was rather private.

 "I feel fairly certain that woman wanted to walk in here and witness me doin' a line a' coke off Veronica's stomach." Mary said. Veronica laughed.

 "She's about eight hours too early for that." I said. Chrissie had that strange and concerning look on her face again. “What?” I said as Veronica still stood to stretch her back.

 “Is…is that the reason?” Chrissie asked. “Is that the reason, Brian hasn’t proposed? The attention?” she nervously tugged on her fingers.

 “What are you talking about?” Mary asked, going to the kitchenette. She started pulling the proper things from a cabinet for margaritas.

 “Well, it’s true! That reporter is right. They have only recently gained some popularity and already Roger has a lot of attention, Lydia! My god, Brian…Brian isn’t exactly ignored. You, of all of us, should be jealous. You should be sleepin’ with one eye open! It’s gonna’ happen…it’s gonna’ to happen to you again! It’s gonna’ happen to me! Oh my god…I…I don’t think I can handle this. I can’t do this!” Chrissie began to panic more and more as she put her hands on the sides of her head.

 “There, there…stop. Here. Sit.” Veronica put her hands on Chrissie’s shoulders and pushed her down into the couch. “It’s alright. What are you worried about?” she asked. I had finished up my cigarette and Mary still had plenty of hers left.

 “Brian hasn’t proposed to me because…” she choked up a little. “…because he wants a taste of what else is out there. Oh my god, I’m so stupid…” She started to tear up as Veronica pulled her head against her hip. I was helping Mary in the kitchenette but dropped everything in my hands in a clang and walked back to the couch, plopping myself in front of Chrissie and pushing Veronica away. I put both my hands on Chrissie’s shoulders and turned her to face me.

 “Jesus Chrissie! We talk to one reporter for twenty fuckin’ minutes and this is how you act!? Suck it up! Come on, now! Dry those tears! Brian hasn’t proposed to you because the timin’ isn’t right and you know that! He’s not thinkin’ that he’s gonna’ fuck everythin’ in a skirt backstage before he up and decides to marry you! Think about this…you become Mrs. Brian May and the press is gonna’ hound you! Think about Mary. Press is gonna’ eat her the fuck alive wantin’ information. We’re unknown now. But it won’t stay that way. If you’re in this…if you’re really in this for Brian…If you are here for him then you gotta’ be a lot thicker skinned than that. You can’t take one dumbass comment from a reporter who doesn’t know shit about what really goes on between two people and blow it out of proportion or take it personally. You’re doomed if you do.” I finished lecturing Chrissie and looked to Veronica for reassurance that I hadn’t been too hard on her. Veronica shook her head.

 “She’s right, Chrissie.” Veronica said, letting her hand slide down Chrissie’s back. Chrissie shook her head and dried her tears.

 “I know…I know…but…I’ve just…I’ve never thought about…you're not jealous the least bit!?” Chrissie asked, looking to Mary, Veronica and then me.

 "Jealousy is wasted time. I'm not jealous, I'm thirsty for tequila!"  Mary said handing over a margarita on the rocks.

 “I'm not jealous or worried, Chrissie and you shouldn’t be  either.” Veronica said. Chrissie smiled and took a long drink.

 “Did you lie about that question too?” she directed her words toward me.

 “No. I only lied about the last one. Chrissie, I wouldn’t be on this fuckin’ bus if I weren’t serious about this. I fuckin’ quit school and my job for Roger and Roger’s dreams. I'm only jealous that his clothes are startin' to rival mine." I knew that comment would make Chrissie break a smile. Even if she wasn't completely convinced, we had helped her feel a little better.That's what friends were for...well, and to hand you a margarita. When you're with your best friends what the fuck is there to be jealous about? As far as I was concerned, we were the queens and no one, not even a nosy reporter would take that away; no matter how hard they tried.