"This hotel is way nicer than the place I'd booked us into," Jude enthused as they walked down the hall toward their rooms. "First of all, it's an actual hotel, not a motel, which is a step up."

"I love hotels," Momoko told the boys. "My family didn't travel much in Japan, so I think it's so fun!" She opened the door to her room and disappeared inside. "I just wish I had a roommate," she called back. "It's much more fun when there's someone to share with."

The boys took their stuff to their rooms, then all quickly congregated in Momoko's room, draping themselves on the furniture, or in Sullivan's case, on her bed.

"We won't be spending much time here, anyway," he said, popping the tab on a soda. "We have to get to the venue and set up, then it's showtime, then it's just back here to sleep, then up tomorrow and off to the next venue."

Momoko lay down next to him, resting her head where his arm met his shoulder. "That's no fun," she complained. "No time to enjoy the room? No time to write letters on the stationery or use all the bath products?"

Tommy lifted his head from where it rested on the back of the chair to look at her. "Did you say 'write letters on the stationery'? Oh my god, what kind of goober are you?"

Dane whipped out a hand to whack him on the chest. "Manners, Tomás."

Momoko flounced off the bed and opened the drawer of the desk, pulling out the pad and envelopes. "I don't care what you call me, Mr. Ruiz, I have twenty minutes until we have to be downstairs, I'm writing a letter to my cousin in Kawasaki, so shut up and get out of my room if you're going to make fun of me."

She found the hotel pen and began writing, quickly getting lost in her thoughts.

Jude came and looked over her shoulder for a moment then said, "Whoa, guys, come and look at this, it's insane."

Momoko was, of course, writing in Japanese, the characters flowing thick and fast from her pen.

"Wow, Peaches, what are you writing?" Dane asked.

"Nothing important, just telling her about the bus ride, the hotel, how hot and nice you guys are, you know," Momoko said, shrugging.

"You look like some kind of genius," Sullivan said. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

Momoko smiled and continued to write.

She bought stamps at the front desk and dropped it in the mail box in the lobby before they got back on the bus to head over to the venue. Tonight it was a club called Snapdragon, a place that fit about five hundred between the tables around the sides and the floor.

"Oh my god, are those people waiting for us? I mean you?" Momoko gasped when they pulled up to the back of the club.

For there was indeed a small crowd hanging around the fence, seemingly waiting for the arrival of the bus. They began waving and jumping up and down when it pulled into the parking lot. Someone opened the gate and the bus rolled through, leaving the people on the other side. They immediately ran to the fence, hanging on it and holding up their phones.

"How did they even know when we were going to be here?" Dane asked.

"What do you mean?" Momoko asked. "The show's tonight, when else would we be here?"

"No, I know, I mean, we've done shows like this, but we've never had fans waiting for us to show up at the venue before," he marveled.

"I put together a couple of radio ads," Kay said. "Just thirty second spots, they've been running for the past few days, maybe that's what did it?" She smiled at the band and shrugged. "Or maybe you've just hit the tipping point. Don't get too excited, there might not be any fans at the next stop. Or there might be more, who knows? Anyway, enjoy it while you can, go over and meet them."

"Me too?" Momoko asked uncertainly. "They look like mostly girls, I don't think they want to meet me, do you?"

"Of course," Tommy said. "You're in the band, now come on."

The crowd at the fence began jumping even faster and higher as the members of Peppermint Silk approached them, and they also began to scream.

"Ohmygod, I love you guys--"

"You're my favorite--"

"I drove all the way from Paramus to see you--"

"Momoko I'm so glad you joined the band, your voice is amazing--"

"Would you sign my phone case--?"

"Can we get a selfie--?"

They spent a happy five minutes interacting with the fans, then waved good bye and went in the building to help with set up and sound check.

"Now see, if we had a merch booth or two, we could score an easy few thou without lifting a finger," Kay mused. "And the more popular you got, the more that number would multiply. It's money through our fingers, every day we don't have it. It makes me cry to think about it."

"Not to sound cliche, but we're not in it for the money," Sullivan said to Kay with a smile. "I mean, money would be great, because it's a measure of how successful you are, but--" he let the sentence dangle.

Kay gave him a kind smile. "You guys are such babies still. I'll remind you again, it's called show business, okay? And since the digital revolution, it's not even about hard copy sales anymore. It's all about touring and merch." She patted Sully on his broad shoulder. "You guys keep on being beautiful and handsome, and keep making that gorgeous music, and let good old Kay handle the rest, all right?" She strode away to talke to the club manager.

Sullivan turned to the rest of the band. "I'm right, right? You don't care about the money, do you? Is it about the money or the music?"

"Money," Jude said with a grin.

"Money," Dane echoed, nodding.

"Definitely the money," Tommy said with a nod.

"I love me some money," Momoko said with a laugh.

"Aww, say it ain't so," Sully said, grabbing at his heart.

"Look, you come from money, it's easy for you to say you don't care about it." Tommy spoke for everyone else. "I mean, we all went to Princeton, so obviously we're not underprivileged, right? Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I rode a scholarship for my first two years, and I know it didn't hurt that my last name was Ruiz, you know?"

"My family spent just about everything they had to put me through school," Dane admitted. "They're so hurt that I'm doing this band thing. I'm supposed to be an engineer or at least in med school right now. I'm actually amazed that they're talking to me."

"Well, my family's sort of talking to me," Jude said. "But their money is definitely not. They were all ready to set me up in a career of my choice, as long as it was an actual career, yeah? Not this band nonsense." He looked around sheepishly. "When I'm ready to go back to Pudding Island and behave myself, I'll get my share of the family money and everything will be cricket, but until then, the pursestrings are most decidedly closed."

Ken appeared at that moment, telling them their equipment was ready for soundcheck, so they all trouped onstage to begin work.

🌟 🎸 🌟 🎸 🌟 🎸 🌟  🎸🌟 🎸 🌟

The show that night was incredible. Most of the group at the fence was right up front, screaming their heads off, in the manner of boy band fans, which the members of Peppermint Silk found rather unbelievable. They'd just never seen themselves as that kind of band.

And Momoko, who had her usual attack of stage fright before the show, got in front of the crowd and killed it, as usual.

Even Dane, who had a tendency to hide behind his keyboard, had his own contingent of screaming girls at his end of the stage.

In the bus, on the way back to the hotel, Kay said, "You know, I think you should introduce everyone in the band individually at the end of the show. Instead of just saying, 'We're Peppermint Silk, thanks for letting us entertain you tonight'?" She looked around at the band.

"Really?" Momoko, too, looked around at the boys. They were sitting in the eating area of the bus. "That's what they told me to say."

"You don't think it's kind of, dunno, egotistical to mention everyone by name?" Jude said uncertainly.

Kay shook her head. "You guys and your lack of vanity is amazing, I must say," she remarked with a smile. "You're all seriously good looking, as I've said before, and in completely different ways, and you could all develop your own fanbases, your own followings. Didn't you notice today that those girls knew all your names already? And Momoko's, too?"

"Well, Momoko's name is unforgettable," Dane said with a smile her way.

"My point is that you could get individual recognition, which is very valuable, especially if you ever decide to break up and go your own way," Kay said.

"Hold on, hold on, we're not even signed to a label, we don't even have a record out yet, and you're already talking about us breaking up?" Tommy interjected. "What's that about?"

"Just speaking hypothetically," Kay said. "And the merchandizing opportunities would be multiplied, too, if we could market you all individually, you see?"

"Again with the merch," Tommy said, shaking his head as he grinned.

"You guys, this is her job," Momoko said. "This is what we want her to do; we don't want her to sit on her ass and do nothing, right?"

"Right," Sully agreed.

"It will be easy for Momoko, because she's the only girl, and as you pointed out, her name, her looks are so unusual, so striking," Kay said. "But for you guys it won't be that hard either. You all look different, you all are, so different from each other. So in addition to Momoko introducing you by name during every show, I want you all to talk a little, to interact with the crowd a little, okay? Yes, even you, Dane, you can do it."

Momoko rubbed Dane's back comfortingly.

They got back to the hotel, said their goodnights, and went to their respective rooms.

Momoko availed herself of the shower, indulging herself by using every product in the stall, so she came out very soft, and smelling very good, she thought. She sat on the bed, letting her hair dry, completely wide awake, looking around for something to do.

She got on her laptop for a while, looking at what people were posting about the show.

It was all good, and there were some amazing pictures of her and the boys. She sometimes couldn't believe that she looked like that. She always thought of herself as kind of quiet and mousey, but the girl onstage really rocked it, the outfits, the hair. It was like she became someone else.

Just as she was thinking she might just have to go bed out of sheer boredom, she got a text:

You awake? Want to come to our room?

She responded immediately.

You bet! Be there right now!

She scooted off the bed, grabbed the robe and her key card, and vacated her room with alacrity.