Isa hustled about the merch stand at Saturday night's L.E.A.F. show, ensuring that all of the merchandise was neat, orderly, beautiful, and ready for the massive crowd she could just feel was about to burst onto the scene any time now. Posters were rolled up and tidily stored under a thoughtfully placed sample display; commemorative vanity tickets were neatly lined up under the glass display top; keychains, tee shirts, sweatshirts, hats, visors, light toys, and CDs adorned the wall; and a few more expensive vinyl figurines and plush dolls rested safely on the tables lined up behind her.
“Beautiful work, if I do say so myself,” she chuckled softly as she adjusted a sweatshirt that had fallen ever so slightly lopsided on its wall rack. She glances up toward the clock on the stadium's far wall - 3:15 - she had a fair bit more time than she'd originally thought. Doors weren't set to open until 4:30, with the show starting at 6, so she had more than enough time to go grab herself a bite to eat and a drink after checking on the status of the merch vending machines.
Isa grabbed her volunteer cap and pass, adorning them rather than stuffing them in her pouch on the off chance she was stopped by stadium or concert security on her way to the machines. After all, she was but a humble volunteer at this event, and needed to be sure she would be recognized as such. It was a great opportunity, really. While her friends had been saving their leaflets for years to both buy tickets to attend the show and walk away with some cool merch, she had only recently gotten into L.E.A.F.’s music. Luckily, she'd been among the first to learn of volunteer opportunities and quickly swept up a package that not only granted her an all access VIP ticket to Sunday's show followed by a special meet and greet party exclusively for volunteers, but she also received an allowance of 20,000 leaflets worth of any merch she wanted. All they needed in exchange was for her to work merch for the Saturday show, which consisted of a total of nine hours of labor from start to finish - set up, sale, and tear down.
She checked the first vending machine. Fully stocked with CDs or each of L.E.A.F.’s albums and commemorative tickets for this and past shows. Perfect! Just one more machine to check by the entrance. As Isa made her way toward the entrance of the building, she found herself daydreaming about tomorrow's show and meeting all of the band. She could hear the ghost of a sweet melody playing in her mental music box, the voices of all five members ringing out as clear as day in her mind - so clearly, in fact, that she found herself starting to hum along. Soon enough, Isa found herself at the final vending machine. All five types of keychains were neatly stocked, not a leaflet out of place.
She scuttled away from the vending machine, happy with her set up, and made her way toward the volunteer lounge. As she snaked her way around other staff, she began to consider what she would choose as her pre-concert snack. Probably a hotdog, some nachos, and a Dr. Pepper. A good caffeine kick before the big show sounded like a pretty good idea, after all! And you simply can't go wrong with a hot dog and nachos. Isa marched into the lounge and up to the small snack stand, where she ordered her meal and quickly gobbled it up before returning to her post.
She looked toward the clock one more time. 4:20.
“Let's get this show on the road!”