Part 16: Fate and the Inevitable Questions She Raised

I was feeling particularly adventurous during the summer after my sophomore year, and decided to buy an airplane ticket to Chicago, Illinois. Three hours south of Chicago is a little city called Bushnell, where an annual music festival takes place in 2 acres of corn fields over a period of 5 days. My decision to go was hasty and impulsive, and the only thing I did to confirm that I was going was buy a $400 plane ticket and an $80 entrance fee. No hotels, no taxi services... I didn't even know how I was going to get to Bushnell from Chicago, let alone where I was going to stay once I got there, and to top it off, I would be traveling alone.

At the time, I had started a website that really just featured my artwork, but also allowed me to branch off into a pin-making business for bands and other such things, and had built up quite a fan base. One of these "fans" was a 14-year-old girl named Breanne who lived near Bushnell, and she practically stalked me on the internet by constantly sending instant messages and emails. A few days before the trip, I asked her if she knew anyone that could possibly pick me up in Chicago and take me to Bushnell. She was ecstatic. She blurted out, "My brother! He's 18! But... you have to promise you won't fall in love with him." I assured her I wouldn't, and began chatting with him over Instant Messenger, as well.

I got to the airport around 8:30 at night, and I didn't even know who to look for. I started to feel extremely anxious, and a little foolish for even attempting to pull this off. If my parents had any clue what I was doing...

Finally, I saw a skinny dark haired boy with glasses followed by a young blonde girl who looked very similar to the boy, and figured they must be my ride.

"Are you Jehoadan?" the boy asked me.

"Uh, yes... You're Chris, I take it. And you must be Breanne," I smiled and turned to the girl.

After some hand-shakes and awkward hellos, Chris clapped, "Sweet, let's go."

We picked up my luggage from the baggage claim, piled into his forest-green Thunderbird and started upon the 3 hour journey back to Bushnell.

The car ride was really a lot of fun. I teased Chris for the music he had playing in his car, which only made him turn it up louder, and then he and I teamed up against Breanne by telling her we were going to sneak away during the night to make-out by the hay bails at the camp grounds. We slowed down at the toll booth just enough to throw change out of the window, into the collection funnel and sped off without losing any time.

Chris and Breanne were surprisingly hospitable and took me grocery shopping before the festival, lent me a spare tent and sleeping bag, and even made me eggs in the morning before we left.

...

When we finally set up camp at the grounds, I grabbed a line-up schedule and started exploring the area on my own. As I walked around the merchandise booths, I heard a voice say my full name quite clearly.

I thought to myself in confusion, "I don't know anyone in Illinois..." I rapidly traced my mind for any clues. The voice sounded very, very familiar... "Wha...? No way..." But it was.

I smiled and turned toward the direction of the voice. "Noah Preston," I said in a voice loud enough to carry over the crowds of people. He perked up and met my eyes with his, and a grin came over his face.

"Jehoadan Nicole," he said back.

He started to climb out from behind the booth, and I heard his fellow booth-attendee say, "Noah! She's way cute! Why don't you date her??" which caused us both to blush.

I couldn't stop grinning. He jogged over to me and reached for a hug. "What are you doing here?" I questioned.

"I'm working for this record label for the summer, and part of my job is to go to all the music festivals around the country and man the booths," he answered.

"Wow, that's a sweet job."

"I know. I'm pretty blessed." He laughed, "This is so weird! Of all the places, I run into you here!"

"I know!"

"Hey, I get off in an hour... Will you meet me here and hang out with me? Maybe we can get some food."

"Of course I will!" I smiled. My heart was racing. Are these the things we call fate?

...

It's really quite bizzare how everything works out. I mean, how did this all happen? I left California without a plan or even an idea of how things were going to go once I got to the festival, and yet I managed to find rides to everywhere I needed, food, friends, and even Noah.

Noah and I hung out nearly every day we were there, met really cool people, watched bands from backstage, and had a total blast.

The final night, he asked me to join him for Pedro the Lion, one of his favorite musicians at the time. We walked arm in arm down the dirt hill to the main stage and sat on top of the grass toward the back. The air was sticky hot, and we were both disgustingly sweaty, un-showered, and covered in dust. But despite this, he put his arm around me and drew me in close to his side. We laughed at how his hand got stuck to my shoulder because of our sweat, and I was in Heaven.