I'm a street-walking cheetah
With a heart full of napalm
I'm a runaway son of the nuclear A-bomb
I am a world's forgotten boy
The one who searches and destroys

Honey, gotta help me, please
Somebody gotta save my soul
Baby, detonate for me!

Look out, honey, 'cause I'm using technology
Ain't got time to make no apology
Soul radiation in the dead of night
Love in the middle of a firefight

By the time the Rattlers were done performing their number. They all head back to the band room and collapse on the worn-out furniture.

“Man! My feet are killing me.” Rustie takes the shoes she was wearing off. She rubbed her feet to ease the pain her feet were feeling.

Lou looks over at Rustie and tosses her a cold water bottle. He knew Rustie had been dressing full-time as a girl since they won the contest.

“Are those shoes new?” Lou knew all the members had bought new clothes and accessories for their instruments.

“Yes, and they are killing me.” Rustie puts her shoes back on after rubbing her feet.

She gets up walks over to the private bathroom and cleans her hands. Ever since she came out to her parents about being a girl full-time, after telling them what happened at the band contest. Her mother in particular had seen how she dressed and acted. So, they weren’t surprised when she told them. They talked about it and she agreed to see a doctor that specialized in gender dysphoria.

Her mother said she would help her adapt to being a woman, so she doesn’t get called out. They had gone out and spent the day at the spa and later at the salon to find a hairstyle that would be easy for her to do for her gigs and when she wasn’t performing.

“You should have broken them in before this gig.” Jason knew what it was like to wear new shoes.

Rustie just glared at him. She was dressed in all leather tonight and most of it was brand new. She looked like a rock goddess from the eighties.
As for the guys, Lou was dressed like Axel Rose used to dress when he first started. Jason, on the other hand, was dressed in leather like
herself, but just in a leather vest and tight leather pants. Russell on the other hand was dressed all in black and a loose Metallica t-shirt that the sides exposed his sides.

Rustie had worked hard on her makeup and bought professional makeup, so it didn’t run when she sweated. The place where she normally bought her stage gear when she performed, had turned her onto a new product.

“I’m changing, before we leave.” Rustie was hungry and she knew they were going out later to get something to eat.

“I don’t blame you, Rustie. If you wore that outfit to a restaurant, all the men would would be hitting on you.” Jason was getting a hard-on from just looking at Rustie.

Rustie grabs her gym bag and steps into the bathroom to clean up. She changes out of her rock goddess clothes and takes a sponge bath to freshen up. When she put her feet into her tennis shoes, her feet were thankful.

Once she is changed, she steps out of the bathroom to help the guys put their gear away. Ever since she decided to go full-time as a girl. The guys were being nicer to her.

“I’m glad we bought the van, now.” Everyone looked at how stuffed the back of the van was.

“I’m just happy it came with a backup camera.” Lou was glad they got a better vehicle to travel in.

“So, where’s our next gig?” Jason looks towards Lou since he is technically their leader.

“The Escape. Our booking agent got us a three-day gig with them. Also, there’s a hotel across the street that is giving us a discount because we are performing at the club.”

“I hope there is something to do because staying in our hotel room all day isn’t fun.” Rustie hated staying cooped up all day.

“Don’t worry, I bet you’ll find something to keep you busy.” Jason knew Rustie was never idle.

“Yeah, why don’t you work on a new song? Our playlist needs to be increased so we can make a nice demo disk and send it to several record companies.” Russell has been working on a few songs since they came back from the contest.

“I thought Dusty Gaskets was going to offer us a record deal?” Rustie looks towards Lou for an answer.

“I haven’t spoken to them about it. I want to see if we can draw the attention of a bigger company, before going with a local production company.” Lou was thinking big.

“From what I have learned about Dusty Gaskets, they have at least thirty bands working for them. They have partnerships with the big three record companies.” Jason wanted to work for them.

“Well, there are other local productions out there. Let’s keep our options open.” Lou was hoping someone else would scout them out.

Rustie didn’t say anything. She just listened to Lou and Jason talking. She hopes they stop somewhere soon to grab some food.
After thirty minutes, Lou pulls into a truck stop and parks. Rustie wakes Russell, “Food, Rus.”

Russell wakes up and looks around. He notices they have stopped at a truck stop to grab some food. He opens the van door and gets out, followed by Rustie.

Rustie shuts the door behind her. She hears the van beep, as Lou locks it with the remote. She left her purse in the van but brought her bank card with her.

Her mother has been trying to teach her how to act like a girl so she can blend in better. She already knew the basics, but there were things most girls knew by the time they were her age. She follows the guys to the restaurant area of the truck stop and finds a nice booth to sit at.

There waitress shows up and all of them place their orders after looking through the menu. They also ordered sweet iced tea to drink. Once their waitress walks off. Jason looks towards Lou “I think we should look into Dusty Gaskets and see if they will higher us.”

“Look, I know there are other independent agencies out there. Let’s see if we can grab their attention, first.” Lou wanted to see if their band could grab the attention of another independent agency.

“I don’t care who is willing to grab us. We have to do our best and see about getting bigger gigs.” Russell wanted more money. Sure, they were making six hundred dollars per gig, but they needed more.

“Let’s give it a few more weeks before we approach Dusty Gaskets.” Lou wanted to shop around more.

After their food arrives and is paid for. They top off the gas tank of the new van and drive towards their next gig. Rustie put her headphones on and listened to her favorite music. She leans against the side of the van and tries to stay awake until they arrive at the hotel.

By three in the morning, they arrive at their next destination. Lou checks them in and gets four room cards for them. Since they were used to sleeping in the same room, they only needed one room.

Lou drives around to where their room is and parks. He turns around in his seat to look at Russell and Rustie “Grab your bags, we’re here.”
“Good, because I’m tired.” Russell opens the van door and gets out, after grabbing his overnight bag.

“Same here.” Rustie grabs her bag and follows Jason and Russell towards the room. She knew Lou would be joining them after he grabbed his overnight bag.

“I got the bed this time.” Rustie didn’t want to sleep on the floor again.

“We’ll share the bed.” Russell didn’t want to sleep on the floor.

“If we share the bed, you better not snore.” Rustie grabs her nightshirt and goes into the bathroom to change.

By the time she came out of the bathroom, Russell was already in bed and asleep. She gets in on the other side slides under the blanket and falls asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow.