"You could have stayed up there, honey," he said. "I was doing fine."
She cupped her hands to shout directly into his ear. "I was getting dizzy."
This he seemed to accept, as he leaned away from her and said "Oh."
For the rest of the concert, Linda stayed grounded with the other people cheering and shrieking with delight as Led Zeppelin played song after song, many of which Linda did not recognize. Around them, young men's voices shouted out "Whole Lotta Love" and "Stairway to Heaven." For the next few songs, she tried to stand with the rest of them and sway to the music, dancing along with them but instead, she felt a gathering sense of dread. She remembered the struggle, the broken glass and the girl with the gash on her face, bleeding onto the concrete.
She also remembered that they would be staying in a strange house that night, in a strange bed, and that the next day they would have to drive the six hours back to school. At the very moment she was having these thoughts, onstage, Robert Plant said "Does anyone remember laughter?" causing another cheer to erupt from the crowd.
Soon, her feet ached. She needed to sit down and found a place near the edge of the platform, where she lowered down to rest against it, alone. From that angle she could look up and see everyone completely focused on the performers in front of them, lifted up in rapture as though they were witnessing a great spiritual miracle. They were only people, though: four guys from England who knew how to play musical instruments well.
Lauren soon noticed her. She lowered herself down onto her haunches and cupped her hands to shout to Linda. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine."
"Well what are you doing down here?"
Linda shrugged. "Sitting."
Lauren paused to consider that for a moment. "You're missing it!"
When Linda felt she had rested herself well enough, had contemplated her navel for a long enough time, she lifted herself back upward to re-join her friends. She blanched at the strange sight of Robert Plant playing a harmonica, until she recognized the song "When the Levee Breaks" from the fourth album. The band did other things she and the thousands of others did not expect. All four of them, even the drummer, picked up folksy acoustic guitars and then sat together on a bench at the front of the stage playing a dreamy guitar number.