Public enemy

I think I just managed to become public enemy #1 amongst several of my daughter's friend's parents tonight. We went to the Plain White T's show in the city earlier and we drove three of my daughter's friends. Well, we didn't really drive. We drove as far as the el station and then took the el train and a bus in. I figured that would be easiest to avoid getting stuck in traffic and so we wouldn't have to search for a parking space in an area that is primarily permit parking only for residents.

The show was awesome. There were three opening acts, of which I only liked one, but the girls enjoyed all of them. They were right up in front against the stage, while I stood in the back. It's a small venue, so anywhere you stand you have a great view of the stage. Finally at about 9 pm the T's came on. They rocked. If you haven't heard their music, I do recommend them. Not really sure what genre to put them in. They're a bit rock, a bit alternative and have a few melodic acoustic songs. A good sing-a-long type band. Anyway, after the show, they had an autograph signing. So not only did the girls get to see the show, they got to meet all the bands and get their autographs. They were completely ecstatic about it because for two of the girls this was their first concert and one of them loves the T's a lot, probably her favorite band.

By the time we did that and ran over to get something to drink, it was probably 11 pm. Unbeknownst to me, the last bus on the route we needed runs at 11 pm. So we stood waiting for the bus for about 20 minutes until another group waiting with us called the CTA and found out there wasn't going to be another one coming. So we walked a block over to the nearest el station to hop on a train. Not the train we need, but we could take it downtown and switch to the one going in our direction. That didn't go very well. The whole subway system was screwed up and it took forever to get on the two trains we needed.

The girls were finally dropped off at home between 1:00 and 1:30 am. They did keep in contact with their parents regularly and let them know where we were at except the time spent on the subway cuz there's no signal down there. But still, their parents seemed upset that it took so long to get home. One girl's father was waiting outside on the front step for us. Another told their daughter it would be a long time before they were allowed to attend another concert.

I just feel real guilty because I don't want these girls to be punished for my decision to take the train instead of driving all the way down. If it were my daughter out with someone else, I wouldn't be too upset because the girls did keep their parents posted about where they were, but I'm a little more lenient in that respect. I don't know if I should call and apologize for getting their kids home so late or what. My daughter said they won't really get in trouble, that it wasn't anyone's fault it took so long.

So I'm not sure what to do. Wait and see what happens or just call later today and apologize immediately. I hate having decisions like this to make...UGH.