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Chapter 23: Setbacks

"Are you sure, Crystal? With the disaster from three days ago, I doubt anyone would even make time to give a damn about some online singing show," says Ash.

Most of the contestants— minus Mike— was called on to the café for a top secret meeting right around one o'clock. Well, not entirely top secret, just so that reporters won't go bombarding them about the incident and their unluckiness all together. After receiving such attention on Meowtube for being a former contestant on Buster Moon's show, Crystal had Meena call Ms. Crawley who then called all the other gang together.

"It's actually the opposite! Look, look—" Crystal showed them her recording back at the karaoke, which had already received a couple of star points donation from people who wanted to see them sing something else. "That news already sparked interest of many people, not only in this city. If we can do things live, I bet we can make at least half of what was promised to us in the show."

"I don't know know about you guys, but I'd definitely wanna give this one a chance," Rositta clenches her fist, "Prize money or no prize money. All we gotta do is sing, it's what we came here for after all."

"But where will we perform?" asked Johnny.

"That..... I have no idea," Crystal had to bite her tongue to prevent it from suggesting the RS hideout.

"Why don't we ask Mr. Moon? I'm sure he knows lots of places to choose," Gunther snaps his fingers at the seemingly bright idea.

Ms. Crawley nodded, "Mr. Moon does think of things alternatively. Why don't we consult him on it?"

"But where is he?" asks Meena.

They've searched a few places that Ms. Crawley thought he would be, in the end, they'd have to check on his best bud for his whereabouts only to find him hiding in Eddie's pool house. Ms. Crawley knocks on the vertical blinds, waiting for Moon to come out. He was really out of it, that's for sure. His usual jolly expression when facing people had long been snuffed out of its fire, he looked like he's really given up everything on which he had nothing to lose for.

"Hey, Mr. Moon," Rositta greets him first.

"You okay?" asks Johnny.

He sighs, shaking his head, "Guys, look I-I-I'm sorry about what happened, and the prize money and--"

"Oh, it's okay—" Moon cuts off Rositta's attempt to cheer things up.

"No. None of this is okay."

"At least we're all in one piece," Ash points to all of us.

"Crystal and Aeon had to be hospitalized. I apologize. I heard he got amputated because of it," Moon looks directly at Crystal on that one.

She scoffs, waving her hand to the side, "We're fine. He can live without a foot or two."

"Yeah, and you know what, I bet we can find some other place to put the show on. Right?" Everyone had agreed with Rositta, although that's the whole plan that they all came here for.

"The show?" he can't believe that they're even trying to push that topic on the table, "Guys...I'm done."

They all stared at him in disbelief.

"Are you serious?"
"Whaddya mean 'done'? Come on!"

Buster lifts a crumpled newspaper from the floor; he's headline news. "Didn't you see this? Huh? Look, it says I am a 'danger to society'...a deluded, washed-up charlatan who never had a hit in his career."

"Oh come on, you don't believe all that?"

"Yeah. I do," Once again, he turns down Rositta's words. He makes to close the door but Johnny pulls it open.

"Listen. You're not the only one who lost something 'ere. We all did," The group agrees, "I mean, I lost any chance of ever speaking to my dad again over this show."

Buster tugs and succeeds in closing the door, "Sorry."

Johnny was stunned at how hopeless he felt, even after he poured all his emotions for this. Every else showed their dismay before finally giving up on the idea. He turns to leave, only to find Crystal staring on her phone at the other end of the pool. She seemed to be in a daze, clutching the device with shaking arms before roughly pocketing it in her jeans. "F*ck," she curses.

"Crystal?" she turns to Johnny and regains her poise, "Is something wrong?"

"I gotta go. Sorry for troubling all of you," Crystal walks past Johnny, eyeing Meena who was about to give the cake to Mr. Moon, before leaving the vicinity.

Aeon was rolled out by the nurse after he was discharged. It was supposed to be at least a two week stay in the hospital to rest after the surgery, but with a promise of a good and safe environment to help him heal, the doctors finally budged and let him out of bed. There she is, Crystal, talking to the nurse to buy the meds and everything else he'll need for recovery.

"What's the rush?"

Crystal took the nurse's place behind him and guides them to the exit, "We need to go. We need to leave Catalonia."

"What? Why?" he was just planning the scene where he hands over the tickets to Johnny as soon as he arrives to act cool in front of Crystal, but this bit was all of a sudden.

"It's her," she grits her teeth.

"Her?..." Aeon continues bugging her until they got to the parking lot where his van was, "Who's her? What are you talking about?"

Crystal helps him get into the front and disposes the wheelchair at the back, sighing and pulling out her phone to toss to him before getting on the driver's seat. Aeon confusedly lights up the lock screen and sees a few messages on the notification with the same exact words sent on all different media accounts she had on her phone.

"Crystal, I saw the news. I decided to pick you up in two weeks. Mommy's coming, darling!!!😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘"

And it was all sent by a verified account named Cassandra Quinn.