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Chapter 28: Theater

'Damn wires. Damn motorbikes. Cooperate with me, damnit!' she threw curses here and there as Crystal tried to hot wire the motorcycle parked unattended. As soon as the engine purred, she let out a silent gasp of surprise and patted it in full admiration, "Good boy." She tossed everything at the back with the map at front, sitting comfortably before roaring it all out to full speed, hearing the owner yell at her from behind.

She checked the location she marked off the bat, and no doubt that Aeon's suggestions would bring her right to the theater in no time. But what would she say? Especially to Johnny. Her selfishness rocked them off of a fine chance to build their trust up again. She can't just face him after disappearing all of a sudden, no calls or message, no nothing. He didn't know anything of why she's acting as she in the first place, Crystal never revealed too much of herself towards him, and that could've been the cause of it all.

'To hell with it,' she shook her head, speeding up even more through the traffic.

"Damn, that piggy could dance!"

"They're busting their moves like jello, didn't know you're into that kind of thing."

"Well, what can I say? I'm into all kinds of things."

Brian rolls his eyes at the two, hoping they'd shut up so that he could listen to the television. Marcus, however, doesn't seem to like the channel, which makes him smirk even more. He didn't know what the guards were thinking, putting two alpha leaders together in the same crib, but there ain't any arguments in the matter so it seemed that everything has cooled off for now. "Your son's in that show, ain't he?"

Marcus groaned, putting a small pillow over his head.

"Come on now, don't act all grouchy about it. What's so bad about him performing that you had to be so strict to him?"

The other gorilla turns his head towards him, "What's worse than a son who's weak and pathetic? Singing... it's for those prim and propers who think that talent is what's gonna bring them everything in the world. It's for a weak's profession! All for fame and photographs."

"Watch it, Marcus," Brian growled, but he let a small chuckle slide in the end of it, going back to watching the porcupine girl sing on tv, "Entertainment media isn't what you think it is. You think it's all talent but they fight their own battles through smiles and words. Besides, you know nothing of anything that goes on behind the scenes."

He huffs, sitting up, "Well how do you know? Were you an singer as well?" Marcus laughs at the thought.

"Nope," his face softens up a bit, "my wife is."

"ON TIME!!!"

Crystal discarded the motorcycle, pushing through the growing crowd and towards the backstage. She had seen everything—from the lights to the velvet curtains and spotlights—the open air theater is finally bringing in its giddy audiences for the first time in recent years. They worked hard to make this dream possible, for the benefit of none but the talents that needed to shine. The song was pretty loud, so it had to be Ash who just finished singing.

"What about that? (laughs) We just witnessed a birth of a genuine rock star!" Mr. Moon fist bumps the air, feeling a little woozy and deaf after standing near the speakers so much.

"Am I late?" Crystal finds her way backstage towards the DJ booth, she expected to see Meena, but standing there was a guy instead, someone she never knew. He had took off the headphones for a moment to clean his ears, and then notices her standing behind him. Crystal raises both hands in utter embarrassment, "I-I'm sorry. I thought you were my friend— I-I mean— Meena, I thought my friend Meena would be in charge of this stuff."

The sheep nodded, recognizing the name of the teen who taught him how it's done, "Meena's at the back. She's going to sing out there for the final performance so she had to change costume. Are you also gonna perform?"

"Me? W-Well I... " first of all, she wasn't thinking of any song to perform while coming here, and her phone was already dead while she waited back at the airport so there's no option for a minus one.

"You were one of the contestants when the theater crashed down, weren't you?"

"Yeah. I was," Crystal nodded.

He nodded as well, his lips pursing at the uncertainty written on her face. He signals Buster to come towards him, making the host give a five minute show break. Moon brightens up as he sees the young woman and goes to grab her hand, "Crystal! Just in time. Is Aeon with you? Is he okay now?"

She averted her eyes, the guilt barely left her system after just abandoning him there at the airport, "He's~ recovering."

"Great! Wonderful! Have you chosen a song yet?"

"I'm... " Crystal remembers Aeon's words, but she did wanted to know what it's like to be the one on stage this time, the one that people admires as they hear her melodies, as they see her vulnerable under the spotlight. "I don't know if I should. I did quit after all."

Moon shakes his head, "It doesn't matter. Tonight, we are all singing for ourselves. If you want to have your chance, then this is exactly the moment you've been waiting for. Everyone will see how good of a singer you are, from the internet, to the television and radio, you'll get to show everyone the Crystal you want to be. You just need to take that first step here."

'But Mom will— No!' she shook her thoughts away. All the criticisms are nonexistent here. There's no competition, that was as fair as the reality can get. Singing wasn't a full-blown passion, but challenging herself through it without all the nagging and pushing of others was a dream she could never had if it weren't for the stage built right below her feet.

"So, are you in?"

The woman took a deep breath, spotting the wheeled piano at the far corner of the backstage.

The host returns and so does the crowds cheers and applause, "And~ we're back on the show! We've had the most interesting contestants thus far and were very lively with their performances. But let's change the mood a bit with an RnB, coming from a young adult who's life is at a stage of confusion, not just for a family matter but of love as well. Give it up for — Crystal!"