Chapter 20: Festival of Lights III

On the last day of Summer Madness, all of the bands were given a slot to perform at the Binder Clips Center in front of tens of thousands in a jam packed event. The largest venue that any of the bands had seen so far and the deciding place for who would ultimately walk away with the crown of summer.
 

The expected winners, the Network, kicked things off with a strong performance that had people swooning and fainting as soon as they took the stage.

Historia, the expected runner-up and Bridgeport natives like the Network, had twitter on fire after they debuted a new song that took shots at the government and it's anti-immigration policies. 

Bands like Boys of the Fall and Black Rain also performed well but there were other bands that choked under the pressure and underperformed.  However, there was a underdog that had went under the radar the whole Summer Madness and when their set was done, almost everyone unanimously had decided that there could possibly be no better band.

They called themselves the Brave Wanderers and were apparently from Urbzville. Compared to the other bands, their music was darker and their lyrics weren’t toned down to reach a larger audience. From songs about cuckolding neighbors to snorting lines, they held nothing back as they had the whole arena going wild with every tale of depravity. Although I wasn’t familiar with them, Haruka was and she told me she was glad to see them get their shine. Their lead singer Jamie in particular, was her favorite and Haruka said she wished she could get him and April in the same group because their sound complimented each other on a crazy scale.

“Hey, Vanity. You’re up in ten so get yourselves ready.”

When it came time for their performance I was nervous. If this was a movie, this would be the time when I would give April and Haruka a pep talk. Tell them that all of their dreams were riding on this very moment. Tell them that the group before them had just hit it out the park and unless they reached down deep inside and performed like their lives were on the line, they would probably be crushed by the crowd’s high expectations.

But I didn’t think they needed to hear something like that.

Nah I don’t think they needed to hear it all.

“Starlight Shores, can you hear me out there?!”

As April grabbed the mike, she began her magical act. Before she struck a single chord or sung a single verse, she captured the crowd’s attention. Promises of a legendary concert that was only seconds away from consuming them. Promises of an eternal bliss that they would never be able to escape from. Promises that she was getting ready to blow the other bands out of the water. It could be seen as overhyping by some but April had proved throughout the week that she and Haruka had always delivered.  And today she promised the crowd a delivery like no other.

“Let’s give them a festival of lights” she said, smiling at Haruka. 

“Let’s give them a memory that they will never forget”

 And they did

All night long

Chapter 19: Festival of Lights II

Despite their epic performance, I wasn’t sure if they could pull off another show of that magnitude. Their energy that day was just crazy, it seemed almost impossible that they would be able to replicate it.

 But somehow they did.

 Again

And again

 And again

Although they still weren’t favorites to win Summer Madness, their small fan base was growing ridiculously larger with every performance. The young, the old, the in between, April and Haruka had a sound that appealed to all and had lyrics that were clever and catchy. Not to mention they were easy to market with April’s overwhelming sex appeal and Haruka’s quiet charm. Together they were probably a talent scout’s dream.

And surprisingly enough, it didn’t take long for some scouts to realize this because they started to show up at April and Haruka’s performances more and more. Haruka didn’t seem to care but what surprised me was that April didn’t seem to care either. I asked them about it because I thought they were only in Summer Madness to get exposure but April quickly set me straight.

“We’re not looking for just any record label” she said “There’s only one perfect match for us. And we’re determined to make them look in our direction.”

I tried to talk some sense into her. The odds of getting signed were astronomically low. Trying to get a specific deal made it even lower. I told her she shouldn’t put all her eggs in one basket but she simply snorted.

“So you don’t believe in us?”

April had a way of listening and not listening at the same time. She had tuned out all the positive things that I was trying to tell her and only focused on the negative.

“Of course I believe in you. But what’s wrong with a back-up plan? Whosevers attention you’re trying to catch, what happens if they never look your way? You’re just going to turn away every single offer from everybody else and stay unsigned forever? Be reasonable, April.” 

“Remember these words, Jalil Blackwell. April Smith and Haruka Nakamura will be represented by Tiffany Miller and we will get signed by Symphony Records. Mark my words, disbeliever.”

As I stared at her back, I couldn’t help smiling at her unshakable confidence. I still thought she was making a mistake by ignoring all of the talent scouts that were courting them but there was something about April’s confidence that made me want to believe in her high-risk gamble.

With Summer Madness coming closer and closer to an end, April and Haruka continued to pick up steam. Not just with their performances on stage but also with their antics off-stage. During an interview with one of the MC’s of the event, April declared that she was the best guitarist in Summer Madness and challenged any of the other participants to face off against her if they thought otherwise.

Abram Rosado, the lead guitarist of the Network took up her challenge.

In Club Onyx, in front of a massive crowd, they battled it out and what SimMTV called a duel of the ages. Although it wasn’t a part of the schedule, SimMTV still televised it and it got monster ratings, exposing April to the mainstream for the first time. I thought Haruka might have been jealous of the special attention that April was getting but she seemed pleased instead.

“I just want to make good music and get paid for it “she said “Let April handle all of the annoying publicity stuff.”

And April did as she participated in more interviews and made more statements that made her seem like the bad girl that the industry had always been waiting for. Ironically, the one bad girl that I never wanted to run into again; I started to run into her more and more. 

Whatever job this malicious tomboy had at Lusha, she seemed important enough for the waiters to treat her like she was the only customer in the building. And she always rolled with an entourage of guys who looked like they could have been extras in a crime movie. I’m not sure if she showed up to watch Haruka and April’s performance or the bands that performed before or after them but she always seemed like she came for business. Either way, I thought she was bad news. 

Chapter 18: Festival of Lights I

Los Sueños Strip would be the place that April and Haruka would throw down the gauntlet and make themselves known amongst the competitors of Summer Madness.

While some bands were performing at coffeehouses, clubs and the beach, April and Haruka were given a desolate strip on the edge of town. A place that no one had probably heard of because when Haruka’s fingers first touched upon the keys of her piano, there wasn’t a soul around. And before April’s voice filled the air, it was as quiet as a mouse. But within hours everything would change.

The world would change. Their world and mine.

I wasn’t quite sure how to put it. I couldn’t say what exactly was different about them that day but there was a strange energy about them. Something mythical. Something dangerous and electrifying. There was a strange power.

I thought I was the only that felt it at first but I looked around and saw that I wasn’t alone. People were gripping their chest as if they couldn’t breathe.  Shedding tears.  Dancing themselves into a frenzy as if they were on a high that refused to let them come down.

We felt like we were a part of history. Like we were witnessing the birth of some monstrosity that would soon take the world by storm.

“Who are they?!” A man beside me had shouted. And another. And another. And many more as #whoarethey and #Los Sueños Strip started to trend within the Twitter community of Starlight Shores.  As people from all over the city began to flock over, all I could think about was how distant I felt from them at the moment.

They seemed alien to me. Like people I had never met. I felt like if I told people I was a close friend of theirs, no one would believe me because of how extraordinary they were and how ordinary I was in comparison. I mean I knew the feeling of inferiority once before but never like this. Never this hard. Never this deep. I felt like I could paint for decades and never produce an art that would move a crowd like how April and Haruka had just moved me.  And especially not a novel.

When their performance had ended and the large crowds had dispersed, I sat alone with just my thoughts and emotions. I could still feel the trembles in my hands from their performance. I could still hear people gossiping about them as they passed by in the streets.  I looked down at my phone and stared at all of the missed calls and unanswered texts. I knew they were waiting on me. But I was too ashamed to face them.

I told them so many times that I was their number one fan. Their biggest supporter. I always told them to reach for the stars. And yet there I sat, wrapped up in feelings of jealously and envy. I was despicable.

“So this is where you’ve been hiding?”

Startled, I looked over my shoulder and saw April smiling with her hand on her hip. Haruka was beside her but her expression wasn’t as warm.

“You should be careful about ignoring Haru’s phone calls” April had said, “She can be very spiteful when you get on her bad side. She was just telling me-”

“Shut it, April. And you-” She shifted her anger towards me as her eyes flared “Do you know how long it took us to get away from all of the people asking us for autographs and pictures? I’ll tell you, A LONG TIME. Even when we ran, they tried to chase after us like a bunch of crazies. Where the hell were you, Mr. Manager? Aren’t you supposed to take care of things like this?”

“Aww Haru looks so cute when she’s angry. Why don’t you tell him the real reason why you’re so mad?”

“April, you-”

“She thinks you snuck out on our performance midway because we couldn’t see you in the crowd at a certain point. Not to mention you’ve been dodging our phone calls and we find you over here relaxing. Anything to say in your defense, Mr. Manager?”

I didn’t know what to say. I mean I was there for the whole performance but I couldn’t exactly tell them the reason why I was ignoring their phone calls. I scratched my head and quickly thought of a lie. I said “I was there for the whole thing. It’s just after it ended, I thought you guys might want to soak in your first taste of fame. You know, enjoy all of the attention.”

Haruka narrowed her eyes like she didn’t believe me. And neither did April who wagged her finger at me disapprovingly.  So I reached down and told them something genuine. I told them watching them perform reminded me of my fondest childhood memory.

I told them watching them perform was like watching a festival of lights.