Chapter 117: Why Are You Here?

Chapter 117: Why Are You Here?

A luxurious plane picked Crystal and Nathan up from the mall’s roof. It had a luxurious interior, and it was more like the interior of a presidential suite than any plane Crystal had previously been on. It had a full apartment suite, complete with a living room, kitchen, bathroom, jacuzzi tub, recreation area, and bedroom. They were both tired, so they went straight to the bedroom to lay down.

Before long, they were both asleep, and they didn’t wake up until the plane was landing in Harbour City, where the rock show was to take place.

****

Nothing was too good for Crystal, so Nathan had spared no expense to ensure that they had the best seats in the house. All around them, the crowd was going crazy. They were shouting, “Louis! Louis! Louis!” And Crystal was screaming right along with them. She was like a teenage girl at a New Kids On The Block concert in the 80s, and she didn’t care if she looked ridiculous.

Nathan handed Crystal a handful of glow apparel to wear around her wrist and neck and glow-sticks to wave in the air when the lights went down. Louis was Crystal’s idol, and she couldn’t wait to see him. Nathan, though, seemed completely disinterested. He sat stiffly in his chair. Occasionally he checked his Social media, but Crystal could tell that something was wrong. At the very least, he was bored.

“Are you excited to see him?” Nathan asked.

Crystal: “Of course! This is a big deal! Thank you for making this happen!”

Nathan scowled but said nothing, and Crystal wished she knew what was bothering him. She thought - If he didn’t want to be here, he didn’t need to take me.

Suddenly, there was a commotion at the end of their aisle, and all of her concerns disappeared.

***

The girl behind them pointed to the end of the aisle and shouted, “Look! Look! It’s Chris and his girlfriend!”

The audience began to shout the young man’s name - “Chris! Chris! Chris!” and he waved to his fans, hugging the women and giving high fives to the men as he passed them. He was wearing a well-tailored white suit, his grin went from one ear to the other, and his girlfriend, Judy Brown, was walking behind him. She was wearing a red low-cut evening dress, a tight fit that left little to the imagination, and her makeup had been applied so thick that it was impossible to guess what she looked like underneath it all.

Judy strutted down the aisle like a movie star walking the red carpet.

Chris looked at their tickets, and when he pointed out that their seats were the same. row as Crystal and Nathan, Judy scowled. “What the fuck is this?” she complained.

“Am I a celebrity, or aren’t I? We were told that we would have the best seats in the house, but they’ve seated us next to these….” She snubbed her nose at Crystal and Nathan and finished her sentence: “...these peasants!”

Chris sighed and said, “Play nice, sweetie. It’s not a big deal.”

“Not a big deal?” Judy hissed. “How can you say that? You’re a hot singer, and you are one of Louis’s guests of honor. You shouldn’t have to sit with the general public. It is undignified!”

“I disagree,” Chris said. “We’re just people, like everyone else. Stop acting like such a spoiled brat.”

Judy was so shocked by his words that she couldn’t think of anything else to say to argue her point. Thus, when he led her to their seats, she had no choice but to follow behind him as she silently seethed. When they sat down, though, her complaints returned, and she turned to address Crystal. “Excuse me,” she said. “Are the two of you personal guests of Louis?”

Crystal shook her head absently but didn’t say anything. She was too busy showing Nathan something on her phone.

“Only invited guests of Louis can sit here,” Judy snapped. She didn’t like being ignored.

“You must be sitting in the wrong place. Would you leave, please? We both know that you don’t belong here, so you should return to your seats before I have you removed by force.”

Crystal looked at Nathan and asked him if they were in the wrong seats. He said that they weren’t and told her to ignore the annoying woman beside them.

Then, when Crystal sat up, Judy saw Crystal’s face for the first time, and she was shocked. “Crystal Smith!” she exclaimed. “Fancy meeting you here!”

Crystal turned her head and looked at her high school friend in disbelief. “Judy Brown! Is that you?” she asked. “I didn’t recognize you with all that makeup!”

“Why are you here?” the two asked in unison, and then they both began to laugh.

Crystal smiled and said, “I am here for the concert, of course; the same as you. But what a small world, eh? I didn’t expect to see you here!”

Judy looked completely different from how she looked in high school, and it wasn’t just the makeup. Crystal remembered that Judy’s family was not rich, so she had always dressed shabbily, and she had been a loner- not by choice. Crystal had been the only student willing to be friends with her. Three years had passed since then, though, and apparently, the ugly duckling had been transformed into a beautiful white swan.

As Crystal sized up Judy, Judy sized up Crystal, Judy wasn’t the only one that had changed, and she would never have guessed that one day she’d be able to land herself a boyfriend as hot as Nathan was. Of course, even though he was good-looking, she doubted he was as famous or talented as her boyfriend, Chris.

Crystal smiled and said, “Judy, you look a lot prettier now.”

“Really? You haven’t changed a bit.” She glanced at Nathan and said, “That must be your boyfriend?”

Crystal nodded and said that he was.

Judy: “What does he do?”

“He’s just an average man,” Crystal replied.

Judy took Chris’s hand and said, “This is my boyfriend. He is a popular singer.”

“That’s good,” Crystal said absently. In truth, she didn’t care much for a progress report from Judy. Of course, Judy assumed that when Crystal learned that Chris was her boyfriend, she would go insane with jealousy.

Judy puffed out her chest and said, “My boyfriend is much better looking and more talented than most men!”

Crystal chuckled. “Oh, really?”

“Really!” Judy smirked and said, “By the way, our big boss, Master Walker, organized a three-year high school reunion for this weekend. You should come. You are welcome to bring your BF!”

Crystal: “Why wasn’t I invited already?”

Judy: “Aren’t you in our graduating class group chat? There is a notice there. Let me add you to the group.”

“I was a part of the group,” Crystal admitted. “But I left the group chat.”

Judy: “I don’t blame you. Some of the people in the group are annoying, but it’s good to stay connected. Otherwise, you could miss stuff like this!”