The dancing prowess of Jun and Odile paved the way to fame for musician Vincent Friday. Seven years on, as his album sales stagnate, Vince summons the stars of his best-known music video to stage a one-night-only reunion show in Vegas. That night, h...
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'I used to breakdance with my crew on the streets of Chicago for cash.
'Heck, Grant Park was like my second home, it always hurt not being able to go to Lollapalooza. I couldn't even work at the festival because I had to be 18 and I left for London at 18... But now – now I'm back in Grant Park, on stage. On the actual Lollapalooza stage.
'It's crazy.'
Odile stopped reading as footsteps approached. Vincent Friday came to sit on a neighbouring chaise and nodded at the magazine she'd lowered on her chest.
"I didn't know you had an evil twin."
She declined his offer of a cigarette and sat up to stare at Jun frolicking in the hotel pool with some of the other dancers. Vince's lighter clicked, the tobacco sizzled and smoke mixed with the cool chlorinated air.
"You're probably the last person in the world who didn't," Odile replied. "And technically speaking, I'm the evil twin."
"That's good to know." Vince grinned. "Villains always have more fun."
She stood and threw a bathrobe on over her swimsuit. "I'll take your word for it."
Jun noticed them watching and waved. Vince saluted. Odile couldn't pinpoint why her partner's infectious enthusiasm failed to reach her tonight. Their cover feature article had just been published in a major entertainment magazine. The fashion photoshoot had attracted advertisers and a lot of love online.
So, what nagged at her subconscious?
"He's adorable, isn't he?" Vincent remarked out of the blue. "Truly living the American Dream."
His forlorn expression resonated with her strangely soured mood.
"And you're not? It's your show, after all."
The singer chuckled through a haze of tobacco mist. "We've actually got a lot in common, Jun and I. Single moms, lots of busking, fending for self on a shoestring budget... Except I didn't learn how to cook."
Odile rolled her eyes. The interviewer had gushed over Jun's skills in the kitchen.
'If this whole dancing business doesn't work out,' he'd bragged, 'I'mma become a chef. My mom, she used to work two or three jobs at a time, so I was home alone a lot. And I had to eat everything I made because you just don't throw away food. Let's just say... necessity is the mother of invention.'
"And I didn't get to go to college," Vince resumed, exhaling smoke. "They plucked me off the streets and threw me to the wolves. So, I know a lamb when I see one."
"A lamb?"
"Mhm. Good kid, big dreams... Can't see the big bad wolf because he's staring down its throat. But you..." He squinted up at her and sucked on his cigarette. "You were raised by the wolves."
