Adrenaline

Chapter 4

Alyssa

A spotlight shined at the middle of the stage. Thunder rumbled loudly through the speakers followed by a clear female voice. She spoke about ancient goddesses and the power of sirens at sea. More thunder rumbled followed by a countdown. The cheering grew louder and louder until finally a bolt of lightning split a hole in the spotlight. The screaming became deafening as the stage opened with a roll of fog revealing Carly Whitney in a white dress on a golden chariot. She had a bronze leaf crown on her head of perfectly curled hair.

"Hello, Los Angeles!" She cried.

I watched her chariot be drawn forward by dancers dressed as horses when suddenly my foot slipped off the beam and I let out a small squeak. She looked up for a moment in my direction. There was no way Carly heard me, right?

I repositioned myself slowly, and slid further into the darkness almost coming off the beam again. Her chariot stopped and she stepped down falling into a dance routine as the beat of her song dropped. I squeezed every muscle and gripped that beam with every ounce of strength left in my body. My leggings were making me slippery, and my bare feet weren't helping either. I quickly crawled all the way down to the vent and slid down replacing the cover.  The bathroom was still locked as I dressed back into my shoes, cardigan, and earrings. Jason was waiting for me at the end of the hall with his hands in his pocket. "The show just started, come on." He said, extending his hand out to me.

We stepped up to the entrance of the stage to watch the show up close. Behind us was a buffet table filled with pastries and cakes. Jason must have catered. "I haven't eaten from Sweet Nothings in about two years." I admitted.

"Shame on you! I have to bring you to the dark side again."

He looked at me with a smile that made my cheeks warm up, probably giving off a pink hue. I turned my attention to Carly again, watching her sing, complete with choreographed dances numbers. Every once in a while she'd point the mic to the audience and rally up screaming.

Jason stood by me for the entire show, joining me in cheering or coming with me to the buffet table, which apparently was more often than not. I looked up to the suites to see Bradley standing at the window with his daughter. It filled me with relief for some reason that Lydia hadn't killed him. Jason didn't even know that I'd completed an order tonight. Innocents amazed me sometimes. Carly finished with a dramatic drop under the stage and the lights threw everyone into darkness. "There's someone else I'd like you to meet." Jason said, taking my hand to lead me through the dark. After a few seconds, the lights were turned on again, but my hand remained in Jason's. That was clearly a bad idea.

I gently slid it out, pretending to be fussing with my clothes. We stopped near the buffet table where more people had gathered. Hungry vultures those were my brownie bites.

"Paul," Jason called.

A guy dressed in a black leather jacket and jeans turned around holding a crème pastry. He was shorter than Jason, maybe about 5 inches shorter. A medium build compared to Jason, brown hair with brown eyes and the shadow of a beard.

"Paul, I'd like you to meet someone. Alyssa, this is my roommate and best friend Paul Macy. Paul this is my new friend Alyssa Winters." He introduced.

Paul set a pastry down and extended his hand out to me.

"It's nice to meet you." I told him, shaking his hand.

"Likewise, did you enjoy the show?" he asked.

"I did, it was amazing."

"I was honored to be the official photographer for this."