Valerie Tyler.
Upon hearing her name, many would instantly think of glamour and stardom, not hardships and sorrow. However, Valerie has had, in the opinion of many, far more than her share of hardships and sorrow in her ascent to the acclaimed pres...
Song of the chapter - 'Papaoutai' by Pentatonix ft. Lindsey Stirling
'Everybody knows how to make babies, But nobody knows how to make dads.' (translated)
Josh steps back, profusely apologizing under his breath so only I can hear. I nod my head almost imperceptibly at him before swiveling to take a look at that troll offspring's face. Her jaw hangs down as her face extends more than I ever thought possible for a human.
"Surprised? Seems like the only person who can't get a partner is you," Josh tells her, a triumphant smirk evident in his tone.
She begins to yell when the judges direct us to turn our attention to them as they give out instructions for the next day. We're given a time to be here by tomorrow morning and we will perform in between 10 and 12. All of us will perform again in the evening with a prompt given after the morning's performances, following which two will be eliminated. We're asked to dismiss and be on time tomorrow, being wished the very best of luck.
Hand in hand, Josh and I pack up our bags and exit the auditorium. I'm about to bid him adieu when my stomach decides to give a solo impromptu growling performance of remarkable loudness. I remember that I haven't eaten anything since lunch as I groan as if to drown out my stomach. Josh chuckles as he offers to buy me dinner considering that he's pretty hungry too.
"Oh, you don't really have to, I mean--"
"Save your energy, Erie, we're eating soon! Come on!" he drags me along with him, the sight of that woman's disgruntled face being the last thing I see before we're off.
"Josh, it's past 12! No place is going to be open so late! I could cook something if you're that hungry."
"Nonsense, we'll find a place now! Aha!" he exclaims as we come by a neon sign indicating the way to 'Midnight Melee'.
"This place is amazing! I always come here for the times I'm up late and hungry. It's open till 3," Josh informs me as he smiles at the receptionist who greets him with a smile and gestures to us to get inside.
"Shrew has been here ever since I remember arriving here so he remembers me. A lot of people here do, so don't be freaked out by it," he tells me as a waitress skips over and makes small talk with him before he orders 'the usual' for himself and I order something off the menu that I know I'll eat.
When she leaves, he turns to face me, "Erie, I'm sorry if you felt uncomfortable, I didn't really mean to kiss you, I just wanted that dumbass to shut her big mouth and stop bugging us."
I nod at him to indicate that it's alright, causing his eyebrows to furrow in confusion, "Hey, are you okay? You're unusually silent and, is something wrong?"
"It's alright, I'm just a little tired and I get a terrible headache when I get too hungry, so it'll settle in a bit anyway," I tell him in a low voice.
After our food has arrived and we've dug in, Josh tells me how I'm a very unique person and he hasn't ever met someone like me before. I let him know he's the first of his kind I've met too. After several minutes of contemplation, he asks if I can hear out his story as it'd help him out too to get it off his chest. When I reply in the affirmative after slapping myself to stay awake, he tells me to wait until we leave as he pays the bill and bids the waitress and receptionist goodbye.
"Erie, first off, I am the oldest of two brothers and I guess we've been lucky to have supportive parents but here's the thing, even though it sounds super whiny and ungrateful - they love him a whole lot more than me. Sure, I get everything I want, materially, but I rarely get their attention for anything. I wasn't even initially interested in being a musician but he loves music more than his own life and begged for music lessons so they had both of us join vocal, guitar and piano lessons after he chose them because he didn't want to be alone."
His eyes water a bit as he hastily wipes away his tears and continues, "The real reason I actually auditioned was because I wanted to do something on my own so they'd finally take note of me. And you know what happened? They got mad that I didn't have Jeff audition too and swore to never show up for any of my performances henceforth. Some of my college mates showed up to watch from the audience and left too. I really don't want to come across as bratty or spoilt but I really wish they'd appreciate me or even acknowledge me more. God knows I love them, and I love Jeff to the ends of the earth, but I just wish there was someone who wouldn't mind just listening to me and my feelings. I'm sorry for getting so emotional, Erie."
I rub his back soothingly as we settle on a bench by the side of the road while he struggles with his tears.
"Josh, it's alright to cry. I understand why you're upset and it's sensible that you're sad and disappointed but I'm here for you now. I know what it's like to not be acknowledged enough. Don't get me wrong, I have had some love being shown my way but it wasn't ever enough for me. Oops, here I am, talking about myself instead of helping you calm down," I trail off.
His eyes meet mine in a hopeful glance as he requests me to tell him my story for he'd certainly feel better for dumping his laundry on me all of a sudden. I sigh and nod, taking a deep breath as I scan the clear night sky for the Orion constellation. Spotting the three middle stars, Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka, at once, I locate Betelgeuse and Bellatrix, the stars I associate with Mom and Dad. They're here, and I can make it through this, I can tell him my story, starting off with how we used to consider Orion to be our family constellation and how we each called one of the stars our own.
Mom was Bellatrix, Dad was Betelgeuse, Vi was Meissa, Van was Saiph. Our father was Rigel because he was the one who taught us to identify Orion, well, he taught me. And me? I was Aldebaran, a star not even in the same constellation, but in the neighbouring one of Taurus. At least I was near them, right?
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I somehow wrote these three chapters together so that's quite unusual. I wanted to get out this chapter to manage a triple update so here it is! It's past 1 AM and I have to sleep but I'm also hungry (story of my life)...
See you (hopefully) with a new chapter later today or tomorrow!
