Wishing Away

Chapter Four

"GOOD HEAVENS, EIRAH! Your concert was a great success!" Mr. Schills greeted Rhianna with sheer excitement clearly displayed in his voice. Apparently, Mr. Schills was more than exhilarated to have seen by hauling all the cash he got from thousands of eager fans waiting in line and eager to pay any lump sum of money just to see and hear the famous net idol, Eirah Jane.

But Rhianna wasn't pleased at all. Her head was buzzing with annoyance, thoughts muddled with the gentle whispers of sleep lulling her sweetly to close her heavy, sunken eyes. After all, she deserved to have a day off from work. She was too exhausted to the bone, not quite physically, although that counts, too. What made her body feel like it has been torn apart into shred was actually the mental strain on her previous episode with the voices. Rhianna's head was still reeling from the trauma as the voices went on overdrive again. Just when she thought that everything was going to turn out well between the three of them, matters got out of hand. Jenna and Clarisse unexpectedly changed—their voices becoming a muddle. Then it all overlapped in an instant, rendering Rhianna weak and useless to the deafening echoes. It was a typical pandemonium that drove her senseless, just as they have done when she was still a kid.

A literal hell.

She grunted through the phone. "Mr. Schills, with all due respect here. It's bloody 4 a.m. in the morning! And you're calling me at such an early hour all because you wanted to tell me that?"

Mr. Schills let out a nervous whimper. In attempts to appease Rhianna's ire and mitigate the consequences of his anger, he began to drown the conversation with a myriad of 'uhs' and 'ums' along with a tidal wave of pleas for apology and pardons.

Finally he seemed to have found his voice amidst the spineless whining. "Well, it's just that . . . um, the company president, uh, my boss wanted me to inform you how much he appreciated your efforts in making the concert the success it was. Also, he wanted to know when the next live will take place since your hardcore fans are already getting thrilled to be informed."

"What the hell," Rhianna cursed, "Mr. Schills, if I don't get any sleep because of this pointless conversation, there wouldn't be any concerts for you and for the rest of the world out there even in the next millennia to come. Got that?"

"Yes, I understand. But of course, the boss told me to give a reply right away. I'm sorry to have inconvenienced you but we need a definite date. We still need to organize the venue, get the staff prepared. There's still your outfit to attend to—"

Rhianna interrupted with a yawn. "Don't know what's on my schedule for this week yet. Maybe by the end of this month or the next?"

"Couldn't it be sooner? Like next week or so?"

After veering off to the realm of unconsciousness, Rhianna cursed again when she was jolted back to reality by Mr. Schills' stupid question. She groaned and muttered more curses under her breath.

"The concert was a success and the fans loved it. If we keep them waiting, they would be itching to go to the next one. Of course, the price wouldn't be stopping them."

"You mean—?" Mr. Schills gasped as he finally found the diabolical catch at the end of the hook.

Smiling evilly, Rhianna chuckled to herself at the devious plan she just schemed while being half-asleep. That wasn't what she really had in mind but in order to silence Mr. Schills, she had to tell him of something this brilliant.

"Make sure it doesn't come off too high though, or no one will be able to attend. Just doing your boss a favor, Mr. Schills. Now let me sleep."

"Your intelligence is highly commendable, Eirah! Superb plan! Surely, the boss will be pleased—"