The Bad Tour(ture)

Chapter 7 - I'm So Blue

So much adrenaline.  So much excitement.  So much noise.  So many chills.  So many screams.  So many lights.  So many, so much. 

The magnitude of the tour didn't hit me until I walked out on that stage.  After just the first song, I knew this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.  My nerves faded quickly.  I was so amped up on that stage.  The live show was a hundred times better than rehearsals.  The fans make such a big difference.  It was like a big party.  I loved it and I didn't want to leave.

Once it was time for me to do my duet with Michael, I feared my nerves would come back and interfere with my performance but they didn't.  The duet was a million times better than rehearsals.  Michael really put his all into the performance.  I was convinced once again that he really "couldn't stop loving" me.  He even bit his lip in the middle of the performance, my secret pleasure.  I was in heaven as he stared me in the eyes and sang with me.

When we embraced at the end of the song, I didn't want to let him go...but Bad was up next and it was the last song. 

"Wooo!  Woooo!" Michael yelled in excitement with a smile pointing at me, Darryl, Dorian, and Kevin.  He grabbed my hand and made me step out to take a bow.

Then he went around the stage shouting out the other band members before thanking the crowd and leaving the stage.

In the Van

"Am I the only one who noticed we got the 'woo' while everyone else got their first name?"

I looked at Darryl and laughed.  "Who cares?" 

"Well in rehearsals I thought he was just doing that but he really doesn't know our names?"

"He knows our name," Dorian snapped back.

"Well I guess we're not important enough."

I scowled at my band members.  "Am I the only one on cloud nine right now?"

Darryl looked at me.  "Nah, I'm still high from the show."

"Then why are you complaining?"

"I wasn't.  I was just making a joke."

It was silent for about twenty seconds and then Dorian started laughing out of nowhere making the rest of us laugh. We were out of it.

I couldn't sleep after the show.  There was too much adrenaline stuck inside me.  I dragged Jennifer and Greg and a few others down to the hotel's bar.  I wanted to go out to a club with my sister and brother but we had to do three shows in a row and Frank told us not to.  

I didn't stay out long but I had fun celebrating our first show.  I imagined myself doing the same the next night but to my surprise, I received a phone call that changed my plans.

I was lying back on my bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking about José.  I talked to him briefly the night before after I was done with my show.  He seemed more jealous than happy for me.  His reaction to my success didn't shock me. 

When my room's phone began ringing, I ignored it for a few seconds, not taking my eyes off the bright white ceiling that had me caught in a gaze.  I slowly turned my head to face the phone and my arm reached out to grab it.

"Hello?" I said in a breathy voice.

"Shakira?"

I sat up realizing it was Michael.  I was a little shocked to hear him say my name.  I couldn't recall the last time I heard it come out of his mouth.