Rise

- Chapter 1: Girl from Springfield -

Rise

 – Chapter 1 –

Evira

Girl from Springfield

            Evira frowned. “Starbucks is prohibited?” she asked in pure astonishment. “Since when?”

            The sharp-eyed woman glanced sternly at her, readjusting the turtle-shell glasses on the perfectly straight bridge of her nose. “Since you debuted. Unofficial debut, I should say.” She looked Evira up and down. “You may have the voice of an angel, sweetheart, but you have the looks of a heathen.” The woman paused and added, “That means ‘a homely or an uncivilized person,’ by the way.”

            She bristled at the hint that she was stupid. And then she relaxed. Let her think what she wants, Evira thought with a snug smile. It was what the world would think. That she was a girl with some talent that had made a lucky break. “What does that have to do with my coffee?”

            “It’s unhealthy. From now on, you’ll only drink low calorie drinks with no caffeine. You’re a newbie in this world. You can’t still act like a normal kid.”

            “Yes, and because I’m a newbie, I won’t get noticed.”

            “Honey, your video on Youtube went viral three hours after it was posted. Do you think it’ll be easy to walk into a coffee shop without getting spotted? Regardless of what you think, a cap and sunglasses hardly are enough cover for you. But we can talk more about this later. We’ve kept the band waiting long enough.” She rapped on the studio door. “Are you ready?”

            When they received confirmation that they were ready, Evira and her manager stepped through the door. They met five people. Of them, two were female, but the rest were of the opposite sex. Evira cringed. She hated dealing with boys. The oldest boy stepped forward and shook her manager’s hand. “I am Alec,” he said, keeping a steady, unwavering tone. “Alec Crowley, and I’m the manager of Instinct.”

            “It’s nice to meet you, then Alec. I’m Ellen Asher, and I’m Evira’s manager.” She put an arm around Evira’s slim shoulders. “Undoubtedly, you’ve heard of Evira?”

            “Ah, yes,” Alec said. “We’ve reviewed her last song just yesterday. Cataclysmal Rain. Touching.” Alec sounded bored and did not meet Evira’s eyes once. Evira smiled. It was the first time since Springfield that she was being treated indifferently. Needless to say, she liked it.

            “I’ve seen some of your works, too,” offered Evira. “You’ve done quite some work. For a band just starting out.”

          “You’ve done quite some work,” replied Alec, a hint of a smile crossing his face. “For a singer just starting out.”

            Evira toyed with the sheets of music in her hands for a moment before her manager touched stilled her. “Have you been told which piece you’ll be working with?”

            Alec shook his head. “I figured it was a surprise,” he said dryly. “Stupid logic, but whatever goes.” He scratched his head. “Erm… so what are we playing? We should get practicing, right?”

            Evira dug in her messenger’s bag before drawing out a neat notebook. “I’ve written lyrics,” she explained. “I haven’t gotten them to Evan yet. He’s out of town, you see.”

            “Evan?”

            “My… friend. He helps me with the… musical portion of the writing process. He has a real gift with it.”