A Small Town Popstar

Chapter 3

Rhianna's POV
It was now Thursday. It was a regular school day. I haven't heard anything from Hailey in 2 days. Which is a good thing but I couldn't help but worry about her. Even tho she was so mean to me. The teacher was teaching and asked me to take something down to ISS for her. I told her I would so I walked down to ISS. I walked in the ISS room and saw Hailey crying. I knew something was wrong. I could feel it. Hailey never cries. I know she's mean to me but I have to help her. I would want someone to help me if I were in her shoes. I walked over to her.
"What's wrong Hailey? I asked her.
"Go away you weirdo. It's your fault I'm in here." She said.
"Hailey I know there's something wrong. I just wanna help you. I saw you crying and I felt bad."  I said.
"But why would you wanna help me after I've been so cruel and mean to you? Why would you even care?" She asked.
"Because I care about everyone Hailey. I know you've been mean to me and I forgive you. I don't hold grudges with people. I let go and move on. What they say may still hurt me and I still may think about it but I forgive them and move on in life. Just because you're mean to me doesn't mean I don't wanna help you. You know that. I'd want someone to help me if I were in your situation. You feel me?" I said.
"Thanks for caring. It's just that my brother died Tuesday after we got out of school. Me and him were very close. I miss him very much." Hailey told me.
"I'm so very sorry for your loss Hailey. I don't have blood related siblings but I have Kira and Erik who are like siblings to me and if I lost one of them I wouldn't know what to do. I can't imagine what you're going through Hailey. But if you ever need someone to talk to I'll always be here for you. You remember that ok?" I said.
"Yes Rhianna. Thanks so much for being here for me. You're not such a weirdo after all. I'm sorry for bullying you  all these years." Hailey said.
"It's ok don't worry about it Hailey. It's in the past now. I'll be your friend now if you want me to." I told her.
"Yes I'd like that very much. By the way, you sounded really good the other day during auditions Rhi. Can I call you that?" She said.
"Thanks Hailey and yes you can. That's what all my friends call me." I said.
"You know Mr. Principal isn't gonna let me perform in the talent show now because I was so mean to you. He said you were a kind soul and that I could learn a lot from you. I never truly knew what he meant by that until now. I don't hate you anymore Rhi. Actually you're my only friend. I've never had any true friends before Rhi." She told me.
"I can try to talk him in to letting you perform. It'll help get your mind off of things. And that's so sad. I never had any true friends either until I met Kira and Erik. I'm glad you have a friend now and I hope I can be a good one to you. Here let me give you my phone number so we can text." I said.
"Thanks I'll put it in my phone. You're friends seem nice. I mean the way they took up for you the other day when I was being mean to you. I wish I had someone that would do that for me." She said.
"Yeah they're the best friends in the whole entire world. And maybe you will have a friend like that one day Hailey. I gotta get back to class now the teacher is probably wondering where I am. If you need anything text me ok Hailey?" I said.
"Ok Rhi thanks again for your help." She said.
We hugged and then I walked back to class. It felt good to help Hailey. When I got there the teacher asked me where I had been. I told her about what happened and she told me that it was good to help her.
The bell rang and it was time for lunch. When I got to the lunch room Erik and Kira was waiting for me.
"What up Rhi!" Erik said.
"Gas prices" I said joking.
He laughed.
"Are you ready for the talent show tomorrow Rhi?" Kira asked.
"I don't know I'm still a lil nervous." I said.
"You can do it Rhi I believe in you!" Erik said.
"Yeah you can do it!" Kira said.
"Do you wanna go to the arcade with me tonight? I'm filming a video for my YouTube channel and thought you could come along and forget about tomorrow for awhile and to just have fun." Erik asked.
"I would love to!" I said.
"I have to tell y'all something tho. Haileys brother passed away Tuesday night and she was crying. Teacher asked me to send some papers down to ISS for her. That's when I saw her crying. I asked her what was wrong and she told me. I talked to her for a little while and she's not as bad as she seems. She said she didn't hate me anymore and that she never had any real friends before. I think maybe me and her are friends now." I told them.
"Why did you help that jackass?" Erik asked.
"Because I felt like it was the right thing to do Erik. I'd want someone to help me to if I had lost someone that was close to me." I said.
"Maybe she's changed Erik. Sometimes things in life change people. I do hope she gets through this." Kira said.
"Me too." I said.
"Just be careful Rhi." Erik said.
"I will." I said.
The bell rung for us to go back to class.
I asked the teacher could I go ask the principal something. She said yes so I went to the office to ask him about letting Hailey perform in the talent show.
"Mr principal sir, can Hailey perform in the talent show? She's been through a lot this week. I think she deserves a second chance." I said.
"Well I wouldn't normally say yes but since you're asking I'll let her have a chance." He said.
"Thanks. You won't regret it." I said.
I went back to class.
*later that afternoon*
I was getting ready to go to Erik's for the night. He would be here any minute to pick me up. I made sure to pack my cd so I could practice when we got in for the night. I heard a knock at the door. It was Erik. He asked me was I ready to have some fun. I said yes. We went to a place called Rocky's. It's basically like a Dave and busters just the games aren't as rigged.
"Ok what do you wanna play first?" He asked.
"How about the claw machine." I said.
He got his camera out to film.
"What's up YouTube. I'm Erik also known as the arcade warrior and today I have a special guest my best friend Rhianna." He said into the camera.
"Wave to the camera Rhi."
I waved to the camera and said "Hi people on YouTube"
"The first game we are gonna play is the claw machine." He said Into the camera.
"Omg no way! There is a figment in there!" I said excitedly.
"Rhianna is gonna go for the figment. Good luck." He said Still talking to the camera.
I swiped my game card and moved the claw over to the prize. I dropped the claw and it picked up 2 Figments. Please stay. I thought. It stayed.
"Holy shit! Two in one. I'm giving her the channel." He said to the camera.
I laughed.
I gave him one of my figments that I won.
Next I challenged him to a game of skeeball.
He beat me.
Then I challenged him to an air hockey game.
"I'm gonna whip your ass in this game." I said trying to trash talk.
He laughed and said "We will see."
I barely beat him 5-4.
"Beginners luck." He said.
I laughed.
We played some more games. After playing games we sat down to eat.
"What would you like to drink?" The waitress asked us.
"Mountain Dew" Erik said.
"Diet Dr Pepper." I said.
The waitress left to get our drinks.
"Did you have fun tonight Rhi?" He asked.
"Yes I did. I hope your fans like me." I said.
"You know they will Rhi. They may want me to make more videos with you. Erik said.
"Maybe they will Because tonight was fun." I said.
The waitress brought out our drinks and took our order.
"I'll take chicken nuggets with tater tots please and a bowl of pickles." I said.
"Bowl of pickles?" The waitress asked while laughing.
"Yes I said.
The waitress then took Erik's order and walked off.
"Why does everyone make fun of me for loving pickles?" It's like every restaurant I  go to does this." I said.
"Just ignore them Rhi." Erik said.
We sat and talked for awhile. They brought our food out.
"I didn't forget your bowl of pickles." The waitress said laughing as she gave them to me.
The waitress walked away.
"It's happening again Erik. I'm ready to go home." I said.
Without hesitation he called the waitress over to the table. He picked up his cup of Mountain Dew and threw it on her.
"That's what you get for messing with my friend. You could've left her alone but you wanted to make fun of her. Can't a girl love pickles around here? Sheesh. I wasted a perfectly good cup of Mountain Dew on you!" Erik yelled at the waitress.
"Erik you didn't have to do that. You made a scene. Everyone is staring at us." I said.
"But she hurt your feelings. I just wanted her to know to never mess with you again when you're in here with me." Erik said.
"Thanks for taking up for me bro. I'm sorry I snapped at you. I'm just about to have an anxiety attack." I said.
"You ok Rhi? If you don't feel like eating I'll ask for a Togo box and to put your food in." Erik said.
"I'm fine" I said lying.
The best night turned into the worst night.
Erik's POV
I felt bad for Rhianna. Her night got ruined by some loser. I looked over and saw her crying and holding on to her Figment. She didn't say anything on the ride back to my house. I hated to see her like this. I wish I could do something to cheer her up. When we got there I helped her take her bag into the guest room.
"Rhi are you ok?" I asked.
"Yes I'm fine Erik really I am." Rhianna said.
I knew she was not ok. She just tells me she is so I won't worry about her.
"You ready to practice Rhi?" I asked her.
"I don't really feel like it but I will for you bro." Rhi said.
I put in her cd and the music started playing. She tried to sing but she started crying again. I could tell this wasn't going well.
"Maybe you should go get some sleep." I said.
"Yeah. Good night bro I love ya." She said.
"Love you too."  I said.
I went to go get a shower. When I was done I put my sleeping clothes on and tried to go to sleep. I couldn't sleep so I got up to edit my videos. That's what I normally do when I can't sleep. Then I heard Rhianna crying. I went to the door to listen.
"Why am I never good enough for anyone? Why do I even exist? Why am I so ugly? I cant do this talent show tomorrow. Why did I ever think I could in the first place?" I heard her say crying. She was having an anxiety attack. She was crying herself to sleep.
I heard her punch the mirror. I had to go in  there and help her. I hated to see her like this. I opened the door.
"Erik what are you doing awake? I wasn't keeping you up was I?" She asked.
"Rhi I know you're not ok. Please don't lie to me and say you are. I know something is wrong. Tell me what's going on." I said.
"Well I didn't want you to worry about me. That's why I said I'm fine. But I'm so nervous about this talent show tomorrow. I can't do it Erik I just can't. The lady making fun of me about the pickles didn't help things either." She said.
"Well you need to ignore that lady. She clearly didn't know you had bad anxiety. She's a jackass. And about the talent show I have some advice for you. You remember the first song you ever wrote?" I said.
"Are you talking about 'Another Day'? She asked.
"Yes! Remember in it you wrote: "Another day another way to follow your imagination time another time to let your spirit chase your dreams a chance you have one chance to let your spirit chase your dreams a chance you have one chance to catch the life that you been chasing go or you can stay but say your gonna dream another day." I reminded her.
"Yeah I wrote that to encourage other people not to give up on their dreams. And plus it's the first song I've ever written so it's not that good." She said.
"Well I like it sis! Take your own song and listen to it while I sing it for you." I said. I sang it for her.
"So you're saying not to give up on my dream of being a singer. To kick anxiety's ass and keep trying to live my dreams" She asked.
"Exactly! It's up to you if you wanna do it or not. I won't be mad at you and I'm sure Kira won't be either. But I personally want you to do it and overcome this anxiety. Shawn would want you to do it to." I told her.
"Thanks for your advice bro. It really helped me. I've grown to like that song even more now thanks to you. I love you bro." She said.
"I love you too sis." I said.
I left her room and went back to bed. I could sleep well now knowing Rhianna was alright.
Rhianna's POV
I felt better after hearing Erik's advice. I was grateful for his friendship. Maybe I should finish writing that song I thought. All my anxiety had suddenly went away and I finally went to sleep.