VIVA LAS VEGAS - 1 ENGLISH EDITION

VIVA LAS VEGAS - 1/3

3

I went to bed early that night. I was a little nervous. Would I fall into a dream and would I meet Elvis again? It took only a few minutes until I suddenly was standing in a very bright light. It blinded me, I could not see anything. Desperately I held my hand in front of my eyes, but I still couldn't see anything or anybody. Where was I? Excited voices surrounded me and then suddenly I heard thunderous applause.

"Ladies and Gentleman – the Flamingo Girls!", I heard a voice out of the dark.

The lights went out. At last I was able to see again. As I looked down on me, I realized that I wore nothing else than a tight bodysuit that was full of glitter. My feet stuck in silver-colored dancing shoes and I felt a weired weight on my head. What was that all about? I looked around and recognized at least ten other girls, who looked exactly like me, all in their glitter suits. On their heads each of them wore a gigantic white feather. I touched my head. It seemed that I also wore this thing on my head. It felt ridiculously heavy. Then, suddenly there was some kind of swing music and the girl on my right whispered:

"It's show time!"

I had absolutely no glue what would be happening next. Obviously I was standing with some half naked girls on a stage. But the worst thing was, that I was half naked, too. Normally I would never go on stage in such an outfit.

"Okay", I thought, "Everything you have to do right no, is to wake up. Wake up, Idy! Wake up!"

But it didn't help. The music got louder and I guessed that something would happen. Suddenly all the other girls began to swing their legs. Higher and higher.

"Oh my god!", I panicked.

I wasn' t able to...but I was. Without any further effort, I moved my legs to the beat of the music. I suddenly knew exactly what to do. I knew every move and was able to do it precisely. Yes, I even had fun. The other girls and I were a strong unity and it felt damn good. I danced and I suddenly felt free. When we had finished and we heard the applause, it was a tremendous feeling. I felt an inner warmth, a comforting feeling, a deep connection to the audience and to my fellow dancers and an unconditional love to myself and my body. This was a whole new feeling. For the first time in my life I knew where I belonged to. We took our bows and then went backstage. Some short, chubby guy waited for us there.

"You were great, as always, my darlings. There is your reward."

He gave us an envelope. After I had opened it, I found a bunch of dollar bills in it. Okay, that must have been our payment. I started to like this dream. I stood in the dressing room and looked around. There were little make up desks everywhere. In every corner of the room there were stands with numerous costumes hanging on them. There was glitter everywhere. I was overwhelmed. The other girls started to change clothes. First of all I wanted to get rid off this heavy thing on my head. I found a mirror and I startled when I saw my face. Although I recognized my reflection, it was a very optimized version. With disbelief I touched my face. I was damn young and suddenly all slim. I found myself beautiful. The other girls were hustling through the room. They were also very beautiful. We were show girls. Did I slip into the 60s again? But where was I ?

"Hey, sweetie! Did you already hear the news?", suddenly somebody was touching my shoulder. As I looked up, I recognized the person in the mirror. It was one of the other girls. As I looked into her face, I couldn' t believe it. Jenny! She was my best friend. Obviously she somehow found her way into my dream. I was so glad to see her. At least one familiar face.

"What kind of news do you mean?", I asked.

"It's so exciting!", Jenny moved nervously from one foot to another, "You will not believe it. Elvis Presley is shooting a movie, right here at the Flamingo. Can you imagine this? I heard that he will be staying in Vegas for two weeks and the best is yet to come: He will be doing a signing session tonight at the big ballroom. Will you come with me? Please, Idy, come with me!"

Jenny had just given me some precious hints and answers that I needed so desperately. Of course! Las Vegas! I was in Las Vegas! More accurately the Las Vegas of the 60s. Oh dear, that truly was exciting. I paused before I answered.

"Of course, Jenny, I would love to come with you. If you really would like to meet him."

Jenny was smiling: "Come on! Don't pretend you don't adore him, too. I guess you also want to touch him."

"Already done!", I thought to myself and smiled at Jenny.

We wanted to meet later that evening. In the meantime I got rid of my costume and slipped into something more comfortable. After that, I wanted to take a tour through my new home. I couldn't wait to find out where my dream had brought me to. I found out that I was a show girl at the big Flamingo hotel. The hotel was huge and so beautiful. There were crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and golden candle holder were decorating the walls. It felt as I had been there for an eternity. This place felt like home. Everything was so stylish with that vintage touch. I met ladies in beautiful gowns and gentleman in finest smokings.

Suddenly it came back to my mind. What was it with Elvis? Obviously Jenny had no clue that I had met him before. Why hadn't I told her? Did Elvis and I have a secret affair? I shook my head. This kiss had rather been a fugitive encounter between us than anything else. What I had learned from my research, Elvis could had any girl he liked and he often took what he wanted. Therefore I decided to face him as any other guy, like nothing ever had happened between us. Probably he wouldn't recognize me at all. I finally met Jenny in front of the ballroom. There was a scary scenario waiting for us.

- to be continued -