The Hidden Genre (C. H. H. Ain't Dead 01)

chapter eight - part one

THE PERFORMANCE left fans thirsty for more. They longed for the celebrity's return long after he had left the stage. The next destination was the one and only, North City, and some fans had already snatched themselves some tickets. They couldn't understand the reason behind it being a whole weekend later, but it didn't matter, the fans knew it would be worth the wait. Any Luke Chase concert was worth the wait.

Margarette had watched the celebrity closely as he left the stage with tight security. Her encounter with him was not expected from their side, but weren't they over doing it now? Was Luke that adamant of not running into another Christian rapper, or did her little stunt cause more damage than she thought?

She hoped everything was physically okay with her old friend, because spiritually it wasn't. "This industry just ain't for a rapper like you," his words still echoed in Margarette's mind.

"How far you have drifted, Lukey," she whispered to herself.

"Hey, Kane," Gabi moved slightly in the passenger seat. "Did you say something?"

"No, it's nothing," came the reply, "I was just thinking out loud."

"Oh," the brunette had a mischievous grin, "I thought I heard you say you scored for a moment."

"No," Margarette couldn't resist a smile at her best friend's emphasis, "the exact opposite actually."

"So you did say something after all?" Gabi asked, curious.

"Yes, I did, but I'll tell you tomorrow. You, who screamed her lungs out whole night, needs to sleep."

Margarette didn't know whether she would follow through with it. It wasn't as if the secret was toxic, or something that could hurt her best friend. It was more of the fact that it wasn't special anymore. Luke hadn't even recognized her earlier. She knew the trauma he had was bad, but this was something else. Plus, what Gabi didn't know couldn't overexcite her.

"You've been driving for a while now, Kane," Gabi closed her eyes. Fatigue had hit her in the face the moment they dropped off the final fan girl, "I may be resting my eyes, but don't hesitate to let me know when you need me to take over. Okay?"

"Okay . . ."

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"Long time no see," Isaac got strangely comfortable on the couch, "and just as long time no speak . . ."

Did he come all this way to be cheeky? Nah, he's not the type. He was here for one reason and one reason only. Luke would have to be patient to find out if he was right.

"Yeah, I've been busy, you know," the celebrity went to pour himself a drink and almost hesitated in asking the question, "would you like something?"

"No, I'm good for now," declined Isaac.

"You seem pretty comfortable," he sat and gulped it down with one go. "So . . ." this was going to be a long night. "Did you enjoy the performance?"

Isaac was beyond late for the concert. It was pure luck that he made it in time to catch the final track. "Do you really want me to answer whether I enjoyed your secular performance or not?"

"Look, man, you came here -" but he got cut off.

"I'm proud of you, Luke," Isaac sat up, "well, proud in a way."

How was the celebrity expected to respond to that? Isaac wasn't his father . . . but he was his best friend. Former best friend. Saying those words didn't automatically make the last three years disappear.

"You went from the orphanage to travelling the world in the space of only three years," Isaac added.

Luke loved being admired by people for his achievements. But it coming from Isaac just felt . . . weird; like he was bound to say something stupid anytime soon.

"Well, not the whole world, but you get what I mean," Isaac sat back again, "the way you put on a show for your fans, it's really entertaining. I can see now why the agent would have done anything to sign you."

"What's that suppose to mean?" asked a slightly insulted Luke.

"Like . . . I don't think I could have impacted the industry the way you have," he finally said. "I'm proud to see you living your dream, I may not be proud about the content you releasing -"

"Yeah, I was waiting for that," Luke got up to pour another. He was right, "I thought I could handle it, but hearing you say it to my face just makes me wonder if you still jealous, Isaac."

"I'm not jealous, bro," he stood up to stand by his words, "I just believe you can use your gift differently -"

"Let me guess, to spread the Word, right?" Luke swallowed the drink and it burned like the way he asked the question. "Just so you know, I'm planning on signing a new seven year contract with the label."

"Seven years? Seven years, Luke!" Isaac had to compose himself for he was slowly forgetting the reason he came. "Bro. Congrats on the achievement, but I didn't come to argue -"

"You don't mean that," Luke filled his cup again, "if you really were proud, or truly wanted to congratulate me -" he looked Isaac dead in the eyes, "you would agree to feature in a future album."

"Now you see," Isaac walked away to sit, "that's the part where I didn't come to argue."

"Just think about it for a second," in the blink of an eye Luke was opposite his rival. "What if my fans really like your flow? Decep Records will then have no choice but to let us make an album together. The two finalists coming together to put aside their rivalry for the sake of music. That's a headline right there. Through that, we would end up touring the world together. Both living our dreams . . ."

Isaac couldn't hold his grin back. Luke had always been so optimistic with everything he did. Maybe it was because he was so talented and gotten use to winning . . . or tired of losing. Either way, he could have gone pro in basketball. All he needed was literally one punch to prove a point in boxing. And rapping. It was the least of the three gifts, but look how that turned out.

"Thank you, bro, but that's not my dream," said Isaac, "I'll pass."

"I can't believe this . . ." the celebrity couldn't understand why he was so annoyed by the answers. Whether it was because Luke wasn't use to being rejected these days, or because it was Isaac who was doing the rejecting? He didn't know.

"Maybe you just don't know that some people are willing to kill for a feature, never mind a whole album." Luke ran back to the drink he poured, but left it hanging in his hand, "Earlier on, some masked man tried to poison me to prevent me from performing for a few weeks. Before that, a girl practically begged me to listen to her mix-tape -"

"And did you offer her a feature -"

"No!" Luke finally chucked the liquid down, "Like you, all she wants to do is rap, Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Till her eyes close!"

How amusing. There was no way Luke could have known about that song, never mind it being Isaac's ringtone.

"I don't see how me being annoyed is amusing to you," he poured another cup, "forgive me for believing in your talent to become a well known rapper. You can live your dream just like me, Isaac. Travel the world making music just like me. All you got to do is change your flow, it's that simple."

"Bro, I can name many C. H. H. artists that have the talent to do so, but I don't think it's that simple, Luke. I would be giving up my faith to promote what we call evil, just for the sake of money and fame," explained Isaac.

"You can just repent after you have everything -"

"Bro! I didn't come to argue with you," Isaac had to compose himself again, his blood boiled fiercely trying to make him forget the purpose behind the visit, "I came to apologize . . ."

This stopped Luke from having a fourth. What did Isaac have to apologize for?

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