That night, my mind was everywhere but in the present. I recalled our first and second meeting. He had remembered me! My name too! I mean, he must be meeting a thousand people on a daily basis and yet he remembered me. that was nice. I hope. Why was he embarrassed though? Did no one tell him he looked stunning in a towel with drops of water dripping down from his thick afro to his handsome face. And he wanted me to accompany him to the meeting tomorrow, just me, no John. I can’t wait to meet him again tomorrow.
The next day, Michael arrived at my apartment at 8:30 and I was still getting dressed
“hey”, he smiled as I opened the door
“Hi Michael, come in”
“sorry I’m a little early, I was too nervous about the meeting and couldn’t sit still. I thought I could go over what I was going to say once more with you”
“sure, no problem. Make yourself comfortable, I’ll be with you in a minute. I was just doing my hair, no matter how much I do it, there’s always strands of it that remain messy. curly hair problems”
“I understand” he said, tugging a strand of his afro “by the way you look great, I … I mean, your hair, it looks great”
“thanks Michael, would you like anything to drink?”
“No, I’m fine”
“okay”
“your place is beautiful” I heard his voice from the living room
“thanks, I just moved in recently, haven’t really had the time to decorate properly, just put in a few pieces of furniture and art here and there”
“but it doesn’t seem so”
“thanks” I said stepping out of the bedroom with two pairs of shoes in my hands “red or black?” I asked Michael
“red” he said
“Red it is” I went back in, put on the shoes and picked up the files needed for today. I stepped back into the living room where Michael was patiently seated, looking around the room like a child at an art gallery “I’m ready” I said, sitting next to him
“you look powerful” he smiled
“okay …”
“No, no, in a good way, like boss lady”
“okay, um … thanks? Anyways let’s go over the details for today. By the way did you have breakfast?”
“No, I can’t eat anything before a meeting, I get queasy”
“queasy!” I laughed “I haven’t heard anyone use that word in a thousand years”
“well that’s the best word to describe what I’m feeling right now, queasy, I hope the meeting goes well today”
“Michael believe me, it will. You will get the deal you deserve” I affirmed, looking straight at him. Still blank thought, couldn’t decipher a word of what he was thinking
“thanks” he smiled
And that afternoon, he did get the deal he deserved. In the meeting, I was able to get them to realize that Michael was the star and not them, there were many others waiting to get a hold of him and if they did not come up with a good deal, Michael could and would simply walk away to a company willing to offer the price he demanded. They knew all of this already, just needed someone to remind them of it. When I did, they gave in to every condition that Michael had placed and he signed a record-breaking deal.
He was so happy after the meeting, beaming and humming all the way back.
“This is going to be the best album ever Carmen, I can feel it” he squealed as we made our way back to my apartment
“I know Michael” I smiled. He wasn’t wrong. The album was going to be huge
“oh Carmen I’m so happy, I can’t tell you, finally I got what I deserved after all these years of listening to Josep….” He went silent suddenly
“Hey, you okay?”
“Ya I’m fine” he said, with a sudden strange sadness in his voice
“so what are you planning to do today?” I asked
“Nothing much. The work on the album is almost finished, so I’m not working on that today, I just had the meeting on my schedule for today and that’s done, so I guess I’m free” he shrugged happily.
“If you’re free too, maybe we could, hang out?” he said out of the blue
“Sorry, I have to go back to the firm” I replied instinctively, being the workaholic that I was and his face saddened like a child who had waited hours for a ride at Disney land but before his turn, it was closing time.
“No problem, I’ll just go back to my condo then” he replied softly, looking down at his hands
I looked at him and it suddenly struck me. what was I doing? Michael had offered to spend the day with me and I had refused him, for what? To go back to the firm and work on legal cases. I did not travel back a thousand years to work on cases! I did not risk my life and challenge time like no Homo Sapien or Homo SherMichael ever had before just so that I could say no to hanging out with Michael Jackson and go back and work on legal cases. Seriously, what was I doing. I mentally slapped my head, to bring it back to its right senses
“Or …” I spoke “I could call John and tell him that I deserved a day off for signing the best deal he’s ever negotiated and we could hang out”
“really? You think John would be okay with that” he asked hopefully
“John better be okay with that, I’m his best associate and I have never taken a day off since I joined”
It’s true that I joined only a month back, but Michael doesn’t need to know that. I called up John and he was so happy about the deal that he didn’t mind if I took the day off, as long as I closed the case I was working on by Saturday.
“John’s taken care of” I said putting the phone down and turning to Michael, “So, Michael what do you want to do today? You’re very soon going to be a big star and you might not have the luxury of a free day in the near future, so, make the most of today!”
“hehe, you say that as if I am going to be one of the biggest stars on the planet” he chuckled
“correction. Not one of the biggest, the biggest, Michael, the biggest star on the planet”
“oh my, thank you for your confidence in me, it is greatly appreciated, and as for what I would like to do today … mmmm…. I want to watch a movie, eat junk food and I want to go shopping!”
“oh-kay, Sir” I responded, imitating a soldier obeying the command of his superior
“Which movie do you want to watch?” he asked chuckling at my antics
“you choose”
“Jaws” he replied, taking out a DVD from the shelf
“Jaws? Not Peter Pan?” I asked, genuinely shocked …
“Yes, why do you sound so surprised?”
“No, it’s just that you seem like a Peter Pan kinda guy”
“I do like Peter Pan, but that is not the only movie I watch, duh!” he smiled
“okay, okay and what should I order?”
“I chose the movie, it wouldn’t be fair if I chose the restaurant too, what would you like to eat Carmen?” he asked holding up the McDonalds and KFC menus
The decision was easy, I loved McDonalds, their fries were amazing, probably one of the best Homo Sapien dishes. I had been ordering McDonalds almost every other day for the past one month and yet I was far from being bored of it. Chicken nuggets, fries and big mac was the soul of taste divided into three different bodies. Plus, I didn’t really like fried chicken.
“And…what’s it gonna be” Michael asked, looking at me with anticipation, and that was when I was reminded of something else
“KFC” I smiled
“Yes!” he cheered “I loooooove KFC!”
I guess, I knew that.
YOU ARE READING
While He was Awake
FanfictionTravelling back in time to meet and be with him...but it's not what I thought it would be, more importantly he's not what I thought him to be. If I had known him the way he really was, would I still travel back to be with him? Absofuckinloutely...
