AFLOAT SEASON 1 Ep. 4

 

“The quality, not the longevity, of one’s life is what is important.” 

– Martin Luther King Jr.

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I watched as he walked over with a wide smile on his face. The man had never said a word to me ever since I joined the troupe. That he knew my name came as a huge surprise.

"Is your name Dapper?"

His voice was deep. Very deep. He was obviously one of the lifters and definitely the one all the girls were crushing on. They claimed he had Abs to die for. I think they nicknamed him muscles or something.

"Who's asking?" I queried while balancing my backpack on one shoulder

"What sort of name is Dapper?" He asked on a short laugh.

His question threw me off. I could not believe that this guy stopped me from going home because of a stupid conversation! I was hungry but instantly, I became angry.

"And... you stopped me to ask this? Why? Are you alright."

He grimaced at me and flexed his muscles. I gave him a scathing look and turned to leave but his next words stopped me

"Brad wants to see you! Right NOW!"  He emphasized the Now before trudging off. I stared at his back as my brain tried to understand the information.

Brad? How was that even possible? Why would Brad want to see me? Since when did I become visible to anybody in the troupe? There was a mix up somewhere but muscle man was nowhere in sight to give me an answer.

Letting out a long sigh, I decided to unravel the mystery behind Brad mixing me up with his Irene before heading home. As I passed the locker room, voices I could recognise floated into the long empty hallway, bouncing off its grubby walls and mingling with the cold air seeping in through the ajar exit door.

Suddenly, my phone vibrated in my pants pocket so I pulled it out and peered down at the bright screen. It was a message from my mother, a reminder to start coming home. I smiled and hurriedly sent a reply; on my way Mom!

It wasn’t that late yet, but my mom would always fret. She had not openly expressed her displeasure for the rehearsals which were now running into the nights but I knew my Mom. She was worried over my safety especially since I had to walk home alone most nights.

Dragging my unwilling body along, I headed for the rehearsal room where I guessed Brad would be.

The door was closed when I got there. Without bothering to knock, I pushed it open and my breath caught in my throat.

At that moment, everything made sense.

NEXT

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