THE DRAGON DESCENDANT

Discomfitedly star struck

Chapter 8 – Discomfitedly star struck

The university’s opening party was grand and magnificent – more of an unofficial concert in the campus grounds. In attendance were a great number of students, largely credited to the presence of the country’s celebrities and one popular pop singer, Sandy. The students were actually too many to count, probably the whole campus. Michael was a staunch fan of Sandy’s songs, yet this was the first time he was seeing her, ever. Though he was not technically allowed to show his excitement like the rest of his peers, he was nonetheless happy that he could see her up-close. One of the perquisites of following Charlotte round. Until an hour past midnight, the carousers and the roisterers screamed their lungs out to popular hit songs. Energy and adrenaline, interspersed with sweat and perfume, was almost tangible in the air. In a way, it made the chilly night air humid and broiling. To Michael, he presumed that he would be extremely lucky if half of his senses worked the following morning.

When Sandy finished her performance, Charlotte in the company of other icons retreated to an indoor party. As protocol dictated, Michael was obligated to follow and have her in his sights at all times. In all honesty, after standing next to one of the large bass speakers half of the night, Michael was grateful when they left. The location was at a popular high-end club in the city and luckily, for Michael, the music was not blasting. To prevent star-struck fans from spoiling the celebrities’ fun, the club was closed off for the night.

Standing a few meters from Sandy, Michael had the voracious urge to introduce himself and tell her just how much of a fan he was. However, amongst other unavoidable circumstances, he could not just leave his post. That would have been both unprofessional and embarrassing. He could almost feel Charlotte’s eyes boring holes in his face; her stare was so piercing it made him slightly nervy. Nonetheless, he avoided staring her direction, looking anywhere but at Charlotte.

Not long afterwards, Jamie Leed made entrance with three of his friends. He headed straight towards a widely smiling Charlotte, then swallowed her tongue for close to a minute. Their intimate moment was broken off by a string of complaints from Danner Frey and a few other from Sandy. After greeting everyone, Jamie Leed glowered at Michael before taking a seat in between Danner and Charlotte. The scowl lasted only a split second but it was enough to express his budding hatred for Michael.

“ Who is ready to have some real fun?” Jamie Leed asked out loudly while pulling out a bag of white powder from his pocket.

“ No, you didn’t” Sandy smiled excitedly, an expression shared by a majority of all those present Charlotte included.

“ Yeah, I did” Jamie laughed as he perfectly lined three strings of the powder using his car keys. Placing his nose squarely at the edge of the table, he snuffed in a whole line. He shut his eyes for a few seconds, as if relishing the feeling course through his body. He chuckled to himself and when he opened his eyes, they were blood-shot red.

“ This is the real deal, an artisanal…my dealer delivered the very best from the labs” he said amidst short pauses, a crazy smile plastered on his face.

“ I’ll go next” one of Jamie’s friends stood up excitedly

“ No” Jamie shot abruptly, albeit loudly “ no…you won’t go next. Ladies first” he chuckled as he took Sandy’s arm

“ I can’t do it by myself” the latter complained

“ I’ll do it with you” Charlotte said

“ Draw me a line too” Danner smiled

“ That’s the spirit” Jamie laughed as he professionally performed his vocation.

Michael was split between preventing Charlotte from doing the illegal stuff or just stand his ground. In the end, he decided to let her be. He figured she was old enough to make her own decisions and it would probably be in his best interest if he didn’t get in the way of Charlotte’s fun.

Scruffily, they snuff in unison amidst cheers from the guys. When it kicked in, Charlotte fell back on Jamie’s lap in a temporary daze. Her eyes were wide and clear, her nostrils flared. Her arms were tightly holding on to Danner Frey’s. For a moment, Michael was almost getting Charlotte out of the club when she came about laughing. He heaved a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, Sandy seemed unaffected and composed, a calm smile playing on her lips. Her unruffled reaction was almost similar to Danner’s, meaning it was Charlotte’s first time doing it.

“ Bring the damn drinks.” Jamie shouted at no one in particular whilst handing over the rest of the white powder to his friends.

The very next minute, an array of expensive drinks were laid on the table. Michael frowned, not particularly at the drinks but at the waiteress’ that brought them. Dressed in skimpy black dresses, they were practicably unrecognizable. Predictably, they likewise spotted Michael standing by the door.

After serving the drinks, both of them approached Michael with wide smiles.

“ What the f**k are you doing here?” Mel asked with a beaming smile, her eyes suggested surprise

“ I could ask you the same question” Michael smiled back

“ We are waiters” Macey rolled her eyes “ and this is an exclusive event. Are you some sort of a hot shot?”

“ He is one of the guards Macey” Mel said

“No way”

“ Surprise” Michael smiled

“ How?….you are…” Macey stuttered, “ How the hell did you become a guard? You are just about our age…”

“ I trained, like normal guards do” Michael lightly chuckled “ and you ladies look….”

“ Excuse me!” a voice broke their chatter. “ Are we uhm, bothering y’all’s summit?” a sarcastic undertone was perceptible in the words

“ We better get back to work” Mel whispered and took Macey’s arm

“ Hey, wait” Charlotte added, stopping Macey and Mel on their tracks “ Did he call you just now? Try to harass you?”

Michael’s eyes widened in utter shock

“ No, we just recognized him from school” Mel answered

“ mmh” Charlotte’s eyes wandered back to Michael with a wicked stare

“ What’s your name?” Jamie asked

“ Mel”

“What about your friend?”

“ She’s Macey”

“ Well Mel and Macey, my buddies here are single and lonely” Jamie smirked “ why don’t you join us? They’ll make it worth your while, I promise”

“ I’m sorry but we are working” Mel replied

“ Working?” Jamie Leed chuckled. Gradually, it graduated to a light laughter then a hysteric one in the short course of a minute.

“ Who’s the manager to this club?” he turned to one of the guys sitting opposite him “ Isn’t he your uncle or something?”

“ Yeah” the man replied

“ Will there be any problem if they stop working to have fun with us?” Jamie asked

“ I don’t think so”

“ There you have it” he turned to Mel and Macey “ you can stop working and join us.”

Smiling uncomfortably, Mel replied, “ N-no we can’t”

“ You can’t?” Jamie scoffed, his face getting stern

“ Just let them be” Charlotte said as she rubbed Jamie’s shoulders

“ No, I’ll handle it.” Jamie chuckled then stood up. He briskly walked towards Mel and Macey, the whole floor getting deathly silent in an instant.

“ You know who we are, right?”

“ We do” Mel replied

“ Then you know getting you fired will be as easy as snapping my fingers. At least that way you’ll be really free to join us. I can have my friend call his uncle if you want….”

“ T-that won’t be necessary” Mel stuttered, her eyes finding Michael’s intent gaze. Unfortunately, the hawk-eyed Jamie caught the short glance exchange. Frowning, he looked back and forth between Mel and Michael.

“ Is there a problem….guard?” he asked sternly