Chapter 8 THE START OF THE TASK

Today marks exactly two months and one week since I came to this place. And today is the beginning of another chapter in my life. I have no idea what awaits me ahead of this journey that I am just starting, but I am starting anyway, and I am not looking back. I have replaced all the bitterness I had for this place, and Ejay in particular, with the hope and determination to reinvent myself, but that does not mean I am accepting to spend my life here with these murderers. One thing I have vowed to myself is that no one will distract me from this course. I am fighting for my freedom.

I am chasing my happiness, and I am willing to pay the price. Whatever the price, isn't it said that it's not because things are difficult that we don't dare; rather, it's because we don't dare that things are difficult? Well, I have no one as far as I know, and if I don't dare to help myself, then no one will come to my rescue. I am not going to wait to helplessly die here, like a useless dog. I have refused that. As much as it sounds stupid, I want to think that there is a reason as to why I ended up here. My heart goes out to these innocent girls whose lives have been snatched away by these greedy, rotten dogs. Heartless monsters. But maybe, just maybe, if I get out there, someday, somehow, I will be able to help myself get away from this place. And if that happens, there is no way I will leave these girls behind. For theirs and mine's sake, I will let no one know about my plans.

I finish preparing myself and stand in front of the mirror. "This is it, Gia Wilsons! It's time for the club to have a taste of me." I murmur to myself.

Today the stage is all mine for two hours, with a break of about twenty minutes. I negotiated with Ejay to give the girls a break from performing today. I know that nobody will touch me because I am supposedly Ejay's special girl, and they know the consequences of messing with the boss. But if it's them on stage, everybody will want them to twerk on them. I wanted to save them that embarrassment, even if it was just for today, because I do not know how long I will be able to toy with this monster, Ejay.

I spent the whole of last week with the DJ and the mic training, which is why I did not start immediately like Ejay wanted. I thought I needed time to teach myself some new songs since my album has only six songs. That was easier than I thought, though. In just a week, I have taught myself about ten songs. I give myself a once-over look and head out of my room, with my red floral dress sweeping the floor and the red matching heels clicking on the floor. I told Ejay to make my dress code different from the other girls. I didn't want anything revealing, and he didn't object because the idiot is suffocating me with his possessiveness. I get to the entrance, and one of the guards guides me on how to get to the DJ without going through the stage, and I follow his direction. "Hey, Gia! Are you ready?" The DJ greets me when I get to where he is.

I still don't know his name, but I don't care to ask. Everyone here calls him DJ. I must as well go with the flow here if I don't want to arouse suspicions. "Nervous, but yeah! Let's do this. Start the song at the count of three seconds after I disappear behind that curtain, okay?" I say with a smile to hide my nervousness as I reach for the microphone.

"Sure. Let me inform the boss first." He says this and presses a button on the table, which I am seeing for the first time.

It blinks red once and then green. He then relaxes in his chair. "He is coming."

"How do you know that?" I ask.

"The green signal shows that he has seen the alarm."

"I see. Are you the only one allowed to use it?" I ask again.

"And the other Jays. For security reasons." The DJ replies with a smile that suggests that I shouldn't ask more. I understand and respect his gesture.

"Are you ready?" Ejay's cold voice speaks, making me stand straight, nodding my head. He takes the mic and holds me by the waist until we get to the curtain that separates the stage from the backstage. "Come out when I call your name."

"Okay." I mumble.

"Don't disappoint me." As if I want to die. Sigh! I nodded my head to that, and the jerk had the nerve and the audacity to peck me on the lips. How disgusting! Eeww! I wipe my lips with my palm the moment he walks to the stage to address the crowd. I can only imagine how full the place is by now.

"Good evening, gentlemen!" He begins. The ladies are never acknowledged here. "I have nothing much to say tonight but to welcome you all to this beautiful club of enjoyment and pleasure. Feel welcome. Today I have a surprise for you. I know you are wondering why the girls are not on stage today to entertain you. Well, the stage today was reserved for someone so special. Before I invite her, I want to make one thing clear. She is off the bid! Today, and every other time you see her on stage, you will just sit back and be entertained." I can hear some murmurings of disappointment from the crowd. "And now, I present to you the one and only, the beautifully talented Gia Wilson!"

I look at the DJ, and he gives me a thumbs up. Then I flip the curtain and catwalk to the stage with so much confidence. I take the mic from Ejay with a smile and playfully bow to the crowd. Not that these dogs deserve a bow. If there is anything they deserve, it is a life behind bars or a bullet in their heads at the very least. The heavy beats of the song, Falling for You, start, and I start moving to its rhythm, and people begin to cheer.

As I start singing, I feel all the worries and fears I had begin to leave me. I can feel my feet stepping on them on the floor as I slowly start getting lost in the song, filled with so much courage and power that I didn't know I possessed.

In the crowd, I can hear cheers and clapping, encouraging me more, begging me to continue, and adding more energy to my already consumed soul by the fire of music. By the time I am singing the second stanza, I am no longer in the Wells club, nor in this world of problems. I have entered another world. In the world of music, where there is no other sound but the sound of music. Where you hear nothing but the sound of music. You feel nothing but the calming beats of music. There is nothing in this particular world but you and music. No worries. No problems. No burdens. Nothing but music What a perfect world! Oh, what a perfect world of music!