The rap contest

"First of all, how did you know the location of my apartment?". Mark queried Darcy with that perplexed expression still plastered to his face, the anger in his voice was already fading away.

"I tracked you down to this place". Darcy retorted.

"You did what! how?".

"You wouldn't want to know, trust me".

Mark sighed once again, took a sit on one of his sofas, and inquired of Darcy,

"Ok then, what brought you to my apartment at this early time of the hour?".

"I don't like the fact that you referred to me as a wack rapper yesterday". Darcy expressed, what she said now was the absolute truth.

Mark felt like laughing the moment she made that statement, but he just held it in, he was glad that his words hurt her.....yeah, he was really happy about it. She had the vigor to humiliate someone else, but she didn't have the vigor to receive it, damn! that's some bullshit men.

"You don't like the fact that I referred to you as a wack rapper. But you were trying to humiliate me in front of everyone at the headquarter.....you think I enjoyed it right? You haven't listened to my songs before and you haven't seen any of my music videos, but was that the right time to say it? After I introduced myself to you and we shook hands together, you spilled out those stuff from your mouth. That doesn't make any sense". Mark let out.

"But I was just saying the truth". Darcy defended.

"Damn! you're still trying to claim right, are you this troublesome? When I first saw you at the headquarter, I speculated that you would be some sort of cool and gentle girl, but I was wholly wrong. So you're still defending yourself, you trying to humiliate me in front of everyone at the headquarter is right to your mindset.....shit!".

Darcy didn't say anything this time as she just kept mute. Mark kept silent for some seconds before uttering once again,

"I called you a wack rapper 'cause I wanted to mortify you also in front of everyone. But who knows, maybe you're truly a wack rapper, maybe you ain't even that good at rapping".

"Why didn't you wait at the headquarter yesterday so I could display my rapping skills to you?".

"As I told you yesterday, I wasn't in the mood to listen and I wasn't interested. I was too pissed off to listen".

Darcy stood up from the couch she was sitting on and declared,

"If you want to know how good I'm at rapping, if you want me to prove to you that am ain't a wack rapper. Come to the rap contest that's gonna take place at the Belmont avenue at the time of 7:30 pm". Those were Darcy's last words before she stormed out of Mark's apartment.

Mark still had some stuff to ask her regarding the rap contest, but she didn't even wait for him to speak before she departed from his apartment. But one thing was for sure, Mark was surely gonna be present at the rap contest, if not for anything, just to see if Darcy was truly good at rapping.

Mark engaged in other stuff for the day, he went out to handle some stuff that wasn't related to music. And at the time of 6:03 pm, he was already back at his apartment to prepare for the rap contest. But there was a little problem, he knew Belmont avenue, but he didn't know the main building where the contest was going to take place, there were lots of tall and spacious buildings around that place. That was one of the questions he wanted to ask Darcy before she stormed out of his apartment. But he was still gonna go there anyway....asking questions would be of great help when he gets there.

He had showered this morning, but he re-showered before dressing up for the contest. He wasn't that hungry, but for him not to get hungry when he gets there, he quickly made a cup of coffee and ate it with five slices of bread. The rap contest might take long before it climaxes, so he should eat something before going there. After combing and posturing his hair to the right position, he checked himself in the mirror once more before leaving his apartment.

On getting out of his apartment, he did his usual, he boarded a cab that will drive him straight to Belmont avenue. Arriving at Belmont avenue, the cabman said to him,

"There are many buildings here, which particular building should I drop you in front of?".

"I don't really know, but don't worry, just drop me here, I'm gonna find my way from this place". Mark replied.

"Ok then, if you say so". The cabman uttered putting the car to a halt as Mark got out of the car, paid the cabman, and walked away.

Mark strolled for some minutes around Belmont avenue but couldn't find the main building where the rap contest was to take place, and time was passing by rapidly. After walking for a minute more, he decided to ask direction from a man coming in front of him...who knows, the man could know the main edifice where the contest was to take place.

"Please sir, I am sorry to bother you, but I really need your direction on something". Mark said to the man after they had gotten close to each other.

"Go on, I'm all ears". The man permitted, he seemed like a nice person.

"There is a rap contest that is gonna take place at this avenue at the time 7:30 pm, but I don't know the main building where the contest is to take place. Do you know the building? please direct me to the place if you know it".

"Oh! yeah, I saw people trooping into a broad building at the other side of this avenue not too far from here. I think that's the edifice where the rap contest is to take place, you just have to walk some minutes more to get there".

"Thank you sir, I appreciate". Mark uttered with a face full of gratitude.

"No probs, it's nothing". The man said before departing from Mark's sight.

Mark began walking once again, but this time, more rapidly. And as the man said, within some minutes of strolling, he arrived at the building the man spoke of. People were trooping into the building, and from the look of things, it was clear that this was the structure where the contest was gonna take place. The building was vast and wide, and it was sure to contain a large number of people.

As Mark was about to enter the building, he was stopped by a hefty black man. And Mark was like, "Why are you stopping me from entering?".

"Your ticket". The man said.

"What do you mean by my ticket, I thought it was free entry". Mark stated a bit confused.

"No, it isn't, can't you see that everyone entering is showing me their tickets before they enter. They had all gotten their tickets ahead of time".

"Oh! sorry, I just learned about the rap contest this morning, that's why I have no ticket with me. What can I do to gain entry into the event?".

"I have available tickets with me, so you just have to purchase one for yourself to gain entry".

"How much does it cost?".

The hefty man told Mark the price, he paid, collected the ticket, and sauntered into the edifice. The event was filled up with people, but not overcrowded.....there was still space for movement. Lights were radiating across the hall and stage where the contestants were to stand while showcasing their rapping skills. The stage wasn't that broad and it wasn't that small either.....it was a medium size.

Mark glanced around the compartment to see if he could catch a glimpse of Darcy, but he didn't see her, maybe she was at the backstage of the event. The time was about 7:24 pm, just about 6 minutes more for the rap contest to begin. There weren't chairs in the hall for people to sit on, everyone was to stand while watching the rap contest, so Mark forced himself to the front of the compartment so he could watch the contest clearly from its beginning to its climax.

The moment Mark got to the front of the compartment, he heard a very familiar voice speaking.....the voice was so so familiar. Looking sideways to the right, Mark saw Ben and Dylan discussing with each other, but Ben was the one speaking at the moment. No wonder the voice sounded so familiar, so the both of them were also present at the contest?