Chapter 13 -Anna 2.0

Yavannah Constantine

"YOU ARE PERFORMING FOR VIVA LA VIDA" She gasped from over the reciever , her voice taking a few octaves. I could already imagine her eyes widening comically.

"Quiet" I glanced around the cafe to see if anyone was staring due to her loud outburst but they all seemed to be busy.

Thank the heavens

I had gone to a Cafe at the far end of the street, I wanted to pick a song to sing but I needed to research about the influential figures attending to pick a song that would pique their interests.

"I can't be quiet Yavi " She whisper yelled, the excitement in her voice bleeding into mine. "Viva La Vida is where people like Adele and Sia perform".

She was obsessed with Adele and Sia. She had posters of them all over our college bedroom, She even missed our mid session test to attend sia's concert. She was beyond thrilled her name was Anastasia so everyone could call her sia. Though Yaskier calls her Anna 2.0, Their bickering was quite funny.

"I'm thrilled as much as I'm scared" I admitted, aimlessly scrolling on my laptop.

She scoffed , her voice filled with disbelief. " You're perfect for the job". Her words felt soothing to hear." I may be blind, but I need to offer Yuliard a pair of my glasses so they could see talent properly"

A laugh bubbled out of me at the self inflicted insult. "You're not blind Anastasia".

A pig like snort escaped her lips."Tell that to a certain red headed mop".

Yaskier and Anastasia had bad history. I hated being in the middle of their arguments as none of them ever knew when to back down. She started calling him a red headed mop since junior school and the name just stuck.

"I've got to get to work Yavi " She paused, her voice echoing in the background. It seemed she was conversing with someone. Funny, I also needed to get back to work.

"It's alright, I need to go too. Take care of yourself Anna ". I assured her.

"I'll make sure to call you before your performance,bye love " She promised before the reciever went dead.

I sighed ,glancing back at the files on the desk. The age range of the guests is around 34-88. Mostly middle aged men. Now I wasn't interested in a particular person but I needed a song that would make me stand out.

It needed to be Nostalgic yet uplifting with tones of the 90's and the present time.

Hozier was good but his songs were love songs. I liked Novo Amor but it was too Nostalgic. The only options I had left was Lord Huron and Chance Pena.

The night we met- Lord's Huron

I am not who I was - Chance Pena

I had a meeting with the singing team today so I would discuss the song choices with them afterall I was new to this, they probably had more experience.

I shot my phone a glance. It was 1:56 pm and the meeting was by 2:30. Viva La Vida wasn't so far from Vivaldi Corp.

At the thought of Vivaldi Corp, my mind went to a certain dark haired man. A small smile played on my face whenever I thought of him. He was a very kind hearted person even though he didn't look like it. A little birdie told me he wasn't kind to everyone but me. That would probably be because I saved his life.

I quickly downed the rest of my boba before arranging my stuff back into my bag. I placed a 10 dollar note on the table before leaving.

The street bustled outside Gurren Cafe, the bell jingling as I closed the door. I needed to be at Viva La Vida in the next 30 minutes.

I grabbed my phone from my dress pocket before tapping on the uber app. The app reassured me it was "finding my ride".

Frustration bled into me when the ETA tripled. I couldn't wait here for 15 minutes. I would never hitch hike again after watching Dahmer.

Stop .

A black car rolled to a stop in front of me, I couldn't see the drivers face due to the tinted windows. Was the uber app glitching ?

The windows rolled down after a few seconds and a familiar face beamed at me." Hello Yavannah".

"We met at Yuliard remember" He reminded me and that jostled my memory. We did meet at Yuliard but I had forgotten his name. I didn't want to sound rude so I smiled back.

"Yeah, I remember. How are you?" I asked. He nodded in reply.

"Are you headed somewhere" He asked ,placing his hand on the steering wheel.

I hesitated for a few seconds before replying." Yeah, I'm trying to get an uber but I don't know"

"Why don't you hop in, I can take you where you want to go". He suggested, his eyes radiating with honesty. I wanted to decline but I didn't have any choice. I needed to get there soon.

"Come on , I don't bite" He joked, urging me to hop in.

"Thank you, you're a life saver " I replied before walking around to the other side of the car, I opened the door then settled in. Shutting it firmly.

I turned to look at him but his eyes were all over my exposed thighs. The sundress I wore was short. A trickle of disgust passed through me at the lust in his eyes. Who openly ogles someone like that?

You .

Adonis had caught me staring quite a number of times but he couldn't blame me, he started it first.

I placed my tote bag across my legs, shielding my thighs from view. He let out a loud cough before turning away.

"So where are we going"

"Viva La Vida"

"Oh okay".

The car ride was smooth as we exchanged pleasantries. He asked about Yuliard and I told him I got rejected. He expressed his own anger too after getting rejected and we both laughed about it. He worked as an accountant but recently wanted to quit his job and focus on his talent. I was quite glad he was smart enough to wait till he got the job because it would have been beyond bad if he had quit his old job and got rejected by Yuliard too.I was quite scared a scenario would occur where I would have to mention his name.

" We're here". He announced. I glanced around the road, not seeing any sign of it. " It's at the other side of the bend" He explained.

I nodded in realisation before alighting from the car and walking over towards his side, he stared up at me . " Thank you so much".

He replied me with a smile." You're welcome".

I turned to the side walk , clutching my bag.

" Wait".

I turned back around to find him walking towards me, startling me in the process.

When did he come out of the car.

" Can I have your number".

I wanted to decline but the nervous expression on his face and the fact that he had helped me softened my heart so I resorted to collecting his number instead.

"Sure, but my phone is down and I don't know my number off hand so let me collect yours". I lied smoothly. I desperately hoped my phone wouldn't ring at this very moment.

He reached out into his pocket , bringing out a blue colored contact card. I collected it from him before examining the card. Collins.

His name was Collins.

I waved before turning around this time, quickening my pace to prevent any disturbance.

A gasp escaped my lips when a hand clasped around my wrist, pulling me so hard that the contact card flew out of my fingers.

My breath is knocked out me when a certain face stared down at me.

Angrily.