Chapter 20

       It felt so good to finally be free from Agatha. We had the lawyer check over the contract and it really was legit. All we had to do was pay Agatha the two grand and she was on here way. I still didn't understand why she quit so easily, but I wasn't complaining. We all finally felt free.

       Besides, Alistair was already going to get us a lot of gigs Agatha hadn't been able to do yet. We were definitely going to succeed a lot more than if Agatha was still our manager.

       The four of us, plus Alistair, made it to the venue the day before the concert for our soundcheck, which we definitely needed since I hadn't performed while playing the drums for a long time.

       I just hoped we would be able to pull this off. Yeah, I could play the drums extremely well but it might not feel the same without Ricky's energy here.

       I walked over to the drum kit set up, sitting down on the stool and picking up the drumsticks. "I'm sorry in advance if I hurt your ears," I said.

       "Stop being so modest," Aviva said. "We know you can play."

       "Yeah but... It still isn't the same without Ricky," I said.

       "I wished he would tell us what was going on," Otis said. "We wouldn't have to worry about Agatha getting mad about it or trying to stop whatever it is."

       "True, so if he hasn't told us, then it's clearly something serious," I said. "Just let him tell us on his own time. As for right now..." I began drumming away to a random beat, mainly to warm up since I was a little rusty.

       But not rusty enough since I was doing great.

       When I finished, I said, "I've still got it. Obviously because I'm perfect."

       "I wouldn't say that," a voice said so I looked over to see the band I hated the most, Worn Diversion, walking onto the stage with the lead singer Chad leading them. "You're not even close to it."

       I was trying my hardest not to throw the drumsticks at him. "What are you doing here?"

       "Oh, you didn't hear?" Chad asked. "You're performing here tomorrow. Right before you, in fact."

       I swear, I was going to make their lives miserable if they went over their set time just so Major Vocal would get less time to perform. They did it once, and they would do it again.

       "And it is a good thing we're performing here with you guys," Chad said, looking at Aviva. "It means I get to spend some time with the most beautiful girl in the world."

       "You know what I'm going to do to you?" I asked, getting up from the stool and walking over, but Alistair stopped me.

       "Don't," he said. "He's only looking for a reaction. He's not worth it."

       I still wanted to throw something at Chad.

       Someone I never wanted to see ever again suddenly walked onto the stage and it only made my mood even worse. "Great, you're here too?" I asked Agatha. "...Wait, what are you doing here?"

       "Oh, you don't know?" Chad asked. "Agatha is our new manager. Yeah, we wanted someone a bit more experienced."

       I snorted. Experienced? Okay.

       But I actually liked that Agatha was Worn Diversion's manager now. They were perfect for each other and would probably end up ruining each other's lives. And careers.

       "So who's this?" Agatha asked, looking at Alistair. "Don't tell me he's your manager. He's too young."

       "Young, yes," Alistair said. "But I'm the one who got them the gig here, and the spot on the talk show. Two things you failed to do."

       Agatha furrowed her eyebrows. "I thought Malachi did that."

       "Oh, no, Alistair did," I said. "And we never got a chance to thank you for failing at your job so we can have an even better manager. Now, if you'll please exit the stage. We currently have the stage booked for the next hour for our soundcheck."

       "Sure you do," Agatha said.

       "I can call the charity organization if you don't believe him," Alistair said, pulling out his cell phone and that was enough to make Agatha and Worn Diversion leave the stage. "Good riddance. I never met her in person, so I can confirm she's annoying as you made her out to be."

       "I know, right?" I asked. "But unfortunately, we have a problem on our hands."

       "What problem?" Alistair asked.

       "I'm guessing Malachi means Worn Diversion playing right before us," Aviva said. "It has happened before at another charity concert and they ended up taking over most of our set time. I won't be surprised if they try doing that again, especially with Agatha as their manager."

       "Well, then it's a good thing that won't happen with me as your manager," Alistair said. "I always have a back up plan, so there is no way I will let them take over your set time. Now while I figure it out, you four should really be rehearsing. Even though Malachi is able to play the drums, it might feel a little off since you're all so used to Ricky."

       I really hoped it wouldn't feel too off.

       Apparently, it did. We couldn't even get through the first song we were going to perform before Otis stopped. "Okay, is it me, or did that sound horrible?" he asked.

       "I'm sorry, it's my fault," I said. "I guess I am rusty at this."

       "It's not your fault, Malachi," Junior said. "Alistair is right. We're all so used to Ricky. It's just going to feel weird for a bit but the more we rehearse, the more we'll get used to it?"

       "But do we have the time?" I asked. "We have less than an hour left before our soundcheck is done. You know what? I am going to call Ricky and see if there's anyway he could make it."

       I knew I really shouldn't because Ricky made it clear that he couldn't make it, but I didn't know what else to do.

       We really should have rehearsed more back home.

       I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and called Ricky. It didn't take long for him to answer with a, "Pip pip, cheerio!"

       "Oh, wow, you're so funny," I said. "Listen, I know you said you couldn't make it but..."

       Ricky cut me off with a sigh. "Malachi, don't ask me if there's anyway I can."

       "Okay, but you sound horrible," I said. "Really. Horrible. Our timing is all off and there's no way we can get this right before tomorrow."

       Ricky was silent for a bit before saying, "Just keep rehearsing. I'll see if I can figure things out and get there for tomorrow night but just... Don't get your hopes up."

       "Hey, that's good enough for me," I said.

       "I'm serious," Ricky said. "Don't just assume I'll be there just because I said I'll try to figure things out."

       "I know," I said. "We'll keep rehearsing."

       "Okay," Ricky said. "Well, I guess I better go see if I can move things around."

       After we hung up, I said, "He said he's going to try to figure things out for him to get here tomorrow but we shouldn't get our hopes up and we should keep rehearsing."

       Ricky, please show up tomorrow...

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oof another update???? i'm amazing at this woo.

five chapters left tho and i'm sad and you'll be even more sad when it ends.

i mean what?