There were already a crowd of people occupying the wide-open field in the middle of the city. At the far end across the field was a huge stage, set up for the performances to be held later on. Daisy gaped at the scene excitedly as she pulled her sister to move faster.
Half an hour later, the three of them were already in the middle of the field with thousands of other people gathered around them, shoulder-to-shoulder. The host of the concert had already greeted the audiences, meaning that the show was about to start soon. Lily and Daisy didn’t bother listening to what the beautiful female host was saying. So were the other hundreds of people nearby. They were just looking forward for the main attraction. But they weren’t the only ones. Lily noticed that Alex was feeling uncomfortable being squashed together into the backs and the shoulders of the fellow audience.
“Can’t handle the crowd?” Lily asked mockingly, raising her voice so that he could hear her over the noise of the people. Alex scowled, annoyed that she was right.
“Why don’t they provide seats? Are you people going to stand here for three hours?!” he asked. Lily jeered towards his words. Obviously, it seemed, he has never been to a pop concert before.
“This is a concert, not a sermon. I don’t believe even people like you go to religious gatherings.” She said with the irritating mocking tone she always gave him.
The main event started a few minutes later. The group performing was called ‘Minutes To Mayhem’. Lily knew that they were currently a famous group, but she wasn’t as die-hard as Daisy. Daisy could sing along to most of their songs! Lily had heard Daisy playing this song on her little radio on maximum volume a lot of times. And as she was trying to enjoy the show, Alex poked her shoulders and tugged her dress like a child. Oh yes, Daisy actually did manage to talk Lily into wearing the dress. Well not really. Daisy had somehow managed to hide her sister’s favourite t-shirts and jeans somewhere. So at the last minute before 7, she had no other choice but the dress.
“Lily, I need to talk to you.” Alex whispered into her ears. Lily turned her head sideways towards him with a questioning look.
“The show’s not over yet!” Lily cried out. The crowd was tremendously noisy with cheers and singing-along that she nearly couldn’t hear her own voice.
“There’s something important I need to tell you. Can’t we go elsewhere for a moment?” he replied. Lily frowned, trying hard to catch up with his words. “Go where? The concert’s not over yet!”
Alex threw an impatient look towards the stage. He could see very well that the concert had just begun for about half an hour. “I know, but I need to talk to you. I can’t do it around all this racket.” He said. Lily then looked towards Daisy who was absolutely nailed to the performance. She didn’t have to say anything; Alex already understood what she meant.
“We can come back for her later,” he added. But Lily wasn’t so quick to agree with that. As if she ever agrees with anything Alex says.
“We can’t leave her here alone!” she shouted on top of the noise.
“Lily, just go! You weren’t really 100% about accompanying me to this concert right?”
Lily turned and glared towards Daisy. She had heard them all along. And the bitter truth she had just added, with her eyebrows curved upwards and the corner of her lips slightly raised, had smashed away all the excuses Lily was trying to build in her head to avoid going away with Alex.
“But what about you?”
“Never mind me. When the show finishes, I’ll wait where you parked the car earlier. Just go!”
Lily had dreadfully hoped Daisy would stop her from going. But she knew better that Daisy wasn’t the I-need-someone-by-my-side-24/7 type of girl. Daisy was happier to be doing things on her own. The reason why she had to bring Lily along with her to the concert was because Mother didn’t like her daughters to be going out alone until late at night.
Hearing Daisy’s words, without further hesitation, and a little victory smile on his lips, Alex grabbed Lily’s arms and pulled her through the crowd. It took them quite a while to escape the mass of chaotic-hopping people.
“Wait, where are we going?” Lily asked as they reached Alex’s car. A beep-beep sound was heard as he triggered the unlocking button on his car keys.
“Somewhere we can talk peacefully.” He said and opened the passenger side door for Lily. She watched this with a dumbfounded expression.
“Don’t you wanna get in?” He asked. Lily shook her head.
“Oh, what the heck?” He continued decidedly and pushed her inside despite her resisting thumps on his chest and arm.
A few minutes later, both of them were sitting opposite each other at a table in an exclusive restaurant. Lily stared in astonishment towards the beautifully draped walls and the rich cuisines on the buffet table. Never in her life had she dreamt of setting foot into a place like this. It was like a dream.
Alex watched Lily’s reaction from across the table. She was like a lost puppy; very out of place. With the weary summer dress and pale-coloured skin, she looked like a weed in a field of tulips. He had never imagined bringing someone like her to his favourite bistro.
“So, this must be your first time, huh?” He started. Lily sat still on her seat and gazed towards him. She was feeling quite intimidated; the same feeling she felt the day Alex took her to the mall.
“We could have simply had burgers.” She replied in a mumble. Alex chuckled.
“This was the quietest place I could think of.” He said.
True enough, lily thought. The restaurant was surprisingly inaudible, with only the sounds of fork and knives frequently clinking against the heavy china platter. Even though there were other people occupying a few tables across the room, their voices sounded as if the volume had been turned down a notch.
“I can’t afford anything here.” Lily uttered slowly. “And I don’t like people paying for me, especially you.” She added quickly, remembering the incident at the mall. Lily couldn’t help but clarify to Alex that she clearly didn’t want to have anything to do with his money. He raised an eyebrow and nodded slightly as a gesture of comprehension.
When the neatly dressed waiter came to take their orders, Alex asked for a cup of white coffee for himself and a glass of water for her instead. As the waiter walked away, Alex turned to her with his serious face. So they were getting to the main conversation.
*
To Be Continued...
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