One Man Band System

After taking his bow, Eric didn’t waste a second. He bolted straight back behind the curtain. Since he was the final act of the night, the crowd began to filter out toward the exits. Once backstage, he spotted Kevin talking to Emma, Priya, Chloe, Heidi, Monica, and Laura. He marched straight up behind the six girls.

"Gyuut!"

Eric pulled them all into a tight group hug from behind, startling them and forcing them close together. Kevin jumped a little in surprise, staring at Eric, while Eric eyed the business card Kevin was holding.

"They’re not interested, Kev," Eric said.

"Yeah... I know. They already told me, and honestly, I’m not on board with it either. Even though this company is a massive industry player, there are way too many shady rumors floating around about them. My mom actually warned me about that too," Kevin replied, pocketing the card.

"Alright, perfect. The girls and I need to move right now. If that guy shows up, just tell him we already left. Thanks, man," Eric said.

"Got it, leave it to me. But you don’t want to hang around for a bit? Usually, a bunch of fans come backstage for autographs, pictures, or whatever," Kevin pointed out.

"No time," Eric replied. "Emma, Priya, Chloe, Monica, Heidi, Laura, let’s move. Now."

"Okay," the six girls replied in unison, their faces now flushed bright red like cooked shrimp, looking completely dazed.

"How are you guys getting out of here, Ric?" Kevin asked.

"Rideshare," Eric answered.

Suddenly, Kevin reached into his pocket, pulled out a set of car keys, and tossed them to Eric, who caught them cleanly.

"Take my friend’s company van. If the people from Trinity Entertainment spot you guys out on the street, they’ll corner you and pester you until you sign. It’ll be a total nightmare," Kevin explained.

"Alright... perfect. I’ll drop it off at your place tomorrow," Eric said.

"Sounds good. No worries, now get out of here," Kevin replied.

Eric nodded, finally letting go of the group hug. He grabbed Emma and Monica by the hands simultaneously, and the rest of the girls quickly followed his lead. After grabbing their bags from the trailer that served as their dressing room, they headed straight for the staff parking lot. Eric hit the key fob, a van beeped in response, and they hurried over and climbed inside.

Eric slid into the driver’s seat with Emma riding shotgun, while the rest of the girls piled into the back through the sliding side door. Emma turned to look at Eric.

"Why are we running away, anyway? If we ran into him, couldn’t we just turn him down?" Emma asked, confused.

"Yeah, seriously. I’m a little confused too," Chloe added, suddenly popping her head up between Eric and Emma.

"Hmm... well... I just didn’t feel like dealing with the manager on that business card. He’d definitely try to sweet-talk us and get pushy. Anyway, whatever, let’s roll. Where to first?" Eric asked.

"Hmm... let’s just go for a drive," Monica suggested.

"Let’s get food... I’m starving," Priya said, rubbing her stomach.

"Agreed... I’m hungry too," Heidi chimed in.

"Yep... food," Laura added.

"Alright... let’s go grab a bite," Eric said, starting up the engine.

"Yey!" the six girls cheered happily.

Eric started up the van and drove out of the parking lot. Once they hit the road, Eric couldn’t help but wonder why the quest had given him an objective like that in the first place. He glanced to his side at the holographic screen hovering next to him. The text on the screen had already changed. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

[Objective two complete.]

[Reward: A 5% stake in Trinity Entertainment. The paperwork has been deposited into the system inventory, along with $35,000.00 deposited directly into your personal account.]

"Huh... so that’s how it is. I own five percent of the shares in that company now... but why did I have to run away from them? I think I’ll have to ask Mr. Stone about all the paperwork tomorrow," Eric questioned in his head, completely in the dark.

***

Meanwhile, back behind the curtain, the crew members were busy packing up their equipment to prep it for the next day’s event. A man walked up to Kevin, who was currently supervising his team.

"How did it go, Mr. Kevin? Did you pass along the message?" the man asked.

Kevin turned around to find Anthony standing right behind him, then crossed his arms over his chest.

"I’m sorry, sir. With how loud and chaotic it got, I wasn’t able to catch up with them. However, they already have their own manager, and it looks like they have no interest in signing with your company," Kevin said.

"Oh... man, really? Is there any way I could get their manager’s contact information?" Anthony asked.

"I’m sorry, sir, but I can’t share that due to our company’s privacy policy," Kevin replied politely.

"I see... alright then. Thank you anyway, Mr. Kevin. Please just hand my business card to their manager the next time you see them," Anthony said, offering the card once more.

"Will do. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help, sir," Kevin replied, accepting the card.

"Don’t worry about it. Have a good evening," Anthony said.

With his piece said, Anthony turned around and walked away from the backstage area. His handsome face instantly wrinkled with an immense amount of stress and a massive headache. Suddenly, "thud!" as he was walking, he slammed right into someone.

"Ouch," Anthony muttered, clutching his forehead.

"Oh, Anthony... what are you doing here?" a young man asked.

Anthony lifted his head to see a handsome, slightly lean guy with messy short hair. Standing right next to him was a pretty girl who had her arm wrapped around his.

"Oh... Mike... Jade... you guys are at this festival too?" Anthony asked.

"Yep... we sure are, big brother-in-law," Jade answered.

"We came backstage because we wanted to meet the band Reed’s Empress, and... Jade wanted to see someone," Mike said, glancing over at Jade.

"Yeah... the last guy who performed... Eric... Reed," Jade said, looking down.

"Oh, is that so? Unfortunately, they’ve all already left... both the Empress girls and Eric. I was actually looking for them myself because my CEO ordered me to recruit them... it’s giving me a total headache," Anthony said, rubbing his temple.

Hearing this, Jade immediately let go of Mike’s arm and took a step closer to Anthony.

"Do you know what the connection is between the band Reed’s Empress and Eric Reed?" Jade asked.

"Hmm... I have no idea... why do you ask?" Anthony replied, confused.

Jade fell dead silent, her mind racing. Standing right next to her, Mike looked completely baffled, practically able to see the gears turning in her head as she calculated her next move.

Having just watched the performances by Reed’s Empress and Eric, she still had a lingering look of intense jealousy and deep frustration written all over her face. After a few moments, she locked her eyes on Anthony, who was busy talking to Mike.

"Anthony, would it be possible for me to become a singer? There’s no way I’d lose to that tambourine-playing vocalist from Empress," Jade announced out of nowhere.

Hearing Jade’s sudden declaration, both Anthony and Mike instantly whipped their heads toward her, looking utterly confused.

"Wait, Jade... you wanted to be a pediatric nurse, didn’t you? Isn’t that the whole reason you came to this city and enrolled in nursing school?" Mike asked, completely bewildered as he reached out to touch her shoulder.

"What’s wrong with me becoming a singer? I think I want a career change," Jade replied curtly, brushing Mike’s hand off her shoulder once again.

Meanwhile, Anthony stood beside Mike, checking Jade out from head to toe and back up again. He was only now getting a close look at his younger brother’s girlfriend. Plus, considering he still needed to hit his recruitment quota for work, he finally spoke up.

"Can you play any instruments?" Anthony asked.

"I’ve been the church organist up until now," Jade answered.

"Hmm... I see. Yeah, why not? You’re definitely just as pretty as those Empress girls," Anthony replied.

"Perfect. Let’s work together then, and I’ll start practicing right away," Jade said with a smile, though for some reason, her expression turned incredibly dark.

Seeing Jade look like she was completely losing herself, Mike immediately grabbed her arm and pulled her back, forcing some distance between her and Anthony.

"Hey... you idiot! She wants to be a nurse, what is wrong with you?! Instead of talking some sense into her, you’re actually encouraging this crazy idea!" Mike snapped angrily, giving Anthony a shove.

"Dude, what’s the big deal? A nurse is still a nurse. This could just be a side hustle, and who knows, she might actually make it big... wouldn’t you be happy then? Don’t be such a buzzkill," Anthony shot back, shoving Mike right back.

Watching Anthony and Mike bicker and shove each other right in front of her, Jade remained perfectly calm and crossed her arms. Her expression was ice-cold as she completely lost herself in her own thoughts.

"Eric has been with me since we were kids... he grew up with me... and we aren’t even related by blood... he belongs to me... you all better watch your backs... Empress... especially that vocalist, Emma... I am going to destroy you," she thought to herself.