Nashville University: Crescent Moon

by Fumise Love

  “Tonight.”

  Chapter Eight

  Gabrielle

  I let Samantha do my make-up that was why I was almost unrecognizable when I looked in front of the mirror. She also let me borrow her dress that was too short for me because I was taller than her.

  Samantha curled the ends of my hair, where the blue dye rested. The way my make-up was placed on could be greater than those of professional make-up artists. Samantha got mad skills when it came to make-up and fashion.

  I just needed to get the night over with so I would not owe Johanne the Gorilla anything anymore. I was at the bad end of the stick since pretending to be his girlfriend was way harder than carrying me to my room because I was drunk.

  “Good thing that you’re in the right state of mind to dress yourself well,” was the first thing that Johanne said when I went to the lounge to meet up with the band. I was thankful that Johanne agreed to let Samantha come along with us. There was no way that I would agree if only me and Johanne were to go there.

  “Is that a compliment or you’re just teasing me??” I sassed.

  “It’s really a wonder how you can look so...humane,” he chuckled.

  I was right when I thought that Johanne was incapable of saying something nice.

  Our trip to Johanne’s house lasted for more than an hour. His house seemed like a mansion compared to mine considering the fact that it was so damn huge. I never expected for Johanne to be this filthy rich.

  There was a reason why he had the right to always be so proud and full of himself.

  There were many people who were inside the party room when we arrived. And no, I was not kidding when I said ‘party room’ because their house really did have a room meant for hosting parties.

  How rich was Johanne?

  “We need to pretend like we’re a couple so, we need to do this,” Johanne grabbed my hand and I felt the mild jolt of electricity coursing through my body again. “Let me first introduce you to my parents,”

  Paul and Samantha was nowhere in sight and I was guessing that they were together while Matthew approached a couple of girls. I considered Matthew as the only member with a decent personality in the band but he was also the flirtiest one of them all.

  Johanne and I made our way toward an older couple which I guessed were his parents. His mother looked very beautiful and she clearly looked like she came from the Philippines. I looked at his father and noticed that he was handsome for his age as well.

  Wait a minute.

  Why did it seem like Johanne’s father looked like someone I knew?

  He looked like…

  Nah. Maybe I was just hallucinating. My craziness surpassed the clouds above.

  “Mom, Dad,” Johanne hugged both of his parents and he kissed his mother on the cheek. Me? I was not in the place to hug them so I just shook their hands. “I want you to meet my girlfriend, Gabrielle,”

  I breathed a sigh of relief when Johanne called me by my name and not by calling me ‘witch’ because if he did the latter, I would choke him to death.

  “Good evening,” I tried to flash them an angelic smile and hoped that it worked. “Johanne told me so many things about the both you,”

  “Really?” Johanne’s mother’s tone of voice was full of glee. Hopefully, she would not ask what Johanne told me about them because I just lied about it. “I hope that my son told the good things about us,”

  “Don’t worry, everything that Johanne said was positive and nothing negative. Your son loves you very much,” I playfully slapped Johanne’s arm. I should be rewarded for being so great in pretending to be his girlfriend.

  All throughout our chit-chat, Johanne’s father remained silent. It did not seem like he was uncomfortable. He really was just a quiet person. It was alright because there were lesser questions for me to answer.

  The fact that I would not owe Johanne anything anymore after this was embedded into my brain.

  “I’ll introduce her to the others,” Johanne said before we left his parents. I realized that Johanne had this different personality when he was talking with his parents. The guy that I always had an argument with? He was non-existent tonight because the guy who was with me now was someone who obviously loved his parents very much.

  If Johanne always acted like this, there was no doubt that we would get along really well.

  ◆◆◆

  It had been two hours since we arrived here in Johanne’s house. His parents hired a band to play during the party. The other people who attended the party also seemed wealthy based on how they handled theirselves.

  I thought that I would be out of oxygen since I had been answering questions from Johanne’s relatives non-stop. I thought that I would just be pretending in front of his parents, I was not informed that I would be pretending in front of his clan.

  “Johanne!” someone called for the name of the guy who was with me. It was a skinny girl with a smile on her face. She was smaller than me and she was obviously rich based on the sophisticated aura around her. “Long time no see! I heard the news that you already have a new girlfriend?”

  I realized that Johanne was still holding my hand and I was not doing anything about it. Was it not obvious that I was the new girlfriend that people were talking about?

  “Khyle,” Johanne greeted. “I want you to meet Gabrielle, my girlfriend,”

  “Nice to meet you,” Khyle pulled me in a friendly hug. “I’m his older brother’s friend,” Johanne had a brother? Where was he? Was he also a devil in disguise like Johanne?Was he in the party too? “By the way, where’s Mark?”

  Mark?

  Wait a minute...Mark was also part of Johanne’s name.

  Mark Johanne Rivers.

  Ugh. It was so confusing. Why did I need to trouble myself about Johanne’s personal life?

  “I think that he will not be able to come,” Johanne informed Khyle. “He might be busy,”

  “Ah...that’s sad. He really is always busy even outside of the university,” Khyle nodded slowly in agreement. “I’ll be going now so you can enjoy this moment alone with your girlfriend,” Khyle smiled at me before walking away from me and Johanne.

  “Gorilla, you have a brother?” I whispered to him so nobody else would hear that it was the first time that I knew of this information.

  “You didn’t know?”

  “Isn’t it obvious?”

  “No…” he frowned like he could not believe what he was hearing. “Anyways, I’m hungry. Let’s go eat.”

  ◆◆◆

  Johanne

  I held Gabrielle’s hand tightly. The feeling of getting called by mother nature because of the tingling in my stomach came back to me. Based on my parents’ reactions, they liked Gabrielle for me.

  Little did they know that everything was just a lie.

  Now, I was assured that they would not worry about me anymore. I knew that Gabrielle was not useless at all when it came to pretending to be my girlfriend. Maybe I made the right choice of choosing her to portray someone that she was not.

  I was sure that my brother would not attend the party. It was for the best so that the air in here would not become gloomy.

  After we ate our dinner, my mother approached me and whispered in my year, “Hey, sing a song for your girlfriend...please?”

  Even though my mother was acting too excited for this, I did not have the guts to refuse. The band that they hired was already done performing.

  I grabbed Gabrielle’s hand and pulled her in front of the stage. I called the attention of Paul and Matthew because I was not comfortable in performing if they were not there with me. I held the microphone and looked at Gabrielle, “This song is for the girl who stole my heart and I don’t ever want her to give it back.”

  ◆◆◆

  Gabrielle

  What Johanne said on the stage caught me off-guard. I was not informed that he was this...corny? Was this one of the reasons why girls went crazy about him?

  I could admit that even th
ough we were just pretending, I thought that Johanne was really sweet. Why did it have to be Johanne who would make me feel like this? It could have had been other people.

  “Lightning, dark skies,

  Open your eyes,

  Run to me like you never did before,

  Raindrops, falling,

  Hear you calling,

  Run to you like I never did before,”

  I was not the only one with her eyes on Johanne. Every girl inside the room looked like they were going to melt.

  “Cause I don’t care if there’s nobody’s out there

  Don’t care if it’s cloudy out there,

  Promise to find you baby,

  And when I find you..”

  Hold on to me,

  I’ll never leave,

  Cause we can’t keep on runnin’ on empty,

  Keep on running..”

  Johanne slowly walked to my direction. He grabbed hold of my left hand and pulled me to the stage.

  He was lucky because even though it was not famous, I knew of the song.

  “Hold on to me,

  If you believe,”

  He placed my hand that he was holding on his chest.

  If Johanne was always like this, there was a slight change that I would fall for him...but...after this night, I knew that everything would be back to normal. Everything would be back to where I was the witch and Johanne was the gorilla.

  It meant that this night would be better forgotten.

  “We can conquer this whole world together,

  Conquer this whole world together, baby,”

  I grabbed the spare microphone that was in the stand and started singing too. I had no other choice but to go with the flow as of the moment.

  “Time goes slowly, feel so lonely,

  Gotta see your face like I never have before,

  No sleep at night, with out you by my side,

  Gotta feel your touch like I never have before,”

  I cupped Johanne’s face with the use of one of my hands to prove that we were a couple even though we were just really pretending.

  Why did his eyes need to be so damn beautiful? I could not explain what I was feeling right now. It was like I was falling in an endless cliff without knowing where I would land.

  “Cause I don't care if it's cloudy out there,

  Don't care if it's lonely out there,

  Long as I find you baby, and when I find you...

  Hold on to me, I'll never leave,

  'Cause we can't keep on running on empty, keep on running,

  Hold on to me, if you believe ,

  'Cause we can conquer this whole world together,

  Conquer this whole world together, baby,”

  The crowd screamed like we were celebrities. Why did Johanne have to choose me to pretend to be his girlfriend? Wasn’t there anyone willing to do this for him? I was sure that many girls would kill to be in my situation right now.

  If he chose me to pretend to be his girlfriend because he was sure that I would not fall for him...why was my gut telling me that he was wrong about it?

  Chapter Nine

  Johanne

  All of us went back to the Nashville University Training Camp and I was not able to stop myself from remembering the things that had happened at the party.

  It was like we were not pretending earlier because everything seemed so real. If only Paul, Matthew, and Samantha did not know that we were just pretending, I was sure that they would also believe the lie.

  I told Gabrielle that I chose her to pretend to be my girlfriend because I knew that she would not fall for me...but why did it seem like I was falling for her?

  No.

  There was no way that I would fall for her.

  But Gabrielle was like Mary.

  Damn.

  Why did I have to remember Mary?

  My carelessness was the reason why she was not here by my side anymore. If I thought clearly before, we would have been happy now.

  I wanted to forget about Mary...why did Gabrielle who reminded me of Mary had to interfere in my life?

  When Mary and I broke up, I started being a playboy because I was finding a person who would replace Mary in my life but in the end, I found no one.

  Therefore, I came to the realization that Mary was irreplaceable in my life.

  ◆◆◆

  Gabrielle

  The lie already came into an end last night. Everything went back to normal. I knew that I would not feel the mild jolt of electricity from Johanne again because he was now back to being the devil in disguise.

  Johanne and I would not be awkward anymore because he was going to treat me like the witch that he thought I was.

  And most of all, I already evened out what I owed him.

  I went to the cafeteria and noticed that Samantha was together with Jeffrey. Why was Jeffrey appearing now?

  “Gab!” Samantha greeted me. “I learned something about here in the training camp because of Jeff,”

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “We are not going to do anything here,” Samantha chuckled like she found everything amusing. “Nashville University Training Camp doesn’t hold any activities. This place is just for pure vacation. Maybe they just want more money,”

  “It’s alright,” I shrugged. “I’m having a good time here anyways,” I turned to look at Jeffrey. “Hey! Why did you just appear now? Did I do something wrong?”

  “Nothing,” Jeffrey shook his head. “I caught the cold for the last couple of days that’s why I just stayed inside my room to rest,” Jeffrey was a terrible liar because it was obvious that he was not sure about what he was saying.

  What was really the problem with this guy?

  “It’s a waste that you weren’t able to come with us to the party,” Samantha said. “It was so fun!”

  “Party?” Jeffrey tilted his head to the right side.

  “It was a party hosted by Johanne’s parents,” Samantha explained. “Even though you hate Johanne, I’m sure that it would be fine if you came with us,”

  “Hmm...it really is a waste…” Jeffrey’s reaction looked like he had not meant what he said and he might be happy that he was not able to come with us. “Maybe next time,”

  “Jeff,” I called for his attention. “Can you please come with me to the park? As in, now?” Jeffrey nodded and I made my way toward the park. I was certain that Samantha was alright with me leaving her there. The curiosity of why Jeffrey started acting differently was needed to be answered quickly. “Why are you acting like that?”

  “What do you mean…?”

  “I know that you’re not sick in the past couple of days and I know that you’re avoiding me. It’s obvious that you are also hiding something from me,”

  “What are you talking about?” Jeffrey acted all confused. “I was really sick,” I did not know for myself why I was so sure that Jeffrey was lying to me. My frustration came along with the heavy rain that poured all over the city of Los Angeles.

  “Don’t lie to me, Jeff. Everytime that I’m with Johanne or whenever Samantha and I speak of his name, your mood always changes,”

  “That’s what you just think, Gab. There is nothing going on because I don’t even know Johanne personally,”

  “You’re still lying! I know that you two know each other. Why would you despise someone that you don’t know? Don’t make me look like an idiot, Jeff,”

  I noticed that Jeffrey was forcing himself to stay calm. Maybe I pushed all the wrong buttons.

  “Why do you act like you know everything?!” he yelled at me. “You don’t know anything, Gab! You don’t have the right to just interfere in my life and meddle with the things that you are not allowed to know!”

  “If you only told me what your problem was, I wouldn’t interfere with anything. I am not the one who’s having the mood swings here. You should be thankful that I care enough for you! You should be thankful that I’m concerned even though I don’t know you that well!”


  “I don’t need your concern because I can take care of myself! I don’t care if you’re concerned or not! You have your own life that’s why mind your own business and stay out of mine!”

  I was surprised by what he said.

  He was right.

  Why was I interfering this much in his life? I did not have the right to meddle with his personal life because we had not known each other for that long.

  Jeffrey noticed that I became speechless and embarrassed. I did not say a word because I knew that I had lost in this argument. “Don’t worry, Jeff. I will not interfere in your life ever again…” and I ran away from him.

  “Gab!” he tried to catch up with me. “The truth is...I’m jealous of you and Johanne.”

  Chapter Ten

  Gabrielle

  Jeffrey was not able to catch up with me when I immediately ran far away from him.

  Why would he be jealous? It was impossible that Jeffrey liked me.

  Did he like Johanne?

  No. It was imposssible. I was sure that Jeffrey did not swing that way. But why would he say that he was jealous? He was making me go nuts. Was Jeffrey in the right state of mind? He was being unreasonable and what he was saying was impossible.

  He was very, very out of place.

  I ran away from the training camp until I did not know where I was. I was frustrated by the words that came out of Jeffrey’s mouth. I did not know why I became this affected by it.

  I was idiotic for running away like this. I realized that I was in a place that I was not familiar with since this was my first time here in Los Angeles. I only went out of the training camp when we ate at Yellow Cab, during the gig, and during Johanne’s parents’ party.

  I needed to retrace my steps. Why did I run left and right and why did I not just run straight ahead? I also left my cellphone in my room because I was such an idiot. I also did not bring any money with me because I thought that I would not go out since it was raining heavily.

  I was soaking wet from the rain.

  I was running around in circles for almost an hour and yet, I did not find a landmark that was familiar to me. I could not find something that would shelter me from the rain. I would have asked someone for the direction but since it was raining heavily, the streets were empty.