Once the limousine was out of sight, Riley breathed out a sigh of relief. Although Alonso seemed friendly, there was still this aura around him that made him seem like he hated any sort of nonsense, forcing her and the others to be on their best behavior.
"He seems pretty nice," Jim said. He was usually the shy one in the group who didn't speak much, so hearing him say such things about someone he had just met, made the others believe that what he was saying was true.
"I agree with Jim. The guy seems nice. He even offered to pay for our food, but unfortunately, you told us to decline his offer," one of the band members, a boy named Spike, said, folding his arms.
"Let's just get going," Riley said, already heading out of the restaurant.
The others looked at each other, before deciding to follow behind her.
'Why did he keep looking at me like that?' Riley remembered how, during their conversations, the man known as Alonso would constantly take glances at her. It was unnoticeable at first, but it slowly became off-putting.
However they weren't nice looks.
They seemed more like glares. Like he was looking at someone who had done him a great wrong, that was what made her shiver.
This was also her first time meeting Alonso. The person she had met that day was Lucas. Alonso wasn't just his alias, but was someone who would post as him for business contracts that he didn't wish certain people to know his true identity, such as the Air Heads.
'Maybe it's just nothing and I'm just over thinking it. Yes, that has to be it. It's not like the guy knows me or anything, right?' Unfortunately, there was no one around to answer the question that was bothering. She didn't want to tell her friends, for fear that the truth would be revealed, that they would discover that their sponsor was a member of a gang.
Even now, their parents didn't know that they had signed a record label. They didn't know how serious their children were about all this music stuff. To them, it seemed more like an after school hobby that earned them nice returns. A side hustle, better yet.
But signing into a record label, it meant that music would become their major career. Musicians were always busy making deals and travelling to perform at different concerts not only in the city, but globally depending on their level of fame.
And the things Lucas had told Riley weren't lies. The Air Heads had the potential to be global legends. However, their guardians, and themselves, must be willing to let that happen before such a fantasy becomes a reality.
So far, they had taken the first step by signing into a famous record label. Now, they would just have to produce better music and hopefully reach that level of fame as soon as possible.
All these were good, but Riley couldn't stop thinking about Alonso.
'I don't even know how they are related. Are they relatives? But they don't even look alike. Plus, Alonso is just as famous as Lucas. How did Lucas persuade him to do all this?'
Of course, the young teenager didn't know just how the underworld worked. So, she was left with mere theories with no correct answer.
__________
"Hey, Jim!" a voice called out in the midst of all the screams and poud music. If he was still a human, then perhaps he wouldn't have noticed, but as an undead, and with his improved senses, he could tell that there was someone trying to call him.
Turning towards the source of the noise, he noticed that it was Kevin.
"Cool music right?" he said, vibing to the beats. "I didn't know you'd be here. Can you believe how good these guys are?! And they're just kids!" he said, shocked.
Obviously, these bunch had what it took to be stars, so long as they don't loose momentum.
Watching from behind the curtains, was the former leader of the Air Heads. Seeing her sister perform, she couldn't be more proud of her. Just from looking at her, she knew that she had thought her well.
"I just hope the same thing that happened to me doesn't happen to her," she muttered to herself. Other than a source of motivation, she was actually the manager of the new Air Heads. Meaning it was her job to book them gigs and handle other important stuff.
Ever since the former Air Heads had broken up, they hadn't talked to each other ever since. The cause of their falling out had caused a serious rift between its member, one that has endured till this very day.
Once the concert was over, Jim wasted no time getting out of there. However, pulling him from behind, was Kevin with a smile on his face.
"What is it?" Jim asked, slightly irritated.
"Chill out, will ya," Kevin retorted, letting go of the former's arm. "I just want you to meet someone before you go."
"And who may that be?" Jim asked.
After the show was over, most of the band had headed back stage for refreshments and to take a break. But, there was one that made it into the crowd to meet someone. It was a boy with light brown hair and brown eyes. Upon meeting the person he was looking for, his eyes lit up in excitement.
"I can't believe you finally made it to one of my concerts!" the boy said, hugging Kevin.
'So Kevin's younger brother is a part of the Air Heads. Who would have thought. I guess we really do live in a small world,' Jim thought to himself.
"Jim, I would like you to meet my little brother, Zain," Kevin said, introducing them to each other.
Jim simply waved at the little boy, having no interest in him. However, as he was about to walk off, he noticed something reflecting in the moving lights.
"What's that?" he asked, pointing at the necklace around his neck.
Zain looked taken aback for a second, but from a quick glance from Kevin, his nerves slowly calmed down.
"This is a necklace my friend gave to me at school. You wanna see it?" Zain asked, already taking it off.
Holding it in his hands, Jim couldn't quite believe his eyes.
'Is it really that easy?!' he screamed internally, as a system notification popped up.
[Demon Amulet]
[Contains Demon Aura]
[To activate it, you must use your Energy Points]
To have such an item, although Jim wasn't sure when he would use it, his instincts would always tell him that he should be at his best, and this piece of jewelry would certainly place him at his best, only if Zain would let him keep it.
"Sorry, it's not really mine. My friend just let me borrow it. He says it's too precious to him," Zain said.
Albeit disappointed, Jim had no other choice than to hand it over. For now, he would simply have to manage with the regular daggers he had purchased using his transaction feature. Although he hoped they weren't just ordinary daggers since they had each cost him a good chunk of his energy points to purchase.
Walking back home, he was ready to call it a day. The day was far from boring, at least compared to other days. Waking up the next day, he was greeted by the same notification.
[4 days until the tournament]
In the midst of doing his daily chores, he had received a message on his phone. Reading it, it said that teenagers from the age of sixteen and above were mandated to participate in a public outreach campaign against drug abuse. Basically, they would be going from door to door telling people about the hazards of drug abuse, encouraging them to quit.
"I always hated these things," Jim muttered to himself. Such rallies weren't only meant for teenagers. Children of various age groups would be forced into partaking in such programs. He could still remember the one he and the former Air Heads we're forced into participating in the day after they had met with Alonso.