Educational Experience

Part III--Chapter 2

Wanted you to see Colt in full "rock star" mode, meeting the press, walking the red carpet, all that. This is just a small intro to that world-the party starts REAL soon. And the train wreck he mentions at the end is right around the corner as well. Stay tuned...

The whole staff was waiting for us on the red carpet outside. Even the chefs, wearing uniforms so new and white they almost hurt my eyes. And behind them there were a whole bunch of tourists yelling and shoving, but there were barricades and cops to keep them in line.

There was also a jazz band playing the kind of music they second line to in New Orleans to keep everybody all pumped up. And as soon as we got out of the van, Big Man started steppin' and struttin' with this big grin on his face.

Both sides of his family are originally from down there, and they were part of the parade every year and all that. So he knows how to get on down. You can't fake it. You gotta be born with that dip in your hip. And he can bop, boy.

The ladies in the crowd started squealing and carrying on-great trial run. We could tell the parades would get big attention every night on their way around the towers. Hopefully the spectators would dance on into the casinos right behind them.

It got sort of tense for Wyatt when the paparazzi started getting a little aggressive. I'm used to cameras flashing and people yelling my name to get me to look that way. But it was intense that day. Only a select few had been invited inside got a hot minute because it was a private party for me and a few hundred "friends." Friends who wanted to get their party on without fear of winding up on the cover of some tabloid. So they only had seconds to get that money shot, and the claws were out.

Big Man had it covered, though. He'd arranged a flying "V" of big scary looking security guys, and he was front and center-the point of the "V," leading the charge. So I leaned over to Wyatt and said, "You wanna play it safe for now? Just...you're working with us or something?"

She looked over at me like she was relieved that I knew how she felt. But when I sort of let go of her hand, she got hold of my arm. Only I think it was fear more than her saying she was ready to tell the world about us.

So she clung to me as we dashed through the lobby where there were all these celebrities she couldn't help but recognize. I waved and winked at a few of the ones I actually knew and liked. And her hold of my arm got tighter and tighter until we were safely in an elevator-an elevator the size of some people's bathrooms, by the way. Really nice décor.

And Mike said, "Whoa. You're pale as a ghost! She's freaking out, Papi."

"Well, she's got good reason," Cat said. "If they weren't gonna fire her before, they will when they see her on the cover of all those damned tabloids by the check-out line."

Aisha smiled, slid her arm around Wyatt's free one, and said, "Honey, why you trippin'? You runnin' wit the gang now! You don't need no damned day job."

Big Man's little lapel radio thing started squawking-security guy yelling, "Crystal clear! Crystal clear!" Whatever the hell that meant.

I slid a hand in the small of Wyatt's back and said, "Just chillax while I'm doing my thing. Order up something for lunch, play some slots-there's a private club just for us. And nobody has a story until we tell them a story, okay? So right now, you can be anybody you wanna be."

She gave me this odd smile and said, "That's...a bit easier said than-"

The elevator doors interrupted, opening into this big domed foyer that looked like something out of Star Wars. But I understood the "Crystal clear" thing then. It was what the architects had called The Crystal Crossroad, this secret section designed to allow us to travel between all the towers in private.