"Rise of the phoenix."
Imani Phoenix is one of the largest superstars on planet Earth. Blessed with a mesmerizing voice, beauty that could stun even Aurora herself, and incredible people around her, Imani has it made. Right? Here comes the cliche...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"I want it, I got it, I want it, I got it (yep) I want it, I got it, I want it, I got it (oh yeah, yeah) You like my hair? Gee, thanks, just bought it I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it (yep)"
The crowd erupted into the usual 10 minutes of screams and cheers. I smiled, breathing heavily, chest heaving. The applause echoed throughout the giant stage of The Cobra Castle's enormous outdoor stadium.
"I love you, Dubai!" I hollered into my microphone, waving one last time with my dancers, before I turned around and left the stage, the thundering echo following me.
That was exhilarating, yet so much fun! I thought with joy, quickly shaking hands with my crew members. I'd give more meaningful thank-you's on the plane ride.
Finally, I managed to reach Mike and Miguel, who were leaning against a table, holding tall glasses. I grinned.
"Piña coladas so soon?" I mused in, taking a glass from Miguel.
"You bet," Mike sniggered, gulping his down. Miguel nodded. I could see bags under both of their eyes, and grimaced. I always felt like I overworked my crew members too hard, but anytime I brought it up, they kept telling me that "No, Imani, we're fine! Please trust us." So, I trusted them.
"Oh, Imani, that was awesome!" squealed my lead costume designer, Kiara. "I told you that having the dress surrounded by flames would be a genius idea! You looked like a literal phoenix!"
I gave an amused smile. "I'm sure I did, Kiara." I took a quick moment to notice the rush of the lead designers hurrying to leave. I didn't blame them. It was absolutely sweltering.
"Now," Kiara began, "for your next show, do you want-"
"Shut up for a moment, Ki, and let me admire the stage," Mike called from a couple feet away, "I can hear you all the way over here!"
I laughed, and Kiara snorted before following the other lead designers as well. I took the time to admire the stage, walking to the first row of the seats and plopping down, still in the dress that had been lit up in flames less than 10 minutes ago. It still felt hot, which added to the already disgusting amount of sweat that was on my body.
The first thing I noticed when I sat down was the two ridiculously large snakes, which I presumed to be cobras, that had their hoods flared out in an attack position. Considering how this hotel was in Dubai, and with the snakes having guards stationed around them, they were most likely made from some gold, at least partially. Rubies stood in place of their eyes. Even I had to say that they gave off an intimidating feeling. In the sun, the cobras looked like guardians of the stage, simply glaring at everyone that went by. Once I was able to get over the snakes themselves, I noticed how they were coiled around a large, navy-blue pillar, that looked like as if the diamonds embedded into it to represent a starry night. Overall, I thought it had a beautiful affect on the stage.
