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( CHAPTER FOURTEEN: THE DESTINATION ) May, 1990
❝ I'm dancing every night and giving my all on stage. ❞
◯
"Hurry up!" Hilary screeched, summoning all the dancers out of their designated rooms and leading them into the lush hotel lobby. Devon cursed under his breath, shoving his unfolded clothes into his suitcase as quickly as he could manage, since he in no way wanted to annoy the short-tempered woman more than she already was. It wasn't surprising that the Rhythm Nation crew was late for their flight to Tokyo, since their night was spent performing a benefit concert past their usual hours, which led for them to quickly lose track of time.
Jimmy cussing out a storm tore Devon away from his packing, seeing how his roommate struggled to fit his favourite sweater in with his full carry-on. Devon kindly offered to carry it in his suitcase, but Jimmy's superstitious nature claimed that if he didn't have it with him at all times it would be bad luck. Devon rolled his eyes at his answer, promptly clipping shut his luggage and dragging the bag out the narrow doorway.
"Everybody ready?" Tina questioned as Devon gathered to where most of the crew stood. They all appeared to be frowning, with dark circles under their eyes to account for their lack of sleep. Luckily the flight to Japan was long, since many people would gladly be taking advantage of the eleven hour journey.
For Devon, however, he was incredibly scared to be travelling out of the country for the first time in his entire life. He couldn't even handle six-hour flights, he had no idea how he'll handle sitting in a plane for eleven hours, especially when they were flying over open waters. The thought made him shiver, but he ignored the distasteful thoughts and returned his attention to Tina. "Where's Janet?" The brunette asked in bare confusion.
"She'll meet us on the plane," was all Hillary said, roughly pushing the dancers towards the hotel exit. Devon grunted in dismay, his feat sliding against the carpeted floor as he slowly followed the crew across the street to where the tour bus was parked. They usually took the bus when travelling between short-distances, but now that they were driving to the airport, they won't be needing it anymore.
"Ok, everyone get in, we're in a hurry!" Hilary yelled, her loud tone exhausting the crew even more as they piled onto the bus with heavy, withdrawn feat. Just as Devon's white sneakers touched the edge of the bus' step, he hesitated, his wearied brown eyes widening once he realised that he forgot something. The snow globe and hat that he bought for his little brother back in Kansas. Arkell's tenth birthday was coming up soon, and Devon wanted to send him something to make up for the fact that he couldn't be there.
"Hey Emmet, move it!" Hilary growled as Devon stood dead in his tracks, the young man glancing over his shoulder to look at the angry manager in the eye. Slowly, Devon shyly moved away from the bus and approached her, his expression a mixture of exhaustion, fatigue and apprehension. "Yo Hil, can I—uh, run up to my room real quick? I forgot somethin'," Devon asked, studying her reaction.
