Sky stood at the door of the movie theater and watched as girls slowly started to trickle in. Instead of dresses pulled over swimsuits and wet hair, every single girl was impeccably dressed. The first dinner of the cruise was always formal and this crowd had pulled out all the stops.
She found the age range interesting. Girls that couldn't be older then ten passed in small groups wearing sweet formal dresses and girls that looked like they could be as old as Sky passed, their dresses showing almost as much skin as their bathing suits.
Anders walked up, his eyes following a group of older girls into the movie theater. "I see those wandering eyes," Sky said.
"Don't be jealous," he said. "You know you'll always be my number one." He came to stand beside her.
"What are you even doing here? I can't imagine a movie concert getting out of control." She thought back to the scene at the pool and corrected herself. "Then again, I wouldn't put it past these girls."
"I just got off and saw you here," he said casually. His eyes continued to roam the crowd of girls entering the theater.
"I'm sure the girls had nothing to do with it," she said. Anders didn't respond, his attention elsewhere. She smirked and started to head into the theater.
"Sky," he called after her. His body seemed to find his brain again and he followed her. "What did you say?" He caught up to her as she walked towards the front of the theater.
"Never mind, I got my answer," she said with a smile. Pretty girls and William Bentley, Anders two weaknesses.
"You gonna hang around?" she asked.
"Sure. For a bit," he said.
"I'm gonna do a little introduction. Wanna go up to the projection room? I'll be right up," she said. She nodded her head in the direction of the small room above the theater.
"Girl, you do your introduction," he said sassily. He snapped his fingers before he left.
"You know how I do," she laughed. Anders laughed as he walked up a side aisle and exited the theater.
Sky checked the time and waited a few more minutes until the last few stragglers made their way into seats.
"Ladies and gentleman, tonight we present the Live Concert Experience of Knox Hamilton's Back Again World Tour," she announced loudly. "Please get comfortable. The feature will be starting soon. For your enjoyment, our crew will be serving popcorn and other delicious treats for the next ten minutes before the movie starts. Other then that, sit back, relax, and prepare to be serenaded by the glorious Knox Hamilton." Sky's closing remark got cheers and several shouts.
She found a theater crew member and let her know they could start serving in the theater. Then she climbed the stairs to the next level and entered into the completely black room. The room was about the size of a large walk in closet with two stools on either side of the large projector.
"Some of your best work," Anders said. He didn't bother to look up from the game he was playing on his phone.
"I can tell you really mean it," she said.
"Where did you go after lunch?" Anders asked. He slipped his phone back into his pocket.
"The bat cave," she said, her voice dramatic. It wasn't ever enough to just say the nickname, you had to make it sound as dramatic as possible.
"Thrilling."
"Louis had me calling and confirming all the land excursion reservations for tomorrow," she said. "So you know, saving the world from the scum of Gotham. Pretty much the usual."
Anders laughed. "I'm sure you would have made batman proud."
Once the concession crew was finished handing out treats, Sky turned on the projector and lowered the lights in the theater.
"Are you actually going to watch?" Anders asked, as the opening credits of the film began.
"I have to be here to make sure it runs right. It's the movie or staring into that dark corner," she said, pointing to the back corner of the room.
"I'm on the fence about which is better. I'll watch the first ten minutes and then let you know."
The screen went black and a low thundering sound started to rise. Slowly, the screen began to fill with tiny shaking dots. The thunder grew and soon became audible as screams and the imagine of a stage began to take form in the sea of cellphone lights and glow-in-the-dark objects.
A voice started to sing out the lyrics to a song. Sky was impressed the camera was able to pick up anything above the screams. Then she looked down at the audience and realized that the screams weren't just coming from the film but also from the crowd below.
Knox's clear strong voice sang out the chorus of one of his most popular songs and Sky recognized it. It had played none stop the summer before, even being dubbed the 'Song of the Summer'.
"Omigosh! Can you believe how beautiful he is!" Anders screamed in a shrill voice. It was higher than Sky thought possible.
"Calm yourself," she said. "It's just a concert film."
"I think someone forgot to tell them," he said. He pointed down to the crowd of girls who were on their feet, singing and dancing along.
"He's not bad," she said. The first song had ended and Knox had moved smoothly into the next.
"Did you just see that girl?" Anders asked. The camera panned across the front rows at the concert. "It looked like she was hyperventilating."
"She probably was. Girls go crazy at these things."
"Of course you know this from experience."
"More from the stories Jules tells me," she said. "Every time she comes back from a break she always has some new concert story to tell me. About how the lead singer touched her hand and their eyes met and she knew in that moment they both felt something electric."
"Probably just a lose wire from his mic," Anders said. Sky burst out laughing. "He does have good hair," he added. The camera swooped in from the right for a close up and Knox winked at the camera.
"I like his music," Sky said. "He has a good voice and the songs are catchy."
"Like the one from last summer," he said. "Something like, 'I can see the light reflecting off your skin, feel your sweet breath as I lean in." He was off key.
"Wow! I'm impressed Anders. I never knew you were a Knox Hamilton fan."
"It was on the radio all the time. I could either fight it or give in and enjoy the ride."
"Do you like him more then William Bentley?" she asked.
"Don't even joke about that," he said seriously.
Sky laughed. She looked down to see the girls still on their feet, but their dancing had turned into swaying as Knox started to sing a slow song.
Anders watched all the girls swooning below. "I think I'm going to head out before I drown in all these female hormones."
"Okay. Is anyone doing anything tonight?" she asked.
Anders stood from his chair. "Probably just something up on deck. When are you done here?"
"I'll be done around ten. Wanna come by my room at ten-thirty? We can wander up to the deck and see what people are doing?"
"Sounds good," he said.
After Anders left, Sky stretched in her chair and tried to get more comfortable. She had gotten up early that morning and her last cup of coffee had been a couple of hours ago. The more she watched the concert, the more she understood why the girls were so crazy for Knox. He was charismatic and smooth. The easy way he talked in between songs made it feel personal.
He wasn't bad looking either. She gave the girls that. But she still didn't understand the screaming. The closest she had ever gotten to something as crazy as that had been in the third grade over a boy all the girls loved. But if she had been honest with herself, she was more doing it to fit in than because she actually found Tommy Heller to be all that amazing.
Sky blamed her constant change in music for her inability to stick with one band or musician. If she liked a band one week, by the next she had found a new one. She got too antsy listening to the same music just like she got antsy when she stayed in the same place for too long.
Sky watched as Knox left the stage after the last song and the lights went out. She brought up the lights in the theater and the girls slowly started to grab their purses and leave. She stood at the exit and said good night as the girls streamed out.
"He's so amazing!" one of the girls said.
"I can't believe we get to hang out with him all week!" another one said.
"Bianca, where are you going?" a girl called out. Sky turned to see a group of older girls walking out of the theater. One girl broke away from the group.
"Hi, do you know what events Knox is going to be at now?" the girl asked. She was taller than Sky, with her brunette hair half up, the other half falling over one shoulder and skimming the top of her tight strapless burgundy dress.
"Let me check the schedule," Sky said. She walked to the small concession stand and pulled out the week's schedule. She scanned the various events going on that night. The girl followed her and leaned against the counter, tapping her nails.
"Knox Hamilton doesn't have any events tonight," Sky said. "He will be going on the Ancient Runes hike tomorrow in Mexico." The girl gave a condescending smile and leaned towards Sky.
"That's great but I wanna know about tonight. Where he will be?" She emphasized the last word. Sky stayed silent. She understood the subliminal message the girl was clearing trying to convey. She knew playing dumb would end the conversation faster.
"I'm sure the staff is privy to certain details" the girl tried again. She pulled money out of her purse. "And I want to know them."
"When the celebrities are off the clock, the staff doesn't know where they go," Sky answered. "But, they seem to be frequenting the popular spots. The best I can offer you is the events that are going on tonight." The girl seemed annoyed that Sky didn't play along with her game but Sky didn't have any information to offer.
"Fine," the girl said. She clapped her clutch shut. "Can you tell what the events are for tonight?"
"All the bars are open tonight, the Lenox and the Mirage both have dance floors and DJs," Sky said. "There is also bingo and of course, the casino is also open."
The girl thought over the options for a moment. "Where are the two dance clubs?" she asked.
"The Lenox is located on the seventh floor and the Mirage is located on the fifth." Sky said.
The girl turned and walked away without another word, rejoining the group of girls. "I just got a notification that someone spotted Knox heading towards the gym," one of the girls said. The group rushed towards the closest elevator.
Sky checked in with the theater crew before she left. She flipped on the lights to her room and let out a happy sigh, falling on the bed. She glanced at the clock on her bedside table and saw it was only ten ten. She had twenty minutes before Anders was going to stop by and knowing Anders, it was more like half an hour. She grabbed as change of clothes and went to take a shower.
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