"Good morning America!" De held the MTV mic to her mouth with a giant smile on her face. " You are live on the set of Promise new video...Get Up!" It was seven in the morning and this girl was acting as if it was past noon. She had been laughing and throwing jokes around like crazy I didn't know what the deal was with her, but the MTV producers seemed to like her energy as they stuck around in our dressing to interview us while we prepared for the video.
Bobby was spraying hair spray on my curls while I watched De continued to joke around with Jojo. "Hi, I'm Donna Summer and this is June Carter Cash, and you are watching Ear Of The Storm." She was speaking in a news reporter tone; yet, she was claiming they were singers? Jojo looked a little annoyed. "Have you been boned up your ass lately for being a fucking wise guy? Well, if it's so ask my friend here what it's like. She is now on a pampering routine and is endorsing the new product, butt plug." She turned to Jojo. "Jo, would care to bend over and crack a smile for us?"
Nikki was laughing her butt off. "De you can't say that on TV!"
"We'll just edit it out."said one of the reporters who was also laughing.
"Jo, will you care to comment on this situation?"
Jojo shook her head and sat down in the chair. Placing her hands over her eyes as she shook her head. "De, oh my God..." She whined. "I'll bring out the whips and chains later, just please leave me alone right now." She said, deadpan.
"And there you have it folks!" De laughed as she carried the microphone back towards the camera. "From the bossy one of the group. That's JoJo y'all."
I shook my head and began playing with the zippers on the black pants I was wearing. "Now let's go to little miss Nikki. "
"Oh God.."
"Nikki, is it true that uh, you were the one they found in the elevator with your neck broken, because you were trying to reach yourself?" Nikki and I exchanged confused glances. "Well if it's so, give your self a hand. 'Cause remember, you're the only one who can hand it to yourself."
She started laughing again as she made her way to Leena. "And now we have Leena!" She literally screamed her name. " Li-li-li-leena!!!!!! The party chick. So um.....Leena. Do you tie....your socks up at night so one doesn't crawl away from the other? If it's so.....we don't care, cause you're just one weird ass mother fucker!"
Leena pushed her away, rolling her eyes.
"And last but certainly not least we got little Aaliyah!!!" She crotched down on the side of the chair. "You lookin' pretty girl....with your curls and everything! Mmhmmm, baby girl is a big girl now, huh? Well, I hope you know what goes along with that territory." She smiled back at the camera. "Now, Liyah. I am going to tell you a story. Okay? So listen... closely. It might just change your life. Now!" She cleared her throat and rubbed her nose. " There once was a young girl from Dallas...who used a dynamite stick....for a phallus...."
I gave her a disgusted look. "What?"
"De! Cut it out!" Jojo demanded, trying to microphone from her.
"No, I'm not done yet!!" She snatched it back and turned back to me. They found her vagina in North Carolina, and ass hole in Buckingham palace!" She busted out laughing as she stood up. "We have coke, we have weed, we have all that you need. We are Promise, the sexiest R&B group there is out there. Come on...and get O'deed with us."
"Okay!" Nikki stood up. "This girl here is officially crazy." She took the Microphone from her and handed it back to the host. "We are so sorry, she usually don't act like this."
He laughed at her. "It's okay. I uh, I needed a good laugh."
I sighed and shook my head, resting it on my fists. De sat back down in her chair and began spinning it around in circles. "Weeeee!"
"'Damn, De. Take a chill pill. " Leena said.
She stopped swirling. " I am officially..." She paused for dramatic affect. "done."
Rolling my eyes I glanced in the mirror to see that I was now in full hair and makeup. My curls were down my back and my make was down neutrally. Danny was doing something to the curls when Bobby walked in holding a card in his hand. He smiled at the five of us showing his crooked teeth. " Ladies, you look gorgeous."
"Thank you. " We all said at the same time.
"Ooh who are the Camellia's for?" I heard Leena ask. Only she and I would know a Camellia when we saw one. Back when we used to live in Alabama with my grandma, they would grow in front of the small house she used to live in. I remember as a little four or five year old girl I would go running down the wooden steps to go pick them and take them to the house and water them; leaving them in this gorgeous crystal vase that I honestly was not allowed to touch. I would sit them on the wooden table in the dinning room so that it would lighten up the room. It always seemed so dull to me. And when they died..I would go pick some more. Those were happy child hood moments for me. Some that I barely remembered because I was so young in age.
Bobby looked down at them.
"They're probably for Donna." De joked..
"No, De. These are for Liyah."
I felt my eyebrows frown. "Me?"
"Yeah," he said as he sat them in front of me. " they're from Michael."
"Michael?" I hadn't seen Michael in at least two weeks. Between video shoots ams photoshoots sometimes we barely even got a phone call in. I tries to keep myself busy by writing songs and staying behind at dance rehearsals, but sometimes that didn't even work.
"Aww!" Nikki said as she rolled her chair over to me. " He got you a card! Read it!"
I took the thick envelope and tore out open with out saying anything. I took the paper out of it and folded it slowly. His sloppy hand writing was across the page:
Liyah,
I just want you to know that if I had a flower for every time I think about you, I'd be walking in a garden for hours, if not days. I miss you. So, so, so, so much. Can't wait to see you again.
Keep gumming for me.
Love,
Michael
P.S. I got Camellias because I know they're your favorite.
A huge smile stretched across my face to the point where I was showing my gums. He loved it when I smiled like that. That was the reason for him telling me to keep "gumming" for him. I couldn't stand it when I smiled like that and I often tried not to, but when I was around him I simply could not help me. He was the only who could make me smile like that. I took the flowers and smelled them. Some how, they had the scent of his cologne mixed in with it's sweet smell. "Donna?" I called. She looked up from one of the set directors.
"Yes, Liyah?"
" Can you find some water to put these in, please?" I asked, as politely as I possibly could.
"Sure!"
"And be very careful. Thank you."
I watched as she scurried off to follow my command. "So what does the letter say?"
"Nothing," I told Nikki timidly.
She gave me a look." I know good and well that nothing just didn't make you smile like that."
I began to blush. "Oh, my God..." I said, embarrassed.
"And now you're blushing." Leena added.
"He just said he misses me, that's all, gosh." I stood up putting the letter in a random crease in my journal.
"Hey, Liyah. You're needed on the set." Wayne walked in.
I nodded and began heading out towards the door. " Wayne, why don't you ever send me flowers?" De asked.
"Because flowers are cheap."
She laughed and kissed him.
I shook my head and began heading towards the set. It was a bed room set with a huge king sized bed with a black silk sheets. The director was a tall black guy with a perm. He smiled at me when he saw Bobby and I walk up. "Hey, Liyah right?"
I nodded my head as I shook his hand. "Okay, so when the music starts I want you to just improve. Do what the music tells you and then when I signal I want you to turn around, pull off your shirt and glance at the camera. Okay?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait!" I said stopping him. " I'm gone do what now?"
"Did you not understand my directions?"
"No, I understood them. I'm just stuck at the part where you said I'm supposed to take off my shirt. I'm not taking off my shirt!"
"Bobby said that--"
"Bobby did not discuss this with me."
We both glanced at bobby who was staring at me with a sheepish look on my face. " Bobby? What is this?"
He sighed, grabbing my arm and pulling me to the side." Look it's not what you think."
"It's not what I think?" I retorted.
"In this business you sometimes have to do what you don't want to do--this is one if them."
My face fell." I'm sorry, but getting naked in front of a camera is not what I signed up for."
"You're not actually getting naked. a your back will be to the camera and when you turn your head to look, you will be covering yourself. Your boobs won't even be showing. It's supposed to be sexy."
I stared at him for a long moment before stepping up to him. " Let me tell you something. There is a difference between being sexy and slutty."
" Who said you were a slut?"
"No one yet." I said as I cocked my head to the side. "But if I do this I'm pretty sure they will."
"So you're not doing it?"
"No!' I threw my hands up. " Why do I have to be the one to do it anyway. Leena would gladly do it."
"Leena's not the lead singer."
I rolled my eyes." Whatever, Bobby." I couldn't believe him. I wasn't going to myself on a camera like that. I don't care if was just my bare back. That was just absolute disrespect. I wanted to be known for my talent. Not the fact that I took my shirt off in one of my videos. That was not me. That wasn't me at all. I was just beginning to see how crazy the business could be, and didn't like it one bit.
Bobby sighed dramatically I'm frustration. "Why do you have to be the uncooperative one?" He asked under his breath. He began rubbing away the needs of sweat that was forming on his forehead "Okay, okay. You don't have to do it. Dennis. Leave the shirtless part out."
Dennis walked up to us. " What, why?"
"She's not comfortable with it. Just leave that part out."
He shook his head." Okay. Come on."
Nikki's POV
"Girls, come on. We need to get started. Fun and games are over now." Donna said as walked in holding a clear flower vase in her hand that held Liyah's flowers. I thought it was the sweet eat thing in the world that Michael would get her flower just because he missed her. It was so romantic. Almost like in movies. I thought it was the sweetest thing in the whole world. My heart melted for her when I saw her smile the way she did.
We stood up from our chairs. Getting on last not of a touch up. De took her purse and began heading towards the door. " I have to go to the bathroom real quick. I'll meet y'all out there." She seemed to be coming down from what ever had her in such a crazy mood that morning. It was now almost eight. I turned to the mirror to cheek my tan brown hair and make up. The room all of a sudden fell in silence. I turned to see that everyone was gone. "Hey, wait for me!" I yelled as I tried yo catch up with them. I stopped at Liyah's mirror to smell her Camellias. They smelled really sweet. I picked the vase up and looking at the designs. There were little flowers going all around them. I began to hold it up on my palm so that I could see the light shine on it.
Before I could even react the vase fell off the palm of my hand to the floor. My heart dropped to my stomach..For a moment I thought I had broke it but them I realized they fell on Liyah's jeans that were on the floor. The water was rushing out of it. I quickly picked it up before too much water came out and sat it back on the table. Realizing that I needed to clean the water as well. I ran out and headed towards the bathroom..When I entered. I began to grab as many brown paper towels as I possibly could. I stopped grabbing when I heard something. Something that sounded like sniffing. It was then that I remembered that De was in there.
I placed the paper towels down and sat and began walking towards the stalls. I looked down to see if I could see her feet. Her leather boots was what gave her away. I began walking towards the third stall. Slowly. The sniffing sounded as if she was crying. I couldn't understand why she would be crying she seemed so happy this morning. Then I remembered the look De was giving Liyah when she was reading her letter from Michael. It was a look of disgust. I thought that maybe she was just confused. I often mixed the to up, but no, she looked ad of she envied her at that moment.
As if she was jealous.
It disappeared as soon as Liyah's eyes pulled away from the paper. De's stall was still opened slightly. The sniffing had stopped and all there was were breathing. Soft breathing. I pushed opened the stall to see her sitting on the toilet with the sheet down. Her head was creating against the back wall and she head her mouth slightly opened. "De?" I asked softly. I glanced down at her lap and my eyes widened..There was a metal lid with lines of white powder stretching across. She had a tube in her other hand. "Oh, my God! De!"
Her head shot up. Her eyes widened like crazy her mouth opened slightly.
"What are you doing?!" I asked. "What is that?"
"Nikki...." She dusted the rest back in the container. "Don't-" She threw back in her purse and slowly stood up from the chair." Don't tell anyone...please...."
I stood stunned in her crime.