Michael shielded his eyes with his hands as the sunlight whipped at his skin. He was tired of the island already. He sighed heavily as he jogged up to his brothers who were trying to get a taxi to the Sheraton Hotel further down in Kingston.
Michael knew of Bob Marley, the young Rastafarian who took pride in peace, of course he did, the fellow was taking the world by storm. But he didn't know much about the island that he lived on. So he did his research, and he was shocked to find out how much violence haunted the small island. Most magazines and travel guides shielded the island, calling it a home of sweet paradise. So it was quite a surprise when Michael found out about all the stories they left out. The stories of gangs, murders and corruption.
To be frank, Michael felt a little uneasy.. especially with the destination he was headed for at Hope Road where political tensions were high.
Finally, his brothers managed to hitch a taxi. The driver was blacker than tar and looked at the group of five like daggers were shooting out of his eyes. He held a roll of ganja between his fingers, and Michael caught a glimpse of the multiple gold teeth in his mouth.
Michael watched as his sisters were accompanied by a nicer looking man, he felt a little bit envious of them. He took a deep breath and hopped in the car with the rest of his brothers.
The smell of the burning ganja made him want to regurgitate, but he held his distain in, not wanting to offend the driver. Mostly out of blind fear. He didn't mean to be so hard on the island and the people on it, he was sure that the violence wasn't going to reach him, and that there was more to the beautiful island than that.. but he was a very cautious person by nature, so he proceeded following his intuition.
"Ay, wha bring unno to Jamaica?" The driver asked, turning down the radio.
"Bob Marley invited us. We're supposed to perform at his concert." Marlon spoke up with a friendly smile. Marlon was definitely the most excited to be on the island, he looked over all the bad things going on and seemed genuinely happy to get away from the rest of the world. Michael should've shared his mindset, yet he found himself too worried to do so. Deep down Michael knew he needed the rest and relaxation in the sunshine for a while, especially with everything going on with Motown. "The Jackson 5" was on a deep decline, and Michael wasn't feeling good about it.
"Big up unno selves." The driver replied with the nod of his head, he turned up the radio once more.
Michael had no idea what he just said but said 'thank you' nonetheless.
꧁
The hotel was small and cozy, he did wish that they used air conditioning instead of the numerous fans bombarded all over the lobby. But he didn't mind.
"I can't wait to go to the beach." Jermaine spoke up as he handed his luggage away, the others agreed.
"Do you think people know we're here?" Michael asked LaToya who was gazing out the window at a group of guys playing basketball. "Huh?" She blindly asked, redirecting her vision to Michael.
"I asked if you think people know we're here." He repeated.
"What do you mean, Mike? You guys are all over the newspapers. You're lucky that they don't know we're staying here yet." She said, looking back out the window.
"Oh." Michael muttered solemnly. He left LaToya to the window and found his way back over to his brothers who had already made hundreds of plans for their short stay.
"Chin up, Mike. We're in paradise." Jackie said to him before sending him a wink. "You might even find some groovy chick."
"He needs to find a groovy chick." Jermaine teased, causing Michael to roll his eyes as he muttered 'whatever' under his breath.
"Yo, Mike. We're going out to one of the clubs tonight, you wanna come along?" Tito asked. Michael shrugged, not really feeling in the mood. He was pretty sure Joe wouldn't let him anyways. Joe was always breathing down his neck, and not his other brothers. They were allowed to do practically anything, Joe endorsed their wild behaviour. Yet, if it were to be him, he wouldn't hear the end of it. It was mentally exhausting.
"C'mon Michael, at least have fun on our first night. You can do what you want for the rest." Randy piped up, causing him to roll his eyes. His brothers were now all pleading with him and at this point, he couldn't say no.
"Fine. Alright, I'll go." He gave in, causing a series of triumphant replies floating around the room. "But just for tonight, though." He let them know.
"Whatever, Mike." Jackie said, leaving Michael by himself in the lobby as the rest of his family went to their rooms. A small sigh escaped his lips as he drew closer to the window in which LaToya was previously posted up.
God help him.
꧁
Once Michael entered the club, he instantly knew that he wanted to leave.
The energy in the atmosphere was like nothing he's ever really witnessed at another club, ever. Though Michael didn't go to a lot of clubs willingly, he could tell that the definition of 'party' was very different to the people of this small island. People were drinking like there was no tomorrow, bodies were attached like skin, the music playing wasn't like the sweet reggae he had heard about, it was more harsh and vulgar sounding. And Michael, did not want to be there anymore.
When his brothers found some girls to dance with, Michael had just disappeared completely from their minds. Which he didn't completely mind. He stayed off in a corner of the bar, by himself, observing the dozens and dozens of people in the tightly packed club. He did find the way how they danced a bit intriguing. It wasn't like anything he's really seen before, these people had a sense of rhythm that was vibrant to watch. As his eyes scanned around the busy club, they stopped almost immediately once they landed on a girl that almost made time stop ticking.
She was dancing with the numerous other people, but she was the only one that really stood out. The way she danced was hypnotizing and Michael only tore his eyes away once she caught him staring.
He looked anywhere and everywhere except for at her. After a while of him awkwardly looking around the club, he slowly gazed back at the spot where she once was to see that she was nowhere to be seen. A part of him was disappointed even though he knew that he wouldn't have been able to muster up enough courage to talk to her.
"Mi like yuh 'fro." A voice said from behind him, startling him as he quickly turned around to face the source. It was her. She was standing with one hand on her hip and the other hand holding a glass of rum.
Michael smiled awkwardly. "My Afro?" He asked as she nodded, a smirk tugging on her pink lips.
"Thank you." He said sheepishly. He felt her eyes scan up and down his body, it sent an odd shiver down his spine. "Mi feel like seh mi know yuh from somewhere." She said as her eyes continued to trail across his body. At any second, Michael expected her to crack the code. And with her cracking the code, it would lead her to look and treat him differently. But surprisingly, she didn't press the topic further.
"So.. where yuh from?" She asked instead, bringing the cup of rum to her lips.
"Oh, me? I'm from Indiana, in America." He told her. She only nodded, her eyes twinkling the more he looked at them. She smiled softly. "So you're not going to ask me to dance?" She asked teasingly, causing Michael to flush.
"S-sure.." He said. She smiled wider before placing her cup on the table behind him, she grabbed his hand and led him to the dance floor. A slower, more milder song started playing. The girl before him immediately took him by surprise when she turned around, placed his arms on her waist and started rolling her body against his.
He almost pulled away, not used to the more provocative style of dancing that was popular in the club that night. But she didn't overstep her boundaries, and eventually he was able to comfortably move along with her to the rhythm of the song.
If Joe could see him, he knew it would make him livid, and you could say that that fact made Michael loosen up a bit. Disobeying his father was always sort of a thrill.
Before long, the song had finished and she had turned around and held him closer when the next song started playing.
She leaned in closer to his ear. "I'm Nyika." She whispered in his ear. In his peripheral vision, he could see that she had spotted something, or someone amongst the sea of people in the club, that made her fret. But she regained her composure almost immediately. "Later Michael." And with that, she had slipped from his arms, and before he could blink, she was gone.
Michael could've sworn that his head started to spin. The mystery woman had already caught his attention, and he could feel his heart pick up speed just thinking about her.
"Nyika." He repeated. Her name sounded so foreign, and so pretty.
He wiped the sweat off his brow and exited the club, his vision hazy as he headed back to the hotel.
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