“Excuse me?” Allison looked between us.
“Retta pushed me and I almost fucking fell!” I yelled. “I don’t know what artist you know performing with a twisted ankle but if Retta wants to play violent games we can take it all the way there.”
“Chill out.” Drix lowered me to my feet but draped an arm over the front of my body across my chest.
“Retta, did you push Myome?”
“It was a slight nudge!” Retta argued. “And it was because she was holding up the line.”
Retta walked over the large mirror on the other side of the room and leaned forward to look at her face up close. I hadn’t done significant damage outside of the fact I’d busted her lip.
“What if you would have injured her?!” Allison’s voice rose. “Do you know how much is weighing on this tour? Radiant Reverie is a brand, a brand built on the three of you, not one or two of you. If Myome gets hurt, there is no tour. People aren’t paying this money to see a part of a promised group.” Allison looked at me. “And that goes for you too, Myome. We can’t have Retta out of commission.”
“A little makeup never hurt anyone.” I forced a smile onto my face and she exhaled and pinched the bridge of her nose.
“I don’t know what I have to say or do to make you women realize that this is a group and a team effort but the two of you better figure it out quickly,” she snipped. “Luckily our next show isn’t for a few days so you ladies will be at a hotel instead of slammed together in the tour bus but… Just keep it together for the next few months please. There’s already been controversy around the group which is still very young in terms of the industry. It’s not a good look, and believe it or not, your label will shelve you if you’re costing more to put out than you can pay back, and if there’s drama every other day, people will tune in for the drama but rarely the product you're selling.” Allison pulled her phone out when it rang, answered immediately and quickly walked out to take the call in private.
“Bitch,” Retta grumbled.
“Girl, fuck you,” I countered.
Retta dabbed at her mouth briefly then exhaled.
“Look, I don’t want us to get dropped, okay? So can we get this tour done and just consider this the end?”
“There should have never been a beginning to it,” I scoffed. “But sure, Retta. I’ll keep doing exactly what the fuck I’ve been doing this entire time, showing up and performing with two well working ankles.” I forced a smile.
She rolled her eyes. “Nobody was trying to break your ankles, Myome.”
“Well, let me try to push you down with your heels on then and we’ll call it even.” I waited for a moment. “No? Oh. Okay. Cool.” I slid out of Drix’s grasp. “I’m going to be professional with you, Retta, but I want you to realize that every time you play with me, I’m going to rock your mothafuckin’ jaw as soon as we’re away from the cameras,” I said simply and walked overto grab my bag. “And next time I won’t start off with no fucking flowers.” I spun back around and Drix shook his head.
“Charm, are you rolling with us?” he asked. “We’re getting something to eat before we head to the hotel.”
“Uh, sure.” She grabbed her bag. “If having me as a third wheel isn’t annoying.”
“Nah. You’re good. Come on.”
Drix took both of our bags and we left Retta alone in the dressing room.
Allison did a double take when she saw us in the hall.
“We’re going to grab food then head to the hotel. We’ll see you in the morning,” Charm said quickly.
Allison nodded to let us know she’d heard us.
The three of us went to a sushi and hibachi place where the food was amazing and I was thankful for the leftovers.
“Nah. It was just simple shit with my wife. I’ll be back tomorrow, just not in time for a session at eight. Can we do sometime after lunch? Like three?” Drix spoke into his phone while we were driven through the city. “Man, I can find a studio and punch in from anywhere. I can get it to you tonight. Just give me about…” He looked at his watch. “Two hours. A’ight.” Drix hung up and immediately started typing on his phone. “I’ve got to hit a twenty-four hour studio,” he announced. “Y’all can go back to the hotel and I’ll come through when I finish.”
I sucked my teeth. “Now you know I want to tag along to the studio.” I looked at Charm. “Want to come and keep me company?”
“Sure.”
“A’ight then.” Drix tapped the man who was driving and gave him the new address.
The studio he’d picked was a nice one in the center of the city and he got to work as soon as we had the door closed and locked.
Charm and I sat together on the couch and went through the footage and pictures that had been posted to pick which ones we would post on our personal pages.