Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2001 02:01:16 From: Jeff Langdon Subject: Westlife Romance - Chapter 53 Westlife Romance - Part 53 An annoyed look was evident almost immediately on the girl's face. "And is that a problem?" Mark was caught off guard by the girl's quick response. "I was hoping that we would get someone who could handle the job...but you..." "Whatever," she answered with annoyance before walking towards the other side of the room, leaving Mark standing there dumbfounded. Mark turned to face the lads, who had just witnessed the conversation. "Great, this is wonderful," Mark said as he threw his hands up in the air in frustration. "First, Derek disappears. Now, we have to put up with a girl for our replacement stage hand." Shane smiled and walked towards Mark. "What's the matter, Mark? Maybe she won't be as bad as you think..." "Yeah, whatever," Mark answered in a defeated tone. "What choice do we have? I just hope she doesn't mess up." * * * * * * * * * "Alright, lads," Shane announced. "This is it!! Our first show in the United States. Let's make it a good one!!" The lads hugged and stormed onto the stage, eager to start their show. The audience was very appreciative, and this response served to feed more energy to the lads. They gave all they had to the show, both in terms of singing and dancing. As the show headed into the final segment, the entire auditorium went dark. The lads quickly changed and got into position for the final leg of the show. The audience waited in anticipation but there was nothing but silence. What they could not see was the lads exchanging puzzled looks, wondering why the lights weren't coming on. A few more seconds later, a loud bang from the back stage area could be heard. Before anyone could react, the lights finally came on. Breathing a sigh of relief, the lads finished the show without another glitch. After the show, the lads went back to the dressing room. They were generally pleased with how things went, though that glitch near the end of the show robbed them of the wish for a perfect show. Mark was the first to finish dressing. They were planning to grab some dinner before heading back to the hotel. "Are you lads ready yet?" he called out. "Give us a few more minutes!" Shane answered back. "Fine, I'll wait for you outside." As Mark walked down the corridor, he came face to face with the new stagehand. "Fine job you did tonight!!" he spat out sarcastically. "I told you girls can't do these jobs properly," he added under his breath. "I'm sorry, okay?" she answered. "It was an accident." "Well, your little accident cost us the perfect show. Do you know how important this show was to us?" Before she could answer, Mark continued walking down the corridor, not bothering to say goodbye. All the poor girl could do was sigh and shake her head. "Thank goodness I'm only here for a few shows. I can't stand that jerk," she thought to herself. As she walked down the hall, she came across Bryan, Kian, and Shane. "That was a wonderful show tonight, guys," she said cheerfully. The response she got was much less friendly. "Yeah," Kian answered. "It would've been a lot better if you didn't mess up," he said sarcastically. It was a blunt and simple statement, but it said so much; it was like a slap in the face. To make matters worse, neither Bryan nor Shane said anything to rebuke Kian's rudeness. Shane whispered in Bryan's ear and both lads looked at her and began to laugh. She felt like she was the target of ridicule, and had no intention of staying to continue being humiliated. Furious, she stormed into the lounge, hoping to pack her things and leave. "No way am I going to stay for another show with these bastards!!" she said to herself. Her back to the door, she did not see Nicky walking into the room. Remembering that he never formally introduced himself to the new stagehand, and gently tapped her on the shoulder. "What the hell do you want?" she yelled as she turned around in anger, causing Nicky to jump back in shock. "Uh...nothing really," Nicky said sheepishly. "I just wanted to say hi and to thank you for filling in tonight." Taken aback by the unexpectedly kind words, she remained silent for a few seconds. "Well, you're welcome," she finally said softly. "By the way, I'm Annette." Nicky extended his hand and smiled. "Well, I'm Nicky. It's a pleasure to meet you. You were great tonight..." Annette's smile faded and she withdrew her hands. "Well, if you wanted to say that I messed up the lighting, you can just say so. You don't have to pretend to be complimenting me," she said angrily. Again, Nicky was left in confusion. "That's not what I meant..." "Well, that's what all your spoiled friends have been telling me, so what makes you any different?" she continued. "And by the way, you can just find yourself another stagehand, 'cause I'm quitting!!" ...to be continued....