Taking a deep breath, I grabbed the bulging black bag from the bin and carried it out over my shoulder. The voices and music behind me gradually faded as I made my way down the dark, bleak hallways towards the dumpster outside. Before long, all I could hear was the subtle tapping of my shoes against the floor.

I grunted with effort, shoving open the back door and stumbling the last few feet over to the sour-smelling dumpster. Hurling the heavy trash bag over the sludge-covered lip of it, a new mental checkmark etched itself onto my imagined to-do list. Good so far. Dusting myself off, I retraced my steps back inside to where I'd left my mop.

The peppy music came to a screeching halt just as I reached for the handle, and I caught a brief glimpse between the curtains of one of the group members arguing with the man I'd met earlier. Except...he didn't look so good.

Utterly dazed and confused, the latter member nodded in understanding and took his place in the formation again. The former, who I assumed to be the leader of the group judging by his don't-piss-me-off-again attitude, muttered something beneath his breath. He wandered back to the front, adjusting the mic on his headset with an annoyed expression. They started again, but this time there was no mistaking it.

Something's wrong.

Peering through a dark forest of hair with bangs like gnarled branches, the dazed idol stood frozen to the floor, wholly enraptured in what couldn’t be seen. The others ghosted past him, leaving him stranded beneath the burning spotlight in the center of the stage. Swaying slightly, he tilted his chin back to fix his cloudy eyes on the ceiling, uttering unintelligible nonsense under his breath as if he were casting a spell.

I inched closer, peeking around the heavy, black curtain separating us. Maybe he just needs a break, I thought, absentmindedly gnawing away at my bottom lip. He’s probably just tired.

And just like that, a flash of rose collided into the idol with a sharp cry of astonishment. The latter’s eyes rolled back to milky whites, knees buckling and body folding in on itself as it floated to the floor like a piece of paper in the wind. Slowly, gently, then suddenly crashing when you least expect it.

He threw his head back, the shockwaves rippling through his body and attacking each nerve. Flailing out of control, white foam peeked out between his lips as his muscles and limbs went haywire.

Panic seized the other members instantly, and I watched in disbelief as the arena's first responder team sprang into action, swooping onto the stage like starving vultures witnessing the collapse of a fatally wounded animal. Medics promptly restrained the man to prevent him from injuring himself, struggling to get him stabilized. They pinned him down on his side, yellowish vomit seeping from his mouth and pooling beneath his cheek.

Several minutes passed before he fell completely limp in the medics' arms.

But it wasn't until he was being loaded onto a stretcher and wheeled away that the whole room breathed an audible sigh of relief. The remaining members spoke in hushed tones, most of them anxiously shifting their weight side to side or tugging at their hair.

No, I don't know what they're saying, but if I had to guess, it's probably something along the lines of, "what the bleep just happened?" I know that's partly what I'm thinking.

I guess bad luck is contagious, I thought to myself, a shred of guilt gnawing at my insides. He just seemed so normal when I met him...what happened? I shook my head and turned back to the dripping mop in my hand. It's just another day.

With that thought in mind, I went about my business and set to mopping the vinyl floors backstage, keeping my back to the curtains until the last person in the building had left. From then, I steadily worked my way onstage, pausing only to adjust my grip on the handle from time to time.

The squelching water was a pretty good distraction from the day's events, but I'm still dreading figuring out where I'm going to sleep tonight. I've never been well off with money... As it turns out, rent is kind of hard to pay with my current salary, and then I have to worry about gas, electric, groceries—the whole shebang. Which leads me to think...maybe I should just become a stri—?

Tap.

My brows furrowed in confusion as I glanced down to see what my foot had bumped into, eyes widening in astonishment. They left the laptop they were using for practice! And it looks expensive, too—someone's definitely getting fired. Thank God it's not me. Yet.

Glancing around just to be extra sure I was really alone, I slowly knelt down beside the laptop and cracked it open. I wonder if it's still connected to the speakers? If it is, you bet your bottom I'll be blasting their playlist with the volume cranked all the way up.

The songs popped up on the little screen without hesitation to taunt me further, and a smile spread wide across my lips. Please do the thing, I prayed silently, clicking on the play button with a twinge of hope.

Gentle music flooded the room almost instantly, and a surge of excitement filled my veins in the form of shivers and goosebumps. I jumped to my feet with a renewed sense of motivation, swaying along to the upbeat melody. All  my frustration washed away, and for a minute I forgot all about Alexis and Derrick. Because let's be honest here: no matter how bad the day is, there's nothing a good song can't fix...

And this one freaking slaps. If only I could understand it.

Then again, who cares?

Laughing happily as I got more and more into the song, I began using my mop as a prop, twirling it effortlessly to the rhythm of the music. Thirty seconds later, I tossed it in the water bucket and abandoned it. My feet glided back and forth across the slick vinyl as I took center stage, absentmindedly replicating the choreography I had seen earlier.

Sure, my dancing wasn't nearly as perfect or as fluid as theirs was, but the emotional connection was spot-on. The lip-syncing, on the other hand...tragic. Just tragic.

I was just about to start round two when I spun around and spotted a middle-aged man observing me from the far corner of the stage. He smiled a little at the alarmed noise that escaped my lips and slowly closed the laptop in his hands, cutting off the music and engulfing us in silence.