Seventy Two

CHAPTER 72

Golden University, New York.

Alicia was waiting for Brittany in the main corridor of the campus in her knee-length floral dress. The dark-haired girl had been standing behind the bulletin board for the past five minutes because she was going to the movies with Brittany today.

"Holaaa, Alicia," Brittany greeted happily.

The chubby-cheeked girl was wearing a red off-shoulder blouse and a black knee-length skirt paired with dark ankle boots. She also immediately embraced Alicia, who was now on the same level as her because Alicia was not wearing her usual high-heeled shoes. "I look better when you wear those flat shoes, Alicia," he said.

Which made Alicia smile slightly. "Are we leaving now?"

"Oh, sure," she replied quickly. Brittany also handed Alicia a gold-colored ticket. "A special ticket for my best friend."

Alicia just snorted in amusement and nodded her head. "Thank you, Brittany."

Afterwards, Alicia and Brittany headed to the theater in Town Square, New York. Brittany had already purchased two VIP tickets for the Broadway solo performance that would take place this afternoon through the online system. Rumor has it that the story is based on the true story of an actress who died a few weeks ago. Although the organizers of the show themselves have not confirmed anything regarding the rumors.

And once they arrived, the sight of a long line of people wanting to watch the show greeted the two's senses.

"Oh my God, the line is so long!" exclaimed Brittany.

The two of them were now walking towards the line to join the rest of the audience. However, the tickets were non-refundable and they would both be at a huge loss if they didn't go to the show.

"Lucky I went with you, Alicia," Brittany continued. She then girded her loins and shook her head in disbelief. "I don't know what I'd do in this long line without you. I'd be so bored!"

While Brittany continued to grumble in front of her, Alicia's gaze was drawn to the large billboard showing the faces of the actors who would be performing next to the entrance.

No, not the billboard.

But her gaze was drawn to a man dressed all in black with a long suit that almost touched his knees. He stared at the billboard with a mysterious look. But Alicia knew there was hatred in it. In addition, the man who had his back to these people also looked like Ace from behind.

Alicia then tried to stand on tiptoe, hoping to see who the man standing in front was.

"What are you doing, Alicia?" but Brittany's voice cut off the action.

Which made Alicia suddenly turn to Brittany to tell her about the man. "I kind of saw Ace..." but as soon as the blue irises turned back to where the man had been, he was gone. "Over there," he continued in a tone that sounded confused.

Brittany followed the direction Alicia had just indicated. "Ace?" and there was no one there but a billboard for the solo contest they were about to watch. "I don't see anyone, Alicia."

"Maybe I'm looking at it wrong," Alicia said skeptically.

And Brittany could only nod in agreement with Alicia's words. "Let's go to the front! You're making the line even longer," she urged. "Ace can't be here anyway. Didn't you say he was in Italy?"

"Yeah. You were right, Britt."

Alicia then chose to dismiss her imagination about the mysterious man. And the second after that, she could only convince herself that he wasn't her boyfriend, Ace.

Then they entered the building after checking their tickets. The view of the spacious building with colorful lights immediately greeted them. While on the main stage, a large red curtain covered almost the entire stage.

"Alicia," greeted someone who sounded familiar. And as soon as she turned around, Alicia found Mrs. Portman in front of her.

"Mrs. Portman?" Alicia smiled. "Are you going to watch too?"

And the woman who had her hair slicked back nodded in agreement. "I can't miss such a great art show," she said enthusiastically. "Where will you be sitting, by the way?"

"We'll be sitting in the second row from the front, Mrs. Portman," Brittany replied politely.

And she widened her eyes quickly. "We'll be close together," she said. "I'll be sitting in the first row."

"Wow. You're a VIP too, Mrs. Portman?" asked Brittany in awe.

And Mrs. Portman again just nodded and smiled gently.

"Impressive. Come on, let's get seated!"

After Brittany's invitation, the two separated into different rows of seats. And from where she was, Alicia could clearly see her beautiful lecturer. What she was doing and how enthusiastic she was as the show was about to start.

In the middle of the performance, Alicia realized that her lecturer was calling someone from her seat. Her expression turned anxious and she hurriedly got up to leave the show.

What was wrong with Mrs. Portman?

"I think I saw your lecturer come out earlier," Brittany whispered, not wanting to disturb the other audience members.

"Yes." Alicia nodded. "Maybe there's something urgent," Alicia whispered back.

"Well, let's get on with the show."

After two hours, the show was finally over. The roar and applause of the audience sweetened the end of the broadway performance. Everyone in the audience had been completely spoiled by the actors' mesmerizing performances and now, Brittany and Alicia could walk out of the building with a sense of relief.

"The show was so cool!" squealed Brittany as she left the main stage. "I really don't regret waiting in line that long for that amazing performance."

"Yes, the actors were also very deep into their roles," Alicia praised.

"Oh my gosh... they were amazing!" Brittany purred with delight and tugged on Alicia's hand. "Will you go with me to watch it again tomorrow?" she asked in an artificially spoiled tone.

"Stop that, Britt." Alicia shuddered in disgust. "We look like a same-sex couple if you do that again."

But Brittany laughed in satisfaction. She looked at Alicia and said, "Your sense of humor is really low, Alicia." Then she snapped her fingers in the air as if she had just had a brilliant idea in her brain. "I'll go watch it again with Luke. He'll want to accompany me."

"Yeah. Of course. He likes you, Britt," Alicia said.

"Oh, obviously. He likes me a lot and I know it, Alicia," Brittany said confidently.

Once they reached the exit, an unusual sight caught their attention. Two ambulances and several police cars pulled up right next to the theater. The overlapping sirens of the ambulances and police cars attracted the attention of other audience members.

"Oh my God, why are there police cars here?" asked Brittany.

Alicia shook her head, feeling ignorant. "It looks like there was an accident there." She then looked at Brittany. "Let's go see!"

"Come on!"

Alicia and Brittany tried to break through the crowd of people who had gathered in front of the small alley next to the theater. It was not uncommon for some of them to be disturbed by Alicia and Brittany's arrival.

And that curiosity was immediately answered with something that made Alicia's heart stop.

Seconds later, Alicia only felt her breath catch, her eyes heat up and her body tremble. Because what greeted her there was a nightmare that she never wanted to come true.

Alicia saw the dead body of a woman in front of her...

And that woman... was Mrs. Portman. []