When the back of the truck opened, the three hurried out of the way as the JGE roadies started unloading audio equipment. Lusso was still rubbing sleep out of his eyes when he was startled awake by a deafening cheer. Ria Jun’s fans had been waiting since early on in the day and now cheered her on as she exited one of the Conclave-VTs. Ria was dressed in a white dress shirt and some blue jeans. Lusso thought that it was strange that she was wearing something so plain, on the day of a concert, no less. But once he got a better look of her, he realized it wouldn’t have mattered what she wore. Ria's eyes were two warm, hazel oceans. The kind of depthless oceans that you could drown your worries in. She waved a greeting at the crowd, and smiled. Lusso didn’t know if it was because he was sleepy, but he felt lightheaded.

Micky said, “Dude, if I looked like her, I’d be picking up guys left and right.”

Lusso said, “I wish I could marry her.”

Ding nodded.

Micky, Lusso, Ding entered through the back entrance of the concert hall along with the rest of the staff, lugging along their cleaning equipment. The three entered backstage and froze. Staff members rushed here and there, like ants in a hive. A security guard bumped into Micky and scowled.

The security guard said, “Look where you’re going. Some of us have work to do.”

Micky said, “Ahh… I’m very very sorry about that.”

Lusso shot a look at Micky, and said, “Sorry sir, we’ll get on our way.”

The security guard said, “Actually, no. I’ll tell you where you’re going to stay.”

Lusso asked, “Can we watch the concert?”

The security guard said, “Did you buy tickets? Of course not. Now shoo in there.”

Lusso’s eyes narrowed for a split second. The guard half-pushed the three into a nearby closet and closed the door behind them. A purple haired man lay collapsed in the middle of the room. A handlebar mustache sat dead on his lip, like a black wilted plant. His eyes were bugging open, as if he was surprised someone came in. He stood up and began to walk towards the three on unsteady legs, as if he was trying to keep balance on a boat in the middle of a storm. He dropped a plastic baggie containing white beads onto the ground. Lusso picked it up and handed it to him.

Lusso said, “Here.”

The man muttered, “Thanks brother. Was looking for something in here.”

Lusso glanced at his lanyard. It read, “Jin Isman, Camera Crew.”

Lusso watched Jin as he blew by him, and exited the room. The odor of sickly sweet flower perfume mixed with the smell of burnt rotten eggs lingered in his wake.

Lusso said, “You smell that?”

Micky said, “He's suspicious. Should we tell security?”

Lusso said, "He’s just a junkie. Not our problem.”

Lusso said, “You know, what I’m curious about is how the hell he smoked his Luster Seeds. You need a pot, a burner, everything, for that shit. There’s practically nothing in this closet.”

Micky said, “Maybe he ate them.”

Ding said, “Lusso, have you tried those before?”

Lusso said, “Nah. I’ve grown up seeing that shit passed around. I don’t do it though. Not me. It kills brain cells.”

Ding said, “I respect that, Lusso. Good on you not doing that stuff.”

Micky said, “Lusso, you really are smart. How do you know all this useless information?”

Lusso, Micky, and Ding sat down to wait for the concert to end, bathing in the scent of burnt rotten eggs mixed with pine scented air freshener. Lusso had sprayed some into the air. Ding did his best to not look at the dusty shelves cluttered with miscellaneous trash and cleaning equipment lining the closet as he opened his duffel bag. Ding pulled a JGE patented BRAIN-LINK virtual reality headset over his eyes to distract himself from the musty closet.

Lusso said, “Did you see the fans out there?”

Micky said, “Heard them, too.”

Lusso said, “You know that Ria’s part of an actual idol group, and that this is a solo tour, right?”

Micky said, “Uh… No.”

Lusso said, “You mean you don’t know? Ria’s part of a group named Ditzy, and she’s the star of the group. All the members are popular in their own right, but… Ria’s on another level. That’s why there’s more rumors about her. Scandals, lawsuits, fights with the other members. She has a pretty face, but you know, she could just be a huge fuckin’ asshole on the inside.”

Micky scoffed. “Obviously. But all guys care about is her looks.”

Lusso said, “Yeah. Anyways, I heard rumors of her having a secret boyfriend. You know why idols can’t date?”

Micky said, “No. You can stop there, though. I’m really not too interested—”

Lusso said, “There’s lot’s of reasons for that. But in Ria’s case, I can see why especially. She has this image of an innocent, kind, gorgeous girl, and you know, being in a relationship means physical contact, sex, killing that image—“

Micky gave Lusso a thumbs up and said, “Thank you for that. I feel smarter now. But I’m going to sleep.”

Lusso rolled his eyes. He leaned his head on the wall and closed his eyes.

Lusso drifted in and out of sleep, listening to the screaming cheers of the crowd, the pulsing beat of music, and a voice that sounded like a violin. He woke to the eventual silence, and a ding on his phone. Luman, the app JGE used for managing their janitors, notified him his cleaning assignment began now. Lusso took a deep breath, and pulled himself up. He logged into an app named Medicheck, and tapped the “My Patients” button, then tapped on the profile of Yena Tessino. Yena’s vitals and pollution levels had been steady for the last 24 hours. Lusso pocketed his phone, watching Ding wake Micky up.

The concert hall itself would be cleaned the next day by the concert hall staff. What JGE’s janitors were responsible for was cleaning up backstage. The trio stepped out into the now deserted backstage hallways. With all the people scrambling here and there, Lusso hadn’t noticed, but the white paint covering the hallways were falling off, like a snake shedding skin. Now that the halls were empty, the place resembled something more of an abandoned mansion. It didn’t help that the lights were set to motion-sensing after the concert - the hallways had been empty for a long time, so the ones the janitors didn’t walk across were still dark, creating long stretches of hallways that were entirely dark.

Lusso said, “Let’s get to the main dressing room first. Maybe we’ll be able to catch Ria Jun. You think she’ll give me an autograph?”

Micky sighed. When the three had arrived at the main dressing room, Lusso knocked on the door. No answer. Lusso swung the door open. Ria was sitting on a stool in front of them. She was practically naked, with only her underwear on, video calling someone with headphones on.

Ria said, “Love you too, Dan. When’s our next date?”

Ria glanced upwards at the mirror on her makeup stand and met eyes with the three janitors. Her eyes turned to two brown moons, and her mouth stretched open in horror. She tried to turn her phone off, but fumbled it, dropping it face up on the floor. The person on the other side ended the call as the phone hit the floor, but Lusso caught a glimpse of the man on the other side. Through the glare of the lights above, Lusso made out purple hair and a set of yellow eyes, like the ones of a black panther.

For a split second, nobody moved. Then Micky pulled Lusso and Ding out of the room, and slammed the door shut. Lusso blinked, trying to process what he’d just seen.

Lusso said, “Interesting way to lose my job, maybe my life. Stabbed and thrown into an incinerator to cover up a dating scandal.”

Micky hissed, “Did you get what you wanted, Lusso? Since you’re so smart, you must’ve predicted that too, right?”

“You saw me knock. Not my fault she had her earphones on max, VOLUME.”

“This is why I hate guys. They always think first with their dick, then their brain.”

“Oh, is that why you’re working here in your mid twenties? Because you thought with your brain?”

“I had other options. I just needed the money.”

“Likely. Watch my 163 IQ get us out of this.”

Ding was crouched in a corner of the room, clenching his hair.

Ding said, “Sorry, it's all my fault. It's all 'cause I kept smoking. We’re getting punished because of me. Like Father said. Micky, punch me in the balls. Or just hit me. Please. Do something!”

Micky ignored him. Micky decided not to suplex Lusso because she thought Ding might actually pull his hair out if she did. Micky settled by crossing her arms and glaring at Lusso.

Lusso put a hand over his eyes, pushing in on both of his temples with his middle finger and thumb. He wished he could rewind time to just 30 seconds ago. With a click, the door opened. Ria Jun, now fully clothed in a black tracksuit, surveyed the three of them with her eyes. Her hair lay haphazard around her shoulders, like clothes in a messy room.

Ria said, “Come in please.”

Ria held the door open. The three froze and stared at each other, looking at each other for a clue of what might happen next. Micky shrugged, breaking the stillness. Then they too, walked into the room.