February 15.

  A music tour be a pivotal event for an artist’s appeal, but Billy’s tour is a cert of global masters. The first date is in Los Angeles in front of 50,000 people, with the guest singer being No Doubt. It’s a minreemeween the bands and a way to create tensioween Billy and Gwen Stefani, who agreed simply to gain snition. The promise is that she’ll go with him to Las Vegas, a pce almost synonymous with sin.

  - Tomorrow we’ll be pying in front of 50,000 people, Billy, - ented or, always a bit nervous before these certs. Evehe spotlight was on Billy, he couldn’t help but feel a slight fear. His hands trembled, and calm only came when he pyed the drums.

  -Rex, you’ll do fine, - Billy said, yawning. The jetg from the trip had left him exhausted for two days, getting up at noon and adjusting to the ime zone.

  -I hate how you mention things so casually, - rumbled from his seat. Both were watg Cartoowork, aing sweets and junk food.

  -Look at it this way, man. It’s not the first time. We’ve rehearsed the songs, and you’ve practiced with sugar eggs on your own. We already have the pylist order. You just o py acc to the pn, - Billy said.

  -Yeah, like in Liverpool st semester when you decided to sing 'Pod' when it wasn’t listed. You even started singing before we were on stage, - or said with some rese. The produ team had pushed them for the slow response sihe star decided to ge at the st minute.

  -I see your point. I’m sorry, I felt like singing that song. The audience was asking for it, and I gave several signals. I just o be expliow. Don’t fet, tomorrow we’ll start with 'Breaking the Habit' (Linkin Park), 'Here Without You' (3 Doors Down), 'Daydreamin' (Lupe Fiasco), 'Vertigo' (U2), 'This Fire' (Franz Ferdinand), and 'Inplete' (Backstreet Boys), - Billy said.

  He thought internally about singing 'If Yone' (Matchbox Twenty), maybe 'Clocks', 2001 single, which was one of the best songs of the year.

  -I don’t believe you, - or said, smiling at Billy’s pensive look. - Right now, you’re thinking of ging everything. You’re impulsive and spontaneous, and that makes me nervous. -

  -How’s school going? Any progress with graduation? - Billy asked.

  -I’m doing well. I think this is the year I pass tenth grade. I hope to do well ih grade and finish ond for all. I heard they’re adding ara grade, so it’s better if I graduate immediately, - or ented.

  The two youalked until past midnight wheurned off the lights. Billy’s day was highly trolled by two simple tasks: the first was to give rhythm to the exercise he couldn’t do in Engnd. A small press tour to engage his fans in trolled enviros was . Just ing dowed in a sea of photos; thousands of people were cirg, all wanting a glimpse of Billy Carson.

  It was curious how the band’s name ended up fog on one person. A name for the band was something unpreted.

  The day, drinking a gss of water, the cert was set to st two and a half hours, with No Doubt opening. It was shaping up to be one of the year’s stelr certs.

  There was Gwen in the lobby, before the big cert.

  -o see you, Gwen, - Billy eo the charming blonde, who took his breath away. Billy didn’t know, but there was something about older women that attracted him. It was a mere sign of desire for him. or, his fidant, said it was something about wanting what he didn’t have.

  -Billy Carson, you were amazing at the Grammys, - Gwen Stefani ented, giving Billy a cautious look.

  -Nothing special, I was just doing my job, - Billy replied.

  As he anized his thoughts, he observed the womaank top revealed her glorious neck, so appetizing. The cameras started buzzing, capturing every moment. Taking something out of text was their specialty, and Billy's trol kept everything afloat.

  -Ahe questions calmly, - ehe interview coordinator. Only the main faces were expected. New York was sted to invite another chosen artist, but those dates were already reserved for a record bel group under tract, Paramore. An alternative rock band with a fresh debut album, possibly colborating with Avril Lavigne.

  The fiery and fmboyant Hayley Williams would be on the se.

  -This week, you are expected to break the record as the you person in history to attract over a million people to certs, - ehe interviewer. It wasn't a question but a prompt for a statement.

  -We'll do it. I hope to surpass the record in two years. I'll have such a massive tour that tries will be calling my phoo e and sing. I'm already pnning my album; it’ll be something enting, going from less to more. This will be a happy album with some sad uones, - Billy ented.

  -How is your songwriting process? I see ambivalence, rhythms, and diverse notes in your albums, - asked a news reporter from the er, holding a el 4 flyer aending a microphone. As he made the gesture, the cameras fshed wildly.

  Billy smiled, as he had practiced many times in front of the mirror and with an image specialist.

  -I have this inner voice that whispers songs to me depending on my mood. When I’m in a good mood, all the songs head in one dire—to blow the minds of those who listen to me. I desire the fervor of everyone. I've reached a point where I sing the way I like, - Billy said.

  Gwen Stefa somewhat sidelined; even with her beauty, she was overlooked. That was the power of stardom. She now uood why Billy didn’t go out in public; it was the kind of life that didn’t allow for solitude.

  -What led to the decision to have three dates in Las Vegas? - asked another reporter.

  -The money, - Billy smiled. It was a sarcastic but truthful ahat made everyone ugh.

  -I think that's all. I hope you tune in to my cert; it will be magnifit. Thank you all for ing. I hope we tio uand each other in such a unique way, - Billy cluded, ending the se and leaving some with unasked questions as whispers spread.

  -I don’t uand why I participated, - said Gwen, following the team that led them to the exit, heading to the bus that would take them to the cert. Everything nned, and the best brands were all managed by Warner.

  HBO, which would broadcast the cert live, received just under a million subscriptions for the weekeerday, with expected pay-per-view increases in the ing hours.

  -Your face, and profile, now published by your band, was agreed upon by your record bel, or so I uand, -Billy ented, keeping pace, outside the cameras. When he was out of the spotlight, he sighed; receiving attention wasn't alleasant.

  -See you tonight, - Billy said, kissing her on the cheek and b the bus. He said it quietly, as they both wished to escape together from the moment they met.

  ***

  People on the se couldn't stop sighing.

  A long liretched dowreet. Traffic was backed up for hours, and people were asking, --What’s going on? -

  -It’s the Billy Carson cert, - the crowd responded.

  A very precise event anizer mao sell 70,000 tickets.

  -I heard they’ll be rec an album and promoting it in three months, - ented a driver, discussing the topic with passengers in the car.

  -I don't know about this singer. Is he very famous? -

  -Are you kidding? He’s the rock star of America, - they replied.

  ...