Chapter 10
The Night
The first day of summer came at last, and the most awaited Battle of the Bands was on.
The stadium was full and the crowd was exceptionally loud, cheering for their favorite bands. Sophia and Zarah were screaming at the top of their lungs. They had done so much preparations for the guys, from promoting the band through social media down to their outfits.
Twenty bands competed that night, and each of them had impressed the crowd. Giovanni stood as the vocalist because George, their front man, had an unexpected sore throat. Fortunately, Giovanni created an impact on the judges and grabbed their interest.
The announcement of the winner was almost near, and everyone was on the brink, already predicting Zion to be the champion.
Zarah and Sophia were holding their hearts from too much excitement when Philippe called his daughter.
“Dad!” Sophia tried to speak louder to overcome the crowd’s noise.
“Honey, what time will the contest end? It’s almost twelve and I’m kind of worried.” Philippe’s voice was obviously troubled.
“It’s almost over, Dad! They’re actually about to announce the winner now,” Sophia was saying when she saw the announcer climbed the stage. “I have to go now, Dad. I promise we’ll come home after this!”
“All right! Get home in an hour,” Philippe sighed uneasily.
Sophia flung a brief laugh. “Bye, Dad.”
The announcer had finally spoken and thanked every participant for their outstanding performances. At long last, he declared the year’s champion and it was... Zion.
Incredibly, the entire band and the girls jumped to their euphoria—loudly yelling. Then, the guys headed to the stage to receive their trophy and cash prize, and Sophia and Zarah took a thousand of photos of them.
When the awarding ended, the guys went back to the girls and handed them their awards.
“Congratulations! You made it!” the girls hailed.
“Yeah! We made it, guys!” Giovanni cheered and wrapped his hands around Sophia’s shoulders.
“I guess I have to stop this joyfulness for a while,” Sophia told Alex. “Dad called and he asked us to go home right away.” She said it evidently that the rest overheard her.
“Yeah, daddy is already worried!” Zarah joked, still at the peak of her enjoyment.
“All right! Let’s go home, then. And tomorrow, let’s have a huge party!” Alex encroached, and the rest roared in agreement.
They exited the stadium and said their goodbyes.
Rambo was about to get a cab when Alex saw him and stopped him.
“Why are you riding a cab?” Alex asked.
“Man, I’m grounded by dad! I actually escaped tonight!” Rambo grumbled.
“Oh, man! That’s too bad!”
“What can I say, man?” Rambo poked fun of himself.
“You know what? Why don’t you take my car?” Alex offered.
“No! I can’t do that! And what are you going to use, if I take it?”
“Hitch into Giovanni’s!”
Rambo was put to a pause. “No, dude. I’ll take a cab and, hey, thanks for your offer!”
“No, man! I mean it! Take my car and… just don’t forget to return it tomorrow,” Alex insisted, laughing.
Rambo eventually agreed. “All right! Thanks, man!”
“No problem, bro! No scratch, okay?” Now, Alex handed him his car keys.
“Right! Thanks again.” Rambo ended their conversation with a high-five and excitedly entered Alex’s car.
“Why did he take your car?” Zarah approached Alex.
Giovanni and Sophia followed them and asked the same question.
“He’s grounded.” Alex turned to face them. “Would it be fine if Zarah and I will join you?” Alex talked to Giovanni.
“Sure, dude!”
“All right! I think we better get home now!” Alex then ensued.
On their way, along with a low-volume rock music, Alex and Zarah began kissing at the back seat.
“Whoa! Not in my car, guys!” Giovanni made fun of them.
Seated beside Giovanni, Sophia was just smiling.
Reckless, himself, Giovanni concentrated his eyes on Sophia, and with a stare, like he was wanting to kiss her, too.
“Get your eyes back on the road, Gio,” Sophia demanded.
Giovanni ignored her, kept on staring at her, and started to kiss her.
Sophia begged him to stop and reminded him to keep his eyes on the road, but suddenly, without them knowing it, a hasty pickup truck, driven by a drunken man, bumped their car.
There was a strong impact—a loud sound of collision, and their car rolled around to the side of the road. Everything ended with a cloud of dust and smoke.
Ring, ring, ring!
“Honey, please get the phone,” Elizabeth begged her husband, her voice sounding drowsy and out of sorts.
Philippe unwillingly turned the lamp on and answered the phone. He was extremely shocked by what he just heard! Their children were brought to the hospital and they were in critical condition!
Philippe told Elizabeth right away.
Taken aback, a volcano of weeping was about to erupt from Elizabeth. She could not believe what she just heard.
Philippe reminded her and asked her to hurry, for they had to go to Orlando General Hospital.
They were in a crying rush, and they brought Nadine with them.
Along the way, Elizabeth was consistently asking her husband to drive faster.
Philippe was on it and explained that he was already at the maximum speed.
Panicking tremendously, Elizabeth kept on uttering words just to unload the heaviness from her chest.
“Mom… Dad… what’s happening?” Nadine, from the back, risked to ask, already pulsating with what she was seeing and hearing from her parents.
“My kids!” Elizabeth sobbed.
“Let’s pray for them at the moment!” Philippe comforted Elizabeth. He looked at Nadine and asked her to be calm.
“What do you mean calm? Our kids are in danger, Philippe! How can you ask her to be calm?” Elizabeth sobbed angrily.
Philippe ignored his wife. He understood the situation very well and instead, struggled to focus on the road until they reached the hospital.
Philippe immediately parked the car.
They hurried to the emergency room and discovered that Giovanni’s and Zarah’s parents were already there, howling as they waited outside the emergency room.
At the height of their worry, they prayed together and eased each other’s worry, as they waited for the doctors to come out.
After few minutes, a doctor approached them. He was looking for Giovanni’s parents.
“I’m sorry Mr. and Ms. Habendard! Your son did not make it!” grieved Doctor Balauren.
The couple, not believing what they just heard, fell to the ground and wept loudly.
Philippe’s and Elizabeth’s worries turned for the worse. They could no longer wait for the other doctors to come out from the ER. They were shaking and terribly weakened. In spite of it, they managed to approach Giovanni’s parents and consoled them.
Zarah’s parents were also on the verge of collapsing. Zarah’s father started to yell and even punched the concrete wall to relieve himself of his fear and agony.
Finally, the other doctors came out and talked to them. They told them that Sophia was critical while Alex and Zarah were not that severely injured, compared to Sophia.
For not too long, two cops came and clarified that Alex and Zarah were at the back seat that was why they were not that injured, compared to Sophia and Giovanni who were seated in front.
When Philippe and Elizabeth visited Alex, they were distressed to see him. He was unconscious and pitiful.
Zarah’s parents also went to see Zarah and were very much saddened by their daughter’s appearance. Like Alex, she looked terrible.
Sophia, meanwhile, was transferred to the intensive care unit.
A wake for Giovanni was held. His classmates, bandmates, and everyone who knew him were all there. They could not believe that their good friend was, by now, gone.
To pay his respects, Philippe attended the funeral service although he had not yet recovered from what happened to his children, especially to Sophia.
It was a day of grief for everyone. The night of success and supposed celebration turned into a moment of shock and unbelievable pain.
