⠀⠀⠀⩩𝗥𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗟𝗘𝗦𝗦？༉‧₊⋆.*ೃ·˚

Eighteen · We're Almost There

November 1991

Alexandria "Alex" Wright

"Oh me! Oh my! Oh me! Oh my! What a lot of funny things go by."

I sat in the armchair of Emani's bedroom with her seated in my lap as I read Dr. Suess' One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish to her orally, that is, but as always, her attention span was set elsewhere. She was more concentrated on flipping the pages before I could finish a rhyme rather than listening to me read it to her.

I slowly closed the book at the indistinct sound of the house phone ringing from downstairs. I placed the book on the end table beside the lamp before standing up from where I was sitting with Emani secured to my hip and rushing downstairs to try and catch the incoming phone call.

"Hello? Wright's residence." I successfully caught the incoming phone call on the fourth ring.

"Yes, Alexandria? Hello! It's Jerry!"

I didn't know whether my face was twisting at the fact that he had addressed me by my government name or at the fact that he was calling the house phone.

"Uh, you can call me Alex like everyone else, Jerry. If you're looking for Eric, he's upstairs resting. I can call him down if you'd like."

By this time, Emani managed to squirm out my arm to go play on the Power Wheels Barbie Jeep her father had purchased for her not to far back that coincidentally ended up in the kitchen area.

"Oh, that won't be necessary, Alex 'cause I was actually trying to reach you."

My eyebrows knitted in suspicion.

"Keep talkin'."

"Well, last week I was visiting a few nightclubs in the Long Beach area, searching for new acts that I could possibly bring to Ruthless. It so happened that your brother was DJing at one of the clubs I stopped by--"

"Who, Dre?"

He snorted at this.

"Course not! It was Warren."

"Oh..." I frowned.

"Anyways, I call it being in the right place at the right time. The demos you previously recorded with him ended up being in his mixset."

"WH--"

"N-Not to worry. Everyone took a prodigious liking to them, including me. In fact, I liked it so much that I had to call you and tell you personally that I think you have what it takes to become Ruthless Records next big thing."

What Jerry was telling me was of course making me smile. I never believed my voice would carry very far from the shower, let alone a nightclub, but here I was. Then again, I could possibly be putting my career in jeopardy if I lent it in the hands of someone like Jerry. Hell, I was still trying to recuperate off of N.W.A's disbandment.

"I believe I can get more into detail with you if we were to have a direct confrontation. How does brunch at the Polo Lounge sound to you?"

"I-It sounds wonderful. I-Isn't that where all those fancy white folk dine?"

He laughed.

"I believe so, yes. So, I'll meet you outside the Beverly Hills Hotel in an hour, no later?"

"You can count on it! OH, and Jerry? Eric doesn't know about this, right?"

"Not to my knowledge."

"Great! See you then." I hung up the phone with the same realistic smile plastered on my face.

"What you smiling so hard about?"