LightWeight

Step One

Dedicated to : Mindless4_Prince for being my motivator and editor for this story!

“Desiree! Les is here!” Tanya, my mother, called from the bottom of our marble staircase.

“Coming!” I quickly put my journal back in its hiding spot between the white mattresses as I hopped out of the bed. Squeezing between the jumble of suitcases sparsely decorating my hardwood floor, I went down the stairs. I didn’t rush down the stairs, partly form a fear of falling because of the fresh wax, and mostly because I was still applying the fake smile I’ve become so accustomed to. Shortly after being called down, I appeared in the dining room where my mother and manager, Leslie, were seated at the table. “Hey, Leslie.”

“Hey, Sweetie. How do you feel today?” She sipped some tea out of her mug.

“Good.” A lie. Reminiscing on my past severely dampened my mood, as it usually did. I took a seat at an open space at the table, careful not to scratch the hardwood floors. “Resting before tomorrow.”

“Are you all packed?” My mother and manager asked simultaneously.

I giggled. They’ve been doing that since they met. “Yes, I just finished today. My suitcases are lined against my walls.”

“So, of course I’m here for business.” Leslie said, putting on a serious demeanor as she straightened her posture in the seat and folded her hands on the table. I quickly followed suit.. “So, since you’re still primarily new to the music industry.-” I rolled my eyes. What rookie has opened for many A-List singers and rappers when they were performing in Los Angeles, and toured with them to certain states? Plus, my album hit the top three when it debuted last month- within the first week. I’m anything but new. I’ve had fans since posting silly covers on YouTube. I never thought they would make it as big as they did though, and it was months before I was discovered at school that I quit them altogether to the disappointment of many. “Your budgets are still kind of low. Due to this, you will be sharing a bus with P.Y.T.”

“Okay.” I had met the P.Y.T (Also known as Pretty Young Things, after Michael Jackson’s hit song) at a mutual party when I was first starting to be known around the business. We didn’t really talk since Leslie was constantly introducing me to new musicians,directors,and producers, but from the few minutes we did talk they seemed pretty cool. Still, I’ve had enough dealing with females to know that’s now they all appear in the beginning. All I bothered to remember was that they started as a dance group when they were young, and it wasn’t until years later they discovered they like to sing also. I remember that because they describe it as ‘stumbling into the business’, which is the same thing I did. “So in other words, since it’s one of me and three of them and six beds per bus, Backstreet’s management decided it would be cheaper to put me on with them?”

“Exactly.” We all laughed, mine being partly fake.

“So, what time do we have to leave in the morning?” I asked as I walked to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water.

“Five in the morning.” I almost choked on the little bit of water I was in the process of swallowing. Mornings were not for me at all. Luckily, neither were they for Leslie so I was never forced to wake up at heart-wrenching times in the morning to rehearse or anything. Due to us both being night owls we would much rather stay up late then wake up early. Guess all that’s about to change now. “But they are having a Pre-Tour dinner at six at the Conjunction House, so go get ready because that’s a long ride.”

“Alright.” I stood up, going in my room. “Give me about...two hours? Is it casual or formal?”

“Casual. No need to dress up.”