The Rockstar Chronicles

The Call

Sleepy thoughts clouded my brain, and I rolled over, pulling my puffy comforter up around my shoulders and flopping onto my belly. Distantly, I heard the jangling noise that had woken me from my blissful slumber. Somebody answer the phone!  I internally screamed out of frustration, but the words didn't quite make it to my lips.

Finally, the sound of the phone faded into the distance, and I retreated once again to the comfort of my bed and pillow, but only for a minute.

"Lindy!" I heard my mom calling from downstairs. The sound of the front door slamming shut reverberated throughput the house, and I groaned. Grabbing my pillow, I slammed it down on my head, trying to block out the noise.

"Lindy!" Mom yelled again. Giving up, I sat up in bed, tossing the pillow on the floor. I stared glumly into the mirror over the desk opposite me. My dirty blonde hair was a tangled mess, courtesy of going to bed with my hair still damp. It was thick and tended to be wavy, though it never really made it to full curliness. Now, it was a jungle.

"Coming," I said through gritted teeth. I hated getting up early when I had planned to sleep late. Just as much as I hated oversleeping when I planned to get up early. I hated anything to disrupt my plans. Something I picked up trying to fit all my lessons, auditions, work, and school into the same life.

The Madison family motto had practically been Plan ahead or face the consequences. I imagined my mom cross-stitching it carefully on a sampler and couldn't help but giggle. It was not a hobby my mother would enjoy.

I ran down the stairs, coming face to face with Grady at the landing.

"Whoa!" He held his hands up as if he was scared.

"Ha, ha." I fake laughed as I descended the stairs and turned right into the kitchen. My mother was standing at the refrigerator, putting the groceries away with a smile on her face.

I grabbed a bowl, a spoon, and a box of cereal. Plopping down at the kitchen table, I blearily poured myself some breakfast. "Why are you in such a good mood?"

"Well, someone's grumpy." Mom  poured a cup of coffee and brought it to me, milk in hand.

I accepted it gratefully. Most parents would look down on their teenage daughter drinking coffee, or so I would imagine. Not mine. My mother had long held onto the belief that a good dose of caffeine and sugar can work wonders when dealing with children. And she most definitely still thought of me as a child.

I poured the milk over my cereal. "Where's Dad?"

"Don't use it all," Grady objected, jerking the jug from my hand. "She's drowning her cereal again."

"I'm sorry, Grady." I rolled my eyes. "I like my cereal with milk."

"Kids." Mom frowned and thin lines appeared around her pursed lips. "Stop bickering. I swear." She put her hand to her forehead dramatically. We got it honest. "I don't know when you two started doing this, but it has to stop. Now, Lindy," she turned to me and I paused, the spoon halfway to my mouth. "I think you should know. We got a call back."

My mom always did that. Whenever Grady or I were hired for a job, she would say we got a call back, but whenever we weren't hired it was Grady didn't get the job or Lindy didn't get the gig.

I shoved the spoonful of cereal into my mouth, chewing quickly. "That's great." I swallowed. "What's it for?"

"Well, it's not for certain yet. They're still selecting the boys, but they've narrowed it down and so far...." She crossed her fingers and held them up, grinning. "It looks pretty good."

I stared at my mom, trying to figure out how myself and Grady had ended up her kids. Her shoulder-length blonde hair was styled carefully, and her make-up was flawless. It seemed like a mask to me, and I wondered why she couldn't just be herself, at least with us.

"Does Dad know?" I asked again. My mom waved her hand as if it didn't matter.

"Dad is happy with whatever we're happy with. Besides, he left this morning for work." My dad was away on business a lot. It stung a little that he hadn't said goodbye before leaving, but I knew it wasn't because he didn't love me. He could just be forgetful when it came to things outside of work. I knew he would call in an hour or two, apologizing.

"So when will you know?" I asked, feigning interest in this commercial or play or whatever it was. I peeked at Grady. He didn't look too excited as he slumped dejectedly in his chair. He looked... worried. He glanced at me, trying to catch my eye, but my mother's next words were all I could hear.

"As soon as they call." Her voice was happy, light. I choked on my coffee, acting as if it went down the wrong way.

"Lindy! Be more careful." Mom checked her watch and sighed.

Despite my years of classes, I must not be that great of an actress. She spotted the guilty look on my face immediately.

Slapping her hands on the table, she half-rose from her seat. "Have they called? Lindy?!? Did they call, and you didn't answer it?" She slammed one hand against her hip. "You slept through it again, didn't you?" I watched as she began marching around the room, waving with one hand as she walked. "How many times have I told you to answer the phone when it rings? What's the use of going to auditions if you're not going to be ready to work when they call?"

I didn't bother arguing with my mother.

She paused near the table, her forehead in her hand once more. I swear, when I think of my mother, it's in that pose.

"What if it wasn't them? I can't just call back if they haven't called already? How would that look?" She shifted her hand to under her chin. "Desperate? Anxious? What if they don't call back? How will we get in touch with them now?"

And just like that, like we were in a movie or something, right on cue, the phone rang.

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