The Opening Act

Chapter 3

When I woke up the next morning, I was sure yesterday was a dream. I had to check my planner just to make sure that I actually remembered the phone call correctly. I scrambled around getting ready. When I was done, I made sure I had my songbook with my three times before I left. Today is gonna be interesting. I'm excited to possibly record some of these songs today. All of these songs have a little part of me written into them, and I hope that they're good enough to stay that way.

I put my headphones in and started walking to the studio that Ms. Davis was talking about. I don't have a car, but I don't mind. I like walking everywhere. It clears my head.

When I arrived at the big building, I was nervous. I had no clue where I was supposed to meet them. I didn't know how today would go. There are so many unknowns. I grab at my necklace for reassurance. My dad got it for me when I was five, three years before he died. I think about him a lot when I'm nervous. He always knew the right thing to say to me in these situations.

I walk in and go straight to the front desk hoping someone knows where I'm supposed to be.

"Hi, I was wondering if you knew where I am supposed to meet Ms. Davis," I ask as nicely as I can with how nervous I feel.

The lady looks up from her computer and then points to the hall going to the right. "Follow it until you hear the boys shouting."

"Thank you," I said as I walk the way she pointed. I wasn't sure if I would actually be able to find it. The boys shouting? I didn't really know what that meant until I heard it.

I opened the door with all the noise to see complete chaos. The entire band is in the booth shouting and screaming. How can I hear them even with the soundproof room? They are singing something that they are obviously making up on the spot. Mason is taking over Zach's normal spot as the lead singer with whatever he's screaming about. Jason is banging on the drums so much that I'm surprised he hasn't broken something. Alex is playing the same note on the bass over and over again as he stares off into space. Zach is watching from afar as he follows Mason's lead on the guitar. To top it all off, Luke is messing with the soundboard to make them sound louder and more annoying.

"What is going on?" I ask confused as I make my way more into the room.

Luke leans back in his chair. "Oh, we were just um tasting out the instruments?"

As soon as he finished saying that, Jason noticed me from his drum set. "The kangaroo is leaping!" he shouts.

For some reason, the whole band stops dead silent. Do they have a code or something? They all put their instruments down and walk out of the booth.

"Hey," Alex says trying to start up some conversation.

"We weren't sure if you were going to agree to be our opening act or not," Zach says shyly.

"I wasn't sure either," I said.

"I showed them your videos last night," Luke said proudly.

"What?" I asked shocked. Oh no, I don't know how I'm supposed to react.

"Your covers are really good, and I love your originals," Zach said.

My heart jumps when he says that. I've always had a teeny tiny little crush on him. He is one of the main songwriters for the band, and I love the songs he writes. I can't believe that such an amazing songwriter would find anything I write even a little good.

Luke interrupts my thoughts. "You have a new biggest fan. Zach just couldn't stop watching your videos. I could hear them from the guest room while I was trying to go to sleep."

"Shut up," Zach says and then elbows Luke in the stomach. I think I see his cheeks blush as he looks down at the ground.

I try to bring us back to the reason why I'm here. "So, where's Ms. Davis?"

"She had a meeting, so she left you with us until she could get back," Alex says. "We're supposed to record one of your originals from YouTube that you posted. She saw them when you left and picked out a good one to be your first single."

Wow. My first single? This is crazy to think about this actually happening. I really hope it's my song "Young Blood." That one is one of my favorites, and I love to sing it.

"She chose 'Young Blood,' which is one of your most viewed videos," Alex says making me smile. "If you want, we can try backing you up while you sing."

"Sure." I'm glad they'll be in there with me. I'm not really sure how all of this works, and it'll be nice to have someone to show me what to do.

We walk into the booth. I show them my notes in my songbook, so they know how to play the song. When everyone seems to know it well enough for the first run, we walk to our separate spaces.

"Don't worry too much," Zach whispers in my ear before I can walk to the microphone. "It's not as intimidating as it looks."

I give a small smile as thanks for giving me some courage before standing in front of the microphone. Luke is staring at me through the glass.

"Are you guys ready?" he asks.

Everyone nods, and we run it. It was pretty rough at first, but the more we went through it the better we were. After a couple of hours, we had a finished version of my first single. I still can't get over it. I am laying on the floor of the booth as the song plays. It sounds perfect.

Zach walks in and stares at me for a second, not really knowing what to say.

"That was amazing," I say first.

"The feeling doesn't go away," he says with a smile. "Every time I record a song I write I am amazed. It's just . . ."

"Breathtaking," I finish for him.

"Exactly."

I sit up and just continue thinking about my recorded song. I can't wait to do this again. "When will I record another one?"

"Well, Ms. Davis is going to listen to the song and have you sign some stuff, but maybe tomorrow if you are free."

Unfortunately, tomorrow is Monday. I have to go to school at least for the first few classes. I also need to talk with my principal to talk about how I will make this work.

"I could tomorrow afternoon, but I have classes in the morning," I say disappointed. I wish I could just keep doing this.

"That should work. We are gonna be in here in the morning to record a song."

"New music? I'm intrigued."

"I wrote a song last night, and I thought it'd be a good one to go on tour with. We just have to work out the details of it."

"Well, I'm excited to hear it."

Ms. Davis walks into the room to kill the mood. She has a list of stuff for me to do, so I silently follow her as the boys laugh at my sad figure. They definitely know the torture of being with her when she's in this all-business mode. When we're done signing everything, she tells me that I will record my next song tomorrow afternoon.

I can't wait to get back in the studio. I tell myself it's just because I loved recording my music, but I know there's another reason that makes me excited to go back.