Ann stood there still for a couple of minutes trying to wrap her head around what just happened. Then, all of a sudden, tears started pouring out from her eyes. Tears of joy. She squealed and jumped around the room unable to hold her excitement. Her first thought was to grab her phone and call mom and so she did.
"Honey, I'll call you back in a sec I've got-" said Sophie once the FaceTime had started, but Ann cut her off.
"Mom, I think I made it." She said tears still forming in her eyes.
"What? What do you mean?" She was making something in the kitchen and didn't even look at her phone.
"Mom... I made it." Ann repeated herself to get her mom's attention. Sophie finally turned her head to her phone and put on her glasses to see better. Her eyes grew bigger once she saw her daughter's face.
"Oh my god, honey, what happened?" She said with a concerned voice.
"I've got a proposition, mom. They want me to tour with some famous band on a world tour." Ann still couldn't believe the words that were coming out of her mouth. Sophie dropped the wooden spoon that she was holding in her hand and started to jump and clap from joy.
"My baby girl! I knew you can do it! I knew you had to stay! You're meant to be on stage!" Tears started rolling down her face and they continued talking for another couple minutes. Ann told her about the whole situation and conversation with Travis. They discussed the for and against to that decision, but honestly, there was nothing against it. Who wouldn't want to tour the world with a famous band? She felt like she can dial Travis' number right now and say yes, but she didn't want to be seen as desperate. She decided to call him first thing in the morning.
She ended the call and rushed to the car, now excited to tell another special person to her: Jazz. As she started the car and looked at the time, she realized that another hour has passed since she last texted Jasmine. Her food is probably cold now or eaten by her friend, but she didn't care. She wasn't even feeling hungry, because the excitement filled her stomach. When she pulled up at home, she quickly got out and ran to the building. She pushed the elevator button, but decided that taking stairs is going to be quicker. She couldn't wait any longer, so she ran to the staircase and jumped two stairs at a time, eager to share the news with Jazz. She ran to the door and shuffled with her keys to find the right one. When she finally did and opened the door, she took of her high heels, breathing heavily from the run.
"Jesus Christ, what happened to ya?" Jazz came out of her room, already in her pajamas and her curls pulled in a bonnet. Ann screamed and thrown herself at her friends, pulling her in a tight hug and spinning her around. "You're going to crush me, girl." Said Jazz seemingly having trouble with speaking. Ann let her go, put her hands on her shoulders and smiled from ear to ear, her eyeliner messed up from the crying.
"You won't believe what just happened." She said and took her friend's hand to guide her to the couch in the living room. She started explaining the whole situation and saw Jazz's eyes growing big every minute of her monologue. "...And then he left and I was screaming and dancing and crying and laughing and... Oh my god, Jazz..."
"Bitch, you freaking made it." She said while nodding, "I always knew you would, but that was faster than I thought. Of course you should take the job, you would be a dumbass if you wouldn't."
"I know, Jazz, I know. Just... it's a big sacrifice. With Sleepover it was 20 shows in just US and now there will be, hell if I know how many shows, all over the freaking world. Europe, Australia..."
"Girl, you're going to visit and explore different countries and cultures with celebrities by your side and get paid for it! Like... How can you question if that's good or bad?" She said with a confused look.
"Yeah, that sounds... pretty amazing." Ann laughed and covered her face with her hands. "Oh my god, Jazz, I can't believe it's happening. I'm so excited. I can't wait to see who it is."
"You have any guesses?" Ann shook her head. She didn't even have the time to think about who it may have been. "From what he said, it's definitely a band and not a solo artist."
"No, Jazz, it's definitely not Taylor Swift." Reassured her Ann and Jazz let out a moan.
"And he said one of the band member noticed you... Did he or she saw you perform? Or saw your Instagram? That's so mysterious..." Jazz eyes glowed. She was a fan of conspiracy theories and murder mysteries, so she really enjoyed herself trying to solve this situation.
"I think whoever he or she is, must have seen me perform at The Red Lion. The manager said that he got told to go and see for himself, so that person must have known I perform there every week. But that's so weird that I haven't noticed them in the crowd."
"Of course you haven't noticed, there is so many people, you'll never be able to look at each and every face. And also, they were probably somewhere in the back, so people won't notice them."
"I don't know, I don't even want to guess who it was. But I keep wondering why did he or she insisted so much on me... What did they see that was so special about me?" She wondered.
"Girl, maybe it was a he and he fell in love with you." Her eyes twinkled at the idea. "Can you imagine? Falling in love with a celebrity?"
"Jazz, stop... That's some fanfiction bullshit." She rolled her eyes on her friend's theory. "Life isn't a movie."
"Geez, fine. You're no fun." Said Jazz and sat back in the couch. Ann laughed at her and got up.
"Okay, I gotta shower and get some sleep. Tomorrow's going to be big." She gave her friend a kiss on a cheek and walked to the bathroom.
She got ready for bed and decided to scroll Instagram for a little bit. She laughed at some memes and cat videos, before seeing a post from some radio station. She read the caption:
Win 2 tickets to the Jonas Brothers concert! All you have to do is write in the comments what's your favorite song of their new album and why. We'll be picking a winner next Saturday. Good luck!
Her heart stopped for a minute. "What if... No..." she wondered. Could it be? She remembered that she also heard the announcement about their tour in the radio today. Her heart, which stopped at first, now was beating at a high speed. There was now a possibility that she will tour with the Jonas Brothers. He said they were big, but probably not that big. It was an insane thought and she shrugged it off. She locked her phone and decided that it'll be best to sleep it off.
Morning ray of sun coming from the window woke her up. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. She stared at the ceiling, million thoughts a minute going through her mind. Today could be the day that her life is going to change. Being a backup singer wasn't a dream of her, but working with celebrities definitely was. Getting a taste of fame and success definitely was. She got up and walked to her bathroom. She brushed her teeth, washed her face. She looked in the mirror and brushed a hand through her thick hair. Ann looked at the clock which said 9:32 a.m. Was it too soon to call Travis? On the other hand, she was sure she wasn't the only candidate for the role, so it would be best to call as soon as possible.
"Fuck it." She said to herself in the mirror and started to look for the card in the pockets of her jeans from last night that were laying on the floor. She took it out and dialed the number.
"Travis Foyd, MM Management." answered a voice that she recognized right away.
"Good morning. This is Ann Hart, I was supposed to call about the job." She plastered a confident smile to sound as professional as she could.
"Oh! Good morning, Mrs. Hart! So happy you reached out so soon. So, have you had enough time to think it through?"
"Yes.. Yes, I had and... I would love to take the opportunity." She said noticing that her voice started to shake.
"Keep it together" she thought to herself.
"Fantastic! I'm so happy to hear that." Travis' voice changed from confident to giggly.
"So, what now? I assume there will be audition of some kind?"
"No, Mrs. Hart. I was specifically told by one of my clients to sign you up immediately if you agree to the terms."
"Oh..." Ann wasn't able to say anything more. That someone was really desperate to get her in the band.
"Yeah, that's new to me to." He snorted. "Normally, we have couple of candidates and, like you said, auditions, but this time.. This time you were the only option."
"Well, I'm... I'm honored. I don't know what to say." Her hands were shaking and starting to sweat. That was a lot for her to handle.
"Mrs. Hart, if you're available today at 11 a.m., I would love for you to join us. We're going to have a meeting and it would be a perfect opportunity to introduce you." So not only did she made a decision of a lifetime today, but she's also going to face it right away. She looked at the clock that said 9:40 a.m now. She still had an hour to get ready, which was not much, but doable.
"Of course, Mr. Foyd. I'm more than excited to start today."
"Amazing! I'll send you the details right away. See you there!" He said and hang up, sounding like he's in a rush.
Ann was now facing a challenge to do in an hour what she normally does in two. She ran to her closet and rummaged through her clothes trying to find anything to wear. She wanted something classy, but casual. She didn't want to be seen as trying to hard. She decided on a beige, thick wool sweater and short, black leather skirt. She topped it off with black tights and black boots. She put her hair in a loose ponytail, leaving two strains freely on both sides of her face. As for makeup, Ann decided not to go overboard. She did a natural look with a bit of brown shadow, nude lipstick and of course an eyeliner, that was always a part of her makeup. She checked herself in a mirror, satisfied with what she did in an hour.
She left her room and walked to Jazmine's, knowing that she was probably still asleep. It was Sunday after all. She opened the door, not bothering to knock and she, of course, was still fast asleep. Ann jumped on Jazz's bed on an empty space next to her causing the bed to creak. Jazz sat up and started breathing heavily.
"Son of a bitch! What the hell was that?" She screamed at Ann for scaring her like that.
"Sorry, couldn't help myself." Ann laughed at her friend's reaction.
"What you all dressed up for?" Jazz eyed her, forgetting last night's events. And then she remembered. "Oh my god, you called him!"
"I did! And I'm meeting them in like... fifteen minutes." She said while trying to sound like it was a normal Sunday situation.
"I can't believe it. Okay, go! You don't want to be late on your first day." She told her to leave with a hand motion. "You're going to kill the competition."
"Jazz, there's no competition. I'm the only candidate." She said and eyed her friend to see her reaction. She hoped that she also found that really weird.
"Girl... You something else." She snorted and gestured her to leave again. "Girl, bye. Imma need my five more minutes. Call me when you're done." She blew her a kiss and covered herself in her duvet.
Ann put the address in the GPS of her phone that said the place is 10 minutes away. So, she's going to be late.
"Great." she sighed.
The place looked like any other building in Los Angeles. She probably passed this place hundreds of times. She got out of her car and into the building through glass doors. In front of her, was a lovely blonde lady sitting behind a desk and in front of a laptop. At the front of the desk there was the logo of the MM Management, which suggested she's in a good place. The lady looked up at her and smiled kindly.
"Hello, how can I help you?"
"Hi, Ann Hart. I have a meeting scheduled for today."
The lady looked away at her laptop and started typing fast at her keyboard. Ann had some time to look around. The place was very modern, mostly colors of grey and white on everything. There was a fountain in the middle and big chandeliers above her. She felt a bit overwhelmed with the view, as though she didn't fit.
"Ah yes, Mrs. Hart. They're already waiting on you." She stood up and gestured to the elevator. "14th floor and there will be a door at the end of the corridor."
"Thank you." She smiled at the lady and walked to the glass elevator. She pushed the button for the 14th floor and watched the city get smaller under her. She could feel her heartbeat fastening with every passed floor. The ride felt like forever as she watched the numbers above the door going up. Finally, number 14 showed up and the elevator stopped. The door opened and she saw a long corridor with big double doors at the end of it. She started walking her head spinning from side to side. On one side of the corridor there were different rooms, probably offices. On the other side it was full of windows from which you could see the whole panorama of Los Angeles. She got so lost in the picture, she didn't even realized she was already at the doors and she almost bumped into them.
"Great way to start, Ann." She thought to herself.
She could hear voices behind the doors. There was definitely a bunch of people and they were really engaged in some conversation.
"Breathe. You got this." She closes her eyes and let out a breath for the last time, before turning the handle.
The room felt like a conference room. All of the walls were windows, which still showed the beautiful LA and in the middle of the room there was a big table with numerous chairs by its sides. When she entered the room, she could feel all eyes landing on her, the lively conversation now silent. She started to eye the room, getting to know every face there was. She saw Travis, but he was the only familiar face. And then, her heart stopped. There they were, sitting in the middle of the table. The Jonas Brothers.