"Classical music is the kind we keep thinking will turn into a tune.” ~ Kin Hubbard
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2012 © All rights reserved
A ЂώζЅŧ of Fate ♪ Thirty-two
“Just leave it,” Zayn said as he helped me pack what I needed for my five-day trip back to London.
“You sure you’re able to cope with all these bags?” I asked anxiously.
He rolled his eyes, “What do you see me as? A pretty boy who can’t even lift his finger to help his girlfriend take care of her luggage?”
I chuckled, “I’m sorry! Of course not!” I walked over and gave him a kiss. “I’m going to miss you,” I pouted.
“So am I,” he sighed.
“Now,” I pointed a finger at him. “You better not look at another girl when I’m not around.”
He chuckled, “We shall see.”
I narrowed my eyes, “if I…”
He kissed me deeply, “I wouldn’t dare,” he said after he drew apart. “And why would I want to do that when I have the best girl in the entire world?”
I rolled my eyes and blushed.
“On the other hand,” he said. “Take care of yourself k?”
“You worry I’ll get lost in London?” I teased.
“No… but,” he said. “Stay out of the public as much as you can.”
I nodded.
“If the fans give you any problem, contact the company straight away. Or,” he paused. “Call me, I will get Jenson to send you some security.”
“I’ll be fine,” I assured him.
“Maybe I should get Danielle to keep an eye on you,” he pondered.
“She’ll not be in town,” I laughed. “She’s off to Barcelona.”
“Oh, right.”
“I’ll be fine, Zayn.”
He grabbed me into a hug. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” I mumbled through his hair.
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This was my second time in London.
First time was to meet Jenson to join One Direction. Now, to go for audition at RCM.
It had been five months since I was away from home. It was a good feeling to be back. Technically, London was not home. But the people were home. The accents, the people, the dressing fashion, the food and the behaviours of people. Culture was different everywhere. It was fascinating and fun to learn about different cultures but I could not help feeling nostalgic.
The first thing I did when I landed was to send a message to Zayn to let him know I had arrived safely. The time difference was still getting to me bad.
We would be staying at Colin’s place. This guy actually had his own apartment in London – I could not believe it. He was only twenty two!
“Are you fine with travelling on the Tube?”
“Why not?” I shrugged.
“My car’s back in my garage,” he said. “I can drive from thereon.”
“Okay…”
I followed him since I was still new to London.
His flat was a comfortable for a small family and it faced the nice park opposite. And true to his word, he had five guitars at home.
“My dad left them here,” he said.
“Does your dad stay over?” I asked.
“Sometimes, but rarely. So don’t worry he’ll drop by,” he chuckled.
“I don’t meeting him though…”
He rolled his eyes, “Yeah, everybody wants to meet Julian Lennon.”
“Sorry…” Colin hated to be linked to his father. He wanted to be known as himself.
“How about your mom?” I asked.
“She stays out of London,” he said. “In Manchester.”
“Manchester?”
“Yeah, your place.”
“Oh…”
“A pity we won’t be stopping by Manchester…”
“Don’t we have time?” I asked.
“Well…,” he pondered. “Actually, we might…”
I grinned, “I’d love to see my mom.”
“Okay,” he smiled. “I don’t saying hi to my mom too.”
“So, where can I leave my stuff?”
“You can use that room,” he led me to the guest room.
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Colin and I sat in silence as he drove us down to RCM campus.
I could tell that he was equally nervous as I was.
It was fortunate that they could accommodate both of us on the same day for the audition, so that we had an extra day to make it down to Manchester.
The trademark orange building came into view as the car went nearer.
I could not believe myself. I had long heard of the college but had never thought of the possibility of me studying in it. It was a prestigious school for all the musicians just like Julliard for the Americans.
“Are you ready?” Colin asked.
I took a deep breath, “I hope so.”
We followed the instructional signs posted to guide us to the audition rooms.
My audition was at fourteen hundred hours while Collin’s was at fifteen hundred. And his was to be another corridor down from mine.
We had to report half an hour before. So I walked up to the registration counter after Colin dropped me at the block.
“Good day, I’m here for my audition.”
“Name please.”
“Josephine Andrews Sam.”
“Josephine Andrews Sam…” the woman screened down her list. “Percussion?” she looked up.
“Yes.”
“Okay, please wait there.” She pointed to a row of chairs at the corner. There was another girl sitting there.
“Hi,” the girl smiled at me.
“Hi.” No harm being friendly. I suspected she would be my classmate.
“You looked familiar…” she narrowed her eyes.
“I’m sorry?”
She shrugged, “Never mind. I’m Carissa Rivers, by the way.”
“Jo Andrews.”
“Nice to meet you. Percussionist?”
I nodded.
“Good luck then,” she said as her name was called to enter the room.
I sat there alone. There was no other candidate who came along. The quietness of the room except for the typing of the woman over at the counter reminded me very much of times when I was waiting for my music exams. My hands turned cold and I was shivering despite the warm air blowing at me.
It would never do me good if I froze up. That was what happened to me before. I practically screwed up. Thank goodness, I managed to scrape through. Barely.
I muted by phone after seeing a message from Zayn – Good luck, Love you!
It drew a smile on my face.
I took a deep breath.
“Josephine Andrews Sam!”
I jumped at the call of my name.
I turned to look at the woman who called me.
“Room three please.”
I nodded and stood up.
It was time.
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I stepped into a large room – large enough to hold all the percussion instruments.
“Miss Sam?” A male voice greeted me. A gray-haired man sat at the corner of the room in the middle with two person – a man and a lady.
“Please take a seat,” he indicated to the chair positioned just before them.
“Should I call you Miss Sam or Miss Andrews?” he smiled.
“Both are fine,” I answered.
“So, Miss Sam,” the lady spoke. Her voice was sharp and stern. She looked like she was in her mid forties.
“We will be carrying out an interview. Just relax and speak up.”
I nodded.
“How long have you been playing the percussion?” the last man asked.
“Ten years.”
“You are seventeen this year?”
“Going on eighteen in November.”
“What do you like about percussion?”
“I like to be different. Being in the percussion means you are on your own in the entire band. And it offers the variety of instruments I can play.”
“Which is your favourite?”
“Timpani.”
“Any why is that so?”
“It is the tuned bass of the entire band.”
“Why do you want to study in RCM?”
“I want to do a degree doing something I like, something I’m good at.”
“After getting the degree, what are your plans?”
“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “Maybe join London Philharmonic Orchestra?”
They chuckled.
The woman spoke again, “You are currently playing with One Direction, aren’t you?”
I paused. What was it going to be about…? “Yes.”
“What’s going to happen when you start term?”
“I’m not sure yet. The manager is still trying to arrange something for me.”
“Will you give it up if you are accepted into RCM?”
Would I give it up…? Would I give One Direction up…?
“It depends.”
“I only hope that having you would not be a problem to the school and the students…” the woman added.
I narrowed my eyes.
“Please present your pieces.”
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“How was it?” Colin asked.
I shrugged, “Not sure. When can we know our results anyway?”
“In two weeks’ time.”
“Okay.” That was not too long a wait.
I had a feeling that the school was not happy about me being the drummer of One Direction.
“Did they ask you about One Direction?”
“No, why? They asked you?”
I nodded. I told him all that was asked.
“Wow…” he mused. “They are worried that your popularity would ruin the concentration of students.”
I rolled my eyes, “Like it will…”
“Anyway,” he smiled. “We’re done. Let’s go grab dinner.”
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“Mom!”
I called out as soon as the door opened. I threw myself over her with a hug.
“Jo!”
“How have you been, mom?” I walked into my familiar small house. “For you!” I dropped the bag of all the gifts I bought for her on the dining table.
“Have you eaten?”
So typical of my mom. I smiled. “Yeah.”
“I thought you would not be coming back.”
“We had a little bit of time and Colin wanted to visit him mom too.”
“Colin?”
“Yeah, the guy who went to the audition as well.”
“Someone in the band as well?”
“Yeah, he’s a guitarist.”
“And your boyfriend’s not jealous that you came back alone with him?”
“No,” I mused. “Why should he?”
“How was your audition?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “But I think I played well.”
“What prompted you to apply for RCM anyway?”
“Colin,” I mused. “He was going to apply for it and he thought I could try.”
She poured a glass of water for me.
“Are you upset about it, mom?”
“No,” she mused. “Why should I? You know I’ll never interfere in your academic choices as long as they are sensible.”
I rolled my eyes. There were plenty of examples of what she thought as ‘sensible’.
“When will you know the results?”
“In two weeks’ time.”
“Okay. When does school starts?”
“If I get in, then Jan.”
“London?”
I gave her the look, “Of course. That’s where RCM is.”
“So, where will you stay?”
“I will see if I can get a room on campus.”
“How about your friend?”
“Colin? He has a flat in London.”
“Not thinking of staying with him?”
“It’s tempting. Save the hostel money. But maybe not so convenient.”
She nodded. “Is he Christian?”
I was not sure if I wanted to know where this was leading to.
“Yes.”
“Okay.”
Then there was a pause.
“You are still with that guy?”
“Yes.”
She sighed. “I don’t want to say anything about it. You are old enough to decide for yourself. Just know that you are accountable to God.”
“Yes mom.”
We talked for awhile more about my travels before I had to leave to meet Val. I promised I would meet her.
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“JO!”
“VAL!”
I shrieked and ran towards my best friend.
“Wow! You’ve become prettier!” she mused.
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever does that mean?”
“Ha-ha, a woman in love.”
“Whatever…”
“So, how’s the audition?”
“I hope it’s okay.”
“You’ll do fine. So how long will you be in town?”
“Leaving tonight. Catching the plane tomorrow.”
“So fast?” she howled.
“Have to catch up with the boys.”
“Where are they now?”
“India.”
“Whoa…”
I laughed.
“So, tell me,” she smirked. “How does it feel like to kiss Zayn Malik?”
“Keep your voice down,” I scolded as I looked around.
“Sorry…” she grinned. “Tell me!”
“Okay…”
She narrowed her eyes, “Only okay?”
“Okay, it was great.”
“Great…?”
“What else?”
“You seriously haven’t sleep with him yet?” she lowered her voice.
“Val!” I hissed.
“What?” she shrugged. “It’s a chance of a lifetime.”
“No…”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s no longer special anymore. Keeping virginity.”
I glared at her.
“Yeah, it’s true. It’s quite common these days.”
“I prefer to keep it.”
“Whatever…”
“So, how’s your dear boyfriend?” I asked her.
“We broke up weeks ago.”
I winced. Her relationships were as short as taking vacations.
“We just don’t click. He hates pizzas.”
“And you broke up with him because he hates pizzas?” I asked in disbelief.
“Of course not…,” she said. “There are other reasons as well.”
“I never understand you…” I shook my head.
The waitress came with our drinks and cakes. As she placed the plate on the table, she let out a gasp.
“OMG!”
Val and I looked at her.
“Are you…” she directed her question at me.
“I’m sorry?”
“Are you Zayn Malik’s girlfriend?”
Oh no!
“I …eh…”
“I recognized you from the magazine I’m reading now.”
I said nothing. For once, Val was busy with her milkshake.
“Can I get his signature?”
How on earth … should I get his signature to you, I mused.
“I think you will find it quite impossible now,” Val spoke up. “Why don’t you try it when he’s in town?”
“Will he be back soon?” the waitress turned and looked at me again.
“Not anytime soon, I think,” I answered with a smile.
“Oh,” she sighed dejectedly. Then her eyes lit up again, “Can you help me get an exclusive when they are back?”
What? But I barely know you – my head was screaming out loud.
“But she doesn’t even know you,” Val said sweetly.
Thanks Val.
“I’m Brooklyn Bridge,” she said. “Please?”
“Uh…”
“OMG! Is that Jo Andrews?”
“Zayn Malik’s girlfriend?”
“Can I take a picture with you?”
What the hell?
Suddenly, we were surrounded by girls.
Val rolled her eyes.
“I’m sorry, I got to go,” I said before standing up, pulling Val along with me.
We had to walk quite a few streets before we lost our followers.
“What the hell was that?” she mused.
“You tell me,” I grumbled.
“Do you get this all the time?”
“Quite,” I nodded.
Then quite suddenly, she laughed.
“What?” I looked at her.
“What will happen if they see you and Colin together?”
I rolled my eyes. Oh no, I could imagine what they were going to write on the papers.
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And we were right.
Colin and I were all over the papers the next day.
Thank goodness I managed to ‘warn’ Zayn before that, so he could happily brush it away.
“Why am I dragged into this?” Colin grumbled.
I laughed, “No choice.”
“I will be glad to be back to the band…” he groaned.
“Me too.”
I was missing Zayn like crazy.
***AUTHOR'S NOTE***
Hi everybody! A video clip on the side on Alla Turca just in case you were wondering what song is that :-)
This story will be coming to an end soon. Eight more chapters to go before it ends. I'm a little, okay, very sad to have to end the story but all good things always come to an end. I have come to love my characters so much.
But no worries, I'll definitely be writing a sequel. Pls continue to support me! Thanks! I love you all!