Grace POV
I walked into the small, glass door, my hands shaking. I was so nervous! I clutched my guitar for dear life, my knuckles turning white!
"Grace, you'll be fine! He may seem mean, but he's really not. He's just straightforward, that's all." I smiled a bit, maybe he'd like me! Kimberly lead me up to a desk in the front room. "Hey! Kimberly! How ya doin?" The woman asked. She was skinny and had her brown hair up in a ponytail with a black Nike headband. She seemed to be around 25 and had a Tennessee accent.
"Great! How are you, Nikki?" Kimberly responded with a smile. "Great! So who's this here?" She asked, green/yellow eyes glancing to me. I smiled nervously. "This is the girl that is going to be interviewed to headline with us." I looked her in the eye, pried one hand off my guitar and held it out, "Grace! Nice to meet you. I'm sorry, but it's just I'm a bit nervous!" I said.
The girl smiled at me. "Hey, I was nervous when I was interviewed for this job! Couldn't imagine what you're goin through! Good luck! Mr. Scott is expectin you!" She got up and lead us down a hallway to our right and stopped at a big, wooden door. She gave me a quick hug before walking off.
I felt something being slipped into my hand and looked down. My notebook!! I looked at Kimberly gratefully. "Thank you!" She smiled and nodded. "Alright, so I'm gonna walk you in, introduce yourself, answer questions, and then they'll send you to warm up. Ok?"
I nodded, "sounds simple enough!" I smiled, my hands still shaking. "Good luck! You'll do great!" Kimberly smiled at me. I opened the door, took a breath, and walked in.
There was a man sitting at a small, square table, his eyes watching my every move. I found a chair behind me and set my stuff down. I walked over to him, "Grace Oakley." I said, holding out my hand. He shook it with a firm handshake.
He was wearing a black cowboy-looking shirt with jeans and boots. His brown, curly hair matching his small beard. "Nice to meet you. I'm Mr. Scott Borchetta." I smiled at him. "Why don't you go ahead and take a seat? Let's just talk." He smiled.
"Alright." I responded, gently moving my guitar and placing it on the ground. I set my notebook in my lap. I started to feel the pages to stop my shaking hands.
"So, you're the girl Kimberly has told me about, right?" I looked at him and nodded. "Yes, sir." "So, just tell me a bit about yourself and I'll ask some questions, then you can go warm up. How's that sound?" "That sounds good. Thank you." I answered, looking him in the eye.
"Whatcha wanna know?" I asked him, relaxing a bit. "Just your backstory and what you want in Big Machine." He answered simply. "Alright. Well, I grew up in a small home a few cities away from here with two siblings. My siblings liked other genres, mainly pop and rap, but I liked country. So I could hear anything from Eminem to Loretta Lynn everyday.
Anyway, my parents decided to buy me a guitar. I learned anything I could get my hands on. By the time I was... Uh.. Maybe like 16, I played at open mics all over our area and began writing songs. And.... I really would like to join this company because I have been looking for a kinda "family centered" feel. And I think y'all have that. So, there we go!" I smiled.
"So. That sounds good. Just wondering, what do your siblings do? Oh, and you left out saving one of our biggest stars." The room was silent. I sighed. "One is in the army, Sgt. Nick Oakley, and the other is a book author, Alice Oakley...." "Oh, and I really don't think that I need any recognition. I was trying to do what was right, and I didn't wake up thinking, "I wanna be a hero, let's go save Kimberly. I saw someone in trouble and decided to help. I believe that if someone's in trouble, you help them. No matter what happens."
I covered my mouth. Oops, I had just embarrassed myself, I think, Scott was making a weird face. He just stared at me open mouthed for a moment. I heard the door open and Kimberly stuck her head in. She walked in completely.
"Scott..?" She asked. "Kimberly, out." He said. She was about to say more but he just looked at her. She walked back out the door. That was the first time Kimberly had backed down to someone! My hands shook more. Scott shook his head a bit and just looked back at me. "So." "So." I replied, awkwardly looking at him.
"Do you want to sing now? You get three songs, I've already heard a lot of them, but I will talk to you more afterwards." I nodded. He showed me the door. I grabbed my guitar and walked out, carrying my notebook in my other hand.
As soon as the door closed, Kimberly walked over to me. "What happened?" I shrugged. "I gave him an answer and I guess he was kinda shocked." She nodded. "I think that was the first time Scott Borchetta has every been speechless. Good job?" It was a question, more than a statement. I felt like I wanted to cry!
We started warm ups and soon, I was ready to meet Scott Borchetta, again.
I walked back in, he was talking to a girl with blonde hair, they looked to be around the same age. They stopped abruptly as my boots hit the hardwood. "Sandy, this is Grace, Grace, Sandy." I nodded. "Nice to meet you!" She smiled and "nice to meet you too!" Came out of that smile.
"Have a seat, and start when you're ready. You only get one shot." I narrowed my eyes. "Lose Yourself, Eminem?" I asked. He broke into a smile and nodded, "ironically."
"Alright. So this is a song I wrote after two failed boyfriends. Here we go. One, two, three." I sang "Back On The Map" to him. "Alright, next." His mouth was in a straight line. Uh oh.
"This is something I wrote for one of my brothers friends, he was going to get married, but sacrificed himself for his squad before he could propose."
"It was two weeks after the day she turned eighteen
All dressed in white
Going to the church that night
She had his box of letters in the passenger seat
Sixpence in a shoe, something borrowed, something blue
And when the church doors opened up wide
She put her veil down
Trying to hide the tears
Oh she just couldn't believe it
She heard the trumpets from the military band
And the flowers fell out of her hand
Baby why'd you leave me
Why'd you have to go?
I was counting on forever, now I'll never know
I can't even breathe
It's like I'm looking from a distance
Standing in the background
Everybody's saying, he's not coming home now
This can't be happening to me
This is just a dream
The preacher man said let us bow our heads and pray
Lord please lift his soul, and heal this hurt
Then the congregation all stood up and sang the saddest song that she ever heard
Then they handed her a folded up flag
And she held on to all she had left of him
Oh, and what could have been
And then the guns rang one last shot
And it felt like a bullet in her heart
Baby why'd you leave me
Why'd you have to go?
I was counting on forever, now I'll never know
I can't even breathe
It's like I'm looking from a distance
Standing in the background
Everybody's saying, he's not coming home now
This can't be happening to me
This is just a dream
Oh,
Baby why'd you leave me
Why'd you have to go?
I was counting on forever, now I'll never know
Oh, now I'll never know
It's like I'm looking from a distance
Standing in the background
Everybody's saying, he's not coming home now
This can't be happening to me
This is just a dream
Oh, this is just a dream
Just a dream
Yeah, Yeah"
I finished and looked from my guitar to Scott. He had a tiny smile on his lips. "Alright. One last song." I nodded and leafed through my notebook.
"Here's the last one I'm gonna play. It's about my life, and growing up." I announced.
"She grew up on the side of the road
Where the church bells ring
And strong love grows
She grew up good
She grew up slow
Like American honey
Steady as a preacher
Free as a weed
Couldn't wait to get going
But wasn't quite ready to leave
So innocent, pure and sweet
American honey
There's a wild, wild whisper
Blowin' in the wind
Callin' out my name
Like a long lost friend
Oh, I miss those days
As the years go by
Oh, nothin' sweeter than summertime
And American honey
Get caught in the race of this crazy life
Tryin' to be everything
Can make you lose your mind
I just wanna go back in time
To American honey
There's a wild, wild whisper
Blowin' in the wind
Callin' out my name
Like a long lost friend
Oh, I miss those days
As the years go by
Oh, nothin' sweeter than summertime
And American honey
Gone for so long now
I gotta get back to her somehow
To American honey
There's a wild wild whisper
Blowin' in the wind
Callin' out my name
Like a long lost friend
Oh, I miss those days
As the years go by
Nothin' sweeter than summertime
And American honey
And American honey
Ohh"
I sat down on my stool. "Thank you." I said. "Thank you. I'm gonna step out for a moment and grab something." I nodded. "Yes sir." I sat still and grabbed my pen. I might as well write while I'm sitting here!
When the door opened, I looked up from my drawing of a dinosaur and my hands shook again. He didn't shut the door this time. "Well, I have some bad news for you." I looked at him, fearing the worst.
Kimberly stuck her head in and looked like she was about to cry. "You're stuck with me!" I stared at him. "WHAT!?" I asked, excitedly. "Yep. Welcome to Big Machine." He handed me a pen and a paper on a clipboard.
"But, Scott! You told me no!" Kimberly exclaimed. I finished signing. "I know. But I didn't want you to know! And we were already considering before she had even met y'all!" Kimberly looked at me, open mouthed. "Really!?" "Yes."
A bunch of people with cameras ran in and started taking pictures. I smiled in all of them. One of them was even me and Kimberly crushing Scott into a hug!
All of the photographers left and I sat back down. "The reason I was so surprised earlier, is I've never met such a nice person! You're 18, correct?" I nodded. "Yes sir! And thank you."
"That's incredible! So, now, we'll just get you fitted for your inner ears. It'll just take a moment. And, I don't know if Kimberly told you, but you're going on tour tomorrow. We pushed it back to tomorrow night. This meeting was supposed to happen a while ago, but obviously it couldn't! So, congrats!" I beamed.
"Thank you! So much!" I cheered. Scott lead us to a small conference room. Me, clutching my guitar the whole time, as if someone was gonna take it away, and Kimberly holding my notebook with a smile. "What do we do now?" I asked, my giddiness getting the best of me.
"We just wait. And sit still! Man you're hyper!" Scott laughed. "Sorry! You can't expect me to now be happy!" He smiled at that. After a while, I got bored and started to play random songs on the guitar. When it got to me playing DONE Kimberly and I sang together. I saw Scott smiling at us.
"There is one more question. How is the case going?" We both froze, mid grunt. I coughed, "ugh what? Sorry?" "The car case." Oh. "Well, the police can't seem to find a match. The witness said his face was covered. And neither one of us remember him." Kimberly said, I shivered. "Okay. So extra security." Scott said icily.
"Yeah. If you don't mind." I blurted out. He seemed kinda mad. "I'm not mad at you, just the filthy rat. I not only love Kimberly for her music, but as a person. And you too. I just don't get why someone would do that." Kimberly and I looked at each other. We hadn't really thought of why? before.
"We don't really either." Kimberly said, shaking her head. "And it couldn't've been Sam, he wouldn't know you." I said through my teeth. "What're you takin about?" Scott asked me gently.
"Crazy ex." Kimberly said. Scott nodded. He went to say something but there was a knock on the door. "Come in!" Scott shouted, making me jump.
A man with silver hair came walking in with a woman with long brown hair. The man was carrying a case. "Ah. Just in time!" Scott smiled. "Alright, you're Grace, right?" The woman asked, she had a low and husky voice. "Yes." I responded, sitting straighter in my chair.
"We are here to fit you with some inner ears for performing!" She smiled. I nodded. (Inner ears are the things that go into the ear canal of the performer, they look like earplugs but provide a live feed. Hunter Hayes usually pops one out in a concert) "alright, thanks!" I said.
"Just hold still for about a minute on each side for it to mold, alright, honey?" The woman smiled. "I'm Lisa and that's Jim." The woman introduced them. "Alright! Nice to meet ya!" I smiled.
"Here we go, we're just gonna put this goop into your ear, it'll feel like melted rubber. It's gonna sit there and mold to your ear. About a minute for each side." Jim said. I smiled and nodded.
"Just lean your head to the side." "Alright. Like this?" I asked, putting my neck sideways so my ear was level. "Yeah. Alright, just wait a few moments."
I felt something like melted silly putty go knit my ear and squirmed a little. "Sorry." I said. "It's ok, I know it feels weird! Just a few more seconds." I heard Lisa say. "Alright."
"Now we can take it out. Ready?" I nodded and felt it being dragged out of my ear. It was so weird feeling! "One more! Unless you have a hidden ear you haven't told us about!" Jim laughed. "Haha I hope not!" I smiled.
They put the other one in and then took it out. "Alright. We should be back by... 3:30? Right?" They asked Scott. "Yeah. That's right." "Alright, so I will see both of you at 3:30. Congrats!" Scott told me. "Thank you so much!"
Kimberly and I walked out and she helped me into the car. "So... How'd it go? I mean, I couldn't really hear." "Eh, I think it was fine." Kimberly laughed.
"Fine!? He was really impressed!" We both laughed. "Really?" "Yeah! His face when you signed the contract was awesome!" I smiled. "Alright, it's about like 1ish, so let's go get the boys. We need to celebrate!"
I smiled big as we drove home.
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"Back On The Map" lyrics belong to Kacey Musgraves
"American Honey" lyrics belong to Lady Antebellum
"Just A Dream" lyrics belong to Carrie Underwood.
Thanks for reading!!!! It means a lot!!!!