Sophia
I really don't know how I got roped into going onto this trip to LA. I really, really didn't want to go. Probably because it was my seventh time there this year and it was only June. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to be going to see my Aunty and Uncle and my cousins I just wish they didn't live in LA. I'd been that many times that I was bored of it, it's completely overrated. Let me try to put how I feel into context. So a brand new theme park or leisure centre opens up, it's absolutely amazing for the first few times you go, theres new places to explore, things you've never seen before the lot but then you start to get bored of it as you've seen it all and explored it and been so many times. That's how I feel about LA.
I feel like I know the city just like how well I know Phoenix here in Arizona. The fact we go so often is because it's only like an hours flight to LAX. My mom is super close to her sister because they're twins. She always says "I can't be without her for more than a day Sophia, so you should know that even a few weeks is hard for me," She says this every time I ask her why we have to go. She is the biggest drama queen I've ever met.
I would happily stay home but I'm only 17 and my parents are pretty strict so they won't let me stay alone for more than two days. I have a pretty crazy life and a reputation that they just don't trust me. Which is totally unfair if you ask me.
I was also really not looking forward to this particular trip as I'd finally graduated from High School and it was finally summer vacation before I went to college and it was also my birthday next month and I wouldn't be able to spend it celebrating with my friends as we're staying the whole of the summer.
In fact we go there that often that my parents bought a second home right down the road from my Aunty and Uncles. A small but spacious apartment not too far from Venice Beach in a really modern condo in Santa Monica. Way too extravagant for my liking. I'm perfectly happy with my little suburban home back in Phoenix. But my parents say you can't not go to LA and live the Hollywood lifestyle.
So here we were stepping out of LAX for the one millionth time. My older brother Miles had decided to come with us this time, he was 22 and he was currently studying at Yale. Imagine this, your dad is chief of surgery, your moms a paediatrician, your brother is training to be a neurosurgeon, your youngest brother who has only just started high school has already showed his interest in becoming a doctor and then you, someone who has no interest in medicine and simply wants to play music. Imagine living with that life, well yep that's mine.
Sometimes I feel like I was adopted, I don't have the brains that my family have. Like don't get me wrong, I graduated with mostly B's and A's but I was never a real genius. I've always been into music and art and all the creative subjects. My parents for so long pushed me to show an interest in becoming a doctor, then when they couldn't do that, they tried nursing and then dentistry, the list goes on until they finally realised it wasn't going to happen and they finally bought me a guitar.
I remember distinctly what my dad said the day I got it for my 14th birthday, "since we're in LA so often, it only makes sense that one of us becomes a famous musician."
I started a Youtube channel on my 15th birthday with a cover of "Dirty Little Secret" by The All-American Rejects and vowed to upload at least once a month ever since. In that short time I gained a small following of 50,000 subscribers which I was thoroughly pleased about.
I used to get bullied all the time for it at school which is where I think I got my "I-don't-give-a-fuck-about-anything" attitude from as I learnt to literally block everyone out. I do however give a shit about my supporters. I have quite an online presence with my followers and I treat them more as friends than anything really, I'm constantly tweeting them updates about my life such as my last tweet:
@ SophiaJensen: Back to LA today...yipee.
As you can tell I'm very enthusiastic.
"Earth to Sophia, we're waiting to go," My mom said waving her hand in front of my face and I let out a huff, rolling my eyes and climbing into the back of the car that we had rented. It sucked coming to LA as I couldn't drive here as you had to be 21 to be able to drive a rental car so it meant I had to rely on public transport, walking or the rare occasion of getting a lift. And my annoying ass brother Miles just loves to rub it in my face.
I squished in the back in between both of my brothers, Sam because he was the smallest had one of the suitcases sat on top of him as we couldn't fit everything in the trunk and I couldn't help but laugh.
"Aw, you okay there Sammy?" I cooed pinching his cheeks. He swatted my and away and pouted.
"Sophia I am not a kid." He crossed his arms. Too right he wasn't he was a 14 year old little nerd but I still treated him like he was younger because I knew how much he hated it. Hey when you live with two brothers, you have to make light out of it.
"But that's exactly what you are," I mimicked his whiney voice.
"Mom will you tell Sophia to shut up." He snapped, though his voice was muffled due to the large suitcase on top of him so my parents couldn't really understand him and so chose to ignore.
***
The ride from LAX to Santa Monica was only about a half hour but for poor Sammy it probably felt like a lifetime. Soon enough we pulled up outside a white washed, contemporary building that was about five floors high and you'll never believe which was ours, the one on the very top, the penthouse. My parents simply have to have the best of everything, but I mean can you blame them, who wouldn't with jobs like theirs.
I climbed out of the car after Miles and took my guitar case out of the trunk and put it on my back and also pulled out my suitcase right from the bottom, causing everyone else's to fall onto the floor. "Sophia," my name was said by each member of my family in an annoyed tone but I just shrugged and started walking towards the door.
Once we'd gotten everything in to the cold apartment - I say cold not as in temperature but because it really wasn't homely at all and looked like a show room - I headed straight for my bedroom.
So my bedroom here was definitely a pro on my list of reasons I like LA. I just preferred the layout, the size the decor and the fact it had an en suite. It was definitely more airy which made it perfect for recording videos as the acoustics in the room were spot on.
I collapsed on my bed when I received a twitter notification. It looked like a fan had sent me a message.
Maggielovesmashton: Hi Sophia!! Pleaseeee can you do a cover of Youngblood by 5 Seconds of Summer??!! I love uuuu.
I smiled at her message I loved when I got messages from my followers. I raised an eyebrow at the choice of band and song. Weren't 5SOS that cringy boy band that opened for One Direction like four or five years ago? I didn't even know they were still a thing.
Now I know what you're thinking, someone with a heavy online presence would know a lot about everything but when it comes to music, I stay pretty focused on certain genres. I mostly cover and write acoustic rock or soft pop. Not generic boy bands like One Direction and 5 Seconds of Spring or whatever they're called.
I sighed and messaged a reply.
SophiaJensen: I'll give it a listen and I might, you'll have to keep an eye out. Much love x
I went to spotify and searched them up and to my surprise they had two albums out and a live record. That was pretty cool. I located the song and let it play.
As the song played I found myself tapping my foot along. It wasn't too bad I suppose. The singer had a good voice but overall I found it very poppy which I wasn't a fan of and felt like it would stray away from my image and what I upload to my channel. So, I closed the app and didn't think about it again.
AN: SO the first part is here! I know there isn't much mention of 5sos and calum yet but I really wanted to focus this first part on Sophia and introducing her.
I also want to point out that I'm British writing a story of an American girl so when there's dialogue I will be trying my best to use american terms such as couch, mom etc but in my actual writing I will be spelling things the british way so like favourite, centre, colour... you get the picture.
But yeah I hope you enjoyed the first part, the next chapter will be from Calum's perspective!
Question of the chapter: Who is your favourite band/artist apart from 5sos?
This is a super hard question for me so I'm just gonna name a few: All time low, marina and the diamonds, bastille and fall out boy. But i love so many more as well!
- Liv x