Layla's POV
"Mom, I don't know where your leather jacket is. Just look in your closet." I said with a sigh.
My mom had called me up panicking about her appearance. Today she has a job interview in Hollywood and wanted fashion advice. The only problem is: I don't know shit of fashion. So she kept asking questions about whether she should wear a dress, or go for a suit instead. Then I pointed out she was going for a creative job which meant coming all dressed up like a business woman wouldn't work. She told me I was right and now asked questions about where her normal clothes were and what she should do now.
"Look, honey. I know you're probably busy.." She started.
I looked around while sitting on the sofa in my apartment with my ordered Tacobell on my lap and huffed out a laugh.
"But can you please tell me what to wear? I always love the way you look, so I'll take any advice of you." My mom added.
I sighed and stood up to walk to my own closet. I opened it and looked at what I had.
"Okay, forget the leather jacket. Go with.. A white flannel with the ripped jeans I gave you last week. For shoes, I'd go with the white sneakers to match with the flannel. Got that?" I asked.
"Mhm.. And do I wear sunglasses or is that distracting?" My mom asked.
I heard the nervousness in her voice.
"Mom.. The job interview is inside. Normal people don't wear sunglasses inside, you know." I said chuckling.
"Right. Okay. Well, thanks, honey." My mom said with a sigh.
"You're welcome. And goodluck at the job interview. You're gonna do great." I said.
"Thankyou. Bye!"
"Bye." I said and hung up.
I closed the closet and walked back to the sofa. I started eating my tacos and looked at Oreo who jumped on the chair next to me. I smiled.
"Hey, baby. Do you want a taco too?" I asked as I held a taco in front of his face.
He stood up and took a bite of the taco. A little too enthusiastic. The taco fell on the floor and shattered in a million pieces as lettuce and meat was flying around the room.
"You are such a cow. Jesus." I said with a loud sigh.
I stood up and started cleaning it up. Oreo looked at me with the most innocent face he could make.
"Sneaky bastard.." I said.
He locked eyes with mine and tilted his head. I laughed.
"A cute sneaky bastard." I said and gave him a kiss.
I'm way too forgiving.
I was just done cleaning the floor when my phone started ringing.
"If this is my mom, I'm not gonna pick up." I told Oreo even though I knew he wouldn't respond.
I grabbed my phone from the table and looked at who was calling me. It was Jamie. I picked up.
"What's up?" I asked.
"Can you open the door for me and Milano, please? I forgot the keys." He said.
I bursted out laughing and walked up to the door. I opened it and looked at Jamie who stood there with a ridiculous smile on his face. I hung up and put my phone in my pocket.
"You're so stupid." I said.
Jamie pushed me inside and chuckled as he closed the door behind him and Milano. They walked inside the kitchen and put the grocery bags on the counter.
We hired this apartment when Jamie turned eighteen. We both wanted to live by ourselves, but also together. So we and our parents figured it'd be better if we searched for an apartment for us two. Eventually we hired quite a big apartment in Hollywood so we could focus on our jobs and so it'd be easier to travel. We've been living in this apartment for a little over a year now, and we're still happy. In the meantime, Jamie got a boyfriend named Milano. He had a crush on that boy for a few months and eventually it turned out Milano liked him. They ended up together and have been inseparable ever since. Luckily for me, Jamie still knows where he came from and who his true friends are. He ain't the kinda person to give up on his friends and family only to focus on his boyfriend. And Milano is one of the sweetest people I've met. He feels like a second brother to me and I love him.
"Could you find everything I wrote down?" I asked Jamie.
He shook his head and showed me the grocery list he brought with him. Three out of the five things I had written down were not checked yet.
"Seriously, Jamie. How hard is it to find fucking milk?" I asked.
He shrugged. "Apparently hard. I couldn't find shit. Besides that, it was really crowded."
I sighed. "That means I have to eat cereals without milk tomorrow morning." Jamie laughed and threw a bottle of Mountain Dew my way.
I caught it and opened it to take a sip.
"Oh, by the way. I have to tell you something." I said as I sat down on one of the kitchen chairs while Jamie and Milano were busy unpacking the grocery bags.
Jamie frowned.
"Oh?" He said.
"So, my boss called me this morning and he said he assigned me to someone special. He also mentioned that I really have to focus on this one and that I have to do everything they say. I have to start tomorrow. I'm nervous as fuck, guys." I said.
The thought of me fucking up everything for good gave me the chills. If that happens, I'll get fired and Jamie won't be able to pay the rent on his own which also means we have to go back to Downey.
Milano leaned on the counter and looked at me.
"You know, Lay, don't stress out on this one. You've always been able to maintain your nerves with assignments, so you can do it now as well." He said.
Jamie nodded in agreement as he came standing next to Milano.
"Yes, and I've told you many times your work is phenomenal. Don't stress, get excited and have fun with this assignment." He said.
I smiled.
"I love you guys." I said.
"We know you do." They said in unison.
I laughed and stood up to continue eating my tacos.
Also about a year ago I first started at Hollywood Records as second hand music producer. What that means, is that I first had to help the big music producers and those who were already experienced. After half a year they told me I was too 'good' to be second hand music producer, so they promoted me to actual music producer. Can you believe that I am one of the only two female music producers at Hollywood Records? We do get treated like princesses, though, so that's kinda funny.
The assignments I've had so far were already pretty big, but this one was meant to be my biggest one yet. I already worked with a few artists and figured out what my sound is. On top of this all, I also eventually got my own studio which is still unreal to me. The opportunities I got so far were already amazing and tomorrow was the big day. Then I'd start working on my biggest assignment yet.
-~-~-~-
7AM. Alarm.
I stood up and sighed as I slowly put on the clothes I had layed down next to my bed for today. 7AM is way too early, but I couldn't complain. With every minute closer to 8AM, I got more nervous. One assignment, more people I had to please and a potential time limit of two months. It's pretty big, if you ask me.
I ended up spending over twenty minutes in the bathroom just contemplating about whether I should call in sick or go to the studio anyways. Eventually Jamie got annoyed, stood up to go into the bathroom and splashed water in my face. Then he told me I had to go or else the assignment would be for someone else.
"You're gonna go, whether you like it or not." He told me.
"But what if I mess up? I can't afford messing up and getting fired." I said with tears in my eyes.
Jamie just laughed and turned me around so I looked at myself in the mirror. He held my arms.
"You are amazing. Your job is amazing. And you are amazingly talented. Don't ever think you're gonna screw this up, or else you'll get fired for being too insecure about yourself. Remember how you told me they picked you out of the 25 people who came for an intake? They see you and your talent as well, Layla. Go for it." He said.
I turned around to face him and gave him a hug.
"What did I do to deserve you." I said.
"I love you, Lay."
"I love you too."
I went downstairs, opened the fridge and took the little bit of milk left out of it. Then I grabbed the box of cereal from under the table and poured the last bit of milk in my mouth. Before swallowing it, I also put some cereal in my mouth and then started chewing.
I'm telling you, folks. The better way to eat your breakfast. Especially when you're in a hurry.
I grabbed my jacket from the stairs, put on my shoes and before I knew it, I was in an Uber, on my way to the studio. Along the whole way from my apartment to the studio, which was about a ten minutes long drive, I kept thinking about who it possibly could be. Was it Sabrina Carpenter? Selena Gomez? Miley Cyrus? I had no idea and also that made me extremely nervous.
After ten minutes I arrived at the building. I thanked the Uber driver and went inside. I saw Kelly sitting in her studio. I walked up to her.
"Hey, Kels." I said. She looked up with a confused face.
"Layla? What are you doing here this early?" She asked.
"Well.. I'm about to start working on my biggest assignment so far, so Ryland asked me if I could come early today." I said as I sat down on the sofa in the corner of Kelly's studio.
She stood up and made some coffee for us as she frowned at me.
"Which is?" She asked.
"I don't know yet, that's the thing. I'm gonna meet the artist or group in about an hour." I said with a sigh.
"Do you have any idea?" Kelly just shook her head and gave me the coffee as I thanked her with a smile.
"Whoever it is, I'm sure you'll do amazing." She said.
"Thanks. Anyways, how's your project going? And are you finally gonna tell me for who it is?" I asked.
"I'm honestly thriving. And I'm still not allowed to tell you for who it is, sorry." She replied as she sat down on the main chair in her studio.
I sighed as reaction to the last thing she said. Ofcourse she wasn't allowed to tell me, but she showed me some stuff of it already. She once let me listen to what she got so far and I immediately recognized the vibes. I only couldn't link it to an artist just yet. I'd always ask Kelly who she was working with at the moment during our lunch break. She always responded wit a big grin and a nod. Was she hinting? Was I supposed to know already in some way? I literally had no clue.
"Well.." I began, standing up and throwing my empty cup in her trash can, "good luck with the rest of the song and please make sure to let me listen first."
She laughed and waved me goodbye.
I stepped inside the elevator and went to my own studio. When I arrived in the hallway, I heard voices coming out of my studio. They sounded familiar, but I couldn't match the voices with a face. I just shrugged and opened the door.
"Oh, hey. You must be Layla, our producer." One of the three voices said.
I looked up with big eyes.
Oh. My. God.
-~-~-~-
hey gals and pals!
so this is the first chapter of the sequel of 'the house' and i'm beyond excited again to continue writing this. i know, i know. i said i wouldn't start with this until the first five chaters of 'run' would be online, but i couldn't wait anymore. i hope everyone is gonna enjoy this book as much as the first one.
oh btw, i'm sorry if this chapter was a little messy. working on it skshskshs.
have a nice day and don't forget to smile :)
x britt