"So, I thought before you met the guys, I should give you some more info about the band," Jason says, leaning against the teachers desk. "As you may already know, there are five of us. Our drummer is Kyle Henderson, bassist is Aidan Lee, pianist is Blake Rutherford, acoustic guitarist is Matthew Callister, and finally, electric guitarist and lead vocalist, the one and only, Jason Crosswell!" Jason explains dramatically, waving his hands at various instruments at the front of the classroom.
"Ok, calm down," I tell him, laughing at his eagerness.
"Sorry," he says, giving me a sheepish smile.
"So... What sort of songs are you doing?" I ask curiously.
Jason seems to perk up at my question, a smile spreading across his face. "Well, we've done a mixture of songs and artists, ranging from Bruno Mars to Queen. But we want to try something new, so I was wondering if you had any suggestions for if you wanted to join the band?"
I stare at Jason, noticing the eagerness on his face. Did he really want me to join the band that bad? Was I really that good, that valuable? "Ok. Well, since I would be the only girl, we could try and do a version of 'Only Girl in the World' by Rihanna."
I watch as Jason whips out his phone from his pocket and types my idea down, his fingers flying over the screen. As soon as he finishes, his eyes shoot back up to me, expectant.
Then an idea came to me. A lightbulb moment if you will. I feel my cheeks heat up, no doubt turning red. I turn my eyes away, not wanting him to see the embarrassment there. "Em... I have another idea, but I'm not sure it's very good," I start.
I hear movement in front of me, and look up to see Jason with his phone at the ready, an excited expression on his face.
"Well," I start, slightly hesitant, "I thought maybe we could do some duets, like Empire State of Mind or The Time of my Life."
He just looks at me, eyes wide, and then frantically starts to type my idea down. When he finishes, he pockets his phone and sits on a desk at the front of the classroom, gesturing for me to do the same. "Those were some really great ideas, although I might try and find some better duets," he says, laughing slightly and giving me a wink.
"Jason?" I ask, another idea coming to mind.
"Yeah?"
"Do you think you and the guys could maybe play a couple of songs for me? I've never really heard you guys before," I ask, a faint blush forming on my cheeks.
Jason just looks at me, shocked. "You've never heard us before?"
My cheeks burn, eyes darting away. "No. I mean, I knew you guys were in a band, and I've seen clips that my brother's shown me, but apart from that, I don't know anything, not even the band's name," I confess.
"Wow," he says, still shocked. "Well," he starts, clearing his throat, "the band is called 'Boys R Us'."
I just stare at him, not sure if he's serious or not. "You're kidding, right?"
He just looks at me, confused. "Why would I be kidding?"
I go back to staring at him, eyes wide, absolutely dumbfounded. Then I burst out laughing. I couldn't stop! It was way to funny. "You...actually...called your band...boys R...Us?" I say between laughs, my hand holding my stomach.
I wipe a tear from my eye and look back up at him. His face was red from embarrassment, clearly not happy with my reaction.
"I'm sorry," I say, schooling my face back to neutral.
Jason just sighs, looking down at his hands. "I know," is all he says.
"Look," I start, an idea forming in my head, "if you want me to join your band, we definitely need to come up with a better name."
Jason looks up at me, the movement so quick it gave me a fright. "You're actually considering joining our band?" He asks, clearly shocked.
"Well... Yeah. It's not every day you get asked to join a band when someone hears you sing for the first time."
Then, like lightning, inspiration struck. I bolted off the table, scrambling to pick up my bag. I turn towards Jason as I make my way towards the door. "Meet me tomorrow at four, outside the Shell Bay cafe," I start, mind whirring.
"Jessica?"
"Bring your band, instruments, speakers, microphones, amplifiers, anything you need to put on a show. Also, I'll think of a name."
"Jessica, what is hap-"
I dash out the room, not waiting for his answer. I had somewhere I needed to be to ask a favour, and boy was this favour going to be good.