"So what am I doing now?" Declan asked his agent in between meet and greets and rehearsals.
"An interview for a radio show here. They asked listeners to give an idea for an interview as a contest and picked a winner. Whoever this is will be doing a style review and look at your looks from concerts and other events and just talking about them. I think they said she was a fashion student."
"Oh great, so I'm going to be getting roasted by a fashion student." Declan sat back on the grey couch in the green room and sipped a bottle of water.
"Hopefully not, dear. You can always leave if you don't like it."
________________________________________________________________________________
A very nervous and very excited Callie walked into the massive concert venue scared. She was directed through a series of doors she usually couldn't go through and clung onto her laptop in her hands. The gentleman in a navy uniform guided her to a black door reading Green Room. He opened the door for her and she walked into the room. There was one camera in the room, pointed at the couch. A small coffee table was in front. She saw three people to her left; a man standing behind a camera, a woman with a binder, and a man with a shirt reading the radio station she won the contest from. And then there was Declan McKenna, sitting on the couch casually with a bottle of water. He stood up.
"Hello. I'm Declan." He stuck out his hand to shake hers.
"Hi. I'm Callie Ambrose. It's great to meet you." Callie turned her body towards the people standing in the corner. She greeted all of them with handshakes and the cameraman began to set her up with a microphone. Declan stared at her. He wasn't sure what he was expecting. A tall blonde with jeans and a scarf or someone who looked like they went to the thrift store but actually spent $700 on a t-shirt and jeans, with a red and black flannel tied around her waist. That might've been what he was expecting. But instead, he stared at a short girl with long black hair, wearing a flowery sundress that went to her knees. It had sparkles on the top and bottom and thick straps. She looked she was wearing a 2020 version of something out of the 1950s. And she looked beautiful.
Callie sat down on the other end of the small couch. As the men in the corner whispered to each other, Declan leaned over and asked, "Where did you get your dress?"
"Oh. I made it." Callie said proudly.
"Really? It's quite lovely."
Callie blushed and whispered, "thank you." The men in the corner coached her on what to say and shortly after called action, something a backstage theatre kid is not super used to.
"I'm here with Declan McKenna on the day of his Toronto show. We are going to be going through some of his past outfits on stage and in interview and just talking about it. So, Declan, the first one I wanted to start with was..." she clicked a few things on her laptop and opened an image. "This one."
"Oh man." Declan said, exasperated.
"Yeah?"
"I don't know why but I didn't quite realize that this would mean looking at old photos of myself for fifteen minutes."
"Well I hope you have fun. Anyways, this is really interesting and simple and works with a kind of popular soft boy aesthetic that's going on with the overalls over the sweater. And I love it. Did you come up with that on your own?"
"Yeah. I mean. Those are my dungarees... or overalls I guess." Callie and Declan chuckled. "I mean yeah, I just came up with it on my own. I don't have a stylist or anything. I just do what I like for shows."
"I love that. What I don't love..." Callie clicked a few things. "Is this:"
"What!? I love that one!" Declan exclaimed.
"Well I don't hate it. I just... I could never... I would- I - that's the kind of fabric that they use to create... um... costumes for dance competitions. And I'm just not vibing with it."
"No? What the fashion student in you say?"
"The fashion student in me says... oh my god. She's just terrified... but me as Callie. I like it. I like the brightness and it's very interesting. Something I could never do. And would never want to do, just to be clear. But it does look great with the glasses though and somehow you just make it work." Declan laughed.
________________________________________________________________________________
They flipped through eight more images and laughed the whole time. Callie was kind even to the outfits she didn't love and Declan cringed a few times at certain past choices. The director, who could've been Brody Bryan for all Callie knew, tapped his wrist which meant that they were almost out of time and Callie had to rap it up.
"So, Zeroes. It's an incredible album. I listen to it going to work everyday. Congratulations on the amazing record and I'm sure it's doing incredibly."
"Thank you, it is. It's unbelievable. It really is."
"Thank you for your time. Hopefully, the fashion student in me didn't hurt you feelings at all."
"No, not at all. Thank you for an enjoyable time. If it doesn't work out in fashion, you'd be an incredible interviewer!" Declan said. Callie blushed and laughed for the thousandth time. The director called cut and took their microphones. They began to pack up their equipment, and a man began to rush Callie out when Declan stopped him.
"That was really fun." He told her.
"Well thank you, I think so too." She smiled at him.
"What do you do for a job?"
"I work in a theatre. I do costumes and stuff related to that."
"Hm..." Declan nodded. He looked at Callie intently. "How would you like to style someone?"
"Like someone begin you?"
Declan shrugged, "Perhaps."
"That would be awesome."
"But... like as a job. Going on tour, styling someone for shows and interviews and everything in between."
Callie was baffled. "I- that's not really my area. I studied costumes, mostly."
"Well think of it as that you'd be putting me in costume."
"But the whole point of that interview was to talk about your style and how you just do your own thing and it's admirable."
"I suppose, yes. But you seem to have an alright understanding of my style, right?" He looked at her.
"I guess... maybe."
"Well, I think that you have great style and great ideas and... You make clothes, you said you made this dress. Do you make other clothes?"
Callie nodded.
"Can I see any examples?" Declan asked her.
When you're a design student, you kind of always have a portfolio on you. She pulled out her phone and opened a folder of the many clothes she design in and out of school.
"These are incredible. Did you make these in your freetime?"
"Some yes. Some I made at school. Some for friends."
"Really? What school did you go to?" Declan seemed genuinely interested and it threw Callie off a bit. She was getting overwhelmed.
"Ryerson. Here."
"Cool. Are you from here?"
"No. I'm actually from across the country. A small town in British Columbia. Whistler, a town of skiers."
"So you travelled all across the country to study fashion and costume design. That's a lot of guts and passion."
"Yeah, I guess so."
"I'm really impressed by you, Callie." Her heart skipped a beat when he said her name like that. "I am offering you a job."
Callie stared dumbfounded at her favourite artist standing in front of her. She could see him holding a door open that would lead to a world of adventure. That fashion student they talked about earlier was screaming at her to say yes... but Mr. Coffure and his smile and booming voice stopped her.
"I... would love to. That sounds amazing. Thank you." She hesitated for a moment, and then proceeded, "But I don't know. I have a great job right now. Could I think about it? Is this a one time offer?"
"No, no. Of course you can think about it. Just let me know before I leave the country, please, which is next Tuesday. I'll give you my agents contact information and you can text her your decision."
"Thank you, Declan. This has been crazy."
"It's no problem. I hope to hear from you, Callie."