Chapter 25 Austin - Growing Up Fast
Chapter 25
Austin - Growing Up Fast
W hen we left Kansas City, I didn’t know how our lives would change. Sydney and I found a townhouse in a mediocre neighborhood. I took the bedroom on the lower floor, which contained an entertainment room, full bathroom, and laundry room. She took the largest of the three bedrooms on the upper level because it had a private bathroom. Two other bedrooms and another bathroom remained vacant, but we talked about adding a roommate or two. The main floor held a kitchen, powder room, dining room/living room.
Neither one of us had arrived with any furniture, and over several months, we decorated in a mashup of thrift store chic and trash night specials. We would shop the curbs around the better neighborhoods on garbage nights while eating dollar ice cream cones. She loved repainting our treasures to make them shine like new.
Sydney’s dad drove out an older model pickup for her to have her own vehicle. We carpooled to work, and we usually took the Pinto Bean because it used less gas. Los Angeles is synonymous with “traffic jam,” and one automobile taking up space on the freeway was better than two .
We had been in L.A. for about a month when I called Danny on a Sunday afternoon. My favorite football team had crushed his, and I wanted to rub it in.
“Hey, Danny! How’s it going?”
“Hey, Stranger! Calling to gloat, I see.”
“Who me? I would never!” I pretended to be offended.
Danny chuckled. “Yes, you. Boy, do I wish the defense would have shown up today.”
“I concur. But I think your quarterback takes too long in the pocket. Maybe he won’t get sacked if he throws the ball occasionally.”
“I won’t disagree with you. There’s always room for improvement.”
“What have you been doing? You miss me yet?” Curiosity got the best of me.
“Nope. Haven’t thought about you once. Who is this again?”
I knew Danny joked to yank my chain, but it still stung a little. It’s amazing how fast people move on without you. I rallied. “What have you been doing?”
“I’m still slinging burgers and counting down the days until September fifteenth.”
That date didn’t seem significant to me. “What happens on September fifteenth, if I may ask?”
“I’m going to Basic Training for the Navy. Gotta give them four years, remember?”
I still couldn’t believe that Danny had signed up for the Navy. He never liked gym class, and he wasn’t athletically inclined. How would he pass a physical endurance test that included running a mile or more? But I didn’t say that out loud.
“How are things in L.A.? You and Sydney rich and famous yet?”
“No. We haven’t been here that long. I traded in the Pinto Bean yesterday. Bought a Mustang GT convertible.”
“That’s cool. I’ve always wanted a Mustang. That must be a sweet ride.”
A grin creeped into the corners of my mouth. “It is fun to drive. It’s a thrill to feel all that power in my hand as I shift gears. I heard that there’s a track near here where I can test her limits. I’d like to do that.”
“Where are you slumming it? Under the Hollywood sign?” he joked .
“Not quite. Sydney and I are renting a townhouse outside of L.A. We get to sit in traffic jams daily. I have the lower level of the house all to myself. Sydney never comes down here except to do laundry. That makes it much easier when I bring home a hunny or two for adult games, if you catch my drift.”
“You mean like Twister and Clue?” Danny teased.
“Yes, I’ll take Miss Scarlet in the ballroom with the handcuffs, please.”
“Now that’s a board game I could handle.”
“Don’t hurt yourself thinking about it, pumpkin. I wouldn’t want your engine to overheat.”
“The sarcasm is strong in this one for certain.”
We talked for a few more minutes. I didn’t realize how much I missed Danny and my friends back home. And my mom. She’d left me several messages. I made a mental note to call her. First, though, I needed to feel wind in my hair and horsepower in my hands. I swiped my keys off my dresser and headed for the garage.
Working as a songwriter could be compared to a never-ending group project. Bryce put Sydney and me with three other writers, and we collaborated on songs three days each week. We were free to collaborate with others or work on our own creative projects the rest of the week. Hive days were my favorites. We all had different strengths, but we worked well together.
Crissy Truman looked like she modeled for the JC Penney website. Her outfits always matched. She had silky, long brown hair and wore the same simple gold necklace and earrings every day. I couldn’t decide if her eyes changed color on their own or if she had colored contacts.
Crissy originally trained to be an opera singer. She spent two years as a professional soprano, working consistently on various operas. But then she developed lesions on her vocal cords. She had surgery to remove them. They came back. She had a second surgery and there were complications. She ended up not being able to sing professionally any longer. I felt sad for her. It would kill me if I couldn’t sing anymore.
Jack Richards kept us all on our toes daily with his witty comments and observations. I kept telling him that he should be doing standup as a side hustle. He stood at five foot six and always wore his raven locks in a ponytail at the base of his neck. His coffee eyes danced from behind his little round glasses. His piano skills far exceeded the rest of us.
Jack’s grandfather influenced his musical tastes early on, and he knew practically every song from the 50s and 60s. He’d been distressed as a teenager when his grandfather revealed that Jim Morrison died a long time ago. His wardrobe consisted of vintage Levi’s and antique concert t-shirts. He loved nothing more than to come across them at yard sales. He confessed to having a small eBay problem.
Marcus Shaffer rounded out our group. He brought an R & B influence to the hive. He lived and died by The Temptations. He had all their albums and had seen them in concert in their various lineups frequently. Every day, he wore a suit and tie. He knew quite a few ways to tie them. He didn’t wear jeans like the rest of us. He believed that you only get one chance to make a first impression. And that as a black man, that was of utmost importance. I couldn’t relate but I took his point.
Sydney and I didn’t know many details about what our jobs would entail when we accepted them. Most of our daily work revolved around our hive creating songs for the studio’s catalog. When a new artist got signed, they selected songs from the catalog for their debut album. We also collaborated on songs for established artists working on a new album.
Bryce put in his own requests frequently, and those took precedence over anything else we had on deck. In addition, Syndey and I got asked to sing for demos or as backup singers. The learning curve felt steep, but our fellow, more seasoned hive members were patient as we learned the ropes. Sydney and I were working on a new song, tentatively titled “Sunshine” --a love letter to our new home state of California. We weren’t ready to get input from Crissy, Jack and Marcus yet.
Yesterday Bryce had demanded a song for an up-and-coming pop princess Venus had signed. She brought us the news personally.
“Hey guys! I hate to interrupt whatever you’re working on, but Bryce needs a smash for his new pet project. Do you have anything in the works that will dazzle him?”
Jack rolled his eyes. “Are you serious? Has he looked at the Hot 100 recently? That should dazzle him enough.”
“What kind of dazzle does he want? Can this girl dance? We were working on something last week that might work.” Marcus chimed in .
Venus grinned. “I think that might do the trick. How soon can you have a demo for him?”
Crissy pushed back. “I get the feeling that Bryce thinks we’re a group of genies that can snap our fingers and magically create a musical masterpiece. It’s going to take us more than a minute, especially if you want a demo, too.”
Venus held up her hands. “Don’t shoot the messenger, Crissy. I need you to make this a priority. I can hold Bryce off for a few days. Is that enough time?”
Jack spoke up. “We will do our best. We’ll take another look at that song Marcus mentioned. It might do the trick.” He pushed his glasses back up his nose with his index finger. “Any other fires we need to put out?”
Venus backed towards the door. “That’s perfect. Let me know as soon as you can.”
“We’ve met Bryce. We’re on it.” Crissy snapped as Venus closed the door behind her.
It had only been a month, but I loved it here. The work, the atmosphere—all of it. Everything happened so fast. All because I read Sydney’s journal. I didn’t have any idea where it would lead. It still felt somewhat surreal. But I could get used to this lifestyle quickly.