| I’m about to be on the floor again / surely you’re gonna find me here… I’m about to sleep until the end of time / drug I take oughta wake my fear right now… Kayla Marie Jacobson had her headphones blaring 3 Doors Down’s “The Better Life” CD into her ears as she gave her scooter one final push with her right foot. She was tempted to sing along to The Better Life, but she thought better of it; she didn’t want to subject the people of Los Angeles to yet another freak on a scooter that sings to the music in her head. She approached the Westlake Audio Recording Studios and put her foot on the brake. But since the brake had been mysteriously “malfunctioning” lately, she soon had the choice to either jump off the scooter or slam directly into the side of the building. She made a face as she watched her scooter slam into the brick building from her position on the ground. “Damnit,” she muttered, standing up from her spot ass-down on the grass near the building. She brushed herself off and picked up the scooter, which now had a small dent in the front. Her CD player was still strapped to her waist, and was still playing The Better Life, but the headphones were dangling around her knees thanks to the impact of her falling to the ground. She groaned when she inspected the scooter; this was the third one she went through in less than two months. She shut off the CD player, folded the scooter up as best as possible with the new dent, and walked into the building, swiping her key card in the lobby to gain access to the recording studios. She was early for her meeting with 3 Doors Down’s Brad Arnold, Matt Roberts, Todd Harrell and Chris Henderson about the negotiations on her Front Of House Engineer contract with the band, but there were no cars in the parking lot so she decided to get some editing done for a remix of Duck and Run for the group’s release of the single. It was due for commercial release in record stores in a month, and she was putting the finishing touches on her contribution to the single. When she walked in the studio, she found that she was alone. She sighed to herself and sat down at the mixing board. She hated working in this particular studio, but it had the best equipment to do her remixes in. The soundproof booth stood directly in front of her, practically daring her to look into it. I’m passing away onto the better life… I’m passing away onto the better… She humored herself and looked into the booth. She could almost picture him standing there, belting out whatever song he was trying to perfect at the time. He worked so hard to get just one note right; they would be in the studio until dawn sometimes just trying to get one line of a song perfect. She loved that about him, he was just as perfectionistic about his music as she was about her remixes and about her job. Kayla was passionate about everything she ever did – be it music, rollerblading, dancing… She took everything to an extreme. She couldn’t stand people that half-assed things, it annoyed her to no extent. When she found that he was just as passionate about life as she was, she was thrilled; he seemed like he was perfect for her. Drew had seemed like the proverbial “perfect guy,” and Kayla knew it. They immediately hit it off from the second they met – flirting was one of their favorite pastimes. As hard-working as the two were, the work could wait for a little while when they were with each other. They were compatable in every way except for one: Drew was in a boyband. Kayla had grown up listening to straight ahead rock music – Aerosmith, The Doors and Janis Joplin among others. She was always known as the “little rock girl” to everyone. She couldn’t stand the music that Drew was singing and listening to, the only reason she was working with 98º was so that she could spend more time with Drew. She did have one favorite song of theirs, however… The Hardest Thing. Their relationship ended abruptly when he began touring. He left LA and Kayla was left alone; after a week, Drew called her at the studio when she was recording with Green Day on a remix of Minority and accused her of sleeping with Tre Cool. Their screaming match could be heard in the next building. From the moment she walked back in the recording studio, she vowed never to work with vocal groups again. She had had nothing but problems with them in the past – when she worked with the Backstreet Boys on Millennium, Nick flat out refused to sing his part in The Perfect Fan. When she worked with ‘N Sync, Chris couldn’t get his voice to fit Digital Getdown. So she went back to her Little Rock Girl lifestyle – hanging out with and recording with Nickelback, 3 Doors Down and Limp Bizkit. She was forcing herself to keep her relationships with the famous musicians she worked with strictly professional and platonic, but it was hard to resist Brad Arnold’s baby blues. The second he sauntered into the studio was the second she lost her heart. She hardly ever got to see him, which was why she had suggested that they needed a new Front Of House Engineer. Brad was more than happy to oblige. She was staring down at the mixing board, trying to figure out if she needed an extra beat in the remix of Duck And Run or not, when Brad put his hands over her eyes. She jumped, slightly startled; she hadn’t heard him walk into the room. “Hey baby,” he said, kissing her cheek. Kayla smiled. “Hey yourself,” she said, turning around in her swivel chair to face him. “How’s everything?” “Tour is exausting. Incredibly exausting. But it’s gonna be so much better when you’re gonna be with us all the time,” Brad said, leading her into the conference room to meet the rest of the band and the required lawyers and managers needed for the signing of contracts. “I hope so,” Kayla commented. “It will,” Brad said. “I can keep an eye on you… Drew won’t be bothering you anymore.” Kayla smiled weakly. “I love you, Brad, you know that, right?” she asked, putting her arms around his neck. “I know,” he replied with a smile, pulling her closer to him. “You’re gonna have a better life out on the road with us, you know that.” “I know.” |
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