| It was early Sunday morning and Jamie woke with a start as the phone rang. She rolled back over and moaned, praying that it’s annoying ring would disappear, but since her roommate and best friend wasn’t there to answer, it didn’t. She groggily sat up and picked the receiver up, mumbling a drowsy “hello” before stifling a yawn. “Jamie?” “Yeah?” “Hey, it’s Curtis.” “Oh, hi Curtis. What’s up?” “I just got a call from Wind-up records.” “Who?” “Small record label.” “Ah,” she said, slowly waking up. “They have a band signed, Creed, and they’re getting ready to do a video. I sent them your comp card, and they want you to audition.” Jamie stood slowly, rummaging through her backpack to find her planner. “When is it?” “Next Friday.” She flipped through the pages and picked up a pencil. “What time?” “7 am,” Curtis said, flipping pages in the background. “Okay, It’s on the schedule. Where is it?” “Here at the agency,” he said. “Try to get here…” “Yeah, yeah, fifteen minutes early, dressed and ready to go.” Curtis laughed. “Sorry – general spiel. You’ll do it then?” “Sure thing,” Jamie said. “How formal?” “They said it was casual, even mentioned jeans, so just wear whatever, as long as it looks decent.” “Okay. Sounds good, thanks.” “I’ll call you in a couple of days to confirm and everything.” “Okay. Bye.” Jamie hung up the phone and headed into the kitchen to fix some breakfast. She turned up the radio and sung along as she cooked. *** Jamie slapped the snooze button and cursed the morning before sitting up and turning the alarm off. She hopped in the shower, and within a half hour was speeding down the highway towards the agency to meet Curtis before the audition. Her tires screeched as she pulled into a parking spot, checking her appearance before hopping out of the car and jogging into the tall, concrete building. “Hi,” she said, as she opened the door to the conference room. She dropped her backpack and keys on the floor before plopping onto the couch, a sigh escaping her lips. “So what kind of audition is this going to be?” she asked. “More of a get-to-know-you meeting, really. They want to get a feel for your personality and find out if you’re the right person for the job.” She nodded, thinking how weird of an audition this would be. Curtis’ phone rang, and he just nodded after answering it. “They’re on their way up, babe,” Curtis said as he hung up the phone, not looking up from the papers in his lap. “Do you ever stop working?” “Nope.” Just then, there was a knock at the door, and Curtis fumbled with his paperwork to answer it. “Don’t move,” Jamie said with a smirk. “I’ll get it.” She stood and smoothed her jeans before pulling the door open. Before her stood a man of about five feet ten inches with long, wavy, brown hair, and intense brown eyes. She moved out of his way and gestured for him to come in the room, shaking his hand and introducing herself. Behind him were two other men, one rather tall and thin with a dark complexion, who was also quite attractive, and a shorter blond with bright blue eyes, who caught her eye and smiled happily at her. She took her seat again on the couch, and folded her hands. “So you’re Jamie, huh?” the taller man asked, a twinkle in his warm, brown eyes. She nodded, a smile sliding across her face. “Yep, that’s me.” “Well,” Curtis said, standing, “I think I’ll go catch up on some business and let you all get to know each other.” Jamie looked up at him, startled. He never left her alone with clients in a meeting like this. She just nodded and watched him go. *** Jamie stood, laughing. “Well,” she said between gasps, “I’d better get going. I’ve got an hour drive back to school.” Stapp smiled and shook her hand. “It was certainly nice to meet you.” “Yeah,” Phillips piped. “Can’t wait to start shooting the video.” She smiled and thanked them again for hiring her. She followed them down the hall and said her farewells before ducking into Curtis’ office. Not surprisingly, he was on the phone, bickering with a client. He looked up at her questioningly. She nodded with a smile, and he returned it. She wrote him a quick note with the location, date, and time of the shoot, and smiled again as she dropped it on his desk before waltzing out to the car. She tried to concentrate on the test she was about to take as she headed back to school, but her mind kept drifting to Phillips, and what the video could possibly have in store for her. *** Jamie sighed and smiled as she got out of the car. She and Curtis were in Los Angeles, and the shoot for Creed’s latest video was about to start. She shifted her backpack and headed into the studio, a slight smile on her face. The band was already there, checking out the set and making comments. “Hey, Jamie,” Mark said, slipping an arm around her shoulders. “How was your flight?” “Long and extremely boring,” she said with a sigh. “But I’m over it.” She smiled up at him, and he returned it. Phillips looked over his shoulder at him and smiled, then winked. She laughed and dropped her backpack onto the floor as Curtis left her side to talk to the Assistant Director. His phone rang and he jumped, searching his pockets. He found it moments later, and Jamie stifled a laugh. Mark looked down at her, confused. “He’s such a nerd, but ya gotta love him,” she said with a chuckle. He shook his head and joined Stapp, a few feet away. ‘I’m gonna check this place out,’ Jamie thought to herself as she looked around. She started poking around the set, looking at this and that. She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. “Sorry,” Phillips said quietly, blushing slightly. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” She smiled up at him. He was just a few inches taller than her. ‘Perfect height,’ she thought. Phillips smiled and looked around. He nodded at the door, and Jamie followed his gaze. Two other women were standing there, clad in skimpy outfits, looking around. Jamie looked down at her jeans, black t-shirt, and black Nikes. Her eyebrow rose involuntarily. “Who are they?” “They’re gonna be mine and Stapp’s chicks in the video,” he laughed. “Who picked them out?” she asked with a snicker. “The record company. We didn’t really like them, but what the company says goes, I guess,” he said with a shrug. She shook her head. “You’re the only normal one they picked.” She laughed. “I’m far from normal,” she said smiling. “Well… in comparison.” She laughed again and walked over to introduce herself. “Hi,” she offered to the taller redhead, extending her hand. “I’m Jamie.” The redhead looked down at her hand as if it were an alien being. She retracted her hand, and her eyes shifted to the short blond, who was looking her up and down. “Looks like we’ll be working together,” she said, forcing a polite smile. “Whatever,” the blond said, flipping her hair over her shoulder and walking away. The redhead rolled her eyes and followed. Jamie made a face, then turned around and imitated them as she walked back to Phillips, who exploded into laughter. Jamie doubled over laughing at him as Tremonti and Stapp looked over to see what was so funny. She shook her head at them and waved. “It’s nothing, I promise,” she managed between giggles. “You’re stuck with one of them?” she asked Phillips once she regained her composure. He rolled his eyes. “Unfortunately, yeah. The blond one.” She laughed again. “I’m sorry,” she spit, returning to hysteria. He shook his head, trying to contain his laughter, to no avail. |