Between Songs

by N. Kognytao

  The CEO of RM Entertainment pursed his lips, looking thoughtful.

  “I think that was actually my composition and Michael’s lyrics…”

  “You’re such an ass,” Jay teased, lightly pushing the other man away. “Go manage the company. You shouldn’t be slumming it with us.”

  Mr. Gracie straightened his suit and pretended to wipe it off before breaking into laughter with Jay. The two hugged once more.

  “Very well, I will leave you to it,” Mr. Gracie said, nodding to everyone as he left the studio.

  “Well, I was about to snap at you for being late,” Jay started, nodding to Yasmine, “but it was smart of you to bring the CEO with you as an excuse.”

  “Very funny,” she droned.

  “Nice to meet you,” Leah said, standing and extending her hand. “I’m Leah.”

  “Yasmine,” she said shortly taking her hand and shaking it firmly once. “Bass player.”

  “Now that we’re all here,” Jay said, going back to his seat, “let’s brainstorm your debut song.”

  * * *

  For the first few days, the musicians got to know the lyricist and producer and they all spent time talking about the feeling they wanted for the song. Since Yasmine was not allowed to actually work on the song, she sat bitterly on the couch and waited to be addressed before she spoke.

  When Leah told her that she could still talk about the song, she jumped in and put her own thoughts into the discussion, strumming a few chords while Keith tapped out some beats on his legs.

  On the third day, Jay spent a lot of time on the keyboards, roughing out the beat of a song with Carson as Leah sat at the second table, trying to come up with lyrics. However, she spent most of the day watching the other musicians discuss the song with the producer. As she was watching the interactions, she started to feel like too much of an outsider sitting at the other table with her notebook.

  Foregoing the lyrics for that day, she sat back and observed the others, taking in the experience of being in an RM studio working on her debut song. She was a little worried that the pressure of coming up with a song, and realizing she was actually achieving her childhood dream, would slow her creativity. She was worried the pressure would be too much.

  Jay was irritated that Leah had not put any words down that day, but he just grumbled and said that she better come up with something the following day.

  When Leah got home to her family, she busied himself in the kitchen with her mother and Meggie, laughing as they began baking an absurd amount of cookies.

  “How is it going?” Meggie asked. “The song, I mean.”

  “…don’t know, yet,” she answered truthfully, smiling. “But I think it will all work out.”

  The following morning, Leah called Aaron to help her carry things into the studio from the family car.

  When the door opened to Studio Two, Jay let out a loud groan and turned.

  “You’re late!” he snapped.

  “Happy Birthday!” was Leah’s response.

  The younger musicians in the studio leapt up, excited to see the various trays of cookies and the two carriers of coffee from the Muse Café. Aaron set a few of the trays of cookies down as Keith and Carson went to Yasmine and hugged her, starting to sing happy birthday as Leah brought in the carriers of coffee with a lopsided cake perched precariously in her other hand.

  Leah joined in on the singing as Jay sighed heavily and leaned his head back on the chair, relenting that the celebration would take place.

  Though he would never openly admit it, the producer was touched to see Leah celebrating his new team member’s birthday so enthusiastically. He had been worried when Yasmine was singled out as being the youngest that she would be teased by the older musicians and feel outcast. In many ways, Leah’s impromptu birthday party reminded him of days in the studio with the young and ambitious 4Ever band.

  However, Jay had to hide his smile. He had an image to maintain.

  Yasmine was smiling, but her entire face was glowing with happiness as everyone finished the birthday song and she looked over the cake and cookies. Some of the cookies were round, but another set had been cut with a flag shape, however, it had been decorated with green frosting to barely resemble money—though it was clear when the singer had become tired because some of the cookies looked like a mess of green frosting. The cake’s lopsided top also read a silly message—Happy Birthday! You can get paid! Even then, Leah had run out of room on the top of the cake, so the last two words smooshed into one another and the D went off the side of the cake.

  “You can get a paycheck!” Leah teased, running over and hugging Yasmine tightly.

  “Seems like you’re more excited about the fact than I am!” she laughed.

  “It’s a big deal!”

  “Alright, alright,” Jay groaned, looking over the spread of cookies and cake before reaching over and snatching up a cup of coffee. “Get your sugar rushes going, already. We’re recording today. Keith, you’re first. You’re all set up in there.”

  Keith made a face as Jay reached for a cookie, mimicking the stern nature of the producer. When Jay caught the look, he immediately adapted an innocent expression. Jay nodded back into the recording room.

  “Get your ass in there,” he sighed, exasperated.

  Everyone smiled as Keith snatched a cookie and a cup of coffee and went into the other room.

  Yasmine walked over to Leah, who was passing out the coffee. As she handed her a cup, she smiled.

  “Hey,” she started, “thanks.”

  She nudged the younger woman with her elbow.

  “Happy birthday.”

  “You really didn’t have to do this, you know.”

  “Of course I did,” she protested. “We’re a team now, right? We have to celebrate each other.”

  Yasmine’s smile broadened and she shook her head.

  “Damn it…”

  “What?”

  “You’re not supposed to be this loveable,” she snapped. “You’re coming out with a debut song in a few weeks. You should be bossing everyone around and acting like a total bitch. Don’t you have any sense of the tension of the situation?”

  “…it’s supposed to be tense?”

  She rolled her eyes, laughing.

  “Alright, fine, whatever your process is.”

  She grabbed a cookie and turned to Leah.

  “Seriously, thank you.”

  “Lyricist!” Jay snapped. “Get writing!”

  Leah saluted him and then reached out with another cookie, offering it to the glowering producer. Jay stared at her, trying to understand how a rookie working for one of the biggest labels in the world could be so at ease. Regardless, he took the offered cookie with a roll of his eyes.

  Chapter Four

  As the different instruments were recorded, Leah began to feel her creativity swelling and she was able to come up with the first refrain in a very short time.

  Once she had lyrics down, Jay swooped in and helped her fit them to the beat, deciding to change one line before they both set to work on the chorus, calling in a technician to record the other musicians while they worked.

  Leah was startled when Jay first whirled around and snapped that the keyboard part was wrong and they would have to change it because it did not fit right, but when he did it a few more times, Leah went from startled to impressed that the producer could be working on the lyrics with him and also listening to what was going on in the recording room with such a careful ear.

  However, once Leah got home, it was difficult for her to continue thinking about lyrics.

  The apartment her family had moved into after Meggie’s battle with cancer was two bedrooms. Leah had offered to give Meggie the second room to herself since she had been working two jobs and was in and out at early hours of the morning. She slept on the large couch in the living room, and had a small dresser also acting as a catch-all table next to the kitchen. The arrangement had worked for everyone.

  H
owever, when she got home, her brain still turning over the lyrics and the beat of the song, it was an abrupt and jarring change for her to be surrounded by the talking of her family as they prepared dinner and talked about their days.

  Therefore, one night at dinner, she brought up a possible solution.

  “I want to talk to you about something,” she murmured. “It’s about work.”

  “Is everything alright?” Kyle asked.

  “Yes, everything is great actually, we’re really making progress.” She pushed the food around on her plate slowly, a bit nervous. “But…I will admit, it’s a little hard to concentrate on it when I get home. And we have such a limited amount of time, I need to be working on the song at any point that I feel inspiration.”

  “Okay, what can we do to help?” Anne pressed.

  “Well…actually, RM has a dorm building a block away from the studio for the artists studying and working there,” she murmured. “I was thinking of applying to move in there.”

  The family stopped, surprised. She felt the silence, but she could not look up at her family. After everything they had been through together, she knew that the thought of her actually moving out was difficult to comprehend.

  “I see…”

  “Would we be able to visit?” Meggie asked hopefully.

  “I’m sure,” Leah said quickly. “I mean, there are a lot of others who live in the dorms and I’m sure their families come to see them. I don’t think RM can legally keep the family members out.” She looked back down at her plate. “I know this is kind of sudden…”

  “We understand, Leah,” Kyle said.

  “We do, honey,” her mother agreed. “This is your dream, and you have a chance to pursue it. Whatever you need to do to accomplish that, we’ll support you.”

  “Do you know how much it costs?”

  “No, but I will find a way to cover it,” Leah assured strongly. “I’m sure RM has a program for financial assistance, or to allow for trainees to work for room and board. I don’t want you to worry about that.”

  The next day, she told Jay she was going to talk to someone about moving into the dorms and the producer nodded and sent her on her way. However, Leah had to double back and ask where she needed to go.

  Carson, who also lived in the dorms, directed her to Rebecca Masters, who was in charge of the RM dormitories.

  On the ninth floor, Leah wandered until she saw the name “Rebecca Masters” on a door. With a hesitant knock, she entered the office

  “Come in,” the woman greeted, motioning her in. She was a larger woman with a beaming smile and large brown eyes. She was dressed in a clean blouse and skirt and was looking over something on her computer when Leah walked up to her.

  She waited until the woman’s brown eyes turned to her.

  “Good morning,” she finally said. “How can I help you?”

  “Good morning, my name is Leah Dillon. I just started working here, and I was wondering what the process was for applying for a dorm room.”

  “Oh, of course,” she said, motioning to the seat across from her. She wheeled her chair behind her and grabbed a form from a nearby drawer. “Are you a trainee?”

  “Uh, no. I don’t think so.”

  “Actor? Recording artist? Model?”

  “Recording artist,” Leah said. It still surprised her how many different forms of media entertainment RM managed.

  She leafed through more forms, pulling out a small packet and setting it in front of her.

  “Okay, if you are part of a group, we can put you in a group dormitory, or we can put you in a single. Do you have a preference for ground floor versus an upper floor?”

  “Um, no, no preference.”

  “And single or group?”

  “…I think single? I know one of my team members is in the dorms, but I don’t think any of the others are.” She laughed nervously, shaking her head. “I’m sorry, this is all very new to me.”

  “That’s okay, I’ll help you though. That’s my job.”

  “If I move in, my family can visit, right?”

  “Yes, of course. But they do have to check in at the front desk of the dorm. It’s a safety procedure to keep out the crazy stalker fans,” Rebecca said with a playful wink. “And they can’t be in the dorms after eleven at night.”

  Leah nodded, turning her attention back to the forms.

  “They come with furniture?” she asked, noticing the bed options on the form.

  “Yes, but it’s really basic furniture. It’s a bed and a desk. There are private bathrooms that you are expected to keep clean, but the kitchens are communal for each floor, which, again, you are expected to clean up after yourself.” Rebecca looked over the form. “We have a few singles available now. They’re up on the fifth floor.”

  “That’s fine.” Leah drummed her fingers along her leg. “Um…what is the payment situation? How much does this cost?”

  Rebecca, hearing the tension in her voice, hesitated.

  “Well, we have a few payment programs—”

  Her phone beeped on her desk.

  “Becca?” a voice said over the speaker.

  “Yes?”

  “Big boss is on his way.”

  “Am I in trouble?” she chuckled.

  “I don’t think so,” the man laughed.

  Rebecca turned back to Leah. “Anyway, we have a few payment programs depending on your financial situation. Generally, the single dorm room is two-thirty-five a month. But, as a recording artist, you’re not allowed to have other jobs outside of RM Entertainment as part of your contract, so we deduct the money from your wages every month.”

  “What if I’m not making wages yet?”

  “We do ask at least for a deposit of three-hundred and then the monthly cost accumulates up to four months and if you are still not making wages, then we ask that you pay in full and move out. However, if you are making wages within that time, then a certain percentage more is taken out of your earnings until the prior four months have been paid.”

  “Okay…I think I can manage the deposit. Can we use that program?”

  “Of course,” Rebecca said, turning to her computer and passing a pen to Leah. “If you could just fill those out.”

  A knock on the door interrupted Leah from writing her information. The door opened and Tim Gracie peered inside the office.

  “Mrs. Masters?” he called.

  “Mr. Gracie,” she answered, motioning him in. “Good morning. How are you?”

  “Can’t complain yet today,” he joked. Spotting Leah, he stepped forward and placed a hand on the young woman’s shoulder. “How are you today, Ms. Dillon?”

  “I’m well, thank you, Mr. Gracie,” she said, shaking her boss’ hand.

  “Are you planning to move into the dormitory?”

  “Yes, I think it will be better for me and my family for now,” Leah explained. “Sleeping on the couch in the living room is a little tough when I’m trying to compose.”

  Mr. Gracie nodded slowly, his face not showing emotion, but clearly taken aback by the statement.

  “Well, I’m sure Mrs. Masters is taking care of you,” Mr. Gracie said. “This is the new hopeful from the last open auditions,” he explained to the woman.

  “Oh, that’s wonderful. Congratulations.”

  “I won’t keep you,” Mr. Gracie assured. “But I need those building inspection papers for the dorms.”

  “Oh…” she said slowly, her entire demeanor changing. “Um, I…I don’t have those, yet.”

  “You don’t have them as in the building inspectors haven’t gotten them to you, yet? Or they haven’t come to inspect the building, yet?”

  “They haven’t inspected, yet,” she answered slowly.

  The air in the room became heavier and Leah busied herself with filling out the form, though she could feel Mr. Gracie adopt the presence of the CEO in an instant.

  “I have been asking for an inspection for over a month, Mrs. Masters.”


  “I know, sir.”

  “Why has it not happened?”

  “There was a problem with the original company. They couldn’t get someone out for another two months.”

  “I had a list of three different companies sent to you,” he continued. “If you could not get our first one, there were alternatives.”

  “Yes, sir. I know, sir.”

  “I expect this to be handled at once, Mrs. Masters,” he said darkly. “I know I do not need to remind you of the implications should something happen that could have been prevented.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  He nodded once.

  “Then handle it.”

  He placed a hand on Leah’s shoulder and squeezed, causing her to look up.

  With a smile, Mr. Gracie’s demeanor immediately softened.

  “Do not worry about the deposit,” he said. “I’ll take care of it.”

  “Oh, no, I couldn’t ask you to do that,” Leah gasped, nearly leaping out of her chair in protest. “It’s alright, I can handle it.”

  “I’m making an investment in you, Ms. Dillon,” Mr. Gracie said. His smile broadened and he turned to leave the office. “Besides, I have a bet with 4U about you. I expect you to win it for me.”

  As he opened the door, he called back to Rebecca.

  “Mrs. Masters, get it handled.”

  “Yes, sir,” she said quickly.

  “A bet?!” Leah gasped. “What bet?”

  * * *

  Rebecca was clearly shaken by the serious conversation she had had with the CEO, so she was not as chipper as she led Leah to the dorm, checking her in with the desk and updating their system with her picture and new keycard for access to the building. She then led her to the fifth floor and into her dorm room.

  It was a very small, narrow room with bleak white walls and a twin bed next to a wooden desk. Even though it was not much to look at, it was a small relief to Leah that she would have a quiet place of her own after years of being in the living room of her family’s apartment.

  She got the tour, was told that there was Wi-Fi through the building, and had the rules of the dorm explained to her once more.