#3 Turn Up for Real

by Stephanie Perry Moore

  “What if he would have killed you? None of this is worth it. We just have to try to find the money so you can pay him and be done with it. You can’t deal with those guys again,” I stated with intense emotion.

  “I will handle it. I just need you to calm down.”

  “How can I calm down? I was almost raped tonight,” I uttered hysterically as I relived the horrific moment.

  “I’m sorry about that. I don’t know what I would have done if something would have happened to you,” he said, sounding equally upset.

  “Thank you for coming in and getting him off of me. He’s two times your size, and he was there one minute and gone the next,” I said.

  “Seeing someone hurting you just gave me extra strength.”

  Really needing to understand, I asked, “Why did you get mixed up with them in the first place?”

  “I don’t want to talk about this, Slade. I just want to show you I’m sorry. I just want to erase away the memories of somebody touching you with such force. I want to make you feel good. Can I kiss you?”

  Spellbound I guess, I nodded. His lips touched mine, and it was the exact opposite of the feeling I felt an hour ago. This time I felt liberated as his hands roamed around my chest and all over my back. He stopped just before I had to say, “I’m not ready for anything else.” I certainly could understand why Taylor was so crazy about him. This guy had it going on, and he was a gentleman. I didn’t think I was ready to be intimate with a guy, but he probably could pull me in a direction I didn’t think I was ready to go. His hands were just that magical, but after the last kiss, he changed it to business.

  “You’re talented, you know. I left the studio because I had to go share with the other guys how cool the sound was. Don’t let Taylor and those girls stop you. If you want to get a group … create one.”

  “How can I get a group?”

  “Well, if want to go solo, then you do that.”

  “I like being in a group, though.”

  Touching my brow with concern in his fingertips, he said, “I’m just saying don’t let the dream stop. You’re better than all three of them, and I know a producer. If you want to cut a record we could do that.”

  “I’m not going back to that house.”

  “No, I don’t mean them. They got whack equipment. Maybe you can scrape up a few dollars and book some studio time at a real place. I’m just saying when you’re ready, I’m here.”

  And then we leaned back and enjoyed the stars. When I looked at my watch, I realized I needed to get home. Avery gave me something to think about, a whole bunch of things actually, and all of them were positive.

  October was flying by. I had been so busy with my family doing so many appearances and getting ready for the upcoming election. I’d been trying to help my father win so much that I hadn’t seen Taylor and her girls. That was just fine with me ’cause when I looked up, they were staring at me, and they saw me looking at them. All three sets of eyes stared really hard.

  “Whatever,” I said to myself now that I knew I was truly attracted to Avery, even though I hadn’t talked to him in a week.

  He and I had a connection that I wasn’t willing to give up for her. So it was just best she stayed with her little group and I stayed on my own. No need to beg her for a friendship.

  Later that day, it was lunch time. I was walking to get my food, and I got a text from Charlotte, who was in the pageant.

  It read, “Hey, I see you. Wanna have lunch?”

  “Sure,” I texted back. “But I don’t see you.”

  “Just sit there at that table. I’m getting my food now,” Charlotte texted.

  “K,” I texted back.

  The bubbly blonde came and sat right beside me. “How have you been? I’ve been looking for you. I know we go to the same school, but I was sick with bronchitis, so I stayed away for a couple weeks.”

  “I’m not trying to get sick,” I said, moving away a bit.

  She laughed. “I’m fully better now, or I wouldn’t be here. I’m glad I saw you today. We’ve got to hang out.”

  “How’s it been being Miss Teen Charlotte, Charlotte?” I asked, really wanting to know.

  “Fun. It’s still not what I really want to do. Going around meeting people, taking pictures, shaking hands …”

  Cutting her off, I asked, “Well, what do you want to do?”

  Then she started humming, and I remembered her voice was angelic. I immediately thought hers coupled with mine would make a dynamic group. Ebony and Ivory. Not that that’s what we would call ourselves, but we’d definitely stand out. People would underestimate us until they heard our sound.

  “Let me ask you this question. Would you have time to sing with me? And not just for fun, like seriously. Maybe seeing if we got some kind of vibe to form a group or something?”

  “Oh my gosh! I would love that,” she said, getting all excited.

  She reached over and hugged me.

  “Are you serious? You’d be okay with that?” I questioned as her enthusiasm seemed too good to be true.

  “Yes, Slade, I’d love to. Being Miss Teen Charlotte is a means to an end. I want to sing. Sometimes people just see a white girl, but I got some soul in me. If I partnered with you, the sky would be the limit.”

  Smiling and happy, I said, “When are we going to practice?”

  “I could come over later today.”

  “I don’t know about today. I always have to check with my parents to see what they have for me.”

  “Alright, let me know,” Charlotte said.

  “Will do.” I was tickled pink, realizing I had just formed a group.

  We finished our food. As I was about to head to class, I got another text. When I looked down, I knew it was from Taylor.

  “If you don’t mind, could you meet me in the bathroom? I really need to talk to you.”

  “No,” I quickly texted back. “I’m not meeting you in anybody’s bathroom.”

  The only thing I could think about is that she wanted to have her girls beat me up, corner me or something. I wasn’t falling for that. Absolutely not.

  Taylor texted, “Okay, okay, can you just stay right there? I really do need to talk to you.”

  “About what?” I texted back.

  “It’s important.”

  So I waited. Pretty much everybody was leaving lunch. I sat still, waiting on Taylor’s tail.

  When I was about to forget her and get going, Dr. Garner came over and said, “Ms. Sharp, aren’t you supposed to be heading back to class?”

  “I’m walking right now, sir. I was waiting on Taylor Dale. There she is,” I explained as Taylor walked up. “She had to put away her tray.”

  “Oh, alright. You girls get on to class,” Dr. Garner told us.

  “Thanks for waiting,” Taylor said, trying to ease the irritation on my brow.

  “You’re about to get me in trouble. What’s this about? Or is that the intention?” I said, truly not trusting her.

  “No, no … first of all, I owe you an apology.”

  “Oh, you’re going to apologize to me?” I said sarcastically. “You kick me out of your group after assuming I knew Avery was your man.”

  I really didn’t want to go down that road with her because, now, I did know that was her ex, and I wanted him for myself. I mean I wanted her man before, but I just didn’t know it was her man. Yeah, that’s a place I didn’t want to go.

  “Forget that. You were right. He wasn’t into me. I needed to let him go,” Taylor admitted, surprising me with her response.

  “I’m not coming back to the group. I’m doing my own thing,” I said to her, not sure what she was up to, but sure I needed to set her straight right away.

  I didn’t even have my group with Charlotte solidified, but I wasn’t trying to be back with those tricks anymore. They weren’t going to sit me in the fool’s chair and have me recline. Besides, I wasn’t gonna let them get my hopes up just to dash them away.

  “No, t
his isn’t about the group,” Taylor uttered loud and clear. “My mom, she’s got this thing after school for kids who are in a low socioeconomic group, and I need to bring somebody to help me mentor them. She told me a long time ago. I mentioned it to Dayna and Caylen, but…”

  “But your friends don’t want to give back to the community. I’m not surprised.”

  Not wanting to admit her friends were trifling, she explained, “They’ve got something else to do.”

  “Yeah, okay.”

  “So, I just wonder …”

  “What? You want to use me?”

  “You seemed really into the class when we were there last time. My mom doesn’t know we fell out, and she actually requested you. If you say no, I understand,” she said as she started walking away. “I’ll figure something out.”

  “Wait, wait, it’s just an hour after school?”

  “Yeah.”

  “For your mom and the kids, I’ll do it,” I told her, even though she had hurt me bad.

  Still skeptical, I followed her over to her mom’s elementary music class. It was like I was in a whole different world. Those little kids were adorable. They didn’t have the best clothes, and their hair was a little mangled. You could tell they didn’t have much, but they had great spirits, and they were fired up to sing. As I was playing with them, they blossomed even more, appreciating the time. Then, at the end, Taylor’s mom told them that the sessions were going to be ending soon. This was a paid after-school music program, and the funds were going to be cut.

  The little kids squealed in a chorus, “No!”

  My heart broke. When I saw Taylor crying, I knew she had a heart, too. I got it. Many of these kids didn’t have any other place to go. This program provided so much. They got a snack in the afternoon. Without this program, a lot of them wouldn’t be fed until they got back to school the next day. This program couldn’t go away, but when I realized I had no way to help, I became depressed, and I started singing “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music. Doing so, at least I put a smile back on the kids’ faces as well as on mine, even if it was only for the here and now.

  “So you and the queen are going to be a group?” Shelby asked when Charlotte came over to our house to practice.

  I hit my sister in the side. She was playing, but she was serious. Shelby had doubts about how Charlotte and I would sound.

  “Just hold on,” I told my doubting sister.

  When the two of us started singing, all four of my sisters’ mouths hung open.

  “Oh, you guys need to be doing this,” Sloan uttered as she clapped.

  “Yeah, you two sound really good,” Yuri said.

  “I’m ready to take some pictures,” Ansli commented.

  “My bad,” Shelby looked at me and said. “I stand corrected. You all sound great. We’ve got to get you guys the entire package: a name, a look, and a demo.”

  “I know a guy who can help us with that,” I said to Charlotte.

  “You let me know. I’m ready. Send me over the track you were talking about, and I will practice it,” Charlotte said.

  She was so easy to work with. She wasn’t trying to out-sing me. She just wanted to be a part of it.

  When my sisters left, Charlotte and I had to talk business. I asked, “How are we going to do this?”

  “I just want to be an artist. I don’t want to be a part of the business side.”

  “Well, I’ll ask my dad for some money to cut the record, but that’ll mean I’ll own more of it. Is that cool?” I questioned, knowing these tough negotiations needed to be addressed.

  “Absolutely. You got all this help with all your sisters to do a record label.”

  “Oh, you’re taking it a little too far,” I told her, knowing I just wanted to cut a demo.

  “No. If we’re going to do this, we need to step it up, for real,” Charlotte encouraged. “Create a label.”

  “Alright, well, I’ve got to talk to my dad, and I’ll get back to you, but I like the direction we’re going. We should come up with a name, though.”

  “You’ll come up with one,” she said.

  “You’re really letting me do all the creative work?”

  “Yeah, and I’m a performer. I merely sing what I’m told and show up when I’m supposed to perform. You on the other hand are a double threat. You can sing, and you can be behind the scenes, so don’t limit yourself. Plus, I have all this Miss Teen Charlotte stuff with me, and I’m not trying to rub it in or anything …”

  “No, no, no, you’re right. You do that, and I can come up with the business side of our group, and we can sing together. I love it!”

  “Well, at least just promise me this … no matter what happens, we’ll stay friends. I know we don’t really, really know each other,” Charlotte said. “But you have to come hang out at my house too. My folks have to get to know you.”

  We shook on it. Being with Charlotte was going to be worry free. I felt bad that I hated on her when she beat me out. Getting to know her, it was clear that she deserved it.

  Two days passed, and I hadn’t had the chance to talk to my dad about my dreams. Both of my older two sisters were already operating in their gifts. The fashion designer extraordinaire, Shelby Sharp, was trying to come up with the look for my group that I didn’t even have a name for. Ansli couldn’t wait to take photos of us for the CD that I didn’t even have.

  I needed to get on the ball. I needed to talk to my dad about a loan. Though I knew he was in the middle of trying to run a big race, he always said his daughters came first. Now it was time for him to be real about that and take time out for his daughter. I wasn’t going to feel bad about that. I needed my father to believe in me and invest in the group, so I knocked on his office door.

  He looked up and said, “Slade! Come in, babe.”

  “I know you’re busy.”

  “Not too busy for you. What’s up?”

  “I love you, Daddy!” I said as I hugged his neck real tight.

  “How much money do you want, and for what do you want it?”

  “Dad…”

  “Don’t ‘Dad’ me. I know you girls. Your mom has trained you well,” he teased.

  I just laughed. I went from behind his desk to sit in front of him in the chair. He needed to view me professionally.

  “Can we talk business?”

  “My creative daughter wants to talk business? Okay. What’s up? You have my full attention.”

  “I think I want to start a record label. Well, I’m not sure if I want to start a record label, but I at least want to have some money to start producing my own record.”

  “And what do you know about all of this? How much is it going to cost? How you are going to make money back?” my father drilled me.

  He asked me those questions and many more. I kind of just looked at him like, ‘Why are you getting that deep? Just give me the money already.’

  He said, “I’ll tell you what. After school tomorrow, we’re going to make a few stops. Once you talk to the people I want you to talk to, if you still want to do this, then we can push forward.”

  “Alright,” I said a little frustrated and confused.

  Before I left out of his office he got up and grabbed my hand, “Trust me. You want to be prepared. It’s not just about having a passion. If you really want to pursue a dream, this isn’t going to be painless.”

  “Yes, sir,” I said.

  Sure enough after school, I came straight home. He was waiting for me. We took off. First stop: a place where cash overflows. When we actually went to the bank, I smiled so hard my smile stretched from the bank to our house. He was going to give me the money. We sat right down with the owner of the bank.

  “My daughter wants some money to cut a record. She said she might want to start a business plan. Mr. Martin, could you talk to her? Should I give her the money?” My smile faded.

  “First of all, how much money is she talking about?” Mr. Martin asked.

  Gritting
my teeth, I said, “Well, I haven’t exactly figured that out. Whatever he starts me out with is fine.”

  Mr. Martin showed no mercy. “What if it is not enough? Then you’re going to come back and ask for more. We’re supposed to just keep giving you more? Here’s how it works here at the bank. When people come here trying to get a loan, usually they show us a business plan and show us not only how much money they’re asking for, but also a plan on how they’re going to spend the money and how they plan on making money back. If you’re serious about what you’re doing, then you need to show your dad a business plan. I’m recommending he sees it before he gives you a dime.”

  The two of them talked small talk for a little while longer, and I had to sit there thinking through my business plan for a company that had just popped into my head. All I wanted was the money, and now I had to think deeper. That was frustrating.

  Our next stop: the other side of the tracks. I wouldn’t call it the ghetto, but it looked close to the projects. My dad wasn’t turning back, so I guess I was in for another lesson.

  “Dad, where are we going?” I asked.

  When we pulled up at a trailer, he asked, “Do you remember the song, ‘Shake it, Break it’?”

  “No.”

  “Well, it was a hot song. YouTube it. M.C. Nails is the artist.”

  That name sounded familiar. “Yeah, I think I remember him.”

  My dad got out the car and motioned for me to follow. M.C. Nails greeted us at the door. My dad must have told him who I was.

  “Nice to meet you, young lady. I just want to tell you if you’re going to go into the record business, you need to be a smart business woman. I made so much money off of my first song, and then stupid me blew it all. The record business is more than just about the sound and the glitz and the glamour. It’s also about dollars and cents. If you’re going to go into it, be wise so you won’t end up like me with nothing.”

  He and my dad also talked a little business, and then we were off again. Last stop: Mundy Records. I couldn’t believe I was sitting in Mr. Mundy’s office. I just sat with him a couple weeks ago when he was at my school.

  He said, “You want to have a record company? Well, I’m trying hard to keep my head above water. It’s not an easy business to be in. I’m always trying to get the next hottest and greatest artist out there. Be sure you’re ready.”