Chapter 3

Music. Who knew music could be something more? I never expected music to bring me more than money from the coffee shop. It was just a sanctuary. A place I could turn to when times were hard. I didn't expect. Not at all. For a life changing call from a place that was just a pastime. A hobby. It came out from the blue. Shooting across the black canvas. An object larger than life. Stars.

I never expected to play other than the usual 5:00pm crowd that came out to enjoy tea and time with their family. I didn't expect for them to remember my performance after they left. I certainly didn't expect them to talk about my performance to others. I definitely wasn't ready when I was approached. Not ready at all.

He wore a neat suit. That suit probably cost more than all the clothes my family owned. Probably even more than our TV set. His dirty blonde hair coated in gel, smoothed back, shiny and clean. He walked in confident strides and his presence made me nervous. I wanted to press back and dissolve into the peeling wallpaper. He stopped in front of me. My gaze fell to his shiny, black, leather shoes. The seemed to glint in the dull light. Pausing, he cleared his throat. A star. That was what he said. I have found a genius.

I expected to be called all kind of names. Loner. Misfit. Quiet. Cold. But never Genius. Never a Star. He handed me his name card. Donovan Julian Erik. Producer, Soul Record Labels. The name had been printed many times by now all because of his company being the one to discover all of the latest hits. Lucia Calleron. Antony Front. And my favorite band. Diatonix. A group of 4 boys, not far off in age from me. For some reason, their music seems to strum the strings deep within me, holding me captive. Their words speak to me, so relatable. Whoever writes their music is a genius. Not me. They are relatively new, only 2 years in the business, but they have grown to be the number 1 boy band. Their songwriter was a mysterious pseudonym by the name of Greyhawk.

My eyes flicker back from the card to Donovan back to card. This must be a dream. A fantasy. An illusion. A pinch proved that it is real. Hesitation creeps in. Diatonix plays in my left ear as my right earphone is plugged in. Should I take it? $50,000 a month. Wait, what? $50,000? Why am I hesitating? The pay is $50,000 a month! Yes. Yes, it's decided. I will be the next star. I will work hard and bring peace back to my family.