*

Nadia sat up in bed quickly seconds before her alarm went off, she looked around and then looked next to her and saw Aquarius sleeping, not hearing the alarm at all. She was a heavy sleeper. 

However, she didn't care about that. She had a great idea though. The dream she just had inspired her.

And her mother. What she said to them last night stood out in her mind more than she thought it would and her subconscious turned it into an entire movie that had a happy ending. 

She shook Aquarius awake. "Hey, hey girl, wake up," Nadia said to her as she turned off the alarm on her phone. Aquarius groaned and put the blanket over her head. "Come on, it's time to get up."

"Noooo," Aquarius groaned from under the blanket. "10 more minutes."

"No, you can't afford to be late," Nadia said as she got out of bed. "It's Friday, once you get through today, you get a couple of days off. You just need to get through the next 8 hours."

"It's too early for you to be this depressing," Aquarius whined as she stayed under the blanket. She wondered why Nadia was in such a good mood, especially after last night. Usually, they both had to struggle to help each other get up, both of them loving their sleep and could do it all day if they could. They both weren't morning people. Sometimes Mrs. Baines had to yell at them to get up because their alarm was annoying or she noticed they were going to be late.

"Come on," Nadia said as she turned on the light and opened the blinds. "It's Friday, it's the weekend and we got a big one ahead of us."

Aquarius peeked from under the covers and had a tired, confused expression on her face, "What are you talking about? We don't have anything planned."

"We do now, get up," Nadia said as she snatched the blanket from Aquarius and threw it on the floor. Aquarius whined. "Come on bitch, I got an idea!"

"I need tea, or coffee or something," Aquarius said as she picked the pillow up from under her head and covered her face with it. "I just wanna stay in bed after last night. I need a mental health day."

"I know you do but we have a chance to redeem ourselves," Nadia said. "Remember what my mom said last night? To not give up, we have something that Christopher Westwood doesn't have. Female talent. We have to make him see the mistake he made. He needs a little reminder."

Aquarius sighed as she took the pillow off her face and tried to adjust her eyes to the light and the sun shining through the window. "How?"

"I'm glad you asked. I read the other day that Shakira got discovered in a hotel lobby. She set up shop there and played for the music execs as they walked in and out. I had a dream last night that we did the same thing and Christopher loved us."

"That's a dream alright. It may have worked for Shakira but it won't-"

"Why not? We're just as talented and beautiful as she is. All we gotta do is go to his management company's office, make enough noise, get his attention, and remind him of us. He got distracted by white boy and his rap skills, fine. It's our turn to distract him right back."

"Have you ever heard about security? Jail? Trespassing?"

"They wouldn't throw us in jail. We're no harm or threat to anyone. The worst they can say is no or get the fuck out but hey we'll get someone's attention. We'll go live too. We need to start making content if that's what it takes to get a career these days" Nadia said with a roll of her eyes.

"Ok, and when do we do this?"

"Monday. Call out of work, whatever we got to do, we crash their lobby and perform."

"Perform what?"

"We have all weekend to practice and figure that out. Our best covers, maybe some new stuff. Come on Aquarius, like Saint Aaliyah herself said, 'if at first, we don't succeed, we dust ourselves off and try again'!"

Aquarius thought about it, it was worth a shot. "Ok, I guess we're crashing their office," she said with a shake of her head. This was going to be interesting. 

She quickly got dressed, got on her moped, and went home. She took a quick shower and changed for work. Like most artists, she needed a job to pay the bills while chasing her dreams. Too bad her job barely paid for the place she was staying in. 

She checked her checking account and sighed with relief. It wasn't much but it was enough. 

Living paycheck to paycheck SUCKED.

She called the power company as she rushed around to get ready in the dark. She opened all the blinds in every room so she could see. Luckily it was a bright and sunny day as usual. She then rushed out the door, got on her moped, and sped downtown to work. She worked as a receptionist for a temp agency. She literally went where the money was. She filled in whenever an office needed extra help. She was currently working at a bank and did clerical work. She was basically an assistant to an assistant of one of the richest stock brokers on the island. She helped Ethan, her temporary boss, assist his boss, Susan Talbot. She had clients who all had millions in their bank accounts. It was a pretty easy job, she did a lot of filing and helped keep Ethan on his toes so he could assist Susan better. 

While she filed folders away, she would sneak peeks at the client's portfolios and wondered what it would be like to have millions sitting in an account, having a 401K, Roth IRA, and other accounts that she knew nothing about. Maybe one day. 

The pay was shit, but she didn't HATE her job, she's worked at worse places and the best part of being a temp was that if she didn't like the job, she could leave, no harm no foul. Also, on the off chance that she needed a vacation or days or nights off, she would let the agency know not to call her or that she wasn't available. Perks with no commitment. 

Ethan was also a really nice guy. She got along better when men were her bosses, she noticed, which sucked because you can sadly guess why women couldn't get along with her. She never understood it. Especially in professional environments, it seemed that the prettier you were, the less you were taken seriously or had to work twice as hard, and on top of being a woman of color, it was sometimes 8 hours a day of walking on eggshells and staying on her toes. She dreaded the days when Ethan had to travel for work and she was stuck assisting Susan herself. Susan didn't take her seriously at all. Ethan was the opposite.

Ethan was also very handsome, he was in his early 40's, sugar daddy material definitely. If she was that type of girl, she would have made a move if she was sure she wouldn't get fired. However, Ethan was married. He had a hot blonde wife, two mixed kids, played golf and tennis on the weekends, and had a big beach house. Maybe Ethan was just a nice, supportive person or maybe he thought she was attractive too. As a woman, you can kind of tell when a man is attracted to you. They take it easy on you, treat you differently, make sure you're taken care of, even listen to you and buy you lunch sometimes and he did all those things. 

Aquarius was blessed that she didn't have a stressful job and a nice, charming boss, she had enough stress in her life, and the stress she did have sometimes gave her crippling anxiety.

Aquarius walked into the office wearing a light blue polo shirt, denim Bermuda shorts (which were a staple on the island), and denim wedges. It was Casual Friday and thank God for that. Her hair was usually in braids or straight but she has been embracing her natural curls lately. Just by looking at her, you wouldn't have known that she had been crying herself to sleep for the past week, was living off of ramen noodles, and didn't have power for days. 

She looked like a million bucks.

"Good morning Aquarius," Ethan said to her with a charming smile as she peeked into his office after clocking in. 

"Morning Ethan," Aquarius said to him as she sat in the seat across from his desk. 

"You look different today," he said as he looked her up and down and smiled, and then looked back at his computer. 

"A good different?" she asked as she looked at her phone and used her camera to check her face. 

Ethan chuckled, "Of course, I don't think you could have a bad day if you tried."

If he only knew...

"Maybe it's the makeup?" he asked.

"Oh yeah, this is some new eyeshadow," she said. New to him though, not her. She couldn't remember the last time she went shopping and had a chance to splurge on herself for once.

"Looks nice," he said and then quickly changed the subject. "So I saw the news last night, I'm sorry, I was rooting for you too."

Aquarius' good mood faltered but she faked a smile. "Thanks, it was disappointing, to say the least."

"You'll get another chance, I'm sure of it. I thought Christopher Westwood of all people would see how talented you are. I even know that! Maybe I should be in the music business."

"Thank you, Ethan," she said. She paused and wondered if she should tell Ethan about her and Nadia's plan, even though it involved her calling out. He let her take the day off to go to the audition which she was very grateful for and very surprised. "We're not giving up though."

"That's the spirit," Ethan said, after a few more minutes of small talk, he turned around and gave her a few files. "You know what to do."

"Yep, I got it," she said as she took the stack of files from him and headed out of his office.

"You're a lifesaver, Aquarius, couldn't do it without you," he said as he flashed her a charming smile. She smiled back and then turned away quickly enough so he wouldn't see her blush.

But her blushing face ran right into Susan, literally. "Oh sorry."

Susan just sighed and then paused and looked at Aquarius' expression. "I would say good morning but it looks like you're already having one," she said, noticing her blush. She looked into Ethan's office, noticing that's where she was leaving from. Hmm. "Ethan, my office please."

Aquarius began filing, wondering what Susan meant by that...

*

In astrology, Uranus is the planet of the unusual and the unexpected, and Saturn is the planet of applied wisdom and forward planning.

*

Operation Crash Westwood Management was in full swing. The two girls were in the garage all weekend working on perfecting other covers and working on a few new ones. Weekends flew by when you were having fun and on Sunday night, the two girls were confident that their plan could actually work. This time, Aquarius packed a bag and crashed at Nadia's place again. Though the power was back on, her fridge was empty because all of her food had gone bad, and the fact that she was now living alone, depressed her, it was something she was still getting used to. 

She wasn't used to it yet.

The two stayed up all night, both too excited to sleep. It was a complete 180 from the night before their audition for Christopher the week prior. This time they were more hopeful and optimistic. They stayed up all night listening to music and giggling like they were back in high school again. 

However, they both slept through their alarm and they both jumped up and rushed to get ready. They both called out and Aquarius hoped Ethan wasn't upset about it. Susan could be a handful. Nadia couldn't give two fucks about calling out, fuck her job.

There were two types of employees.

"Shit, everyone must be in their offices already, we missed the morning rush," Aquarius said as she and Nadia walked toward the building and they could see the empty lobby and just one security guard standing post at the front door. 

"Don't worry about that, we need to be able to get inside," Nadia said, more worried about the security guard. "Ok let's just walk in like we belong here. We have an appointment, they're expecting us." Aquarius nodded. They both put on their shades and walked toward the front door with as much confidence as they could muster.

Surprisingly, the security guard opened the door for them. "Morning ladies," he said to them and they said it back. 

"Oh it may be nothing, but we saw a few teenagers in the parking lot next to the building, there are some expensive cars back there-" Nadia warned.

"Thanks, ma'am, I'll go check it out," the security guard said and walked off. 

They smiled at each other once they walked through the threshold successfully. So far so good. They thought their equipment would be a dead giveaway but this was a management company, of course, they wouldn't bat an eye if musicians came walking through the door. They glanced at the directory on the wall. 

C. Westwood - Ste 700.

They walked toward the elevators as naturally as they could but the receptionist stopped them. "You have to sign in please, you can't go up without being escorted. Who are you here to see?"

"Christopher Westwood," they both said. 

She looked at them with surprise, "Regarding?"

"We're an act he's interested in signing. He called us in for a meeting."

"What's your name?" she asked as she noticed they didn't sign in and checked her calendar on the computer.

"We're a new band, a new duo, called the...Aquarian's" Nadia said and Aquarius went with it.

"I don't see you here on the calendar. What are your actual names?"

"Shakira and this is...Rihanna," Nadia said introducing herself first and then Aquarius. 

Aquarius eyed Nadia, fake names? She wasn't going to believe for a second that those were their actual names!

"Well, you both need to wait here while I confirm. What time was your appointment?"

Nadia looked at her watch, it was almost 9:30 am. "9:15, and as you can see we are already late so can we please-"

However, she was interrupted by the receptionist holding up her finger and answering her ringing phone. 

"Rihanna? Really?" Aquarius whispered. "What now?"

"Let's not cause a scene. We'll calmly wait, set up shop and give her a show and whoever else walks in" Nadia said calmly under her breath.

"I don't see you in the 9:15 slot-"

"Oh my goodness this is really such an inconvenience. We traveled a long way to get here, what kind of company are you running?" Nadia asked.

"I am very sorry for the inconvenience. Please wait here while I confirm" she said as she gestured to the lobby in front of her and the waiting area. "Help yourself to some water and coffee as I call upstairs."

When she picked up the phone and started dialing, Nadia whispered, "Showtime." Aquarius nodded.

"Yeah, I have two girls down here claiming they have an appointment. With Christopher," the receptionist said as she looked back and saw the two girls looking through their equipment. "No, they're not on the calendar...Shakira and Rihanna...yes that's what they said," she said as she turned her back and continued to talk on the phone. "Yes, I'll hold..."

Soon a group of executives she recognized walked in and she welcomed them and asked them to sign in as she was on hold, not noticing Aquarius and Nadia setting up until...

All of a sudden an electric guitar started to play and she looked in shock as she saw 'Shakira' and 'Rihanna' had set up their equipment in the lobby and started playing a song. The group of executives looked on in confusion and interest. 

"Dig if you will the picture, of you and I engaged in a kiss, the sweat of your body covers me, can you my darling, can you picture this..."

Aquarius began to sing and noticed the receptionist look on in shock as well as the group of 'suits' who just walked in. She channeled Apollonia as if she were on the set of Purple Rain and sang one of her favorite Prince songs into the microphone they brought along. Her all-black leather and lace ensemble and her big voluptuous curls also helped. Nadia had on a white lacey bodysuit, a black leather skirt, and a white fedora. They were going to give a full concert of greatest hits and hoped Christopher would be alerted before they were thrown out. 

"Looks like we have some lobby crashers unless you all hired a band to play for the executives coming in for the big board meeting today?" the receptionist asked once the person got back on the line. "Security? I have no idea, he's nowhere to be found. I'll page him."

Soon the lobby started to fill up, there seemed to be something special going on today as small groups of people in suits arrived and signed in at the front desk as the receptionist tried to stay calm, waiting for security. The girls innocently continued to perform.

When they finished 'When Doves Cry' a few people clapped and a few had their phones out because that's what you do these days. Anything interesting you see goes directly to social media.

"Excuse me, what do you ladies think you're doing?" the security guard said as he came back in. 

"We're waiting for Christopher Westwood, in the meantime, we figured your lobby needed something better than this boring ass elevator music you all got playing," Nadia said into her microphone and then she gave Aquarius her cue and they started playing another song. "Feel free to make any requests" she added as another small group of people walked in.

It was the perfect time to debut something new.

They decided to play a punk cover of one of their favorite songs out right now. They worked on it all weekend and were very proud of it. 

People started nodding their heads and more started recording once they recognized what they were playing. A lot of them were impressed or just plain interested and entertained and Aquarius fed off of that. She knelt down and then got on her knees and started singing more seductively.

"Mummy don't know Daddy's getting hot at the body shop doing something unholy. He sat back while she dropping it, she be popping it, as she put it down slowly, ooh daddy daddy..."

Nadia smiled as she looked at her friend performing and in her element. There she was, the confident, sexy, talented Aquarius that she loved dearly. That was who she was supposed to bring to the audition last week. 

Singing something 'Unholy' would bring that side out of you.

"LADIES WE ASK YOU KINDLY TO LEAVE THE PREMISES," the security guard said into his small intercom but Aquarius just sang louder.

The receptionist sighed as she hung up. She got out her phone, opened Tiktok, and started recording. "You guys won't guess the bullshit I'm dealing with at work right now," she said as she recorded the girls. She loved their Unholy cover though, not gonna lie. It was the number-one song in the world right now for a reason.

The crowd that formed cheered once they finished as the security guard repeated for them to kindly leave the premises into his small intercom speaker attached to him.

"ALRIGHT SHOW'S OVER!" a woman shouted as she made her way through the crowd. Aquarius and Nadia's moods sank when they saw who it was.

The devil in the blue dress! Simone Woods. 

Simone instantly recognized them too, who could forget these two when she and Christopher argued about them all last week? She won that argument but here they were again. "YOU TWO AGAIN!?" she said. "I'm warning you both. I'm calling the police right now" she said as she held up her phone.

"We have an appointment with Christopher Westwood," Nadia said into her microphone.

"Mr. Westwood isn't even here, he had another important engagement, now leave!" Simone said and then pressed call. The two girls stood there not moving, calling her bluff. She put her phone on speaker and turned it up to the highest volume.

"999 WHAT IS YOUR EMERGENCY?"

Before Simone could speak, Aquarius and Nadia looked at each other and then they both picked up their equipment and hauled ass out of the building. They weren't going to jail today. They ran to the parking lot, threw their equipment in the bags they came in, packed up their mopeds, hopped on, and hauled ass as they heard sirens in the distance.

Simone hung up on the operator and smiled triumphantly. "Back to work everyone, there's nothing more to see here," she said to everyone in the lobby. Some of them even boo'ed or groaned in disappointment. She walked over to the receptionist. "Get the security company on the phone, looks like we're going to need some BETTER personnel," she said pointedly at the security guard before she got back in the elevator.

*

People who exhibit the physical characteristics distinctive of the sign of Aquarius often look like nonconformists.

*

https://youtu.be/I-S5TB0Ls0Y