Chapter 13


"So, you see, the derivative of the inverse of x..." The professor droned on in a monotone voice, repeating the theorem for the eighth time that day. Which, since I had actually done the reading, was eight times too many for me. The class had twenty minutes left, but it seemed as though the clock had stopped where it was. I gazed out the window at the other buildings of Cal State Fullerton, and hoped that it got more interesting. Calculus was supposed to be hard. The only class I found remotely interesting was my British literature class, and that was only because the people in the class always managed to tie in the readings to current events, so heated debates abounded every Tuesday and Thursday from one-thirty until three.

Unfortunately, nothing abounded on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from ten to eleven fifteen. Looking around the room, I could see that about a quarter of the students were alseep, and of the rest, about three or four were taking careful notes. I tried to look interested.

"God, I thought I was going to die," said the girl next to me a little while later as we shoved books and papers into bookbags and left.

"I know what you mean. It was all I could do to stay awake!" I quickly sized her up, trying to get an idea of what I was dealing with. She was dressed conservatively, in a knee-length navy blue dress, but she was tall and had long blonde hair. "Are you local?" I asked.

"Yeah, I live up the hill, a few blocks from Acacia Park. Do you know it?"

I shook my head. "I don't think so. I live a little ways away, though. Kind of near Lakewood."

"Oh, okay. Do you dorm, then?"

"No, I live at home. It's not that bad of a drive, really, and all my classes are pretty much grouped together."

"Well, at least that's convenient."

"Yeah, it really is. Oh, I'm Janice," I said, extending my hand.

"Janice. I'm Cara. Nice to meet you." She looked at her watch. "Well, I must fly. I'll see you on Monday!"

"Bye!" I had to fly, too. As per George's suggestion, I had called Capitol and it seemed that they had a position for me. And I needed to be there by two.

Ah, my wonderful Mustang, I thought as I pulled out. Of course, that didn't make the traffic any better. Up the twenty-two, then the four-oh-five North for awhile. Past the seven-ten interchange, past the airport... and it was here that it started to get hairy. This was the reason I needed a good hour and a half to get up here. Half my time was spend traversing a quarter of the total distance. Maybe a fifth. It was ridiculous. I saw the sign for the ten interchange and I started to get over. The exit for Wilshire was soon thereafter. Parking was, of course, a pain, and I ran into the lobby just as the clock was chiming two.

"Just on time!" The secretary said with a grin as I slowed my pace and attempted to look a little less disheveled.

I stopped and took a bow. "Thank you, you're too gracious," I said dramatically.

"Oh, you've got a message," she said, holding out a slip of paper.

"Oh?" I said, raising my eyebrows. Did my parents call? I wondered what they wanted... I took the slip of paper and read it.

I must have stood there for a full minute, just staring at the paper, before I realized that the secretary was waiting for a reaction. "Um, thank you," I said. "I'll take care of it."

She nodded and went back to the paperwork that my arrival had interrupted.

So George was going to come out for the winter. Not that I could blame him. Even though it would rain a fair amount, it was still more pleasant than good weather in England.

It still felt weird to think that I had met him, let alone that we were friends... well, sort of friends. Not particularly close. He might have called soon after I had returned from England, but most of the time I had spent at home had been spent sleeping. I remembered the phone ringing a few times, but I hadn't answered it very often. Sarah had told me that reporters had actually called her. I guess it was a good story to them. Very dramatic. But we didn't want to have any part of it.

I didn't really have any office space, I was just a general gofer. An intern, really. I filled in when someone was out, ran errands, things like that. My last task of the day was usually a trip to the burger place a couple blocks up on Sunset to get nourishment for the people who would be working late. That was usually around seven, so I didn't have a lot of time for homework when I got home. So I usually brought a book or two in. I'd study while I was making copies or waiting at a restaurant for someone's food to be made.

So I was wandering around the main floor that day, checking in with people. I ran a few messages back and forth, but for the most part, it was a fairly quiet day. I tried to call George early on, but he apparently wasn't at home, and after awhile, it just got too late at night there for me to try again. I wondered where he would be staying. Probably in one of the expensive areas. Brentwood. Beverly Hills. Maybe even Bel Air. I had this weekend off, but I'd call the studio on Monday and leave him a message. Playing phone tag might not be very effective, but it was better than nothing.



"Alright, what does everyone want?" I called as I stood in front of the room, my arms outstreched as if I had just given a campaign speech.

"A raise!" one of the assistants called. Most of the secretaries and everyone had gone home already, but since the studios were all still in use, several of them stayed.

"How about a cheeseburger with fries and a shake?" I called back to him.

"Hold the onions!" he said. The rest of the room laughed, and I went around collecting orders and money. I took my books out to my car and set off.

After I'd placed the order, I sat down with my copy of Pride and Prejudice and waited for my order to come up. I had decided that Mr. Darcy was being a pain, though he was getting slightly better, and that I would really like to slap Elizabeth's mother. I would never have believed that it was humanly possible to be that stupid if I hadn't met a few people like that.

"Janice?"

I looked up automatically, thinking that someone else in here must be called Janice, and that the guy was talking to her. I was wrong.

"Jackson? What are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm not reading! I think I just got a record deal. It's about time."

"A record deal? That's great!!"

"It is! I'm so happy... I moved a couple months ago, and the new pad isn't cheap. This money'll come in handy."

"Doesn't it always? When do you record?"

He grimmaced. "Tomorrow night. Studio time is apparently cheap then."

"Ouch. Did you have anything else to do?"

"No, actually. I figured I'd go clubbing or something. See who's playing at the Whiskey."

"I don't remember that it was anyone that significant."

He shrugged. "Don't tell anyone that I was working on a Saturday night."

"As long as you don't tell anyone that I'm hiding out in my house!"

"What, you don't have a date or anything?"

"Who, me? No. For whatever reason, my mind isn't really on dating or anything. I'm too busy most of the time."

"Hey, come with me."

"Huh?"

"To the studio. Tomorrow night. I was probably going to have to play everything myself and overdub a lot, so an extra pair of hands will come in handy."

"You mean... you want me to record with you??" This was just getting unbelieveable.

"If you want. I wouldn't be able to pay you much, of course..."

I shook my head. "No, it's not like I'm doing anything. Just remember this!" I said with a grin.

He smiled and tapped his forehead. "Like a steel trap," he said.

"Oh, that's mine," I said as they called my order. I closed my book and put it away.

"Good grief!" he said as I started picking up the bags of food. "Don't they feed you at home?"

"No, I take it to feed the orphans. It's for the people in the office."

"Working late?"

"They are, but not me. I leave as soon as I drop this off."

"And then you're heading right home?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Well, I was thinking... how about if I come over and we run through a few songs? You really ought to practice a couple of them before you get to the studio, you know."

"Yeah, yeah," I laughed. "Come on over. You probably won't be able to stay long, since my parents are home, but we can probably run through a little. And get in some more practice tomorrow before we go in, right?"

"Sounds good. I'll see you later, then!"


Chapter 12 - - - - Chapter 14

Dream Away