"Hey Taylor, come on in." I said, stepping away from the door of my dorm. My roommate Jenn was still sleeping so I was talking pretty softly. I motioned towards her bed and put a finger to my lips. He looked over and nodded, coming in quietly. I noticed he was holding a plastic bag full of stuff.
"What's in there?" I whispered.
"Just some breakfast stuff. I told Mom that I was coming over here for breakfast and she sent a bunch of food with me for you."
"Why'd she do that?"
"I dunno, she said something about money being tight for her when she was in college or something. I guess she just wanted to help you out." He offered with a shrug, sitting down on my bed.
"Oh, well, she didn't have to do that, but tell her thanks anyway." I said, opening the bag and peering inside. Mmm...english muffins and real butter. And apple sauce. I busied myself with making a small breakfast of the stuff Mrs. Hanson had given me and some orange juice that I already had while Taylor was laying on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. Or so I thought. I glanced over my shoulder when the english muffins were in the toaster and looked at Taylor. He was staring back at me. He smiled a little, and I turned back around to fix everything up.
"Andrea?"
"Yeah?" I whispered back, turning to face him again.
"I think you're beautiful, and I just thought you'd like to know." I started blushing profusely.
"Don't say things you don't mean." I said lightly. I've never been really good at taking a compliment. Taylor stood up from my bed and walked over. He hugged my tightly, with one hand behind my head.
"I mean it." He mumbled into my hair. We stood in the middle of my dorm, hugging each other, for a few seconds when the phone rang. I made my way to the phone quickly, hoping Jenn wouldn't wake up.
"Hello?....This is she....Oh, yeah, I remember, how are you doing?....Yes, I'm doing fine....I was planning on working on a project for school, actually, but what did you have in mind?.....Are you serious?....That'd be great!....Oh no, it isn't a big deal. It's almost done anyway....so tonight at 5?....OK, should I bring anything besides my guitars?....Alright....I'll see you then...Thanks. Bye." I hung up the phone and turned around slowly to face Taylor. He looked at me expectantly, but I didn't say anything.
"So, who was that?" He asked after a brief staring contest.
"I don't believe it...." I said. I reached over blindly for my bed post, grabbing at the air until I found it. I slowly lowered myself into a sitting position.
"Andrea, are you ok? What is it?" Taylor asked with concern, stepping towards me.
"You'll never believe who that was." I said, shaking my head..
"Unless you tell me, I don't know if I believe it or not." He said sensibly.
"Burt Lancaster." I said flatly. Taylor knitted his brows together.
"I don't think I know him, but from what I heard, you blew off a day with me to spend with him, so I'm kinda wondering what this is about." He said slowly. I resisted the urge to say something like, 'Only the hottest guy on this side of the Mississppi', but decided against it when I realized he probably wouldn't take kindly to that.
"Last week at Reality Squared he came up to me and introduced himself. He works with Arista records, and he expressed some intrest in my work. I didn't think he was serious because he told me that when I had a demo I should send it to Arista and stuff like that usually never works out, but he just called and wants to have me play for some people that are signing new talent tonight! He said that I have a good chance of getting a record deal if I play the right songs and impress the people." I said excitedly. Taylor's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. I laughed giddily. He ran over to me and embraced me in a hug. Tears formed in my eyes and I started crying. I'd been waiting for this moment for years.
"Andrea, I'm so proud of you! The hardest step is over, because I know when you play for those industry people you'll have them floored. They won't know what hit them." Taylor said, hugging me tighter. He backed up and held me at arms length. "Oh...don't cry!" He said, wiping a tear from under my eye.
"I can't help it. I'm just so happy." I said, bringing forth a fresh new set of tears. I tried to control myself by wiping my eyes and taking a deep breath. "I have to call my mom." I said, grabbing the phone. I dailed the familiar number.
"Hello?"
"Mom?" I said, overcome with another batch of tears when I heard her voice.
"Hunny, what's the matter?" She asked. I could hear the concern in her voice. It was only 6 AM where she was.
"Mom, I got a call from a guy at Arista Records and they want me to come in today and play for them. I think I'm gonna get signed and have a record deal!" I nearly shouted into the phone. I didn't care about Jenn sleeping anymore.
"Andrea, are you serious?" She asked me. I could hear her smiling through the phone.
"Yes I'm serious! Would I lie about something like this??" I asked, grinning from ear to ear.
"Oh, I'm so happy for you! Give me details! When, where, how, why, who???" She asked. I love my mom. She acts my age when she gets excited. I quickly told her all the details and decided (with very little persuasion) to skip my classes for the day to practice so I'd be ready at five. After I hung up, I tured to Jenn and Taylor. Both of them were sitting on different beds, just watching me make a fool of myself.
"Sorry for waking you up, Jenn. Do you know what happened?" I asked, bouncing over to her.
"Yeah, Taylor told me." She explained. "I'm really happy for you. If you want to wear some of my clothes to the thing tonight or borrow anything, feel free." She said, getting out of her bed and stretching. "I'm headed off to my World Lit class now. I'll see you when I get back." She said, giving me a brief hug and then stepping out the door.
"Does she always go to class in her pajamas?" Taylor asked, his eyes following her out the door. I laughed a little.
"Yeah, at least the ones before noon." I walked over and sat next to him on the bed. A thought occured to me. "You're not mad at me for ditching out on you today, are you?" I asked, turing to him.
"Andrea, be serious. How could I ever be mad at you for ditching out on me for something like this? If you didn't ditch out on me, then I'd be mad." He said seriously. I let out a deep breath.
"Good. I'm not going to go to class today. I'm just going to spend the day practicing and getting ready for the thing tonight. Do you think you'll go to class anyway?" I asked.
"Yeah, I'm gonna go. That way you can have your time to practice by yourself and I can tell you what happens."
"Ok, thanks Taylor. Do you think you'll come back after class or what?" I asked, picking a ball of lint off my sock and flicking it across the room.
"I'm supposed to pick up Shirley and Katie and take them to our house to hang out around the pool today, so probably not."
"Ok, that's fine. Class starts in ten minutes." I told him after glancing at my watch. "You should probably go now if you want to get there on time."
"Alright." He said, standing up. "I'm really proud of you Andrea. I know exactly how you feel, and I'm really glad I could be here when you experienced it." He started putting his shoes on. "And I want you to promise me something."
"Ok, what?" I said, also standing and walking over to him.
"Tonight after you're done, I don't care if it's 6:30 or two am, you are going to call me and tell me everything that happened. Even if you don't know anything about what the people thought, you have to tell me how you think you did and if the other people there were any good. OK?"
"Yes, I will call you and tell you everything, I promise." I said seriously.
"Ok. Knock their socks off, do your best, and don't get down on yourself if you don't. I remember the one time a guy came to listen to us play, we had the worst audience ever and he still decided to become our manager. So don't get down on yourself if they don't seem to react in a positive manner. I know you'll do great." He said. There was a brief pause in conversation before he started laughing softly.
"What's so funny?" I asked with a smile playing on my lips.
"I sound like a motivational speaker." He said, laughing again.
"Well, you know, if the whole music thing doesn't work out for you..." I suggested. Both of us started laughing.
"I should really go," Taylor said after calming down a bit. I nodded and gave him a hug goodbye. He kissed my cheek, whispered 'good luck', and then ducked out the door.