Undiscovered Melody |COMPLETED|

Chapter 7

Calandra sat in one of the comfy chairs in the lobby of Le Hotel Grand Paris patiently waiting.  While she had much in common with the throngs of photographers grouped near the outside of the hotel waiting to get a photo of the elusive Jagged Stone, one important thing set her apart- she was allowed to be inside and they were not.  And it was all because of her connections.  Despite being only twenty years old, she was very good at figuring out a way to meet the "right people", those that could get her into places that the average paparazzo would never be allowed into.  She had a talent for figuring out just what people wanted in return for these favors.  And last of all, she did not look like part of the paparazzi, which made all of the difference.  She was 1) a female, which wasn't unheard of in that line of work, but less expected, 2) quiet and well-behaved while she waited for the perfect shot, 3) able to disguise herself to fit perfectly into her surroundings, and 4) she never took shots from places that could be traced back to were she had waited around, so very few people knew she was the paparazza who went by the name Calypso and no one ever found out who her connections were, so none of them got in trouble, either.

Today was her eighth day in a row sitting in the lobby waiting for Jagged Stone to appear. The tabloid she generally worked with had hinted that there would be a big payout for a shot of Jagged as there was rumor that he would soon be going on tour.  So, she believed all of the hours she spent to get this shot would be worth it, though there had been no sign of him yet. When she heard some of the hotel staff talking that morning about how Jagged had somehow snuck in and out of the hotel, she had been so mad at herself for missing the shot- she never missed! But when she eventually took a quick break outside she had heard all the paparazzi discussing how some teenager on social media had posted that Jagged had been seen getting out of a car near the river.  And then when no photo showed up online or anywhere else, she relaxed- she still had time to get the shot she needed.  While the paparazzi outside tried to figure out how the rock star had left the building, so they could find the exit and be the ones to get the shot, she was still comfortably ensconced in the lobby where she could listen to the staff.  She was pretty sure someone at some point would mention seeing Jagged leave and then she could watch from inside. 

Calandra's ears were busy listening to the snippets of conversation in the lobby when her eyes were drawn to two teenagers walking toward the main door.  She remembered seeing them coming in earlier and thought again that they seemed somehow familiar.  She turned all of her attention to them, trying to figure out what her brain was trying to tell her.

She watched the teenage boy lean his head down toward the teenage girl he was walking with.  Calandra focused her ears intently on what the girl was going to say- she had a feeling it could be important. She closed her eyes to try to get rid of the noisy distractions of the lobby and a moment later thought she heard "Jagged wasn't at all like I was expecting." 

Calandra's eyes snapped open and since she couldn't risk taking a photo of them without possibly giving herself away, she memorized as many details about the teenagers as she could.  She was certain that those two would be the key to getting what she needed.

- - -

The moment that Luka and Juleka stepped outside the hotel, Juleka's phone dinged and she read the text. "It's Rose.  She says that she got done early with her shopping trip and was heading home and she'd love to hear how things went today so I'm going to head over there now.  Let Mom know, could you?" said Juleka.

"Of course.  Have fun and say hi to Rose," said Luka.

Juleka nodded and headed off in the direction of Rose's house.  Luka turned in the direction of the houseboat, looking forward to getting a bit of time to himself to play his guitar and think about everything that happened today.  He enjoyed the walk home, appreciating the music he could hear in the people around him.  To his ear, everyone he passed had their own melody and it was something that he had always been able to hear.  At first, when he was younger, it sounded like a cacophony, so overwhelming that it had caused him to retreat from the world a bit and hide in his own music. But eventually, he learned to pick apart the tunes and match them to the people he saw and it became a world full of harmony.  He felt lucky that music surrounded him every minute of the day because with music he never felt lonely.