Scratched

Fourteen

FOURTEEN

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“That’s it!” exclaimed Cassidy.

I looked up from my songbook, my eyes falling onto Cassidy. She had been standing in front of the soundboard but now she had stepped away from it. I raised my eyebrows at her as she threw her hands in the air letting out a happy squeal. “Okay, you’ve peaked my interest. What is it?” I asked as I closed my songbook. I dropped it into my bag, pulling my legs up into the seat. I waited, giving her an expectant look. She looked ready to explode.

“We’re done recording!”

“What?” I asked her.

She smiled at me from over her shoulder as she continued to fiddle with the soundboard. “I said we’re done recording. You’re album is all fixed up, Piper,” she told me as she finally moved away from the soundboard and opted for digging through her bag instead. I could hardly believe what she was telling me. All these months of work and finally I had finished it. “There is one thing though.” My eyes snapped back up to Cassidy who was facing me again. I felt my heart jump at her words. What else was there to do?

“What’s that?” I asked her.

“We left a slot, remember? We have to fill it before we can send it out,” she said as she dropped down into her chair. She pulled out her cellphone, clicking away on it. I stared at her, thinking back. That all seemed so far away but I did remember it now that she said something. “I had some thoughts on it—if you want to hear? I was thinking it might be neat to do a duet. Most artist have at least one duet on every album and people like them. They really like them when it’s a good pair. I think adding one here would be great for pulling in another artist fans.”

I sat back in my chair, kicking my feet up onto the counter. What she said made sense. It was smart but I couldn’t begin to think of who would do a duet with me. “That sounds great and all, Cassidy but who would do it with me? I haven’t met a ton of other artist unless you were thinking of introducing me to one, or were you thinking of having me go with one of the bands I’d be touring with?” I asked her as I picked at my nail polish. As I looked back up at her I caught a peculiar look on her face. I couldn’t make out if it was good or bad until she started to talk again. It was definitely not what I had been wanting to hear. The very last thing I wanted to hear.

“How about the Muck-Ups?”

“How about not!” I told her.

She sighed, fixing me with a look. I stayed strong, staring her down. I even crossed my arms over my chest for affect. She didn’t seem to notice it all that much though. “Come on, Piper it’d be a good move. Plus, you know them. It would make the music come better, I think,” she insisted as she started clicking on her phone again. She snapped it shut when she was done, looking back up at me. “You might as well get used to spending time with the boys. You will be touring with them after all. It’d be a step in the right direction and not to mention they have a huge fan base. It can only help you.”

I felt my scalp prickle with agitation. There was so many reasons for me to be irritated but what really bothered me was her mention of their fans. I had never heard of them until recently. The people that listen to the Muck-Ups were probably a fan base I wanted nothing to do with. And the thought of singing with Reed—I hated it! “Can’t my music speak for itself? I mean do I really need to suckle on their popularity? I just think that I could do a duet with another popular artist and it would gain me just as much,” I reasoned with her. I only hoped that she’d buy into what I was selling. “I could do one with Vincent Carson or Love & Squalor. I love both of their stuff and they are hugely popular!”