Fleeting

Stuck In The Middle With You

25th February 2021

I sat in the middle, Jaxon on my left, and Tori on my right. No jokers or clowns in sight. Just three nervous men sat waiting for the verdict.

When I'd walked in that morning I'd received a call from the headman himself; Antonio Lopez. And he wanted to speak to the three of us. To say I was nervous was an understatement.

I looked around his office to take my mind off my nerves. It was sparsely furnished. Antonio - more commonly just called Tony - was a minimalist at heart. He liked his lines crisp and his space uncluttered.

One framed record hung up behind his desk. Something which made me intensely proud. It had been the first soundtrack that we'd worked on with the orchestra, and it had reached number one for five weeks.

It had put us on the map for the first time in a long time. Tony had been ecstatic, so had the previous composer, who had retired shortly after. Now it was on my shoulders to keep up the winning streak.

The door opened, and I felt myself begin to sweat.

Was it just me, or did Tony not look happy?

I swallowed loudly as he took a seat behind his desk, drawing his hands together with a blank expression.

"The producers ran through your songs yesterday."

It was just like Tony; straight to the point. No messing around.

"And?" I asked, leaning forward in my chair.

"They liked what you have to offer. They were impressed."

I relaxed back into my chair. Jaxon and Tori punched my shoulders in congratulations.

"But..." Our heads snapped up to look at him. "They're not sure about one song."

In my heart, I already knew which one it would be. Call it a sixth sense or just a gut feeling, but I knew.

"They want you to rewrite the song for the reunion scene. They're going to send you some of the footage to help you. It isn't edited yet, but it's better than what you've had so far."

I nodded. The footage would be better. Easier to know the pace of the song that would fit. But the idea of writing that song again was daunting. It had taken draft after draft to get to the one the producers had listened to. Now I had less time and still no idea what the song should be.

"Here are the producers' notes." Tony pushed a bundle of papers towards me. "They want you to perform the whole range of songs next Thursday live for their big meeting. Think you can do it?"

I could feel Jaxon and Tori staring at the side of my face. The notes in my hand quivered in time with my shaking hands. It was a big ask. Would it be possible?

"What else did they have to say?" I paged through the notes, picking out a few sentences and several suggestions.

Tony leaned back in his chair and put his fingers together. "They had some thoughts as to the other songs, things they wanted you to consider, nothing major. Most of their notes are about the reunion song."

That made things easier, but didn't fill me with confidence.

"Kotori, Jaxon, why don't you take the notes. There're a few comments that you'll have to work on."

They could tell they'd been dismissed and left, reluctantly taking the notes with them.

I watched the door close behind them and turned back to Tony, waiting. It was clear he had more to say to me, and I couldn't help but fidget in my seat. The leather was uncomfortable under my sweaty palms.