What's Life Without You?

Chapter 10

~Kirrily POV~

~The next evening~

“Hurry up, Malik! You do not need perfect hair to meet Simon Cowell! Urgh! I should have just chucked your hair products away yesterday!” I stomped my feet on the ground but quickly regretted it because I was wearing heels and Kendra had styled me. Aha. She would be furious if I had spoilt my look.

As soon as we reached the hotel lobby, the bodyguards immediately escorted us to our car. Or rather, management’s car, should I say. Zayn was relieved to see that there were not a lot of people so we didn’t get mobbed. It was a 30-minute ride so Zayn gave me spoilers about the upcoming meeting.

“You really don’t have to worry or be nervous. Uncle Si’s very understanding. Plus, he thinks you’re good at singing, so he’ll like you.” Zayn said casually.

“You had better be right, Zayn.” I eyed him suspiciously.

~At Olive Garden~

“Thanks, we’ll give you a call when we’re about to leave.” Zayn told our driver. We quickly slid into the eatery to avoid any attention because Zayn was a celebrity and I was trending on Twitter.

The waiter promptly led us to a table in a discreet corner. “Ah, Zayn, hello, you must be Kirrily.” Simon Cowell smiled curtly at us once we were seated. “I hope you didn’t get mobbed on your way here. You two seem to be still in one piece.”

“I don’t think anybody knew about our meeting so no fans were around. Didn’t see any paparazzi either.” Zayn replied while I smiled politely.

“Kirrily, I believe it would be fit to explain to you why we’re here.” Simon (I was told to address him by his first name) said after we ordered our food.

I nodded and prepared myself to listen carefully to this long awaited explanation.

“Last week you and Niall were talking on Skype and you did a cover. Well, the boys and I decided that we shouldn’t waste your talent with singing and Kendra told us that you were looking for a job, so we recorded you singing and showed it to Simon and maybe you could become a backup vocalist for some artists signed to Syco.” Zayn explained. “We played your video at our gig because we thought the fans would like the idea of seeing you perform and listen to you singing.”

“Yes, Kirrily, I know talent when I see one. I have been searching for gifted singers and artists in a lot of places and I must say, you are someone that I would like to see in the music industry. Would you like to develop a singing career of your own, Kirrily?” Simon asked.

“I, uh, well,” I hesitated, “it has always been what I have dreamed of, and I would love to be able to make an album, sell out arenas, and work with some of the best artists in the world. But I’ve never really thought that I have what it takes to, like, go on the X Factor and rise to fame. I think that I should just talk to my family about this first, since I’m still in university, after all. But yeah, I reckon it would be a great path for me to take and I do have visions for my future. I could work as a backup singer as a start. I’m also a songwriter. I can show you some tunes I’ve written if you like. So I would definitely like to launch a career that’s music related.” I replied and chose my words very carefully. One wrong move and my whole future could be ruined. “I wouldn’t want to waste this opportunity but it’s come to me so suddenly that it’s actually quite overwhelming, frankly speaking. And immediately I’ve gained so much publicity and attention because of my acquaintance with Kendra and 1D that I’m not quite sure how I should deal with the publicity.”

“Well, that’s great, Kirrily, speak to your family about it, yes, I reckon that would be advisable. And get back to me when you’ve made up your mind. And Kirrily you have a fan page, I hear, and that is actually a very good start. Not many artists or acts have an official fan page before they’re even signed to record labels, big or small, and so it tells us that you already have a fan base and they will be wanting to listen to your music in the future. As I said, you don’t need to rush things up. You could begin by doing backups and writing songs for some of my acts, and post covers on YouTube to lay a foundation before you base a career on it. Justin Bieber’s mom posted video of him singing on YouTube; that’s how he started too. Well, I trust that Niall must have told you all about him.” Simon chuckled. He knew Niall was a Belieber too. “If there’s anything you need you can always contact me.” Zayn was right; Simon was very understanding.