when love lasts

ten- who's narrative

Alessandra Vitale:

Right now my friends and are sat in a conference room awaiting a consultation with a man who wants to manage us. What the fuck.

According to Arlo, a man named Fred had approached him after one of our shows and basically introduced himself as our saving grace, like we need one. Fred gave him his card and said something along the lines of 'call me if you want to be a star'. I think this man is full of shit but I could see Arlo's little face light up at the idea of being this big musical icon. I understand and eventually I gave in, much to my dismay, along with everyone else.

"This is going to be great guys, I just know it. Thank you for giving him a chance." Arlo speaks up and breaks the silence.

"I'm giving us a chance. This guy is simply a tag along that we're willing to consider," I preach as I tilt back in my chair in annoyance. "This man wants to see us so why the fuck are we the ones waiting for him, riddle me that."

"What's up your ass? Let's all just try and stay optimistic about this because Arlo is right. Imagine what could happen for us if this works out. We would be on top of the fucking world." Mattias butts in with his usual pep.

The sound of a door creaking open averts our gaze from each other onto the man I assume is the asshat we've been waiting for and he looks exactly how I imagined him: cheap ass tuxedo paired with his dead grandmother's loafers. What poor squirrel had to die to make those things?

"Hey gang, how are we all doing? I apologise for the wait but as you know I am a very busy man." Fred laughs to himself before sinking into the leather chair in-front of him.

"It is very good to see you, Mr Williams." Arlo says shakily. I spot his left leg bouncing up against the table as does Angelo, who places a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Oh you know you can call me Fred. We are all friends here, aren't we." A forty-something year old friends with a bunch of dumb teenagers, sounds like a true crime story waiting to happen.

Fred goes on to tell us how much he loves our vibe and how he thinks our music is ahead of it's time. I still call bullshit on this guy but I sit in silence to please my friend, who I care about much more than I am annoyed by this guy.

"So, what is your proposition for us, Fred? That is I assume you have one." Mattias asks, putting his big boy pants on. Who knew he had this business talk in him?

"I want to be a player in this little team of yours. I want in on this game, if you know what I mean."

"No, I don't know what you mean. Would you mind sharing some more details for us buddy?" I butt in.

"Simply put, I want to manage your band and I don't want this to seem like it's going to be me controlling you because who wants that. I will get you gigs at the best spots, I will get you in contact with the biggest names in the industry and I will not quit until we are at the top."

I see my friends' faces light up at the thought of such fame and I'd be lying if I said it didn't intrigue me. But I couldn't be distracted from the 'we' that was so nonchalantly thrown into conversation. I didn't like it, not one bit.

"I like what I'm hearing, Fred. Tell me more." Angelo throws himself into the conversation with the grin on his face putting the Cheshire Cat to shame.

"This relationship would start off as me helping you make a solid name for yourselves in the industry and once we start making that big money, which we will, then I want compensation." There it is. There's that capitalism I've been waiting for.