FAR, sza

chapter one

one.

California's windy weather soothed Chloe's fresh retwist, as the rustic air rushed from the expanded sunroof. Her matte, black Jeep Wrangler sped down the highway, unnoticeable due to its ten percent tinted windows. The flashy cars to sport were often left for her personal driver or a man she would currently be in a situationship with. Being in a public relationship right now would be another added stressor. Aligning priorities were not in top competition with a man, having her craft consume too much of her time to have to split it with someone.

As she pulled into a parking space she sat in a comfortable silence pondering on a million things. Grabbing her water bottle she slightly winced as she descended from her wrangler, limping to the dance studio's door. She entered seeing the owner waiting upon her arrival. With quick greetings she handed over the keys so Chloe could lock up after her three hour practice before the rest of her team arrived. It was almost pointless for her to have gotten her locs retwisted right before tomorrow's performance. After putting in so much work to make her production near perfect she would have sweat out her hair. To counter that a satin bonet was secured atop of a hidden scarf in hopes to make the adjustments to her hair in the morning little to none.

She sat in front of the mirror, taking her croc off of her swollen left ankle delicately wrapped in athletic tape, unstrapping her ankle brace in the process. After stretching she decided to do some vocal warmups. As she focused on intonation her phone began to vibrate. It was not only an unsaved number, but blocked out. Displaying that it was clearly of non importance. She cascaded to the middle of the studio, as she flexed her toes against the hardwood floor. "Siri, pair to Keya's studio." The beat to Have Mercy blared throughout the gym's surround sound walls. After 4 painful hours the influx of dancers entered. And an hour after, Courtland.

Courtland was an amazing choreographer as he's created several masterpieces for artists ranging from Lil Nas X and Doja, to SZA. But, punctuality was not his strong suit.

Anyone who knew Chloe knew her heart. She understood things happened and what it meant to be understanding. But this, she could not understand. Not only did he have the nerve to be late to her 3 hour session, but to be on a call as he entered. His inconsistency caused her to miss several meetings, that could be the deciding factors in  newfound opportunities.

"Sos, I was thinking! Once you finish your OG songs dive right into 2am. Yes it's a song that's technically unreleased, but it'll be a teaser for what's to come. Everyone loves a good raunchy in my feelings type of vibe. You'd be centered as the team reframes you by the—" By this time Chloe was highly annoyed. She'd never let it show as frustration, so she politely cleared her throat, while adding in a few coughs, hoping Court would get the hint she needed him to be present.

"Courty, you're making me channel my inner Erykah you know I'm sensitive about my shit." Her acting skills arrived as she quotes Ms. Badu. Chloe knew more than anyone, that if needed she could always fall back on her acting career at any beckoning call. Her and Halle were just that good and talented.

"Hold on I don't wanna get handled by Ms. Bailey! We'll talk tonight, aight' bye," Courtland rushed off the phone, running to Chloe. As he engulfed her in a hug, he kissed her cheek rambling, "I'm sorry." With there only being an hour left of practice they decided to do a walk through with Chloe only singing.

"How's the ankle? If it's not up to par by tomorrow I promise I can change some stuff around that isn't too confusing." It was now only the two of them. He iced her foot rubbing it in gentle circles. She originally declined his offer, but after hearing about her intense work out session, he took her no, for no answer.

After finally leaving the dance studio she arrived to her condo and settled down for the night. She crept into bed deciding to check her messages on her work phone. She immediately responded to the likes of her manager and label mates. After filtering her messages, Chloe clicked on her Unknown Senders under her iMessage. Grazing through with her acrylic nail, she'd come across the same numbered area code. She marveled at how his name was saved, without ever formally meeting him, chucking it to something her team may have done she decided to read the messages.