Big Time Daughter

Chapter 34

Nellie's P.O.V.

I think I figured out the secret to constantly touring on a bus with all your stuff. All you have to do is keep a bag with all the things you really need to keep it light enough to take with you inside!

It sure made it more convenient to get ready for breakfast. We were chilling in the dining commons without a care in the world, until we got a phone call from Griffin.

"What's up?" answers Alex.

"Great, you have Alex with you!" he says. "Listen up, fellas. You have secured your movie deal."

"Whoo!" we cheer.

"Except the film is a romcom and now your song needs to be a duet."

"Let me guess, you want it yesterday?" asks Alex, annoyed.

"Glad we're on the same page. Bye."

After breakfast, Gustavo somehow found a recording studio we could use. After making some changes to the song here and there, we turned our single into a duet with enough parts for the three of us.

Later That Day

The five of us were scheduled to have a photoshoot for Pop Tiger Magazine, which was great for us... until we learned who the fourth and fifth members of our photoshoot would be... Vanessa and Jordan.

After arriving at the place for the photoshoot, we were immediately ushered into hair and makeup. I stuck by Alex and Lyndsay, whereas Vanessa and Jordan were in their own little corner. Alex had his own department for this but all he really needed to do was style his hair.

There's a whistle and two knocks on the door, so we look up to see uncle James.

"Photographers are set to go whenever you're ready." he says, smiling.

We walk towards our wardrobe and grab our garment bags. I change into the outfit which consists of black tights and a white off the shoulder sparkly top. We all looked identical for this shoot.

Vanessa left ahead of us. when we were ready, Lyndsay and I linked arms and walked out to the set together. There was a huge white backdrop with a bright spotlight in the center.

One of the photographers turned on some fans and the two fog machines on the floor.

"Can I have everyone together for the first shot?" asks a photographer.

Alex stood in the center of the spotlight, the rest of us took our places around him.

"I'm the most petite, I should be on his other side." says Jordan, pushing Lyndsay out of her place.

Lyndsay comes around to stand next to me, her eye twitching. I look up at dad and he mouths 'it's okay'.

I wish I could say that was it but for the entire shoot, Jordan tried to take over Lyndsay's spot. Or if it wasn't Lyndsay, she'd walk in front of my shots. At the end of the hour, she had the two of us completely pissed off. It was only the shots where dad was involved that we were left alone.

And because that's not enough, we had to change our outfits about four or five times to repeat the process... including Jordan ruining as many of our shots as she could.

I was super relieved when the photoshoot was over. Lyndsay and I couldn't get out of there fast enough. After taking a quick break, we found our way to the venue for tonight's show. It wasn't until the concert was over and we were back in the room that I could truly relax.

I put my bag down on my bed and dug around for my pajamas. I took a quick shower, the hot water doing wonders for my back. After drying off and getting dressed, I walked back out to join everyone, sitting down on a chair.

"You good?" asks dad.

"Today was a long day." I say, running a tired hand through my hair.

"You can say that again." sighs Lyndsay, also freshly showered.

"You know what, Vanessa's leaving town, your duet premiers in a few days... I think you have some time to relax for now." says dad.

"...you can't just up the deadline knowing we don't have time to work on it!" we hear Gustavo yell.

"What's that about?" asks Lyndsay, just in time to hear the door knock.

Dad goes up to answer it and we see Alex with an uncertain look, along with the other guys coming to our room as well.

"What's with Gustavo now?" he asks.

"So that was Griffin on the phone." starts Alex.

"Figured as much." we say.

"What does he want now?" asks uncle James.

"...the rest of your album or he's dropping the two of you."

"Are you kidding me?!" we say in disbelief.

"We barely have anything done!" says Lyndsay.

"He said we have until end of tour!" I fight.

"We know." says Alex. "But Vanessa has a full album coming out and I'm kind of halfway through my third album... This is kind of your chance to get yours out with very little to no competition."

"I mean... timing is terrible but he's not wrong." says dad.

"Dad, that means writing, like..." starts Lyndsay, stopping to do some math, "seven or eight songs in one night!"

"Hey, we can do this if we work together!" says uncle Kendall.

"You really think we can work out eight songs in eight hours?" asks Alex.

"We did three Christmas songs in less time." points out uncle Carlos.

"At the very least, these songs don't need to be Christmas based." adds Kelly.

"Then let's get on it!" says dad.

After hours messing around on guitars and make shift drum sticks and matching each other with random lyrics that popped into our heads, we some how drafted up at least five songs. By two in the morning, I was beat.

I put my supplies down next to me on the floor and lied flat, my back cracking in five different places.

"Never thought my bones popping could feel good." I joke.

"Hey, where's Alex?" asks Lyndsay, noticing Alex slipped out a while ago.

"Right here." he says, walking in with a box of snacks.

"Life saver!" we call out.

Getting a second wind, we start tapping on random tunes and belt out the rest of the album. Last thing I remembered was holding on to a notepad and a pen.