Of Course, It's You

Chapter 39

Hannah

            Emryn left after their heartfelt talk, but Hannah didn't move. Nobody was scheduled to use the studio for the afternoon, and she couldn't bear being on a video call with Carmen in front of everyone at her cubicle. They all had been glancing at her with worried eyes ever since they all read about her. She couldn't handle having them see who she was on a call with too.

            She clicked Carmen's name, and a small ringtone broke the silence as she waited for her to pick up the call.

            "Hey there." Carmen answered before the video caught up with the audio.

"Hi," Hannah answered faintly. Hearing Carmen's voice and now, seeing her face, Hannah couldn't remember why she had been so nervous to reach out to her in the first place.

"So how did everything go?"  She got right to the point.

"Actually, everything went smoothly. We have almost everything ready. Emryn went home to try and record the hook and some melodies on her own before we got the band together and put it all together."

"And, what about you? How are you doing?" Carmen asked.

She huffed a small laugh. "I should be asking you that." She waited for some retort from Carmen, but one didn't come. "I had a heart to heart with Emryn, and in a surprising turn of events, she had some really kind words of advice. Who knew she was so knowledgeable."

"Hannah, were you judging a book by its cover?" Carmen raised a brow as she rested her arms on the desk in front of her.

They laughed, "I guess I did. But no really, how are you doing?" 

Carmen sighed, "as good as one can hope, really. Taking this all head on has been pretty difficult, but because I managed to get everything started before coming back was a huge help. Don't tell Dani, because I don't want it going to her head... her article actually helped calm the sea, so to speak."

"That's what Emryn said. She told me if she hadn't read that article, if it hadn't been published before the others, she might have reconsidered meeting me today. She even told me that, especially after today, she would give Pathway an interview and explain why she chose to stay."

"You're kidding."

"No. She was serious. You should call Dani and let her know."

Hannah watched as Carmen typed on her phone. She heard the whir of a message sending off. "Okay. Well, that's a big win, honestly. And what about the concert series? How are we with that?" Carmen asked her, returning to business.

"I have a meeting scheduled with the township and head of police to go over security, barricades, permits, and licenses. I'm not sure where they want security and bag checks, but I have a map of what the stages will look like and where they will be placed so I was going to ask them for their opinions and advice on that. I was also going to ask about creating new routes and getting signs up a few weeks before the event, to alert drivers of the closures. Those plans will then go to marketing so that it will be up on all social platforms too. I'm going to have to reach back out to the artists that previously agreed to perform, and double check that they are still on board, after everything. And I'll reinforce that if they decide to change their minds, if they choose to back out, they need to be in contact with me immediately."

Carmen was silent as she nodded. "Looks like you have almost everything ready. This is just about done. I think my coaching is complete."

"Um, no. Not even close! I've never done any of this. So I've added a video conference link for you in the events when I meet with the township and police department."