MOZAIK

1

I was laying in the bathtub, warm bubbly water surrounding my exhausted body. I exhaled from the relief this little pause brought to my ever spinning mind. I closed my eyes and forced my brain to relax a little longer. My hands started wandering down my body, whilst I tried to let loose. The distant ring of a phone made me grumble in annoyance. I would never have a minute of peace and silence in my life. Shortly after, the ringing vanished and I heard steps rumbling up the old wooden stairs.

The next moment, someone knocked on the bathroom door. "Benni, can I come in?" I groaned once again. "Yeah, if you must." I tried to place the foam in the tub so, that it covered my private parts. A young man with brown curls stuck his head through the door. "Are you wasting all my hot water again? You know the hot water heater is too small, don't you?", he rolled his eyes on me. "Sorry Luka, I really needed to relax.", I returned a little meekly. He gave me a soft smile and waved it off. I was so grateful, that Luka let me stay in his apartment for the duration of the shooting of my new movie in London. So I always had company when I came home after work. I had met Luka a few years ago at a music event in London. Back then he had just moved to the British metropolis and we immediately had a good connection. But you had basically no other choice than loving his soft and kind nature. 

He walked up to me and held out the phone. "It's Damiano. He wants to discuss something with you." I raised my eyebrows. What a surprise, that Damiano wanted to talk to me. I must not have spoken to him for four or five years. I was still friends with Vic, but we hadn't seen each other in person for a few months either, as we both had very busy schedules. But Damiano I had seen only rarely since school, mostly when I had been out with Vic. I picked up the phone and nodded my thanks to Luka. "Hey Damiano. What a surprise.", I started. "Ciao Benni. Good to hear you. How are you?", he asked. I was curious what the reason for the call was, so I tried to cut the banter a little short: "I'm fine Damiano, thank you. I'm currently staying in London for a movie  shoot. The last weeks are coming up and then it's back to Rome for me. How are you?"  "I'm fine, too. Wow that's interesting. Tell me more about the movie." Apparently my plan to cut short the small talk didn't seem to work, so I told Damiano the broad outline of the movie in which I played an aspiring ballerina at the London Stage School. "That's incredible.", he stated, after I had finished my explanations.  "So what is the reason for your calling?",  I then asked him. 

"So", he cleared his throat, "We are going on tour soon and our guitarist, you know, Thomas, will probably be working on another project with the Rolling Stones during that time. So we are looking for a worthy replacement for him for our european tour."

"And you thought of me then?", I gasped in surprise. 

"It was Vics idea in the first place. And I mean, I heard you play in "Heartstrings", too.

"Heartstrings", has been a movie in which, seven years ago, I played a singer and guitarist, who made her breakthrough in international showbiz.  I could already play the guitar beforehand, but for this occasion I had enjoyed intensive guitar lessons for half a year and continued to practice intensively afterwards. However, due to my work as a model and actress, I had never taken the path into the music industry. It had always been more of a hobby for me and I also didn't know, if I would be able to perform live in front of so many people. "Mmmh...well", I stuttered "that comes as a bit of a surprise." In my mind, I already checked my schedule for the upcoming few months, but I couldn't think of anything right away,  that I wouldn't be able to postpone or cancel.

"I understand", he said. I know this is a tough decision to make. So take your time. I will send you the exact schedule, so you can think about it."