Book 6 - 1970 (Michael Jackson)

Chapter 2 - Another Day at Motown

Chapter 2 - Another Day at Motown

Date: Monday, January 19, 1970

JERMAINE'S POV

"Hey, 'Maine! Tell me what you think about this." Through the door, Mr. Gordy held a rather dingy-looking slip of paper, erratically-written garbles and scribbles all over the front. "The Corp thinks it's gonna be the next big one, a major hit."

I set my guitar down and, as told, went to retrieve the paper. He closed the door, leaving the room with only Johnny, Marlon, Jackie, and I inside. I skimmed through the barely-legible paper, hoping to make sense of it. With each passing line, my thumb brushed each of the words.

Isaac said he kissed you

Beneath the apple tree

When Benjie held your hand he felt

Electricity

When Alexander called you

He said he rang your chime

Chris-

"Who rang your chime?" Johnny questioned. He was clearly attempting to hide a foolish grin, but could not resist the urge to crack a smile. "You after some girl or something?"

I could feel my face go hot. Embarrassed, I shouted, "It's the lyrics, man! Just read them for yourself!" I shoved the paper into his grasp, and then proceeded to walk back to my section, feeling like a five-year-old again.

"Somebody's being a little touchy-feely tonight, isn't he?" Jackie shook his head, peering over Johnny's shoulder to peruse through the scribble-scrabble on the paper. "I gotta say, though, these lyrics are clever."

"I was about to say that." My voice was flat. "Ya know, before I was interrupted and stuff."

"You call it interrupted, I call it hilarious!" Johnny mused. "Didn't you have some crush on a girl in your class, though? Some point or another, maybe?"

I felt my fingertips get sweaty. "Yeah... I've always got crushes, you know that. I like half the girls in the school."

"Jermaine, that isn't you thinking. A lotta those girls really won't matter in a few months. Your mind is just, er, in the gutter."

I shout him an incredulous look. "What was that supposed to mean?!"

I believe my utter disgust in his choice of words got to him at that point, because he chose to change the subject. "You know what?... Imma go and see where the rest are. We can talk about this stuff later. Where are the boys, anyways?" He rose from his seat and gravitated toward the door leading into the studio hallway.

I let him leave without telling him Joe's whereabouts. I had a vague idea as to where he was, but nothing definite. Usually, if Joe and the others left for more than five minutes at a time, they were discussing something with one of the guys in the front of the building. Other times, they filled out paperwork or, as of recently, retrieved fan mail. There was no telling how long that could take.

Sighing, I let my body relax in a nearby seat. I brought my guitar up with me and plucked a few of the strings carelessly, creating a rather lazy-sounding scale. I laid my head back and closed my eyes, replaying the scale in my head, over and over and over.

The only thing that kept me from completely relaxing was Marlon and his queries. "You're still embarrassed? Jermaine, you alright?"

My head shot up. "What do you mean? I wasn't even thinking 'bout what happened. Those thoughts are long gone, Marlon." My hands folded in front of my instrument protectively.