𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠- 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝟏.

𝟏𝟏. 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞

6-7-88 Thursday

The next morning, I slept in. It was around 11 when I finally woke up. Last night was as boring as every shift at that record store. I loved it, but we needed more customers. You would think a small record store in the middle of LA would be popular, but apparently not. Maybe it just wasn't interesting enough. But whatever, that was Joe's problem to deal with. I got up; Adriana was already awake. I sat down in the kitchen, groggily rubbing my eyes and yawning. "Morning, sleepyhead," Adriana said in a happy, sing-song voice. I cocked a brow, "What's got you all happy?" I murmured. "Well," she said, sighing softly, "guess who just got a raise?" Her voice was cheerful. I couldn't help but smile a bit. "Damn, what'd you do for it?" I mumbled, still tired. And when I was tired, I could be a bit of a jerk. I heard her scoff quietly. "Amira," she murmured, annoyed. I rolled my eyes; she could be a bit dramatic sometimes. "Sorry - I mean, good job," I said, my voice raspy and sounding annoyed. I sat up, reaching over to grab the pot of coffee Adriana had already made, pouring it into an empty cup that was lying on the counter.

I heard her footsteps slowly fade away and back to her room. Her door slammed shut. She had been in her room a lot over the past couple of days. I couldn't help but think about what was wrong or what had happened. Was it something at work, or did someone say or do something? Or maybe it was something else. I don't know, but she acted as if she couldn't talk to me about it. I shrugged, sipping on my coffee before the phone rang. I huffed quietly, getting up as I walked over to it and picked it up. "Hello?" I said softly, fiddling with the cord as I twirled it around on my finger. I heard the familiar voice on the other line, Rhonda. "Hey, honey," I heard her shaky sweet voice say. She always made me a bit happier. She was one of those sweet old grandmas, except she smoked. But eh, whatever. "Hey, Rhonda!" I said softly, "I wanted to talk to you about something." "Sure, what is it?" I said, curious about what it was, tapping my fingers on the wall. "Where do you think this job is going to get you later on? Are you trying to do anything more serious?" she questioned. I sighed quietly. I hesitated and thought for a moment. Where was this job going to get me? I wasn't sure if I wanted anything more serious. I wanted to stay in LA. "Huh... I'm not sure. I'm just looking for a small job, something to make me money, you know?" I said. "Mhm, I know what you mean, honey. But what about another job, like a big one? I'm sure you'll like it. Well, I hope you do." she said, her voice a bit shaky as she coughed. I huffed quietly. It couldn't be that big of a job, I mean, what? "Yeah, like what?" "What about a photoshoot for the band Guns N' Roses?" she said. My breath hitched in my throat. My mouth gaped open slightly.

I didn't know much about Guns N' Roses, but I knew they were growing pretty big around here in the Sunset Strip. Plus, Adriana was always ranting about the lead singer. "Shit, you said Guns N' Roses?!" I exclaimed, a bit excited. This was going to get me a lot of money. I heard Rhonda's soft chuckle on the other side of the phone. "Yep," she said. Just after she said that, I heard Adriana's door fly open. "What about Guns N' Roses?" she yelled. I ignored her. "Y-Yeah! Yeah! I want the job. What is it?" I said eagerly. "Well, it's a photoshoot. It's going to be on... oh, the tenth. 3 days, photoshoot in three days," she said. I sighed softly and excitedly, wishing it could've been quicker. Adriana stood in front of me, mouthing out words, trying to figure out what's going on. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" I said playfully with a small smile. She chuckled, "Well, I just found out, honey. I'll tell you more details later, I gotta go. Lucy just got here. I'll call you back, sweetie, have a good day!" she said. "Bye, Rhonda!" I said before she hung up. Lucy was another one of the girls that worked there. I sighed and smiled at Adriana. "Guess what!" I said, a big smile on my face. "What, what is it?!" she said eagerly, trying to figure out what it was. "I get to do a photoshoot with fucking Guns N' Roses!" I said, my voice excited and happy. I heard her audibly gasp, shrieking as she jumped up and down, holding my hands as she jumped. I laughed softly at her excited face. She was more excited than me. "Oh my god, oh my god," she squealed. "So you'll actually see Axl?? Oh my god," she said, sounding like a fangirl. I chuckled.

i guess i would.