The Higher We Soar

11. The kick

"So, wait..." The producer slowed her pace, stopping me with a gesture, and glanced around the corridor before lowering her voice. "You mean to tell me he didn't even ask you? I don't—I don't understand."

"And I'm supposed to?" I spread my hands wide, nearly losing my grip on the stack of notes clutched in my fingers. "Madd didn't even mention it. He was acting weird for a few days, though... I guess it was because of this? Why would you even think I'd need an assistant?"

Sophie sighed deeply, rubbing her forehead with her fingertips before answering, "Lennon, I don't know if you realize, but you have a lot on your plate. Even Anthony has help, and he usually writes less than you. I thought since you and Maddie spend so much time together anyway, it might be a good idea. He's always in the rehearsal room with you lately, isn't he? Or in your office. He talks about it all the time. He's practically your assistant already."

"Y-yeah, but I—wasn't he your trainee?"

"He was, at the beginning at least," the producer explained, glancing at her watch. She marched forward with a sigh, her heels clicking sharply against the wooden floor. "After he said he doesn't really want to work with me permanently, which was a huge disappointment, by the way, I offered him the position of your assistant or the studio assistant. His internship was theoretically about that. I thought he liked both ideas. He said he'd ask you and think about it. I just—I thought you said 'no'. I don't understand why he didn't ask you at all. He seemed excited about it."

"He did?" I muttered, struggling to keep up with her. "He actually considered working with me?"

Sophie rolled her eyes and stopped abruptly in front of the live room door. She glanced around once more before lowering her voice again, "That's what it seemed like. Talk to him, okay? He's helping Eddie set up your session right now."

"But I—"

"Look, I need to get Elizabeth. She's excited to be here today. Let's not screw this up, yeah?" Sophie patted my shoulder briefly, then turned on her heel before I could say anything else.

With a sigh, I watched her briskly walk away, her figure quickly disappearing down the corridor. The sound of her heels echoed faintly once more, leaving me feeling a bit baffled. I took a moment to compose myself before entering the live room, still feeling quite sour.

Eddie waved to me from behind the control room window, his face breaking into a welcoming smile. Almost immediately, Madd's head popped out of the isolation booth. Before I could even raise my hand in greeting, he was already running towards me, practically bouncing on his feet.

"I had no idea you could play the violin!" Maddox beamed, stepping a little too close in his excitement. I instinctively took a half-step back, bumping into the keyboard stand. "I'm so psyched to hear you play it!"

"Nice to see you, too," I replied, raising an eyebrow. "And it's not a violin, it's–"

"Viola, right," he sighed, running a hand through his hair with an apologetic grin. "Eddie keeps correcting me, too. But still, how amazing is that? I had no idea you're the one playing today! What else can you play?"

I laughed, shaking my head as the tension of the day eased a bit. "Well, I have... some idea how to play many instruments. I thought it was an obvious aspect of the job! Did you seriously think I only played the piano? Haven't you seen 'Music and Lyrics'?"

"N-no..." His eyes widened with childlike fascination. "Should I? I'm gonna!"

"You know, that's not exactly necessary," I chuckled, trying to imagine him singing along to 'Pop! Goes My Heart.' "I don't think you're into that kind of silly rom-com, Mr. Kubrick's No. 1 fan. But this is probably the first time I've mentioned a flick you haven't seen. Usually, it's the other way around, isn't it?"