Welcome back to California's hottest radio statio! And now, your favorite DJ, STEREO HEART!
Chapter 1
“My hearts a stereo, it plays for you so listen close, hear my thoughts in every note, oh oh”
I adjusted my headset and looked around the room while “today’s hottest hits” played in the background. I couldn’t believe that what stared back at me was a DJ booth, thousands of songs on the new Microsoft Surface tablet, and hanging chairs all put into one package to make a live recording room. Was it really only a month ago that I was doing my radio show in my bedroom? Couldn’t be. But yet, it had been.
Until the day that my older sister, Tara, found out that I was Stereo Heart, my secret anonymous identity as a outgoing, smooth-talking DJ, my world had changed forever. Tara, 23, worked at Hollywood FM as the manager. Coincidence? Yeah, sure let’s call it that. And of course the one day that I’m doing my show, she comes back from college to visit, listening to me. TO ME!! The second she saw and heard that I was the one behind the voice, Tara freaked. Apparently she had been listening to me for the past two weeks, and she and Hollywood FM were trying to get a hold of me. Well, of Stereo Heart.
Now, thanks to my nosy sister, I now ran a two-hour show from 5-7 pm, everyday but Sunday.
I glanced around the room once more before returning to my mike. The song was about to end and I was on in 3…………2…………1!
“And that was ‘Stereo Hearts’ by Gym Class Heroes ft. Adam Levine from Maroon 5” I turned my headset on so I could walk around the room.
“So, a lot of you have been wondering who I am. Even companies are branding ‘Who is Stereo Heart?’ on shirts, cups, and even sandwich bags! I mean, really, what’s the big deal? You like music, I like music. Simple as that. It’s not about what I look like or if you know me. It’s about having a great station to listen to where you can actually connect.” I paused. Do I sound too pushy? Hope not.
“Plus, my identity being a secret brings everyone together; jocks, poplars’, band geeks, and even teachers. The point of this show is not to define the differences or gaps, because those ruin great music.”
Done. Now time for a song….
“This last song is for all you out there that are with me on this one.” I selected ‘I Got a Feeling’ by the Black Eyed Peas and hit play, but easing the intro before I stopped perching.
“Don’t freak out when it’s done, there’s always tomorrow for more, Stereo Heart.”
As the song played, I zipped up my Lulu Lemon fleece jacket and grabbed my neon pink backpack. School had started 5 months ago, and my mom and I were set on this color. I allowed the song to play but didn’t worry about turning off the tablet; it automatically shuts off at 7 pm, right after my show. I cut the small corner on my way out the door and turned off the light. Closing the door with the poster of ‘Stereo Heart’ in comic font, I caught the elevator done to the Lobby and checked out with my work ID.
Even though I had just gotten my driver’s licenses, I still had Tara take me home. Didn’t want my big secret to get out, now would we? Like always, my big sis was on her iPhone talking to her employees. This meant for me to zip my mouth and stare out of her blue, Mercedes SLK Class Roadster windows. Hollywood FM’s building was only about 20 miles away from my house, where my dad, mom, and I lived. Tara was still finishing college, but for being the manager for the hottest radio station, she had excellent grades.
After about 15 minutes Tara dropped me off, said goodbye, and drove to her pent house near her work. I ran up my drive way and opened the garage door with the key pad and slipped in to find my parents setting up for dinner. The aroma of Hawaiian meatballs, mine and my dad’s favorite meal, filled my mother’s larger-than-needed kitchen. I fallowed the scent to the kitchen and sat my stuff down on the island.
“I’m telling you, Steve, you need to try it! The class I go to is perfect.” my mom said. For the past week she had been trying to get my dad to go to her yoga class.
“It’s so… What’s the word? It’s just, you know, um,” she snapped her fingers in the air, flicking the strawberries onto the floor that she had been chopping up.
I laughed and gave a suggestion.
“So uplifting?” I looked and my mom and mimicked the tree pose that she taught me the night before. My mom, taking the idea added it to her unfinished sentence.
“Yes, thank you! It’s so uplifting!” My father shook his head in disagreement, tossed his head to the side, and chuckled. But that didn’t stop mom.
“Yoga tones everything! Your legs, arms, even your hips.” After she said that, there was no way dad was going to join now.
“Okay then! Thank you for the image, Andrea, but I’ll have to pass.” Before mom could reply, my dad quickly stood up from table and walked to our dining room table. My mom only just finished the strawberries and piled them into a clear bowl. Following, I grabbed the remaining food left on the counter and carried to the table.
As I sat done, mom had changed the subject that both my parents could talk about for hours, my show, Stereo Hearts.
“Stereo Heart killed it tonight, as always, on Hollywood FM” she said, nudging my right arm. My parents had never missed any of my shows, and always told me about how inspiring or truthful it was. Then again, they were my parents. Isn’t that their job?
“Yeah Emmaline, it was awesome.” My dad chimed in and winked at me from across the table.
“Thanks. I hope I didn’t sound too harsh when saying all that stuff about me. Did I?” A wave of disappointment covered my face. What if I lost listeners?
“Oh no, honey. You sounded great! I couldn’t tell that you were pushy or harsh at all.” There’s that parent thing again, I thought.
“Okay good.” Was all I said in reply.
Nothing more was said about my show after that. My parents jumped right into talking about work. My dad, who was the CEO for an architecture company, worked Monday through Sunday from 4:30 am to 5 pm while my mom worked as a manager at Apple and worked Monday through Friday at home. I didn’t really care that both my parents worked, my school started at 8 am and ended at 2 pm, except for Fridays, and then I did homework and my radio show. My mom and dad’s work schedule started around the time my high school, Emerson High, started and ended around the same time to.
“Everyone done?” my mom asked, killing my parent’s conversation about spinning conceit for airplane runways.
My dad and I shook our heads up and down and stood up to take our plates to the sink. Once my dish was washed and I helped fill the dish washer, I ran up stairs to the farthest down the hall and to the left.
I opened the door and turned on my coconut fall chandelier. The light touched every corner of my turquoise painted room and lit up my canopy bed, which had its back to my window, reflected a light pink shade on my walls. Near my closet, my Victorian vanity that held my makeup, which isn’t much, and my curling and straightening irons. By my door was my bead smart corner desk with corkboards all around it that were overflowed with pictures of my friends. Last winter for Christmas, my parents surprised me with a gift to remodel my room. 1 month later, PBteen had taken over my room. Everything that was in my room had been ordered, shipped, and delivered to our door step from pbteen.com and reflected me.
I set my backpack down on my bed and unzipped my hoddie before stripping down and putting on my favorite pajamas from Victoria Secret’s PINK line. I set my alarm for 6:20 am before grabbing my iPhone and listening to my pervious show that I had done this afternoon. I always recorded it while I was recording live, and before I got a chance to turn it off, I dozed off into a deep sleep.\
Chapter 2 is on its way! Stand by for more!
