Risk is the Spice of Life

Chapter 3

"Pen? Pen, you alive in there?" I saw ink-stained fingers waving frantically in front of my face. I grinned at my sister.

"Sorry, Rose. I was spacing out."

"You're really quiet today; everything okay?"

"Yes, I was wondering the same thing" my mom chimed in. We were all gathered in my sister's quaint apartment living room, waiting for the lasagna to finish cooking. My sister had immediately put the ink pens and sketchbook I'd gotten her to use. Thankfully the pens were sturdy; their trip to the ground had worried me. Mom and Dad were chatting with youngest brother, Tristen, while middle brother, Malcolm, was playing hide and seek with our nephew, Damien.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! Pen! You know that weird band you like?" Malcolm asked as he pretended to search for Damien, who was clearly hiding behind a tall plant. I heaved an exasperated sigh – most of the bands and music I liked my brother considered weird.

"Which one, Malcolm?" I asked, "as you well know there are several."

He chuckled. "True." He responded. "Ummm....Breaking Wind? Be The Soldier? I don't remember. I just know that they were at the mall today." I sat up straighter. "How did you know that?"

"It was on the radio. They were holding auditions for some big project or something." Well, that explained how I didn't know – I hadn't listened to the radio in a long time, mp3 players and such.

"The band you are thinking of is Break The Silence, aka, BTS" I told him. He snapped and pointed his finger at me. "Yes. Did you know they were here?"

"Actually....yes. I met the group leader."

"That would explain why you were spacing out" my dad interjected. We all laughed as my cheeks turned pink at the memory.

"Did you audition?" Rose asked eagerly.

I nodded. "Unintentionally."

"What do you mean unintentionally?" my mom inquired. I relayed the story of my attempt to be an Airbender and how that had caught Rap Monster's attention. When I completed my tale, Malcolm threw his head back and gave a hearty laugh. Not in a cruel way, more because the situation was something to be expected in TV Land, not real life.

"Wait.....isn't Airbender from that cartoon you used to watch?" my mom asked. Of course, I tell her that I meet a famous person and she wants to make sure she understands my references.

"Yes, Mom, it was that show where some people could control the elements and kids saved the world."

She nodded, remembering. "Oh yes, I remember now. I liked that one."

"But the important question is" Tristen started dramatically "when do you leave to be a part of this project?"

"Uhhhh.....I didn't exactly accept yet." I answered, avoiding their gazes.

"Wait. Why?!" Rose exclaimed just as the timer went off for the lasagna. Without answering her I jumped up to turn it off and set the table.

Once we were seated and enjoying dinner my sister asked again.

"Pen, why didn't you accept this opportunity?"

"Why, Auntie, why?" Damien chimed between bites of garlic bread. He was just like his mom – inquisitive and loud. Rose laughed and wiped stray red sauce from his chubby 3 year-old cheeks.

"Well, first of all, "I started, "there's no guarantee that I'll even be part of the project. I have to go through some preliminary trials. Secondly, I can't just drop everything here. My career is really starting to take off and I have people depending on me."

"Sounds like you're looking for excuses" my dad said, leveling a steady gaze at me.

"Excuse me?" I asked, my defensiveness creeping into my tone.

"Hear me out, Pendriel" he began "I'm proud that you've found your niche, but you can take your career and your jobs anywhere, especially with today's technology. The people who rely on you don't care what you do as long as you do what they've asked of you within their timeframe; hence the beauty of freelance. Secondly, you don't have much responsibility here. I'd understand your concern if you had a pet, but you don't have one right now. Plus, you've got family who can house-sit and all your bills are on auto-pay. As for the preliminaries....it's true that you might not make it through them.....but you're giving up before even trying."

I fidgeted. I wanted to drop his gaze, but his brown eyes bore into mine.

"In conclusion" he continued, "you are trying to find excuses to stay wrapped up nice and cozy in your security blanket."

He was right. Of course he was right. But it was so much easier to continue with the normalcy of my life, of knowing what each day would bring. But what if.............

My mom grabbed my hand as I continued to struggle to make a decision.

"You'll never know unless you try. And, think about it, do you really want to wonder sometime down the road, whether it be five weeks or five years, about all the would haves?"

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Dinner and dessert finished without a hitch. Although, Damien did dunk his face in the whole ice cream cake; he wouldn't do that again. The time with my family had been nice and welcoming, and even with their full support behind me, I was shaking so badly that I could barely dial the number on the card Rap Monster had given me. I paced the small space between my living room and kitchen while the phone rang. And rang. And rang. Had I been duped? Could I really still be that gullible? Just as I was about to hang up, a voice came over the line.

"Hi, this is Pendriel and –"

"Oh! The girl from Doodles? I'm so glad you called; I was afraid you'd lost my card."

***Author's Note: Hi! Thank you for reading this far. I want to apologize for the dullness these first few chapters have been. However, the action will start to pick up and fluffiness shall be found very soon. Thanks again!***