Bass

Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Two options

The office was messier than I expected. Sheets of paper were strewn all over the room and random things (like a gross half-eaten sandwich) sat on top of piles of folders. Amidst the flurry sat a man with close cut hair and a sharp suit. He looked ridiculous as he was sitting with so much poise around a disaster of paperwork.

“Miss Reilly. Please sit down.” He had a thick British accent and an undermining tone which seemed to laugh at my informal outfit. Note to self: never wear a floral dress when meeting a future employer. “My name is Simon Cowell.” He leaned forward, adjusting the pen placed perfectly on his dark-wood desk. “I invited you in here because I think you have real talent. Your drumming skills are exceptional and you have incredible stage performance…”

I was annoyed. He was ranting about how good I was but hadn’t even hired me.

“Mr Cowell, why am I here?” I interrupted rudely. His eyes widened as he chuckled to himself. He stared at me for a second, like he was thinking hard about something. Or making an agreement with himself. I wasn’t so sure at the time. We stayed there silent for what felt like forever until Simon finally relaxed as though he had made a decision.

“Victoria. I am going to give you some advice, then two options. The advice is: you will never be a drummer as a girl and you should give up on your dream while you have the chance.” My mouth dropped as he stated it so bluntly. “Now the options. Option one: you leave this building with no future and no prospects. Option 2: I have a meeting with the CEO of Sony, Mr Skinner, in 10 minutes and if you are willing to pretend to be a boy and play the drums as a boy and convince the world that you are a boy… I will tell Mr Skinner that we have a new live drummer for our top boy band. You choose.”

The room was silent. I tried to speak but nothing was coming out. I just sat there like a turnip.

Finally my vocal chords were on my side and I started to speak.

“A boy. Me? A boy? What? Wait. What?” I questioned.

“I know it’s a crazy idea but my gut is telling me to do this and if I know something it’s to follow my gut.”

I had no idea what to say. I wanted to be a drummer so bad. But I wanted to be me. Not someone I was pretending to be. Honestly, I had serious doubts. My heart was telling me to go for it but my mind was telling me to walk out and leave the office with my dignity. I kept telling myself I could to better, but the truth was: I was scared. And not just scared of being a (pretend) boy, but scared of actually being given the chance of success. Now that it was an option, I was hesitant to take it. What was I going to do?

“Victoria?” Simon snapped me back to reality. I turned to him.

“I…. can’t.” I stood up suddenly and grabbed my bag, stumbling over an apology and running out of the office. I heard Simon call after me but instead of making me stop it only made me run faster. Tears started to tug at my eyes but I shook them away. I ran to the stairs instead of the elevator, knowing I would have to stand and wait with shame and the whole office staring at me, just like they were as I rushed through the sea of desks. Barging through the door labelled ‘fire escape’ I was met with a soft wall of cotton which I shoved into. The wall of cotton turned out to be a boy’s chest and I quickly looked up to see two mesmerising green eyes staring at my own. For a moment I couldn’t see anything else except those two eyes, green as emeralds.

“Have you been crying?” He asked in a whisper.

I realized I was clutching his arm and let go, whipping past him and continuing down the stairs. I breathed in, grasping that I hadn’t breathed the whole time I was looking into the boys’ eyes. They were literally breathtaking.

Finally arriving at the bottom of the stairs I burst into the lobby and ran to the revolving door. Outside I took a deep breath and fell to my knees. Who was that boy? And what had I just done? I refused a huge opportunity! How could I let my fear hold me back?! It was almost unreal. I closed my eyes, hoping it was all a dream and I would wake up in a nice warm bed with a cup of hot chocolate and-

“Miss Reilly?” I looked up to see the woman who sat at the front desk in the lobby looking down at me. As soon as she saw my teary face she sighed and sat down next to me.

“I like your shoes.” She said.

I sniffed, looking away from her.

“Why didn’t you wear something a little more professional?” She asked, looking me up and down.

“Because I’m the opposite of professional. Everyone in there is so sleek and polished. I’m just scared to change for somebody else. Go ahead. Think I’m a stupid little girl. It makes no difference.” I admitted.

“Huh.” She said, chuckling to herself.

“What?” I asked, irritated.

“Yes you are kind of a stupid little girl. Actually, the stupidest little girl I’ve met.” She said.

“Gee thanks.” I said sarcastically.

“But you’re also the bravest little girl I’ve met.” She hinted at a smile and stood up, leaving me alone on the steps of the building.

A bell rang in my head at that moment which sent a feeling rushing through me like a shot of electricity. Without thinking I stood up, charging inside and running past the elevators which were ‘out of order’. That explained the rush of people going up the stairs. But the crowd didn’t stop me. I pushed through them, making my way up to level 17. I got there and started running through the desks once again. I noticed a conference room full of men in suits, guessing it was the meeting Simon was talking about earlier. I didn’t pay much other attention to it, and headed straight to my destination. I erupted into Simon Cowell’s office, finding him sitting at his desk, gathering a folder and laptop. He looked at me with relief as I said it.

“I choose option two.”