SOS || a.i.

Chapter Two

Chapter Two-

"Fifth street and houston!" the bus driver screamed waking me up from my sleep.

I hurried to pack up my things because this was my stop and I flew out of the compact door the driver had just barely opened.

"Thanks!" I screamed back at him and ran towards the battered grey and red door of the recording studio I worked at.

I thought of some great ideas for a new track on the ride and was desperately trying to get to the computers inside so I wouldn't forget it.

As I spun my key into the lock, I rushed inside chucking my stuff in one of the empty booths and sitting down at one of the various laptops inside. I rummaged through my bag and stuck the memory stick in the outlet just as the screen lit up with the password bar.

I typed it in hurriedly as I was about to lost the beat and the chords I had conjured up when there was a knock at my door.

I froze. Turning to the clock I could see that it was only 3:20 am, no one who worked here was ever that early and I was the only one who had a key besides my boss. He knew I got things stuck in my head that I would forget if I didn't record. So, I had an all access pass to the studio to record my "accidental genius" as Perry, my boss, called it.

There was another knock.

I grabbed one of the heavy metal microphones that were charging near the amps in the back of the room and walked slowly towards the door.

Then came the third knock.

I swung open the door ready to strike the intruder when I came face to face with my best friend Ella Thompson who was holding a large wooden maraca used to create tropical beats on out station.

Ella was about as tall as I was, around 5 foot 5, and had straight brown hair that tumbled its way down her back, stopping at the tips of her shoulder blades. Her eyes were a light brown that always sparkled with excitement. She was wearing a mint green jumper with the words "Olympic Volleyball Team Year: 2020" which she paired with some black leggings and her favorite white high top converse. Making my outfit of a damp maroon hoodie and dripping grey disco pants look as if I were homeless, which at the moment I was...

"Ella!" I screamed.

"Layla!" She screamed.

A few seconds of silence passed and then we burst into laughter.

"I thought you were a burglar!" we said to each other at the same time.

"Nope!" Ella replied first. "I've been here all night! Perry asked me to work on some new background beats we could try to sell to people to get them interested in recording here. What about you? Why are you wet?" She asked giving me a questioning look.

I decided not to tell her about being kicked out of my apartment just yet. I hated sympathy and the idea I had no place right now was still fresh in my mind, digging into my insides and shattering my self-esteem like a glass jar.

"I'm having one of my 'accidental genius' moments," I laughed.

"Of course you are," Ella said, her laughter dwindling down allowing her to breathe again.

"So how are the new beats coming?" I asked excitedly. Our studio had lost many of its customers due to the newer places all over Sydney. We'd started hurting for money and had to begin letting a lot of good people go. The employees that hadn't been turned down yet, like Ella and I, had been hurting for money for many months now, which is why I couldn't afford to pay my rent anymore. So, anything we could do to draw more artists to our studio was great because that meant we were closer to getting more numbers on our paychecks.

"Pretty good, but anything you come up with will be greatly appreciated, I'm starting to see music notes and beeping red lights everywhere," Ella said closing her eyes and shaking her head.

"Alright, well then I better..." I started but was interrupted by the phone ringing.

"I've gotta go get that, go finish your 'accidental genius' and I'll be in the booth one over if you need me!" Ella said rushing towards the red landline attached to the wall.

"Okay," I said and walked back into my booth. I grabbed a seat next to the line of switches and buttons that were used to control things like volume and echoing while a singer was recording a track, and grabbed my guitar. I strummed a C chord to make sure it was tune and smiled to myself.

I'd always loved the guitar. I'd taught myself to play one summer and that was when I really fell in love with making music. I'd learned some piano as well but the guitar was what I'd always found the most joy in. I'd always wanted to play the drums too, I'd just never gotten around to it.

"One day," I mumbled and grabbed the microphone I'd tried to use as a weapon and set it on a stand so I could record sitting down. Turning the switch so the microphone turned on, I strummed the first chord of the melody that had been stuck in my head since the bus ride.