Welcome to Calabasas

September 19th- LAX International Airport

Ladies and Gentlemen welcome to LAX, I hope you have enjoyed flight with American Airlines." announced that Captain over the loud speaker. I slowly put my MacBook into my chevron patterned backpack, put on my sunglasses, I go over the advice Marcus had given me before we took off from JFK. ' be yourself and sing your heart out'. I walk off the plane with my mom and Marcus by my side, immediately we are ambushed by paparazzi

'Acelynn, how does it feel to be dumped from Diddy's label?' yelled a guy in a white wife beater

'Hey Ace over here, over here, who are you meeting with here in Los Angeles?' yelled another in a TMZ polo shirt.

I kept my head down and my mouth shut. Marcus specially said don't say anything to the paparazzi, they just ask questions, and questions that don't need answers. We finally make it to baggage claim where two of Marcus' men have already gathered all the bags. Marcus is franticly search for our Escalades, among the numerous others in a line outside. I excuse myself to go buy some food, with one Marcus' men tagging along.

I make my way through the mass of paparazzi and businessmen, to the Subway kiosk. A guy in a black hoodie cuts me off as I enter the line, I try to say something but soon realize he is wearing black Beats headphones. When it's his turn he slips off the headphones and orders a 6' turkey on Italian, the exact same thing I always get. As he gets to the end of the line, and takes out he's wallet he pulls out his credit card and another falls out of the wallet onto the floor. He grabs the bag with the sandwich and starts to go fell up his drink at the soda machine.

I quickly reach to the floor, grab the credit card, and walk to the hooded boy. I tap his shoulder and take a step back; he pulls down the hood and turns to me. Our hazel eyes connect and butterflies fluttered in my stomach, he smiles and he's dimples appeared. I freeze and I couldn't speak, he slowly reached in my hand and grabbed the credit card from grasp, when he final relinquished the card from the grasp, he held my hand from a matter of seconds. Our eyes never separated, till the cup, which he was filling up with soda, overflowed and emptied on to the floor. We both jumped and he dropped the cup onto the floor, Coke going everywhere, including on my new customized Jordan's. I take a step back out of the pool of coke and examine my Jordan's, wet and sticky, but not ruined. He quickly apologized as an employee comes out with a map and wet floor sign.

I look back at Marcus' man who is waiting for me by the door, when I turn around the boy is re-hooded himself grabs the sandwich's bag and walks away out of restaurant. He stops turns back to me and says in a mellow voice,

"Thanks for grabbing my card, Ace". Then he walks away into the airport, disappearing into the mass of people. I start to say 'you're welcome' but he has already disappeared as fast as he appeared. I signal Marcus' man and make my way back to the loading area. By the time I make it outside Marcus and my mom are already inside an Escalade waiting to for me. As soon as I enter Marcus takes off his sunglasses and ends the call on his iPhone, turns to me,

"That was Usher's assistant, she was just calling to confirming our meeting in an hour, are you sure you want to take this path? This lifestyle may seem to be all glitter and rainbows from the outside but it is not a fairy tale. If this deal works out you'll be the new Justin Bieber, but you can actually sing of course."

I take off my sunglasses in the same manner that Marcus' had done with his. I went through everything that taking on this life implied, the paparazzi, drama, and the stress. It was all without to show everyone who doubted and turned me away that I could make, that I could succeed. The only people who believed in me were my mom and Isaiah; but he was long gone now.

"Yes Marcus, I'm sure." I confirmed. Looking out the window I see the glorious palm trees, and then in the distance I see thing I'd been waiting to see my entire life, the Hollywood sign.