Set sail my love

12

DO NOT PLAY THE VIDEO YET

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"No, don't think the synth is working. Gosh Jeff what're we gonna do with this one? Goapele said she'll be here tonight." I was organizing the demo tapes at Rockefeller Studios on this particular morning and lucky enough I was in recording room 3 where all the magic happens.
Danny Corsica was struggling to fuse the moroccan drum with electric synth for Goapele's new track which she was coming in to do a recording of tomorrow. I made no move to raise my head from the boxes before me and the empty shelves.
"Yeah it does sound tricky. Have you tried using regular grand piano sound?" Jeff paced as he thought.
"Can't do that. She says the synth is important. And honestly it just might be our focal point for the other arrangements." Danny exhaled from his revolving chair by his computer.
"Maybe drop the Moroccan drum then. Use a Congo one and do a fade out to bridge the gap."
"She was pretty specific. Says she wants this to be 21st century African Avatar blue people inclined. She's playing credits and top soundtrack for that new sci-fi movie in August."
"The one with Idris and Taraji P Henson?"
"Yeah it's gonna be some revamped Fences and 24 Jack Bauer thing. So the tracks got to keep the synth." After Danny said this there was a beat of silence and I wondered if I could volunteer any help. Jeff popped open a bag of chips and they're conversation became muffled once they started chewing loudly and laughing. My phone vibrated from my pocket and I pulled it out thinking it was Jessi since she had been blowing it up all morning.

Chase😻: I brought Chinese is that good?

I smiled like an idiot at the text because Chase knew just what I needed when I needed it. Ever since Sandton 3 weeks ago we've spent every moment we can together. We go to the library together and he sits with his boys, he picks me up from the studio on Monday mornings and sits behind me in comparative politics. We make dinner together at my place and we go away every weekend for some untailed alone time. There's a lot of lying and deception we have to keep up so we maintain our secrecy but Chase is being very understanding and patient with me. I only realized two days ago that Kai and I haven't been talking much for over a week now.

LiraLove🌼🌼: yeah it's fine. How much do we got?

Chase😻: 10 minutes to get down here and onto the freeway if we're gonna get our regular seats.

I pursed my lips at that and looked over my shoulder to see Danny deep in thought as he replayed the snippet he'd been working on since last night. It was great but he was right that It sounded odd. I thought anything Goapele insists on must be gold and this would probably sound better once she had her voice laid to it.
"I don't know Jeff, maybe you should sit in the thinking chair." Danny gets up amid laughter and Jeff sits down and plays around on the sound board.

Chase😻: ??

LiraLove🌼🌼: sorry... lemme get my stuff

Chase😻: ok babe. I'm right here

A deep blush flooded my face and emersed me in the knowledge that this is what love is...

"Right Lira?" I was sucked out of my lingering thoughts by Danny's question and Jeff's expectant face.
"Umm, no?" I had no idea what they'd asked but I was hoping my answer would suffice.
"Yeah that's what I was thinking too. I guess you can give it a go..." Jeff was speaking to me and trailed off when he noticed my eyes darting to the KOD clock above the door. "...a really quick go before you slip out I know you've got lectures ."
I tried to hide my sigh as I moved the unsorted pile from the floor space around me to an open bottom drawer.
"I'm not sure but I think you need to add a xylophone feel to it..." I was dusting off my knees and getting my bag packed up as I walked towards them to continue this conversation. "...maybe the higher notes in monotone: then break when she starts on a suitable chorus...maybe give the synth a bass undertone and enhance the echoes to get rid of the dead spots. That way the Moroccan drum won't sound so isolated because you've packed the assembly together. Also get rid of the soft trombone and add a Himalayan flute you know, for the fading out, at the end..." I said this in an unstable manner because both these powerful men were looking at me like I'd grabbed their bag of Dorrito's and smashed each chip under my foot before throwing them all back into my mouth right in front of them. Danny was simultaneously writing everything down and boggling his eyes out at my words. I stared at my feet and started chewing on my bottom lip because I was scared I'd gotten this so wrong and messed up my chance to continue interning here.
"Lira you should go to class." I looked up at Danny and a piece inside me shattered so fast I wanted to take it all back into me and just tell him that I don't know.
"Mr Corsica..."
"I'll give you a call tomorrow because you might have to come in and view the arrangement. I say we try this out." He looked to Jeff as if for affirmation and the nod of his head let me know I wasn't too far off. I smiled out of relief before turning around and heading out to meet Chase.
"That boy's here to get you Lira, again..." Thapelo smiled knowingly at me from over her computer screen and I couldn't help but look away in embarrassment.
"Bye Thapelo, new driver!" I ran out before I could hear her full blown laughter because she knew how I've been floating lately. Girls know these things.
Today Chase was waiting for me in a vintage aquamarine drop top Camaro and my mouth watered just by looking at the pimped up wheels and luxurious seats. When he saw me he took off his stunner shades and hopped out on his side, walked over to mine and got my door for me.
"My lady," he bowed as I stepped in and sat down.
"My very own knight in bedazzled armor." Chase side smirked at me when he figured I'd meant the belt around his waist which I'd gifted him as a prank. But he refused to be outsmarted and actually started wearing it as a trend.
"How was the music today. Did you sing?" I rolled my eyes at him as I got comfortable and threw my bag to the back seat while he pulled onto the interstate so we could take the short cut back to campus.
"I'm not a singer I'm a producer. Or at least I was, I think Corsica is gonna fire me tomorrow." I threw my head back in defeat and grunted so deeply I was annoying myself.
"Why would he do that?" Chase kept his eyes on the road.
"I don't know maybe because I'm so terrible!" I was whining and I couldn't help it because I felt like such a pit of failure.
"Hey hey don't go crying on me now shortcake, have some chicken chow mein. Glove compartment. Wipes are under your seat." Immediately my sorrows went with the wind and i averted my attention to the warm food. It tasted glorious. It tasted like all the chefs put their heads together on this one to make me something that would deliver me out of this sadness.
Or maybe it tasted how I felt when I was with him.
"Mmm this is to die for!" I moaned in between chopstick fulls.
"It better be. I had to cut off some angry drivers and race a woman with three toddlers to get to the ready made box." I laughed at his frustration. "It's not like I could just scream out that this is for my girlfriend people aren't so gullible anymore."  I reached up and fed him as he drove. There were some spaghetti strings hanging out of his mouth and he sucked them up without the least bit of disturbance.
"So now I don't owe you anything." I pursed and faced away from him in my diva fashion.
"You little bugger!" We laughed as we raced through the green traffics light. "How far are you on Edmund's project?"
"I had forgotten about that." I pulled out my phone and set a reminder to check in with my partner after school tonight .
"Lira you're due to present next Monday don't you think you've crossed the borderline of it being too late?" I smacked the back of his perfect head with my hand and he laughed hard as he sped off to our Political Science class.
We got there and sat down right before Henry came in and wrote a question on the board. We had about 30 seconds to jot down our answers in point form before he picked people to present and argue.
"...so Mein Kampf would have been the true testament of preboundary constitution if it had landed in the correct hands." There were some mumbles of assent and admiration once Chase sat down after presenting that point and I tried to not engage because I was texting Jessi about Sasha again.
"Miss Vuur?" I looked up to see all eyes on me especially Henry's and I wondered if I'd missed the question again. "You have a different perspective?" That's when I noticed that everyone had their hands up in support of Chase's point and I was the only one in the opposition.
"Well there's the aspect of timing and wrong perpetrator inclusion...at the time Hitler could've never known how much power he was holding in his hands if used as a tool instead of a weapon..."
"Yes, thank you for rephrasing Mr Waters' response although we had all gotten it the first time." There were some snickers and I didn't pay attention because Jessi had sent me a picture. Henry's inssessant obsession with the mein kampf example was spiraling in the background but my attention was zeroed in on this. It was a crumpled up receipt totaling R37721,33 at the Michealangelo Hotel in Sandton. I was blindly questioning a lot about this paper but then Jessi messaged me right after it delivered.