Sway

A hit

So this is what it felt like, to be in the production chair! I thought those words to myself as I spun around in the chair that sat in front of the controller.

Benny was sitting next to Phineous on the sofa across from me, his elbows on his knees as he waited in anticipation for his new 'hit' to finish playing.

I wanted to like this track so badly, just so I wouldn't be tempted to destroy and then recreate it. But damn was it bad! I mean, I could hear where he was going with it... trying to give it a modern pop vibe. It just wasn't good.

It finally ended and he sat up straighter, staring at me for approval. I just leaned my head back against the seat, crossed my arms and looked at him. It was obvious that Phineous wanted to laugh, I could see it all over his face.

"Do you want my honest opinion?" I asked in all seriousness.

He nodded, "Yeah, of course."

I leaned forward and tried to think about a kind way to say what I wanted to say, "Well, the good news is that, I could tell where you were trying to go. The bad news is that, you didn't get there."

Phineous couldn't contain his laughter while his cheeks burned a deep red, "Oh god Talia, stop being so nice! Benny, it was shit," Benny looked as if someone had just stole his last French toast stick, "Please tell me why they haven't fired you yet?"

"Because they believed in me," Benny said, as he stood from the sofa, "they've seen what I can create." He said the last part in a whisper, but Phineous and I both heard it.

"Whoa there, let's not pretend like you made that hit!" Of course Phineous was going to stand up for me, he and I both knew that it was majority my work that went into Benny's so called hit.

I could tell he wanted to object, but he knew better than to deny it. After all, it was the reason he wanted me here in the first place. He knew that I could help him fix that trash wanna be pop track.

The look on his face was pure desperation... he paced back and forth, occasionally flipping his hat backwards and then forward again. I would help him, but only if he asked me to. I wasn't going to have another thing like last time happen, where, I do majority of the work and he takes the credit for it. If he wanted my help, he'd have to actually acknowledge that I helped.

Eventually he seemed to get tired of awkwardly pacing in front of us, he stopped and looked at me while I spun in the chair.

"Will you please help me Talia?" I slowed my spinning, till I was facing him completely. "If I don't come up with something good, I'm gonna lose this internship."

"I thought you just said that they believe in you?" My words weren't mocking, just truth. If the label believed in him so much, they'd wait for a hit... patiently. Someone must've been on his back lately, reminding him that he was replaceable.

He rolled his eyes, "believed. As in, past tense."

"Damn," Phineous said as he crossed his legs with a look of pity on his face.

"Fine," I said the word with confidence, "but I'll only help you if you promise to acknowledge the fact that I helped."

He squinted, "Like, name you as co-producer?"

I shrugged, "Yeah, sure." I honestly could care less about being named on the track, it was more about making sure that Benny didn't start acting like he came up with the track on his own. He needed to realize that he sucked, if he ever wanted to get any better.

"Alright, I can do that." He said the words in a sad tone, before pulling up a chair beside me.

Then Phineous jumped up to his feet, causing both Benny and I to turn and face him. As soon as we looked at him, a bright flash beamed into our eyes. "There, know we've got proof!" He turned his phone to show off the photo of Benny and I in front of the controller and midi.