Chances

Chapter 1

"Thank you so much! I will see you all soon." The people in the crowd are cheering. I feel a rush of excitement, walking down those deep stairs. My feet wander into the tiny room behind the stage and I feel my body sliding into the blue chair. I look in the mirror and see my tired eyes, staring into something that feels empty. "Oh, how I wished it was different" I mumble to myself. The empty feeling in the room is making my body release a bit of the tension. My hands reach out to my phone. "10 missed calls from Tanya" I shrug as I dial her number. After one beep I hear the familiar voice of my manager. "Where have you been? I tried calling you before the show!" she asks in a slightly annoyed tone. "I'm sorry. I was busy going through the songs." I mildly reply. "For 4 hours? Honestly Anna, where are you? You haven't been yourself for a while now, and I'm really worried about you" My hand grip tightly around the hem of my jacket. "I'm just not. Ready." I say. "Well, John will pick you up in 10 minutes and I expect you to try your best. For me? Please?" My finger wraps around a loose string coming from my jacket. "Okay" I reply. "Good, get prepared" she says and hangs up. The second after our conversation, the string from my jacket comes loose.

I never knew what the life of a travelling musician would be like. When I was younger, I would try and imagine it and my body would experience a feeling of excitement. The day my manager decided to help me, was the day I got hope. I believed in something big, but the dreams were foggy, and without my manager I wouldn't be able to see what was behind that fog.

My head is leaning towards the car window. The bright flashing lights from the lamps and the passing cars are making me feel numb. Moments pass and we reach our destination. John turns around and looks at me. "Here we are, Miss Lore. Alton hotel" "Thank you, John." I reply. The car door opens up and I walk out. I see a relieved Tanya standing next to the hotel. She walks towards me. "There you are! I am so happy to see you." she says and reaches out for a big hug. I hug her, then reach for one of my bags and walk with her to the hotel lobby. "We have a few shows coming up, which I hope you can prepare for. Then we also have an interview in two days." I slowly feel myself loosing my focus from Tanya and looking around the lobby. I catch a glance of a man. He turns around and we meet eyes. His eyes are a shade of deep green, his hair is blonde and slightly swept to the side. Suddenly my body feels a touch by a hand. "Are you even listening?" "Oh, sorry. I was." I look at Tanya and back at the man. He has already turned around. "Admiring the plants in the hotel. They seem to be taken care of very well." I smile at Tanya. "Well." she looks around. "They would be, if they were real." She laughs giving me the room card. "Here is your card, your things will be brought up to your room. I have already ordered room service for tonight. You only have to take the elevator the the 10th floor. Do you want me to help you to your room?" She asks. "Oh, no it's fine. I manage" I grab the card and go to the elevator. The door opens up and I walk in. The door proceeds to close and I look at the numbers on the wall. My finger slides on the number 10 and I push it. A few minutes pass and the door opens again. My legs feel weak as I walk towards my room number. 1050. I slide my card and watch as the light turns green and the door opens. The room is big. Almost too big. My eyes scan the room. It's clean and has a smell of vanilla. My feet long towards the bed and when I feel the bedside, I feel my body letting go and laying down.

If things could change, I think to myself. The thought wanders away from my mind and my eyes slowly close.