Bloom- Billie Eilish

Chapter 2

I made my way through L.A.X., careful to pay attention to my surroundings because I had the tendency to get lost, and now, the tendency to run into strangers. I emerged through the airport doors with a sigh of relief. It was a sunny 82 degrees and clearly a great day to wander the city and check out job options. I caught an Uber to the hotel I had booked and gently tapped my leg to the beat of the music playing on the radio. The song had a pretty cool vibe to it, and I had heard it before, so I knew the rhythm. We eventually got the hotel after about thirty minutes of stop-and-go traffic. I checked in at the front desk and headed to my room, dropping my suitcases on the bed and opening up my phone to find the nearest record labels. Epitaph Records was only a few blocks from the hotel I was staying at, so I grabbed my phone and purse and headed out.

After a brief walk I came to the building that held Epitaph Records offices. I noticed the sign on the window that said "now hiring", took a deep breath, and pulled myself into the building. I made my way to the front desk and saw a very stressed man answering phone calls and throwing people on hold.

I cleared my throat. "Hi, I was wondering if I could apply for a position as a receptionist."

The man looked up, a little frazzled. "What's your work history? Have you been a receptionist before?"

"Umm yes. I've worked at a Dentist's office as a receptionist."

"Okay great, you're hired. Can you start like, now?" He asked, a bit of pleading in his voice.

"Actually, yeah."

"Awesome, our receptionist just walked out on us yesterday and I'm swamped with phone calls about a music festival being cancelled. What's your name?"

"Jade Holloway." I went around to the other side of the desk and took a seat at the unoccupied computer.

"Well, Jade, I'm Mike Miller. You're gonna be answering calls and telling people that they will receive a full refund of their tickets in the mail within a month. They're gonna be pissed, just a warning. We can discuss details of the job later, but for right now, I need help calming the hoard of mad music fans." And for the next six hours, I answered the phone over and over again, telling people that they would get their money back soon.

I sighed in relief when Mike told me I was done for the day. We exchanged numbers and he told me he would text me the next day to set up a time to fill out paperwork and officially be trained. I left the office, walked back to my hotel, and flopped on my bed, quickly falling asleep from the jetlag and unexpected work day.

I woke up at about 10 am the next morning, still wearing my clothes from the day before. I sighed and got up, going through my suitcase to pick out what to wear for the day. I settled on some cut off shorts, a Blackbear tee shirt, neon green and pink pumas, and a silver chain for my belt loop. I peeled the sweaty jeans off of my body and slipped into some new clothes, pulling my hair out of the buns and leaving it in the wavy pattern that stopped at my shoulders. Satisfied with my look, I grabbed my purse, journal, and phone, and sought out to find a local coffee shop.

Moments later, I spotted Lunar Coffee and Pastries and went in to order. But as I, once again, was not paying attention to where I was going, I ran into someone. They spilled their iced coffee down the front of my shirt.

"Oh shit, fuck, I'm so sorry I should've been paying attention." A familiar voice said. I looked up and saw the same girl I had bumped into at the airport.

"Man, we really have to stop meeting like this." I let out a giggle, seeing Billie look up in shock as she realized who I was.

"Dude! Jade! The fuck are you doing here?" She laughed, clearly amused at our second confrontation.