Page 4 of Nothing Like the Movies

And it had been thebestdecision.

I hadn’t known what to expect from a successful producer—I’d kind of assumed she’d be an asshole, to be honest—but she was the opposite. She was this incredibly successful woman who seemed to want to share—with me!—everything that she knew.

She took me to lunch at a sushi place at the Grove, and she asked me about my goals. And when I told her, she pulled a pen out of her handbag and started mapping—on a napkin—how best she thought I could achieve them.

And her insight was everything.

Becausemyplan had been to get my BA in Music Industry with a Music Supervision concentration, and then… pray for a job somewhere in music supervision.

But Lilith turned me on to the idea of getting a job in music licensing as a first step.

In licensing, you’ll work with music, but you’ll also work with film and TV. You’ll be earning a salary—very important, that whole money thing—while creating these valuable relationships that will ultimately be the key to getting the job youreallywant.

Then she went on to list a handful of my idols who’d apparently gottentheirstarts in licensing.

And it made so much sense.

Music supervisors worked with licensing on a daily basis, so how better to get my foot in the door? Now, in addition to the courses required for my degree, I was loading up on everything licensing-related and tacking on a licensing certification.

It truly felt like a road map to my dreams.

I’m smiling again,I realized as I stopped at the corner to wait on the light.

I was smiling like a damn fool, jogging in place, but it was impossible not to.

Because this year was about to beeverything.

Honestly, I was still beaming like a middle schooler in love when I walked into my first class.

“Are you kidding me right now, Buxbaum?”

I grinned even bigger as I headed for the front of Horace’s classroom. “What?”

“What?” Horace Hanks, music professor and my all-time favorite teacher, gestured in my direction. “It’s the first day of class and you don’t even bring a notebook? A backpack? A pencil? I’m insulted by your lack of school supplies.”

“Come on, Hor,” I said, sitting down at the same desk I’d frequented for all four of his classes I’d previously taken. “You and I both know that you don’t just teach—you perform. I’ve learned that the best way to capture your… um, brilliance is to record your class and just rewatch before exams.”

“I don’t hate the sound of that,” he said, scratching his bald head. “But my feelings are still bruised by the disrespect.”

“My apologies,” I said, pulling out my phone to make sure it was silenced.

Horace lost his mind when a phone went off.

I hit record when class (Psychology and Music Management) began, and the man did not disappoint. He’d always reminded me of that drama teacher onVictorious(which was probably why I liked him so much), teaching in a wildly unorthodox manner that was equal parts hilarious and embarrassing.

One time he’d sung an entire lecture. In falsetto.

His methods were bonkers, but somehow they worked. I always learned so much from him.

My next class was in the same building (though less entertaining and more boring), and after that, I headed to Morgan for my first official internship meeting. I was nervous, even though Lilith had been super nice the times we’d met, because she was so amazing that I didn’t want her to see how amazing Iwasn’t.

I approached her office, where I could see her working at her computer, and I knocked on the open door. “Knock, knock.”

She looked up and smiled. “Come in and sit, Liz.”

God, the woman was cool. She had a blond bob, with razor-sharp ends so crisp, it looked like she’d just left the salon. She was wearing a navy blazer over a white button-down shirt with the collar flipped up, ripped jeans, and a pair of tall red pumps. She had that pulled-together LA look about her, like she was ready to do a photo shoot forVoguecalledBusiness-Casual Chic.

I took a seat in one of her guest chairs and said, “So how’s it going?”

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