Page 10 of Got to be You

“I just don’t know who the number belongs to. It isn’t this area code,” I reply. “I don’t know.”

“It might be someone in the music biz now that you’re all famous.” He laughs. “You'd better get it.”

I wait until he exits the room and hit the answer button, speaking nervously as I say, “Hello?”

“Hey, is this Jax Thom?” comes a very sunny, upbeat reply. “My name is Will Menzi. I’m calling you from my talent agency. I’ve been hearing a lot about you and your talents. You’ve been playing around lots, yes?” He continues talking, not letting me answer him. “You’re getting noticed a lot.”

“I… I am?” I answer numbly. I don’t know what the hell this is. I don’t even know if it’s real. “I see.”

“Yes, that’s right, and I want to speak to you because I would love to sign you before anyone else snaps you up.” He laughs loudly. “I’ll do you a good deal. I’m not going to screw you over or anything.”

“Er.” I don’t know what to say. He has me completely baffled. “You’re a music agent?”

“Right, and I’m one who wants to sign you, if that’s something you’re interested in?”

“I am, but I’m still in college at the moment. I don’t know if that’s going to be a problem.”

He pauses for a second. “Not a problem. That’s something we can sort out when you come here. I was actually hoping that you would come here today to hear my plans for you.”

Is this for real?I’m a little skeptical to say the least, but I don’t want to turn my back on this opportunity if it turns out to be my dream come true. I might be naive to all of this right now, but I could just try and find out, right? I would be dumb not to at least hear this guy and his plans out.

“Sure, I can come today.” I gulp back the nervous ball of emotion. “Can I have the address and a time?”

He reels off what I need to know and honestly sounds excited to see me, which is crazy. I knew that things were going well for me ever since that musical talent contest win, but I didn’t know it was going to go this far. I didn’t know I would get signed or see interest from a potential agent.

But what am I going to do if this all works out for me? What will I do if this guy wants to sign me and make me famous? I still want to finish college for my father, but I don’t want to lose out on my dream either. By the time I hang up the phone, I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I’ll find out.

Wow, this really is legit. More legit than I was expecting. When I told Adam about this, he told me to be careful in case it’s some sort of scam, but now that I’m here I can tell that it isn’t. This place is fancy as hell, too nice, one that I probably wouldn’t have even dared to approach if they hadn’t come to me first… but here I am. I’m in the waiting room, paused and poised until Will comes out for me.

“Ah, Jax, here you are.” A guy in a fancy ass suit comes out to get me. He just screams success and money, which gives me a little bit of hope. That’s a sign that he’s going to be good for me… if he decides that he wants me after all of this, I suppose. “It’s good to see you. Please, come into my office.”

Nerves kick in big-time as I follow into the office and take the seat that he offers me. I don’t know if I feel incredibly welcome here or if I’m on edge because I’m uncomfortable. God knows.

“So, I’m glad to have you here,” Will starts. “I’ve been following you ever since I first heard about you, and I’m impressed. Right now, I’m in the middle of putting a rock band together which Iknowwill interest Hollywood, and I want you to be the frontman of it. Singer, lead guitarist, all of that.”

“A band?” Oh, wow… now I’m really blown away. “I haven’t played with a band since high school.”

“Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it, does it?” Will smiles widely at me. “Your voice and guitar skills will work out perfectly. Of course, before you have to sign anything, I want you to play with the band to see if the talent translates and the chemistry is there. We’ll need to be sure.”

“Yes, of course.” I nod eagerly. I do want to check that this is all going to work out before I put pen to paper with anything. Although there’s a small part of me that’s very eager to sign whatever the hell he puts in front of me because I’m so keen to be a part of whatever Will is offering me. “That sounds great.”

“Okay, good.” Will looks pleased. It makes me smile like I’ve pleased the teacher. I’m acting like a fool because I’m so eager for my future. “Then I’ll get that sorted out for you. I’ll speak to the other guys to see when I can get them all together, but I think this will work out well. I have a good feeling.”

He leans back to make some calls, and I suddenly realize that he’s putting this together right now. He’s calling the guys who might go on to become my band members in the future if I go with this. And Ireallywant to go with this, no matter what it means. Even if it means that I need to give up college and disappoint my father. Right now, I’m more than willing to take his wrath to move forward with this.

Playing music makes me happy. That’s the part of my life at the moment which makes me smile. The college work is the part that I have to do. It’s a chore that I need to complete rather than something fun. It wouldn’t be the biggest thing in the world right now to give it all up for my future.

I let my mind wander, I fall into my dream, and I forget about all the reasons I should stay at college for a backup. I mean, I’m not going to need a backup at this rate, am I? It’s really freaking hard to keep my cool on the outside when I’m literally freaking out on the inside. Like a kid at Christmas.

“Right, well if it works for you, I can get the guys together on Friday afternoon for a run-through.”

“Friday?” My head spins. This is all happening so fast, but at the same time, not quick enough. How will I be prepared by Friday? But how will I wait for so long as well? It feels impossible. “Yes, I would like that.”

“Great, and then things can keep moving from there.” He nods in my direction, looking extremely happy with me. “We are going to have a good future ahead of us. I can see us working well together.”

God, right now, I feel the same way as well. I don’t know what it is, but I get a good vibe from Will. I don’t think this is all bullshit. I really do hope that this isn’t me being naive, but I feel like Will is going to be good for me. He seems to see something in me that I want to be seen.

“I hope so.” I rise as he does and shake his hand. He has a firm grip, which I try to match because I want him to see that I’m on a level with him. “I’m looking forward to seeing you again on Friday.”

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