Oh my gosh, it's been so long since I put anything on the Stories/Fan Fic board. I feel a long introduction before the prologue coming on, what about you guys?
First, credit is due to Liv909, for writing song lyrics for me. Mainly because I can't write songs for crap, and she was willing to take that load off of my hands and get it done, and those lyrics are WAY better than I could ever possibly make them, so a thank you goes to them.
Also, some thanks goes to ElizabethPrower, Hammer_Kirby, and once again Liv, for reading my rough draft of the Prologue and first chapter, both of which are EXTREMELY different now from back when I showed them in March. Trust me, just by reading the title of the story, they probably already know how much different it is now.
So, onto the actual story, this is completely original. It's not based on Animal Crossing or any other game/book/show/movie/etc. Some characters are based off people I know in real life (some on ACC as well, those that I am very close to,) but none are based off of any shows that you would watch on the television or internet, assuming you watch television on the computer.
I will try my absolute best to update every Friday, but you're really going to have to bear with me, I only just finished Chapter 3 on Sunday night because I have been busy with school and other events in my personal life. I figured putting it up now would be a good time to start, since summer is almost here, I'll have just a little more time on my hands than I did about two weeks ago.
Anyway, let me finish rambling, I hope you enjoy this story as much as I do writing it, and here to open up this story, is a prologue for you all. Just letting you guys know, chapters will be much longer than this, so bare that in mind.
Prologue
If there is one thing I think I love more than anything in the world, my job would not be number one on that list. I like what I do, but sometimes it can be a bit stressful and annoying.
My name is Jordan Everson, I am twenty four years old, and I am the morning radio DJ on the satellite radio station Contemporary Nation, which, according to my seventeen year old sister, is a stupid name for a radio show. Which, I personally disagree about, but I honestly could care less about it.
What I love so much about my job is that I get to listen to some great contemporary music, and I have interviewed tons of celebrities while I have had the job. However, I have also met a lot of celebrities because of my sister, Lyla.
Lyla Everson, if you don't know her yet, is my twenty two year old sister who has become a pop sensation in America, she's not quite as big outside America, however, but she's working on it. Her debut album, “Gold”, was released in late 2012 and became a huge success. Of course, I rarely ever get to see her because she's usually busy working, but I'm proud of her nonetheless. She's been working hard to become a singer and I know she's living out her dream. She's already working on her next album as we speak, so I also can't wait to see that get released.
As for my other younger sister, Ivy, as I mentioned she's seventeen years old, a junior in high school. She's definitely...something. Some words that come to mind when many people first meet her are harsh, rude, judgmental, impatient and arrogant. However, I will definitely say she's independent more than anything, and I actually do have a very close relationship with her, just like I do with Lyla. Which is a good thing, considering I just became her legal guardian.
I know what you may be wondering, what happened to our parents? They're alive and healthy! They moved to Arizona around the beginning of winter. They were tired of dealing with cold winters in New York, so they decided to move to the West Coast, Arizona to be exact. Ivy refused to move to Arizona with them, so my parents pretty much handed her over to me, to live with my girlfriend and I.
Speaking of my girlfriend, Rebecca, she's so great! She works as a hostess at a diner during the day at the moment, and she gets anything done around the house when I'm not able to. Unfortunately, sometimes our schedules conflict, and there are days where I don't really get to see her much. Of course, my sister, Ivy, doesn't seem to like her too much, which she constantly addresses, but she never really gives a full reason to why she doesn't like her, so I'm not too concerned about it.
Anyway, before I got off topic, I was talking about my job, right? I never really explained the things about my job that I don't enjoy.
I hate how isolated it can be when I'm in the studio. I am usually sitting in studio about five hours and unless I am interviewing somebody, I am pretty much all alone. I also hate waking up early. I have to be up by three thirty and out of the house by four. As you can guess, I drink a lot of coffee throughout the morning.
I also have to do a lot of research on what's going on in the world of entertainment. I also have to watch a lot of television shows, listen to a lot of music and go to a lot of concerts, which honestly is not a big deal for me, though sometimes I wouldn't mind skipping out on the concerts and relaxing at home watching television or better yet, sleeping.
I'm sure you are wondering when I have to time to eat and use the bathroom. Well, it's pretty simple, really. I eat before I go in studio, and I eat when I get out of the studio. As for the bathroom, considering the fact that we are a commercial free radio, I can't simply just go to the bathroom during breaks, but I can manage to go to the bathroom during songs, if I'm quick enough.
Many people say to me, “Wow, Jordan! You have such a great job, you only work in the morning and then you have the rest of the afternoon off!” That's where they are all wrong. Yes, I'm on air in the morning, but throughout the afternoon I'm either in the recording studio for on-air promos, usually just like: “thanks for listening to Contemporary Nation” or something along those lines. I could also be in a meeting, or on the internet keeping up with news. I do also spend a lot of time on social media as well.
Then there are always those people that assume that working on a radio station would be considered glamorous. I have a bit of a secret to tell you, it's not. Sure you get to meet some celebrities occasionally, but that doesn't make me famous at all. There are very few radio show presenters that are actually famous, and I'm not one of them. I don't make a lot of money, and I don't have people coming up to me asking for my autograph.
I also get complaints from a lot of friends saying they are tired of hearing a certain song constantly on the radio, and my response is, I actually don't control what music is being played. I'm just as tired of hearing some of the songs on heavy rotation every morning, but I don't control the music. That's the music director, Jon Stevenson's job here at “Contemporary Nation.” Blame him, not me!
So, yeah, my job is actually more stressful than most people think it is, but I really enjoy doing it every day. Though the salary isn't necessarily amazing, it's still enough to live in a decent house, in a decent neighborhood, and I still like my job. Well, I could live without having to work on those promos and I wouldn't mind skipping out on some meetings.
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this looks really good and i cant wait for the first chapter
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"Because I was "the smart one," I thought I was always right. I learned
"smart" and "wise" aren't always the same"-Vio, Four Swords Manga
BuZZyReCKy - dat butterknife... brings back so many memories.
Liv909 - Once again, another thanks goes out to helping write songs. I'm glad you enjoy doing it because it's a lot of help.
Roze909, Bbykat51, and yugioh20 - Thanks for reading so far, I hope you guys enjoy. Liv and Buzzy you guys can enjoy too...
So, Chapter 1 is going up about two hours earlier than I originally intended to, because why not? You guys deserve it. It doesn't really make any interesting progress until Chapter 3, the first two chapters are just really introducing Jordan and Lyla really, but enjoy those otherwise.
Chapter 1
“Good morning everyone and welcome to Contemporary Nation! Today is May 6th, 2013. Unfortunately, today is Monday and we're all back into the daily grind. However, I'll have you guys all covered on this beautiful, sunny, warm Monday morning. Let me just say I'm glad winter has been long over. We've got quite a morning ahead of us, some great songs, the question of the day, and Lyla Everson is actually going to be making a visit and play some music from her upcoming album, answer some questions and it's going to be good time!” Let's start of the morning with a song from Kelsey Axford called “Chasing The Stars.” I said swiftly, as I began to play the cheerful pop rock tune.
I was completely exhausted! I had stayed up all night trying to find enough information for the show this morning. I took a sip of coffee, trying to gain some energy for the radio show. I rubbed my eyes, hoping that they would feel less heavy and then proceeded to turn on my laptop so I could get on the internet and keep myself informed with any going-ons. I also needed to find some kind of question to ask everyone two hours from now for the question of the day. Despite the vast amount of research I had been doing last night, I was still feeling very unprepared for the day.
As soon as the song was almost finished, I quickly stopped what I was doing and moved over to the microphone to begin talking again.
“That was “Chasing The Stars” by Kelsey Axford. It was just released about a week ago, and I'm still wondering what you guys think of the song? Personally, I think it's pretty catchy, but I want to hear what you guys say. You can tell us on pretty much any social networking website at Contemporary Nation. Now here's The Guardian with 'Sunrise.'”
I looked around the studio to enjoy some of the views in the room. The wall behind me was covered in old vinyl records which was about a foot or so away from the brown table where myself and the rest of the equipment sat. The maroon walls and black carpet covered the entire studio. Across from the table was an open area with a couple of microphones. The area was prepared for when Lyla would be visiting. We even brought in a piano for her because everyone knew she was going to need it if she was going to be doing some live performances. On the right side of where I sat stood the door out of the recording studio, and a glass wall that allowed me to see what was going on in the hallway. The bathroom rested right across the hall of the studio as well, just in case nature calls.
After spending a short while enjoying my scenery, I quickly began looking through the internet before finding a very interesting story about Christina Leslie that I thought people would find interesting. As soon as the song was finished I got ready to speak about this story.
“Good morning everyone, this is Jordan Everson of Contemporary Nation, if you're just waking up, maybe going off to work or dropping your kids off to school. I think you guys would like to hear about this story I found about Christina Leslie. Apparently she did not show up to that court case she was supposed to go to for that hit-and-run a while back. I guess partying is much more important. Well, she managed to get away with it. I can't believe it! I doubt that would have happened if she wasn't a celebrity. Though I'm more surprised that she's still getting attention considering her career is going down the drains.” I let out a small laugh as I began playing some more music.
I was beginning to wake up and feel more comfortable now. I was starting to get ahead of the game. Finding a good question to ask the viewers this morning, and some more things to talk about throughout the morning. By the time eight o'clock rolled around, I figured it was a good time to start the question of the day.
“Alright, once again if your tuning in, good morning everyone. It's just about time to ask the question of the day, which is always the best part of the day in my opinion. So today the question is...” I paused for a moment as I looked back at the computer screen. “According to a new British survey, one in 12 parents admits to this. What is it? You can call our number at 866-545-5456, or answer on our Facebook or Twitter at Contemporary Nation. Now here's “Charlotte” by David Houston.” I broadcasted, going over to drink my cup of coffee.
The phone began to ring a short while after the song began. I didn't notice how many people were calling the number, but I was definitely getting a lot of calls I would have to answer. I picked up the phone, ready to hear what the viewers would say.
“Hello, nice to meet you! Who might I be talking to and where are you from?” I asked to the listener on the phone.
“Hi! Nice to meet you as well! My name is Carter and I'm from Vermont.” The viewer answered.
“Nice to meet you Carter!” I enthusiastically replied. “According to a new British survey, one in 12 parents admits to this. What is it?”
“Uh...is it giving allowance money?” The viewer asked reluctantly.
“Allowance money? It's a good guess...but I'm afraid it's also the wrong answer.” I responded back. “However, thanks for calling!”
“Dang! I was hoping I was right! Ah well, bye!”
The calls continued to keep pouring in. The responses had ranged from thinks such as bribing their children to things that I probably should not say.
“Welcome back, everyone, to our question of the day. So far, we did not get too much luck with the correct answer.” I said as soon as the song ended. “According to a new British survey, one in 12 parents admits to this. What is it? Who do we have here?”
“Hi, I'm Grace from Rhode Island!” The viewer chimed in.
“Nice to meet you, Grace! So...according to a new British survey, one in 12 parents admits to this. What is it?”
“I believe it is having a favorite child?” She replied anxiously.
“You are correct! One in twelve parents admit to having a favorite child! Makes me wonder if my parents have a favorite child.” I laughed.
“I have an only child, so technically I guess I can say I have a favorite child as well!” She retorted back to me.
“Technically, you do! Well, congratulations Grace, you were the first one to get it correct, and you win...bragging rights!”
“Well, thank you! Bye!” She exclaimed as she hung up the phone.
“Well, there you have it! That's the end of the question of the day. There will be another one tomorrow, as usual. While we wait for a visit from Lyla Everson, which will happen in about...an hour or so, why don't we listen to some music and you can listen to more of my voice, if that's okay with you...”
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Time eventually began to pass when my phone began to ring. I looked at my phone to see that Lyla was the one who was calling me. I immediately got the next song ready to play after the current one was finishing up before picking up the phone.
“Hey, Lyla! Are you here, already?” I questioned her.
“Yeah, I'm just outside, heading towards the front door right now. Where is the studio?”
“When you enter the building, the first door on the left will lead you to a hallway. I'll be right outside the recording studio waiting for you.”
I got out of my seat, walking outside the door, and into the hallway. The cream colored linoleum floor and white walls were different from most of the other rooms in the building. The lights in the hallway were so bright that they could blind a person. Eventually, Lyla opened the door, and her eyes widened when she saw my face.
“Jordan! It's nice to finally see you again!” Lyla bellowed, giving me a quick hug. She fixed her blue sundress, and swept her long brunette hair over her right shoulder. Her brown eyes began to gleam with excitement as soon as she noticed the piano sitting in the studio.
“It's nice to see you too, Lyla. How are you doing?”
“I'm doing fine. Except this one guy in that office made me a little uncomfortable, I think he said his name was Sebastian.” Lyla responded uneasily. “He was coming onto me and everything, it was kind of awkward.”
“Oh, that guy? Yeah he's pretty odd...I'm sorry.”
“No, it's fine, I don't mind...” Lyla retorted, she cleared her throat before continuing her train of thought. “Are we going to start with the questions or a song?”
“We're going to start with the song.” I said as I got back into my seat. Lyla quickly walked over towards the piano and quickly warmed up before it was time to get squared away.
It was now time for us to go back on the air.
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"Because I was "the smart one," I thought I was always right. I learned
"smart" and "wise" aren't always the same"-Vio, Four Swords Manga
This is good! I especially can't wait to see the song lyrics! I love to write songs! My friends say that they're awesome lyris, but I don't like them, personally. I always think that everything I write sucks, even if it doesn't always...
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poo
plz dont send me requests
BuZZyReCKy - Pfffft, getting actual prizes from radio stations, amirite? Everyone plays for pride nowadays, because that is totally the American way.
yugioh20 & Bbykat51 - Thanks for your comments, and I'm glad you guys continue reading.
kdpuppy - You should definitely show me some of your song lyrics. I'm sure Liv would love members of her Songwriting army, just as I'm sure you're a great writer!
Liv909 - I never got allowance money in my life, but I had no good ideas of wrong answers.
Anyway, thanks for your comments, everyone! Chapter two is here, and once again it's kind of a boring chapter, but I promise things will get better soon!
Also, you can download "The Storm" and "Laugh" on iTunes* as of right now, so totally check it out. Once again, thanks Liv909 for writing these two songs.
*I do not, in any way, shape or form have any songs that you can download on iTunes, or any other music website whatsoever.
Chapter 2
“Welcome back, everyone! We here at Contemporary Nation are pleased to present our special guest Lyla Everson! She is here to play some of her new songs from her upcoming album, and answer some of our questions,” I said with enthusiasm in my voice. “However, first she is going to start us off with her song, 'The Storm.'”
The sound of the ivory keys on the piano filled the studio. Lyla played the chords to the song with such boldness that it almost seemed like the room was shaking. Soon enough, the piano started to make a large decrescendo as her voice began to take over the studio.
“Was it your intention to Break me down and make me cry? Was it your goal to control a little girl's life? I'll have you know everything's okay. In the beginning it wasn't easy But I make it day by day. I bet that you're laughing now, Hoping I'm finally down for the count. But sorry to tell you buddy that's not how it worked out.
It was the storm of the century That came and swept me away. I drowned in my own tears But recovery won't take me years Cause I'm stronger And brighter And wiser, All thanks to you. I loved you and I hated you You made me strong, you made me weak. I'm a survivor I'm a victim But now I can finally speak. But now I can finally speak.
Was our love just an illusion? You fed me lies and confusion. Was everything we worked for Worthless in the end? I bet it was, I just didn't know it. I was shrouded in your web of lies. It took me a while but I realized You were filthy deep inside. I should have listened to the friends I lost That said you were no good. In my blind love, I threw them away but I should've thrown you instead. There is pure proof of what happens when you let love get to your head.
It was the storm of the century That came and swept me away. I drowned in my own tears But recovery won't take me years Cause I'm stronger And brighter And wiser, All thanks to you. I loved you and I hated you You made me strong, you made me weak. I'm a survivor I'm a victim But now I can finally speak. But now I can finally speak.
Now I'm stronger And brighter And wiser, All thanks to you.”
There was a brief pause before she went to the final chorus. As soon as the chorus began, she had gotten into her falsetto register to finish the song off.
“It was the storm of the century That came and swept me away. I drowned in my own tears But recovery won't take me years Cause I'm stronger And brighter And wiser, All thanks to you. I loved you and I hated you You made me strong, you made me weak. I'm a survivor I'm a victim But now I can finally speak. I can finally speak.”
“Well done, Lyla!” I clapped with glee. Lyla smiled as she got off the piano bench and sat at the table with me, getting herself situated and comfortable.
“Thank you so much! I haven't seen you in such a long time, so it's great to be here!” She smiled warmly.
“It's great to see you again, as well! So...moving onto the interview. First of all, a lot of people are going to want to know about your sophomore album. Why don't you tell us a bit about your upcoming album?”
“Well, the album will be available July 9th. The name of the album is With Love, and as you can guess, most of the songs on the album have to do with relationships in some way or another,” Lyla voiced, as she rested her elbows on the table.
“I find that to be pretty ironic, considering you've never had a boyfriend,” I teased as I gave a small chuckle, running my fingers through my dark brown hair.
“Well, maybe not, which is mainly why I got a lot of help when I was writing a lot of these songs. You unintentionally helped a lot when it came to writing 'The Storm,'” Lyla retorted. A giant, malicious grin grew on her face when she noticed how flustered I had become.
“Uh...moving on...” I coughed, as I looked back at my notes, trying to remember what I was going to ask her. “S-so, why don't you tell us about some of the other songs on the album?” I asked, attempting to change the topic as quickly as possibly could.
“Well, there are going to be fifteen songs on the album. As I said before, most of them are going to be about love or relationships in some way or another. However, most usually deal with the breakups, betrayal, mainly because I found those kind of songs a lot easier to write,” Lyla explained. “However, the messages weren't so much 'I miss you,' or 'I want you back,' but rather 'I'm glad you're gone, why didn't I think of leaving you sooner.'”
“I'm definitely looking forward to hearing those songs then, I can relate to that,” I said, as I slouched a bit in my chair. “So, why don't you name some of your favorite songs on the album of us.”
“Well, I do enjoy 'The Storm' a lot, but my favorite song would be 'With Love,' which is basically telling somebody that you don't love them the way they love you. It is a song I enjoy singing, and it was a lot of fun to write. I personally feel as though it is a song that says a lot about the type of person I am, and I'm sure that there are people out there that can relate to me as well.”
“If I remember correctly, there was talk that you did some collaborations on this album, I'm not sure if this is true or not, and I've been meaning to ask, so I need an answer,” I declared.
“Yes, it is indeed true,” Lyla exclaimed. “I've been working with my good friend Andrew Kirkland and his band, The Guardian, for my album. Andrew actually helped write a couple of songs with me, but the only song we actually collaborated on was a song called “Stay Awhile,” and it is a great song, I really enjoyed working on it. I also collaborated with Daniel Caruso for his upcoming alb-”
“Wait, you actually got to work with Daniel Caruso? Classical pop singer, sold over eighty million records worldwide? That Daniel Caruso?” I asked, cutting off Lyla halfway.
“Believe it or not, yeah,” Lyla responded in a calm and cool manner. “He is one of my biggest inspirations, and it was a huge honor to get to work with him. He's probably one of the nicest guys I've ever met,” she rambled gleefully.
The interview went on for about an hour or so. We conversed over her upcoming album, about when we were younger and about music in general. It wasn't soon until I was out of time and questions for the interview.
“Well, I am actually out of questions to ask you now. Why don't you close off with one more song for us?” I asked Lyla, while I was checking the time on my watch.
“Alright. Well, I figure I'll do another song for my next album! I'm going to do a song called 'Laugh,' one of the few songs that doesn't really have to do with relationships on the album. It's a song that I think a lot of people can relate to about learning from your mistakes and getting older. I wrote it back when I was graduating high school, when I realized I was getting older. I was no longer a child, and I thought that the song represented how I felt at the time.” Lyla said enthusiastically, walking over to the piano once again.
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She began playing the soft melody on the piano before she started to sing the lyrics:
“All those memories That have faded to the past Where did they go now And where are they all at? I can't explain All the little pieces But they shattered and now they're gone in the wind. Where did all the time go? Where did it go to? I don't understand how it moved so fast. I've grown up now but it's hard to move on It's hard to let go of something you've known for so long.
The past has gone it's over and done with Now we can move on but there's still something. My mind has nagged me for way too long To move on. But I can't. I've learned from the past but I'm still holding on to Something imaginary, something that's not there. I know in my heart it's there but I don't know where. I guess I can assume that it's nowhere.
I've learned from all my mistakes and all of the mishaps That have happened to me. It's all gone by so fast. It felt like days ago I was in that spot. Staring at you and I had just one shot. I screwed it up and you know it still haunts me. I can't forget it, it never will be gone. All that I can do is figure out how I got here.
The past has gone it's over and done with Now we can move on but there's still something. My mind has nagged me for way too long To move on. But I can't. I've learned from the past but I'm still holding on to Something imaginary, something that's not there. I know in my heart it's there but I don't know where. I guess I can assume that it's nowhere.
It's so hard to forget those embarrassing moments I got caught up in but things started closing In on me and I got overwhelmed. Started to panic and melt. Now I just look back at myself And laugh And laugh And laugh And laugh.
The past has gone it's over and done with Now we can move on but there's still something. My mind has nagged me for way too long To move on. But I can't. I've learned from the past but I'm still holding on to Something imaginary, something that's not there. I know in my heart it's there but I don't know where. I guess I can assume that it's nowhere.”
She repeated the final line multiple times before finishing off the performance with a G chord on the piano. Her shoulders began to relax as she began slouching on the bench.
“Wow! That was quite an impressive performance!” I exclaimed as she simply smiled back at me. “So, I would like to thank the lovely and talented sister of mine, Lyla Everson, to find time out of her busy schedule to make a visit. Her new album With Love comes out July 9th in North America. As for tours, Lyla, why don't you tell us about any upcoming tours?”
“Uh, there are no dates planned yet for my new album, I would assume that I would be doing shows between August and October though, but I'm not sure. However, I'm opening for The Guardian this Friday night up in Albany, New York, and on Saturday night in Boston, Massachusetts. Then I'm heading home, back to Los Angeles by Sunday. Seats have not been completely filled up yet either, so you can probably manage to get a last minute seat now.”
“I'm looking forward to it! It's going to be the first concert of yours I've been to in a while. The drive up is going to suck, though. If you are going to be in the area and you have nothing better to do, definitely consider it. If not, no worries! You can listen to the concert live for free on this channel for one night only. More details will be on our website if you're interested,” I explained, looking at my watch again. “Alright, I believe time is up here! Thanks for coming, Lyla, and I see Reese Askew outside, patiently waiting for us to finish up. Thanks for listening today, everyone. This is Jordan Everson signing off!”
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Just letting you guys know there will actually be no update tomorrow or next Friday. Mainly because I really want to get ahead on the story before putting more out, and also because school has been draining me out. I do need to prepare for final exams this week.
However, I should be updating a lot more this summer, most specifically in July and August. Thanks for being so patient!
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"Because I was "the smart one," I thought I was always right. I learned
"smart" and "wise" aren't always the same"-Vio, Four Swords Manga
Hey guys, I'm putting up chapter three a day late, my bad. However, I think this is actually a pretty good chapter. I did edit it a little bit, I cut out a part that I thought was unnecessary, and I wasn't too crazy about the dialogue as well. However, please enjoy. I will add some extra important notes at the end of the chapter.
Chapter 3
“So, how have things been since I last saw you?” I asked Lyla, walking down the narrow hallway with her.
Lyla took a deep breath, and looked back at me. “I've been fine!” She responded, giving me a strained smile that looked uncomfortable just to look at.
“I know you're lying,” I said, looking at her dead in the eye. “What's wrong?”
“I am extremely stressed out,” she moped. “My manager is putting a lot of pressure on me.”
“Well, that's the music industry for you!” I said, opening the doors to the office. I sat down in front of my desk, with my computer chair facing Lyla, who was leaning against the grey wall, to the right of the small window by my wooden desk.
“I knew it wasn't going to be easy, and I am thankful that my record company allows me to be myself at least. It's just that I'm put under so much pressure. It's honestly starting to take a toll on me. I barely get any sleep, I'm always hungry, because I have to worry so much about my weight. Since I have to worry about my image, I always have to look “attractive” or “sexy,” but I don't like being “sexy” because that's not who I am. Even when I'm not working, I very rarely get time to myself. I really need a vacation,” Lyla sighed, taking another deep breath. “Don't get me wrong, I love what I'm doing, I could never imagine myself doing anything else. I just wish it wasn't so stressful sometimes. It always gets like this around the time I'm releasing an album.”
“I understand,” I commented. My feet were sliding across the black rug. “So, how big is that target on your back?” I asked, jokingly.
“Don't get me started on how competitive it is! My manager is always worried about sales, he's afraid that this album won't do as well as the last one did.”
“Don't worry about it, your album is getting a lot of promotion already, and it's not even going to be out until July. It should receive at least moderate success,” I responded. “So, what kind of promotion are you going to do outside of America?”
“If I had a nickle for every time I'm asked that,” she joked, and she took a pause. “I would love to do stuff outside of America, but the topic hasn't even come up with my manager. Considering this album is only being released in this continent, things aren't looking too good.”
“Why doesn't he want to do any promoting outside of America? It would really help out your career!”
“I don't think it's necessarily he doesn't want to. I think it's just that he wants to wait, I guess? I don't know, personally I think it's kind of stupid, too. We were making good progress last year, but then all of a sudden, he just kind of...gave up,” Lyla sighed. “Well, enough about me. How have you been doing lately?”
“I've been alright, I guess,” I responded, fiddling around with the pen on my desk. “I wish I didn't have to wake up at three or four in the morning,” I sighed.
“Same here!” Lyla responded, she let out a giggle as she sat down in a wooden chair next to me.
“I guess I don't really have that many problems. I wish I could spend more time with my girlfriend every once in a while, though,”
“You moved into a new house too, right?”
“Yeah, I live in a pretty nice neighborhood, and I'm closer to the radio station than I was when I lived in the apartment building. The house needs to be fixed up, though. If I had the money, then I would give the house the makeover it needs, but I'm afraid I don't.”
“You know if you need the money so bad, I can give you some right now, and–“
“No,” I interrupted. “I don't need your money, Lyla. I'm twenty-four years old, I can take care of myself.”
“Alright, fine! You're right,” Lyla sighed, as she picked up her purse. “Anyway, I'm going to go and get something to eat, I don't want to be a distraction or anything. So, I'll see you at home.”
“Alright, see you later,” I said to my sister, as she walked out the door.
Before I could get started on other jobs to get done around the office, my friend Mason walked over to my desk to chat with me. I looked up at Mason, who fixed his red baseball cap and leaned against my desk. He had somewhat pale skin, and a full dirty blonde beard. Mason was tall, about a whole head taller than myself, and was somewhat muscular.
“So, Jordan, are you ready for that meeting this afternoon? I hear the big guy has a bit of a temper today,” he whispered to me.
“Why? What's going on this time?” I asked, curious to find out what was going on.
“I'm not entirely sure, I just heard it from Genevieve a couple of hours ago that he was angry about something. I hope it's not something I did.” Mason replied, putting his hand in his pocket.
“Why? Did you do anything recently that would get you into trouble?”
“Well...no, but still, the dude will give me crap for every little thing I do.”
“Yeah, well...he does that to pretty much everyone, so it's not like you're alone,” I responded, as I looked at my computer. “What do you think he'll say at the meeting?”
“Probably what he does every meeting, complain that we aren't working as a team, or something like that,” Mason responded, dryly. “Well, I guess I should actually get to work now, see at the meeting.”
“Alright, see you then, Mason!” I retorted, finally being able to get a little bit of work done before the meeting.
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It wasn't long after when the clock struck noon, and all of the staff headed to the conference room. The room was quaint, but somewhat comfortable. The walls were brown and white, and the carpet on the floor was black. The dark brown wood table sat in the middle of the room, with computer chairs standing beside it. By the glass door was an artificial oak tree that stood tall and made the room less timid. There was a projector screen on the other side of the room, which had the opening slide from the manager's powerpoint. The words “Contemporary Nation – Current Situation” laid across the screen. The lights were off, and almost everyone was sitting down in a chair, with the exception of the few who were unable to snatch a seat from the crowd of employees who were struggling with that “Monday daze” as I like to call it.
The manager stood in the front of the room, with a stern look on his face. He was a tall, forty-something year old man dressed in khakis, a blue button up shirt, and loafers. He was neither bulky nor slender, but had broad arms and shoulders. His had light brown hair, and wrinkles on his forehead. He glanced across the crowd of tired, casually dressed workers, who feared what wrath awaited them in this office.
“I'm glad to see you all chose to make it here today,” he said in a gruff voice. We responded with “hellos” and “good afternoons” with slight hesitation, as if everything we say or do would cause the man to hand us a pink slip.
“I'm sure you have all heard today that I am disappointed right now,” the man said, with an exasperated tone. “We're beginning to lose viewers to other stations slowly, but surely. I would like to take a few minutes to point some of these things out.”
I glanced over at Mason, who sat across close to the manager. His hands were folded and pressed against his forehead, and his red baseball cap covered most of his face. The manager looked over at Mason, and began to speak up. “Mason! How many times do I have to tell you that we are in a meeting, not a Yankees game! Take off the cap!”
“Yes, sir. Sorry, sir!” Mason responded, frantically taking the cap off, and putting it under the chair.
“Anyway, first I would like to bring up our office staff, most specifically the sales department,” the manager stated. “I have a question for you guys, do you know how to freaking sell radio? Because I'm starting to believe you don't.”
The room was completely silent for a couple of seconds, before Genevieve, the general sales manager spoke up. “Sir, I think you're misunderstood. The staff has been doing perfectly fine recently. After all, we've managed to book numerous interviews for the radio show. We managed to get Lyla Everson to come on today, and she usually is unable to appear due to her busy schedule.”
“You realize that the main reason she actually showed up is because of Jordan. He's managed to get more celebrities on the show than the staff has.”
Wow, the meeting only just began and the only person who is getting compliments is me, I feel as thought I'm in some kind of dream. Butterflies began to roar in my stomach, and I felt as if I was about to jump out of my seat and explode at any moment. However, at the same time, I also felt a feeling of guilt in my chest. As if it was my fault that the sales staff was in so much trouble.
“But sir, I don't think it's fair to give Jordan the credit,” Genevieve continued. That's when I felt as though my face had been smashed with a hammer. “Sure, he did manage to get Lyla on the show once, but only her. He may have more connections than all of us in the sales staff, but he hasn't booked that many interviews for the show. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but Jordan hasn't booked stars Chris Moore, Melissa Samson or The Guardian, who are famous worldwide, last time I've checked, Lyla only charted outside in the United States and Canada.”
“Genevieve, I'm afraid you forgot the main component of your argument, the rest of the staff. Sure, you've managed to get some big names in our studio, but what about the rest of the staff? You need to coach the staff, rather than stealing all of the thunder. Last time I checked, it's about working as a team, and there's no 'I' in 'team.' I expect you to have a separate meeting with the staff tomorrow, or I'll just have to consider replace you with someone else.”
“Y-yes, sir,” Genevieve stuttered, she sat back down, her confidence completely shattered.
“Alright, I think we've wasted enough time on that, I would hate to embarrass any other members of the sales staff today.” He paused to take a breath, before segueing onto the next topic. “My directors, I would like to address some issues of yours. Let's start with the music director, Mr. Stevenson.”
The music director, Jon, sat next to me, his eyes widened as he sat up in his seat.
“Jon, I believe that now's about to time to increase our station's music library. You haven't put any new songs on the station in the past three weeks. We should have one or two new songs every week at least, otherwise, less people will listen! Also, is it too much to ask for a little more variety?”
“Sir, how much variety can you possibly expect from a pop radio station?” Jon protested.
“It's not just a pop station, it's adult contemporary. Adult contemporary includes country music, as well as alternative and indie rock. So, you better plan on putting some more variety in the mix soon, or we may just lose more viewers that way. Now movi–”
The manager was interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing. The loud ringtone silenced the room, and it didn't phase me that it was my phone until everyone began to stare at me.
“Oh my gosh, sir. I'm so sorry!” I looked at phone to see who was calling to see my youngest sister, Ivy was calling. “Do you mind if I take this, it's my little sister Ivy so it might be an emergency!” I uttered, embarrassingly.
“Fine...” the boss said, with a look of disappointment on his face. “You have five minutes.”
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I quickly ran out the door, and went into the narrow hallway by the conference room. I rapidly answered the phone. “This better be good, Ivy, I'm in the middle of a meeting right now.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa now. First of all, why aren't you silencing your cell-phone while you're working? Don't you think you should set you're priorities straight or something?” Ivy responded in a sarcastic manner. “And second of all, I'm outside with my friend Amy right now, and I just wanted to inform you that our school got a bomb threat.” Ivy continued casually.
“Hold up now, Ivy. A bomb threat? Is everyone alright there?”
“I said bomb threat, not bombing. Don't you have ears? Of course everyone is alright!”
“Then why are you calling me there's no problem?”
“We were wondering if you could pick us up. It's not looking very likely that they'll let us back in the building by the time school is out, anyway. We're just sitting outside on a nice day, watching all the stupid freshmen toss a beach ball around. Also, you're on speaker phone, so Katie is in the conversation, too!”
“Alright, now it just sounds like you're bragging to me right now, because I'm in an office, listening to my annoying sixteen year old sister talk about sitting outside on a nice day.”
“First of all, I'm seventeen years old, not sixteen, get it right! Second of all, you didn't even say hi to Katie, she's in this conversation too, you know. Third of all, I said you need to pick us up now! I want to go home.”
“I'm not picking you guys up, I'm working right now, and I'm running out of time to talk to you guys. I have a meeting right now, and I only have five minutes to talk to you guys. Also, hello Katie, nice to meet you.”
“Hi, Jordan!” Katie retorted, giddily.
“Also Jordan, do you think you could help me study for AP Music Theory tonight? It's the only AP exam I'm worried I won't get a five on. I blame mom for making me take the course in the first place as well, because it's pure torture.” Ivy continued.
“No! Why don't you ask Lyla instead of bothering me about it? I don't know crap about Music Theory, they didn't even offer that class to me when I was a junior in high school.”
“Ugh, fine. Goodbye,” Ivy moaned, hanging up the phone.
I quickly turned my phone off, putting it in my pocket as I ran back into the conference room. I was able to sit back down in my seat.
“Jordan, just in time! I was about to talk about the morning show.” The manager commented slowly.
“Uh...yes sir?” I asked, sitting back in my seat with fear.
“I believe your show is lacking originality, lately. The question of the day for instance is starting to get old, and plenty of other stations do the same thing, as well.”
“Well, yeah, it's a simple and great way to get people involved. A lot of people like the question of the day!” I argued in a positive and informative tone.
“Well, I don't like it. It's unoriginal and the questions are starting to get way too easy and predictable. I think it's about time you had some new games and segments to the show. It'll attract more viewers to tune into the channel as well. I expect all of these segments prepared for next week.”
“Uh...yes sir,” I hesitated, I was ready for him to let the wave of harsh criticism come down on me like an anvil.
“Also, for the concert on Friday with Lyla Everson and The Guardian, Reese Askew will be helping you with live recording. She's had more experience with live concerts and will be a useful asset of your's.”
“Alright, thanks sir...”
“Also, one last thing before I dismiss you all, can you please stop calling me 'sir?' I know I'm old, but I'm not that old. I have a name you know! Would it hurt for you guys to use my name? My name is Nathaniel for god's sake! We work at a radio station, not a corporate business! I thought I you all knew this!” Nathaniel announced as everyone who was sitting began to get out of their seats. “Alright, everyone! Hopefully I don't have to criticize you all next week, things better start turning around. Especially to those of you in the sales department.
I got out of my seat, with a feeling of relief, but also with curiosity. What kind of segment would improve the number of listeners, and how come I didn't know my boss's name was Nathaniel until now? Maybe I just never paid attention when he said his name, or maybe I was so nervous I completely forgot his name. However, before I really had a chance to escape the conference room, Nathaniel put his hand on my shoulder and stopped me.
“I need to talk to you for a second in my office,” he said. “I'll see you there.”
He walked out of the room, and I stood still, worried about what he was going to possibly say to me. I scratched the back of my head, as I headed to Nathaniel's office.
Alrighty, guys, I got a couple of "announcements" I guess you could say.
1) Chapter four should be up on Friday, however, I will not be able to update at all between June 30th-July 10th, and possibly a couple days after July 10th, I'll be on vacation and unable to write. So basically, the fifth chapter will be up when it's done.
2) From here on out, I'll have a "question of the week." At the end of the chapter, I'll have a question that somewhat has to do with what's going on in the story. I mainly want to do this so that you guys can kind of get involved and all that fun stuff.
This weeks question: Nathaniel states, “It's not just a pop station, it's adult contemporary. Adult contemporary includes country music, as well as alternative and indie rock." Based on that description, does Contemporary Nation sound like a radio station you would listen to? This is assuming you guys still listen to the radio.
3) Computerfan has a new fanfic/fiction competition, and he really needs entrants. If you are writing something, you should enter. Here is the link to the competition. It's a lot of fun, and it's a great way to meet new people and improve your writing. If you're saying, "oh, I won't enter because I know I won't win," just know that the competition is not about winning at all. It's a competition that basically celebrates writing in general. I'll be entering, and you should too. If you aren't a writer, you should be an avid follower, because Computerfan will need voters that aren't just the contestants and the judges.
So that's all the stuff I mentioned, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.
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Posted:
5/17/2013 5:56pm
Edited: 2
Nonetheless, fantastic job!
