Brandon's POV
My phone rang me up, I must have dozed off…
My feelings must have exhausted me to sleep
I yanked up and reached for the vibrating metal on my bed—picked it up and it was Pete.
"We got the gig!" goes the voice from the phone. He was screaming! I struggled to get a grip on my sleepy self to understand what he was saying amidst all the screaming.
He was obviously not alone.
Hey man! Another voice cuts in from the phone. I immediately recognized the voice, his weird accent betrayed him.
"Oliver," I called out.
"Yeah, man! We are going big, I told you we was going to get this shit, man.
Now fully awake, I breathed in and out, continuously wiping my face. I stood up from the bed and walked to a corner of the room, my back resting against the wall.
Hey guys, what gig are we exactly talking about? I asked precisely, just to be sure.
Are you kidding me, man!"
The Soundforge festival Man!
"We' gon' playing that shit motherfucker!" Oliver screamed at the top of his voice.
I was stunned, my face flushed in disbelief,
My right hand is running through my hair continuously at a fast pace and then rubbing my neck
It was so unbelievable.
This was the gig we'd chased our whole lives. The SoundForge Festival—held every two years in London—was "THE" event in the fashion world. But this year was different. Bigger. Bolder. A once-in-a-lifetime fusion of music and fashion, themed: Laced in Lyrics.
Legends from both industries handpicked the performers. And now… I was one of them.
I'd be playing on the grandest stage Lakeside had ever seen. The world would hear us—hear me.
A chill ran down my spine.
How was this real?
It's almost like a dream.
Peter put an end to my misery with an answer to my question. I must have voiced my thoughts out loud.
"Mr Pat called during practice." "Thought you agreed to stay" Jason's voice brushed in.
I was going to. But I didn't
Cassey's tantrums threw me off, and seeing Chloe reminded me of the woman Dad was cheating with.
So I left, but ironically, I came back exactly to what I was running away from. This time even more troubling.
He said he secured a spot for us. Pete continued. "Not for the main show though, but we top five for the auditions. Do you know what that means!
It's almost like we've got the gig!
"Ok, now it makes sense. We are yet to secure the gig, but our chances of getting it are locked in."
Yeah that's the same thing I said, Pete answered
Nice one guys. We are in it to win it! I screamed at the top of my lungs to get them gingered.
Oh, they really were before I ended the call.
It wasn't a complete win but I was totally excited. Filled with joy.
I was immediately in need of a swim so I took my clothes off and changed into my swimsuit.
The whole house was quiet when I went down. I was happy about it. I didn't want to run into anybody, not now that I was in such a bright mood.
I didn't want to see anything or anyone that may give me bad vibes.
Swimming was one of my favorite things. I had my first swimming lessons when I was 5, and by the time I was eight, I was already a badass.
My school at that time usually scheduled swimming classes for its best pupils on the swimming team with the best teams from other schools.
It was one of my joyful moments, I was a very happy child. Swimming wasn't hard anymore as it was at first when I started.
At ten I was a pro. Or I thought I was. This one time we had these lessons with another school. Our coach decided to make things exciting and paired us up with the students from the other school, one-to-one.
I was paired with this brown—haired girl. She was literally a fish in human form. A mermaid of some kind. She swam like a cheetah on land. I tried my best to keep up.
I was so close when she made it to the finish line.
She was indeed the type of Pro I wanted to be. Ever since that day, I looked forward to swimming lessons, just to see her.
She had long hair. and beautiful eyes. And a cute black mole just at the back of her neck.
I always picked her whenever we got paired. And she always picked me as well. We became very good friends. She was always smiling. And I was very happy every time I saw her.
I guess it's safe to say that she was my first love.
But too bad her school stopped coming, and I never saw her again, I was young and sad, had no courage to ask or contacts to reach out
Now I'm only left with a memory, always reminded of her when I swim. Just like now. Her memory came clouding my mind.
Maybe if the stars align, I may meet her again and maybe rekindle our long-lost love
I felt a flash of guilt within me as the thought of Cassy crept in. But I brushed it off and climbed out of the swimming pool.
I felt so alive, filled with positivity, I promised myself to think of one thing alone which was the gig my band must grab.
But then another thought came, how Chloe looked at me through her window. I suddenly burned with the urge to look up at her window.
What if she's looking, that would make it a third. I tried to brush it off.
Too late.
I looked.
She was there. Our eyes met again.
She couldn't even prove me wrong, I tried to look pissed and squeezed my face tightly to show my dislike
But for some reason, my feelings were betraying the looks I was working so hard on.