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Don't Tell Me Twice: Chapter Eight

First Impressions

By Nicole Higginbotham-HoguePublished 2 years ago 7 min read
1
Don't Tell Me Twice: Chapter Eight
Photo by Ben Collins on Unsplash

Ziggy walked into the glamorous studio, eyeing the gorgeous designer furniture and coffee station. The whole room was highlighted with window walls that looked out into a city filled with sunshine and palm trees, and the woman behind the reception desk were dressed nothing less than professionally.

“Come on, Ziggy,” Ralph called, waving her behind the front desk.

Ziggy followed Ralph, Spike, and Jemma to the back of the studio where a high-tech sound booth stood along the back wall. In front of the booth was a skinny man, fooling around with the sound control board. The man stood up to shake her hand.

“I’m Dave,” he replied. “The producer. Sorry that I wasn’t there for your audition. I was on my honeymoon in Maui, but I’m here now, and I’d like to see you play with the band. I heard that the first time that you played with Spike and Jemma went swimmingly.”

“Yeah, it was fun,” Ziggy commented, still stunned with how nice the studio looked. She was eager to try everything out and see how she sounded after being recorded. “I heard that we are going to record a promotional CD to release before the band goes back on tour. Is that true?”

“Yeah, we are,” Dave said smiling “You seem excited. Is this your first time in a professional studio?”

“Yes,” Ziggy blushed. She was slightly embarrassed and certainly didn’t want to look like an amateur in front of Dave. She knew that her first impression with the expert producer could be what determined if she stayed with the band.

“Well, don’t be shy,” Dave chuckled. “Go inside the booth and check everything out. We will start recording when Buck gets here.”

Ziggy jumped at the opportunity and made her way into the sound booth. The microphone tantalized her as soon as she entered, and she dropped her guitar in the corner and turned it on. “Check, check,” she called into it, and when she got the thumbs up from Dave, she began singing various songs that the band had written, using her memory as an internal base for the music.

“Excuse me,” a voice called into the booth after Ziggy had finished her fourth number. She looked up to see a new face behind the sound board. A woman with dark brown hair and mesmerizing blue eyes looked at her through the glass, and by the look on her face, she wasn’t happy.

“Buck?” Ziggy inquired, looking at the muscular woman and exiting the sound booth. “It’s nice to finally meet you,” she said, standing in front of the other woman.

“Thanks,” Buck responded. “Why were you messing with my microphone?”

“I’m sorry,” Ziggy blushed. “Dave had told me to check things out, so…”

“I don’t need to hear the whole story,” Buck said, stopping her. “Just don’t do it again.”

“Okay, I won’t,” Ziggy replied, feeling the smile leave her face. “I’ve just never been in an environment like this.”

“Well, get used to it,” Buck said. “We will be spending a lot of time here. We have a lot of work to do before we go back on tour.”

“If anything, I’m not afraid of work,” Ziggy commented. “I spent a lot of time and energy trying to get here.”

“We all have,” Buck said. “You aren’t special. We were all playing on the streets and in local venues at one point but making it big is a different kind of work, and not everyone can handle it.” Buck looked at her long and hard. The woman seemed angry and unlike the Buck that she had seen in magazines and in concert.

“Trust me. I can handle it,” Ziggy told Buck, looking right back at her. She wasn’t going to let this woman scare her out of a once in a lifetime opportunity. She wasn’t sure what bug had crawled up Buck’s butt. However, after spending only a couple of minutes with the other woman, she knew that Buck wasn’t going to make anything easy for her.

“Don’t mind her,” Spike said, coming up behind Ziggy. “She’s still upset about Olive.”

“Oh,” Ziggy replied, giving Buck a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry that she did you like that.”

“You have no idea what she did or didn’t do,” Buck shot back. “Everybody has heard a version of what happened. Nobody knows the whole story, and nobody knows Olive like I do, so I would appreciate it if you didn’t talk about her anymore and stop blaming how I feel on someone that isn’t here. I’m not angry because of Olive. I’m upset because I walked into the studio that I have played in for years and found some stranger screwing around with my microphone. I may be old fashioned, but I was always taught to respect other people’s property.”

“Lay off, Buck,” Jemma told the angry woman. “Take those emotions and use them in the sound booth. We are wasting time, arguing out here.”

“Fine,” Buck agreed, clearly still upset. She gave Ziggy an irritated look and walked away.

“Do you have the music to the new songs?” Spike asked Buck in an attempt to change the subject.

“Yeah, it’s a little sloppy,” Buck said, pulling folded notebook paper from her pocket and giving it to Spike as she led the group into the sound booth. “I think that we can tweak it though.”

“Think you can do this?” Spike inquired, walking over to Ziggy with the sheet of music.

Ziggy looked at the notes scribbled under a set of lyrics and strummed her guitar. “Yes, it shouldn’t be a problem,” she said, handing the paper back to Spike. “The melody is easy enough.”

“Let’s get down to business then,” Spike called. They did a quick sound check, and then, the group began to play. Ziggy could feel the emotion in the song as Buck sang the lyrics. She played along, trying to compliment the sad undertone of the song, and as she did, she was reminded of all the sad moments that she had experienced in her own life.

The song finally ended, and Ziggy felt a tear roll down her cheek. Buck’s music had moved her, and for a moment it seemed like she could see a whole other side of the other woman. “Buck, that was really beautiful,” Ziggy told the other woman. Buck didn’t respond. She just stood there, looking sad and vulnerable.

“I’m glad that you feel that way,” Dave interrupted, calling into the sound booth. “Because I want to see how it sounds if you two sing together.”

“What?” Buck inquired, clearly annoyed.

“I want you two to sing together, Buck,” Dave repeated. “I know that you are used to being a solo vocalist, but I think that it would sound better if you two collaborated.”

“Did everyone go nuts while I was gone?” Buck snapped. “First, I walk in, and this chick is playing on my mic, and now, I have to share my spot in the band with her? I thought that we were looking for a replacement for Olive, not me.”

“Buck, you aren’t being replace,” Jemma said softly. “Ziggy plays first guitar.”

“Very well in fact,” Spike chimed in.

“She just can sing as well,” Dave said. “And I don’t see any harm in having both of you sing together, that is, if you are up for it, Ziggy.”

“I am,” Ziggy replied, noticing that Buck was steamed.

The group sat in silence for a few minutes until Buck finally complied, and Ziggy moved up to share the microphone with the other woman. Ziggy reached out to adjust the microphone but ended up bumping hands with Buck in her effort. Goosebumps shot down her body, and Ziggy could feel her heart begin to beat hard in her chest.

“You better not screw this up,” Buck whispered, but Ziggy didn’t have a response for the other woman, because all that she was thinking about was touching Buck again.

Series
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About the Creator

Nicole Higginbotham-Hogue

Nicole Higginbotham-Hogue is a lesfic author at amzn.to/36DFT2x. Sign-up for her newsletter at higginbothampublications.com

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