The Rush

Chapter 8

Once the band arrived, it took almost no time at all for them to decide which song they wanted to record. Apparently, they were not having the same dilemmas I was. To be fair, I've been having a full-on existential crisis the last few months. The uncertainty of where my place was in this world was not going to go away in one morning. I needed to give myself time to adjust. 

Mamma took control of the session from the start. She was the expert after all. Since the vocals were going to be recorded last, I got a chance to watch her work. I had seen her working down here by herself more times than I could count, but it was different than seeing her work with others. She knew just how to draw out the best of people. She'd try to figure out what exactly we were trying to do with our song and gave tips on changes she would make. She'd never tell us our choices were wrong or stupid. She worked with us to create the best possible track.

When it came time for my part, that's when we both had the most fun. We laid down the keyboard part in no time flat, but it was the vocals where we shone. I was able to layer the vocals over each other and Mamma directed me through the recording. She helped me fill out harmonies that we couldn't usually do with just me and Hillary. I was excited to hear the final version she'd mix.

"Alright, you guys go relax for a bit and let me work my magic." Mamma shooed us out of her booth once all our parts were recorded.

As my friends left, I hung back and wrapped her up in a hug. "Thank you so much, Mamma."

"Happy to help." She said as she pressed a kiss to my cheek. "Now go because I can't work with you here."

"Got it. I know when I'm not wanted." I teased as I backed out of the booth. I watched as she put on her headphones and began working. I wished I had spent time earlier learning exactly what it is she did on her computer. Now that we might be working together, I was going to make an effort to learn.

I went upstairs to find everyone hanging out with Dad in the kitchen. I watched as he joked with everyone as if he were with his friends. I was glad I didn't have parents like Hillary's who would look down on them. He didn't care that Tori had tattoos on her neck or a septum piercing, that Ryland didn't like to talk, or even that Hillary was rebelling against her parents. He was the dad who would make sure my friends knew that our house was a safe place. He didn't care if it was two in the morning; if you need help, all you needed to do was call.

I spent most of the afternoon hanging out with everyone. Will was the only one of my siblings that hung out with us. Mamma was down in the basement working away. She kept shooing out anyone who disturbed her. She wanted everything to be perfect tomorrow, even if was only supposed to be a demo. By the time she was done, it would probably be ready to release that day.

It was just before dinner time that someone knocked. Dad got up to answer it and from the second I heard Uncle Andrew and Aunt Mel's voices, I was out of my chair. I went right to the front door and into Uncle Andrew's outstretched arms. "Hi! Thanks for coming to help me out with all this."

"I'm just glad I don't have to bail you out of jail again." He said before he let go of me. I went to hug Aunt Mel next.

"Hey sweetheart! How are you doing with everything?"

"Kinda still waiting for the shock to wear off. I had to mute my socials because the notifications and dm's don't seem to stop, but other than that it's been amazing." I answered.

Aunt Mel stepped to the side and in walked a young woman I'd never seen before. She was probably a bit older than me with deep brown skin and her natural hair pulled back into a pile of coils on top of her head. Her shoulders were slightly tucked in and her figure was hidden under a loose-knit sweater despite the temperature. Her eyes were hidden behind wire-framed glasses and she only met my eyes for a second, but I did get to see those chocolate irises before she looked away, focusing on the notebooks in her hands. "Oh Melody, this is Anise. Unfortunately, I have no space to take on new clients myself, but I trained Anise myself and she is the first one I thought of to represent you." Mel said introducing Anise. Cute name, just like the spice.