The Curse

Chapter 6

Lucy thanked the nurse who brought Lauren a Jell-O cup before asking, "Do you think this is what marked the start of your career as a photographer?"

"Absolutely," Lauren said. "I always felt like nobody ever looked at the pictures I took before. I thought I was just another stupid girl with a silly dream. But when the interview came out and it blew up all over the country, people started to know my name."

"That's a fascinating way to look at it,"

"You can say that. The spotlight was no longer only on them. It was all of us."

-

Dinah tapped her drumsticks on her legs and waited patiently for Lauren to figure out the recorder.

"Sorry," Lauren said quietly. "It was working perfectly fine yesterday. I'm not sure what happened."

"Take a deep breath," Dinah snickered. "You're acting as if you're on trial for murder or something, Ralph,"

"I honestly didn't want to do this in the first place," she finally managed to get it to start, the red light beginning to blink. "But Simon is a hard person to say no to. Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be,"

"Who or what are some of your greatest influences in the industry?"

Dinah stopped her drumming and frowned. "Oh, wow. I didn't think we were starting with heavy-hitting questions so soon." She straightened her posture. "Have you ever heard of Buddy Rich? That guy was fucking insane on the drums. I used to save my weekly allowance and spend all my money at the record store near my grandparents' house. I'd use pens and pencils as my drumsticks and constantly tap on anything I could find. When Christmas rolled around, they chipped in together to buy me a drum set and, all damn day, I'd learn how to play Buddy Rich."

"Buddy Rich," Lauren repeatedly slowly, writing down his name.

"He was a legend, Ralph. You should listen to him sometime. I think you'd like him."

"Will you stop tapping on the windows so early in the morning if I do?"

"I might consider it,"

"I'll take that chance. You got yourself a deal." Lauren smiled. "If you didn't become a musician, what would you be doing?"

"I'd probably work at my parent's restaurant and still find a way to make music. Maybe not at the scale we are right now, but definitely something instead of nothing."

"What kind of restaurant do your parents own?"

"A Polynesian one. I can get you a sick discount if you swing by. But that's only if you take some free pictures for them."

Lauren ran her thumb over the worn-out eraser that was attached to her pencil. "You just keep trying to rope me in with your tempting offers,"

"It's a skill of mine,"

"What made you decide to form a band with your friends?"

"We would always hang out in my grandparents' basement and jam out for hours after we finished our homework. Sel brought her guitar, Mani had her bass, and Mila would just come to let us bother her. Eventually, we got Mila to start playing with us because she lost a bet, and we wrote some shitty, and I mean shitty, song when I introduced the idea. Everybody instantly agreed except for Mila, but we managed to convince her to join the dark side, anyway, so it all worked out. Now, look at us! It's crazy, isn't it?"

"So, you must be the brains of the operation then,"

"You're the one who said it, not me,"

"Is the constant traveling and fame worth it in your opinion?"