Familiar Strangers

Chapter 3 - The Call

The song Kai "wrote" is Fix You by Coldplay!

Chapter 3 - The Call

Kai

Tears spill out of my eyes as I reach for the tissue box Kiran is holding next to me. I can hear her soft little hiccups as she too is crying. After Kyle left Kiran and I decided to watch some movies. We started off with comedies but now we're watching Up. We've watched this movie more than ten times but it always gets to us. Every time we watch Carl and Ellie's life, eight minutes that just claw at your heart, we end up bawling our eyes out.

"I love it but it's so heartbreaking." Kiran says shaking her blonde head, her brown eyes red and full of tears.

I nod agreeing with her. "I know right?" I dab the corner of my eyes trying to catch the tears before they fall. My heart aches for Carl even though he's not real. I smile when Louis, my German Shepard, rest his face on my lap and stares up at me worriedly. He gets worried every time he sees any of us cry I think it's because when dad died that was all we ever did. I pet his furry head and after a few minutes Kiran and I stop crying. I'm drifting off when I hear my phone ring. I'm tempted to let it ring and not answer but it could be mom or Aunt Beth who are having a spa weekend so I reach for it. Kiran comes in to the room which surprises me because I didn't know she had left. I look at the screen and see it's an unknown number.

"Hello?" I answer unsure who could be calling me. Kiran asks me who I'm talking to and I just shrug.

"Yes, is this Kai Ellis?" The voice on the other end of the line asks.

"Yes." I answer still wondering who it is but before I can ask them they talk.

"Sorry to be calling you so late." The person is definitely male his voice is somewhat familiar but I don't know from where.

I keep trying to put the voice with the face but give up. "Its fine but who is calling?"

"It's Simon, Simon Cowell from Syco." My mouth drops open at his name and at that moment everything clicks. He does sound like him but it can't be. Kiran looks at me her left eyebrow raised questioningly. This can't be true, it has to be a joke. I'm too shocked to say anything as a few seconds pass. "Miss Ellis are you still there?" He asks.

I finally react and look back at Kiran. "Um, I'm here it's just... This is a joke right. I mean..." Words come out of my mouth completely jumbled up. What am I saying?

"Who is it?" Kiran asks me again and I raise my hand telling her to wait. Kiran shoots me a glare which I choose to ignore.

I hear a chuckle coming from the other end. "It's no joke Miss Ellis. I was calling because I wanted to ask you if you and the other members of your band could come meet with me." Simon says completely serious.

My head spins at his words, a sense excitement but also confusion filling me. "Um, well I guess we could. When?" Kiran stares at me confused and annoyed.

"Can you come by on Wednesday say at eleven?" He asks and I'm shaking my head like an idiot. You're such a nitwit, he can't see you!

I stop shaking my head and try to calm down enough to produce something coherent."Yes, we most certainly can but may I know what this is about?"

"I saw your cover of WMYB and other songs and I was pleasantly surprised at your collective talent as well as individually. I just us to talk about a few things." Simon says like it was nothing, like he, a big A&R executive, didn't just say he thinks we have talent and that he wants to talk about a few things!

"Oh um okay, thank you." I mutter completely taken aback by the whole conversation.

"See you Wednesday Miss Ellis." I nod and he hangs up. I stare down at my phone dumbstruck. What just happened? I look up at Kiran and smile.