Chronicles of Operation Fangirl

Chapter 15: Operation Flash

Jenna showed up on time for her meeting with Mr. Richards, slightly less nervous than the day before.   At least today she didn’t have to convince Mr. Richards to like her, no, she just had to make sure he still did like her. 

Jenna takes a deep breath and waited for her watch turn to 9:59, exactly a minute before she was scheduled to meet him, to knock.  She didn’t want to appear too eager.

“Come in, Jenna.   Come in!” His voice boomed through the thin wood. 

So she did.

The office was very simple.   Looking around, Jenna noticed only one item that made the room stand out from a stereotypical office you’d see on TV: there was a vibrant purple photo frame on his desk, turned away so Jenna could not see who was in the photo.  Other than that, the walls were a off-white, the various weird trinkets that were all business-related, and the desk was well organized, down to the placement of the stapler.   Jenna almost felt like she’d walked onto an office on a TV set.

“Glad to see you are on time,” Mr. Richards said, standing up to shake her hand.  

Actually, a minute early, Jenna thought to herself as she shook his hand and sat down.

“I like to be punctual.”

“Good,” he said, clearing his throat.  “Now, let’s get down to business.   The specifics of your job, to be precise.”

“Alright.”

He clears his throat one last time before starting.  “You will accompany the band, Hollywood Ending, on tour.  There you will take pictures that will be used for promotional reasons along with pictures to be posted to social media sites.  On that same note, you will be required to post and manage these sites.” He paused.  “Clear so far?”

“Yes, Mr. Richards.  Everything seems pretty basic.”  Actually, Jenna was surprised to hear she would be running their social media, and was more than eager to interact with more fans and post more regularly on the band’s behalf.

“Good.   You will be paid minimum wage along with free room and board during tour.   Food will not be provided, so your wage should be mostly spent on that if I were to advise you on that matter.”

“Sounds reasonable,” Jenna says, but on the inside she was worried if it was going to be enough.  She still needed to make an income, and couldn’t spend all her money on overly priced restaurants and fast-food.   She would have to work out those bugs later, she decided.

“Alright, then,” Mr. Richards says, fishing out a contract from a drawer under his desk and hands it to Jenna.   “Sign here, here, and here,” he points to different places on the page.  “Now, let’s briefly go over a few more aspects and then we can introduce you to the boys.  This job is supposed to, well, work first and foremost but it more than that.  There are little rules, so live up to our standards and do your job and I’m sure there will not be an issue.  Touring is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for most. I hope you have fun with it.”

“I’m sure I will,” Jenna grins as she signs the last line needed.  She now officially worked for Hollywood Ending. 

“Good.   Let’s go meet the boys, then.”

A few short minutes and a pretty awkward car ride later, Jenna and the manager were at a recording studio.  After a quick ‘hello’ to the receptionist, Mr. Richards led Jenna through the maze of halls of the studio before pausing at one room.   The little light in the corner above the door flashed “in session” in a bright red color.

“This shouldn’t take long,” Mr. Richards explains.  “They are scheduled for a break soon.  We’ll wait to go in so it doesn’t disrupt the recording process.” 

“Alright,” Jenna said, trying to fight her nerves.   She looked around the recording studio.  It was one of the smaller places in town, a branch-off of a much larger company down town.   She had always been interested in the recording process that musicians go through.  Perhaps in another life…

“There we go,” Mr. Richards said, the light above Jenna and him going off with a slight buzz.   “Shall we?”

Jenna nods and he opens the door.  She takes a deep breath and walks in, Mr. Richards following behind her. 

The room was pretty small, filled with so many buttons and gadgets that looked like it would take a lifetime to master.   A single man sat at the large desk, pushing the last few buttons.  In front of him was a thick panel of glass.  On the other side of the glass was where the real magic happened: the music.  A few instruments and mics were in the room in the very back, although there were a few empty stands were present.   And Jenna could see why they were empty: Hollywood Ending had literally just finished recording, mics and instruments still in hand.  

Jenna looked at all of them in awe.  There was Chris, Dan, Tyler, and lastly Cam, standing there, looking down at the objects in hand as they try and take them off to call it a day.  They were unaware that Jenna and Mr. Richards had entered the room, unable to hear a sound due to the thick glass that separated the two halves of the room. 

Suddenly, Cameron looks up, eyes locking with Jenna.  He keeps them there, taking her in for a long time.   Jenna felt a blush rise to her cheeks and an adrenaline rush course through her when Cam smiles slightly at the gesture.  

When the other boys noticed Jenna and Mr. Richards a few moments later, Jenna only slightly took notice as she still had eye contact with Cam.  It was only when the rest of the band opened the door joining the two rooms and Cameron realized he was the only one not to clean up his stuff did the two snap back to the current. 

“Hello,” Dan chirps. 

“Hi,” Jenna says back awkwardly.  Cameron came through the door a second later, having rushed to make his delayed clean-up seem less significant. 

“Boys, this is Jenna Daniels,” Mr. Richards introduces Jenna with her fake name.   Jenna almost forgot about that.  “Our new photographer.”

“Oh, you’re the one that took that sick picture of me on stage,” Tyler says, nodding in approval. 

“Yeah, that was me,” Jenna said back, happy that the boys had seen her work and liked it. 

“Welcome to the team,” Chris says, extending an arm for a handshake. 

“Thanks,” Jenna replies softly, still quite overwhelmed. 

“You seem shy.   That will change in a few days,” Tyler says, and Dan laughs.  Soon, everyone in the room was laughing, even the sound guy and Mr. Richards.   Jenna laughed along, not sure what else to do.   After all, these boys were technically her bosses now.   They held her fate in their hands. If they liked her, she was in the clear but if they didn’t… she didn’t even want to think of that being an option.  Since the ability of her to take good photos was no longer in discussion, it was clear, however, just how important it was for the boys to like her.  And she was worried that she may not fit in the group right away, which could quickly end her Operation.  So, she laughed awkwardly, hoping her mostly-fake chuckles were lost beneath the other laughs in the room.

A seconds after the laughter subsided, and the room was in silence, Cam met Jenna’s eyes for the first time since the incident in the sound booth.  “We’re really glad to have you,” he grinned, honesty clear in his tone.

Maybe making the boys like her wouldn’t be so hard after all.