Another World

Chapter 8

On Tuesday Liam shows my around the city after he get of work. I have not been to London since I was a kid, so it is nice to see it again as an adult. It is like rediscover the city with new eyes. When I went to University in Bradford I did not do a lot of traveling, and did not make it to the southern parts of England. We eat lunch at a little Indian restaurant and then take a walk in St. James's park. Liam tells me about his first week at the new job and I listen intently. I am so happy for him, that he has found his dream job in his dream city.

We spend the night on the couch, watching The Dark Knight Trilogy and eating pizza. Liam have a huge obsession with Batman and I enjoy the films as well.

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The next morning I almost fly out of bed when my first alarm rings at 7. Usually I snooze to the very last minute, but today I am too excited to stay in bed. I bring a towel, my toilet bag, a pair of blue jeans, a black short sleeve shirt and a pair of boxers to the bathroom. Liam have cleared a shelf in the bathroom cabinet for my stuff, and I make a mental reminder to put my stuff in there tonight.

I take of the black boxers I am wearing and get into the shower. I let the hot water relax my tense muscles and try not to think about how nervous I am.

Yesterday Liam showed me the nearest tube station and it takes me exactly 10 minutes to walk there. The train shows up on time and I ride 6 stops until it is time to get off. The day is.. i take out my phone and write in the address on google maps. I do not want to be late on my first day.

I walk up to the gray brick building with a big black sign above the door saying "Railroad records". I take a deep breath and then walk up the stone steps to the entrance. The door is made of massive black wood, and I have to use my whole body weight to push it open. I walk into the lobby that is much more modern than I could have imagined from the exterior. The walls is clean white and the floor looks like black marble. To my left is a black leather sofa with a couple matching armchairs around a small coffee table, and to my right is the front desk. The walls are covered with big music inspired photos in black and white, and green plants are standing in every corner. It looks very luxurious and I am glad I chose a button up shirt and my nicest jacket.

I walk over to the receptionist standing behind the shiny disk. It is a younger man, around my age, and he gives me a big smile as I approach him. He has blonde hair combed neatly to the side, and bright blue eyes behind a pair of trendy glasses. His jaw is very defined and he looks like he should be a model, instead of a receptionist.

"Hello, you must be Niall." He says politely with a big smile.

"Um.. yeah." I say, a little chocked that he knows my name. Even though it is probably his job.

"Nice to meet you. I am Oscar." He reach over the counter to shake my hand.

I do the same and hope my hand is not too sweaty. This place is much nicer than I expected and I did not imagine that a male model would be working the front disk. Actually I did not even imagine a front disk. I pictured it to be some underground, rustic 80's music studio with velvet sofas and a smell of cigarettes and beer. I realize now that I know very little about the modern music industry, and feel a little embarrassed about my assumptions. I have only seen the lobby but it looks very professional, and makes me even more eager to see the rest.

"Take a seat." Oscar the receptionist offers. "Louis will be around any time now." He smiles and I obey his request.

I take a seat on one of the armchairs and take another look around the room. My eyes lingers on one of the black and white pictures on the wall. It is a close up photo of a hand plucking on the strings of a guitar.  I am still admiring the picture when I hear a door opening down the hall. I look over and see a man in his late 20's walking over to me.