Save You Tonight

I moved a piece of my brown hair from in front of my face as I put my books in my bag for the last five minutes of my management class. There was only one week left of the semester and then I was headed home for the summer.

“The semester is almost over now and many of you have plans to head home for the summer holidays,” Professor Coop began to speak. “This summer and this summer only I will be giving all of you a chance to intern over the summer with several different music artists and bands for three credits.” My head perked up, this was my chance. “There are informational packets on my desk for those of you who would like one.” The bell ran signaling the end of the day and I was the first one at her desk to grab the packet. “I knew you would be interested, Kayla,” Professor Coop winked at me. I smiled weakly and walked out.

The walks around Full-Sail were peaceful, something rare for us freshman Music Business majors.
The buildings on campus were pretty modern in style and very colorful. It wasn’t like your typical college. There were no majors like Nursing or Pre-Med but Music Business, Film, and Game Development, it was more like an art school. They changed a lot before I started here. Before there were no summer breaks, it was a two year college straight through. They started having summer breaks since they thought it would be a good time for internships. They also never used to have dorms but had special apartments off campus, this made life easier for people who didn’t have a car and just wanted to walk to campus.

Once I got to my dorm room, I decided to skip studying for my production final that was tomorrow and read more about the internship. This could potentially open a lot of doors for the future if people see I interned with a musician my freshman year in college.

Potentially I could go to Europe or stay in the states or a bit of both, depending on what artist I am assigned to and where they are currently touring. I pretty much get no say in where I go or what musician I am with. I didn’t really care though. This was a great business opportunity and a way for me to learn and get experience at the same time.

Instead of waiting until the last possible minute to fill out the forms, I hopped right on it. There was a lot to fill out; medical forms, some kind of security form, and of course, personal forms, so I’m glad I got started right away. I was in the middle of my medical form when my roommate Brooke walked in. Her blond hair styled in loose curls and her piercing blue eyes were permanently smiling as she was always happy. She was a fim major here.

“What are you working on Kay? I thought homework was done,” She laughed plopping down on her bed, working on her latest movie script.

“Internship papers,” I answered never looking away. “I’m going on tour with some musician this summer.”

“Ooh. Who is it?” She asked, I heard the smile on her face in her voice, pressing for details.

“Won’t know until I turn the papers in. Hopefully I can do that by tomorrow,” I sighed signing my name at the bottom of the form and flipping to the next pager, surprisingly the last one. “Or maybe today if I get this done and head back over to the music business building within the next twenty minutes.”

This page was quite simple. It only required me to write some specifics about my experience in management and other areas in music business. Finally, taking the job at a local venue last term was paying off. It only took me five minutes to finish filling it out, the shortest of the forms. “Good. Now all I have to do is get this to Professor Coop.”

“Will she still be there?” Brooke asked, taking her dictionary out of her bag.

“She should be. It’s Tuesday so she has her help class tonight.” I said grabbing my bag and key and heading out the door as Brooke wished me luck.

This time I did not dawdle on the way to the Music Business building. It was a big building but it wasn’t the biggest on campus. The walls were lined with pictures of great artists and the ones to make them big, many Full-Sail alumni.

Professor Coop was sitting at her desk while many students were sitting at their desks working on their final projects. Another plus from this internship is I get exempt from the final since this is worth ten times more points. I walked in closing the door behind me and walked over to her desk.

“Kayla, already finished filling out all the forms already?” She laughed, her pale blond hair shook on top of her head. “You’re the first one to turn in your forms. The others will wait until Friday I’m guessing.”

“I didn’t want to be too late,” I laughed back handing her the packet.

“Well, let’s see what we have for you.” She got up and walked over to the cardboard box sitting on a table at the side of the room. She pulled out a thick manila envelope and walked back over to me.
“They range in size, some smaller than others but this is the biggest and in my opinion the toughest which is why I gave it to you because I know you can handle it.” She winked and sent me on my way.
I hoped she was right and I could handle this. Now there was a huge weight on my shoulders.

As I was walking back to my dorm my palms began to sweat. The envelope was just begging me to open it then and there. I had to know who I would be working with this summer but I knew I should wait until I got back to my room. Brooke would want to know as well so we might as well open it together.

Once I was up the stairs and in my hallway, I practically ran inside my room. Brooke was sitting on her bed, reading the latest edition of entertainment weekly, perusing an article about a new Johnny Depp movie. Though she was engrossed in her magazine, she instantly looked at me with wondering eyes.

“Who is it?” She asked, scooting to the edge of her bed. I walked over and sat indian style on mine.

I took a deep breath as I tore open the envelope and took out the huge stack of papers and CD that was inside. “One Direction,” I told her. The name seemed familiar to me. I think I had heard them before, probably not much for them to make a huge impression on me though.

I flipped through the stack of papers, surveying their contents. There were pictures with small bios, a page that would explain where we were going, apparently it was a US tour and also heading to the UK to help record their new album, and also a page explaining some kind of rules I had to follow. I guess this was going to be a hard one.

“You get to go to Europe this summer! Lucky!” Brooke whined.

“I’ll be working the entire time. I don’t think I’m that lucky.” I laughed at her. It was a lie though, I just wanted to make her feel better.

“Well, put the CD in! From what they look like on the cover they are cute!” She exclaimed. When it came to her film career, Brooke was serious. Boys were a whole other story though.

I put the CD in my laptop and pressed play. From the sound of it, they were a boyband and you could probably compare them to Backstreet Boys with the love ballads. They were pretty good though.

“Would you mind if we switched places this summer? I want to spend it with these boys singing to me.” Katie giggled in her usual girly way.

“If I wasn’t getting three credits for this…I still wouldn’t give up the opportunity,” I answered. “This could make or break my career.”

“That’s not a lot of pressure at all,” She said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

“You’re telling me,” I said back. “And this is supposedly the hardest one, which is why she gave it to me. She said if I could hadle this, I can handle anything. She believes I can.”

“Well good luck,” She smiled, turning back to her magazine.

“Thanks,” I said back deciding to flip through the bios of the boys whose names were apparently Louis, Liam, Harry, Niall, and Zayn and they were all from the UK. I continued listening to their CD. Their songs were good and really catchy so I could see why they are becoming so famous.

After finishing reading over the rules I took my laptip off my desk so I could email my parents about how I wouldn’t be flying home this summer. Since it was for school, I knew they would understand, I knew they would understand. After hitting send I logged onto facebook. I figured I’d be killing multiple birds with one stone by telling my friends over facebook that I wouldn’t be home.

“Working with One Direction this summer for an internship. Won’t be home until next year.” I updated my facebook status and logged off.

I pulled my history of music textbook and notebook out of my bag and began to study. Out of all my classes, this had to be the hardest only because there were so many dates you had to memorize that sometimes it was hard to keep up. I was currently reading my notes on Beatles Mania when my phone vibrated with a text. Of course it ended up being from Jaden.

“You’re not coming home this summer? I was hoping we could hang out.” It read. I knew he didn’t want to just hang out though.

Jaden is my ex-boyfriend. We didn’t date long but he was my first serious boyfriend and who I had fell hardest for. He surprised me by dumping me randomly. Though he said we could try again, we never did because he started going out with my older sister. That continues to piss me off and is one of the many reasons why my sister Krista and I don’t get along very well. I knew I could do better but some days are better than others. I still cry, still find it hard to trust guys but it’s his loss.

I ignored the text like I always do and just rolled my eyes. He was a good guy but that was only before and during our relationship. Afterwards he treated me like shit, so I treat him like shit now.
My computer than dinged with an email from my management professor. “Kayla,” it started “You are now exempt from all your finals as you will be leaving a bit earlier than planned. I suggest you begin packing as soon as possible. The band will be here to meet you and explain your job. Have a goodnight. –Professor Coop.”

According to the bottom of the email the meeting would be at 8 o’clock the next morning but it didn’t say when I was leaving for tour. “I’m leaving earlier than planned and I’m meeting the band tomorrow.” Brooke looked at me like a deer in headlights. “Yeah I know.”

“Here I’ll help you pack,” She climbed off her bed and helped me grab my suitcase from underneath mine.

We were running back and forth between the suitcase and my dresser, folding and putting things in for about an hour. Somehow we fit everything in, at least clothing wise. Then moved onto my duffle bag to pack everything else.

“When were you supposed to leave?” Brooke asked as we stripped my bed of sheets and pillows.

“The last day of classes,” I answered. “The band probably needed me earlier.” I put the linens in a box and put a label with my home address on it, taping it shut. “I won’t be needing these on tour. I guess it’s better to send them now rather than wait until I know when I’m leaving since I might not have much time.”

“I’m guessing you’re expecting a strict schedule?” Katie asked.

“That’s what a lot of touring is,” I sighed. “Strict schedules. Come with me to the post office to send this off?”

“Of course.” With that we left and headed down to the campus post office. Now my nerves were up with meeting the band tomorrow. I thought I would have a little more time get myself mentally prepared, though I shouldn’t be surprised that I didn’t.