Ms. Martinez had a huge smile on her face as we resumed the conversation. "Now, as I had said earlier, I couldn't make any promises without hearing you play first. And on that note, all I can say is: Wow! Even though you guys played covers from other bands, you put your own playing style to them. Do you have any that you personally wrote?"
"We have one in progress right now. The lyrics are already written, and my brothers are working on the instrumental components right now." I explained while mentally crossing my fingers.
"There would need to be some work done, but it's mainly you creating more original songs. That will happen with time, so try not to worry too much about it. Next is the fact that you boys are only 14 and still in high school, which is something that can be worked around. It would mean that your Saturday's are already filled. Finally, I saw the sound board in the room, so do you already have a live audio engineer?"Ms. Martinez said, going down a list of notes that no one noticed her taking.
"Not officially, but I do have an idea for who can fill that role. Would you be interested in filling this role, Jacob?" I asked while looking at him.
"Why are you asking me about this? I thought you guys hated me and my sister?" He asked after a slight delay. From his expression, he was trying to figure out my motive for asking it in the first place.
"Sigh– We don't hate you or your sister. It was actually me who suggested keeping our distance from you. Not out of hate but suspicion." I quickly added when I saw mild anger in Jacobs' eyes. "I was suspicious of you and Amber because of the keen interest you showed from the second day in History. The only time anyone showed an interest like that was when they were trying to hurt or kill me."
"I guess that's fair. We weren't doing a good job at hiding our interest in you, but we've never felt power like yours before. It was shocking." Amber finally spoke in a smooth voice.
"And I saw how you were practically drooling over the sound board, so I thought that you'd have had experience with one." I said, explaining the reason for my question.
"Are you kidding?! Jacob is a genius when it comes to that." Amber exclaimed in excitement. Jacob blushed and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.
"So what do you say, Jacob?" I asked. He looked at his parents before answering.
"Sure. Why now?" His reply was followed by a squeal from Amber and chuckles from me and my brothers.
"Alright. If that's settled and you boys are confident in juggling school and this path, then I don't see why I can't sign you guys right now. As Ms. Martinez finished speaking, she pulled out a prepared contract.
"Are you boys sure about this?" Mom spoke for the first time since I passed out.
"I can already keep straight A's while in the hospital, and I don't plan on going back anytime soon." This was my reply while making it a personal promise.
"We got this." Damian and Dominic said in unison, like only twins can do.
"Hell yeah, we've got this!" Adam exclaimed. He had a huge smile on his face and he was struggling to stay in his seat. Josh and Jacob looked at each other before smiling and nodding. With all of us in agreement, we each read the contract before signing it.
The contract stated that it would be valid for two years. In that time, we can't switch to a different label company or get into any serious legal issues. If we did either of these, then the contract would be terminated. After two years, we could sign a longer-term contract or switch to a different company. Before Ms. Martinez left, she told us that she would be back tomorrow afternoon to introduce us to our band manager.
When she was gone, we all called it a night. My family and I had permanent rooms that we had decorated ourselves. Our rooms were in the same wing as the Royal Family, and my room here was exactly the way I dreamed. It was mainly black and red with yellow accents. An entire wall had posters from Disturbed, Five Finger Death Punch, and other bands that I listened to. There was also a couple bookshelves, a desk, and a king sized bed with black and red silk bedding. Crawling into bed, I turned off the bedside lamp and quickly fell asleep.
The next day, I woke up at 5:30 to go on my daily run. Running through the forest, I let my mind wander and my body relax. I ran longer than I normally would have, since I hadn't been able to do this for a few days. Returning around 7:30, I went back to my room to shower and change before breakfast. Arriving at the dining hall around 8, I found the leaders of the Blackstone Pack still here with their kids and Esmeralda.
I quickly ate my breakfast which consisted of two pancakes, eggs, bacon, a glass of orange juice, and a cup of black coffee. Donny had called in a favor with a Dragon named Ghost, and he agreed to come and spar with me today. He was like Umbra, an expert at Krav Maga and Mixed Martial Arts, and the only rule for our spar is to not cause significant injuries. When I was done eating, I went to the gym that was inside the castle. All the equipment here was Shifter-grade, meaning it could withstand the strength and speed of Shifters. Ghost was already waiting for me, so I quickly took off my shirt, shoes, and socks before walking onto the mats. Standing in my black basketball shorts, I waited for Ghost to begin.
"So, you're Andrew. The one Donny called a favor for. He said that you have a black belt in Krav Maga and that you're highly proficient in MMA. Is that correct?" Ghost asked in a rough voice that held a prominent Russian accent. At my nod, he continued. "We'll be focusing on MMA, since you'll be leaving tomorrow. Now, I understand that you just recovered from some injuries, so I want us to go slow and steady. Going too fast into training again can cause issues of its own. I know you went on a run this morning, so I want you to do 50 push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups each."
After Ghost told me what to do, I started the instructed warm-ups. I was half-way through the 50 sit-ups when the gym door opened and Jacob walked in. He nodded at me before going to a treadmill and, after putting his headphones on, he started jogging. When I was done with the exercises, I went back to the center of the mats, where Ghost was waiting. As I approached him, Ghost quickly lashed out with a kick. I brought my own leg up and blocked the strike. Our sparring session had officially begun.
We spent the morning trading jabs, kicks, punches, and Ghost had even flipped me onto my back twice. As Ghost and I were taking a breather, a maid had come in, letting me know that Ms. Martinez and the new manager were already here. I didn't have time to shower or change, so I put my shirt back on and went to the sitting room.
My family, and Jacob's family, were already there with Ms. Martinez and another lady I hadn't seen before. Ghost had also followed me here for some reason. As I sat down, I apologized for my late arrival.
"I'm sorry for being late. Time slipped my mind during training." Saying this, I gave an apologetic smile.
"It's alright, Andrew. May I ask what kind of training it was?" The mysterious lady spoke for the first time in a friendly manner.
"It's self-defense training. I'm proficient in Muay Thai, Mixed Martial Arts, and Krav Maga." I answered her question while I worked on slowing my breathing. Sparring always increased my breathing and heart rates, like everyone else, and taking slow, deep breaths helped everything settle to normalcy.
"Amazing! How long have you been learning them?" Ms. Martinez asked, her curiosity peaked.
"Since I was 6 years old, but I don't think we're here to talk about my training?" I said, trying to politely redirect the conversation.
"Right. As you boys know, I told you yesterday that I would introduce you to your manager today. Let me introduce you to Ms. Hannah Gaeaf. She will be your manager, starting immediately." Ms. Martinez nodded to Ms. Gaeaf, showing that it was her turn to talk.
"Like Helena said, my name is Hannah Gaeaf, but you guys can just call me Hannah. My job is organizing gigs, managing social media exposure, as well as managing the band bank account, and finding sponsors. You boys are still young, but you hold a lot of potential, so there will be quite a few people that would be glad to pay to see your talents flourish." Hannah stopped at this point and looked at us, to see if we had questions.
"What exactly do you mean by social media exposure?" I asked, unsure of what it entailed.
"I will create a social media account for the band that all of you will have access to. Basically, it's to let more people know about each of you and the band's overall progress. You'll also have separate accounts to show your likes, dislikes, and overall journey to your fans." Hannah explained calmly. Even though this was her first time working with teenagers, she still showed the same courtesies to us as she would to an adult. I already had a good impression of her. Let's just see if it'll last.
"Why would we need sponsors?" Jacob asked next. This was another question I had myself, but I don't use social media, so that was the one that caused the most confusion for me.
"You need sponsors to fund the growth of the band without having to use your own money. It'll be used to upgrade and repair equipment, get venues for gigs, and even clothes to wear for concerts. All of it is funded by the sponsors." Again, Hannah didn't seem irritated at being asked these questions. "Any more questions?" When we shook our heads 'no', she continued speaking.
"Let's see if I get everyone's positions correct. Josh and Damian both play the guitar, Adam's on the bass, Dominic does drums, Andrew sings, and Jacob is the live audio engineer. Did I miss anything?"
"I play the piano and violin. Damian also knows violin, but he's embarrassed to admit it." I said, chuckling at the glare he sent my way.
"Could you play a song on the piano for me? Helena already shared the recordings from yesterday, but I want to hear something softer." I nodded at Hannah's request and led the way back to the music studio. Once there, I went to the piano and said that I'd play Lucky To Know You by SayWeCanFly. When I was done, Damian joined me to play I've Lost The Moon, which was also by SayWeCanFly.
Once she was satisfied, she gave us each a business card with her contact information. We had given her our personal addresses and phone numbers, and she said that she would get back to us within a week. As Hannah and Ms. Martinez left, we couldn't help but celebrate. It was now official: we were an official, contracted band. I thanked Aunt Maria and Uncle Bartholomew for making this happen. They said that they had nothing to do with it. That they had asked someone to come and see if it would be possible. It was our talent that made it happen. When I went to bed that night, I went to sleep with a smile on my face. Tomorrow we will be going home before school on Monday. I knew that with how fast this was happening, things could go wrong, but we would face them together and figure out how to make it work.