I heard this song the other day and just had to do something with it. So here it is – Friend Of A Friend. It'll be at least four parts, so watch this space!
I heard it from a friend of a friend
You're livin' out in LA now
Got a studio apartment, couple blocks off the beach
Doing yoga in the evenings, you love the kids you teach
I collapsed on the sofa in the far corner of the coffee shop and glanced around, checking that no one had noticed me come in. Pulling out the script that had been delivered to me fresh that morning, I placed it on the table and reread the title again. Sunshine Lovers. Sounded like a B-list romantic comedy, but my agent had assured me that the leads were A-listers, and that playing the lead's best friend would catapult me from B to A in weeks. Not that I had any reason to disbelieve him, but it did seem a bit twee. But hey, I said I'd look over it, so here I am.
The waitress placed my coffee in front of me, and I gave her a quick smile before turning the page. I'd just started to read the first couple of lines when a shadow passed over me.
"Beck? Beck Oliver?" It asked, and I groaned inwardly, but outwardly prepared a smile. Couldn't a guy have a coffee in peace without being disturbed?!
"Hey!" I glanced up at the woman in front of me. "How are you doing?" She looked familiar, but then again, I met a lot of people.
"I'm OK thanks. I'm Jess, we met at Cat's party?" She prompted, and I nodded.
"Of course! You look great!" I said as I sipped my coffee. "How's the songwriting going?" I asked.
"Great, I've practically written the whole score of a new Disney Channel movie. Nothing fancy, but hey, it's a living. And you..new script?" She glanced at the papers on the table.
"Yeah, I don't know if I'm gonna take it yet, but it's always nice to be asked, right?"
"Of course. Hey, guess who I saw in Long Beach? Tori Vega! God, I haven't seen her in months, have you?" I tried to bite my lip. I hadn't seen her in around six months either, not since she threw her engagement ring back at me and stormed out of the apartment, screaming that she never wanted to see me ever again. She was doing a pretty good job of it so far.
"No, not for a while." I managed to force out. "How's she doing?" I found myself asking.
"She looks pretty great, the coast seems to be good to her. She's got a studio apartment facing the beach – not on it, a couple of blocks behind, but it's a lovely place. She was actually bringing in a couple of kids to audition for the movie. She's teaching drama and music down there, and she seems to love it. You can tell she really cares for the kids she teaches." Jess told me, and I could only nod. It was just like her to be doing something like that, she always loved kids. We were going to have some one day – two girls and a boy.
"She still going out partying all the time?" I pressed, and Jess shook her head.
"She does yoga!" She exclaimed. OK, were we talking about the same person here? Yoga?
"Really?"
"Yup, three times a week. She looks amazing for it." She informed me. She went to open her mouth again, but was interrupted by the waitress who handed her a takeaway cup. "Sorry, I better go, was great seeing you again!"
"You too." I replied, and she dug out a business card from her pocket and handed it to me.
"If you're ever in a movie and you need some music, give me a call." She smiled before disappearing out the door as quickly as she'd arrived. I picked up my script again, but somehow I couldn't quite concentrate on it at all. My head was spinning, so I stuffed it back into my bag. No rush, I had all week. I could read it later.