Part 2: One of Those Days
Authors Note: sorry this chapter took me longer to type up than expected, but its done now, hopefully chapter three won't take as long.
"No, I'm afraid that will not work….Jem and the Holograms have a benefit tomorrow night….The gala Howard Sanz is throwing for Muscular Dystrophy….Oh you will be?... well yes, I guess you could interview the band after their set…well I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you took a few random pictures of them through out the evening…okay we will plan for you to meet with them after their done performing…Thank you Jim, and we'll see you tomorrow."
Jerrica hung up the phone with a heavy heart. She had been hoping to be Jem for the concert, and then get to be herself for the rest of the gala. But it looked like Rio would be taking Jem as his date. Another night where "Jerrica" was going to be unexplainably busy. It would be nice to live her life just for herself. Though once Jem was gone for good, she would still be responsible for the Starlight Girls and taking care of the Holograms. She always was the caregiver after Jaqi died.
With a glance at her watch, Jerrica let out a groan. It was already half past two; another day without eating breakfast or lunch. If she was lucky then she would get home in time to eat with everyone else. If she was lucky then she would get home in time to eat with everyone else. Now she just needed to finish these bills and she would be done with the quarterly taxes. Of course then she would get to work on going over the next three months schedule for Jem. And she needed to figure out how to discuss with everyone about the possibility of disbanding.
"Ms. Benton," Mrs. James' voice came over the speaker in Jerrica's office. "There is a Mr. Hollister on the phone for you. Says it's about the Fifth Arrid XX."
"Yes, Mr. Hollister?" Jerrica asked after picking up her phone and pushing line 1. "I'm sorry, I was unaware that there was a problem….no Sir the boys seem to get along great…well, I actually have not been on tour with them…no Derrick Alamaine is their manager…he's very capable….I'm sorry they cause trouble at their restaurant…please send Starlight Music the bill and we will take care of the expenses….Yes Sir…You have a good day and I am sorry for all the trouble caused…Of course I plan to take care of it myself…"
After hanging up the phone, she could feel her headache returning from the night before. It didn't help that her stomach was beginning to rumble as well. If she left now, she could take a lunch break, but she would be late getting home. Maybe it was time into looking for a Vice President, some one who could help out with running the company. No Jerrica couldn't do that cause she Truth was she hoped one day Kimber would come to work at Starlight. Of course that would be years from now, her younger sister was enjoying being a musician too much. Hopefully though one day they would run this company together as sisters and as partners.
"Mrs. James, could you get me Derrick Alamaine on the phone please?"
"Good afternoon Derrick, how are you doing?...I'm well thank you…Actually there is a problem…Mr. Hollister from De Shay's called…he claims that Arrid XX trashed his restaurant….Well this is the third complaint we've had in the past 2 months….It is your responsibility to keep them out of trouble….if they are that difficult then I should have been informed way before now…no…that is no excuse Derrick…Starlight Music is not going to manage any bands that are disrespectful and rude…no, if they want to be like that than they can go to Stinger Sound for a management…I'm serious one more report and they are going to be dropped from this record…It depends on how you handle any future situations…You worked very well with the Fifth Avenue Boys, maybe we can see about putting Oz with Arrid, he might be able to keep them in live better…yes I think that should work…I will see you and the band in my office in three days…Thank you Derrick, and I will see you soon."
This headache was going to call for 3 Ibuprofen. She swallowed them dry and went back to her paperwork. It took her another two and a half hours, but she finally finished the taxes. She picked them up and stuffed them in an addressed envelop. She picked them up and stuffed them in an addressed envelop. At least she just had to go over Jem and the Holograms schedule for the next few months. She also needed to come up with a way to start discussing the dissolution of the band. The sooner they started on it, the better they can spin it for the fans. The question was how to explain when Jem was suddenly out of sight.
After another hour and a half, she was finally done for the day. And she was in luck before it was only 5:27. She had time to get home and actually eat dinner with everyone. Rio might even be there. He often spent evenings at the Starlight Mansion. Or it might be possible for her to see him after the band practices. She wanted to thank him for the night before. Falling asleep in his arms had been amazing, but the waking up without him was not so amazing. But she knew it was for the best, they did not want the girls to get the wrong impression from him leaving her bedroom in the morning. They had made a promise to each other to wait until they were married to have . And they wanted to encourage the Starlight Girls to make the same decision.
It was nice to leave the office at a decent hour and Jerrica could feel her headache from early disappear. There was a nice breeze that helped keep things cool. It was the kind of day that Jerrica could just drive around for hours at a time. But it did not last for her. Only fifteen minutes into her drive, the Rocking Roadster ran over a pile of glass, which caused a flat problem.
This was a minor annoyance because Jerrica actually knew how to change a flat tire. Her dad made her learn before she got her license. She guided the car to the side of the road, so that she was not blocking traffic. Being careful of the speeding traffic, Jerrica made her way out of the car and to her trunk. She opened the trunk, only to discover that there was no spare tire.
"Kimber!" Jerrica growled in annoyance.
It took a little over an hour and a half before she was able to get a tow and her car fixed. She pulled into the mansion's driveway feeling exhausted.
The worst part was that she now had to spend several hours being Jem and practice for tomorrow nights concert. Inside the mansion Jerrica was greeted by two ticked off holograms, one who was annoyed, and another that looked more worried than anything else.
"Jerrica are you alright?" Raya asked, concern lacing her voice. She gave her friend a sympathetic look.
"I'm fine," she answered, a small smile gracing her lips.
Kimber however was not pleased. "Then where were you? Do you know how late you are? We've been waiting forever to practice."
"I'm sorry Kimber, but it wasn't my fault. I had a flat tire. And there was no spare in the trunk."
Shana cringed. "Sorry, I had taken it out last weekend to fit all my designing stuff in the trunk. I guess I forgot to put the spare back in."
"Its okay," Jerrica sighed. "I took care of it, but I am here and ready for us to practice now.
"Fine, but Sean is picking me up in an hour for a date. So let's make practice quick. I don't exactly get to spend a lot of time with Sean."
This Jerrica understood a little more than she wanted to admit. The less time she and Rio spent together, the more bitter she could feel herself becoming. It wasn't fair for Kimber to have to be in the same situation. They both had to grow up sooner than needed when there mother died. Kimber would have gone to college on a music scholarship if Emmett hadn't died when he did. Jerrica manage to graduate a semester early, but had finished her last semester living at home to help with the Starlight girls.
"Think you can handle one or two songs? Then you can get ready for your date. I know it has been a couple of months since you last go to spend anytime with Sean. And tomorrow night you won't get a chance to spend much time alone with him because of the benefit."
Kimber looked at her older sister with a slightly confused look. Where was the guilt trip about putting other people's needs before her own? "Are you sure? No lecture?"
"No lecture," Jerrica gave her a soft smile. "Kimber you're 22. It's okay to want to be your age. Go out tonight and have fun with Sean. We're going to be doing some of our earlier songs tomorrow anyway, so I am sure you've gotten enough practice over the years. "
"Outrageous!" Kimber jumped in excitement and hugged her older sister.
The group of girls went to their practice room. As they walked a light bulb went off in Aja's mind. She had forgotten to give Jerrica an important message.
"Jerrica, I forgot, Rio called a couple of times this afternoon. Something about him trying to call the office and not getting through and that you weren't in your office when he stopped by."
Dread filled Jerrica, she had forgotten about lunch with Rio. After waking up alone, part of her had thought the night before had been a dream. Then things had just seemed to fall apart at the office today, and she had completely forgotten about lunch altogether, especially eating with Rio. Oh he was not going to be happy.
"Do you want to go call him real quick?" Kimber asked softly.
Shaking her head, Jerrica gave a half hearted smile. "Nah, I can call him after we practice. He'll be up."
"For the first song, I thought we'd practice One of Those Days," Jerrica suggested and then maybe followed by We Can Make a Difference?"
"Are you going to change into Jem?" Raya asked.
"No, at least not for the first song. We'll see if any of the girls start to move around. If we hear them I'll change, but right now I'd rather not."
The Holograms seemed to understand, staying Jerrica was not a new occurrence for her when it came o practicing. She only wanted to be Jem when it was necessary. And they seemed to understand her need and respected it. In the first two years of them creating Jem and the holograms, most of her time was spent as Jem, and slowly she started to reclaim her life as Jerrica.
Sometimes it all breaks down
Sometimes it comes apart
Sometimes you feel like a clown
You just can't make things start
Well, this is one of those days
One of those, one of those days
When nothing goes quite right
And you're feelin' all uptight
This is one of those days
Sometimes it all seems fine
Sometimes you move along
Sometimes it's time to shine
And everything goes wrong
Well, this is one of those days
One of those, one of those days
When nothing goes quite right
And you're feelin' all uptight
This is one of those days
Well this is one of those days
One of those, one of those days
This is one of those days
They ended up singing two more songs before the group dispersed to take care of individual needs. Aja wanted to work out a little bit more, Shana went to finish the dresses, Kimber went off with Sean, Raya went to spend the night with her family, and Jerrica went to her room to call Rio in private.
She changed into her pajamas and crawled into her queen sized bed. Curling up underneath the covers, she picked up the phone and dialed the familiar number. After 6 rings, his answering machine picked up.
"Hi you've reached Rio Pacheco. I am unable to answer my phone, if you leave your message….and your number, I will get call you back when I can".
Jerrica let out a soft sigh into the phone. "Hi Rio, it's me. I am so completely sorry about lunch. I really was looking forward to it, but today has been absolutely crazy. Uhm, if you get this tonight call me back, I don't care how late. I…I…please call me back. Goodnight."
Jerrica hung up the phone as tears streamed down her cheeks. She buried her head into her pillow and let sobs over take her. Part of her knew she was over reacting, but after the day she had, not talking to Rio had cause a slight crack in the armor around her heart. When would it be the time to be happy? She eventually fell into a troublesome, hungry sleep.
Just a few blocks away Rio sat alone in his apartment staring at his answering machine. He knew he should have picked up when he found out it was Jerrica, but something had stopped him. For once he would like her to make him a priority in her life, instead of always pushing him away. He picked up his phone to call a private number. After hearing the familiar beep after the answering machine message, Rio left his message.
"Jem, its Rio. Where have you been these past few days? Is everything okay? Listen I was wondering if you wanted to try and get together for lunch or something before the benefit tomorrow night? I miss you."
