"Please?"
20 minutes had passed, but the cowboy hat-wearing guy was still pleading.
At this point, Ari could only shake his head in bemusent.
Ari had been moving from place to place, trying to rent the various pieces of equipnt he needed with no luck.
During that process, the cowboy hat-wearing guy had followed him around while pleading with puppy-dog eyes.
Usually, he would be annoyed by now, but seeing the guy slump and then perk up each ti he had a new idea to try to convince him to lend him the books was pretty funny to watch.
It was like he was a live-action cartoon character.
That was how emotive this guy was.
Despite his tall figure, he was made to be teased just for the reactions.
"Please, bro? I really want those books."
As the pleading continued, Ari really felt bad and finally relented.
"Look, the best I can do is sohow try to return them within a week, and you can check it out then. Take it or leave it."
"I really can't wait that long. I have an important event in two weeks and need to co up with a good song before then. Sothing different than my usual style so I can prove him wrong.... Please? I can pay you if you let check those books out instead. How about $50 a book?"
"You need to make a song for an event in two weeks? What a coincidence, too."
Hearing those words and seeing the guitar he was lugging around, Ari thought it over before making a guess, "By any chance, Pop Star?"
He said it subtly since it wasn't supposed to be common knowledge.
Imdiately, the boy brightened up like a flower and stood up to his full height before sticking his hand out for a handshake.
"Yes! You too? Pardon my manners, I totally forgot to introduce myself. My na is Jas Jones the third, but you can call JJ or Jamie for short. Nice to et ya."
"Ari."
Ari shook the offered hand before he continued to walk away as he ntally checked things off his list, but Jamie continued to follow him, chattering with a much more relaxed tone as if they were close friends now that they had introduced themselves.
"Ari? I don't rember seeing your na in the group chat. And what can I do to make you share those books with ? Should I up the amount of money? Are you teaming up with anybody or working solo? Also, what's with the mask? You look like one o' them scary aliens from the movies the way it's stuck to your face."
Seeing Jamie's apprehensive look as he tried to touch the mask, Ari began to feel slightly mischievous.
"Well, you nailed it, I am an alien. One who's annoyed by you following everywhere. Now that you found out my true identity, you must die- ruff ruff ruff rfuff"
Ari jumped toward Jamie, pushing his masked face as close as possible while barking wildly.
Gasp!
At the shocked expression on Jamie's face, who imdiately backed away as if teleporting and almost fell on his butt while clutching his guitar as a shield, Ari burst out laughing.
His expression was just as funny as he thought it would be.
Despite his large size, Jamie was really like a cartoon character and clearly very easy to tease.
'He looked so afraid, and how did he retreat so quickly?'
'Even now his face was turning red from embarrassnt as he tried to brush it off and look calm.'
Although Jamie had a cool-looking appearance, it seed that he was really a...
"Scaredy cat."
"I'm not."
"Sure, sure, I believe you~" Ari lightly teased him while walking, and after a mont, Jamie moved beside him.
"I said I'm not!"
"Right, right. Anyway, the group chat is an app, right? With my phone, I can't join it. And I'm a solo act. Are you really going to continue following around?"
"Of course I am. I want to convince you to lend those books. Do you need help carrying them? They look kind of heavy. Here, let get that for ya."
Ari read the hidden ssage behind the kind-sounding words.
The mont he let Jamie hold the books, he would run away with them.
"So you can steal it? Pass."
"Promise I won't. Scouts honor." Jamie cheekily tipped his cowboy hat, but Ari simply snorted.
"Do the scouts still have honor these days?"
"Well, you're not wrong, but even if they don't, I do."
"Well, I don't know you, so that's useless to . No touchy."
"We've exchanged nas, which ans we're basically brothers. Allow ."
As Jamie reached out playfully, his original shyness completely gone, Ari batted his hands away and began walking faster.
Unfortunately, Jamie was taller than him, had longer legs, and wasn't offended in the slightest, so the country boy easily kept pace and continued making offers for the books.
Thankfully, the large library was pretty empty, otherwise Ari was sure people would complain and kick the two of them out for being noisy.
"Excuse , could I please rent the starter music recorder equipnt and a laptop with audio recording software on it? It says that there were two more online, and I put my na down for one." Ari asked the equipnt rental staff mber while completely pretending Jamie did not exist.
The blue-haired staff mber nodded with a small smile.
"Sure, let check. Sick mask, by the way. Where'd you get it?"
"I was born this way. " Ari replied casually.
"I'm very jealous. You gotta share that skincare routine. It's smoother than plastic."
The blue-haired staff mber laughed to herself before heading to the back room, and Ari turned to Jamie, who had raised the book prices to 100 dollars.
"Listen, I would love to accept the cash you're offering. Trust . I'm tempted. But I'm not giving up the books. I really need them at least for a week. At the price you're offering, you might as well call the publisher and pay them directly."
At his firm tone, Jamie hung his head like a sad puppy again, but Ari held strong.
This was a competitor.
No matter how sad and devastated he looked, or how easy he was to tease, or how much money he offered....
Or how much money he offered....
100 dollars a book * 15 books = $$$$
No!
No matter how much money he offered, it wasn't ant to be.
The most he could compromise for was a week, and even that was pushing it.
"$110 dollars? Per book."
As Ari felt his mind wavering over the ever-rising price to rent library books-
"Hey, sorry dude. I looked, but there's no recording equipnt back there." The blue-haired staff mber ca back with an apologetic expression.
"But it said it was available online. I have the reservation code."
"Yeah, that happens sotis, sorry. I can take your na and number if you want to contact you if it's found. Or you could use your student ID to try and book a recording room on campus, although they're pretty hard to get."
Ari couldn't do that.
All he had was a public library card, not a university student ID card, and he didn't want to make this long, expensive bus trip until he had to return the books.
"Could you just check one more ti? Please? It's really important."
Although he felt bad about asking, he really needed that equipnt.
Otherwise, he would have to figure out how to record on his cheap, tiny phone or order equipnt, with money, which he would rather not do.
"Sure. I'll check, but I don't think it's here."
After several more minutes, she ca back while shaking her head.
"No bueno. It's empty back here."
"Alright, thanks anyway."
"No problem. Here's the laptop."
As the staff mber went to the back room again, off to the side, Jamie had perked up like the Energizer Bunny once more.
"Bro. Let's trade. I see that you're renting recording equipnt. Do you know who happens to have unlimited access to a recording studio?"
At the excited question, Ari blinked before responding in a dry voice.
"Let guess? You?"
"Winner winner chicken dinner," Jamie nodded enthusiastically, his long golden hair swinging about as he smiled a pure smile and grabbed onto Ari's arm.
"If you let borrow those books, I'll let you use the studio for free. Laptop, mics, instrunts, equipnt, software—whatever you want. I can even help you out when I have ti. What do you say?"
Blue eyes looked at him with a pleading expression, but Ari couldn't help but be grossed out to see a huge man beg like a golden retriever.
"...why are you so desperate for these books? There are plenty of other composing books in stores and online. And if you have access to a studio and money, can't you just, I dunno, hire soone one-on-one help? Seems more cost-effective to ."
"I have my own reasons. So what do you think? It's a pretty good deal, right? You co to my studio with your books?"
Seeing his face, Ari had one thought.
Was this guy a sucker? In what world was studio ti worth borrowing library books or even that much money?
Even if he had his own circumstances...
It seed a little too....
"Sketchy," Ari muttered.
"It's not sketchy! I'm not trying to set you up. Take a look, I really have a recording space. And it's legit!"
Feeling pressured, Jamie pulled out his phone and opened his TokTik account, which showed him singing, mixing, and recording in a small studio space.
"I'm really not trying to set you up, I promise! I have my reasons, okay? Plus, we're in the sa program, right? And might even end up on the sa team. Just lend the books when you co to the studio for the next two weeks. You can take them ho, and if you need them, you obviously have first priority. And we can call it even, okay?"
Ari stared at Jamie silently as he evaluated everything he had said so far.
Part of Pop Star Academy, a composing soloist, wants to compose sothing with a different sound, in a personal recording studio, combined with his personal country boy style and accent.
Analysis: So type of country artist is trying to transition into pop, but he is too embarrassed to tell anybody around him and wants to prove a point to his dad.
Although it didn't fully explain everything, he felt as if it fit for the most part.
As Ari stared at the squirming Jamie, he sighed.
"...you clearly know how to compose songs if you're trying to make sothing different from your usual sound. Throw in a tutoring session on the equipnt in your studio, and...a couple of hours of you helping when I ask, and we have a deal. You can use the books while I'm in the studio and not using them. Deal?"
"Deal! Let's go right now!"
Before Ari could say anything, Jamie carried the books with one hand and dragged him to the checkout with the other.
[Following strangers is how you died the first ti. Are you really going to do it again?]
"Shut up." Ari imdiately hissed at the system.
"What was that?" Jamie turned around with a confused expression, and Ari just shook his head.
"Nothing. By the way, do you have a car? I took the bus here."
Reviews
All reviews (0)