“Come in. It’s open!” she called out.
Slightly hesitantly, he opened the door and stepped into the hallway. The stifling heat hit him immediately, as did the distinctive strains of country music.
“Nicole?”
“I’ll be out in a minute. Fuses are in a bag on the kitchen counter,” called back Nicole. “Help yourself to a beer. It’s hot as hell in here.”
“I’ll be fine. I’ll fix this then I need to go. I want to see my kids before bedtime,” replied Jake, deciding to heed Grey’s words of warning and not to hang about.
The Lowes bag was exactly where she said it was. It only took him a few minutes to fix the new fuses into place. He had just turned the unit on when Nicole appeared beside him.
“Hi,” she said softly. “Did you find everything you needed?”
“Yep,” replied Jake, trying to ignore the fact that she was dressed in a bikini top and denim hot pants. “You’re back in business. I’ve set it to seventy. Is that low enough?”
“Sounds good. Thank you,” she said as she ran her eyes over him.
“It’ll take a while but things should be much cooler by later tonight. Remember to close the windows and doors. Allows the system to settle better,” he advised as he screwed the panel back into place on the front of the unit.
“You were great with the kids today,” she commented casually. “They’d do anything for you.”
“They’re a good group. I get a kick out of seeing them all fired up at being in the studio. They worked hard.”
“I learned a lot from Paul too. Spoke to him about running some drum clinics next semester.”
“He’s a good teacher in his own unique way,” said Jake. “He mentioned that he’d agreed to tutor you on how he plays. Said you want to add more metal sounds to your lesson plans.”
“Yes. I’m sure it will help the students to relate to the overall music programme on offer.”
“Can’t do any harm,” agreed Jake, checking the time. “Need to run. Promised Lori I’d be home by seven-thirty.”
“Pity……” Nicole breathed the word almost silently.
“I’ll see you tomorrow out at JJL. I’m looking forward to seeing Riley with Ellen. I think they’ll get along great together.”
“Till tomorrow then.”
Next morning, when Jake arrived out at JJL, he was mildly surprised to see Riley’s beat-up car already parked out front. It was barely eight o’clock. When he entered the lounge, apart from the aroma of freshly brewed coffee, he was greeted with a stunning display of operatic scales. A glance into the live room revealed that it was Riley, who was warming up. The clarity and power of her young voice was impressive, causing him to wonder what tuition she’d had in the past. Not wanting to disturb her routine, he sat down on the couch with his coffee, content to listen.
A few minutes later, he heard the studio door open and familiar voices echo down the hallway.
“Morning, boss,” greeted Scott as he led Ellen and Taylor, After Life’s guitarist, into the lounge.
“Morning,” replied Jake. “Coffee’s fresh and hot.”
“Already got some,” countered the photographer. “We stopped for breakfast and grabbed one on the way here.”
“Jake, is that the girl you want me to listen to?” asked Ellen, dropping her blue leather hobo bag on the couch beside him.
“Sure is. Her name’s Riley.”
“Impressive range,” noted Ellen, nodding. “I thought you said she had contributed to a metal song?”
“She has. Wait till you hear it,” laughed Jake. “Want to go in and I’ll introduce you. She doesn’t know who’s going to tutor her this morning. Kept that bit a surprise.”
“Is she an After Life fan?” quizzed Taylor.
“I suspect so,” replied Jake then added, “Did you bring your guitar by any chance? Could do with some help with a couple of the boys when they get here.”
“No, but I’m sure I can borrow one.”
“Great. Time’s tight here.”
“I assume you want me to take some photos?” interrupted Scott.
“Well unless your singing has improved,” joked Jake, grinning at the band’s photographer.
Hearing the live room door open, Riley stopped mid-scale and turned to see who had entered. Spying Ellen Lloyd, one of her idols, standing beside Jake, she went pale and was visibly trembling.
“Morning, Miss Riley,” began Jake, stepping towards her. “Ready for your lesson? I’ve drafted in a friend to help.”
“Hi” squeaked Riley, her cheeks suddenly reddening.
“Hi,” said Ellen warmly. “I’m Ellen, Oh, and this is Tailz and my partner, Scott.”
“Hi,” squeaked the student for a second time.
Recognising the young girl’s nerves, Ellen shooed the guys out of the live room, instructing them not to return for two hours. As he left, Jake turned to his student and said, “Just relax and have some fun in here, ladies. If you can get that vocal recorded though it would be a beautiful thing.”
With the two girls hard at work in the live room, Jake split the rest of the group up between the rehearsal studio, outdoors and the lounge. In rotation, they all got a chance to spend time outdoors with Scott for their first experience of a professional photoshoot. It added a much-needed light-heartedness to the day and helped to keep the students' spirits up. Shortly after eleven, Ellen and Riley emerged from the live room, declaring that the first vocal was in the can.
While Dorrian headed into the studio to lay down his guitar track, Ellen offered to stay for another couple of hours to help. Shyly, she admitted to Jake, while they were fetching a coffee, that she’d never done any vocal coaching before and had really enjoyed working with Riley. Happy to accept all the
