“It’s a little like having the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other,” I told them, to which they roared with laughter. I hadn’t thought it was that funny. “But that’s why accounting seemed like a safe major,” I kept going. “I couldn’t do what either of them did but was conditioned to pick something safe. And I’m at least good at this.”
“Makes sense, I suppose,” Brian told me. “Now let’s get to some questions, Jurnie. Boyfriend?”
“No,” I said a little too quickly.
“Ever?”
Now I rolled my eyes. “Yes, I’ve had very appropriate boyfriends.”
The truth was that I’d dated boys my parents approved of. I’d gone to an all-girls parochial high school, so the only boys I’d been exposed to had been the ones at church. Now, just because they’d been church boys didn’t mean they’d kept their hands to themselves. They’d tried and failed a lot.
“Appropriate sounds hot,” Ned said really close to the mic. I could imagine what that sounded like on the other side.
“What about siblings?” Brian asked.
“I have a sister and, while she isn’t a sibling, the cutest seven-year-old niece, whom I love to death.”
“Sounds good,” Brian muttered, but he didn’t mean it. Sounded like he was getting bored with me but I lived a boring life.
“It is,” I countered, narrowing my eyes on him. “She’s amazing and so smart.”
“Let’s talk music.” Brian shifted the conversation. “You’re interning at a music station, so what kind of music do you listen to?”
“I grew up around the church choir, but most of the time, I only listen to classical.”
He let out a fake gasp. “You’re kidding me.”
“Nope. Obviously, I’ve heard popular music and it’s great, but I grew up on classical.”
“Have you been to any concerts?”
“Tons,” I told him, which was the truth. I’d been to many. They just all happened to be classical or instrument-based.
“What was your favorite?”
I didn’t really need to think about that one. “Actually, my favorite performance wasn’t really a concert. It was more of a showcase of extremely talented local performers. Mostly all still in their teens, about five years ago. My favorite performer was a local violin player named Daisy Thompson. She was amazing.”
Brian choked and sputtered on the drink he’d just taken while Ned stared at me with his mouth hanging open.
“Seriously?” Brian asked. “You’re telling me that your favorite performance was Daisy Thompson playing her violin?”
“Yeah.” I shrugged. “Why? Is that weird?” Though I didn’t care if it was. She’d been amazing like she’d been one with her instrument and I could’ve listened to her play all night. I’d been there with school. It had been a rare field trip that we’d gotten to take.
“Nope.” He looked like he was trying not to laugh. “Not weird at all. I bet she was awesome.”
“She was.” But I didn’t like the way those two looked, as if I’d just said the most ridiculous thing. “What’s going on? You two look like you’re about to wet your pants.”
“Jurnie,” Brian said nicely. “Have you kept up with Daisy Thompson? To see what she’s up to today?”
“No. Should I have?”
Ned cleared his throat. “Let me show you what she’s been up to these days.” Then he hit a button and a song started up.
The unmistakable sound of a violin began and I thought it was weird that they’d have this kind of music ready to play. Then the drums started. Then the guitar. Then if I wasn’t mistaken, the bass. It all came together in a medley of sounds that were pleasing to my ears, even if I didn’t know what was happening.
The voice of an angel came out next. This was no doubt more rock and roll than anything I usually listened to, but damn. It was good.
As it ended, Ned cut in. “What do you think?”
“That was really good, but—”
“The singer is Daisy Thompson and the band is her band, Pushing Daisies.”
“Not her band,” Brian corrected him. “She’s in it with her brothers and they’re getting quite a lot of radio play.”
“I’ve heard of them but didn’t know enough about them to put it together,” I told them quietly. “But wow, she’s still awesome.”
As we ended my bit on the show, Brian told me I’d done fantastic, whatever that meant, and they’d be pulling me in again soon.
Apparently, they did this with every batch of interns. That had been a test of sorts to see if I could handle being on the radio as well as their joking around. Obviously, I’d passed with flying colors.
As I made my way back to the accounting department in a haze of excitement and wondering if I’d embarrassed myself, I secretly hoped they’d call me in again. That had been fun on my end though they didn’t seem as excited. Then again, I didn’t have a lot in the way of excitement so anything would probably get me going.
“How’d it go?” Alyse, the accountant I mainly worked with, asked.
“It was fun.”
“Seriously?” Alyse was around thirty years old and always had her black hair pulled away from her face. She’d told me one of the things she loved about working here at the station was being able to dress down. They were very casual and could get away with jeans most of the time.
I didn’t try that as an intern unless it was Casual Friday, which it kind of always was here. Still, like today, I wore a flowy skirt that went to my knees and a button-up blouse, as my mother called it. For shoes, I typically went with ballet flats because I did a lot of running around in this office. I should probably wear a step tracker to count it as exercise.
Nodding, I said, “It was. Though I didn’t know that my favorite violin player is now in a band. Pushing Daisies.”
Her hazel eyes widened. “Seriously?” she asked again. Alyse used that word a lot. “I saw Pushing Daisies perform many times when
