Chapter 35
"Hello. May I help you?" an older, slender woman with gray, well-coiffed hair asked, looking down her nose at me.
I looked around the bank. Other than a few employees trying to look busy, I was the only one there. "Yes. I'd like to open a checking account."
The woman's name tag stated that her name was Estelle. She smirked. "Would you like a savings account, too?"
I cleared my throat, determined to stand my ground. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I would."
The woman's plastered-on smile was beginning to annoy me, but I decided to take the high road. "Well, are you sure you have enough money to open an account?"
I smiled. If she only knew. "Why? How much do I need?"
One corner of her lips curled into a self-satisfied smile. "Well, a hundred dollars, unless you want to pay monthly fees."
I looked at my nails, thinking, and then my eyes flared as I looked directly at her and smiled. "What about free checking?"
"Sorry," she replied. "We don't have that here."
"Well, then I'll go somewhere else," I said, and then turned to go. But when I heard the click of the woman's high heels against the ceramic-tiled floors walking away, I didn't want to take the high road anymore. I turned and said to her in a loud voice. "But before I go, I'd like to speak with your manager."
A man wearing a determined look and a suit to match heard me bellow and stepped just in front of the woman as she crossed her arms. "What seems to be the problem?"
"Just a minute, please." I held up a finger, and then looked into my purse and found what I was looking for and held it out to him as my voice became serious and my eyes flared. "I just signed a recording contract with SDC Studios and I need a checking account. However, this woman treated me as if I was a beggar who had just walked in off the street with her snotty attitude, and asked me if I had enough money to open one." I stepped forward as the woman's eyes flew open wide and the man clenched his teeth. "In fact, I have a three-million-dollar advance that will go directly into my account from the studio as soon as I have one. But, because of the treatment I received here, I'll take my business elsewhere." Then, I turned on my heels and walked away.
"Miss! Miss, wait!" he begged as his heels hit the tiled floor behind me. "I'm sure that we can work something out."
I opened the door and turned to face him. "Just keep in mind that people aren't always what they seem including teenagers." Then, I walked out the door and didn't look back.
A moment later, I walked into another bank and the clerks were friendly and treated me with respect, so I opened an account there.
After I had an account, I hurried back to my apartment just as the sun started to set. I brought in the groceries first and put away the perishables, and then I brought in the rest. But before I started decorating and arranging, I remembered I had a cell phone.
Before calling my parents, I called the studio first and gave Bobbie Jo my cell phone number.
"Thanks, Sugar!" she said on the other end. "I'll make sure it goes in your file, and that your agent gets it."
"Thanks, Bobbie Jo. I appreciate it," I said. "Oh! Also, I got a checking account today so as soon as my advance goes through, I'll pay you back."
"No need to rush," she said. I could hear her smiling at the other end of the line. "You're a good investment."
I laughed, touched by the sentiment. "I'm glad you think so."
"And you don't?" she asked, pausing for a minute. "Honey, you should! Remember: you must believe in yourself before anyone else will."
I smiled, nodding my head, even though she couldn't see it on the other end. "Thanks, Bobbie Jo." I paused for a minute, and then added, "I have to go put away my groceries." It actually felt good to say that. "I'll talk to you later."
"Okay, Sugar. Take care." But just before I hung up, she added, "Don't be a stranger now!"
I laughed. "I won't!" Then, I clicked the phone off.
I curled up in an overstuffed club chair and curled my feet up under me, settling in for a long talk. Then, I dialed my parents.
Mom answered on the first ring. "Hello?"
"Mom?" I asked.
"Alyssa?" Mom asked anxiously. "It's good to hear your voice! I kept the phone clear all day because you said that you would call."
"Mom "
"I've been so worried!" she continued. "Are you okay?"
"Mom, calm down," I said, trying to be the voice of reason. "I'm okay! Sorry I didn't call before, but I just got my cell phone."
She sighed into the phone. "Okay, honey," she said as her voice came down a few octaves. "So, what's this about a contract?"
"Yeah. You won't believe it, but I went to the Powder Keg Tavern "
"You went to the Powder Keg Tavern?"
"Mom, focus," I said. "Anyway, Tasha Granger was there and the waitress introduced us. One thing led to another and she ended up inviting me to play at her gig. It went so well and she liked my songs, so she invited me to go on tour with her. Then, I got a recording contract and I'm going on a worldwide tour, opening for Tasha Granger!"
"Really?" Mom asked, a bit skeptical. "Are you sure this is all on the up and up?"
"Mom! I just recorded my first album at SDC Studios!"
"Okay. Now that's awesome."
I laughed. "Mom! Since when did you get cool and start using words like 'awesome'?"
She laughed. "I'll have you know that it's been a word since before I was born. Besides, I've always been cool. You just didn't know it."
I laughed until tears came to my eyes. "Mom, I miss you."
