Overture - Deed for the Day
“Listen, I’m sorry alright? I had an accident with my previous deck and I had to go and get a new one… what? Come on, this is only the 3rd time! Give me a break… yes, I’m coming right now. At least give me time to get over there!”
I hang up the phone and stuff it in my pocket with more force than usual. “Damn.” I say under my breath. Wasn’t being a DJ supposed to be fun? It surely isn’t with my boss breathing down my neck.
As I walk down the street, I decide to cut into an alleyway to save time. He was already mad at me, no need to piss him off more.
I wish I could work for myself. A freelance DJ. Wouldn’t that be a fun time? Spinning and remixing tracks left and right to a stadium which was sold-out under my name. When I decided to sit down and start being a DJ, I thought it would be just like that. Of course I knew that it would take a while to get there, but I would want to be like the big-shots, where the crowd roars on every scratch.
But that’s a fantasy. A far-off fantasy. A fantasy that I will never accomplish. Because I am working for the worst record label in Equestria under what most artists call ‘minimum wage’. I sigh and curse the world under my breath. WIll something good ever happen in my life?
“Mmf!”
I stop in my tracks. What was that? That couldn’t have been me, I think to myself as I'm looking around. I haven't said anything since I got off the phone.
I sigh and assure myself that it was nothing, and continue walking.
“Hmmf!”
I stop in my tracks once again, almost tripping over myself in the process. I needed to figure out what that was, just to ease my mind.
I look around, taking in all of my surroundings. I will admit, it looked like a shady alley. Dirt lined the walls and few of the lights worked. Doors were hung ajar with one swivel left to keep the doors from completely falling apart, and there were clean patches of walls were signs used to hang.
I walk forward, playing an audible version of “Hot and Cold,’ timing the sounds so I can hear if I’m getting closer. Finally, the muffled sound peaks near a barely working door, one of the only areas with a working light, and a crudely-hanged sign, reading “EMPLOYEES ONLY - MAINTENANCE AREA.”
I decide to take my chances. My boss wouldn’t fire me, I’m the only records he has to sell. And besides, I need a change in scenery.
I step into the room, light from outside filling into the room, but only illuminating to the bare back wall. I take out my phone and use it as a flashlight, then do a small sweep from left to right.
This 'maintenance room' looked just like the outside. Dirty and run down. Stairs led upstairs to where darkness lingers upstairs, and the walls and floors were bare with dirt.
I jump out of my skin and drop my phone in the process. Someone was there.
I slowly pick up my phone and shine it back to where I saw the figure, and sure enough, it was still there.
Or, well, she was still there.
She was a young white girl, looked to be around the age of 18. She wore a simple mix of t-shirt and jeans, her t-shirt having a design of a DJ's deck on the front. She had cerise eyes, the most vibrant color I've ever seen. Her hair was thick, but short, and long enough for a bang over her head and her hair almost covering her ears on both sides.
She had her hands tied behind her back, which looked to be extended to a chain brought to the wall. Her mouth was covered with a crude piece of duct tape, blocking her voice and any breath going past. She had to take deep breaths through her nose to keep the oxygen flowing. She looked at me with a teary look of fear and despair, but she had a spark of hope in her eyes that something in her life would change.
Kind of like me.
I stare at her in bewilderment. I just ran into a kidnapped girl, in the middle of an alley. What are the chances?
I snap out of my stare and position my phone against the wall so I could see what I'm doing, then get to work. I go behind her and manage to untie her hands from the chain, and she brings them in front of her. I find out here that her feet were also tied together and attached to the chain as well, and I manage to slide the loop off of her shoes.
She stands up and steps outside, and I grab go around to face her.
I grab a loose piece of the duct tape and look at the girl. "Okay, I'm gonna do this fast, alright? Like a band-aid. A big, giant band-aid." I say.
When she silently nods me on, I grab her shoulder and rip the makeshift gag off. She slowly opens her mouth, the pain rushing up to meet her. "OW!" She yells. "God, that hurt!"
"Sorry!" I exclaim. "I didn't know how else to do it!"
"A countdown or something would have been helpful!" She exclaims. She curses under her breath and covers her mouth with her hands.
I put my hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" I ask.
She uncovers her mouth and looks at me. "I'm fine." She smiles. "Thank you for... well, saving me."
"Saving you?" I repeat, confused.
She nods. "I probably wouldn't have made it out alive. The men who took me were pretty rough." She pushes her bangs up to reveal a giant bruise on her forehead. "That's how they got me unconscious." She says, then lifts up her shirt a bit and turns around, exposing a red scar on her back. "And that's how they responded when I woke up."
"Oh my god!" I exclaim. "Did they stab you?"
She nods. "It wasn't a deep cut, luckily, so I was able to heal, but it hurt like hell." She feels her back and takes a deep breath. "I can still feel the knife..."
"Oh god... I'm sorry about that." I say. "Here, let's go to my car where it's a bit more private. We don't want them to sneak up on us."
"Good idea." She says as she follows me.
We both walk to my car, which is in the parking lot of the record label that I work for. We step in the car and shut the doors.
"My name is Vinyl Scratch, by the way." The girl says, smiling.
"Vinyl Scratch?" I repeat, then chuckle. "That is an awesome name!"
Vinyl smiles. "Thank you."
"My real name is Record Pulse." I smile. "But my friends call me TurnTable."
"Now that is a cool name." Vinyl says. "So you're a DJ?"
"Yeah." I say. "But I'm under BassDrop Studios."
Vinyl whistles. "That sucks, man. Is it as bad as everyone says it is?"
"Worse." I say. "My boss is a total jerk, and whenever I try to be creative with my work, he shuts me down and delays any album that I'm making."
"Why?" Vinyl asks. "Wouldn't that make his label better?"
"Exactly." I say. "But he wants everything his way, and he wouldn't recognize good music if it slapped him in the face." I sigh.
"I'm sorry about that, TurnTable." Vinyl says.
"It's fine. I'm used to it." I say. "Want me to drive you home?"
"Yes, please." She says, then tells me her address. I start the car and drive away from the studio building.
"So are you a DJ?" I ask.
"An unsuccessful one." Vinyl sighs. "It's my dream to be a DJ, but I just can't get it the way I want it." She looks at me.
"Well, what's going to happen now?" I say, glancing at Vinyl.
She sighs. "I-I think I'm done with being a DJ..."
I look at Vinyl. "What?" I ask, shocked. "Why?"
"It's not the way I want it... a-and I can't get it right. I just can't." Vinyl says.
"So you're giving up?"
Vinyl seems to wince at my comment. "Y-Yeah..."
I sigh and shake my head. "You shouldn't give up that easily, Vinyl. If it's your dream, you should keep trying until you achieve it." I look at her. "You can do anything if you try hard enough."
"I've been trying so hard, though!" Vinyl says.
"Then you aren't trying hard enough." I say. We get to Vinyl's house, a small apartment. I park the car and sigh. When I look over at Vinyl, I see something small sticking out of her pocket.
"What's that?" I ask. "In your pocket."
She looks down. "Oh..." She takes out a small USB Drive with a music logo and the number '64' engraved into it. "This is one of my failed attempts at dubstep."
"'Failed'?" I repeat, taking the drive from her. I slide the drive out of its container and motion it to the port on my dash. "May I?"
She takes a deep breath. "Sure." She says. "You got subs?"
"Of course I got subs. You kiddin' me?" I say as I plug in the USB. "It's blasphemy not to have a good system."
Vinyl laughs. "I agree." She says, grinning.
I change my stereo to the USB setting and press 'Play'. The first song that came up on the display (and frankly, the only one on the drive) was a song called 'Music to My Ears (Original Mix)' with Vinyl Scratch as the artist.
The song was awesome, to say the least. The start of it built up to a really cool mix. It was simple, but very catchy. It had cool sound effects and a very rhythmic beat to top it off. It seemed like dubstep that surpassed our technological powers.
When the song came to an end, I look at Vinyl with a look of amazement. I take the USB out of the stereo and hold it up. "This is going on eTunes." I say.
Vinyl Scratch gasps. "What?!" She exclaims. "No no no, I-I'm not ready! The song's not good enough!"
"Are you kidding?" I ask, surprised. "This song is amazing! It's one of the best dubstep songs I've ever heard! People would eat this stuff up! I would pay to have this!" I exclaim.
Vinyl looks up at me with surprised eyes. "You really think so?"
"Vinyl, I know so." I say.
"But..." Vinyl hesitates. "But I'm not a DJ anymore, remember?"
I sigh. "Vinyl, is that you're dream? Being a DJ?"
Vinyl nods. "It has been my whole life."
"If you let this opportunity of a lifetime slip by you, I assure you that you will look back on this moment in six years and regret not taking a risk." I sigh and momentarily look down, then look at Vinyl in the eyes. "Life isn't fun when you stay in your comfort zone. You have to dare the world to throw something at you, and challenge yourself to be dangerous." I smile.
Vinyl looks up from her lap at the USB. "That was profound." She comments.
"It's what I live by." I say, smiling.
She smiles back. "I'll think about it." She says.
"Good." I say. "Well, this is where we part ways. It's really nice meeting you, Vinyl."
"You too." She smiles. "Thank you so much for helping me back there. I'm so grateful."
"Its nothing, really." I say, smiling.
"It isn't just nothing." Vinyl corrects. "You saved my life. If we ever see each other again, you should expect a sudden embrace or two."
I laugh. "Alright, I'll remember that."
Vinyl gives a warm smile and opens the car door.
"Hey." I say, taking Vinyl's hand suddenly. "Take care of yourself."
She looks at me and smiles. "I will." She says. "Bye, TurnTable."
"Bye, Vinyl." I smile as she steps out of the car and shuts the door.
As I watch her go to her door, I gasp suddenly. I roll down the window and stick my head out. "Vinyl!" I yell.
She hears me right before she enters her home and looks at me. I step out of the car and jog to her. "You forgot this." I say, holding out my hand to show her the USB with new markings, in black ink on one side it reads 'eTunes'.
She sees it and looks at me. "Did you write that?"
I nod. "I didn't want you to forget."
She smiles. "Thank you, TurnTable." She steps toward the door. "I-I'll see you later." She says as she enters the door and shuts it behind her.
I smile as she steps inside. She was safe, and right then, that's all that really mattered.
I go back into my car and drive back to the studio, and during the drive, I had my mind on Vinyl. She was such an innocent girl, who would want to kidnap her like that and hurt her? She could've very well been killed.
But I could relate to her. She kept falling in and out of hope for something more, I could tell when she was telling me about her dream. Funny, we shared the same dream.
I sigh as I pull into the studio. My boss would definitely have my head now.
