I was rooming with my friend Eric in the spring of my 19th year. I attended NYU and Eric was pursuing a music career. He just recently moved into my loft that fall, and was already on his way to the top. He had an agent, and was trying to find a record label. I was happy, almost done with my freshman year and enjoying the life of a musical theater major.
On this particular Friday afternoon, I opened the door to my loft to find Eric in his usual flannel pants and robe. But, this time, he was accompanied by a middle-aged, balding man sitting behind our counter. Eric was over the sink, peeling an orange, and humming a tune, as he always did. I closed the door behind me, and Eric turned his head, still humming.
"Shelly!" he said as his face lit up. He took a chunk of his orange and popped in into his mouth. He danced over to me and I put my purse down and unzipped my jacket.
"What's up, woman?" I opened my mouth to reply nothing much but a piece of orange put into my mouth stopped me. Before I could swallow, Eric pulled me by the wrist over to the kitchen counter and put a glass of water in front of me. The middle-aged man looked up from his paperwork and flashed a smile. I started to introduce myself, but Eric quickly interrupted.
"Shelly, this is a representative from Jive Records." He then leaned into my ear and whispered, "He wants to offer me a record deal!!"
"Nice to meet you," the man stood up and shook my hand. "We're very excited to work with Eric."
"Well?? Are you gonna take it?!" I looked at Eric, wide-eyed. Eric smiled and picked up a pen.
"Where do I sign?"
