Jay Aslan: Journey to the Top

It was time to go home. Jay should've been leaving on the 25th actually, but he had no patience to wait until then and so had asked for his flight to be changed to an earlier date. The perks of 1st class passengers.     

He took a look at his system logs:     

[MISSION: "Give Veronica Sanders a night to remember" accomplished! Rewarded, 150 EXP.]     

That mission had been particularly suggestive, but it could actually be taken quite literally as well, since neither he nor Veronica were about to forget that night.     

They had talked a lot since then, and had become close to the point they could now be considered friends. She didn't treat him like a kid and he respected her.     

She had confided in him, she had been hurt and lonely and he had been able to empathize with that.     

The resort's security had found out what had happened and had called the police on the guys responsible, and Veronica had decided to press charges. She was still dealing with them now and had already bidden Jay farewell. With video proof, he didn't need to testify so he was free to leave.     

The thought of that night brought a smile to his lips; of course, he had wrecked her!     

Jay was currently wearing a white shirt tucked in navy blue shorts that were framed by a leather brown belt and Timberland boat shoes.     

He sported steampunk style gray-framed black-lensed sunglasses that he had gotten off amazon, as well as a small fedora shaped straw hat that Veronica had gotten him.     

Once all his luggage had been taken care of, Jay took one last look at the resort before climbing into the car and telling Frank to leave for the airport.     

***     

Two or so hours later, he reached the boarding gates. He gave his ticket to the stewardess who smiled and let him in after sneaking a few glances at his well-toned body.     

Jay quickly found his seat and made himself comfortable. It wasn't long before a woman in her forties sat next to him on the aisle side.     

Jay was about to take out a notebook he had bought at customs in order to start writing songs when he was interrupted.     

[Ding! MISSION: Make a good impression on your neighbor. Reward: 300EXP.]     

Just as he was trying to muddle this out, he heard the woman next to him call out a stewardess.     

"Excuse me." she whispered, "Are there any window seats left available? My assistant made a mistake when she ordered my ticket, I get anxious when I stay on the aisle side during long flights."     

The stewardess apologized and told her they were full, then the woman bitterly smiled and let her go back to her work.     

Jay raised his eyebrows in wonder. She could have asked him directly but didn't, she probably didn't want to be a bother.     

He turned to her and smiled, "Would you like to trade seats?"     

The woman looked back at him, startled. "You... heard that?"     

She was genuinely taken aback, she had been whispering very lowly so it had caught her off-guard when he had asked.     

Jay chuckled, "I have very good hearing."     

She smiled and nodded in thanks, "Thank you, that's very kind of you."     

"It's nothing." Jay said as he got up, and he meant it. Even without the mission, he would have done the same.     

The woman stared at him for a second before switching seats, and turning back to face him. She sized him up for a good while; he was conspicuously tall and well-built, and although he was wearing sunglasses that hid a part of his face, his chiseled jaw and dimples were promise enough as to what was hidden beneath.     

She smiled and asked, "Would it bother you to take your sunglasses off?"     

It was Jay's turn to be startled, but having no reason to refuse, he did as he was asked.     

The woman stared at him in silence for a second, then smiled broadly and extended a hand out, "My name is Carmen Cuba, it's a pleasure to meet you."     

"Likewise." Jay responded.     

"It's probably rude of me to ask, but how old are you?" she queried.     

"15." he said.     

"I thought so too, but it's very impressive, you don't see that many- What did you say? How old?!" she asked in disbelief.     

"... I turned 15 in January."     

She looked at him like he had grown a third head before slowly asking, "And you're what, 5 foot... 11?"     

"6 foot." he responded, perplexed at the increasingly personal questions. He didn't kid himself into thinking his looks had smitten her.     

Carmen sensed his puzzlement and took a card out of her bag, "I'm a casting director," she said before sizing him up from head to toe one more time.     

"Do you have any interest in acting?"     

Jay did a double take at that, and carefully observed the woman again.     

She was in her forties and her bearing was quite ordinary. Carmen Cuba... he didn't remember that name. Of course, although the entertainment industry was a closed-off group, it didn't mean it was small to the point where everyone knew everyone.     

Acting... Jay was of course interested, but it wasn't his priority right now.     

"Maybe." he smiled and said.     

Her eyes lit up at that, "Could you give me your number? If I feel like a role might suit you, I'll give you a call. Of course, you'll still have to pass whatever audition comes your way."     

Jay nodded and gave it to her. "I'm actually more interested in singing to be perfectly honest."     

"Really?" she said, her interest having been pricked. "Do you have a demo?"     

"No, sadly not yet. I was thinking of opening a YouTube channel when I get back home."     

"Send me the link when you do, you got me intrigued." she smiled.     

Jay chuckled, "Will do."     

They talked a bit more and Jay found out she was divorced with three children, a boy and two girls. He asked her about what kind of movies she'd been a casting director for, and the answer startled him.     

"The Butterfly Effect? You were the casting director for The Butterly Effect?" he asked in disbelief.     

Carmen grinned at his reaction, "Yes haha. And I did The Informant last year, don't know if you've seen it."     

"With Matt Damon?! Of course I did. Wow. That's amazing. So you know him?" he asked in awe.     

"You like him?"     

"He's an amazing actor. I love the Jason Bourne series." he admitted.     

Carmen laughed and shook her head, "Figures, my boy does too."     

They were interrupted by an attendant asking if they would like to eat now and both of them nodded. After that, Carmen felt tired and apologized to Jay telling him she would take a nap. He naturally didn't mind and nodded.     

He took out his notebook and started thinking.     

He would of course act at some point, but right now his priority was definitely singing.     

What should his first song be about? His wife's betrayal flashed in his mind for a second and he was left with a bad aftertaste.     

He closed his eyes and his fingers started tapping in rhythm. He needed to remember the emotions, that was the only way to write tastefully.     

Pain, anger, confusion, hatred, sorrow, pain. He felt all of it coming back, then he opened his eyes, and realized he didn't have a way to vent.     

He had gotten another chance, was there any reason to hold on to this bitterness?     

Those were two different lives, so... what was the point?     

He thought for a second before smiling. It was a smile of relief and release.     

He picked up his pen and started to write:     

"Holding On And Letting Go."     

It was the beginning of a legend.