Nanowrimo - Day 14

When he got to New York, Mike was glad that he was a day early for Freestyle Friday on 106 & Park. Of course, he had heard all about the city, its size, its culture, its fast pace. Still, he was unprepared for the reality of it, and it threw him off his game a little. Just the ride with Alex from the airport to the hotel they were staying in was an eye opener, with the taxi driver taking routes that didn't seem to make any geographic sense, one way streets at every turn, and traffic worse than even the worst he had complained and cursed about in Miami. The thing that was the most different however, was not the crowds of people or the moving around all the time, or even the traffic. What struck Mike as most different was the city itself, going up and up towards the sky, with no way to see around the buildings. Downtown Miami was sort of like that, with some tall buildings that Mike probably would have called skyscrapers before coming to New York, but they were shorter and farther apart. They didn't block your view of the open sky, and most of Miami, even downtown Miami didn't even have those. Most of the time, Mike thought, you could see at least for a mile, over buildings and between them, and it was rare to find a building over three stories. The buildings here were so tall that the rest of the city disappeared behind them, and every time the cab turned a corner, Mike felt as if he were in a whole new place.

The hotel wasn't much, just a Holiday Inn outside the city, which meant that they would have to drive in every Friday for the Freestyle Friday at the BET studios downtown. Alex had told him on the way over that the hotel was being paid for by his company, but he was on his own for meals and everything else. Alex even offered to line him up with some work while he was in New York, to help him get by in the meantime. If things went according to plan, Mike would make seven weekly appearances, starting off as a challenger, and then defending his title as champion six weeks in a row. This would keep him in town for almost two months. According to Alex, this would draw the attention of important producers, label executives, and investors that they could use to get studio time and get an album together. He even apologized for not being able to pay for more of his expenses. Mike never told him that he had brought almost twenty thousand dollars with him, rolled up in the corner of his suitcase.

After dropping their things off at the hotel and having some dinner, Alex took Mike to the studio where 106 & Park was recorded. They had already finished taping for the day, but even so, there were producers and assistants buzzing around preparing for Friday's show. One assistant producer, Jasmine, met them in the lobby to give them a tour of the studio, and some guidelines about the battle the next day.

"So, you know Paul, right?" she asked Alex, "That sure helps get things moving around here. He asked me specifically to give you the insider backstage tour and some pointers to help you out tomorrow."

Mike thought that Jasmine was pretty, in that professional, executive kind of way. She was tall, too tall for him really. In her black heels, she was about two inches taller than his five feet, ten inches. Still, she had a nice shape, athletic and slim, in her white blouse and black skirt that covered her from her neck to below her knees, including her arms all the way to her wrists, but still showed her figure. Mike noticed that she dressed better than any of the other assistants on her floor, men or women. He figured she must be one of those ambitious types, into business and promotion, always wanting to get ahead, but always wanting to do it on her talents and brains, and not any way else.

"How long have you been working here?" he asked.

Jasmine turned towards him, and her deep, light brown eyes with their almond, doe-eyed shape struck him and held his gaze for a moment. "Just a year," she said, "a little over a year, actually, but I've only been in his position for three months. I started off as an intern, running files and what not."

Mike nodded, avoiding having to answer, because he was trying to focus on what she was saying and not her face.

He looked over at Alex, to shake it off, and found that his partner was watching him, smiling that knowing grin that says you've caught someone slipping.

"So, Jasmine," Alex said, "what are we seeing today?"

She took them around to the back offices, not just where the talent had their dressing rooms, including the hosts of the shows Rocsi and Terence J, but even where the executives and producers worked. They walked the hallway leading to the set of the show, the same hallway Mike would have to walk the next day when the show was taped. Mike was glad to see the place empty of people. He had been nervous about performing live and improvised in front of a crowd, let alone cameras, but somehow being in this place with so many empty seats, being able to sit on the couches and look at the dead eyes of the cameras, gave him a confidence he hadn't expected. It felt like his place, his domain, and even though he was the challenger, he reminded himself that he had lived a charmed life, and that however good the opponent would be the next day, Mike would be even better. Actually, he felt more nervous being around Jasmine that being in the studio with such a crucial trial heading his way so soon.

Sitting on the couch and surveying the room, Mike's eyes fell on Jasmine again, even Hugh he had been avoiding looking at her. She was watching him, a cute smile on her face, but he couldn't tell if it was professionalism or interest that made her smile so.

"Thanks for showing us around," Mike said, "looks like you run things down here. You must be the big boss." He tried to look cool and aloof, leaning back on the couch as if he belonged there.

"Not quite," Jasmine said, "Not by a long shot." She turned away from him and addressed Alex. "So, basically, tomorrow's show tapes at one. You'll need to make sure Mike is here no later than 11:30."

Mike stood up and walked over to the two of them, a bit sheepishly, not sure why he was getting the cold shoulder, not sure how to impress this woman, but trying to insert himself into the conversation. "Anything else I should now about?" he asked.

Jasmine turned to him with that same cryptic smile. "During the competition, no cursing or any form of profanity, and no ...," she searched Mike's face, groping for words, "no sexual content. At all. Failure to stick by these rules will get you disqualified."

Mike nodded his head and tried to look serious. "Fine. No problem," he said, "I don't do those things anyway." He cocked his heed to the side a bit and smiled at her. "I'm a clean rapper," he said, with emphasis so contrived and pseudo-innocent that he could swear he saw her real smile through the fake one, just for a second. She turned away quickly and started walking down the hallway away from them and the studio.

"That's good," she said, without even looking back over her shoulder at him, "just make sure you're also a punctual rapper." She opened the large door at the end of the hall, with the red "taping" sign over it. "And that, gentlemen, concludes the tour of the facilities. Hope you enjoyed it. Good luck tomorrow, but now I have my work to do."

After leading them past the reception area, and a firm handshake for both of them. Mike found himself watching her go back into the office area until she was out of sight, or, more precisely, until Alex literally pulled him away.

On the way down in the elevator to the lobby, Mike was already thinking of things to say to Jasmine the next day, how to try to break through. He hadn't really been with a lot of women, hadn't had more than three girlfriends in is lifetime, and none of them even serious. The hustle had always consumed more of his time, and making and saving money had always held more of his interest. Still, there was something about this particular woman. Maybe it was because he felt so generally confident about life, so unstoppable. Or maybe it was the gloss and excitement of being in a new city. She was, after all, so very different from the girls he had grown up with, the ones he had known all his life, and even liked. In his mind she was associated with this powerful, beautiful city and everything he knew it held in store for him.

Tomorrow was the competition, the Freestyle Friday. But in many ways, Mike felt more nervous about seeing Jasmine again. The battle was a lock, as far as he was concerned. But how to get this woman's attention, how to get through the professionalism and what looked a lot like disdain, or at least apathy, he couldn't figure that out at all. But he definitely wanted to learn, and tomorrow was his chance. Show the judges how great he was, and show Jasmine something as well.