THE POLAROID

CHAPTER 2

Justin quietly sat in the back of the limo browsing at different text messages he had received the night before. He had been home to visit his family and attempt to get some much needed rest, but somehow found himself doing more promoting than relaxing. He was visibly exhausted from all the running around, all the interviews, endless surprise appearances and performances around town, but mostly all the questions unrelated to his upcoming album. He was growing sick and tired of constantly hearing about his past relationships and having to field questions about a very private part of his life. The part he had tried to kept sheltered from the outside world.

As he replied to a text, he yelled up front and asked Kyle, "Two more phone interviews and then I'm done right?"

"Yeah." Kyle yelled back. “I'm on hold for the phone interview now. By the time you are done that one, we’ll be at the radio station for your second interview and you’re clear for the rest of the afternoon till tonight.”

Justin leaned back in his seat, grabbing a notebook from his bag. When he flipped open the book he smiled to himself when he spotted the Polaroid he had found earlier in the week taped to the inside cover. He didn't know what was making him hold onto it. Maybe it was the fact that when he looked at it, he somehow felt calmed by its simplicity. The young woman seemed so content with life. A free spirit somewhere out there in the world living a simple existence…At least compared to his, he thought to himself. She seemed at ease. She wasn’t worrying about having to hire security just to go out. She didn’t have to be burdened with paparazzi camping outside of her house or chasing her down the street. She was probably out there somewhere having a cup of coffee at a small café, sitting outside enjoying the sun beaming down on her face. Perhaps she was quietly reading a book off in the corner of a Barnes & Nobles. She was in all likelihood walking freely down the street without having to worry about who was gawking at her or following her. He envied this woman. He looked around at all the recent chaos in his life and hoped and prayed he could once again experience more moments like the one she seemed to be having in that very same photo that he couldn’t seem to put down.

Justin loved the success and enjoyed the fame. He even relished in all the attention, but there were times where he just wished for some peace, quiet, and simplicity. That’s why he had come home for the week. Time with his family always seemed to set his mind at ease. But Kyle was determined to promote, promote, promote, when all Justin wanted to do was relax and enjoy his grandma’s cooking. He wanted to sit around and have his mom spoil him in the morning with a large stack of pancakes and bacon. He wanted to hit the bar with Trace and just have a few drinks and a few laughs with his friends.

“Yes, we’re all set to go. I’m handing the phone off to him now.” Kyle said before reaching his arm into the backseat and giving Justin the phone. Justin closed his eyes and took a deep breath before finally placing the phone to his his ear.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Serena glanced over at Kerri, who was visibly nervous. She couldn’t keep her hands still, grabbing at the front of her suit jacket, trying to straighten it out for the tenth time. She watched Kerri take slow deep breaths as they waited on the elevator to reach the lobby. Kerri had a ritual when it came to things like this. She would always be anxious up till the very moment it was time to take care of business and then BAM! She would go straight into attack mode.

The ding of the elevator brought them both out of their own minds. On the way up to the 12th floor, Serena went over everything that they were going to discuss in the meeting.

“You got all that right, Kerri?” Serena asked quietly. Kerri’s eyes slowly fluttered open, looking over at her friend and it was then that Serena saw just a hint of insecurity in her eyes. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” She chuckles nervously. “I don’t know why I am so jumpy today.”

“This is a big deal. I’m just as nervous as you are,” Serena smiles.

The elevator doors swung open and both women paused for a moment before stepping off. They found themselves having to squeeze by a group of men walking towards the elevator, talking and laughing loudly. "...Did you hear how Justin put him on the spot though? Fuckin Hilarious!"

Serena was annoyed that none of the men bothered to excuse themselves past the ladies. Kerri was too nervouse to even notice or care. “Okay…It’s make it or break it time,” Kerri nods to her friend before walking down the hallway towards the receptionist sitting behind the tall counter.

Serena greeted the receptionist with her warm smile, “Hello. Ms. Serena Hutchins, and Ms. Kerri Roberts to see Mr. Winters, please.”

The receptionist pointed over to the waiting area and offered them beverages while she announced their arrival to her boss.

”Am I showing too much boob?” Kerri asked as she leaned her upper body forward.

Serena chuckled slightly, “I think you should show more boob, so we make a great first impression.”

Kerri reached over and smacked her friend in the arm smiling. Serena always knew how to set her at ease at times like this.

“Ah, Ms. Roberts…Ms. Hutchins” The man exclaimed jovially, reaching for their hands. “Glad you could make it down here to good ole’ Memphis.” His accent was thick with that southern drawl.

Kerri shook his hand firmly smiling up at him. “Well I am sure you’re going to make it all worth our while, Mr. Winters.”

There it was. That force in her voice. It was confident and firm and showed that she was serious yet endearing. She could tell Mr. Winters was somewhat impressed by her spunk and made sure he told her so as he ushered the two women down the hall into his office.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Justin gave Kyle a dirty look as they entered Club 152. Looking back at him from the steps, he asked “Just an hour to show my face and we’re out, right?” still pissed about the fact that he was doing more promoting than relaxing.

As they followed two bouncers up to the second floor, Justin could feel the bass thumping, shaking the floor, vibrating under his feet. It was loud but he liked the beat. He’d been to Club 152 in the past and didn’t remember it ever being this crowded. Most of them looked like tourists, taking in the sights of Beale Street. He looked back towards his friend, Trace, who was trying to tell him something, but the music was just too loud to make out anything he was saying. Trace just shook his head and motioned that he would tell him upstairs.

(Bah!) Din Daa Daa, Doe Doe

(Bah!) Din Daa Daa, Doe Doe Doe

As they reached the top of the stairs, Justin could hear the song more clearly and smiled at its familiarity. He couldn’t help but move his body when the beat hit hard out of the speakers of the club.

Bah! Bump Bump Bump Bump Bay Doe

“Please follow me, gentlemen.” A woman with a black cardigan on top of a white tank top and black short, shorts with black leggings and boots yelled towards them. Her reddish short hair gleamed underneath the lights that flashed repeatedly.

Justin, Trace, Kyle, and three of Justin’s other friends followed close behind the waitress. There was a sea of people that didn’t seem to end. Bodies bumping into bodies as people tried to move around through the large crowd. Justin bobbed his head up and down to the beat as they made their way over the VIP section of the club which sat atop of a raised platform, giving them a better view of the club. The waitress took their drink orders and disappeared into the crowd of people at the bottom of the stairs.

Justin sat on the edge of the plush couch moving his shoulders from left to right. He looked towards his friends and smiled as they all sang out in unison clapping their hands with the song, “D'Doom D'Doom, Doom Doom”

Justin banged his fists across the table as if it were a drum set, “Rrratatatatatatata…Rrratatatatdadadadoom”

“Wooo! That’s a classic!” His friend Shawn said banging his fist in the air. “Watch out now! I might have to start break dancing up in here!”

All the men stopped and looked towards Shawn, their faces stoic, until Trace finally said, “You’ll fuck around and break a hip.”

The entire couch erupted in laughter and all Shawn could do was roll his eyes as he tried not to laugh. They were pulled away from their exchange when the song started to flow straight into Michael Jackson’s “Don’t stop till you get enough.”

“That’s hot!” Trace yelled, bobbing his head.

"Come on…Get your asses up!” a voice rang out through the club. “Yeah I’m talking to you sexy people over at the bar! You can’t sit down when Mike’s on!”

The men looked over towards the stage where the DJ stand was usually set up and noticed a woman behind the turntables talking to the crowd. “Let’s go!” she yelled.

Justin couldn’t make out her face because she was so far away, and was curious to know who she was. He’d never seen her in there before. But he also hadn’t been home in a while either. When the hostess came back he asked who the DJ was. “She’s a guest DJ. It’s a new thing we’ve started.” She yelled into his ear so he could hear her more clearly. “Every Friday we have a few guest DJ’s come out and do a set.”

Justin nodded, before reaching up to take his glass of Jack Daniel’s from her hand. He took a large sip of his drink, trying his best to relax. He could see more and more people gravitating towards the VIP area and knew that word was getting around that he was there. He wasn’t in the mood to sign any autographs, or deal with women trying to work their way past security to sit with them. But he knew eventually it would happen. Kyle would end up coming over and telling him that it would be good PR if he mingled with a few people. And his friends would end up seeing a bunch of girls they’d like to bag and go balls deep with. He knew they were going to be depending on him to get them all what they wanted. He didn’t really mind doing them a solid, because he knew they would lay down in traffic for him if needed. After all they were his closest friend. All except Kyle that is…Speaking of which, what was he up to? Justin watched as Kyle grabbed something out of his coat pocket before heading down the steps and into the crowd.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kerri looked around as the music blared throughout the club. It was crowded with hot bodies grinding against one another and she loved it. Her heart pounded rapidly and matched the beat of the music. She loved watching their reactions to the music, the beats she was mixing and creating all for their enjoyment. As she leaned down to grab something out of a box that was on the floor near her feet, she could see crude eyes turn and examine her body as she bent down. She felt powerful as the gazes of lustful men turned to her. She looked around and saw Serena talking to a guy who looked out of place. He seemed over dressed. Maybe he worked for management at the club.

"Hey, DJ.” The guy walked up to her. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

Kerri had one headphone propped between her shoulder and her ear as she adjusted the dials on the board. “Sorry, I’m not doing requests tonight.” She stated, never looking over at him.

“Not even for Justin Timberlake?” the man interjected pointing over toward the VIP area.

Kerri never looked towards where his hand was pointing. She stood up straight and looked him square in the eyes before saying, “Not for him or anyone else.”

She turned back around and leaned in towards the microphone yelling out to the crowd to clap their hands. Through the corner of her eye, she could see the man still standing next to her as she raised her hands over her head to clap along with the crowd. She reached down and pressed a few buttons and the song changed over once again, sending the crowd into a frenzy. She grabbed the bottle of beer that was sitting off to the side and took a sip of it before staring back at the man and giving him a look that asked, ‘Why the hell are you still here?’

“It’s just one song, Ker.” Serena yelled into her ear.

“Ree, I’m not changing my set to play this dude’s single.” She took a longer sip of her beer. “He can get the next DJ to play it for him.” Kerri glared at her friend.

Serena knew that Kerri was serious and there was no swaying her. She looked over towards the VIP section and could see Justin sitting around with a bunch of other men, talking to a few girls who had walked by and were yelling towards them. This would have been a great opportunity to get her and Kerri some good contacts for the future. She turned and tried to do damage control with the man, but he simply ignored her and walked back over to Kerri who now had the headphones covering both her ears. He wasn’t used to anyone telling him no. He held the cd out in front of Kerri’s face waiting on her to take it, but she kept moving her fingers across the turntable and said, “I know you better get that fuckin’ cd outta my face.”

“Just one song!” he begged. He never had to beg. All he ever had to do was mention Justin’s name and his request was immediately be fulfilled.

“Fuck your one song." she mocked. "Fuck him.” She pointed her hand towards Justin’s direction. “And fuck you for coming over here thinking that I am going to just do what you say just cause you said it. You both can kiss my ass. Now get the fuck outta here!”

Justin watched from the other side of the room, wondering what Kyle was doing. He watched him reach his hand out towards the DJ, cd in hand, and knew he must be trying to get her to play his single. The DJ never took the cd though. She seemed to be ignoring Kyle completely, but he couldn’t tell. He was too far away to even make out her face to get a read on what was happening. He turned back to the conversation with his friend Todd, and was laughing at something he’d said when Trace suddenly exclaimed, “Oh shit! Your dude is flippin’ out over there.”

Justin looked up towards his friend to find out what happened and Trace pointed towards Kyle who was still standing over at the DJ stand. The DJ was now in his face and seemed to be yelling at him. He watched as Kyle tried to again hand her the cd, but this time she took it and tossed it across the back of the stage. She didn’t even bother turning around to see where it had landed. She simple turned back around and got back on the controls.

A mix of Chic’s “Good Times” started to pump through the speakers and the sea of club goers starts to sway their hands in the air.

Justin watched as Kyle angrily pushed his way through the crowd making his way back over to the VIP section. Justin smiled thinking about how glad he was that the DJ had ended up pissing Kyle off as much as Kyle has pissed him off all week. ‘Just wait till Kyle finds out that he is staying at a hotel for the rest of the weekend’ he thought to himself. His grin grew wider.

“That bitch refused to play your song” Kyle huffed as he found a seat on the couch near Justin, stuffing the now broken cd down into his inside jacket pocket.

“Tough break,” Justin said, trying not to laugh. The sound was bubbling from his throat and he couldn’t stop it no matter how hard he tried. Trace and the other men join in his laughter as Kyle gave them all the middle finger before calling the waitress over to order a stiff drink for himself.

The hour that Justin had intended on staying had easily turned into two as he found himself actually having a good time. He was enjoying the mix of music that the DJ was playing and the atmosphere she was creating was lighthearted. He didn't mind that Kyle kept telling him, "another twenty minutes and we'll go," even though he had said that about 4 times already.

A mix of Stevie Wonder's "I Wish" was playing fast in the background and she could see Justin's body moving around the VIP area to the beat. She smiled as she noticed how much he seemed to be enjoying the song. Others close by noticed as well and stopped to watch him. "Shout out to Justin Timberlake who’s in the house tonight.” The DJ announced over the music as she waved her free hand up and down in his direction smiling. He raised his glass towards her in recognition and went back to dancing with his group of friends.

"...Sneaking out the back door, to hang out with those hoodlum friends of mine." he sang pointing to his friends. Justin kept dancing with his buddies, smiling towards the onlookers before shutting his eyes and getting lost in the song. "...I wish those days could come back once more. Why did those days ev-er have to go."

“DJ Cosmic Kev is going to take over spinning on the one’s and two’s. But before I go,” she paused and ran her hand across the dial. A mix of the Eurythmic’s “Sweet Dreams” started to play and the crowd went crazy. Kerri raised both her hands over her head and moved her body to the music. She looked over towards the VIP area and could see Justin and his group of friends still standing and dancing to the music with a group of women who had joined them.

“Come on! Sing it with me” she said stopping the music at just the right moment. “Sweet dreams are made of this. Who am I to disagree?” The entire club was signing with her.

There was a rush of adrenaline that pumped through her veins when she heard the crowd participating. It almost made her feel drunk. “I had a blast tonight. I’m DJ Lady K! Have fun tonight and be safe!” she yelled into the mic before waving.

Kerri didn’t even have a chance to relish in her moment before Serena’s was in her face berating her once more. “I can’t believe you did that, Kerri!” Serena scolded as she started to round up their stuff.

“Me?” Kerri asked pointedly. “You know better than to let some dude come up to me and tell me what I need to be playing. I don’t care who he works for!”

“You need to go over there and apologize to him. You broke the cd when you chucked it across the stage.”

“Apologize?” Kerri snapped. “You’re crazy! He should be apologizing to me!”

“It’s a part of business, Kerri. We can’t afford to have any bad press right now and you know it.”

Kerri stood there for a moment staring over at her friend, knowing that Serena was right and that she would have to be the one to go over there and smooth things over. She bit at her bottom lip, trying to think of what she was going to say when she eventually made her way over there. Serena just stood there with her arms folded across her chest, glaring at her friend. Kerri didn't have to look up to know that Serena was silently cursing her out. She leaned down and yanked her jacket off the stool in the booth and walked off stage in a huff towards the VIP area.

As she neared the area she could see Justin standing near the railing, chatting with a couple girls, who were shamelessly throwing themselves at him. She looked up and called out to him, “Hey!”

He looked down towards her and smiled. She looked familiar. He spotted the headphones still hanging around her neck and realized it was the DJ. “Nice set.” He yelled leaning over.

“Th-Thanks” she stuttered looking up at him. He was looking back at her, his face unreadable and she wondered just how angry he was about her breaking his cd. “Look, you can’t just walk into a place and expect to world to stop for you. Like I told your friend over there…I don’t change my sets for anyone. I don't care who you are. I tried to be nice, but he wouldn’t listen. But I’m sorry about your cd.”

Justin was too exhausted to explain that he never sent Kyle over there. He simply grinned down at her and said, "It’s cool.”

Serena walked over and Kerri went to introduce her. Justin was barely listening as he watched Kerri's face. She looked so damn familiar. Where had he seen her before? He thought about asking her, but didn’t want her to think that he was trying to give her a line. Shawn and Traced walked over to the railing to see what he was doing and noticed the two women talking to Justin. “Why don’t you come hang out with us?” Shawn yelled to them.

Serena was just about to say okay and sprint towards the stairs, but Kerri quickly crushed her dreams and politely declined. A couple of women walked over to the railing to see why the attention was suddenly off of them. Kerri could feel the jealousy in their eyes, even though she knew there was no need for it. She introduced herself and the woman gave her half a smile, not really interested in getting to know the DJ who had helped them dance their slutty asses up to that very same VIP area they were looking down at her from. They didn't even make an attempt to be cordial with Serena or Kerri. These skanks were starting to get on her nerves and Kerri knew that Serena would be upset over what she was about to do, but she didn't care, “Well you ladies have a good night. And just remember to memorize which glass is his...This way you won’t have to fight about who gets to lick it after Mr. Timberlake leaves.”

Serena reached over and pinched her friend hard on the arm. Kerri yelped out in pain as she went to defend herself. Justin watched the angry women walk away over towards Kyle and he couldn't help but chuckle. "Wow...I just got done forgiving you for insulting me and my music. Why you want try and get on my bad side now?" Justin smiled.

"Because, I can't find your good side." she smirked.

Justin liked that this woman was quick witted. Serena was embarrassed by Kerri’s remark and went to apologize but when she saw Justin laugh, she let out a sigh of relief. As Serena watched her engage in conversation with Justin and his friends, she quickly realized that Kerri was doing what she did best. Doing what needed to be done. She smiled knowing they would surely be able to rest easy tonight and not have to worry about word getting around about the incident on stage.

“...You know you want to come hang with us. Don’t fight it!” Shawn smiled. “You’re just scared. Admit it.”

Kerri looked behind them towards the throng of women who were already up there and just laughed, “Yeah I’m scared I’m gonna catch an STD from standing too close to your new friends.”

Justin almost chocked on his drink as he tried not to laugh. This girl was really cool. She didn’t seem nervous around him. She wasn’t asking him for an autograph. She was just talking to him like he were a regular guy. It was refreshing to see she wasn’t fazed by his notability. “The sexy DJ has jokes!” Trace laughed.

Kerri felt herself blush instantly at the compliment and turned her face to the side trying not to let it show. It was in that very moment that Justin realized that the DJ was familiar because she was the girl from the Polaroid he had found earlier in the week. He closed his eyes trying to remember the photo in his mind, comparing it to her face.

“…Well we gotta get going. My apologies again.”

He never heard her say goodbye. He was too busy thinking to himself that it had to be her. He opened his eyes and went to say something to her, but she was already walking away. "Ain't that a bitch?” he said to himself.

"Ain’t what a bitch?” Trace asked as they turned back around and sat down on the couch.

“Oh nothing…” Justin trailed off. “Yo, another twenty minutes and I’m ready to bounce. So do what you gotta do before then.” He was being cryptic, but Trace and the others knew exactly what it meant. They immediately went back to chatting up the females they had been talking to earlier.

Justin leaned his head against the back of the couch and listened to the music as it blared throughout the club. The atmosphere had quickly changed and he was ready to head back home. He was going to ditch Kyle and stick him with Trace, Shawn and Todd who were obviously headed to a hotel with their new female friends. All he wanted to do now was crawl under the covers of his bed and just sleep. Turn off his phone for the rest of the weekend and just be…Justin. But most of all he wanted to get back to check out that photo one more time to be sure that the woman who had just made him feel so at ease for the brief time they talked, was indeed the same one from the Polaroid.

CHAPTER 3