27 Pop Idol Retirement Plan

Burt

"Hello, Burt!"

"Hi Burt!"

"Hello, Sir."

"Yes, hello," I replied politely, smiling slightly at everyone.

Various people greeted me as I made my way out of our building but none of them really registered because I'm thinking about Jamie and when would he have time to do anything with that kid from PYD the last two weeks if we were always together.

"Good afternoon, Burt!"

"Good afternoon."

Was it during recording? Jamie and I take the shortest time recording these days. LJ takes the longest because he likes to do everything four times even when Steve is happy with the second one. But he would be filming that variety show when he wasn't in the studio...

"Burt, my man!" I had to stop, it was Matt from Code Red, and we were considerably friends, I guess. "You came from a meeting?"

"Just a general schedule alignment with Ned and the guys," I said. We slapped our hands into a handshake and made a quick bear hug. "Code Red too?"

"Nah," he said as we disengaged. "Just me and the Barnes. Male pop idol retirement plan."

"What?" I exclaimed, then laughed in case he was joking.

"Well, we're almost as old as Omnipotent, after all," he shrugged. "And let's face it, some of the guys don't want to dance anymore."

I stared at him until I realised I was staring. We were only a few years younger. "So, Barnes talks to everyone when time's up?"

"What? Haha no," Matt actually said 'Haha,' before laughing. "He talks one on one with some people about where else they want to take their careers and how it fits the company. You know, 30 percent."

"Of course," I nodded.

"Yeah, so I'm having _that_ meeting," he laughed again. "If a band's time is up, I think they just stop showing up. Anyway, I gotta go. I'll see ya around?"

"Of course, of course," I shake his hand again. He pats me on the back.

"Hello, Burt!"

"Good afternoon, sir."

I was barely responding to the greetings now as I was too busy thinking that there is such a thing as not showing up anymore.

I found a little peace when I entered the elevator and nobody was in it. I've been thinking about ageing as a pop star and how I never thought it was a good idea to keep doing this in my forties. I'm starting to think it's not a good idea to keep doing this in my thirties also.

Matt's lucky, because he's already a TV personality and has a talk show and hosts three or four variety shows. Of course, when he said some of the guys in Code Red didn't want to dance anymore, he meant he was one of those guys.

I can't do variety, or at least, I can't host. I can crack jokes as a guest, but I have no interest in TV.

I think I can act okay, but I don't have interest in movies as well. I also don't want to dance anymore. I really like singing, though.

But I also really like my guys. If they think we should still be showing up, then show up, we must.

I have to wonder though, who brings up these one on ones with Mr. Barnes? Does he call me or should I say something first?

The elevator doors opened and Veronica and two kids from PYD got on. "Hey bro, whassup?" the boys offered me fistbumps as they got in the elevator with me. One of them pressed a different parking level from mine.

I wondered if either of them was Gangsta.

Veronica smiled at me and nodded politely. "Hello, Big Burt," she said, teasingly, alluding to what Jamie calls me. Oh that's right, these two are close because they're in that show together.

"Hello," I smiled back at her.

"Isn't Jamie with you?" she asked. She was a very sweet, very friendly girl and I wondered why she and Jamie were friends.

"I had to leave earlier, I think he still has things to go through with the guys," I replied. And then I remembered one of the items in the meeting. "Oh, congratulations, you're doing that duet with Jamie for your next album, I hope it goes well."

"Of course it will, Jamie's voice is amazing," she said. Usually, that's just a thing you say when you're in this industry, but Veronica says this as if she really did like Jamie's voice.

The elevator doors opened and the two boys got out. They both turned to us and bowed politely before the elevator doors closed. Veronica suddenly laughed.

"What was that?!"

"Respect, I guess, I don't know." I had to laugh with her. Her laughter was quite infectious. "I have to tell you, I'm sorry, but I don't watch your show, the one that you and Jamie are on."

"I know," she said, grinning brightly, "Jamie says you never watch anything. I'm surprised you know who I am."

"Well, of course, I know who you are, you're Antonia version 2." I saw the surprise in her eyes and immediately wanted to kick myself. "I'm sorry, I think I wasn't supposed to say that."

"It's fine," she shook her head and we smiled embarrassedly at each other until the elevator opened to our floor.

Johnny and Kyle of Omnipotent were waiting to get in. As soon as Kyle saw me, he quickly turned around, muttering that he had to go smoke first. Veronica greeted Johnny and took her leave, walking to wherever her car was parked. Johnny barely acknowledged Veronica's presence and quickly turned to apologize to me. "Sorry about that, dude," he said. "I guess he still hasn't forgiven Steve, yet."

"Still? Till now?" I slapped his offered hand. "But that was a decade ago."

Johnny shrugged. "I don't know, maybe it's a different bro code." He gets into the elevator and waves at me as the doors closed. I walked to my car. Given how long that elevator ride was, I wondered if something between Jamie and that kid from PYD could have happened in the elevator.