Chapter 43 - I Need A Drink

Opening Pitch. In baseball its pitch usually thrown by a guest of honor prior to the start of a game.

I was excited for my passion project that started out as a dream on paper to be a full reality. The artists I have admired for a long time as well as new artists I have come to learn about are all in one hall. Typically in art exhibitions, most common shows would feature one artist and a select collection of their work. Otherwise it can also be multiple mediums or artists work which surround one topic.

I wanted to create the focus to be on a theme rather than an individual. Partially because I would love to work with many artists but also because every artist contributes something different to the culture of society. And each contribution is important and meaningful.

Over the past several weeks I have had my team work on the exhibition hall ensuring all the facilities work, the security points are in place as well as getting basic display sets up. The floor plan had to have been reworked a couple of times to accommodate the various needs required for each installation.

So far things were running smoothly but I could tell something was gonna bite me in the ass. Not one singular project I have done has not had some type of mishap or roadblock throw a wrench in my gears.

It was the night before and things were still going according to plan. 'All I gotta do now is wait for Celeste to come in for her stuff and I can head home.'

She came in and I instantly noticed her outfit. That girl has never once worn causal streetwear clothes out and about. The most she would do is jeans and a t-shirt but even then its rare. All of her clothes that I have seen her wear have been dressy or preppy in some way or form.

Even now she was wearing some black formal slacks but her hoodie was what caught my eye. It was from the brand Graceland which I was a fan of.

"About time you get here princess! Here this is for you." She was allergic to caffeine so I got her a hot chocolate instead.

"So even her royal highness can get some street clothes. How did you manage to get this? You here to flex to me that even you got your hands on this. Man what type of alternate universe am I in, I was bummed out that I had to miss Gracelands latest drop."

The design was even one I was eyeing. But she surprised me by gifting me one instead. It was the inverted version of the one she was wearing.

'I bet she never even considered this to be like couples clothing.' I was happy nonetheless. But a phone call had to ruin my night.

"Hey Mr. Cortez I am the assistant to artist Lyla Koh. I called to talk about the mechanical art installation we sent over."

Ah. This was it. "You see the one we sent over was a prototype installation to hold our place until our artist can complete the finished one. But it is not done."

Lyla Koh was an artist who primarily used mechanics to build pieces usually to portray some type of social commentary. I contacted her to see if she was interested and for her take on the theme of passion she wanted to share her passion for mechanics by creating intricate structures that move and do different tasks.

The piece she submitted was a clock and each hour would have the hands do little detailed tasks like having little sparks or doing water tricks.

On the actual metal every piece was meticulously embossed with intricate designs usually traditional ones which called back to her heritage. Her pieces were very unique so I was very excited to see it in action.

"What the hell do you mean it's not done?"

I felt the anger rise. I was abut two seconds away from punching the nearest thing next to me. I clenched and unclenched my fist but I became aware of everyone leaving the room. The slight buzz from my phone distracted me for a second and I was even more aware of who was in the room.

'Shit not again.'

I took a deep breath and decided to negotiate instead.

"Does what you sent work?"

The assistant mumbled something in the other end before responding back. "It should but my artist would not like this piece to be presented at all."

"Is your artist willing to pay the penalty fee for not showing up? If you need a second to reference it in the contract do so." Because I knew artists could be fickle about their work, given I am one though an amateur, I included it to ensure all artists met the deadline.

After rustling for a bit a different voice responded back. "Hallo Mister." Her German accent being quite prominent. "I do not wish to pay a penalty, you see the reason I do not want to show that work is because it is new. This art is my passion so I wanted to submit my first ever construction, but the mechanics are all very crude and some broken down. I tried to fix it but many of the pieces I need are difficult to find now."

"I did not want to miss this opportunity to share my work with the West so I submitted my newest work which is functional but does not match the placard I sent you."

"How much more time would you need?"

Rustled papers and the knocking down of small metals objects could be heard. "I should have the parts in by end of the month. So probably by the second week of September I should be good. Realistically to send from here to there by Oktober."

I sighed in relief. This is an easier fix. "I can change the card and have it where your installation is two parts. One showing your work now and the next half showing your first piece. That way everyone is happy."

"Ja. Sounds good. Email ok?" After confirming that I shut off my phone. No one else was in the room. 'Geez who do these people take me for, an animal?'

That pissed me off a bit but I also knew I had no reason to be angry. I was all to aware of what my anger looks like to others.

I walked out to see the teams waiting outside. "We should be good to wrap up. Head home and rest up. Opening pitch tomorrow."

As people started to leave I felt a raging headache come up. 'I need a drink.'