Recording Live

Sharon took a swig of her water bottle bringing her gaze down and reminding Alice that there were little snacks and confectionary before them, and Alice lifted a small éclair from the tiny stack and bit into it. The sweet and tart cream of the cherry filling was wonderful, and Alice hummed, grateful for the tiny pastry to give her some energy.

Alice inclined her head once more in thanks. "You two, take care of us well."

Rita eagerly nodded with Sharon sending them two thumbs up in agreement, and she looked over at Noah to gauge his reaction. He raised an eyebrow at her to ask as if why she kept on looking over, and she shrugged her shoulder with an unapologetic expression since she didn't mean any harm by checking in on him.

She handed him a chocolate chip cookie only for him to lean over to her ear to whisper, "I don't like sweets."

Alice nodded as she sent him a small smile watching as his eyes widened a bit. "I actually do remember you saying that."

"I'm surprised you actually listen to me," he said sarcastically.

"I don't," she said point-blank, and they blinked at each other slowly with his lashes fluttering open and closed before Alice lifted a hand in apology wondering if he got the joke or not, and tapped his knee making him sigh out a long one that signaled that he was done with her. "I do listen I promise."

She took a bite out of the cookie happily, and she saw how the girls' eyes darted between her and Noah, knowing that they likely got the wrong impression of them. Alice was about to voice the awkward topic when the girls' eyes went to the door, and Alice turned back around to see a girl carrying two large boxes in her hands.

Noah pushed himself up from his chair to help her, and the girl placed the boxes into Noah's hands and directed him to put them in the corner closest to the main seat of the recording studio so that it was out of the way. He dropped the boxes down, and the girl ran a hand through her flowing dark chestnut hair and smiled at them.

She realized the girl was stunning with the caliber of her grace that could be felt even from the small interaction, and Alice inclined her head in greeting instinctually knowing who the girl was before the girl did the same and walked over to where she was to shake her hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Alice."

Alice gripped her hand strongly with a touch of a smile on her lips. "Likewise, Daphne."

Noah turned to them, and Daphne also shook his hand. "Wow, you're taller than I expected. Pleasure, Noah."

Noah inclined his head in acknowledgment. "Please take care of Alice and I well."

Daphne nodded. "Of course. You two are my dear guests today. I'm sure that Rita and Sharon had already prepped you both with what we are doing today so just sit back and relax. We are missing one more person though."

There was a prompt knock on the door, and Daphne sighed. "Speak of the devil."

Alice turned around to see that it was Liam, and Noah got up to greet him which most did with a chest bump or something. When they first arrived, Noah kept himself, but now, he had a true smile on his face grateful that he had a friend. She smiled glad for that and faced Daphne who was getting ready in her seat and grabbing all the materials that she needed.

Liam waved at Alice, and she inclined her head in greeting before the boys took a seat with Liam taking the far end of the table with Noah resuming in his seat next to her. She wasn't close to Liam or talked to him ever, but she had seen him through the hallways enough since they had some mutual friends.

Daphne clapped her hands to get the attention of everyone around the table. "Alright, so this is all for who will be joining us today. I'll wait to start recording, but I'll let you two know that this is live, so whatever you say will be taken as your word, and the video will be stored in our logs. Is that fine?"

"That's fine," Noah said as Alice agreed.

"Be relaxed," Daphne said with a smile. "Try to not slur or mumble your words. Articulate well, and it might even be better to speak slower for the audience to understand."

Alice nodded. "Let's do this."

Daphne grinned. "Perfect. Once you see the red light on the microphones and the sign above the door that means we are live. Let's do well, shall we?"

Everyone agreed, and Daphne turned to the glass wall that saw into the other room, and she dipped her chin. "We're set, Elijah."

In the overhead speaker that crackled on, a low diminutive voice carried out saying, "On in, ten, nine, eight..."