The guys gave out a few autographs but it started getting pretty wild so Earl told us to vamoose for the bus. It was hard to get to the bus but the bodyguards made a way for us and we made a run for it. Denise got on the bus last. We stuffed our bags over our heads and fell on the seats. Although the guys were tired it was only 10:30 and no one wanted to sleep. I took the opportunity to put the drinks in the refrigerator and the rest of the food in the cupboard. I sat in the corner of the couch and put up my feet in a comfy position. Nick sat down on the other end of the couch.
Although I could tell he was physically tired when I looked into his gorgeous blue eyes I saw that his mind was wide awake, I looked at the rest of them and saw the same in their eyes. I was too hyper to be tired. It took about twenty minutes just to pull out of the theatre's parking lot and by now the only light outside came from street lights and passing cars. Inside the bus the lights were on but dimmed. "You guys were great! I definatly understand why you love doing what you do.." I said in a general direction trying to get them to talk. "Thanks, so how have you enjoyed the last few days...?" Nick asked me "I've had perhaps the best time of my life, your life is tiring but extremely exciting, I don't think I can remember the last time I laughed so often in one day..." I said smiling at him. The way the light hit his face made him look like an extremely attractive ghost, I had a sudden urge to draw him. "Well with these guys you never know what will happen..." Brian said to me from across the aisle. Although they were mentally awake the guys looked like they had been doing physical labor without food or water for the last three days, they looked distraut.
Nick got up and headed to raid the fridge. "Oh I put your Orbitz and the other stuff you asked me for in the fridge, the rest of it is in the cupboard.." I remembered and told him. I got up and looked for my journal, found it, and sat back down in the comfortable position I was in earlier. "Catch.." Nick tossed Brian and AJ each a bottle. They each caught it. Howie boiled some water to make himself a cup of herbal tea, "Hey D can you boil me some water too..?" I asked him turning my head around trying to move as little as possible, "No problem... do you want me to just leave it in the pan?" "Yes please..thanks.." I said and turned back around. At the store I bought myself some of my favorite Japanese green tea. "Hey B-Rok how you feelin man.." Kevin asked Brian, he seemed a bit concerned "Aside from the tired, fine, since the operation I don't get nearly as tired as I used to" He seemed extremely pleased with himself, his eyes were bright and limpid like a tide pool. When the water was boiling I got up, pulled the tea and a mug out of the cupboard, put the tea in the mug and put water in it. I found a lemon and some sugar and put that in my tea. "Oh yes.. its quite the time for tea...would you have some crumpets with that too..." Brian said in a very snotty British tone "Nooo I don't quite like crumpets, they go right to me bum.." AJ replied in his own high pitched British voice, everyone broke out into laughter. "Yes quite right now, crumpets just will not do..." Nick joined in. By the time I sat back down with my cup we were all speaking in British and laughing. "You guys just love attention, then again you have no problem getting it..." Denise said to all of us laughing. When we finally settled down I sipped at my tea letting the warmth and flavor relax me.
I hadn't heard Howie talk for a while so I turned around and saw him reading on the other couch, it reminded me that I had also brought a couple of books along, but tonight wasn't the night for reading. When we hit the highway the only light from outside was an occasional light post stratigically placed to light the highway. "Here... try some." I said to Kevin as I handed him my cup after realizing that he had been intently analyzing my reaction to the tea. Kevin took a sip and liked it, he passed it to Brian who also wanted to try it "Not bad.. its kind of relaxing..." he said making a really funny face. He offered it to AJ to taste and instead he said, "Nope I'll stick to my sugar filled Orbitz." sticking out his tounge with a whole bunch of the little jelly pebbles on his tounge, it was pretty gross. Nick finished off the rest of my tea "Goodthing none of you like tea, otherwise I'd be done for.." I said getting up and making more tea "Anybody else want some..?".
"And here is ET making tea, she's teaching us about the finer things in life..." Kevin said pointing his video camera at me while I boiled water. "Hi, can you believe that no matter how tired these guys are they are never tired enough to quit being jokers..." I said laughing into the camera. When Kevin first filmed me I was a bit nervous but within the last five days I became oblivious to it. I ended up making four cups of tea as we all talked into the camera at the guys' families. "Hey Howie say something.." Kevin said snapping him out of his book "Hey mom, I miss you guys, we're having a blast...we are all still alive so we are behaving some what..." Howie finished as Kevin moved the camera over to Brian. We all spent about 20 minutes being foolish and saying hi to everyone on camera.
We all suddenly realized that we hadn't eaten since lunch and the hunger pains started catching up to us. "John how about we pull up to the next MickeyD's...?" AJ said "You know your not supposed to eat so much junk food..."Denise reminded him and all of us too "I know but its not like we're lazy, we dance it off, and our lovely lady doesn't need to worry about calories.." He retorted -he is such a flirt- "AJ stop flirting, you'll make the poor girl nautious..." Howie said from his book with a grin on his face. "Sorry D, didn't mean to make you jealous" AJ said looking amused and walked up to D and messed up his hair. It was extremely funny, Howie had gotten riled by AJ and now the two were in a noogie war. The temptation was too much for Aaron, Nick, and Brian, finally they joined in. Kevin and I were laughin so hard that tears were streaming down our faces. The guys finally stopped when they ran out of energy and just collapsed on the floor. "so you find us amusing do you..?" Brian said to me in a southern accent "Why yes I do.." I said in my own semi-southern accent. "Ok guys lets chill for a second... we have to go over the schedule for the next few days..." Denise interrupted in her business voice. We all suddenly became very mature and quiet. We huddled around Denise at the table and spent the next 30 minutes going over the schedule- she tired us mentally. When we finally finished the little meeting we were even more ravenous than before. "John my man where is the food? We're dying of starvation back here.."
Brian asked him walking up to the front. It was so dark outside that every car that passed us by flooded the bus with light. Half because of hunger and half because of boredome we started harrasing the motorists on the road. We would shut the lights off and then when someone drove by we would get in front of the windows and turn on a light under us and make horrible faces. We must have looked like demons but we were having so much fun that we didn't stop till we got to the rest stop. We unanemously decided to go to Mcdonalds. The plaza was almost completely deserted. Aside from the trucks, there were only 4 other cars in the parking lot. I had no idea what time it was but I figured it was probably around 1 or 2 in the morning. Nobody in the plaza recognized the boys and they seemed somewhat relieved. In the last week I had learned that the guys ate like pigs but they truly surprised me, even Aaron and the bodyguards, Richard, Andre, and Lonnie ate like there was no tomorrow. I just ordered a cheesburger, fries, and a milk shake. Thankfully food calmed the guys down and we didn't make a lot of noise.
When we finished Brian and Nick decided that they needed to restock the fridge on the bus so they took off for the food store in the plaza. The rest of us were about ready to pass out so we went back to the bus. Outside there was a gorgeous full moon. Back on the bus we were all waiting for Brian and Nick. When they finally came out they were each carrying 2 bags of whatever it is they bought. John started the bus and made it look like we going to leave them behind and they started running. They finally got on the bus and we were back on the road. I had taken Nick's spot and was laying the length of the couch. We were all finally both mentally and physically exhausted. The couch was long enough so that Nick was laying across from me and our legs were next to each other in the middle of the couch. We shut the lights off and the bus became dark, peacefully tired silence blanketed the inside of the bus and we all fell asleep.