Written By: Carrie
As the flight attendant walked around to the passengers, she came across a young girl. "Miss?" The girl looked at her. "I'm sorry to disturb you, miss, but we will be arriving to Orlando in about 7 minutes or so." The girl said, "Thank you." She handed back the ice pack that she had used earlier. She sat back in her chair, and closed her eyes. She was finally going to live somewhere safe, which was perhaps better than where she lived before, in Syracuse, New York. Her mom had passed away when she was ten, so she stayed with her father, who was a local businessman. Those years for her were tough. Her father was abusive to her.
When she told her grandmother, she called the police. When her father found out, he almost killed her by using a shotgun. Luckily, she survived. But the pain was still within her. Days later, her dad was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with no parole. At that moment, the loudspeaker came on: "Ladies and Gentleman, please fasten your seatbelts. We are preparing to land in Orlando, right now. We hope you enjoyed the flight, and have a good time in Florida."
Nina waited patiently for her sister, Rami. She hadn't seen her since she was nine or ten. Nina left for college when she was eighteen, before Rami was born. Now she was 28, and older than her sister. As everyone came out, someone caught Nina's eye. The person was about 5 foot, 6 inches tall, had brown hair and deep blue eyes, and looked exactly like Nina. "Rami!! Over here!!" The girl turned around, and saw Nina. As she stood there, Nina walked over to her. "Hey sis. Gosh, I missed you. It seemed like forever." The girls embraced, and Rami started to cry. "I thought I'd never see you again." Nina looked at her. "Don't you say that! We're finally together, now. Nothing will change that, ever." Rami nodded her head. Nina looked at her. "You look pale. Have you eaten anything lately?" Rami said, "I wasn't that hungry when I left." "Well, let's get your things, and we'll stop for lunch, or something. Okay?"
After lunch, Nina drove to her house. It wasn't in Orlando, but in a suburban area near Orlando. It was called Ruskin. Nina's house looked like it was made in Jamaica or someplace very exotic. It was white, and the roof had brown shingles on it. There was an ocean next door to another person's house, but it looked private. As Nina led Rami to her room, she opened the door. Rami's new room had purple walls, and a window with a view of an ocean. Rami looked around her room, and saw all of this hippiesh type of junk that her sister put in to decorate it. Nina looked at her. "If you don't like any of the stuff I put in here, we can always take it down." "Nina, this is fine! I like it the way it is, really. But, there's something missing...." "You mean, this?" Nina handed her a poster to Rami. Rami's mouth dropped open, as she unrolled it, carefully. "Nina!!!! How did you know?!" It was a poster of the Backstreet Boys, her favorite group to walk the center of the universe. Nina also liked them as well. "Gosh!! Thanks, Nina!!" Nina hugged her. Then, her beeper started to vibrate. "Hold on...My job is calling me." Rami looked at her. "I didn't know you had a job! What do you do?" "I work at the Sunshine Day Care Center. It's almost like a camp, but it's only for infants and toddlers. You can help out if you want." Rami thought about it, and said, "Cool. That sounds great!"
Today was the day that Rami started her job helping out the little kids at the day care center. The whole afternoon was great, until Rami saw a little girl sitting by herself near the toys. Rami walked over to her, and knelt down. "Hi," Rami said. "Hi," the little girl repeated. "My name's Rami. What's yours?" The little girl looked down. "Megan." "That's a nice name Megan. Why aren't you playing with all the other kids, Megan?" "I'm shy." Rami looked around. "Do you play basketball?" "No. I don't like basketball." "Do you like to color?" "No." "Well, what do you like to play with then?" Megan thought for a moment, and said, "Well, my mommy and I like to play go fish, a lot." 15 minutes later, Rami had a pack of cards in her hands. "Do you have any queens?" Megan shook her head. "Go fish!" Rami smiled. All of a sudden, Megan saw someone, and stood up. "Mommy!!! My mommy's here!!" Megan ran over to her mom, and hugged her. Nina said, "Rami, this is Mrs. Stevens, Megan's mother." Mrs. Steven's stuck out her hand. "Nice to meet you, Rami." "Mommy, Rami and I played go fish, and everything! And I won!!" "Oh really? Well, we can play some more when we get home." "Bye Rami!!" Megan squealed. When Rami and Nina got home, they heard a little kid call for someone. This little girl came up to Rami. "Have u seen my cousin's doggie? His name is Mikey." Rami shook her head. "No, I haven't. What does it look like?" "Well, it's a little pug-doggie..." Then, a tall nineteen year old guy came up to the girl, and picked her up. She started to laugh. "What are you doing out here, and with no shoes on?!" "Sorry, cousin Nick. I couldn't find Mikey..." "Mikey's back in the house. Now, go back inside and wash your feet." The girl ran back in. Rami stared at the guy. He was about 6 feet, with blonde hair and blue eyes. "Sorry...She's always getting in the way like that." "Oh, that's okay. She's just a little kid." He looked at Rami. "You must be Nina's sister, right? I'm Nick Carter. I live right next door." Rami stuck out her hand. "I'm Rami Peterson." Nina came outside. "Hey Nick! I see you met Rami..." Nick scratched his head. "Yeah, I did. She looks exactly like someone I know." The little girl called out. "Nicky!!!! Your girlfriend's on the phone!!!" Nick started to walk back. "I have to go back inside. It was nice to meet you, Rami." "Nice to meet you, too." Nick ran back inside. He ran to his little cousin, and grabbed the phone. "Hey Alya. How are you sweetie?" There was a groggy, and choked voice on the other end. "Hey, Nick. Can I talk to you?" Nick said, "Sure. That's why I'm here. What's up?" "Well, I hate to dissapoint you, but you can't come in Saturday. I have to do more boring treatments! Are you mad?" Nick sighed. "Of course I'm not mad. I could never be mad at you. You have to do what you have to do, right? This is the only way to help you get better..." "Nick, you don't understand!!! I'm not getting any better from this!!!! I'm going to die!!!!" Nick sat up. "Don't say that. You're going to be fine..." Alya started to sob. "This is not helping me. I'm dying. I don't want to die from this disease." Nick tried to console her. "Please don't cry. You're going to get better. I know you are. Just keep the faith with you. I'll try to come by this Monday to be with you, okay?" Just then, Alya said, "Oh no!!!" She dropped the phone, and ran towards the bathroom. There was a click. "Alya?? Hello??" Nick hung up the phone, and stared out the window. Just then, his little cousin came and sat on his lap. "Nick, can we have pizza for dinner?" Nick was still staring out the window, as he said, "Yeah. Let's have some pizza."
"What a nice guy," Rami said as she opened up a can of Pepsi. "He sure is. He's also busy most of the time," Nina replied as she went to the fridge. "Really? Doing what?" "Well," Nina mumbled, "Just performing... As a Backstreet Boy." Rami spat out her drink. "GET OUT!!!!! He's a Backstreet Boy?!" Nina smiled and said, "Duh!! We've got a Backstreet Boy for a neighbor. But he tries to keep it in private so that no fans invade his privacy." "Oh, I see." Nina sighed and then replied, "Usually, he also gets spare time with his girlfriend." "Oh, I see," Rami muttered with disappointment. "We all need sympathy for him though. His girlfriend is dying," Nina added. "That's terrible. I feel horrible." Then the phone rang. Nina picked it up. "Hello? Oh, hi Nick. Yeah, she's here, hold on." Nina handed the phone to Rami. Rami looked at her. "Nina, who is it?" "Nick. He wants to ask you something." Rami took the phone. "Hello?" Nick was laying on his bed. "Hey Rami, it's Nick. Say, are you doing anything tonight?" Rami thought for a second. "No, not really. Why?" "Well, I was going to take my little cousin, Megan to the playground, and I was wondering if you wanted to join me for a while. Is that okay?" Rami said, "Sure. I'll be over in a sec." Rami grabbed her jacket. Nina yelled out, "Where are you going?" "To Nick's. I'll be home whenever." Nina said, "Okay. Just be home by ten."
It was almost getting dark, but there was a little light. Megan was playing with some kids on the jungle gym, while Rami and Nick sat and kept a close eye on her. Rami said, "She's so cute. She must get all that energy from her cousin." Nick laughed lightly. "Well, a little bit. So, tell me about yourself. Are you visiting?" Rami said, "Actually, I'm living with Nina." "Cool," Nick said, "But what about your parents?" Rami didn't know what to say. She started to to tell him about what happened to her way back when, but instead she said, "They're cool about it." Nick nodded his head. "Alya always loved going to the playground with Megan." Rami looked at him. "Alya?" Nick looked back. "Oh, sorry. Alya is my girlfriend. But, she's not doing so great. She has leukemia, and this month might be her last." Rami looked at him. He didn't seem to be too happy. Nick stared out and looked at the half dark, and half light blue sky. Rami said, "I'm sorry. If you ever need anything, I'm here for you." Nick looked at her. "Thanks, Rami. I really appreciate it."