Angela's eyes went straight to the stool as she entered the room. She was relieved to see that the paper with the guys' descriptions was still there, folded up. Thank GOD!! She turned and smiled warmly at them and decided against even touching it for fear of drawing their attention to it. As she looked at them, she was surprised that she actually recognized them by what Sandra had told her over the telephone. Too bad she couldn't remember their names, except for Nick. He had to be the tall blond standing in the middle, she thought as she glanced over at him. She felt her cheeks flush as their eyes met briefly, and she looked away quickly, suppressing a smile.
Before she could introduce herself, Kevin took it upon himself to start the formal introductions. "Hi, Angela, my name's Kevin."
Instantly, the others responded in order.
"I'm Brian," said Brian.
"Nick," said Nick.
"I'm Howie D," said Howie.
"I'm AJ," said AJ.
Angela wanted to laugh because as they said their names, she thought Eyebrow Man, Nostrils, Adorable, Killer Eyes, and Funky. It was cute, too, how each one kind of waved and smiled when they said their name (probably from all the times they were introduced to the public) and she almost expected them to finish it off with a group...."And WE'RE the Backstreet Boys!"
"Hi guys," she replied and did a small wave of her own. "Umm, I don't know what all Kenneth told you, so if you could fill me in I'd appreciate it. Then I'll start from where he left off."
Once again, Kevin responded first. "He didn't say a whole lot, Angela. I think Brian freaked him out when he took Nick's picture in the port-a-pot."
They all laughed, and it definitely broke the ice with Angela. She instinctively put her hand over her mouth and said, "Oh my God! You didn't!!!" Brian smiled proudly and Nick rolled his eyes as if it weren't the big deal they were making it out to be. "That is so funny!" She realized as she laughed that things were going to be okay after all. They seemed pretty normal.
Nick stated defensively, "Hey! I'm proud of my Fat Ass," and looked right at Angela, hoping to get a guilty reaction out of her for having wrote it about him on the paper. Instead, she looked at him oddly and laughed again, which hurt his feelings. He didn't notice Brian and Kevin nudging each other beside him.
"Well," Angela said trying to bring order back to the conversation, "I'm glad to see that you're putting the camera's to good use. There will be plenty of opportunities for more pictures as we're working."
"So, what exactly are we going to be doing?" Kevin asked. Angela couldn't help but note Kevin's frankness, since he was the one who had initiated the introductions and was now pushing the issue on what needed to be accomplished.
She made a mental note that he would be her co-supervisor. She'd learned through trial and error that when working with volunteers, it was best for everyone involved to have a representative of that group to help delegate responsibilities and to be the authority figure for the group. "Well, for starters, we have to finish the dry walling in this room. In the kitchen, there's a refrigerator that needs cleaned out. In the bathrooms, the bathtubs and toilets and sinks need scrubbed down and sanitized...we should probably do that first so the water can be turned on...Upstairs, the rooms need painted and there's also border for the bedrooms that needs to be put up when the paint dries. The closets in the bedrooms have some organizers that need installed. And...."
Howie spoke up. "And we're supposed to get all of this finished in how long?"
"Well," Angela said, pausing just a bit. "Three days." She quickly added, "I know it sounds like a lot, but I think if we work hard and stay organized we can get the job done." She looked at Kevin, hoping he would say something to encourage them, but instead he moved towards her, shaking his head.
"Can I talk to you for a second?" He asked, sharply. They walked out into the kitchen away from the other guys and Angela dreaded hearing what he was going to say to her; he didn't look very happy. She wanted to look down, but she knew she had to look Kevin in the eyes or she would lose his respect.
"Okay, Angela," Kevin said sharply. "You can't honestly tell me that you believe we're going to get all this work done in 3 days' time. If you're planning on us busting our asses for twelve to sixteen hours a day, you can forget it. We've been out on tour for the last month and we have one week off. One WEEK! We've decided, out of the insane kindness of our hearts, to spend our time helping your father out. And this is his way of repaying us? Now you know and I know that there is no way we're going to get this shit done with only six people." He paused before adding, "FIVE if you don't count Nick's dead weight."
Angela had never hated Kenneth more than now. If that bastard had listened to her, she wouldn't be having this humiliating conversation in the first place. And yet, here she was getting chewed out by the fearless leader of the Backstreet Boys. She was trembling now, she was so angry, but she tried to maintain her composure as she addressed Kevin's concerns. "You're right, Kevin," she said politely. "I tried telling Kenneth that there was no way, but he wouldn't listen to me. I feel really terrible about all this, but it's not my fault." She could feel tears welling up in her eyes as she corrected Kevin's earlier assumption. "And that son-of-a-bitch is NOT my father, thank you very much."
Angela blinked and felt one of the tears roll down her cheek, but she continued anyway. "If you want to leave, I understand completely. I'm to the point where I don't even care anymore." The tears were flowing freely now, and she looked away and wiped them. "I don't." she repeated and walked away, embarrassed that she was crying so easily in front of a stranger.
Kevin's tone of voice changed immediately to a softer, apologetic one. "Hey, I didn't mean to make you cry. I'm sorry." He touched her shoulder softly. "You can ask any one of those guys out there who can be the biggest prick of us all, and they'll all tell you it's me," he added for emphasis. "And I'm extra fun today because I didn't sleep well last night."
Angela sniffed and wiped her nose on her sleeve, instinctively. That's attractive, she thought, hoping Kevin hadn't noticed. Her voice whimpered slightly as she spoke up. "But, you're right. There's too much work and not enough time." She looked up at him, defeated. "What do you suggest?"
Kevin put his hands on his hips and looked around the kitchen. His eyes honed in on something, and his eyebrows went up and a disgusted look came across his face. "Well, for starters, I say we put Nick to work on THAT!" He pointed.
Angela turned and saw that he was pointing at the refrigerator and laughed. "Do you really think he would? I mean, I thought he could paint since he's so tall."
"Yeah, well, I'm tall, too, and I'll do the painting. That," he nodded at the fridge, "has Nick written all over it." Kevin was relieved that he'd made her laugh. He felt like a heel for making her cry within the first ten minutes of meeting her and was trying to balance the situation out with some humor.
Angela was relieved that the confrontation was over and she laughed again, picturing Mr. Adorable scrubbing away on a nasty, smelly refrigerator. Kevin smiled at her and the sun shining through the kitchen window caught his green eyes, bringing out the contrast between them and his almost-black hair. He leaned forward and she thought, for a minute, that he was going to kiss her.
"Oh, and by the way," he said softly, "I told Nick that you wrote down that he had a fat ass on that paper out there."
Angela squeezed her eyes shut in shock, as if she could wish herself somewhere else. "Tell me you guys didn't read that paper," she pleaded. She walked away shaking her head and started pacing the floor, defending herself as she walked. "You know, I'm not the one who said all that," she pointed out, cursing Sandra in her mind. "It was my friend, Sandra. I didn't know what you guys looked like and I wanted to know before you got here. I swear to you, it wasn't me." Suddenly, admitting to Kevin that she had no clue who the Backstreet Boys were sounded much better than taking the blame for the notes.
Kevin stopped her and looked at her, curiously. "Sandra? Where's Sandra?"
Their eyes met and she knew immediately what he had in mind. "She's at school, and it's only about three hours away, too!" she answered.
"Well, why don't you call her?" Kevin asked. "We could use the help."
"Well," Angela hesitated, twirling her hair as she thought. "Kenneth asked me to keep all this quiet. He'd be pissed if I called her."
Kevin shrugged. "Then I'll call her. Kenneth doesn't scare me." He started towards the other room and Angela followed behind him like a little girl in love. "You are my kind of guy, Kevin. I mean, Eyebrow Man." She could see his head tilt back slightly as he laughed, and was surprised at how easily she had let him take control of the situation. He was so focused and reassuring, though, it seemed natural to relinquish her authority to him.
This had to be the coolest day in her life. Now it would be her,
Sandra, and
the Backstreet Boys - together, for four days! Her mind raced with all
the
possibilities! But then she felt an unexpected sick feeling overwhelm
her,
too, one that she'd never felt before. It came as she realized that
Sandra had
called Nick adorable over and over on the telephone. It came as she
realized
she'd never have a chance with him now, not over Sandra.
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