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“Good morning, Sleeping Beauty!” Brian returned.
“Food!” Nick repeated, this time impatiently. They were all just settling down on the bus. Nick had been the last of them to board, and he was now searching the place for any signs of McDonalds'. His eyes landed on one of the Boys. AJ was chowing down on an Egg McMuffin, oblivious to the evil look Nick was giving him. The next thing any of them knew, Nick had sprouted wings and flown across the bus at the food bag. “FOOD!”
AJ abandoned the bag and dodged out of Nick’s path, still clutching his breakfast sandwich. Jenny, who had been seated on the other side of the table from AJ, now sat dumbfounded with a croissant in her hand that had never reached her mouth. She just watched Nick devour first one then another sandwich. After he had started on his third, she wasn’t even sure she wanted to finish her breakfast. Cautiously, Jenny reached a timid hand across the table, holding the croissant out as a peace offering.
Kevin and Brian both gave way to shrieks of laughter at that very moment. The look of uncertainty and disgust on Jenny’s face was priceless. Nick hadn’t realized until then that he had an audience. Red engulfed his face, and the food actually stopped entering his mouth. He shook his head at Jenny, to let her know he didn’t want her breakfast, and then bowed his head in shame and embarrassment.
Just then Howie returned from the other end of the bus, the sound of the water running through the pipes in the bus told them all what he had been doing. He noticed the food wrappings all around Nick.
“Did you leave any food for me?!”
Jenny reached over to the bag and saw that there was one sandwich left. She tossed the bag over to Howie, and he nodded his thanks. Nick sat there, refusing to meet eyes with anyone. Brian and Kevin’s laughing continued. AJ, now sure he wouldn’t be attacked again, settled himself down next to Jenny to finish his food as she finished hers.
“So, now that you have had your breakfast, you awake enough to talk? We need to discuss today’s schedule,” Brian mentioned, bringing down everyone’s mood, except Jenny’s, who didn’t understand what was wrong. AJ finished his sandwich to explain.
“Ah shit. The last few days have been nice: no real big meetings or commitments. Well, there was the interview, but that was more Jenny,” he smiled at her, “but now we are back to the routine of ‘let’s do this,’ ‘wait no, we have to do this because management says,’ ‘can we take tonight off,’ ‘no, we have another meeting booked then…’ and etc.” All the Boys grumbled. Jenny actually felt bad for them. She had no idea being so famous would give a person limits. But then, I know all about limits, don’t I? she thought ironically to herself. My whole life is around the limits people place on me. The limits that even I place on me.
“Yeah, Bri. I’m good to talk now. Sorry I wasn’t Mr. Happy, but it’s early,“ ‘and let’s not forget you got me up way earlier this morning to have a little chat’ Nick wanted to say, but kept his mouth shut. Just thinking of her got him all uncomfortable. He now realized he liked her, but how was he supposed to act? He couldn’t treat her like she was a good friend. Jenny would get too suspicious and most likely start backing away from him whenever he happened to be around her too much. On the other hand, if he ignored her, he knew she'd take advantage of it and make a point of it to keep her distance. Nick knew he would be miserable, then. Every time he was around Jenny and when she was happy, the joy that had ignited in him since they had met would grow a little, spreading throughout his mind and body like a wildfire. Before he knew it, the fire was bound to reach his heart.
By the time Nick’s thoughts returned to the bus, everyone was sitting in silence. Sure, everyone had been awake for atleast an hour by now, but most still seemed ready to fall back asleep. He noticed Jenny looked pretty chipper, for as early as it was, and there was no way she kept a normal schedule like this. He gave her an odd look before speaking.
“What’s up with you? You got up the same time I did. Why are you so much more awake then everyone else?” he questioned.
“When you live at the campuss of the largest college in the country, you learn to wake up early so you are out of the dorms before everyone else wakes. It’s either get up early, or face waiting in line for the showers, breakfast, etc. Even if you dine out, the roads are blocked with traffic. Besides, you’re forgetting how much I slept yesterday,“ Jenny answered. They were all impressed. None of them thought ahead enough to consider morning traffic. Sleep was the important thing.
“You’ll have to excuse Nick, though, Jenny,” Kevin started, “he doesn’t understand how important showers are. You heard him this morning. We had to haul him in order for him to take one!” Nick grabbed for something to throw. Before thinking, he hurled an open ketchup package at Kevin.
It didn’t land so gracefully, but rather in parts. Most of the stuff smeared across Kevin face, while some of it landed on Howie, who was nearby. Outraged, both Kevin and Howie wiped the ketchup off themselves, reaching forward to use Nick’s pants as a towel. Seeing what this fight was going to develop into, Jenny shot out of her chair and began backing into the entertainment section of the bus. “I’m really sorry, guys, but how ‘bout I go take some time to myself? You need to get talking about your schedule, anyway!”
And then she was gone. The ketchup proceeded toward Nick's pants and a food fight with the remains of the McDonalds was persued. They all got in on the action and Nick was delighted. The whole time he was flinging food this way and that, his mind was on Jenny. Sure, she’d just dismissed them, but the way she did it was a total change from her recent attitude. Normally she would have scooted herself away, trying to be unnoticed. She didn’t seem scared anymore. He didn’t know why she had been scared in the first place, but it was obvious to him that she was over it or almost there.
The talk of the days to come commenced when they bored of the mess-making, but Nick’s mind wasn’t in it. He kept silently cheering to himself. Maybe now he had a chance with her.
****************************
With their plans firmly in place, and nothing left to discuss, Nick got bored fast. He didn’t have his Playstation with him and he had already finished his comic books. What was left?
Jenny. He could always go check up on Jenny.
While Nick was thinking about her, Jenny was just putting her “No Doubt” CD in her CD player. There were still several more hours ‘til they reached Florida, and she knew she couldn’t sleep through it all. Pressing the buttons, she started it on “Track 3” and began dancing to the music.
Just before he was about to open the door, music filled Nick’s ears. It wasn’t their music, he was sure. But it was familiar; a group he had heard before. No Doubt? he thought. Then an even more familiar voice started singing, and it wasn’t Gwen Stefani.
“Take this pink ribbon off my eyes! I’m exposed, and it’s no big surprise! Don’t you think I know exactly who I am? This world is forcing me to hold your haaaaannndd! Oh I’m just a girl!” Jenny belted, holding none of herself back. Until that moment, Nick had never realized what a musical voice she had; the song may not have been a ballad, but Jenny sang as if that was the right style, and oddly, it sounded good. When she talked, it never occurred to him that she might be good at singing. He made up his mind now, though. She wasn’t a professional, that was for sure, but she definitely had talent. Rather than enter and cease the singing, Nick remained outside the door so he could hear more of it.
“The moment… that I step outside, so many reasons for me to run and hiiide! I can’t do those little things, I hold so dear. Cuz it’s all those little things, that I feeeaaarr!!” At that moment something clicked on in Nick’s head. The lyrics to the song matched Jenny’s personality perfectly. It was almost scary. Not caring about anything now but seeing her, Nick slowly opened the door to peek his head in.
“Ooooooohhhhhhh! Am I making myself…” She saw Nick.
“Hello.”
“Hello…” Jenny responded, obviously embarrassed that she’d been caught singing. “What are you doing? I mean, you snuck up on me.”
“Well, we finished talking a little bit ago and I got bored and wondered if you wanted any company back here. You sound great,” he remarked. The tone of Jenny’s cheeks darkened immensely.
Stupid, stupid, stupid! Jenny scolded to herself. Singing is stupid! It only gets attention, which is unwanted! Because attention leads to other things… like praise that people don’t really mean and the pain that is later inflicted when you discover what they were really after! I was so stupid!
“Yeah, well, thanks. I don’t think I’m that great. It doesn’t matter, though,“ Jenny replied, hoping he’d drop the subject. And he did when he saw something in her eyes; something that told him he was on dangerous ground. Here he had thought he was making break-thrus with her, but now she was back to playing the scared doe. Would he ever win? “So what’s going on for the next few days?” Jenny asked, this time hoping to break the silence.
“Oh, it’s the usual: Talk to management, work out problems, rehearse for the tour, try to sleep, talk to management, work out new problems, rehearse for the tour, try to sleep, etc. It hasn’t changed yet, except that now you will be in on some of it. Like arrangements for where you’ll be during the concerts and any more interviews we have during the tour. It’s not likely management will want to include you in the big problems, though. I doubt any of it will have any concern with you, anyway,” Nick explained. Then a thought came to him. “We do have a surprise for you, though. You’ll find out about it in maybe a few days to a week.”
From the excitement Jenny saw on Nick’s face, she could only worry. “It’s not like the interview surprise is it?”
“Oh, no. It’s much better!”
Broken Promises