Date: Wed, 03 Mar 1999 16:25:09 -0800 From: Zeo <zeo@sfsu.edu> Subject: N Sync Love Pt. 4 ** Whoa!!!! I never imagined this kind of response from this one story. ** At first I wrote it just to see if it was good enough to be put ** up on the archives. I never imagined that so many people would be ** so interested in this little escapade of a story. ** ** I reread the stories and I realized I really did leave you guys ** out there on a limb. I also noticed that some of the emotional ** parts are pretty intense. I'm not sure if I should keep it that ** way or not. Mail me if I should tone it down or not. ** ** I am really sorry to all the readers who I accidentally left hanging. ** I also thank you for all of your support and ideas. ** ** Don't laugh at the concert scene...yes it's cheesy and I know it. ** ** Without further ado...Let's get N Sync... Chapter 7: Departure Everyone quickly arrived at Justin's house, almost running red lights as well as speeding along the roads. They all stepped out of their respected vehicles. "You guys wait here," Justin said, "I'll ask my mom if I could borrow the van," everyone nodded in agreement. Justin quickly stepped into the house, leaving the door open. After a minute or so, Justin walked back out, "OK...Let's go." Justin opened the doors of the van and the guys all piled in. "Where should we start looking?" Lance said as Justin started the van. There was a moment of silence as everyone thought of different places, "How about the beach?" JC spoke up, "He was there earlier." "OK," Justin changing gears and backing up, "The beach it is." Each of them looked out of a different window. Justin and Joey were scanning their left as well as in front. JC and Chris were intently looking out of the right side of the van, while Lance scoured the rear just in case they missed anything. Justin reached the beach and slowed down. He slowly drove down the streets, which were parallel to the beach. They were scanning the area for about 45 minutes. "It's no good," Joey sighed, "He's not here." "Where else could he be?" Justin asked nervously. "It's getting late," Lance spoke up, "I'll try his hotel and see if he picks up." Lance reached in his shirt pocket and pulled out the cell phone. He quickly dialed the hotel number and asked for my room number. Lance nervously waited as he heard the phone ring. After about 9 rings, he slowly closed the phone back up. Everyone knew, "He's not there," Lance said lowly. "We've got to keep looking," Chris said with authority. "We know," JC replied, "But where?" "I don't know, but we've got to hurry cause time's running out," Joey said quickly. Lance cocked an eyebrow, "How so?" "Mano's leaving tomorrow morning at 10," Joey replied stressing the last part. "How would you know?" JC questioned, "He never told us when he was leaving." Joey looked down, "He told me when I was at break." Justin parked the car at a curb, "You went to see him and didn't tell us anything," Chris spoke up, "Why are you keeping secrets from us?" "Why should I tell you anything?" Joey said angrily, "I don't have to report to you or anyone else for that matter," Chris starting to get angry. "I don't like it when my FRIEND sneaks around my back," Chris barked back. "I ain't the only one who's been keeping secrets," yelling back looking at Lance. Justin turned his head, "What did you do Lance?" getting real annoyed. "Yeah, I'd like to know," Chris agreed. "Nothing...absolutely nothing," Lance stared coldly at Joey. "Nothing my ass," Joey yelled back, "You fucking lied to Mano!" JC quickly turned his head towards Joey, "What do you mean?" "What I mean is..." looking at JC and then pointing at Lance, "...that this asshole told him that he was going to be my replacement cause I was at the studio," everyone looked at Lance, "Then he fucking shows up to his room and does the breakfast thing..." Lance's blood began to boil, "Look you fuck...you swear it was my idea! JC and Justin put me up to it!" "Hey! All we said that you give the guy a chance," Justin interrupted, "We never said to pull that shit off." "So that's why he didn't want breakfast," Chris said to himself. Lance heard him, "Huh...How the hell did YOU know he had breakfast already? Unless....you went to his place as well." "Didn't know you cared," replying sarcastically, "Looks like you beat me to him," mocking Lance. "What!" Joey yelled, "You went to his place too?!?" "You got a point?" Chris said. "Damn right I do...I didn't know my FRIEND kept secrets from me as well," imitating Chris. "What's that supposed to mean?" Chris starting to get angry. "I don't have to tell you anything," he replied. Chris, Joey, and Lance barked and yelled at each other for quite some time. Justin and JC just looked at each other in disgust and fascination. They both never have imagined that one person could do this to the group. Justin kept watching the drama unfold. JC slouched back in his chair and closed his eyes. 'I don't trust you,' echoed in his mind, 'I don't believe you anymore.' JC was thinking of everything that had transpired during the day. Lance, Chris and Joey both visiting him in the same day, but the unusual thing was that none of them said a word. 'Is that why Mano looked so out of it?' he thought to himself, 'Or is there something more?' Like a bright flash of lightening, the answer streaked across his mind. JC's eyes flew wide open and a small tear rolled down his cheek. Justin looked at JC and did a double take on what he saw. "JC?" Justin asked worriedly, "You OK?" JC didn't answer. The guys started to quiet down and looked at JC as well. "JC...You OK?" Justin asked even more worried. JC looked down at the floor, "I...I know why," he mumbled. "Know what?" Chris asked. "I know why Mano left us..." Everyone looked shocked, "Why?" Lance spoke lowly. "He said he didn't trust us and I don't blame him one bit." "What do you mean?" Joey said. "Look at us!" JC yelled at everyone, "We don't even trust each other and we've been together for more than a year! Do you think he's going to trust and believe in us if we don't trust each other?" There was silence in the van. No one dared to speak because everyone knew JC was right, "It was because of our selfishness that Mano ran away," JC continued breaking the silence. "How can we make it up to him?" Justin looked at him. "I don't know..." JC trailing off and looking at the floor. Silence drifted in the air for a moment, "We...have to get back," Lance said softly. Chris looked at him crazy, "What about Mano? Don't you care about him?" "I do..." Lance replied, "But what about our appearance tomorrow morning at 9?" Chris sat back in his seat and crossed his arms, "I guess you're right," he mumbled. Everyone didn't like the idea of stopping the search, but it was already 11 PM and they had to be at the mega mall by 8 to prepare. Justin reluctantly started the van back up and slowly pulled onto the street. JC sat in silence with his eyes closed, while Joey, Chris and Lance kept looking. Justin deliberately drove slowly down the streets hoping to buy some time and find me at the same time. But to no avail. Justin had dropped off Lance and then Joey. The slow driving produced nothing. By the time they reached the house, JC, Chris and Justin were all very tired. Not because they spent the entire night searching, but because they lost a friend due to their selfishness. By now it was past midnight and Justin pulled up to the driveway. JC and Chris slowly opened their doors and hobbled out of the van. Justin soon followed as soon as he turned off the engine. They were not too thrilled in going to bed, but they really didn't have a choice. One by one, they entered the house quietly. No one said a word in the house and they trudged up to bed. JC plopped onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. He thought of all the things that he and I did the entire week. How I felt like a brother him. JC couldn't get the image of my rage driven face at the zoo out of his mind. He grabbed a small, grey stuffed teddy and curled up into a tight little ball. All he could think of was holding me in his arms as he softly cried to sleep. Justin sat on the bed with his arms wrapped around his knees rocking back and forth ever so slowly. 'God...,' he softly said, 'Please don't let it end like this...' Tears began to flow from Justin's face, 'If there was anything I would ask of...it would be getting Mano back.' With those words, he slowly rocked himself to sleep. Chris sat on his chair next in front of the table. He turned on the desk lamp and put his head down. 'For the first time, in a long time,' he thought, staring at the lamp, 'I felt free to do whatever I wanted...Now I've lost everything...Why did this have to happen?' He lingered on for a while and his eyelids began to get heavy until he was fast asleep. Joey lay on the couch in the living room watching TV. He didn't know what was on cause he couldn't concentrate on the TV. 'It was my fault,' a small tear rolled down his face, 'I shouldn't have tried to force him to stay.' He put his hands over his face, 'What was I thinking?' saying in his hands, 'Why did I have to be so selfish?' He removed his hands from his face and drifted off to sleep while watching the news. Lance was in his room staring through the window at the full moon. On the moon's bright surface, he imagined my smiling face staring back at him. He looked down at the ground and sighed, 'What is this feeling?' he asked himself, 'I've never felt this way towards anyone before?' This thought scared him. All his life, he always felt some sort of bond from different people, his parents, brother, sister, and even the guys. 'This feeling...,' he thought to himself, '...is stronger than anything I've felt before.' Lance sighed and slowly crawled into bed and slept. I was fast asleep in the corner of the room. I was too weak to crawl on the bed to sleep. That night I dreamt of what happened. All I could see was the guys pointing at me and laughing. I tried to run away from them, but everywhere I went, I saw them in front of me...laughing. 'I can't believe you fell for that,' Justin bellowed out. 'What a sucker!' Lance contributed still laughing. 'To think that we were your friends,' Chris snickered, 'What a fool,' Joey added. I took a step back. 'That was good laugh,' JC started, 'It's fun being famous, you can do anything you want.' Everyone began laughing even harder. I took another step back and I felt my foot give way. I was falling, falling into the dark void. I flailed my arms and legs wildly. I still fell through the emptiness of space and I soon calmed down. I closed my eyes and let the air rush past me, 'I don't care anymore,' I yelled, 'I would rather die than live another miserable day.' I fell for what felt like an eternity just thinking that I would soon become be part of oblivion. 'You don't mean that,' I heard a whisper in my ear. I opened my eyes and all I could see was the darkness around me, 'I want to die!' I yelled out. My voice echoed and was quickly replaced by silence, 'No you don't,' the whisper came back. 'Yes I do!' I argued back, 'Why can't I?' 'Because...' the whisper became louder and I felt I was slowing down in my descent, '...you love them.' I finally stopped falling, but there was still darkness everywhere, 'How can I still love them if they abused me?' 'Mano...you...' the whisper slowly became a voice, '...you still believe in them,' the voice suddenly took on a shape of a shadow. I just stared at the figure, 'I don't...How can I?" almost sobbing, 'All of my life I wanted to be appreciated, loved, not being picked at and be used like some object,' dropping down to my knees. 'Look deep within your heart for the answer...' the shadow began to disappear. 'Wait!' I called out, 'What am I supposed to do now...' I trailed off as darkness enveloped me. I suddenly woke up with my clothes drenched with sweat. 'What am I supposed to do now?' I muttered. I slowly uncurled from the corner and stretched a little. My muscles were sore from being wound so lightly that I had a hard time stretching. Once I was limber enough, I slowly stood up. I had to readjust my eyes so I can see the room in the moonlight. I walked towards the window and looked out over the horizon. I could see the moon slowly sink behind the hills and took a deep sigh. I turned around and looked at the clock. It read 6:00 AM. I walked over to my suitcase and looked for something to wear knowing that this was the last time I would change clothes in Orlando. I grabbed some dark blue slacks, a white undershirt, and a black turtleneck. I entered the shower and took my time. I knew the plane wouldn't leave until 10 so I paced myself accordingly. Once I was done, I got out and changed my clothes. By this time, I could see the sky change from a midnight blue color to a soft red- orange hue. Dawn was steadily approaching and I had to leave soon. I threw all of my used clothes in the suitcase and clicked it shut. I also found my sketch book lying on the table and decided to put it away. I opened my backpack and tried to stuff the book in. There was something in the way. "What?!?" I said outloud. I reached in and pulled out the bag that contained the five jeweled pins which I was supposed to have given them on the last day. I stared at the five black boxes knowing that I wouldn't be able to see them again. I arranged the boxes and slipped the sketch book in-between everything. I slowly closed the bag feeling as if I just had closed a part of my heart forever. When I was done packing, I slung the backpack over my shoulders and hauled my suitcase out of the room. I looked back into the room and slowly closed the door. Upon reaching the lobby, I handed over my keycard and the receptionist smiled and told me to have a good day. The cab took awhile, but I wasn't in any particular hurry. I stepped in and was off to the airport. Once I reached the airport, I paid the cab and stepped out. I walked over to the United terminal and handed my plane ticket. "Oh I'm sorry," the clerk said. "Huh?" I asked quizzically. "The San Francisco flight had been delayed." "Why?" trying to sound annoyed. "Due to the heavy fog in the area, the plane hasn't taken off yet," still smiling. "How long will that take?" "We are expecting the plane to arrive at approximately 4 P.M." "6 hours!" "We are sorry for the inconvenience, but you can take an alternate travel route if you wish." "To where?" "There is a plane currently boarding heading for LAX international. From there you can wait for the next plane to SFO." "How long is the stop-over?" "About 4 hours." I thought for a moment, 'Should I wait for a direct plane, or get the hell out of here and waste more time in LA?' "I'll just wait for my plane," trying to sound polite, "Thanks very much. Have a nice day." "And to you as well sir," replying overly excited. 'Great!' I thought, 'What am I going to do for the next six hours?' I was wondering around the place and decided to get some breakfast. My bags were getting heavy and I was tired of carrying them around. I walked over the locker area and stored my stuff until the plane was here. There was a fairly large restaurant in the airport. Much bigger than the one in San Francisco. They served breakfast, lunch and dinner and was open 24 hours a day. I glanced over the menu and picked out some food..... "You guys ready?" Chris yelled from the living room. "We'll be right there," JC yelled back. After a couple of minutes, JC and Justin sleepily walked down the stairs. "Man," Justin began to talk, "I can't believe we have to get up this early for a show." "I know...this is a first," Chris replied. A knock echoed from the door. Chris opened to it and saw Lance and Joey there. "You guys ready?" Lance asked. "Yeah...I guess," Chris said as he turned to look at Justin and JC. The three of them walked out of the house and they saw the awaiting limo on the curb. Lance looked at JC and Justin. "You two don't look so well," asking in concern. "Don't worry about us," JC looking at Joey and Lance, "You guys don't look hot either." Lance and Joey shrugged and all of them headed to the limo. Everyone was not looking forward for the performance in front of the mega mall, but they had to do it anyway. They reluctantly entered the limo, and once the door was shut, the limo sped off. There was silence lingering in the air as they drove. JC rolled down the window to talk to the driver. "Driver," JC said, "Take us to the Disney Hotel first." Everyone looked at JC as if he was crazy. "Are you sure?" the driver asked. "Just do it," JC demanded and the driver complied. "What was that for," Lance spoke up, "You know we're going to be late." "I don't care," JC stared out the tinted window, "I need to apologize to him or else I'll never get another chance to get this off my chest." Lance sighed knowing that he wanted to do the same and they continued on with the drive. "Do you think he's going to be there?" Justin asked JC. "I hope so," he replied turning towards Justin, "Joey said that he doesn't leave until 10 and I just hope he doesn't leave early." "I hope so too," Chris said softly. The drive to the hotel went by quickly as the members' spirits increased. Once they were parked in front of the hotel, they quickly flew open the door and all jumped out. Each of them ran towards the front door as if they were being chased my a crazed group of fans. Out of breath, Justin started to talk to the receptionist, "Hi, we're just wondering if someone had already checked out?" "Sure," the receptionist smiled, "What's the room number?' Chris butted in and told her the number. "According to our records here," as she typed on the keyboard, "Mr. Sugui checked out of the hotel approximately 7 o'clock this morning." Everyone's spirits sank like the Titanic, "Thank you very much," Joey said. They were all crushed that I had already left the hotel. One by one, each of them slowly walked out of the lobby and back into the limo. The driver continued en-route to the mega mall. Everyone sat in silence. It took a while to get to the mall because of the traffic which appeared once it was announced that N' Sync would be doing a promotional show there. It looked as if there were a sea of fans impatiently waiting for their arrival. Once limo pulled up into view, the fans lurched in their direction. "OH MY GOD!" a screaming girl pointed, "THEY'RE HERE!" The crowd went wild and everyone started to move towards the limo. A swarm of mall security as well as a heavy dose of the police came down to prevent the crowd from going any further. None of the guys wanted to be there. They never did like putting on a fake face to please the people, but this time...they had no choice. Each of them took a deep breath and opened the door. A deafening roar came from the crowd. Joey and Lance stepped out first and were greeted with camera flashes all around. They both smiled and waved at everyone. Chris soon followed and joined the duo. Finally, JC took another deep breath and stepped out followed my Justin. This time, the screams were even more intense and the flashes became even more intense. Everyone smiled and waved at the fans as they were escorted to the back of the stage by their bodyguards as well as some extra security. At the back of the stage there were a small crowd of about 40 people. All of them had backstage passes and were eagerly waiting for the guys. Each of the guys shook hands with various people and signed either their passes or something which the fans were holding. A couple of times, some of the fans were so overwhelmed that they had to sit down to keep themselves from going ballistic. After they signed stuff, they had enough time to take a couple of pictures with people. There were group shots, individual shots and a little of both. The fans had a good time, but the guys were thinking otherwise. They all hurriedly walked to the back of the stage. It was one of those rooms which had wheels on the bottom so it can move from place to place. They entered it and all sat down on the couch. Lance and JC stared at the plain brown walls of the room while Chris and Joey scanned through the window. "This is crazy," Chris commented, "Yeah...I guess," Justin sighed. "You guys want to play hackey sack?" Joey tried to liven up the mood. "Not today," Lance said. Shocked at his response, Joey said angrily, "We've always played before a concert!" Justin looked at him, "Do YOU want to play hackey sack?" Joey thought for a moment, "No...I guess not." Everyone sat like this the entire time they entered the room. The clock was rapidly approaching 9:00. The door opened and a stagehand popped in, "Five minutes you guys." They looked at each other and all got up in unison. Everyone left the little building and headed for the curtains. They could hear the crowd screaming through the curtains. They all stood in their respected positions and waited for the announcer. "All right you anxious fans," the announcer yelled through the mic. Everyone screamed with anticipation. "You know these hometown boys and they would like to thank all of the people who supported them...Without further ado...LET'S GET N'SYNC!!!" A sonic wave of screams erupted as the curtains began to part. The guys had their backs to the audience and waited for the music to start up. The moment the music started blaring through the stacked speakers on each side of the stage, they guys started to bob their heads following the beat. "You're all I ever wanted..." Justin sang as he turned around to face the crowd. The thousands of screaming fans went ballistic at the sight of his smile. "You're all I ever needed," he continued, "Yeah...So tell me what to do now, cause..." "I...." Lance echoed and turned around. "I...." Joey did the same and followed by JC and then Chris. "I want you back..." they sang in unison. The crowd went wild. As the guys sang, they did their rehearsed movements. Hitting the mark each time, but adding a little bit of flair once in a while. The guys smiled at the crowed and tried to make the fans even wilder by winking at them once in a while. They were jumping and hopping and did their rehearsed maneuvers all throughout the song. Lance went to one side of the stage to "mingle" with the ladies while JC went to the other to do the same thing. Justin, Chris and Joey stayed in the center to entertain the people up in front. The fans were throwing teddy bears and roses up to the stage while jumping up and down to the music. Soon the music faded and the song ended... "What's up y'all?" Justin said into the mic. Screaming fans went wild. "Thanks for supporting us from the very beginning," Lance spoke into the mic as well with his deep voice. "You've supported us when we first started out," Chris added. "We would like to thank you by putting on this little show for you guys," Joey picked up. "Let's kick up the beat!" JC exclaimed and the fans went totally berserk. The music started up again and everyone quickly ran into position. The beat kicked in they started their little moves once again... "It's tearin' up my heart when I'm with you," Justin and JC sang in unison, "But when we are apart, I feel it to...and no matter what I do, I feel the pain...with or without you..." Everyone began to sing in unison. As they were sing and doing the moves, the audience tried to imitate them. Once in a while a fan would shout "I love you Justin!" then a whole bunch of other fans started to call out different names, putting a smile on the guys' face. They did their dance routine as before and this made the audience go wild. Again the music started to fade and then the song ended. "OK," JC puffed out a little into the mic, "We're gonna wrap things up here." "Don't worry," Lance commented, "We'll be around for another couple of hours and hopefully we can chill with y'all." Justin spoke up, "This last song is dedicated to someone who we call a special friend," the guys sort of looked at Justin knowing that they were all thinking the same thing, "We hope to meet up again...one day." As the music slowly started up and arranged drum beat kicked, the guys were in position. "Oooooohhhhhh....oooooohhhhhhh," everyone softly said. "How can I say?" Justin slowly sang, "That I love you...when you're so....far away...So tell me why....you had to go....Was it me....I need to know..." The soft gentle words flowed out of the speakers as everyone thought of me. The audience quieted down and started to sway back and for following the music. "What can I do....to make you see...That I'm here...here for you..." Justin paused for a moment. "I really hope..." he continued, "That you'll come home...so we can be..." "...together again...." everyone sang. "What can I do?" Justin started. "What can I do?" JC echoed. "To make you see," Justin continued. "To make you see," JC echoed again. "That I'm here..." "I'm here..." "I'm here for you..." "I'm here for you..." "I really hope..." "I really hope..." "That you'll come home..." "That you come home..." "So we can be..." "So we can be..." "Together again..." both JC and Justin sang in unison. "Together again..." everyone followed. As the song faded, they guys were a bit teary-eyed. They waved at the fans and they quickly left the stage to prevent anyone from seeing their faces too closely. Once they were behind the curtains, they quickly wiped the tears from their eyes with their sleeves. Everyone took a deep breath and regained their composure. They stepped off the stage and were seated a large table not too far away. There was a line of people as well as a line of security. Chris was seated on the right edge of the table next to the stacks of black and white group photos. Next to him was Lance, JC, Justin and finally Joey. They formed a sort of semi-circle so they could see the crowd as well as sign autographs efficiently. Chris took the first picture and signed it and then handed it to Lance who then passed it along. The security let a couple of fans at a time to chit-chat a little, doing some handshakes as well as giving presents to the members. The fans were obviously having a good time. The guys just got a sore hand from signing the stuff. A few hugs were exchanged by the various groups members to the fans as well as the occasional handshake. Time passed by rather quickly. It was about 2 o'clock when the session wound down and the guys were pretty tired and hungry. They picked up their things and headed for the limo with a few escorts. There was still quite a large crowd surrounding the limo. The guys waved and smiled at the crowd and hopped in the limo. The driver slowly pulled away from the crowd so he would not hurt anyone. Once clear, the car sped off to go back to Justin's house. All anyone could hear the was the rolling of the wheels and the sparse honking of horns through the windows. "Do you think he left?" Lance asked staring out the window. "Of course he did!" Joey said angrily. "Maybe his flight got delayed or something..." Lance trailed off. "Look," Chris spoke up, "All of us has got to get over Mano. It does no good to sulk and sit here like an ass." JC looked angrily at him, "How would YOU feel if you felt that you've been used?" Chris jumped back into his seat not expecting that kind of an answer from JC. "I didn't mean it that way," trying to defend himself, "But what's done is done...I know that, you know that, everyone knows that. So have to put the past behind us." "How can you be so cruel?" Joey said shaking his head in disgust, "Don't you care about him at all?" "I'm not cruel and I do care about him," he defended himself, "It's too late and we can't do a thing." Justin looked up at Chris, "You're wrong," everyone looked at Justin, "We can do something." "What Justin," Lance said impatiently, "What can we do?" He just smiled back, "We can believe in him. Believe that he hasn't left yet." With that he rolled down the window to talk to the driver. "Take us straight to the airport as fast as you can," Justin ordered. "The airport it is..." confirming the order. Justin then rolled the window back up. "Do you believe he's still there?" JC asked softly. "If it's one thing that Mano taught me..." smiling at JC, "...it's to cherish the love that we have with each other." Everyone understood what Justin meant and all of them started believe that I hadn't left yet. Everyone was impatiently waiting to reach the airport because they knew that the clock was ticking.... I had been waiting in the airport for a very, very long time. I looked at my watch and it read 2:00. I probably walked the entire length of the terminal trying to keep myself occupied. There was a game room which I managed to kill a couple of hours before being bored out of my mind. I was getting pretty hungry after walking for so much. Oh how I desperately wanted to get out of Orlando. I just want to leave all of this behind. To think....I gave my heart to them and they just got up and started stomping on it. I headed back to the cafe and ordered something light. I didn't want to fly with a full stomach cause I would get really sick during the flight, even though it was a short one. I lazily ordered some salad and a glass of juice. There were a bunch of people here in the restaurant because it was the middle of the day. I walked around a little bit in the area and found a round table in the middle of the place. It was a little dirty, but I could live with it. I put my stuff down and cleaned the area up. I pick up the fork and just speared one of the salad leaves. I really didn't feel like eating. So I just played around with the croutons for a bit before popping it in my mouth. I slowly took minuscule sips of my juice. I guess I wasn't thirsty either. What is wrong with me? It had been 45 minutes after the concert had ended. The limo finally reached to the airport ant parked at the loading zone. The guys didn't care if they were seen or not and once again bolted out of the limo and through the main doors. They quickly walked to one of the TV monitors which listed all of the departing flights. They scanned the screen for a while. "Hey look!" Joey exclaimed as he pointed to the screen. "He's still here!" Lance said with enthusiasm, "His fight doesn't leave till 4." Justin laughed, "I told you so." "Quick let's go find him," Chris said. "OK...OK, calm down," JC slowed down the pace, "We don't know where he is in this airport and we can't waste any time looking around mindlessly," everyone understood. "Where do we start looking?" Lance asked. "I don't know," Joey scratched his head, "But if I was Mano, where would I go?" Everyone thought for a minute and then whipped their heads to one another, "To eat!" they said in unison They hurriedly went inside the restaurant and looked around. It was difficult to find me because of all the people who were walking inside the place. Justin spotted me and pointed at my table. At this point, I noticed that the place got real quiet. I didn't bother to look up cause I thought it was just some hot-shot person who walked in. I was just waiting for the screams of deluded fans trying to get their autograph or something. Someone cleared their throat behind me. "Look," I said still playing with my salad, "I don't really want to be bothered right now." "Not even by us?" I immediately recognized JC's voice and stopped playing with the cherry tomato. "What do you want?" saying in a deep, slow tone. "We came here to talk to you," Lance begged. "About what?" still looking at my salad. "About everything," Joey continued, "It's not what you think." "And what do I think?" "Please don't jump to any conclusions," Chris said softly, "Please hear us out." "No...I don't want to." There was silence, "Would you turn away from someone who needs help?" Justin asked. Checkmate...I was infuriated that I was backed into a corner. But the thing was, he was right. I have never turned my back to anyone who needed help, even though they took advantage of my generosity. "Fine..." I grumbled, "Let's go to the lobby. It's too crowded here." I slowly stood up and for the first time since last night I saw their sincere faces. They all had different expressions on their faces. Lance was one of concern, JC...sincerity, Joey...fear, Chris...relief, and Justin...belief. Deep down I felt so bad for them, but I couldn't get the thought of them using me out of my mind. We walked to the middle of the lobby where there were more space and less people. Once there, I stopped. "OK...Let's talk," I said sternly. "Before you make any hasty decisions about us," Justin spoke up, "Please hear us out OK?" I nodded my head. "First and foremost, all of us deeply and sincerely apologize for what we did to you," JC said in his saddest tone, "None of us knew that you felt that way." "It was a big misunderstanding," Joey kicked in. I cocked my eyebrow, "A MISUNDERSTANDING?!? What do you mean a misunderstanding?" I said loudly trying not to cuss because of the little kids there. They just looked at me with shock. They had no idea what I was talking about. Just then a shrill came from one end of the lobby. All of turned to where it came from and were shocked to see what was coming towards us. Like a charging bull heading towards a red cape, came the wall of fans. Everyone froze where they were standing. The mob of fans got closer and closer until they surrounded me and the guys. The fans pushed me aside and I was literally thrown out of the crowd. I picked myself off the floor and just looked at the group long and hard. I felt even more disgusted by them. Not only was I used, but I was made a mockery of in front of these people. I felt humiliated. I turned away from them and started walking to the exit. "Mano!" Justin yelled over the crowd, "Mano, wait!" "We didn't plan on this!" Lance also yelled. I couldn't hear them because of the screaming and hoopla that surrounded them. The guys tried to get out of the crowd, but was trapped in the middle. I didn't care where they were and headed outside. I saw a bunch of police cars and security personnel running past me to where the mob was. I sat down on the curb. 'That was fun,' I thought to myself, 'They didn't have to explain a thing.' After about 30 or so minutes, the police exited the airport and drove off in their vehicles. It seemed as though the screaming had stopped and everything was back to normal....well sort of. Just then, I saw the guys out of the corner of my eyes kinda messed up a little. "Mano...we are soooooo sorry about that," Joey said. "Right...like those other times huh?" I sarcastically replied. "That was an accident," Chris said, "We didn't plan on that." "The hell you didn't!" standing straight up, "You three," looking at JC, Justin, and Chris, "Set me up to go to the mall and when we got to Joey's, he was already dressed and ready to go." "They called me up the night before and told me that you, Chris and I were going to hang out a bit," Joey fumbled for the words trying to justify why he was dressed like that. I didn't let that sink in, "Then you, Lance," staring hard at him, "You told me that Joey asked you to be 'his replacement' and that I am supposed to hang out with you." Lance flinched in fear, "You're...you're right. I did lie about that," looking at the ground, "I knew you didn't like me, so I had to make an excuse so I can hang out with you...so I can get to know you better." Slowly, I softened a little, but not much. "Chris...It was pretty convenient that you arrived at my room right after Lance...huh?" "That part I honestly didn't know," Chris sounded apologetic, "Lance never told me that he had already gone to your place and gotten breakfast." "Well...what about forcing me to stay," glaring at Joey. "Please let me explain," Joey begging, "You see...I kinda live by myself. I was jealous of the other guys cause they had each other to keep company. You've been so much fun to be with, that I couldn't just let you go..." trailing off looking at the ground. "Fine, what about that stunt and you managed to pull of," looking at JC, "Making a total fool of me." "I...I really wanted to help you," JC stuttered out, "But when I told the guys that I saw you all miserable-like, I guess they wanted to check up on you." My anger slowly dissipated and I started to loosen up a little. I could tell from their faces that they were relieved that everything was finally out in the open. "So you guys..." I spoke lowly at the floor, "...still want to be my friends?" Everyone looked up at me and smiled, "Of course we do," Justin spoke up, "It's true that we're popular, but you are a true friend." "You've helped us sooo much," Lance added, "I don't know how we manage to survive without you," I started to blush. "Well..." I looked at them, "...I guess it's a big misunderstanding." "We would never abandon you," Chris said, "You're to cool be ditched like that." I finally cracked a small smile, "I...I understand." There was relief in the air as my anger towards them disappeared. "Just one question you guys?" I asked. "Sure," Joey replied. "How come you guys didn't talk to each other? I mean, you guys have been real close, yet you never talked to each other about what happened when you hung out with me." They all hung their heads down in shame. "You knew..." JC said something, "You knew, didn't you?" "I did," saying softly, "That's why I couldn't believe you in the first place cause you guys were supposed to be best friends, but you didn't act like it." "It was our selfishness that got in the way," Justin said, "If we weren't so damn sorry for ourselves instead of having a good time, maybe none of this would have ever happened." I thought for a moment, "I hope you guys have learned a good lesson from all of this." "We sure did," Lance laughed a little. "Let's go in," I motioned everyone, "My plane leaves in a half an hour and I want to give you guys something before I leave." This peaked everyone's curiosity and they all followed me. Chris assured me that we were not going to be mobbed cause the police put a call out for heightened security all around. All of us walked to the locker area and gabbed my backpack and suitcase. Justin asked if he could carry my case and I agreed. We walked to the terminal and I could see my plane patiently waiting on the runway. I opened my bag and pulled out the five little black boxes. I handed one to each of them, making sure it was the right one. "This is just a little token of my appreciation for all the wonderful times I had with you guys," I said happily, "I hope you enjoy them. Everyone opened the box and their jaw dropped to the ground...or so I thought. They were admiring the pins that I gave them. "This...this unreal," Justin said. "No kidding," Chris commented, "So this is what you bought at the mall." "Yep," I smiled, "Justin, yours is the shape of a wolf," I said as he looked at the platinum pin studded with sapphires, "Always kind and loyal and will fight fiercely to the people whom you love most. I looked at Lance, "Lance, that is your spirit animal, an owl. Intelligent, thoughtful, patient, as well as silent and deadly," Lance snickering at the last comment. "Joey," I continued, "Yours is the falcon because one day you will be able to soar to new heights and hopefully over tall buildings as well," everyone laughed. "Chris...You have the heart and courage of a lion. That pin represents your greatest strengths." I finally turned to JC, "JC...That pin represents the mythical Phoenix. A symbol of rebirth and friendship," JC looked at me and smiled. "Third and last call...Destination SFO International," the PA system echoed out. "I hope you will remember me after I'm gone," I looked at all of them. "How can we ever forget?" Justin said with tears welling up inside. I quickly gave Justin a hug, then Chris, Joey, Lance, and finally JC. I swear that JC gave me a deeper hug than the rest of the other guys. It was probably my imagination or something. I finished the hugs, took one step back and said my good-byes. I turned around and walked through the metallic corridor and boarded the plane. As I sat looking through the window, I wondered if I would ever see them again... Chapter 8: Doldrums The trip was smooth, but didn't feel like it. I stared at the bright white clouds that were below us. I thought that this would be a good prom theme...clouds and stuff like that, though I would need a song to go with it. In the clouds, I could perfectly see each and every one of their faces. I didn't know why, but I've never attached myself to anyone before...My eyelids became heavy and I slept still having my seat belt on. I was awakened by the steward and realized the plane was going to land soon. I took some gum from my pocket and started chewing. I always chewed gum before the plane landed or took off so that my ears wouldn't pop. I could feel the force of the plane slow down and when the wheels touched the ground, the plane bounced a little. The plane was finally on the ground. As usual, it was the standard checkout and stuff like that. I hailed a cab and I was on my way back home...though it was going to be different than when I left. I reached my small home and fumbled around the keys for a bit. I unlocked the door and noticed that everything was dark. 'Nice welcoming committee,' I thought to myself. I flicked on all of the lights and looked around. As I expected there was no one there, but a note on the coffee table. My parents have gone to Canada for a few weeks and would catch up with me on Monday. I crumpled the note with my left hand and just tossed it in the waste basket. I lugged the suitcase in the corner and headed toward my room. My room was always dark. There was only one window, but it was covered up by the neighbor's house. So, what that means is that I never had any natural sunlight in my room. Just the light from the mini- chandelier hanging from the ceiling. I lay down on my bed and tried to sleep. It wasn't getting that late, but because of the time difference, I felt really tired. I closed my eyes and a tear rolled down my cheek and fell asleep. Sunday was completely BORING. There was nothing to do. Unless I went out to the mall and just walked around. I didn't have any phone numbers or anything which I can call people. They never gave it to me nor did ask them for it. I just moped around the house occasionally watching some TV or goofing off on the Internet. But basically, this is my normal hum drum lifestyle. Whenever I would get hungry, I would look in to the fridge for something...anything. Of course there wasn't, cause somehow or another my parents had a tendency to forget that I have a very hard time digesting beef, chicken or pork. So what ended up happening was that I would drive my pretty beat up red Subaru Legacy to some fast food joint around the corner. I always had the fish burger or a garden salad and took that home. The day basically went like that. I was kinda looking forward to finally go back to school. At least there were people there that I can communicate with, even though they never said anything nice to me before. Sunday came and went and it was time for me to go to school. I arrived at my school at around 7:45, plenty of time to loaf around in class. My high school is not the shining beacon of education around here. It was one of those schools that had a pretty horrible reputation for fights and dropouts and stuff like that. There was also this fictional "rivalry" with the other school just a couple miles away. How pathetic. I walked into my first class which happened to be calculus. I never got a long with the teacher, but at least he respected me for what I can do. I sat in the back as usual and took out my notebook. Why do I even bother taking notes if I never look at them anyway. I'm usually the first one in class. Everyone would see me doodle stuff on the paper. One by one or sometimes in a group, all of my classmates walked in. I knew all of them because they were in my exact same class for the past 3 years. All of us happen to be in the "honor's" block. It was no big deal. The only way you couldn't be in the same classes as we were in, is if you just didn't come to school. It was that easy. Noon rolled around and it was lunchtime. I had some snacks in my bag and sat in my English class to eat. I never ate in the cafeteria cause it was always crowded. I wasn't the only one who ate there. My classmates would go there too, to eat, chat and talk about homework and stuff. "Hey Mano," Arc said. In my miserable life here in school, I only knew two people who I can call a friend. They were Arc and Ulysses. They were the only people who never made fun of me for anything and I guess I kinda defended them when they were in a bind. They felt sorry for me cause they noticed that I tended to be alone most of the time. Arc was this tall skinny Filipino with medium length straight hair. He could either part it in the middle or tie it back to a small pony tail. He's not your typical looking honor student. He would always change his hair color every month or so and right now it was a deep blue. He also would wear ripped jeans, long sleeve shirts, and probably a thin jacket with a 76 patch on the front. He was the typical grunge person (I guess that's what you call them if you classified the style.) "Hey Arc. What's up?" I asked looking up at him. "Nothing much. Do you still need a job for the summer?" "I do," I cocked an eyebrow, "Why...what's up?" "Well...you know about the theatre I work for, right?" I nodded, "There's an opening for an assistant manager so why don't you apply for it?" I thought for a moment, "Will this effect the prom schedule?" "I don't know," scratching his head, "I know that the hours are real flexible and you could probably work something out." "I guess I'll go for it," I reluctantly said. "I knew you would say yes," slapping me on my back, "Here's all the papers you'll need," I rolled my eyes back. I put the papers away in my bag and Arc and I talked about each other's vacation. He basically stayed at home relaxing or playing hockey with some buddies of his. I sometimes watched him and Ulysses play hockey at the Bladium. They were really good and in fact they won a division championship before. After a few minutes, Leah and her friends walked in. "What's up you guys?" she said in a tipsy tone. "Nothing much...and you?" I replied. "Same old..same old," she sighed a little. "Hey Mano," Christina spoke up, "Did you get a theme for our prom yet? You know we have give the plans to the advisor soon." Christina was the president of our class and always bugged me about projects. I didn't know why she couldn't do it herself. "Yeah," pulling out my sketch book, "I've got some ideas, but I haven't thought of the song yet." "Can I see?" Christina asked as I handed her the book. "These are really good," flipping through the pages. Now there was a crowd of class officers looking through the sketches. There were so many people that they decided to put the book down on a table and everyone huddled around. I guess they were impressed at my designs cause the treasurer argued with the secretary which one was better. The page turned again, but this time there was silence. Everyone looked over their shoulder as I kept talking to Arc. "Umm...Mano," Christina mumbled out. "Yeah," I replied. "What's this?" kinda hesitantly asking. "What's what?" asking back curiously. "This," handing me the sketch book back to me with the page turned to Justin's portrait. "Oh that," saying nonchalantly, "That's Justin." "And what about these?" flipping through the pages with Lance, Joey, Chris, and JC. "Those guys? That one is Joey, Chris, JC, and Lance," resuming my conversation with Arc while everyone huddled around me confused. "Why do you have sketches of them?" Leah finally got to the point. "Huh...oh," looking at Leah, "They're cool guys so I decided to make a portrait of them." Everyone was awestruck at what I just said, "Wh...what did you just say?" Leah stuttered out. I got annoyed, "I said...they are cool guys so I decided to make a sketch of them," talking slowly. Everyone's eyes got wide. "Oh my God, oh my God," Christina said hysterically while shaking me, "You met them, you met them." "Met who?" pulling her away from me, "Chill out." "Are you stupid?" Leah asked dumbfoundedly, "You don't know who they are?" "I know who they are," looking at her pissed, "I don't know what the big deal is." "Where did you go for vacation?" Arc looked at me. "Orlando...to visit Disney World." "So you did meet them," Christina said hyperly, "Did you get autographs or something?" "Why should I?" looking at her kinda curious. "You are SO stupid," Leah rolled her head back, "This is once in lifetime and you didn't get anything from them." I still didn't understand. "They are N S Y N C," Christina stressed out their name, "A singing group." "Oh..." acting like I cared, "OK," I resumed chatting with Arc. Dumbfounded with my reaction, they all gave up. I was smiling wide inside. "Can I see your book again?" Leah asked. "Sure, as long as you don't tear out the pages of the portraits, I guess it's OK." She smiled and flipped through the pictures. I could hear her and all of the other girls debate on who was the cutest and so forth. "You really did meet them?" Arc asked. "Yeah," I sighed, "We all had a really good time." "OK" The rest of the day was sort of uneventful. Everyone kept talking behind my back as usual, but this time there were a lot more people talking about me. I didn't care or notice. Thank God Arc and Ulysses were there to deflect off most the people who were trying to hound me. They would always butt in at just at the right time and make up some ridiculous story and walk away dragging me with them. School finally ended and I was lucky enough to be escorted home by them. They didn't live very far from the school, like two or three blocks, and neither did I. To them it was no big deal. I promised them anything, all they had to do was to ask. They laughed it off cause they were having so much fun pulling my ass out of the fire. I laughed with them cause I knew I was having just as much getting into the fire as well as getting out of it. Nothing really happened at home the first day coming back. As expected, there was nobody around. I went to the coffee table and pulled out that application. I decided I might as well. I needed to go out and experience working and earning money instead of being handed it. I really didn't like getting things for free. I filled it out pretty quickly cause it was a short application. During the entire day, I spent most of the time in the living room watching MTV and doing homework at the same time. I had finished all of the assignments hours before and I was just sitting on the couch watching TV. There was really nothing on MTV. You have the usual hour blocks of music of the same type. Oh, not to forget the half hour long Beavis and Butthead that did not make sense whatsoever. I was about to flip to another channel, when I heard the intro music. That sounded familiar and didn't try to press the button. The camera changed and the words N' SYNC came at the lower left hand corner of the screen. 'Lets see if they're as good as everyone makes them out to be,' I thought. It was their 'I Want You Back Video.' I watched it in awe. 'So that's who they are,' giggling to myself, 'They look a whole lot better in person.' I saw the backgrounds and all of the other different scenes. I watched Justin play basketball. I knew he was a show-off. Then watched JC trying to drive the car. That was hilarious. I just sat there on the sofa staring at them. I really needed to get their CD one of these days. Once the video was over, I turned off the TV. I understood why everyone was calling me stupid for not getting their autographs. But what they didn't know was that I had spent the entire Spring break with them. Now that was once in a life time. I was getting tired and headed off to bed. I woke up the next morning pretty early. I actually arrived to school at around 7, a full one hour before school started. This day felt odd. Not one time did I get into a fight with my calculus teacher. He was surprised as much as I did. Everything went by pretty quickly and soon it was lunch before I knew it. Again I sat in my English class just doing nothing while everyone else was talking in their own little groups. I was bored so I decided to pull out my tarot cards. I kept the cards in my backpack in case I was ever bored out of my mind. I learned how to read the cards when I was reading some book. I was really fascinated with them and started to play around with it. I never believed that they could tell the future, but who knows. Leah noticed me shuffling the cards, "I didn't know you can read tarot cards." "Yeah, I learned it a long time ago," I replied still shuffling the deck. "Read my fortune," she asked. I shrugged my shoulders and proceeded to read her fortune. I guess she looked happy cause she wanted to know about her relationship. The cards read that she is going to meet a guy after she gets dumped once. After that a few more people asked to get their fortune read. I agreed and did their fortune as well. It was the same old questions like, "I want to know about my wealth," or "Is my boyfriend cheating on me?" Basic stuff like that. "Why don't you read your future?" Leah asked. I thought for a moment, "I don't know...I already have a depressing life as it is. Why bother?" "You don't know that," trying to urge me on, "It might turn out good after all." I sighed, "OK, fine. I'll read my own future." I then shuffled the deck three times and then cut it three more time. "This first card represents my personality at the moment," I pulled out the Hermit, "The Hermit represents isolation, closure of one's self from others. What I have to work with is Strength," placing that card below the first, "It is the strength of my character which will be the used the most and put to the test. What I aspire to be is," pulling out the Temperance card and putting that above the first card, "A fair and just person. Trying to listen to both sides of the story before making any decisions. What is blocking my path is," flipping the Fool and placing it across the Hermit, "My foolishness. I have trouble seeing the consequences of my actions. Soon I will," pulling out the Lovers card and placing it on the right side of the first, "Fall madly in love with someone who I know. As a result of this relationship," I flipped the next card, I stared at it for a moment. "Go on," Leah was really into this by now." "Be..because of this relationship there will be distant separation from the people I care about," placing the Collapsed Tower on the left. "In the distant future, the Wheel of Fortune will turn and turn giving me both good and bad luck," placing the card on the right side. "But," pulling out the Magician, "Just like magic, I will pick only the good luck and ignore the bad," placing the card below the Wheel of Fortune. "Everyone knows you can't have all good," I pulled out the High Priestess, "If I do not accept the bad events in my life sometimes, then," the final card was the shocker. I stopped reading it... "What's wrong," Leah was impatient, "Finish it." "If I do not accept the bad," I reluctantly put down the final card, "I will lose everything..." I trailed off looking at the Death card. "Ohhh, that sounds scary," Leah being sarcastic. Lunch was over and I slowly put my cards away. I never did a reading on myself and I knew why. My life could get worse than it already is. During the day, I never felt the same after reading my fortune. The thought of that coming true lingered in the back of my mind. 'Whatever happens, happens,' I thought to myself. I knew I can't change the future, so I might as well stick it out. After school, I did not immediately go home. This time, I went to the nearby theatre to drop off my application. I was kinda nervous as first, but it went away once I turned it in. One of the assistant manager there told me that they would give me a call in a couple of days. The usual screening process and so forth. When that was over, I went back home. Again, parents weren't home and I kidded if I really was their child and not some guy who is house sitting or something. Nothing to do and bored out of my mind, I plopped on the bed and started to write things in my journal. I only write stuff in my journal if I'm extremely depressed (which was pretty often), confused or plain bored. I started to write about nothing. Incoherent sentences were written down, and a jumble of pictures were drawn all around. Out of nowhere...words began to form together into something meaningful: Jumping down the long, winding road of life Using everything and anything to Survive the awful fate that you lead, Thinking that there is no hope for you, you Instinctively let go of everything you hold dear Not knowing if you can live to see another day... Letting fear, anger and hatred cloud your mind At times you wish...you pray that you have Never been born to face this pain, Cutting yourself from everyone around you, Eventually you start to fall... Just as you think you're all alone in this world, there are Caring, compassionate people always by your side... When the writing stopped, I looked at it for a moment and cried softly, ever so softly. That night, I cried myself to sleep thinking of the people who were there for me when I was in need. But now, there is no one around to talk to. I don't dare tell anyone I was gay, that would be disastrous. I don't trust anyone enough to let that secret out. One of these days I have to tell somebody.... The next couple of days went by pretty much without incident, with the occasional question, "Did you really meet N Sync?" or "Were they cute?" I just had to laugh at the questions. Don't they read those magazines with the pop groups on the front cover. They should be able to tell if they were cute or not. Gee...people are just using me again. All in all, I guess everything was back to normal...well my definition of normal anyway. On Friday, I was given a call from the theatre to come down for an interview. I pretty surprised to hear that, but I might as well go anyway. I've never been late for an appointment before. I picked out my nicest black slacks and threw on a dress shirt and a tie. The tie was crooked because I really never learned how to tie one properly, no one bothered to help me out. When I thought I looked decent enough, I hopped into my car and sped off towards the theatre. When I stepped in, I was told to wait in the lobby until the manager came out. He looked pretty young, actually he was 23 with thinning dirty blonde hair. We went upstairs in his office and he introduced himself as Scott. I introduced myself as well and we chatted for a while. After a couple of standard questions he asked me if I played any video games. I told him I did and he just kept going off about Playstation stuff. I was too nice not to drop the subject, but kept him entertained with my knowledge. I really didn't know why he would keep talking about that considering he was interviewing me. Real professional. Once that was over, he gave me a quick tour of the place. He showed me where all of the equipment were as well as the stockroom and the saferoom. Along the way, I was introduced to Jerry and Jamila. Both of them were assistant managers also. Jerry was half-Italian, half-Filipino with a gentle voice but a loud laugh. He had his hair almost shaved off, there was a little bit of fuzz covering his head. His smile was killer. Jamila was an African fireball. She would roam all over the place very happily. I had to laugh at her jokes, she was really funny. If she didn't work here, she could be a stand up comedian. I was also introduced to a few more people, Ellen, Hung, and Myra. Myra was an assistant also, while Ellen and Hung were supervisors. These people are quite the odd bunch. Ellen was a hip-hop kind of girl. You know, the ones that cranked up the car stereo listening to Dr. Dre or something to that effect, even though she didn't look like that. Hung is Vietnamese with short, slicked back hair like JC, but he was as tall as I was, only skinnier. Everyone called him OVS, original Vietnamese shadow. I think because he would always appear out of nowhere behind someone, dunno. Hung was very hyper and loved clubbing. Myra is a petite Filipino who was down to earth. Real friendly sort of person. She had a big yellow happy face button next to her nametag. I thought of that as being cute. When the tour was over, I gave Jerry my availability and was told to start work on Saturday, tomorrow. Scott reasoned that it would be better for me to have a crash course during one of the busy days. I told him that it was not a problem. I left the theatre thinking of what to expect the next day. Saturday came by and it really was a busy day. I followed Jerry all over the place taking mental notes on what he was doing. I had the impression that the rest of the employees liked me cause I had no idea what I was doing. They took full advantage of that. I knew what they were doing, I would get my revenge the next day I was working with them. Overall I had a fun time. The next flew by like it was nothing and Friday was already here. It had been 2 weeks since I last saw the guys. I would always see them on MTV and just wished that I had given them my number or gotten theirs so I can contact them somehow. By this time I already had bought their CD and I was impressed. I really liked the music. A lot of variation and their voices blended very well. In honor of the guys, I had decided that the prom music would be 'A Little More Time.' I would use that song with the heavenly theme that I came up with while I was on the plane. The song I liked the most was 'Sailing.' I don't know why, but probably it was because I could relate to it so much. By now I had gotten used to working at the theatre. I learned all the nuances of the place and managed to exploit some things which no one else knew about. It was around 9 at night when I decided to take my break. I pulled out my veggie sandwich I got from a nearby Subway and started eating. There was a stereo with a CD player in the assistant manager's office and I decided to pop in the CD. I tuned down the volume so that no one in the halls would hear it. Just then, I came up with a great idea. I pulled out the sketchbook from my backpack and started to draw concept ideas for the next N Sync video. 'A Little More Time' came up and I started to draw a guy and a girl romance thing. I didn't like that one so I drew another one with guardian angels. That looked pretty good. Then I doodled some more and thought of a mother and child sort of bond. I kept drawing not noticing that someone walked in the room. "That's N Sync, right?" Ellen asked as she walked in. "Yup," I kept drawing, "You heard of them?" "Yeah, they sound good and pretty cute too," she laughed and then noticed what I was doing, "What are you drawing?" "Just concepts for the next N Sync video." "Yeah right," replying sarcastically. "No really, look." She looked over my shoulder and saw the pictures I was sketching. "That looks pretty good. Do you think that N Sync will use it," she said sort of giggling. I frowned, "I don't know...Unless I see them again, I guess not." She stopped giggling, "You...met them?" "Yeah, during my vacation in Orlando," still sounding sad. "What a liar!" she tried to say sarcastically. "I don't care if you believe me or not, but I know what I saw." She looked at me quizzically and dropped the subject. I stopped the CD and put it back in my back. Hung, Jerry and Jamila walked in the room. The were all doing some routine paperwork. "Hey Mano," Hung asked as he looked through the filing cabinet. "Yo." "Jerry, Jamila, and I was wondering if you would like to go clubbing with us?" he turned and looked at me. "Huh?" was all I can manage to say. "It's a tradition," Jerry spoke up, "The new assistant manager or supervisor is invited to go clubbing so all of us so we can get to know them better. That way, it'll be easier to communicate with one another," saying it a matter a factly. "I don't know..." I hesitated, "I have a lot of homework to do tonight and I have to work tomorrow morning too." "Come on," Jamila whined, "You're not the only one who is working tomorrow morning," looking at everyone, "Today is Friday, a day to relax and unwind." I gave up, "OK..OK. Which club?" "We were thinking of the Sound Factory," Hung hyperly said. "Isn't that always packed?" I asked him. "Don't worry, I have a cousin who could hook us up," with a big grin on his face, "You'll have a blast. After my break, all the managers and stuff talked to me about school, vacation and all of the other things in my life. I had done the same to them as well. Hung, Jerry, Jamila, and Ellen were all in college while Myra was still a senior in high school like me. We all joked and kidded when there was nothing to do and it felt like they were family. Of course I couldn't tell them my secret cause I was scared at what might happen. The night rolled on and it was already midnight. We closed everything up pretty quickly and early. Everyone wanted to go clubbing, even me. Since there were so many of us, Jerry decided to break into two groups. I would ride with Jerry and Jamila while the rest would go to Hung's car. From the past week, I could tell right away that Jerry and Jamila were into each other. In this little circle of friends, everyone though to Jerry as a big brother...I did too. It was kinda strange. We arrived at the Sound Factory and parked at the back of the place. It was pretty packed. There was a line half a block long with people waiting to go inside. Hung talked to one of the bouncers and at the entrance and after a few minutes he went back to us. He guided us to the back entrance and all of us got in. It was amazing. There were three floors of different music in the place. One floor was dance music another was 80's dance while another was alternative. Everyone went to the second floor where the dance music was playing. People were dancing everywhere. Multicolored lights flashed every which way and the atmosphere was electrifying. I got up and started to dance with Ellen. She was impressed that I can dance. I laughed and told her that I had a good partner. About an hour of dancing, all of us were getting tired. We grabbed a table in one of the corners. We chatted a bit and ordered drinks. I was neither old enough nor had any inclination of drinking alcohol. I promised myself a long time ago that I would never touch the stuff. "Are you enjoying yourself?" Hung asked. "Yeah," I smiled, "I'm having a blast." "Told you, you were going to have fun," Jamila commented. "I'm glad that I came with you guys." We looked around the table commenting on the people. Jamila would crack a joke or two on some of the more "unfashionable" types and we would all laugh. Hung was scoping out chicks but was disappointed that they had boyfriends that came by. Ellen looked around as well and was staring at something over Jerry and Jamila. "What's up Ellen?" I noticed her staring. "Look," pointing behind Jerry, "Look over there." Everyone turned and looked in her direction. "I don't see a thing," trying to figure out what she was pointing to. "Over there." "Where?" still confused. She got up, stood behind me and placed both of her hands on the side of my head and turned it in the direction of where she was looking at. "I don't anything," I got annoyed, "Except for that waitress." "Wait until she moves out of the way," she said. I stared looking at the waitress' back probably looking like I was a pervert or something. She finally moved out of the way and was out of sight. I finally saw who was behind the waitress and my jaw dropped like a rock. "Oh my God," I whispered out..... ** How's that for an ending? ** What'd ya think? Comments suggestions always welcome.