** The further along I go with the story, it seems that the writing is ** degrading. Sorry about that. It's just so hard to keep pace with ** the other segments. I want it to be of the same quality, but I just ** can't seem to pull it off. I guess....
** Oh, if there things that are unclear to you in previous chapters ** feel free to mail me to see if I clear things up for you...though ** I can't tell you much because it'll ruin the plot.
** One final thing before I shut up now. It has been brought to my ** attention that the beach in Florida is not minutes away from Orlando. ** This was a minor oversight and I apologize to the natives that I kinda ** ticked off. This next segment is in my home town and I will not make ** the same mistake. I needed the beach for a dramatic effect, I should ** have used a bridge or something, but it wouldn't make much sense. Bye ** for now...
Chapter 11: Justification
I finally reached home and threw my backpack on the floor. I was really tired and I didn't know why. Lucky for me, Mondays are my days off. I sat down on the couch and turned on the TV. I just blankly stared at the tube. There was something on, but I didn't know what. I just couldn't focus on anything. As I entered a daydream, the phone rang.
I walked over and picked it up, "Hello?"
"Hello, may I speak to Mano please," echoed an unfamiliar male voice.
"Speaking."
"Oh, hi Mano, this is Scott," snapping up to attention.
"Hi Scott," surprised that he would call, "What's up?"
"Nothing much," he replied, "There's a manager meeting today at the theatre. There are some things which I have to talk to everyone about."
I knew where this is headed, "OK, no problem. When will it be?"
"I was hoping that everyone could be here by 5."
Glancing at the clock, "I'll be a little late, but I can make it."
"Sounds great. See you in a bit," he then hung up the phone.
I put back the phone on the receiver and thought that everyone is going to get it from him. If not fired, they would probably be demoted or something. I stood over the phone for a while thinking of what to do and say at the meeting. There are so many things going on, it is sometimes almost impossible to handle them. I took a deep breath and headed outside. I hopped in my car and drove off to work.
The drive to the theatre was pretty nice. The sun was blocked by the clouds and the sky cast a grey light all around. Not many people were out driving on this Monday afternoon. In no time, I had arrived at the theatre. I parked the car and went inside. All of the employees looked at me curiously. They knew that all of the managers were here and word had spread about the incident on Saturday. How was I going to pull this one off?
I walked up the stairs and into Scott's office. Everyone was there; Jerry, Jamila, Arc, Hung, Ellen, and Myra. The guys looked fidgety and Arc looked pretty angry. They saw me walk in and quickly put their heads down looking at the carpet. Arc gave me a nod. Scott quickly noticed the brace on my wrist.
"What happened to you?" he asked.
"Just an accident," I replied calmly, "It won't affect my work," he nodded back.
"OK," Scott started with a semi-authoritan voice, "Let's get straight to the point."
Everyone sat still, still looking at the ground.
"I was going over Saturday's reports and saw some unusual things," he said while flipping the reports, "It looks like Mano did all of the paperwork."
I was about to speak, but Scott continued, "There is also a rumor floating around that the only person who showed up was Mano," Scott looked at the guys, "Explain yourselves."
They were all paralyzed with fear. They didn't know what to say.
"It was a pretty hectic day," I blurted out and everyone looked at me shocked.
"What do you mean?" Scott eyeing me.
"We had a late start. Jerry was upstairs most of the time threading the projectors and making sure that everything was OK," I said coolly, trying to make Scott believe me, "There were a ton of angry customers who bitched and complained for no apparent reason. I asked Jerry to help me out because he is better at customer service and I am."
Scott sort of bought it, but not quite, "That still doesn't explain why you filled out all of the papers."
"We were going to close out the registers, but the auditoriums were all messed up. Jerry, Jamila, and Hung went in to clean them up while I closed down the registers," I was surprised that I can be a good liar, "Lucky for me Arc came by and helped me out," I looked at him and he nodded in agreement. I didn't want to do that to him, but I was telling the truth...sort of.
"I see..." looking at me rather suspiciously, "What's with the rumors that you were by yourself?"
"That's what they are," I said a matter of factly, "Just rumors."
Satisfied with my answers, he continued on with the meeting. It was your typical meeting which consisted of profit and loss reports, attendance, employee discipline, and other mundane topics. Scott tried to liven things up with a joke or two, but Arc or I would shoot him down. He got annoyed that he couldn't get anyone to laugh, but that didn't stop him from trying. The meeting lasted for 2 hours. I kept staring at the fishtank so I can stop myself from falling asleep outright. Soon enough the meeting was over and everyone headed out. I was the last one to leave.
"Hey Mano," Scott asked and I turned around, "Could you close the door?" I complied.
"What did happen on Saturday?" he asked me, "You don't have to cover for them."
I was a little shocked that he knew I was lying, but I held my ground, "You already know what happened that day, I told you everything."
"Are you sure?" he kept bugging me.
"Go ask Arc. He was there," I started to get defensive.
"Calm down, I believe you," he softly said, "Though I still don't understand why everyone keeps saying that you had a fight with the rest of management."
I cracked a small smile. Scott looked at me curiously. I turned around and opened the door, "Sometimes...you have to sacrifice a little bit of yourself to make things right," I said as I walked out.
I walked past the humming of the projectors and went downstairs to the lobby. When I reached the lobby, everyone was waiting for me. They looked at me unusually.
"Why'd you do it?" Hung asked.
"Do what?"
"You know what he means," Ellen interjected, "Why did you cover for us?"
"Why not?" as I shrugged my shoulders.
They were dumbfounded by my answer. They didn't know what to make of it.
"If I were you," Arc spoke up, "I would have told Scott everything."
I looked at Arc and smiled, "But I'm not you. That's what makes us different."
He shook his head, "Yeah, I know. I know."
"You are probably the only person who knows me that well," I laughed and he smiled.
"You forgive us?" Jamila asked meekly.
I looked at them for a second or two, "Yeah...I guess I do. I made a promise to myself long ago not to be mad at anyone for very long. I'm afraid I won't wake up the next morning."
"We should have given you a chance," Ellen said.
I laughed, "That's what Lance said."
Again, they gave me a puzzling look, "Oh, Jerry. I have something for you," I said as I reached into my pocket.
"Here," I handed him a folded napkin. He smiled ecstatically.
"You got their autographs!" he yelled.
"No," I joked, "Those are fakes."
Everyone gathered around Jerry and looked at the signed napkin. It read: "To a special person. With love N'Sync." with all of the guys' name signed in various places.
"This is so cool," Jerry gave me a hug, "My niece will go nuts."
"Hope you like it," I started to head for the exit.
"Wait, Mano," Hung said and I turned around, "What happened to your wrist?"
"This," lifting it up at them, "It's just a basketball injury."
"Basketball?" Jerry asked, "I thought you didn't like to play."
"I don't, but the guys dragged me anyway," I smiled and exited the building.
"He really is good friends with them," Myra said astonished.
"There's a lot of things you guys don't know about him," Arc said and he resumed his routine work.
Everyone just looked at each other. They never met anyone as unusual as I was. They chatted for a while and soon departed. I slowly drove back home. It was a normal drive back. Nothing really major happening. I still don't know why I covered up for them. I guess it was because of their faces which made me do it. I hated the way people look when they are sad. I guess it's my human nature...I guess.
Time passed and I was confined to do my routine things. One Saturday morning I took the bus and walked around the city. I stopped at every hotel on my adventure. This was the day I had to pick the place. Everyone has been bugging me about this for weeks on end and I had to make them stop. Hotel after hotel I visited and they were all the same.
There was one big room, but no smaller rooms for setting up pictures and stuff. Many of them had a large chandelier in the center of the room, but the rest of the room was pretty ordinary. I also took into consideration the food that they were serving. Many of them only could serve one type of dish. That really sucked. I kept on going through the entire day, but to no avail.
I finally decided on a hotel. It was a quaint medium sized one. Their ballroom was very cool. There was a golden chandelier hanging in the center like all of the others. This ballroom had all four walls covered in mirrors. This made it look like the room was bigger than it actually was. The management also said that they could serve more than one type of dish if they knew how many to make ahead of time. I was very pleased with that. As a bonus, they would throw in 4 extra little conference rooms for us to use for whatever reasons. It was settled, I picked the hotel. I made a school check for $25,000 to rent out the place. To me that was a lot for a room, but considering that the tickets were $50 dollars a pop, I had no fear about not being able to pay it off.
Everything was set and all I needed was for the decorations and such. I talked to the drama teacher if she could spare any creative talent for the prop designs. I made a deal with her that she could use the props once I was done with them. The group got to work. I showed them the rough sketches of the theme. There would be clouds all over the place. The entrance was to look like a Roman archway. Inside the ballroom, there would be scenes of a castle in the clouds and such.
When I finished coordinating the prop designs, which was hard work because everyone wanted to change the concept to make themselves happy, but I held my ground, I went to get the floral arrangements. I had someone with me to pick out the flowers. There were different types of center-pieces to choose from. So I chose one of each. Fifty tables and fifty different center-pieces. Though I had a hard time getting the bouquet, I asked Ulysses to pick it up for me. I sort of begged him to get it. I still couldn't deal with it yet. It was a pretty hectic April for me...
In the bus, Lance was in the "kitchen" area reading some schedule changes that management handed to them. JC and Chris were in the lounge playing GoldenEye while Justin and Joey were in their bunks relaxing for a bit.
"Ha! Got you again!" JC shouted.
"You got lucky," Chris replied acting pissed, "I'll get you next game."
"Bring it on," JC smiled.
Chris won the game and they concluded their session. JC looked at his watch.
"How long are we going to be on this bus?" he asked.
"Who knows?" Chris shrugging his shoulders.
"It's been 4 hours, I hate being in here for this long," JC complained, "I'll go check to see what Lance is up to."
"OK," Chris replied, "I'll take some rest."
Chris headed for his bunk while JC walked to where Lance was. He had a hard time getting there because the bus kept rocking back and forth. The rocking was stronger than a boat's and he kept losing his balance. Always needed to grab the walls or the doorway to support himself.
JC finally got to where Lance was sitting and sat next to him, "What's up Scoop?"
Lance was startled by JC's sudden appearance, but played it off pretty well, "Nothing much. Just new instructions for our next stop."
"Can I see?"
"Sure," Lance handed him some papers and looked up into JC's eyes. His face flushed a little.
JC noticed this, "Lance? Are you OK?"
Lance snapped into reality and quickly looked down at the rest of the papers, "Yeah, I'm fine."
JC shrugged and began to look through the memos. As he looked through the papers, he could feel the area begin to warm up.
"Is it just me or is it getting hotter in here?" JC asked Lance still looking at the papers.
It took a while for Lance to answer, "I guess the driver has the heater on."
"I guess so."
JC was reading the memo and Lance was staring blankly at his sheets. An uncomfortable silence floated in the air. Justin got off his bunk and stepped in the room.
"What's up guys," he said.
"Hi Just," JC looked up at him.
"Hey, Justin," Lance replied still looking at the papers.
Justin felt that that there is massive tension in the air. He was about to turn around and leave, but he had to know what is going on. He sat down in front of them.
"What are those?" he asked pointing at the papers.
"These are schedule updates," Lance replied as he gave Justin some of the memos.
"Awww man," he complained as he began to read the stuff.
"How long till we get there?" JC spoke up.
Justin shrugged his shoulders, "Don't know," Lance replied.
JC sighed. Then his face lit up.
Justin looked at him, "OK JC, spill it."
"You're gonna love this!" he beamed back.
"What's up?" Lance finally put down the papers and looking at JC.
"It looks like the third week of May we have off," still smiling.
"So?" Justin asked still confused.
"Guess where we'll be?"
Lance and Justin shrugged their shoulders.
"We'll be in San Francisco," he said slowly.
"Really!?!" Justin perked up, "That's so cool. We can spend time with Mano."
Lance gave a small smile.
"Right! But do you know what's the best part?" Justin shook his head, "We can be at his prom," JC laughed.
"Do you think he wants us there?" Justin laughed as well.
"I don't know, but we'll crash it anyway."
"Are you sure you want to surprise him?" Lance spoke up.
"Why not?" JC looked at him quizzically, "I want to see the expression on his face when we show up out of nowhere."
Lance shrugged his shoulders a little and resumed reading.
"Since this is going to be a long drive, I think I'll get some rest," JC said as he stood up.
"OK," Justin said, "I'll see you in a bit."
"OK," JC waved as he went to his bunk.
Justin took some scratch paper and started to make a list. Lance took notice.
"What's that?"
"Just a list?" Justin answered writing more stuff.
"A list of what?"
"Nothing important."
"Well...It looks important," Lance trying to be bold.
Justin looked up, "It's nothing important," he said slowly.
"I guess..." Lance trailed off.
Justin got up and walked to the lounge at the back of the bus. Lance was now alone and feeling awkward. He just sat there just staring at the table. He finally got the strength to get up and lie down in his bunk. He slowly closed the curtains and placed the earphones of his CD player on. Fumbled a bit for the CD and pressed play. He closed his eyes and listened to the music.
'I woke up this morning and the sun was gone...Turned on some music to start my day...' JC's recorded voice echoed in his ear, '...I lost myself in a familiar song...I closed my eyes and I slipped away...More than a feeling...More than a feeling...'
Lance fell asleep listening to JC's voice. Lance probably slept for God knows how long. The bus had reached the hotel and everyone was getting out. Chris looked around when everyone was off the bus.
"Where's Lance?" he asked.
The guys looked around, "Don't know," Justin replied, "He's probably inside sleeping."
"I'll go get him," Joey said. The rest of the guys continued to go into the hotel, but were stopped by a crowd of fans.
Joey ran back into the bus and headed straight to Lance's bunk. He found him sleeping there.
"Lance," Joey shook him a little, "Lance wake up."
He moved a little and started to open his eyes."
"You're finally awake," Joey smiled at him.
"Hi Joey," he replied sleepily, "What's going on?"
"We're here."
"Already?"
"Yes already. Let's get you to the hotel."
"OK." Lance groggily got out of his bunk and put the CD player on the bed. He started to walk to the front of the bus.
"Hold on Lance," Joey putting his hand on his shoulder, "This is not like you."
Lance turned around and looked at the floor.
"You haven't been the same since we met up with Mano a few weeks ago. Did something happen between you two?" Joey asked in concern.
"No, no...nothing happen between us," Lance snapped up surprised, "He and I are cool."
"OK....so what's up?" not buying it.
Lance sighed, "I don't know...I haven't figured it out yet."
Joey looked at him, "You know that the other guys are going to pester you about it. We don't like or keep secrets."
"I know...I just need time to straighten things out," he replied softly.
"If you need anything, just holler. OK?" Joey smiled and Lance smiled back. "Good. Let's get settled in," Joey put his arm around Lance's shoulder and they walked out of the bus.
The looked at the sight of the screaming fans, "I think we should go around the back," Joey whispered and Lance agreed.
They went behind the bus and around the fans. They walked to the back entrance and through the large steel double-doors. They were in the kitchen area of the place and quickly zipped through. Once in the lobby, Lance decided to sit down on one of the chairs to wait for the rest of the guys.
The rest of the guys finally made it through the mob.
Joey laughed, "How was your encounter?"
"Thanks for the help," JC remarked sarcastically.
Chris walked up to Joey and whispered in his ear, "How's Lance."
"I don't know," he whispered back, "Something's up and I don't like it."
Chris nodded and headed to the receptionist for the keys.
"Lance, catch," Justin said as he threw him the key.
Lance caught it easily and stood up. He looked at him for a moment and headed for the elevator.
Justin looked at him puzzled, "JC...something is definitely wrong here," as he kept looking at Lance.
"I know," JC looked as well.
The elevator ride was pretty awkward for all of them. Everyone knew that something was bothering Lance. JC and Justin felt bad for him because he wasn't the only one who had other things on their mind. The elevator chimed to the correct floor and everyone headed towards their rooms.
"We have to be at the arena by 6 tonight," Lance spoke up walking to his room, "Don't be late."
"Aye sir!" Chris joked
Everyone entered their rooms and put their things away. Lance left the door to his room unlocked as usual and plopped on the bed. He never did bother to lock the door. It wasn't like anyone would sneak in. There was pretty tight security all around. The door knocked.
"Come in!" Lance yelled with his back turned to the door.
The door slowly opened and JC stepped it. He looked at Lance and quickly closed the door.
"Hi Lance," JC said.
He was a little surprised to hear him, "Hi JC."
"I wanted to talk to you," JC sat on the edge of the bed.
"About what?" still not looking.
"About you."
There was a small pause and he took a deep breath, "OK...begin the interrogation."
JC smiled a little, "It's not going to be an interrogation. It more like a concern."
"What's on your mind?" still staring blankly at the wall.
JC didn't know how to say what was bothering him, "It's...umm... your behavior."
Lance didn't say anything.
"All of us are really worried about you. You've been so distant and out of it since we left San Francisco."
"Do you remember the play," Lance interrupted.
JC was surprised, "Yeah...yeah I do."
"Well...it's just...just that..." fumbling for the words.
"Go on. I won't laugh," JC took off his shoes and laid down next to him with his hand on Lance's shoulder.
Lance slowly started to sob, "...Will...will I ever meet someone? Will I ever be happy..." he trailed off still crying.
JC was dumbfounded by Lance's confession. He never knew he felt that way. JC instinctively wrapped his arms around Lance's waist and softly hummed a lullaby.
Lance kept crying, but as long as JC was there, he was safe...at least for the time being. He let out all of the sadness which was building up inside. It was a good 20 minutes of crying before he fell asleep.
Once Lance was asleep. JC slowly unwrapped himself and gently got off the bed. He pulled the covers over Lance and tucked him in. He looked so peaceful, JC smiled. But he knew that this wasn't the end of it. JC didn't know why, but he had to help him out...somehow. He quietly left his room and was surprised that Justin was waiting outside leaning against the wall.
Justin looked up, "OK, what's up?"
JC shook his head, "I wish I knew. He just cried in my arms and fell asleep."
Shocked at what he just heard, "My God...is it that bad? Is he going to be all right," saying quickly.
"Calm down," putting his hand on Justin's shoulder, "Right now he's calmed down, but honestly," looking at the ground, "I don't know if he's going to be OK."
"Do you know what caused it?"
"No idea."
"Wanna talk to the other guys about it?"
"I don't think that now is a good time," JC looked back up, "We have to perform later and I don't any more distractions," Justin nodded.
"Let's get some rest," JC resumed.
"OK"
They headed back to their rooms and plopped on the bed. JC couldn't get the thought of Lance crying out of his mind. He thought about me and the play. He also imagined the expression on my face when I was on the ground. JC didn't understand why I didn't yell at him right away and why I'd forgiven him so easily. And every time any mention of my name would automatically cheer him up, he just didn't know why. JC sighed and slept lightly.
The guys slept, though not all of them slept well. The phone rang and the typical wake-up call sounded in the receiver. Everyone basically did the same thing. Looked for something to wear, take a shower and then headed downstairs. As usual, Lance was the first on there. Everyone joked that the only reason why he's there first is because he didn't have to fix the hair.
Lance was looking much better than earlier. He was eager to get to work. JC looked at him once in a while thinking if he remembered what happened in his room. He shrugged his shoulders and let it go. Everyone went through the front entrance. They stopped, chatted, and signed autographs for the fans that were waiting there. It was all pretty fun.
The bus ride to the arena was semi-long. It took approximately 45 minutes to get there. Too much traffic. During the ride, Justin was on his cell phone the whole time. He had been sitting in the lounge ever since they left. Chris noticed and waited for Justin to get off the phone.
"Hey Just," Chris said after he had finished the call.
"What's up Chris?"
"What was that phone call about? You've been on it since we left."
Justin looked at him, "It's nothing. Just checking up on mom."
Chris didn't buy that, "Are you going to lie too?" saying rather bluntly.
"Wh..what do you mean 'lie'" surprised at the response.
"Look," sounding very angry, "Everyone here has been keeping secrets left and right. Right now I'm really fed up with the whole thing. It's not like we've been friends or anything," he stormed out of the lounge.
Justin felt really bad. It was difficult for him to hide a secret...and this one was a real big secret. He couldn't tell anyone, he was afraid it might damage their friendship. While deep in thought, Joey walked in.
"What was that all about?" Joey asked.
Snapping out of thought, "Huh? Oh...Chris was a little upset."
"Duh...about what?"
"I don't know," looking out the window.
"God...when did everyone start to lie around here?," Joey shaking his head.
Justin snapped up and looked at Joey, "I'm sorry...I didn't mean it," apologizing.
"You know you could have just said something was bothering him and leave it at that," saying a matter of factly, "I'm not the one to pry."
"I know...it just came out."
"We're almost at the arena and let's talk about this later."
"Yeah...later."
Again there was tension in the air during rehearsals. Everyone wondered if they were going to be able to make it through tonight's performance. They really had no choice. The guys couldn't let their fans down and certainly not because of some petty arguments that everyone has been experiencing.
It was concert time already. The guys did their typical "meet and greet" session with the fans. Again they did photographs, autographs, conversations and all of that stuff. Once done, they went into the green room and played a little hackey sack. They guys were pretty pumped up because no one dropped the bag.
They quickly changed to their costumes and huddled around with the other band members to pray. Finally...showtime. Everyone was in position and the lights dimmed. The crowd went wild as the music pumped through the speakers....
It was a Saturday morning in mid-April. Nothing much happened. The sky was clear blue and not a cloud in it. I looked around and as usual no one was home, but me. 'Happy Birthday to me...' I thought to myself. I had requested the day off so I was free to do anything I wanted. There was nothing really for me to do. The only reason why I wanted the day off was to prevent my co-workers nagging me about my b- day.
It was no big deal. At least I don't have to use my fake id anymore. I've only had the id of a few months. I don't know why I needed it. I was going to turn 18 soon anyway, but I guess it was the fad back then. I stretched a little in the living room and flipped through the channels. My wrist had healed and my brace was already off. I took 3 trips to the hospital to make sure that everything was OK. It was a little weak, but I could get it back to full strength in no time.
Noon-time swung by and I decided to go out to eat. I got dressed and was about to head out. There was a knock at the door. I went over and opened the door.
"FedEx," a woman in uniform said, "Please sign here."
I grabbed the sheet and signed it.
"Have a nice day," as she handed me the package.
I looked at the package and my name was on it, 'That's odd. I didn't order anything,' I thought.
It was a small package. It was as big as a shoe box. I quickly cut through the taping and sifted through the styrofoam stuffing. Inside was the most adorable thing. There was a small grey plush teddy bear. It had crystal black beads for eyes and a little soft nose. Between the paws, there was a little white birthday cake with a single candle sticking up in the middle. The cake was as soft as the teddy bear if not softer. I almost cried when I looked at it. Written on the cake was a tiny inscription. "Happy Birthday...Forever Young"
I didn't understand what it meant. I probably stood there looking at it for the better part of 15 minutes just trying to figure out everything. 'Who would know my birthday?' I thought, 'I've never told anyone...' Then it struck me like lightening, 'JC! It couldn't be,' thinking is disbelief. 'But how?'
I set the plush bear on my table in front of my bed. I slowly exited the house and just walked. I mindlessly walked all over the neighborhood. I was thinking about the package. 'Does he love me?' I asked myself, 'Does he really love me?'
Chapter 12: Understanding
A new week was dawning upon me. It had been about four weeks since I recieved that package from the mysterious person. I sorta hoped it would be JC, but I really didn't know.
It was a sunny Sunday morning and I was watching a movie in the theatre. Since I worked there, I might as well take full advantage of the freebies that was available. During the past few weeks, I had a couple of scuffles from Jerry and the gang. After some understanding and such, all of us became pretty good friends. Every Friday night, all of us would go clubbing or go somewhere to just chill.
Before I went into the auditorium to watch the movie, I talked with Ellen, Hung and Myra. We chatted a bit about everything, but nothing to deep into conversation. Ellen would be always eyeing customers to see if they were cute. Hung and I had a pretty good time making fun of her. After the little conversation, the movie started and I proceeded to watch.
It was a pretty boring movie. I really don't remember much about it, except that it was supposed to be a romantic comedy. It was neither romantic nor funny. I think I fell asleep, but I wasn't sure. I just know that when I blinked, the scene changed from one part to a completely different one. Almost three-quarters of the way through, I got bored and left the movie. I didn't pay anything so I really didn't lose...well maybe my sanity.
I opened the red wooden door and headed out in the lobby. I noticed Jerry behind one of the registers checking to see if the register had enough change.
He looked up and saw me, "Didn't like the movie?"
"How'd you know," I said sarcastically.
"I saw you fall asleep," I started to blush, "It was that bad, huh?"
"It's worse than bad," I shook my head, "I don't understand why they make such bad movies," Jerry shrugged.
Then one of the new female trainee started to talk to me, "Are you the Mano, the assistant manager?"
I looked at her and I didn't recognize her, "That's me," I smiled.
"Oh sorry. Mano, this is Julie. Julie, Mano," Jerry introduced us.
"Hi, nice to meet you," I said.
"Nice to meet you too," she said happily, "I've heard a lot about you."
I cocked an eyebrow, "Already? What do you know so far?"
"Well...I know that you're one of the nicer managers around here," she was trying to get on my good side, "I also know that you are friends with N' Sync..."
I turned to Jerry, "Who told?"
"Not me?" putting his hands up, "It's probably Jamila or somebody."
Julie looked at me puzzled, "Is there something wrong with me knowing?"
"No it's not that," I shook my head a little, "They are my friends and I will not treat them as if they are some object to be displayed everywhere. When they are with me, they are not N' Sync."
She really didn't understand and just kept looking at me funny, "Nevermind..." I sighed.
She shrugged her shoulders, "How long have you known them?"
"About a couple of months," I reluctantly replied.
"How'd you guys meet up?" she started with her twenty questions.
"I ran into them in Orlando," I said as I looked at Jerry trying to get her off my case.
"Wow, that's pretty cool....." she trailed off looking over my shoulder.
Jerry did the same and I looked at both of them, "Jerry, Julie, what's going on?"
Jerry pointed behind me. I turned around and my eyes bugged out. I would recognize that face anywhere. The guy was talking to the door person trying to let himself in. I walked up to the entrance and looked at him.
"Are you trying to bribe your way in?" I said seriously.
He jumped a little because he didn't see me, "I'm sorry...Mano?" he looked at me, shook my hand and gave me quick hug. "I'm so glad that you're here. I wasn't sure if you were working today," he said smiling.
"You know," I smiled back, "You guys got to quit surprising me. Have a seat," as I escorted him to the bench in the middle of the lobby.
"We like to surprise you," he laughed, "How've you been?"
"I've been pretty good. I've made amends with my friends and everything is going well," I smiled.
"That's good to hear," he sighed.
"What's wrong?" I asked in concern.
"Can we talk about that later?"
"Sure...Where's the rest of the guys?" changing the subject.
"The guys? They're at the hotel. We're staying at..."
I quickly covered his mouth with my hand. He looked at me surprised.
"Why'd you do that for?" he asked once I removed my hand.
"Look around," I told him.
He looked around the lobby and noticed that all of the workers there had a pen and paper waiting to write down the hotel name.
"I see..." he said turning back towards me.
"Yeah. I don't want you guys hounded while you're here."
He gave me a hug, "Thanks, you're always there looking out for us, aren't you?"
"I guess so," returning the hug and breaking away, "You want to go upstairs to talk or just walk around."
"Let's go for a walk," he stood up, "I haven't really seen too much of the city."
"OK," I also stood up, "I'll see you later Jerry," I waved at him.
Jerry waved back as we left the building.
We walked through the parking lot and crossed the street. We turned right and headed down the hill.
"This is an odd city," he commented.
"How so?" still walking down the sidewalk.
"I don't know. Everywhere you look, there's a cemetery. It's kinda creepy."
I laughed and he looked at me, "You know this is Colma. The city where the number of dead people outnumber the living," he laughed as well.
"I guess so."
"So, where are you staying?"
We reached the stop light at the bottom of the hill and headed left on El Camino, "We're staying at the ANA Hotel."
My eyes bugged out, "You can't stay there," almost screaming at him.
He looked at me confused, "Why not?"
"Because...that's where my prom will be."
"What!" he said, "Your prom?"
"Yeah...I'm afraid that you guys will be swamped by all the prom go-ers."
"You do care," he smiled and put his arm around my shoulder as we continued walking down the sidewalk.
I blushed a little, "I guess....I really do."
"Don't worry about us," I looked at him, "We've been in a bigger mess before," he laughed. I remembered and laughed with him.
We were walking quite a bit and we didn't care.
"How's your wrist?" he asked.
"It's as good as new. I've had plenty of time to recover."
"That's good. I was afraid that you wouldn't be able to write or play basketball anymore."
"It's no big deal. I didn't know you cared," I joked.
"Of course I do," he squeezed my shoulder, "You really are something."
"Something of a pain," I continued and joked.
"Ah shaddap," he laughed as well.
"Seriously...you said that something's up," I said.
"Well," he looked around, "Can we talk somewhere in private?"
"Sure," I looked around and noticed that we were only a few blocks from my house, "My house is really close. We can talk there."
"OK. No problem."
We walked the last few blocks to my house in silence. We walked up the front steps and I unlocked the door. I opened the door and I let him go in first.
"Nice house," as he looked around, "It feels homey."
"Thanks," I closed the door, "Do you want anything to drink? Coffee, tea, milk, soda?"
"I'm fine thank you," as he sat down on the couch.
I sat next to him and looked him dead in the eyes, "What's up?"
He took a deep breath, "Something's wrong with one of the guys and he won't talk about it."
"Who and how so?" I asked with concern.
"It's......it's Lance..." trailing off.
"Is he all right? Is he going to be okay?" I said in a panicked voice.
"Calm down, calm down," putting his hand on my shoulder, "He's not hurt or anything, but something is bugging him and it has gotten all of us worried."
I calmed down a bit, "When did this happen?"
"Actually," looking down on the floor, "It happened after we left San Francisco."
Then it clicked in my head, "It's....it's my fault...isn't it?" I stood up and turned around, "I...I...I did something to him...didn't I?"
"Mano..."
"How can I do that to him," I put my hands on my face and started to cry.
"Mano," he said louder.
"I'm a horrible person," I spoke through my hands, "I shouldn't have ever met you guys."
"Mano!" he yelled. He grabbed my shoulders, spun me around and gave me a very deep embrace, "Don't say that," he whispered, "It's not your fault," I kept crying in his shoulders. "I never said it was."
I eased up on my crying and looked at him, "Then...then how come Lance is like that after you guys left?"
"I don't know," he smiled softly and let me go, "Why did you say that it's your fault?"
"Think about it....You guys were depressed after I left Orlando and then you cheered up right away when you saw me again. I suspect that when you guys left, you got depressed again and..." I trailed off.
He put his hand on my shoulder, "Don't guess. It is not your fault," trying to comfort me, "He won't talk to anyone about his problems and I think the only person he would rather talk to...is you."
"Do you really think so?" I asked, "You guys know him longer than I have. Do you think he'll say something to me?"
"I know so," he said as we both sat back down, "Probably the only reason why he won't talk to any of us is that he knows what our reaction would be. Since he doesn't know you very well, he would like to have an honest, straight answer."
I thought about it for a minute, "Do you think he trusts me that much?"
"I think so," he smiled a little, "I do."
I smiled at his comment, "Thanks, I feel the same way."
We talked a little bit longer.
"I have to go back to the hotel. The guys is probably going to send a search party or something," I laughed, "Do you want to come?"
"Maybe a little later," looking at the wall clock, "I still have some errands I have to do first. I can stop by at around 5 this afternoon."
"Cool."
"I wanted to ask you guys something."
"What is it?"
"I'll tell you when I get there."
"OK. I'll see you in a bit."
He got up and headed for the door. I opened it for him and he walked off down the street. 'That's kinda dangerous,' I thought to myself, 'What if he gets recognized or something?' He turned the corner and was out of sight. I closed the door and quickly located by sketch book. I tore out the pages with the various video conceptions and put it in a folder. I was so excited that I would be meeting up with the guys again that I almost dropped the stuff.
I hurriedly put all of the stuff in my backpack and headed out the door. Since I was going to the city, I might as well take BART (that's the local underground rail system). The fare wasn't too bad and only a few people wandered about the station. It was Sunday afternoon and everyone is probably at home sleeping.
I rode in the train impatiently all the way to the hotel. During the ride, I was pretty fidgety and a few people noticed. I didn't care though. The only thing that bothered me is Lance's condition. I couldn't believe something bothered him so much that he couldn't talk to any of the guys about it. It was about 15 minutes until I exited the station. The hotel was only a couple of blocks away.
I quickly walked over to the hotel almost breaking into a run. I walked into the lobby and then it struck me. He didn't tell me what floor they were in. 'Damn!' I thought, 'It's just one of those days.' Kinda frustrated, I walked around and checked out the ballroom again for the millionth time. I walked within the space and imagined where all the props would be. I also tried to imagine where all the tables would be set and stuff.
I exited the ballroom and headed for the lobby. The elevator chimed and I saw Justin.
"Justin," I called for him.
He quickly spun around, "Mano? What are you doing here?"
I thought before answering, "I was checking out the ballroom here."
"Oh, why?"
"My prom will be here in 2 days," I smiled.
"Really?" he looked astonished, "That soon?"
"Yup," I smiled, "What brings you here?"
"We have the week off and then we're heading toward Washington."
"Cool."
"I'm kinda hungry right now. Do you want to eat with me?"
"I'd be delighted," Justin and I walked out of the hotel and walked along Market Street.
"Where's the other guys?" I asked as we stopped at an intersection.
"They fell asleep. All of them are really tired."
"The tour is that rough?"
"No...It was a long drive to get here," we continued our walk.
"How's life on the road?"
Justin didn't answer right away, "It has it's ups and downs."
I sighed, "Right now...there's a down, right?"
"Is it that obvious?" he looked at me.
"Yeah...to me it is cause you don't hide anything from me like you do with the other fans."
He smiled at me, "Could we eat here?" stopping at a small Italian restaurant.
"Sure," I agreed, "I love pasta."
"Good."
We sat down at a table in the corner of the place. We were as far from the windows as possible. I guess he doesn't want to be recognized by anyone. Or maybe he wants me alone. No, he does want me alone, I'm sure of it.
"May I take your order," a polite waitress asked.
"I'll have the spaghetti with some juice," Justin said putting down the menu.
"I'll take the angel hair pasta with pesto sauce. I'll get some Sprite as well," I said afterwards.
She collected our menus and walked away.
"Soda's bad for you," commented.
"Yeah, yeah. It's just sugar water."
"That's why it's bad for you. It makes you hyper."
"I guess," shrugging my shoulder.
Justin stared over my shoulder, "Things have been strange lately."
"How so?" asking concerned, but I knew the answer.
"It's...Lance," turning towards me.
"What's wrong with him?"
"I don't know if I should say, but I know you could help."
"Me?" I replied confused, "How so?"
"Well you see...a few weeks ago Lance was pretty upset. JC went up to his room to see what was going on and he...well...he just cried in his arms until he fell asleep."
I was shocked at this news, "I...I didn't know....How can I help?"
"I was wondering if you could maybe talk to him," he said softly, "He doesn't want to say anything to us, but he might say something to you."
"That's going to be a little tough," I replied.
"Why?" looking at me quizzically.
"Because...what if he makes me promise not to tell any of you guys...what will I do?" looking at the table.
"Then you will keep that promise," I looked back at him, "As long as we know that everything is all right, we don't care what the details are and we won't snoop around."
"Do you.....do you trust me that much?" I asked hesitantly.
"With my life," he smiled and I smiled back.
The food came and we dug in. It was pretty good pasta. I should make this stuff at home. The recipe seemed simple as I tried to analyze what I was eating. We talked during our meal.
"When's a good time to talk to him," I asked after taking a sip of my soda.
"I don't know," Justin thought, "He doesn't know that you know where we are staying."
"I see," taking in another forkful of pasta, "I need to know when I can speak to him or else I won't be able to help."
"I know," Justin sighed, "I'll see if he'll be available tomorrow at noon."
"Good idea. Maybe I can treat him to lunch or something," Justin smiled.
"Thanks..."
"Thanks for what?"
"Thanks for being there for us."
I laughed, "As long as you guys are there for me, I'll do anything you ask," he laughed at the comment as well.
We conversed a little more during our meal and it was already 6:30. Justin decided that he should go back and see what's everyone was up to. I agreed and he paid for the meal. We exited the restaurant and headed back to the hotel. This time, there were a ton of cars floating about. It looked like rush hour, but I couldn't understand why because it was Sunday.
Justin was totally paranoid at the intersection right across from the hotel. I assured him that he wouldn't get run over because more than likely I would knock him aside. He looked at me strangely. I put my arm around his shoulder and escorted him safely across. When we reached the hotel and entered the lobby, we saw JC at the front desk.
"Hey JC," Justin called as we continued to walk towards him.
He turned around and smiled, "Hi Just, hi Mano."
"Hi JC. Long time no see," I hugged him.
"What are you doing here?" JC asked.
"I was just looking at the ballroom and met up with Justin. We had a quick supper."
"Supper?" Justin remarked, "I hadn't heard that since I was in Tennessee."
"Get used to it buddy," I joked, "I lived in Kentucky. I still remember some things ya know," JC laughed.
"Where you headed?" Justin asked JC.
"I wanted to explore the city some more," he replied, "Wanna come?" asking me.
"What is this a relay?" I asked.
Justin and JC looked at me totally confused, "Nevermind. Sure I'll go."
JC smiled, "I'll see you in a bit," talking to Justin.
"OK, have fun," he walked towards the open elevator.
"Where to?" I asked JC.
"Do you mind walking along the pier?" he slowly asked me.
"You're such a romantic," I kidded and he smiled. Then I realized what I just said. 'Shit!' I panicked, 'Now he might know.'
We walked out the hotel and slowly headed to the piers along Market Street.
"This is a real nice city," JC commented.
"Well...I can't say very much. I haven't been around like you guys have," replying sheepishly.
"Don't worry about it," he put his arm around my shoulder and squeezed a little, "This is a beautiful city."
"Oh wow, is that the B of A building?" JC said looking straight up.
"Yup. That's it. There's also the TransAmerica Pyramid right over there," pointing in the opposite direction.
"Told you this is a cool city."
"And that over there," looking straight ahead, "...is Embarcadero Centre."
"It looks like one big outdoor mall," acting hyperly.
"During the winter, the city sets up an ice rink in the middle of the place."
"That is so cool."
"Yeah...look straight ahead."
"Is that what I think it is?"
"I think so, but you know I can't read people's minds," I laughed, "It's the Ferry Building."
JC grabbed my arm and both of us ran across the street. "This is so cool, I'm having a wonderful time."
"This is the least I could do after you guys gave me tour of your city."
"Let's walk along the pier," he suggested.
"Sure," I agreed.
We walked for a little bit, "The scenery is so peaceful here," he sighed.
"I come here a lot to think things out."
"I could see why," JC stopped and looked out over the ocean.
I stopped and looked at what he was watching, "That is a beautiful sunset," I commented.
He didn't answer, but let a small sigh.
I looked at him with concern, "JC...what's on your mind."
He turned to look at me. I could see the soft orange hues of light shining off his innocent face. He looked deep into my eyes and I could see his expression of concern in his.
"I don't...I don't know how to say this," he finally spoke looking at the ground.
I put my hand on his shoulder, "It's OK, I'm here for you. I'll always be here for you."
He looked up, "You see it's difficult for me to say. I don't want to say anything that could damage our relationship," I was totally confused at this point.
'Is he?' I thought, 'Will he?'
JC took a deep breath, "Even though I've only met you for only a short time, I feel that I can trust you with this."
"Huh?" I asked dumbfounded.
"You see," he resumed, "Mano...I...," a small pause, "Mano, I love you..."
** As you can see, this one is shorter than the rest. I told you that ** my writing is going downhill. It's difficult to pull it off.
** Comments, questions, suggentions, etc. zeo@sfsu.edu