Julie suddenly sat down. Her other friends--Christy, Candice, and Shiara--were all staring at her, very confused by her previous actions of sticking her head out of the sunroof of the limo and yelling at the people driving by.
"Chill, girl," Candice said. On first looks alone, Candice was the unofficial leader of the group. If it hadn't been for her, she and the other girls wouldn't be headed to the island where they would spend the summer with the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC. "Put all of your energy into meeting Justin."
"Justin," Julie sighed dreamily. "Justin."
"Please refrain from drooling on the seats," Christy commented. She was the sarcastic artist of the group. She always had a smart remark to make about everything. "They might make us clean them."
"You know, this summer might be good therapy for us," Candice remarked.
"Therapy?" Shiara asked. She was the energetic one of the group, as well as a dancer.
"Well, yeah. I mean, school was brutal this year, we're soon gonna be seniors, and we need to get all this stuff off of our minds. I'm freaking about school, afraid that I won't pass."
"Don't," Julie said. Candice had once remarked, "Julie's a little left of sanity, a little right of insanity." That was because Julie's look on life was way different than everyone else's. "You're smart. You'll pass."
"And then, of course, Christy's trying to get over..." Candice began, but Christy stopped her.
"Don't even mention him. I don't want to think about Jake, I don't want to talk about Jake, and I don't want anyone else to do the same," Christy said icily.
Candice shut up for awhile. The subject of Jake McDonald was very touchy with Christy. It didn't surprise Candice, who was no stranger to heartbreak. I don't blame her for being hung up about it, she thought to herself. Maybe, just maybe, she'll find someone to trust... "Well," she started again, "maybe you'll forget about you-know-who once you meet Lance."
"Yeah, look on the bright side," Shiara said. "You'll get to meet Lance."
"Duh, that's only the reason why I came with you," Christy said. "And because I have nothing better to do with my summer."
"And who knows?" Candice said, a spark of excitement in her eyes. "Maybe he'll win you over."
"Maybe Justin will hook up with Julie, Lance with Christy, Nick with me," Shiara said, "and Candice with Howie..."
"...or Chris," Candice added.
Shiara sighed. Of all the guys in *NSYNC, she picks Chris, she thought. I still don't get why she likes him.
"Shiara, stop," Candice said.
"Stop what?"
"I know that look. It's that look you always get when I mention Chris. It's that 'Why-on-God's-green-earth-do-you-find-
"That's a long name for one look," Christy commented.
"But I have a reason to!" Shiara protested. "You like Chris! Why Chris?"
"Because he's cute, funny, talented, and smart. He's basically the epitome of my perfect guy," Candice said.
"I thought that Howie was that," Julie said.
"He fufils the other half. My perfect guy is basically both of those guys combined."
Now that's one weird-ass boyfriend, Christy thought. A workaholic meets hyper guy. Scary.
"And besides," Candice added, "why would any of them like little ol' me? I'm the delusional loser chick from North Carolina. What's so good about that?"
"You are SO not a loser," Julie said to Candice.
"Yeah," Shiara said. "There's plenty to like about you."
"Give me an example."
"Shiara thought for a moment. "Well... you're smart, funny, talented...."
"And clumsy, forgetful, and occasionally ditzy," Candice replied. "With the good comes the bad."
"You aren't that bad," Christy said just as the limp came to the docks.
"I think we're at the docks," Julie said. Then she screamed in excitement. "Ohmigod!"
"Julie!" Christy yelled.
Soon Candice and Shiara began screaming too. Christy sighed. "Well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em," she said, then let out a glass-shattering scream.
*********
'Ding dong!'
"DOORBELL!" JC shouted.
Chris dropped the oranges that he'd been juggling. "The girls are here!" he yelled. "The girls are here!"
There was the sound of feet clattering down the stairs as the guys raced downstairs. "Hey!" Joey said to Nick. "Be careful! You almost made me fall."
"Sorry."
AJ knelt beside his dogs, Panda and Bear. "Okay guys, here's the plan," he said. "As soon as the girls come in, run right up to them and look cute. When they ask who taught you, turn around to Daddy."
Chris turned to Brian. "Does he always talk to the dogs like that?"
Brian nodded. "Yup, sometimes he's worse."
"I'll open the door," Joey said.
"No, I'll open the door," JC said, pushing Joey aside. He went to the door, unhooked the lock, and opened the door to the four girls who waited outside.