“Nick!” Jane called from downstairs. “Howie’s here!”
Nick threw his controller down. “I’m coming!” He jumped up and ran down the stairs.
“What’s up?” He asked as he slapped Howie five.
“Nothing much, man,” Howie answered. “AJ should be here in a few minutes. He had something to take care of and then we can practice.” They walked into Nick’s family room.
“You nervous about tomorrow?” Nick asked as they sat down.
Howie shrugged. “Yeah, a little. I don’t know. I have this weird feeling about it.” There was a knock at the door.
“That must be AJ,” Nick said, getting up to answer it. He walked over to the front door and opened it up, seeing AJ and his mom standing on the front steps. “What’s up, AJ? Hi, Mrs. Mclean.” They walked inside.
Denise Mclean smiled warmly. “Hi Nick. Please, call me Denise. Is your mom around?”
Nick pointed to the kitchen. “Yeah, she’s in there.”
“Alright, you guys go practice. I need to talk to Jane about some things.” She walked into the kitchen while the boys went down to the basement to rehearse. Jane looked up and smiled as she saw Denise walk into the kitchen. “Hi Denise.”
“Hey Jane. How are you?”
“Fine. What’s up?”
Denise shrugged. “Not much. I talked to Mr. Pearlman today. He’s going to see the boys at two o’clock tomorrow.”
Jane nodded. “I hope this goes well for them. I think I’m more nervous than they are.”
Denise smiled/ “Me too. But, I’ve got a good feeling about this one.”
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
The Next Afternoon
“BJ!” Nick shrieked as he walked into the house.
BJ came running down the stairs. “Geez, Nick. Where’s the fire?”
He started jumping up and down, excitedly. “We got it! We got it!”
BJ looked at him confused as their mother walked into the house, laughing. Got what?” she asked, confused.
Nick stopped jumping. “We got a contract. This guy, Lou, is helping us. We’re going to get a record deal! I’m going to be famous!!!!”
Jane touched his shoulder. “Calm down, honey. You still have a long way. This was just the first step.”
“I know,” Nick replied. “I’m just so psyched! I need to tell Kayles.” He started to run up the stairs.
“I think she has a soccer game!” BJ called after him. “One that you promised her you’d go to.”
Nick stopped dead in his tracks. “Shit,” he mumbled, quiet enough so his mother wouldn’t hear him. He turned around and walked out the front door, heading next door to his best friend’s house. He knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer. A minute or two later, Mrs. Madison opened the door. “Hi Nick! Come on in!”
He smiled.. “Thanks. Is Kayleigh here?”
Carolyn ushered him into the kitchen. “Not yet, honey. She should be home in a few minutes though. Ashley’s dad took them out for pizza after the game. You should’ve been there, Nick. You missed a great game.”
“I know,” Nick replied. “I feel really bad. I totally forgot that I promised her I’d go today but AJ, Howie, and I had an audition.”
“You did?” Carolyn asked. “How’d it go?”
Nick grinned. “We got it! We just need to find two other guys to make the group complete. Lou said he might know of one and then we’d just need one more.”
She handed him a glass of water as she sat down across from him. “That’s great, honey! I’m sure Kayleigh will understand.” Just then, they both heard the front door slam.
“Hi mom!” Kayleigh called as she walked into the kitchen. She stopped short when she saw Nick sitting there. “Oh. It’s you.” She turned around and stomped up the stairs to her room.
Nick groaned and followed her. “Kayleigh... Kayles, I’m sorry.” She ignored him and walked into her room. He slipped in before she could slam the door. “Kayleigh, I’m really sorry. I got the dates confused. Today was that audition I was telling you about.”
She glanced up at him. “It was? How was it?”
Nick smiled, proudly/ “We got it.”
She jumped up and hugged him. “Oh my god! That’s great!”
He squeezed her back. “So, does this mean your not mad at me anymore?”
She pulled away and ruffled his hair/ “Of course not. I could never stay mad at you for long, Nicky.”
Nick ducked out of her reach. “I will be taller than you one day, Kayles. Then you’ll be sorry.”
She stuck her tongue out at him and collapsed on her bed. “So, tell me all about it. What do you guys do now?”
“Well, we need to find two more members so the harmonies will work. Then we work on getting a record deal. This guy, Lou, that we’re working with is the one that got the New Kids On the Block started.”
Kayleigh nodded, impressed. “When do I get to meet these guys? You’ve known them for a few months now and I’ve never even met them. What’s up with that?”
Nick shrugged. “I don’t know. We’re usually down in Orlando. You should come next time I go down there.”
“I will,” Kayleigh said, smiling.
Nick sat down next to her. “So, tell me about your game.” Kayleigh beamed and began telling him about her soccer game. They spent the rest of the night just talking and hanging out, as two best friends.