"So why does she have to stay with Bri? She has parents..." Aj asked Kevin. "Because, she's having emotional problems, and she's really attached to Brian. Her parents are afraid that if he moves and she can't come with him, she'll just break down and lose it." Kevin explained. He'd told the three other bandmates about Brian and Jafari. The only one who understood was Howie, who was the second oldest. Aj asked the most about it, and Nick was just being quiet like his usual self. Brian had to audition today, so the whole group would be picking him up. "How old is she?" Nick asked. "She's ten, but she'll be eleven in July I think." Kevin responded, pulling into a parking garage at the airport. The four got out and headed inside the airport. "She speaks english, right?" Nick asked. "Yeah, but she's been silent ever since she got to Brian's house. She doesn't talk, it's another reason she's so close to Brian." Nick looked puzzled, "She doesn't talk?" "She's got a lot of problems Nicky, she's expected to have a double transplant in a year or two, she's fed through a tube in her nose, just be gentle with her, k?" Kevin replied, irritated. Nick nodded and seperated himself from the tight group. "Nick, c'mon!" Kevin called as the boy started to get lost from the group. Nick hurried and kept up with them. When they reached the terminal, people were just starting to come out. It was then that Kevin sighted Brian with Jafari on his shoulders. He jogged over and hugged Brian, then hugged Jafari who had climbed off of Brian's shoulders. She stayed close to Brian when she noticed the others, keeping her hand in his as they went over. "Guys this is Jafari and this is Brian." Kevin introduced. "This is Howie, he's nineteen. Aj, who is 15 and Nick, who is 13. Brian, welcome to the group." Kevin concluded. Jafari was so shy she'd hidden behind Brian while he shook the other guys' hands. Kevin couldn't believe how much Jafari had changed in a month. She had a tube taped to her cheek that went into her nose, she'd lost all kinds of weight, and she had a different colored cast on her arm (baby blue).
At the studio, Brian blew away the manager, and he was immediately accepted. Jafari watched as the five sang together for the first time, and she liked the sound. The vocal coach went to find some notes for the song they wanted to sing while the guys goofed around. A loud beep from Brian's watch stopped them. He went over to Jafari and went through her backpack. "Med time Tommy." he said and retrieved a small needle. It held just the right amount of medicine. Brian slipped some plastic gloves on and pulled the cover off the needle. He made sure there were no air pockets then slid it into the porta caf. He drew back then pushed the medicine in. Jafari watched him, he did this twice a day; today he'd forgotten to do it in the morning. He made up by doing it then, at two pm. When he was done he took off the gloves and threw them away with the needle. The guys were staring at him, shocked at how used to the routine the two were. Kevin was surprised his cousin was so mature, the medicine and the treatments she had were serious, he had just given her the medicine like that. It was a serious job with alot of responsibility. He came back to them with a smile. "So where did the vocal coach go?"
Email the author at SharkAttack89@hotmail.com
