CHAPTER 2
Chapter Two
By the time I completed almost four pages in length of my diary entry, I
realized
that the clock had struck 7:00 AM. I quickly took a shower and changed into
my best
clothes for the day. I wore a cute charcoal gray colored top, black pants
and matching
black boots. I wore my curly hair up in a ponytail because whenever I left
it down, it
tended to mess up in the blowing wind. I've always felt more at ease with my
ponytail
because it was my fashion trademark. It had somehow defined my personality
throughout
the years. I applied a bit of make-up on my porcelain white face, sprayed
some CK One
perfume on my neck and wore my watch. I felt completely refreshed and new
for a Friday
morning, especially even more on my birthday! I've always looked forward to
every
Friday of the week being that it is the last day of the work week. As I
grabbed my cellular
phone and stashed it into my black leather pocketbook, I quickly went into my
closet to
take out my computer laptop, and black blazer. I heard my mom Yolanda holler
from
downstairs in the kitchen, "Jessica, dear, breakfast is ready!, Come down
quickly before it
starts getting
cold!" I immediately responded back, "Alright mom, I'll be
right down!"
As I headed downstairs slowly towards the kitchen, I could smell the good
aroma
of crisp, smoky bacon that had just been taken out of the frying pan. There
was also a
strong smell of hot, freshly brewed black coffee sitting in a big pot. I
heard voices and
lots of laughter and the news coverage on TV from afar. As I put my things
down on to
the dining room table, I tiptoed gently and hid behind the kitchen door. I
saw that my dad
Cesar was dancing around jovially with our family dog Sunnie. I covered my
mouth and
giggled to myself at the sight of my dad with him. My dad always seemed to
be in such a
good mood whenever he was around Sunnie because he truly loved being by his
side. He
gave Sunnie a strip of his bacon out of his plate. As Sunnie breathed
heavily wanting
some more strips, my dad informed him, "No boy, I already gave you one andbesides you
already had plenty of bacon strips to eat this morning!" I quickly turned my
head to look
at myself in the mirror beside the kitchen door. I adjusted my clothes
carefully for a much
neater appearance. I heaved slowly, but surely, and then finally made my
entrance into the
kitchen.
As soon as I walked into the kitchen, all eyes and faces were focused
directly at me
from left to right. There were also plenty of smiles galore. I smiled and
greeted good
morning to everyone and right before I sat down, everyone came up to address
happy
birthday to me. My dad gave me a big hug and said blissfully, "Happy Birthday
sweetheart!", followed by a big kiss on the cheek. My mom did the same,
followed by my
brother, three sisters and two nephews.
"Wow, Jess!, that outfit looks great
on you!", my
sister Brenda said surprised.
"Thanks sis!", I said. "So what would the
birthday girl want
for breakfast this morning?", my brother asked me. "How about some birthday
orange
juice first, followed by some birthday coffee with milk!"
I replied, "It's
ok, I'll get them
myself bro!"
"No, I insist, let me do it sis, please!", my big brother Cesar
Jr. said. All of a
sudden, my precious, big brother served me a small glass of Tropicana Orange
Juice and
poured coffee with some milk in a big mug. "Here you go birthday girl!", he
said. "Thank
you big bro, you're way too kind!", I responded. "No problem, little sis,
today's your
birthday so I think you should be treated like a queen!", he said. "Awww,
how sweet of
you to say that!", I replied back. Meanwhile my mom handed me a big plate>heaped with
3 strips of bacon, some scrambled eggs and two medium size pancakes.
"Sorry,
mom, I
can't eat the bacon and pancakes, but I will eat the scrambled eggs with a
slice of toast,
because remember that I'm still following Sandra's strict diet regimen, so
>thanks anyway!",
I said.
"It's okay honey, as long as you take good care of yourself, that's
what really
counts!", my mom said.
"So how old are you now?", my sister Brenda asked.
"I'm 24
years old, silly!, I can't believe you don't remember that!", I replied
"I'm sorry Jess, but I
wasn't sure exactly how old you were turning out!", Brenda said
apologetically. "That's
ok, sis, I understand!", I said. "Wow, 24 years old!", my young sister
Natalie responded
in shock, "Wow you're really getting old!" "Hey, Nat, I'm not that old, I'm
still young at
heart remember?", I said. "Yeah, you're still young, but you're STILL
getting old!
Hehehe!", Natalie replied. "Oh, stop teasing me, Nat!", I said. Suddenly I
felt sharp fists
hitting my right shoulder and a loud count of 24 starting off. "...23, 24
and one for good
luck!", my oldest nephew Joao said cheerfully.
"Ow, hehehe, easy on the
birthday
punches will you?", I said with a delighted smile on my face.
"Sorry Aunt
Jessie, didn't
mean to punch you too hard!", Joao said.
"That's ok, now would you please
let me finish
>my breakfast Joao.", I said gently.
"Ok, Aunt.", Joao said. All of a
sudden, I felt a light
tap on my left shoulder and a question come about,
"Aunt Jess, will you play
Super Mario
Brothers on my Super Nintendo System with me after school today?", my youngest
nephew Joshua asked.
"Sorry Joshy, but I can't play with you this afternoon
since I'll be
way too busy with work!", I said.
"That's ok, I understand Aunt.", Joshua
replied sadly.
"Joshua, how any times, have I told you not to bother your Aunt Jessica?", my
eldest
sister Zully said,
"Thousands of times!", Joshua replied sounding all upset.
"That's ok,
Zully, I understand that he really wants me to spend more time with him but
with my
hectic work schedule, it makes it all too difficult at times.", I said
sentimentally, "I'll try
and see what days I have free next week in my planner book so that I can
spend more time
with both of my nephews."
"That would be great sis!", Zully said, "You know
how my
little Joshy here always bugs me about how he wants to spend more time with
his favorite
aunt!"
"Hey Josh, I promise to spend sometime with you and Joao next week!",
I told
Joshua happily.
"You promise, Aunt Jessie?", Joshua asked.
"I promise!", I said.
"Pinky
swear that you will do it", Joshua said.
"Yeah, I pinky swear that I will
spend time with
you and your brother some time next week!", I said as I held out my pinky and
joined it
with his and pinky swore to the promise that I had made out to him at that
very moment.
"Ok, kids start walking off to school now before the both of you end up being
late!", Zully
said to both my nephews. All of a sudden, both of my nephews hugged me
tightly. They
kissed me on the cheek and said simultaneously, "Bye, Aunt Jess!, Have a happy
>birthday!" "Thanks kids, good-bye, have a good day at school today!", I
answered back.
As they headed off to school, everyone else started getting ready to go off
to work.
Abruptly I heard the honking of a car coming from outside of the back driveway. "Ohhh,
I've got to run, that's Kenny's limo honking!", I said to everyone, "I really
don't want to be
late for my recording session today!" I gathered all of my things together
quickly, and
thanked and blew out kisses to everyone. I immediately dashed off through
the backdoor
and headed directly towards the limo.
It was 7:30 AM and I had to be in the recording studio by at least 8:30
AM. As I
sat down on the backseat of the long stretch black limo, I greeted a cheerful
good morning
to my personal limo driver Kenneth.
"Well, Good Morning Jessica, Happy
Birthday!", he
said.
"Thank you Kenny!", I replied. "So what are your plans for today?",
he asked
curiously.
"Well, as you know by now, I have to be at Santoni's Sound Studio
first to join
Kelsie, who's both my manager and agent, and Michael Santoni the producer to
the
Christmas compilation album that I'm collaborating along with the Backstreet
Boys and
other artists. Afterwards, I have to be at Madison Square Garden with Kels
to watch the
Backstreet Boys do their dance rehearsal for their upcoming new video with
the help of
Fatima Robinson, their choreographer, and Nigel Dick the director. After
that I might
hang out with them for a little while and then head straight back home.", I
said.
"Oh I
see!, Do you want me to pick you up afterwards?", Kenneth questioned.
"No,
that's ok
Kenny, I'm thinking of leaving with all of my friends!", I said. As he drove
out of the
driveway, I could see a couple of familiar and strange faces outside just
lurking through
the dark tinted windows of the limo. I also saw thousands of camera flashes
from the
paparazzi and even heard loud never-ending screams of, "Oh my Gosh!, Jessica
Padilla's in
there!", and "Happy Birthday Jessie, we love you!" There were even lots of
birthday signs
and thousands of ecstatic children in my view.
"Wow look at all these
people, I never
really knew how much they truly cared for me all this time!", I said to
Kenneth in awe, "I
feel so flattered, wow, this is so amazing!,"
"Yeah, it is, isn't it?, Ever
since your first
single hit big, you've been even more popular and famous than ever before!,
Yep those
kids do know how to recognize a star when they see one!, Heh, heh, heh!",
Kenneth
laughed
"Wow, what a difference a single song makes, huh?", I asked. "Yep,
what a
difference it makes!", Kenneth replied.
As Kenneth took the highway to Manhattan to drive me off to Santoni's
Sound
Studio, my cellular phone rang. "Hello", I answered as soon as I picked up.
"Hi Jessica,
Good Morning and Happy Birthday!", Kelsie said cheerfully.
"Hi Kels, Good
Morning
and thanks!", I answered.
"So how's your birthday coming along so far?",
Kelsie asked.
"So far it's going along great Kels!", I replied, "I just saw a small group
of cheering fans
outside my house as I was heading out."
"Wow! That sounds awesome!, Kelsie
replied.
"I know right?, So what's up, Kels?", I asked.
"I just spoke to my parents
in Ohio.
They're both doing fine, working as hard as ever before!", Kelsie retorted,
"They miss
having me around the house."
"Why don't you bring them along to live with
you here in
New York City?", I inquired Kelsie.
"I offered them so many times before to
move out
here with me but they'd rather prefer staying in Ohio because they think New
York City is
just way too noisy and way too crazy of a place to live in! They would
rather prefer living
in good, old quiet Ohio than in any place else.", Kelsie informed me.
"Oh
well, that's
them! So where are you right now?", I asked. I arrived at the studio about
ten minutes
ago so I'm just waiting for your arrival right here in the lobby.", Kelsie
said.
"Oh, ok, did
Mike like any of the Christmas songs I wrote down on my list to sing on the
album?", I
asked.
"Yeah, out of all of them he chose the one that would perfectly fit
your vocal
range.", Kelsie declared.
"So, which one did he pick out of my list?", I
questioned Kelsie.
"He picked out All I Want For Christmas Is You." So you'll be doing a cover
of Mariah
Carey's Christmas song, Jess!, What do you think?", Kelsie asked me out of
interest.
"Wow, Kels, that sounds great!, I love that song!, It's definitely one of my
favorite
Christmas songs by far!", I said elatedly, "Kelsie you won't believe this at
all but I had a
dream about Howie this morning!"
"Oh really?, What type of dream did you
have Jessie?,
Kelsie asked curiously.
"It was one of those erotic and sexual dreams Kels!
It was the
first time that I had ever dreamt about Howie in that way!", I whispered
softly to my cell
phone's receiver so that Kenneth wouldn't hear what I was saying.
"Wow an
erotic and
sexual dream with Howard Dorough who you consider being just a best friend!,
Hehehe!
So spill me the details, girl!", Kelsie said sounding all too inquisitive.
"I can't right now
because Kenny might listen and I don't want him to know. I'll tell you as
soon as I see
you, ok?, I replied.
"Ok, Jessie!", Kelsie said, "Did you get to read my
e-mail message by
any chance?"
"No, I haven't checked my e-mails as of yet, but wait I'm going
to check
them right now since I brought along my laptop along with me!", I said. I
opened up my
laptop and logged on to America On-Line. As I opened my mailbox to read
Kelsie's
message, I saw its subject line in big, bold, capital letters. It indicated
"IMPORTANT
SURPRISE MESSAGE-PLEASE READ IMMEDIATELY!!!".Before opening up
Kelsie's message to read its content, I wondered to myself what type of a
surprise the
message contained. I read the brief message and quickly responded back to
Kelsie,
"Wow!, What a surprise!, So the rest of our friends are in town, huh?, Do you
know how
long they're staying in New York City?, So what's up with them?", I asked.
"Well, as far
as I know, Jenny-Lynn's staying for a week to compete at a volleyball
tournament with the
rest of her high school team from Louisiana., Her team made it to the
All-Around National
Volleyball Championships., She's hoping that her team wins for a fifth time.,
She's also
visiting Kevin while he's shooting for the video., Paula's staying for a week
as well., She
took a small break in between her national tour with the theater company
she's been
heavily involved with lately to visit AJ., It's been a long while since they
haven't seen each
other., The last time Paula saw AJ was when the Backstreet Boys toured in her
home
country of Canada a while back ago., She often wonders what type of hair
color he's dyed
his hair and wants to see the shade from up close!, She also wants to see
what type of
other tattoos he's placed on his body., And Stephanie's still hard at work
with her dancing
career., She loves being away from California and travelling all over but,
misses her
parents a bit., You're not going to believe this but she recently quit
dancing for Britney
Spears' current tour., She is now dancing along with none other than the
Backstreet
Boys!, She's been with them for a week already and everything is going great
for her.,
She's now dating Brian Littrell!, You should see them together Jess!, They
both make
such a really cute couple!, Now that she's working along side the Backstreet
Boys, Gilli
and Brian are inseparable!, At least that's what she tells me through her
e-mails and phone
conversations!", Kelsie informed me all excitedly.
"Wow Kels! I can't
believe that all of
our friends are doing great! How cool is that!", I replied ecstatically.
"I
feel a bit terrible
for not having kept in touch with them all this time, I said feeling
concerned.
"That's ok,
Jess, they all truly understand that you've been extremely busy with your
singing career
lately and know that you don't have that much free time to spare., But now
that they're all
here, you can catch up on what you've missed.", Kelsie said.
"Yeah Kels, I
can't wait to
see all of our old friends reunite with us again!", I said.
"Me neither!, I
can't wait to see
Nick in person today!, I haven't seen him for such a long time., I really
want to give him a
big smooch on the lips!", Kelsie said sounding overjoyed.
"I know what you
mean, you
don't know how much I want to do that to Howie! But then again, if I do it,
then Howie
will think I'm crazy because we're simply platonic and everyone in sight will
act totally
surprised, so I'd rather wait instead.", I said sounding a bit somber.
"Oh
c'mon Jess, why
don't you tell him directly how you really feel about him?", Kelsie asked.
"Because I'm
afraid he'll reject me in an instant!", I said immediately.
"Oh Jess, don't
be a chicken, just
do it! You'll never know unless you ask!", Kelsie advised me.
"You're so
right Kels, but
for me it has to come out at the right time and in the right place.", I
replied,
"Listen Kels,
my cell phone's just about to die out, so I'll talk to you as soon as I
arrive at the studio,
ok?"
"Ok Jess, I'll talk to you some more then!", Kelsie said.
I hung up and turned off my cell phone immediately. After closing my
laptop, I
told Kenneth to turn on the radio to listen to Casey Kasem's Top 40 Countdown
on Z100
FM. As Kenneth tuned the radio on to 100.3 FM and I heard Casey Kasem's
announcement:
"Ok, now on the countdown is the latest chart topper sung by a
young
lady originally from New York City whose birthday is today. It rises from
last week's
number 5 spot to this week's number 2 spot. Here is the single Crazy for
Your Love by
Jessica Padilla." Suddenly I heard the sweet bubble gum pop tune blasting to
my ears.
"Wow Kenneth, my single's rising on top of the charts and I can't believe
it!", I said
surprisingly.
"Yep, it's incredible isn't it?, Kenneth replied.
"I truly
love the sound to my
song!", I said, "Now that's good music to my ears!" I heard my high-pitched
voice on the
radio. It seemed all too good to be true! Everyone in the media compared it
to sounding
very similar to Christina Aguilera's voice.
"You've got such a exceptional
voice!",
Kenneth told me, "It sounds so angelic, yet so soothing to listen to! How do
you take
good care of it?"
"I mainly follow Howie's advice every time. He's always
suggested to
drink lots of hot herbal tea with lots of lemon and honey before starting to
sing, so that's
how I take good care of my voice!", I replied.
"That's some good advice from
Howie,
eh?", Kenneth said.
"Yeah, it surely is good advice indeed!", I answered
back. After my
song played, Casey announced that the Backstreet Boys' Larger Than Life was
still at the
number one spot. It had been on the countdown for four consecutive weeks
already.
"Yay!, They're still at number one!", I said excitedly.
"Yep, those
Backstreet Boys still
reign at number one in Casey's countdown!, Well here we are at Santoni's
Sound Studio
Jessica!", Kenneth replied with a friendly grin on his face, "Enjoy your
birthday today and
keep on doing what you do best!"
"Thank you so much for your compliment and
the ride,
Kenny. I surely will continue doing so! So will you pick me and Kelsie up
afterwards and
drop us off Madison Square Garden?", I asked.
"Of course I will!", Kenneth
replied, "I
won't forget to pick you and Kelsie up!"
"Thank you once again Kenny, I'll
see you later
then!", I said cheerfully.
I got off the limo, went inside the studio and took the elevator up to
the fourth
floor. Upon my arrival, I saw that Kelsie had been waiting and standing
right beside
Michael Santoni out in the lobby discussing about my song recording procedure with him.
As soon as they both saw me, we all said our good-mornings to one another and
we
headed straight to the recording studio. Kelsie handed me a cup of hot
herbal tea with
lemon and honey. I drank it in small amounts and then did some vocal
exercises. Michael
then handed me the lyrics and I started to read the words to myself. After
reading the
lyrics, Michael told me to head directly to the sound-proof room where I
immediately put
my headphones on. Michael spoke to the microphone and told me to start as
soon as he
gave me the signal. After playing the background instrumental music, he gave
me the
signal and I started recording my voice. He recorded several takes of me
singing the song
and after the 15th take, he had finally stopped. He then re-played the 15th
take which
sounded all too perfect to his ears. By that time, I felt all too pleased by
the sound of it.
"Wow, Jess, you sounded really great!", Kelsie said.
"Thanks Kels!", I
replied. By the
time I finished recording my track, Michael had played the Backstreet Boys'
track to their
version of Joy To The World solely by my request.
"Wow, they sound
awesome!", I
stated.
"Yeah, they sure do!", Kelsie agreed. Michael was genuinely excited
about how
great his work on the Christmas Compilation album had turned out to be so
far. I noticed that my watch had indicated being 11:30AM so I thanked Michael and the rest
of his
recording engineering team from the studio and headed directly to the limo
with Kelsie by
my side, where Kenneth was waiting outside.
As soon as Kenneth drove Kelsie and I all the way to Madison Square
Garden, we
both entered the building showing our special all-access passes to the
security guards. We
needed to display them in order to ingress to the dance room where the
Backstreet Boys
were rehearsing their dance steps along with Fatima Robinson and the rest of
the dancers.
As Kelsie and I walked along a long corridor to head towards the dance
room, I
gave Kelsie the details about my dream.
"Kelsie my erotic dream with Howie
was so
incredible. He made all the right moves on me and everything!", I said
sounding all
content.
"Wow Jess, did you see him in the nude?", Kelsie questioned me.
"Yeah I did,
and he looked so hot!". I looked away and giggled to myself. "It's so
strange because I
never really dreamt about him in that way before, that is until now!, It
seems that we were
both meant for each other.", I said.
"Yeah, I agree!, That dream of yours
must have
meant that you're totally head over heals in love with him, right?", Kelsie
asked out of
curiosity.
"Yeah, Kels, I can't deny it,
but I've always had felt something
deeper for
Howie ever since the beginning of our friendship. I loved him from the start
but haven't
had the courage to tell him straight out how I really feel for him because of
fear of having
him rejecting me right away.", I said.
"Hey, that's normal. I really think
that now you
should make your move, don't you think so? I mean six years of Howie being
single and
lonely without a girlfriend beside him is such a long time. I think that
he's ready to have
you as his girlfriend after you've been his best friend for a long time
now.", Kelsie said.
"Yeah I know Kels, I should start making a move now but, I sometimes wonder
whether
he feels the same way for me as I feel for him?", I said.
"You won't know
unless you ask
him!", Kelsie said.
"I'm afraid Kelsie, I don't know how I should tell him
about my dream.
I never told him this morning after he called and sang Happy Birthday to me
over the
phone. After I recounted my dream again in my mind while he was talking to
me, I
laughed about it for a bit. He asked me what was wrong, so I had to make up
some other
story to cover up for the erotic dream that I had about him and I together.
I laughed it off
because I felt all too nervous to tell him about it Kels.", I said, "It was
the first time I had
ever lied to him, Kels.
"It's the first time you ever lied to Howie?, What
lie did you make
up and give him?", Kelsie asked.
"I made up some silly lie about my dog
Sunnie
accidentally falling on the floor over a pile of leaves while I supposedly
took him out for a
walk."
"Oh my gosh!, You used your dog as a cover up for your erotic dream
with him?,
Kelsie asked.
"Yeah, and I can't believe he actually fell for it Kels!", I
said, "He sounded
so concerned over my dog!, I feel so dumb for actually telling him that!, Now
how do I
tell him the truth?"
"Well, it's not going to be easy but take it one step
at a time, be honest
in telling him the reasons behind why you never got to tell him about it
then, go on in
telling him how you really feel about him!", Kelsie retorted.
"Yeah you're
right, Kels but I
can't tell him now, you know, because it will definitely ruin his whole dance
rehearsal
routine and I don't want to do that!", I remarked.
"How about setting up
a date with him
for next week?, Hang out with him or something!, Kelsie uttered.
"Yeah
that's what I'll
do!", I stated.
"Remember, don't be afraid, go with the flow., I'm pretty
sure he'll get over
it sooner or later!", Kelsie expressed.
"Yeah, I really hope so!", I
replied, "Thanks Kels,
you always have the greatest advice to give me!"
"No problem, Jess, that's
what friends
are for!", Kelsie answered.
Suddenly as we got closer and closer to the dance room, we both heard the
song
Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely playing loudly in the background, so we
stopped
talking to each other. We both hid behind the dance room door and peeked
through the
little windowpane. We saw the Backstreet Boys slow dancing with the rest of
the
dancers. Everyone was paired up with someone except for Nick and Howie.
"Oh
my
gosh Jess!", Kelsie remarked with a surprised look on her face, "Look at
Nick, he looks so
adorable!, Look at his cute, baby face and his golden blond hair!, He hasn't
changed at
all!"
"Yeah he's cute isn't he?", I noted, "But no other guy can compare to
Howie
Dorough!", I said sighing afterwards,
"Look at him Kels, he's so handsome!,
He's got
awesome dark looks, a gorgeous body, and a great smile to go along with it!,
You notice
something Kels?, He and Nick don't have dance partners by their side?"
"I
know right?, I
wonder what happened to them Jess?", Kelsie said.
"Maybe it's us and we
don't know
about it yet!", I replied.
"Maybe!", Kelsie retorted sounding like she was
hiding something
away from me.
"Maybe?!, Is there something you know that I don't know
about?", I
asked Kelsie sounding very curious.
"No, but you'll never know, Jess!",
Kelsie said with a
sheepish grin on his face. Kelsie then changed the topic completely because
she didn't
want me to discover what she had been hiding away from me. "Ooohhh just look
at our
friends, Jess!, They're each dancing along with their boyfriends!", Kelsie
said.
"Yeah, Oh
my gosh!, They're dancing with the Backstreet Boys!", I said, "Are you ready
to make our
entrance, Kels?", I asked.
"Yeah, I'm ready when you are Jess!", Kelsie said
sounding
very excited.
We suddenly stopped talking to each other. As we soon as we opened the
door
that led directly to the dance room area, we heard a loud creak come out from
it. It
disrupted the dance rehearsal and so everyone had their eyes directly on both
of us. We
both looked at each other and at everyone. We heard Fatima Robinson announce
loudly
to everyone, "Ok guys, very good work, but we still need some more to be
done!, We'll
continue after lunch!, Let's take a one hour break now and rest!" Suddenly
the Backstreet
Boys, joined together with our three friends, came up to us in sheer delight.
We looked at
each other in pure amazement and talked to one another soon after that.
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