"He's that MMMBop guy, right?" Abby asked. Sister and Alicia giggled, while Mignette and Skye glowered at them.
"His name is Taylor," Skye said icily. "And there's more to him than just mmmbopping."
"Oh, really," Sister asked, looking innocently. "I heard you two got to mmmbopping last night at his little going away party."
Skye's eyes widened, and she looked at Sister. "NOT HARDLY!!! I would never do that with Taylor."
All 4 girls stared at her, eyebrows raised analytically.
"Sure you wouldn't," Mignette said with a joking grin. "Just like you would never go out with him."
Skye rolled her eyes. She gave up, knowing that it would be an uphill battle as long as their minds were in the gutter. What the heck is that thing floating around in there? she wondered to herself, absently.
"MMMBOP BADUBADOP BADU BOP!!!! OOOOHHHH! MMMBOP BADUBADOP BADU!!!!"
Lia slapped her hands over her ears as her little sister, Jordan, began another round of Mmmbop. Jordan was bouncing in the seat of the van happily, still screeching away. Their mother sat in the front, casually gazing out at the road as she drove.
Jordan had Attention Defecit Hyperactivity Disorder. Mrs. Thomson, who had refused to let her daughter be put on medication, was used to her daughter's outbursts. Lia wasn't. She had been living with her father for the past 7 years. She only saw Jordan on the occasional holiday or for a few weeks during the summer. She missed her big spacious home in New Jersey that she lived in with her father. She missed all of her friends living close by, not long distance. She even missed regular school.
But her father was dead. And the house had been sold. And her friends were living long distance. And she wasn't in normal school. She was being home-schooled by her mother. She loved her mother, but hated spending all day in the presence of her younger sister. She hated living in the cramped house on the corner of Pete and Mulligan streets. She never made any friends. There were no kids in her neighborhood, and she didn't want to associate herself with anyone from Georgia.
"I'm sooooo excited!" Jordan squealed. "We're gonna, like, follow the tour all over the United States!"
Yes, that was what they were doing. Following the Hanson tour. Their mother thought it would be an enriching experience to travel all over the US and see all the landmarks and learn more about their heritage. And, since her youngest daughter's favorite band would be doing the exact same thing at about the same time she'd scheduled their little trip, it would be easy to follow the tour.
They had tickets overflowing. They had already nabbed tickets from online ticketmaster as soon as they had gone on sale. Lia thought they were all whacked up. She wanted REGULAR SCHOOL. NORMAL SCHOOL. NORMAL LIFE. Was this registering with them?
"WHEN YOU HAAAVE NO LIGHT TO GUIIIIIIDE YOOOOOUUUU, AND NO OOOONNNNEE TO WAAAAALK BESIIIIIIIIDE YOOOOOUUUU..."
Lia buried her face into her pillow as Jordan burst into song...yet again.
