The next day, I was in a bit of a daze as I went about my daily tasks. As normal as they were, it was still pretty amazing to have talked to ‘N Sync. Oh well, I decided, I’m not going to freak out over it like any other person. They’ll probably never even call back... And somehow, I managed to almost forget about it, I was so busy. I then went over to my grandparent’s (they lived right next door) after stopping at my house to grab a couple of cds. When I got to my grandparents, I asked my grandma if I could get on the internet. She asked if I had done all my chores, and I let out a rather whiney, “Yes!” Then, my grandma wandered off to the back of the house, trying to lose me. “Please?” I whined again.
“Well, I guess so,” she grumbled.
Great, I thought to myself. I then danced happily down the hallway to the computer room. Once there, I flipped on the comp, then headed for the kitchen to get a coke. When I got back, the screen was up, so I typed in the password. Finally, I connected to the internet, turned on ICQ and AOL IM, and settled down to check my e-mail. I was just getting into my inbox when the dog started barking. I leaped up and raced to the living room to see what was wrong. It turned out she was just barking for the heck of it. I let her outside and walked slowly back to the computer room. I looked din my inbox and found an e-mail from someone I didn’t know. I certainly didn’t recognize the e-mail address, and the subject line gave me no hint, for it simply said, “Hi!”. Mystified, I clicked the link and began to read.
Hey Alex!
What’s new? Not much here, just getting tortured by the rest of the guys. I’m over at Kelly’s and decided to check my mail and send you an e-mail. Just for fun. Well, talk to you tonight, right?
Laterz!
Justin
I just sat and stared at that screen for the longest time. It wasn’t like a I-Can’t-Believe-This-Is-Happening fan type of thing, but more like Ohmigod, he sent me an e-mail. I couldn’t believe what I was doing. For quite awhile, I had been a little annoyed by Justin’s attitude himself. He just seemed a little vain and all. I mean, sure, he looked good, but... Personality is more important. And now, I had this huge crush on him. Then, another thought occurred to me. He probably had no idea how old I was either!!!
What was I going to do? I slumped in the chair and thought of all that. Suddenly, the high pitched uh-oh alert of ICQ put me into action. I glanced at my list of people online and looked to see who had sent the message. It was from Kelly. I hurriedly double clicked the blinking yellow icon next to her name and read the message.
Hey Alex! How’s it going? I’m kinda sleepy... Couldn’t sleep last night, mainly because of Tyler. He kept crying cuz he wasn’t feeling too good. How about you? You ok?
I paused for a moment, then clicked reply and typed a message back to her and sent it.
Hey Kelly. Aww, poor little bro... :) Yeah, I guess I’m okay... I sorta have something to tell you... It’s, well... This is so strange. I dunno how to say this. Wow... Yikes!
A few seconds later, the icon lit up next to Kelly’s name again. This time, it was a chat request. I accepted and entered the room. With just the two of us, I told her all about what had happened to me after I hung up with her the night before.
Ohh... so that’s why he wanted to know all that stuff about you...
What? What stuff?
Oh, nothing...
Kelly, come on, tell me!
Stuff like your age, phone number, e-mail address, regular address...
I sat for a moment. This news was just too hard to believe. Oh, well, I knew Kelly would never tell a lie, so I better get used to it. However, I still hadn’t typed anything, and Kelly was waiting for a response.
Alex? You still there?
Yeah, I’m here... just thinking...
Alex, I think he likes you.
Why would he like me?? I mean, I’m just 13 for crying out loud!!! And he’s 17!!! Come on, get real... Why would he like me?
Why wouldn’t he? You’re a really nice person. What’s so hard to understand about that? Besides, he didn’t seem to care when I told him you were 13.
Really?
Really.
Well, he doesn’t even know me!
That’s not what he seems to think.
I thought about that for a moment, then, typed a reply.
He’s never even seen me! He has no idea what I look like!
This time, Kelly was the one who fell silent.
Kelly? Is there something your not telling me?
Um... yeah... Well, yesterday, when we were all hanging out in my room, he found that picture you sent me of yourself. He asked me who it was, and when I told him, his eyes kinda smiled, and he made this pleased sounding laugh, and smiled...
Really? No kidding?
No kidding. I’m serious.
Wow. Hey Kelly, what time are they coming to your house tonight?
Oh, I don’t know. About five or six o’clock.
Kelly! I need to know! It’s important!
Why?
So I can know when to call!
Oh, I get it.... :)
What?
Nothing.
Oh. So, what time?
5:30, okay?
Thanks, well, hey, it’s time for me to get off. Talk to you tonight, okay?
Yeah, take care, all right?
Yeah, I will... Bye.
And with that, I closed the chat room and continued to turn everything off. After switching off the computer, I gathered up my stuff and walked to the door. As I stepped outside, I noticed the dog was still barking at something. I glared at her for a moment for being so noisy while I was trying to think. Then, she turned around and ran over to greet me. I couldn’t help but laugh as she looked up at me with her big brown eyes and rolled over and stuck her little legs in the air. I scratched her tummy for a moment, then continued on my way home. “Silly weenie dog,” I laughed as I watched her streak off to the horse barn in pursuit of who knew what.
