Today started out a pretty normal day. I pull on my shorts, and walk out of my room. I getting ready for my daily twelve o’ clock jog, not knowing what the day would bring. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking, “Why would a seventeen year old be having a twelve o’ clock jog?” Well, the truth is, it’s summer, and I just graduated from high school. “Casey! C’mere!” I call out. The golden retriever comes running into the room. I put on his leash and we go outside. “Hey Mrs. Harris!” I call out to the middle-aged woman next door, who is doing work on her garden. She looks up, and waves.
“Hey Bridget. How are you?”
“Fine, how about you?”
“I’m doing great!” I turn around and keep on jogging. A few blocks later, a blue Explorer pulls up next to me.
“Hey Bridget.” The guy in the car says to me. I turn to him, still jogging.
“Um, who are you?” I ask him. He has curly blonde hair, baby blue sunglasses, and a smile on his face. I knew very well who he was. “Wait, let me rephrase that. Do I know you?” I ask, stopping. He stops the car.
“At one point you kind of did. I mean, you didn’t call me ‘fro boy for nothin’.”
“Oh yeah, you’re Jason. You used to live across the street, right?” I ask.
“I still live across the street.”
“Oh.” I say, and start jogging again. He starts driving again. “Last time I saw you, we were fourteen years old. Looks like you grew up nicely.” I say and give him a smile.
“Thanks.”
“So, what’s it like having millions of girls screaming your name, singing with your songs, and throwing their underwear onstage?” I ask.
“The first two are cool, but the underwear thing...I don’t wanna get into that.” He says, and I laugh. “Besides...we aren’t even that big yet.”
“Yeah, right! Aren’t you about to go on tour?” I ask.
“Well, in a couple of months.” Jason says.
“In my book, you are kind of big.”
“You listen to our music?”
“I’m not into all that pretty-boy pop stuff.”
“Oh.” He says.
“Um, the corner’s coming up so you might wanna turn.” I say, right before turning the corner.
“Do you think that you and I could maybe hook up later this week?”
“Like on a date?”
“Yeah, sort of, I guess.”
“You don’t even know me.”
“I could get to know you.”
“You really shouldn’t push this. It’s not sexy.” I say, only half- joking.
“Well, would you?”
“I, um, I don’t date pop stars.”
“Don’t think of me as a pop star, then.”
“I don’t date musicians either. I gave that up a while back.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t wanna talk about it. Jason, I can’t go out with you- -”
“Just give me a chance.”
“I can’t...I...I don’t have the strength anymore.” Jason just looks at me. “Another corner’s coming up. You better go. I’m sure you have something to do today. Bye, Jason. C’mon Casey.” I start to jog a little faster, and I watch as Jason turns the corner. “Never again will I date a musician.”
“Hey Ma.” I say, walking back into the house.
“Hey Bridget.” She is in the kitchen, fixing lunch for my six-year-old brother.
“Is Chasen awake?” I ask.
“Yeah, he’s in the bathroom. Brushing his teeth I think.”
“Oh, okay.” I take the leash off of Casey, and hang it on the door. I run upstairs, and knock on the bathroom door. “Chase, are you done?” I call. He opens the door, and looks up at me. I am only 5’6”, which is not sayin’ much. Chasen is gonna grow up to be taller than I am, since my dad is 6’3”, and he takes my dad’s side.
“Yeah, I’m done.”
“I think lunch is ready.” I say, walking into the bathroom.
An hour and a half later, I am all cleaned up and dressed. I walk downstairs and hear the voice of my twenty-year-old cousin, Danyelle. “Hey Bridget!” She exclaims, standing up, and hugging me.
“Hey Dany.” I say. “What’s up?”
“Well, I was just telling your mom about my new job at Transcon. I’ve been there for about half a year now.”
“Oh, really? What do you do?” Danyelle and I haven’t really kept in touch, so I’ve got no clue to what she’s done in the past year.
“I am the secretary to Lou Pearlman.”
“Oh, you’re in there big, huh?”
“Yeah, I am. I met this great guy, but I have to keep our relationship under wraps because I’m not supposed to date another person who has something to do with Transcon.”
“Oh. What’s his name?”
“Josh.”
“Oh. Enjoying the job?”
“Yeah, I get to meet celebrities! It’s great. Maybe I can introduce you to him.”
“Yeah, maybe so.”
“Well, I better be goin’. My lunch break will be over soon anyway.” She says, getting up.
“Okay, Bye Dany.” My mom says.
“Bye Aunt Lisa.”
“Bye Danyelle.”
“Bye Bridget.” She leaves the house. “My cousin is dating a Transcon employee...cool.”
“So, what’s up. Enjoying your summer much?” My best friend, Ashlee asks. She’s my age, with tan skin, green eyes, and brown hair.
“Yeah, I met Jason Turner, and- -”
“You met Jason Turner?!?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“That boy is one hot piece of meat.” She says.
“Whatever you think. Anyway, Danyelle got a job at Transcon. She met a guy there named Josh, and I think they’re going out.”
“That’s cool. So, how’d you meet him?”
“Um, I don’t remember. We were about twelve years old.”
“You mean you knew him already?”
“I didn’t know! This afternoon when I was jogging he started talking to me from his car!”
“He came up to you?”
“Yeah, and he asked me out.”
“So, are you going?”
“No.”
“Why not?!?”
“Because he’s a musician.”
“Bri-Bri, girl you gotta give that up.”
“Ashlee, it’s not my fault that I don’t date musicians anymore. I’ve just had a lot of trouble with guys like that.”
“That doesn’t mean that he is like that.”
“Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t, but I don’t know him, and I don’t want to get to know him like that. Friends is just cool, and we’re not even at that level.”
“So, you would go further than friends?”
“No.”
“Bridget! Why don’t you give him a chance?”
“Ashlee, unlike you, I’ve had a lot of trouble with guys that I don’t know. I’d rather just get to know him than automatically wanna jump his bones.”
“Okay, okay. I’m not going to push you about it. It’s not like you’ll ever see him again anyway.”
“His mom lives across the street.”
“What?!?”
“Yeah, he lives across the street.”
“You’ve got all the opportunity in the world to get to know him!”
“I’m not going to push it on myself, and I don’t want you to either. Can we get off of this topic.”
“Whatever you say.”
“So, what’s been up with you?”
“Chasen, you ready to go?” I say, grabbing my mom’s car keys off of the kitchen table. I am taking him to the movies to see Lost in Space.
“Yeah.”
“Alright, go tell Mom bye.” He runs upstairs to my parents’ room, and tells her goodbye. Then, he runs back downstairs. “Okay. Let’s go.”
“Alrighty then.” We walk out of the house, and get into the Camry. “Buckled in?”
“Check.”
“Well, here we go.” I back the car out of the driveway, and drive down our street. It’s now about five o’ clock.
“So, did you like that movie?” I ask Chasen, as we walk out of the theatre.
“Yeah, I like the spaceship. It was flying around like this!” He exclaims, and starts to run around making flying noises. All of a sudden, a car starts to back out of its parking space.
“Oh my God, Chasen, watch out!” I yell, running to him. I grab him and pull him out of the way. The car stops. It looks awfully familiar, and the voice of the person driving is also familiar.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t even see him.” Jason says, getting out of the car. Chasen was wrapped around my legs. “Is he okay?”
“Yeah, he’s fine. You should really watch out for little kids, though.”
“Look, I’ll make it up to you.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I want to. I’ll take...what’s his name?”
“Chasen.”
“I’ll take Chasen to the amusement park tomorrow. You can come along too.”
“You don’t have to, Jason.”
“Yes, I do. I’m not taking no for an answer.” He says sternly.
“Fine, but I’m not coming with you. You better keep an eye on him, and do not let him get out of your sight. He has to be home by eight o’ clock, and you have to get him dinner. Deal?” I ask, holding out my hand.
“Deal.” Jason says, shaking it.
“Absolutely not.” My mom says after I tell her about the movie theatre ordeal.
“Why not? He’s the one who said that he owes us something for almost knocking Chasen out with his car.
“I don’t know this boy. All I know is that he is a superstar. I am not letting my son go somewhere with someone we don’t know.”
“He lives across the street too.”
“No, Bridget.”
“But I already told him yes.” I say.
“You what?!? Okay, young lady here’s the deal. Chase can go with this Jason boy...”
“Yes!” I think.
“...But you have to go with him.”
“Damn. I knew there was a catch.” I think. “Okay, mom. I’ll go with him. We’ll home by eight.”
“And watch your brother.”
“I will.”
“And pay for his dinner.”
“Okay, Mom.”
“Now go wash your hands, and come down to dinner.”
“Okay.” I say, and head upstairs. “This is a bunch of crap."
“You should be happy. You’re spending hours with a star.” Ashlee says, looking at her fingernails. She had just shaped them, and painted them Metallic blue. “Not to mention a hot star.”
“I don’t want to spend a day with a star. And a pop star, nonetheless.” I say.
“You brought this upon yourself, Bri. You made the deal, remember?”
“But if he hadn’t almost hit my brother with his car, I wouldn’t have made the deal. Plus, me going was not in the deal!”
“You knew your mom was not going to allow Chasen to go with some stranger to the amusement park. You were going to end up going anyway.” I think about it.
“Do you always have to be right about this kind of stuff?”
“What can I say? I’m a natural-born problem solver, and a good-looking one at that. It’s not deliberate!” I look at her, and throw a pillow at her, sending her flying off the bed. I start laughing, and she sits up. “You are so lucky my nails are dry.” She says, making me laugh harder. It’s not that I’m not good-looking. I’m mixed. My mom is black and my dad is white, which makes me this tan color. I have my dad’s hair, which is brown, wavy, and has light brown streaks in it. I got my hair straightened though, and it goes down to my waist. I usually just pull it back. I have brown eyes, and a button nose, but it fits me. The only thing I have a problem with is my chest. I think 36D is way too big, but I refuse to get a reduction because I don’t like to tamper with nature. Everyone else says it looks fine. I don’t really wear make-up because I don’t really need to. I usually wear lip-gloss though. I’m pretty short. I’m seventeen years old, and I stand at 5’6”. I’m pretty comfortable with my height, though. No one else seems to have a problem.
“You’re pathetic, Ash.”
“C’mon, Chase, it’s time to go!” I call out. “Mom, we’re leaving!”
“Okay!” She calls back. “Have fun!”
“You’re coming with me?” Chasen asks, tugging on my sleeve. I am wearing a blue and white striped T-shirt, and jean shorts.
“Yeah, I’m coming with you.” We walk out of the house and across the street to Jason’s house. “You wanna ring the doorbell?” Chasen nods, and rings the doorbell. A woman opens it.
“Hello.”
“Hi, I’m Bridget, and this is my little brother Chasen. We’re here to see Jason.”
“Oh, Jason was telling me about you. You’re the girl from across the street, right?”
“Yes, ma’am.” She smiles.
“Call me Linda.”
“Okay.”
“You two can come in. Jason!” She calls. Chasen and I walk into the house, looking around. We walked through the foyer. To the left is their dining room that leads into the kitchen, and to the right is the game room. We keep straight, and end up in the living room.
“I’m coming.” Jason calls from upstairs.
“Have a seat.” Linda says, and Chasen and I sit down. A dog comes up to Chasen, and puts its front legs on Chasen’s lap. “Ozzie, get down!” A cat is sprawled out on the floor next to the couch.
“What’s the cat’s name?” I ask.
“Oh, that’s Allie.”
“Oh. I have a dog. His name’s Casey.” Chasen says.
“What kind is he?”
“He’s a Golden Retriever.” I answer.
“How long have you been living across the street?"
"Since I was nine.”
“Oh, so you were the little girl that Jason used to hang out with when he was younger.”
“I wouldn’t say we hung out. We talked sometimes. He seemed busy all the time.”
“Yeah, that’s when *N Effect was just starting out.”
“Oh.” Jason comes downstairs, and looks at me. He’s wearing a Orlando Magic jersey and some blue jeans.
“You’re joining us, Bridget?”
“Yeah, I am joining you.”
“Cool. Let’s roll, then. I’ll see you later, Mama.” Jason says, kissing his mom’s cheek.
“Bye, sweetie. Nice meeting you two.”
“You too. Bye.” I say, and we walk out of the house. I get into the passenger seat in the front with Jason, and Chasen gets in the middle row of seats, and buckles his seatbelt.
“All set?” Jason asks.
“Yeah.”
“Then let’s rock.” Justin backs the car out of the driveway, and we’re off to the amusement park.
“Shouldn’t you have bodyguards with you?” I ask Jason as we get out of his car.
“Not yet I don’t. *N Effect isn’t that big, and I remember telling you that already.” Jason says, helping Chasen out of the car. I roll my eyes. “You need to loosen up some. What up with you and this attitude you have with me?”
“I don’t have an attitude with you.”
“You may not notice it, but yes you do. Chill out.”
“Yeah, chill out!” Chasen exclaims. I look down at him, and he shrugs.
“I’m just tense. You guys are right. I need to loosen up and chill out.”
“You really don’t like musicians do you?”
“It’s not that I don’t like them...I just can’t get the nerve to date them. After what happened...but that’s not important now.” Jason gives me a quick, sad look, but goes normal again. We approach the ticket booth. "I’ll pay for Chasen and I.” I say, pulling the money out of my pocket.
“No, I’ll do it.”
“I owe you.” Jason says, putting his hands over mine. “I’ll pay for you.” He says softly. I pull my hand away. He pays for the tickets and we go into the park.
Throughout most of the time we were at the amusement park, I tried to avoid Jason as much as I could. I know that he is very capable of working his way into my heart, and that’s what scares me the most. I don’t like him like that, and I do want to be friends with him, but my head is taking control and causing me to avoid him. Now, I realize that maybe I ought to start listening to my heart. I know that I will be able to accept more as a person than a musician. “I wanna go on the Ferris wheel, Bridget.” Chasen says, tugging at my sleeve.
“Okay, okay.” We walk over to the line, and give him the tickets. Chasen sits in the seat in front of me, and Jason sits with me. “What the hell am I doing. Lord knows I’m afraid of heights.” I think, tensing up. Jason looks at me, and puts his hand in mine, entwining our fingers. I look at him.
“This is okay, right?” He asks. “I’m not trying to come on to you or anything.” I nod, and take a deep breath. “It’s just a Ferris wheel.”
“I know that. I’m just- -”
“Afraid of heights. I have another friend like that. He doesn’t come on the Ferris wheel, but he is afraid of heights. Um, let’s see. Try closing your eyes, and imagining that you’re flying, but if you can’t do that...try the old thing. Don’t look down. You aren’t gonna blow chunks on me, right?” He asks, and I laugh.
“No, I won’t.” I say, looking at him. He smiles.
“Glad to see that you’re smiling.” He says. The Ferris wheel begins to turn, and I think about what he told me.
“Try closing your eyes, and imagining that you’re flying, but if you can’t do that...try the old thing. Don’t look down. You aren’t gonna blow chunks on me, right?” I laugh, and Jason looks at me. I look back at him. “I’m just thinking.” I say, and look away.