Waking up early to do morning radio is something I�ve hated since the second time I did it. I only liked it the first time because it was just that, the first time but now it�s up there with waking up early to do the morning news shows. The novelty wore off real quick. I�ve never been a morning person and I never will. I can wake up early enough but getting up and functioning is a whole different ball game. Luckily we didn�t have to be at the radio station during the morning show; because it was the summer time and there was no school, it was agreed with do the mid morning show. That works for me, no obscenely early wake up calls and shuffling out the door just before the sun decided to show itself. Before I could swing my legs around and place my feet on the floor there was a knock on the door.
Who in the hell this could be I don�t know but if it were AJ or Howie bugging me one more time trying to convince me to call Brehan again I was going to slap them. Last night I called her three times, I only left a message once, and they would have insisted I called her every ten minutes if I hadn�t cursed them out and told them to leave my room. Why they are so obsessed with her I don�t know. I mean, I�ve never seen them want someone so bad and the fact that both of them wanted her was unusual. They don�t usually fall for the same girl. I know AJ just wants to have sex with her but sometimes I wonder about Howie. Even in front of us he tries to keep that good boy image like he�s all about some girl�s mind and soul but Howie really is the Latin lover. He has them all over the place a different city a different girl. As long as neither one of them has genuine feelings for her then I know it will be ok if one of their dreams come true and she hooks up with one of them. I mean, I don�t want them to screw her over, I wouldn�t be happy with them if they hurt her but I know they wouldn�t go out of their way to do her wrong. Neither one of them is the kind of guy that gets off on dogging girls out nor is she the kind of the girl that seems to get caught up in feelings with someone she isn�t in love with. I mean, if she can have sex with girls she doesn�t know then she should be fine.
I opened the door to see room service,
�Oh, I didn�t order that.� He nodded and smiled at me,
�It was ordered by a-� He looked at the card on the table then looked back up at me and smiled,
�Carl.� I shook my head and stepped to the side,
�Oh, ok thank you sir.� He turned to leave and I didn't want him to leave without tipping him,
�Hold on, I think I have some money around here some where.� He shook his head and waved his hands,
�No sir, that�s ok. It will be taken care of. Have a good day.� With that, he was gone. He was an older man and I sat there for a moment wondering what he must think when he has to wait on some kid like me who makes more in a year than he will make his whole life. I wonder how people think of us. I always say I am just like everyone else and in my eyes I may be but to them I not. I have money and to be honest even though they say more money more problems I�d rather live my life with money because honestly; worrying about who to trust isn�t half as bad as wondering how you�re going to feed your family or keep the electricity on. People think I don�t think of things like that but I do and not just because I didn�t grow up with much but also because I know what is going on around me. I don�t live in that sheltered celebrity bubble not thinking about how hard life can be; how hard life is. Howie and Brian get mad at me but I can�t walk by someone lying on the street and not give them a dollar or something. It hurts me that people live like that. I shook my head and sat down to eat but I couldn�t because I couldn�t stop thinking about my bleeding heart. Right now a little kid is so hungry they can�t take it and I�m about to sit down to breakfast prepared by someone else, sent to my room and probably cost twenty-five bucks. So yeah, like I said before I�m not the big charity volunteer person like some of the other guys but I still have a heart and I still care about things. I do care about the oceans and the environment and I do think it should all be preserved I just don�t know if I�m the person for that fight or if I want to fight for it like Kevin does or fight for it like Howie fights Lupus. My cell phone rang and I picked it up off the bed. I fell asleep with my cell phone in the bed?
�Hello?� I didn�t even bother to see who it was and I hope I didn�t regret it,
�Hi, I wasn�t sure if you would be up since it�s only nine but I took a chance.� I smiled,
�Hi Colleen. What�s up?� I haven�t talked to her since that night I woke her up and I figured she was mad at me,
�Nothing now. I�ve been so busy with this term paper for class. Sorry I haven�t called you but I�m back to the world of the living now that I turned my paper in this morning.� I totally forgot about her project she was working on and now I feel a little better about the fact that we hadn�t talked,
�How do you think you did?� She grunted,
�My professor is a real hard nose. I don�t know. Remind me to never take another writing course over the summer ever again.� I laughed,
�Ok, I will. Look, again I just wanted to say I was sorry about not taking you to the airport.� Kevin still hasn�t let me forget and since I had to admit I haven�t talked to Colleen he was just as convinced as me that she was pissed,
�Don�t worry about it. It was no big deal Carl took good care of me.� I nodded,
�So, what�s been up with you?� I picked over my bacon as she began to talk,
�I just found out that I�m actually ahead of myself as far as credits go. They did some re-evaluations and two of the classes I took are accredited for double the credits because of the course load and with the class I just took I that�s three less classes I need to take next year. So I spoke with the counselor and I can do an internship early. I�m going to work for the state with at risk and abused children. I really want to make a difference.� See, that�s what I was just talking about. What Howie and Brian do, and even AJ with the Save the Music Foundation, make an immediate impact on people�s lives. That�s what I want to do.
�That�s great. I�m happy for you and those will be the luckiest kids to have you.� She giggled,
�I just want to help. Some kids don�t have positive role models. My brother and I were lucky we had a dad who took his responsibility as a parent seriously. A lot of kids, their parents let them do what they want and don�t care. An involved parent is a loving parent not a controlling parent.� Her words instantly made me think of my mother and her constant need for control. I love her, she�s my mother but sometimes I don�t think that�s why she�s so controlling.
�Where are you right now?� Leave it to her to not know where I am,
�Los Angeles. We have three concert in a row starting tomorrow night.�
�That�s right. I knew that. I saw it on MTV the other night.� I loved her for that, she was right down the middle. She didn�t act like she didn�t give a damn that I was a celebrity and my lifestyle didn�t faze her and she didn�t hound me about it all the time either.
�When is your next vacation?� She was silent for a minute and I realized some college students� lives were like mine. You couldn�t necessarily go and do anything you wanted anytime you wanted. That was one of the biggest misconceptions about celebrities. We worked a lot harder than people thought. There is a difference, we worked hard but we didn�t have hard work. Hard work was three jobs and coming home to take care of kids. Hard work was slaving outside in brutal weather just to take home just enough to pay the rent. I knew about those things, knew about the struggles, a lot more than people thought I did. Someone wasn�t always giving me free clothes, except if they were hand me downs from someone my mom knew, or waiting to make my life easier than it needed to be.
Chapter 61
Stranger Than Fiction
Stories
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