Hanging upside-down off his bed, Nick played his Gameboy. Initially, he�d loved the sensation of blood rushing to his head. But several hours had since passed. Being holed up in a small-town hotel room left Nick very bored.

After discovering Nick�s vocal ability, his dance coach, Miss Jamie, decided to cash in on the apparent talent. Miss Jamie selected her three most promising students to for �Nick and The Angels.� Rhiannon Guffman, Tianna Stetson and Melissa danced and tumbled. Meanwhile, Nick belted out songs and performed the occasional tap combination. Since their formation �Nick and the Angels� performed around Florida: amusement parks and sports events. But they�d drove to South Carolina for the weekend to participate in a very important dance competition.

To a ten-year-old, being the only male in a performance group had lots of downfalls. Dance competitions had very strict appearance guidelines. So to prepare for the next day�s performance, the girls had been primping in the bathroom all day with Miss Jamie. Poor little Nick had been left to entertain himself.

�Ta da!� Shouted Melissa, as she threw open the door to Nick�s room. Seeing her appearance, Nick bust into laughter. Melissa�s long auburn hair was twisted into pin curls all over her head. She looked quite ridiculous.

�You look like a porcupine!� Nick spat out.

Melissa�s expression darkened, as she entered the room. From within the pocket of overalls, she withdrew a red bandana. Angrily, she tied it over her head, covering the bobby pins. �Oh, shut up. This wasn�t my choice.�

Nick laughter ceased. He flipped right-side up on the bed. �Tell me again why you have to go to so much trouble to curl your hair, when it was curly to begin with. That just doesn�t make sense to me.�

�Because the judges at the competition are on crack,� Melissa said bluntly. �They�ll give you higher marks if everyone�s hair looks exactly the same. So I had to straighten my hair, then put into pin curls. That way I have the exact same hairstyle as Rhiannon and Tianna.�

�That�s retarded,� Nick said. He sat up on his heels and motioned to Melissa. �Come here- you have your bandana tied all wrong.�

Melissa sat on the floor beneath Nick. He set to work, re-tying her kerchief. �There! You have to wear it the gansta way. Now you look like a member of Public Enemy or something.�

Melissa got to her feet. There was a mirror that hung over the head of the bed. She carefully examined her reflection in the glass. Eventually, Melissa decided, �My mama would kill me if she saw me wearing a bandana like this.�

Nick patted his friend on the shoulder reassuringly. �Well, no need to worry then. You�re mom is back home in Florida.�

�Oh yeah,� Melissa realized. Her face broke into a large grin. To keep down the hotel costs, parents had been left at home. �Nick and the Angels� were being chaperoned by Miss Jamie and their assistant coach, Miss Alison. They�d rented out two adjoining rooms: one for the coaches, and one for the kids. In the kid�s room Nick and Melissa shared one double bed, while Rhiannon and Tianna shared the other.

�Now that you�re finally done with all you�re primping�can we go have some fun?� Nick asked. His eyes were lit up with anticipation. After being left alone all day, Nick was eager to hang out with his friend.

�What kind of fun are you thinking about?� Melissa questioned skeptically.

�How �bouts a game of elevator tag?� Nick suggested.

�Elevator tag? What�s that?�

�Come on, I�ll show you!� Nick said. With Melissa at his heels, Nick hopped off the bed and headed for the door. Just as he was about to bound into the hallway, the door flew open.

�And just where do you think you two are going?� Asked Rhiannon Guffman, as she pushed past Nick and Melissa. Rhiannon was the most promising student at the dance studio, until Melissa moved into town. Ever since being demoted to second-best, Rhiannon had launched a hate campaign on both Melissa and Nick.

�That�s something that I�d like to know,� Said Tianna Stetson, crossing her arms in front of her chest. She�d taken her designated spot next to Rhiannon, forever the tag-a-long. For some odd reason, Tianna worshipped the ground Rhiannon walked on.

�Wouldn�t you like to know,� said Melissa. She followed Nick into the hallway and slammed the door in the girls� faces.

�Good one!� Said Nick, as he slapped his friend a high-five.

Taking the edges of her overalls between her forefingers, Melissa politely curtsied. �Thank you, darlin�.

�Ugh, I just can not stand those girls.� Melissa said, as she straightened herself out. �They think they have the right to make our lives miserable- just because theirs are prefect. If I have to watch one of them flip their blonde hair in my face one more time��

�Ugh,� Nick groaned. �Not the blonde hair again.�

�Well, you have to admit Nickers, they�re cute gals.�

�I�m not admitting to anything,� Said Nick, shaking his head profusely. �I don�t know why you have an obsession with blondes. I like your hair.�

�Yeah, well I�ll switch with you any day. You don�t know what its like to deal with hair that goes out to here,� To demonstrate her point, Melissa held her hands a foot away from either side of her face. �They only grow hair like this in Texas. My life would be so much easier if my hair was straight and blonde, like Rhiannon or Tianna.�

�Oh, put a sock in it.� Nick said coldly. As much as he liked Melissa, he hated to hear her go on about what he�d nicknamed her �Barbie� obsession. Unhappy with her Mexican-American looks, Melissa dreamed of long blonde hair and big blue eyes. Nick didn�t understand it. Around Tampa, Melissa�s curly auburn hair and chocolate-brown eyes made all the other girls look washed out. Man, I don�t even like girls�you know, in that way, Nick thought. But even I know that Melissa is a lot prettier then Rhiannon or Tianna.

�Follow me,� Nick said, his voice dropping to a whisper. Cautiously, the two ten-year-old tiptoed past their chaperone�s room. Once they were safely in the clear, they broke into a run. Nick and Melissa sprinted down the hallway until they reached the elevators.

Panting, Nick paused for a moment to catch his breath. �Okay, here�s what we do. I�ll be �it� first. You get in one elevator, and I get in the other. We both press any floor�s button we want to. When you get to the floor, you have to get out of the elevator and let the door�s close. If I�m not on that floor at the same time, get into another elevator and go to a different floor. We keep doing that until we run into one another. Get it?�

�Not quite,� said Melissa. �How do you know that I�m not just riding up and down in the elevator, without getting out?�

�Oops, I forgot to mention that. See that ice machine?� Nick said, pointing. Melissa noticed the boject in question and nodded. �There�s an ice machine like that on every floor by the elevators. Everytime you get off, you have to scatter ice on the floor. That way I know what floors you�ve hit.�

�Okay, I understand. Ready to go?� Melissa asked. Nick nodded enthusiastically. They waited until both elevators opened on their floor. At the same time, they loaded into their separate elevators.

Alone in her elevator, Melissa examined the buttons. The hotel had fifteen floors, and they were staying on the eighth. Should I go up or down? Melissa contemplated. Well, my lucky number is four. But Nickers knows that. I have to be smart here. Too tired to think, Melissa closed her eyes and pressed a button.

The doors opened on the eleventh floor. It looked pretty much the same as the eighth. Satisfied there was no sign of Nick, Melissa departed the elevator. She searched for the icebox. Sure enough, it was just where Nick had said it would be. Gathering up a scoopful of ice, Melissa scattered it around the hallway. She took a step back to admire her work.

�Nah�not enough.� Melissa decided. Kneeling on her hands and knees, Melissa rearranged the ice into a design. She worked diligently, until the ice spelled out �MMC.�

�Much better,� Melissa stated. She brushed her hands, damp from the melting ice, onto her overalls.

Melissa visited three more floors before she decided it was safe enough to try the fourth floor. When the elevator doors opened, she was surprised. Hands on his hips, Nick blocked Melissa�s way.

�I knew you�d come to this floor eventually,� Nick proudly said. �I just had to wait it out.�

�You cheater!� Melissa exclaimed. �You�re supposed to ride to all the floors- not just stay at one.�

�I know,� Nick admitted. �But after going to a couple floors, I realized this game is only fun when you have a big group of people. Normally when I play it I�ve got BJ, Leslie and Brent around.�

�I was beginning to wonder when the �fun� part started.� Said Melissa. �So now what?�

�Well, I got to thinking. How about we ride to every floor and spit in the ice boxes!?�

�Eww! Nick!� Melissa exclaimed. �I love it! Let�s go.�

Giggling, the two rode from floor to floor. They�d made it all the way up to the thirteenth floor, without getting caught. Gleefully, they opened the icebox together.

�Someone�s going to have a raunchy-tasting Coke tonight,� Melissa said laughing.

Nick hawked a big loogie onto the pile of freezing ice. �You�ve got that right!�

�And just what do you two think you�re doing?� A voice asked.

Melissa and Nick turned around. They were standing face-to-face with a tired-looking woman in a maid�s outfit. Sensing trouble, both children gulped loudly.

�Uh-oh�� Melissa said under her breath.

�I bet you�re the brats who�ve been throwing ice all over the hallways, haven't ya?� Demanded the maid.

�Uh�� Nick began.

Throwing her arms in the air, the maid said, �God, I can�t wait until this competition weekend is over with. This hotel is overrun with children that I have to clean up after.�

�We�re sorry,� Melissa apologized. She was praying her puppy dog eyes and Southern twang would ease the maid�s nerves. �We�ll clean up our mess.�

�And get off scotch-free?� Asked the maid. She shook her head angrily. �I don�t think so. Follow me. I�m taking you to the manager�s office.�

�Good going, Nick.� Melissa said angrily, as she followed the maid into an elevator.

�Me? This is just as much your fault.� Nick defended himself, as the elevator began its descent.

�You�re the one who suggested the whole idea!�

�But you went along with it!� Nick pointed out.

�My mother�s going to kill me,� Melissa realized. �I come from a good Catholic family. We don�t get in trouble. Or at least- we didn�t. Until I came to Florida and met you.�

�Oh stop your bickering!� The maid ordered. She departed the elevator on the lobby floor. Scared and now silent, Nick and Melissa followed as the maid. She led them into a room behind the main desk. A middle-aged, overweight man with a come-over sat in an office chair.

Sensing the maid�s unhappiness, the man asked: �Candace, what�s the matter?�

�These two-� She said, motioning to Nick and Melissa. �Have been making my life hell. Tying up the elevators- probably playing tag, littering in the halls and spitting in the ice machine.�

�Ah�troublemakers.� The man realized. He shooed the maid away with his hand. �Very well, Candace. I think I can handle the situation from here.�

Shutting the door behind her, the maid left the room. Both Nick and Melissa gulped. All alone in a room with a man several times their combined weight.

�You two think you�re pretty funny, don�t you?� The manager asked. Both Melissa and Nick shook their heads. �You kids run around my hotel and cause all sorts of trouble for my staff. Well, I don�t appreciate it. Where are your parents?�

�Our chaperone is in room 8-0-3.� Melissa said glumly. Tears were welling up in her eyes. Nick sensed his friend�s apprehension. He grabbed Melissa�s hand and squeezed it, showing his support. In return, Melissa gave Nick a nervous smile.

The manager reached for his phone and dialed the room. �Yes, hello. This is Dave Fector, the hotel manager�yes, well I�ve got two kids down here who�ve been causing all sorts of trouble�yes, just come down to the front desk and pick them up. Goodbye.�

After hanging up the phone, Dave got up. He moved to his file cabinets and began to rummage through them. He removed an item from one of the drawers and showed it to Nick and Melissa. �Do you know what this is?�

�A Polaroid?� Nick guessed hesitantly.

�That�s right. And do you know what I do with this?�

�Take a picture of us to put up in the office�because you�ll never let us back in the hotel again.� Supplied Melissa�s active imagination.

�Nope, I take a picture of you and let you bring it home. Years from now, you�ll look back and laugh at the kind of trouble you used to get in.�

�What?� Both Melissa and Nick asked, stunned by Dave�s response.

�I used to get into all sorts of trouble when I was younger, so I can relate to you. However, I do feel you need to be punished. But I�ll leave that to your chaperone. Now smile!� Melissa and Nick grinned broadly. This guy is pretty cool, they both decided. Dave snapped two pictures, handing one to each child.

�Mr. Fector?� Miss Jamie stuck her head into the office. �I�m the one responsible for these children. I just want to apologize��

�Oh, no need.� Said Dave. �Just get these kids in bed- and keep an eye on them.�

�That I will. Thank you for your hospitality. I�ll make sure this doesn�t happen again,� said Miss Jamie. She took Melissa and Nick by the hands. �I just don�t know what to do with you two. You�re always getting me into trouble. If you weren�t the most talented kids at the studio��

Nick and Melissa were silent the entire way back to the room. Miss Jamie never seemed to take a breath- as she continually lectured them. �You all want to be professionals�well, then you�ll have to grow up and start acting like professionals. Look at Rhiannon and Tianna. They�re asleep, resting up for tomorrow�s competition. Just like you should be��

By the time they reached their room, Melissa and Nick were dead tired from having to listen to Miss Jamie. They fell asleep on top of the covers, fully dressed.

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