Chapter 6
Everybody seemed to be watching JC�s fingers. Leaning over I whispered, "It�s gonna be you!" into Melinda�s ear.
A smile crossed JC�s face as he looked at the name. "With two-hundred and forty-seven votes, the winner is. . . Alyssa Monson!" A cheer ran through the audience. The members of Nsync looked at me with a smile on their faces.
I felt arms around me and looked at five men who were embracing me in a large, group hug. I saw Melinda walking off the stage. "Melinda!" I called, "Wait for me!" She nodded her head in agreement and went off stage.
After Nsync had stopped embracing me, I went off stage and met Melinda, who was sitting on a bench with her head resting on her hand. When she saw me, she stood up, a forced smile on her face. "Congratulations!" she exclaimed embracing me.
"Melinda," I began. She stopped hugging me and looked up at me. "I want you to take my place!" I said.
"But. . . You won!" she exclaimed.
"I know, but I didn�t want to win!" I explained. "I�ll tell the guys that I can�t perform with them, and that I want you to take my place!"
"That�s very generous," Melinda said. "Even if you declined the job, it�d go to the runner up, and that isn�t me!"
"You�re right," I sighed.
"Don�t worry," Melinda said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "I�m sure it�ll be fun!" She turned around and headed out the door.
I was begging to head to my fifth period class too, when Joey stopped me. "Where are you going Alyssa?" he wondered.
"To my fifth period," I said looking at him weird. "I believe that is the period I�m supposed to go to right now, am I mistaken?"
"You don�t know how mistaken you are!" This guy was really starting to bug me! "Sorry, what I meant was, you�re staying with us the rest of the day!"
My jaw dropped. "I�m wh-what?"
"Right after the rest of the guys finish getting their pictures taken and giving autographs, we�re going to go. . .oops! I almost said something confidential!"
"Not like that�s not like you!" Chris laughed joining us. "I�m actually surprised you caught yourself before you said it!"
"Where are we going?" I wondered.
"Confidential!" Joey said again.p
Chris leaned towards me. "Actually, we have no clue where we�re going!" he whispered in my ear, then began chuckling.
A few minutes later, Nsync and I were heading out the doors of Bingham High School. Parked infront of the school was a jet-black limo. I began to head towards my VW.
"Where are you going?" Chris wondered.
"I�ll follow you guys," I explained.
They walked over and stood beside me. "What�s the real reason you don�t want to come with us?" JC asked me. "I swear I�ll make sure Joey is on his best behavior!"
"Hey!" Joey exclaimed.
Smiling, I said, "I don�t know if my guardian would approve of me driving with FIVE MEN!"
"Come on," Justin said. "It�s not like we�re gonna do anything!"
"Please!" Lance said, sticking his bottom lip out.
After hesitating a moment, I sighed. "If I get in trouble, I�m blaming you!" I put my keys in my pocket and walked over to the limo. JC held the door open and I slid to the other side. JC, then Lance and Justin, and Chris, and finally Joey followed me. "So, where are we going?" I wondered.
"I don�t know," Lance admitted. "Any suggestions?"
"Let�s get something to eat," Joey suggested. I�m STARVING!"
"You�re ALWAYS starving!" Justin laughed. "But lunch does sound good to me. What about you, Alyssa?"
"Whatever," I replied, staring out the window.
"Then lunch it is," Chris explained. "What sounds good?"
"Chinese," JC said.
"Italian," Joey suggested.
"I was thinking more along the lines of Mexican," Chris said.
"Let�s ask Alyssa," Lance suggested.
Everybody turned their eyes towards me. I didn�t want to go with any of their suggestions, because then they�d think I liked that one person. "Why don�t we go to Home Town Buffet. That way, you can get whatever you feel like getting."
"That�s a great idea!" Chris said. So, we headed towards Home Town Buffet.
I could feel at least three pairs of eyes on my back as I stared at the window. I can�t believe you�re in a car with FIVE GUYS! FIVE GUYS! Being alone with one guy is bad enough, but FIVE! What will Ann say when I tell her where I�ve been all day?
"What�s on your mind?" JC asked.
"Nothing," I replied, continuing to look out the window.
"Hey, I�m not nothing!" Chris exclaimed and I rolled my eyes.
"Who would ever like you?" Joey asked.
"More people would like me than they�d like you!" Chris exclaimed. "Alyssa, who do you think is cuter, me or him?"
"Neither," I answered, firmly.
"Ouch! That hurt!" Justin laughed. "You�ve been dissed by a beautiful woman!"
"Thank you for the complement, Justin," I said. "And don�t take it too personally Chris and Joey. I don�t think any guy is hot."
"What about girls?" Chris asked.
I looked at him. "Excuse me!?!"
"Do you think girls are hot?" he asked again.
"The last time I checked, I wasn�t homosexual!"
Silence overtook the car. "What do you have against men?" JC asked, breaking the silence.
I stared up into his blue eyes, then quickly looked away. He wouldn�t understand even if I told him! "Yeah, what DO you have against guys?" Lance questioned.
Luckily, I was saved by the chauffeur announcing that we had reached Home Town Buffet. "Thank you so much!" I whispered. I reached for the handle to open the door, but JC beat me to it. "Thanks," I said, stepping out of the car.
The place was practically empty and I didn�t have to wait in any long lines to dish up my food. I was the first one back to our table, and was the only one until two minutes later. "Hey!" they greeted, sitting down.
"Hey," I replied back.
"Is that all you�re gonna eat!?!" Joey asked, looking at my plate. I had a small scoop of potatoes and gravy, a couple kernels of corn, the smallest roll I could find, and a small piece of ham.
"I�m not that hungry," I replied, scooping up some mashed potatoes.
We ate in silence for a couple of minutes, then Lance spoke. "Congratulations on getting picked!"
"Thanks," I said, sarcastically.
The guys stared at me. "You didn�t want to be picked?" Joey asked.
"Let�s just say that there are Nsync fans that would love to spend time with you, but I�m not one of those fans!"
"Are you saying you don�t like us?" Chris asked, sticking out his bottom lip.
"I never said that."
"So you do like us!?!" Chris exclaimed, hopefully.
"I never said that either!" We once again ate our food in silence.
After I had finished my meal, I stared out the window. Then, I felt something on my foot, and it began to softly rub it. Quickly glancing under the table, I saw Justin�s foot on top of mine. "JC, would you please let me get out?" I asked, standing up.
He looked at me. "Where are you going?"
"It�s best not to ask women where they�re going if they don�t want to answer," I said.
"What does that mean?" Chris asked.
"It means that sometimes women don�t feel like telling men everything! Now, JC, please-" Before I could even finish the sentence, JC stood up and moved into the aisle. "Thank you," I said as I moved into the aisle and JC sat back down.
"Are you feeling okay?" Justin wondered.
"I�m fine!" I made my way to the glass door and pushed it open, feeling their eyes on my back the whole time.
I sat down across the street and into a park. Sitting down on the bench, I stared at a young boy playing catch with his dad. I began to feel tears enter my eyes and I quickly looked down at the ground.
"Hi!" I heard JC say. "Is this seat taken?" When I didn�t answer him, he sat down. "Me and the guys thought you were gonna try and catch a cab."
"Where would I go?" I wondered. "I�m excused from school and I can�t go back home."
My eyes remained downward. "What ya thinkin� about?" he asked me.
"I was asking myself why I had to be chosen to spend who knows how long with five idiotic men," I breathed.
"Idiotic!?!" JC exclaimed. "Look at me, do you think I�m idiotic!?!" When I didn�t lift my gaze, he lifted my chin so I had to gaze into his eyes.
"Well, maybe not all of you guys," I said, removing his hand.
"Which one of the guys don�t you like, and why?" JC asked.
"Hey man!" Looking up, I saw the rest of the gang come and join us. "Whatcha talkin� about?"
"I was just wondering when we were going to head back," I said, stopping JC from saying anything.
"Oh, around four," Justin answered.
"Four!?!" I repeated. "It�s only twelve right now! What are we going to do until four!?!"
"Have you forgotten why you�re hanging with us?" Lance asked.
"No. I�m hanging with you guys because Matt signed me up so he could get even with me beating him to a pulp."
"I saw that Matt kid," Chris said. "You beat him good!"
"Of course I did," I said, smiling. "I can beat anyone!"
"There is no way you could beat up Superman, though!" Joey said.
"I�ll bet you ten dollars I could come up with a successful way to beat up Superman."
"Alright, you�re on," Joey challenged. "How would you beat the Man of Steel?"
"First, I�d get a piece of that green asteroid thing and put it around his neck. Next, I�d hit him in a few special places I KNOW that would hurt and there you go, I�ve beaten your hero."
Chris, JC, Justin, and Lance looked up at Joey. "She did come up with a way to beat your hero, Joe," Justin admitted. "Hand her the money!"
Groaning and complaining, Joey reached into his pocket and pulled out a ten-dollar bill. "It�s not like you don�t have any more cash!" I exclaimed, snatching the money out of his hands.
"What were we talking about before this bet?" Chris wondered.
"You were going to tell me why we have to stay here until four," I reminded them.
"Oh yeah!" Lance said. "We�re going to the Delta Center to practice our performance."
They began walking back to the limo, then turned around. "Aren�t you coming?" JC wondered.
"Do I have a choice?" I sighed. Standing up, I walked behind them.
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