"I can't believe the bus broke down again, this is bullshit!"

I screamed as I jumped out of my bunk at the back, and ran to the front in anger. Our tourbus was a piece of crap, and this was the 4th time in like a week that it had broken down. I couldn't stand it anymore, plus I had other things on my mind, too.

There was only three people at the front of the bus when I got there. Amanda Latona, AJ's steady girlfriend of over two years, Leighanne Wallace/Littrell, Brian's wife, and Michael from the Firm, our management company. I shared this tourbus with Brian and AJ, for this part of the tour, at least, and I was dreading it already. Of course Leighanne and Amanda had to tag along. Just an hour before we were informed that Kevin and Howie's tourbus was fine, and they were already almost in Wisconsin, where we were headed. I didn't know where we were, and I didn't care.

"Hey Nicky, what's wrong?" Amanda teased playfully. I wasn't in the mood for that. I shot her an evil look and turned away.

"Mike, is there any way I could get out, and get away from here? I need to take a walk." I said seriously. Michael knew I had alot on my mind lately, but I didn't think he'd answer the way he did.

"Sure, buddy. It's... 3pm now. The driver says we should be be able to get going by 5pm. So, just make sure you're back, alright?" Mike replied.

I just nodded, grabbed a hat off the table, and then searched around for my sunglasses.

"Here, Nicky!" Amanda tossed me a pair of AJ's many sunglasses. I nodded, thanking her. Then I jumped out of the bus.

The fresh air was cold on my face, too cold for August, but I shrugged it off. I guess I was used to the warm weather from Florida. I had forgotten to find out what city we were in, but I knew it was somewhere in the Northern States. We'd been in Missouri the night before, and we're heading to Wisconcin, and then Canada.

I just began walking. The neighbourhood seemed calm, a few black children playing street hockey, and some teenagers playing basketball at a nearby park. I wanted badly to go and play, but I knew not to reveal myself. So I kept walking.

I'd been walking for a good half an hour, when I saw a large group of people gathering at the end of the street I was on. Just as I approached the crowd, I heard,

"Alright ya'll, thanks so much for coming out to see us! We are Risk, and even though we've been singing together for about two years, we just recently got signed with SoftTalk Records, a local label!"

I could tell it was obviously a black teenage girl of about 15 or 16-years-old. She had a cute voice, which made me smile. I hadn't smiled in awhile, and it felt pretty good. I couldn't see the stage they were on because of the huge crowd.

"That's right, ya'll! This is actually our first of three free concerts we're putting on! We need ya'll to come up to this table here and vote on the song you like the most. We're doin' five songs, and whichever is most-liked, that's the one we'll record. So please, come help us out!"

Another girl yelled out to the crowd. She sounded a bit older, but I wasn't sure.

"Alright, we'll do an introduction for ya'll who don't know us... I'm LaWanda Patterson, but my name in the group of 'Miss L', and I'm 17!" A third girl screamed out.

"And I'm Zariah Sanders, or just Zee, and I'm 16!" the first girl shouted.

I sure wished I could see these girls, who had bright, bubbly personalities. But I couldn't push into the crowd, I didn't want to make a scene.

"I'm Brandy Walters, the oldest in the group, and I'm 18!" another girl yelled. I couldn't really tell their voices apart. There was one more.

"And lastly, I'm CeCillia Patterson, or CeCe, and yes, LaWanda and I are cousins. I'm also 17!" she finished.

That was it. Four young black girls, calling themselves Risk, performing for friends, family and neighbours. I thought the idea was cute.

I got a bit closer, but not too much. I wanted to hear them. I don't want to brag, but I know alot about music, and the music business. After just a minute, I can tell who would make it, and who wouldn't. Music was been my life since I could walk and talk.

"Okay, our first song is called "Do What You Want", and CeCe and myself wrote it recently. So get on your feet and jump around! Here we go!" Zariah screamed excitedly.

I was shocked to hear live music playing, not just a recording, just seconds later. And even more shocked when they started singing. They had good voices, good tone and good pitch. The song was well-written and performed. I didn't mean to be a critic, but I always was. But they were good. I was still amazed when the music stopped and they sung the last line of the song Acapella. They had rhythem too. Their type of music was defintely not pop, more edgier and and harder-hitting. And there was a short "rap" in the middle, which "Miss L", I think, performed great.

I was silent as they performed their next four songs. When they were done, I couldn't hear myself think, due to the screaming audience. I wondered how they got such talent, and why they weren't already in the music business.