“Bri, I miss her so much!” Nick exclaimed. Narrowing his eyes, he looked at Christine. “She’s so much cooler than some people here.”
“Gosh, Mr. Hostility. What did I do to you? Lay off!” Christine groaned.
Brian rolled his eyes. “Nick, Christine didn’t do anything wrong. Christine, just ignore him.”
Nick leaned back in his chair and sighed heavily. “Whatever. Anyhow, Samantha called this morning and we talked for a couple hours. Then I had to go to the airport because no one else was free. I don’t see why they couldn’t have just sent her home with you, Brian.” He continued to badmouth Christine and obsess over Samantha throughout dinner.
Following Brian’s advice, Christine pretended she didn’t hear Nick’s comments. Finally, dinner was over, and they all went dancing. Christine looked older than she really was, so she was easily able to get into the clubs and buy drinks. Christine and Nick avoided each other the whole night, but she got along with the other guys really well.
When they got back to the hotel around one-thirty, Christine was pretty tipsy, so Brian walked her up to her room.
“Nick reeeaaally hates me, doesn’t he?” Christine slurred softly.
“Christine, he’s just a little confused. He doesn’t know how to deal with Samantha not being here. He really cares about her.” He paused. “Did you ever have a dog that died, and then your brother or sister got a new one right away?”
Christine nodded and giggled at Brian’s bad analogy, but actually, this had happened to her.
“You didn’t like their new one, did you?” Brian asked.
Again, Christine nodded. “I guess not, because it took the place of my Sugar,” she replied.
“That’s kind of what this is like,” Brian said.
Christine laughed softly. “So you’re calling me and Samantha dogs now, huh?” she joked.
“Samantha, maybe, but you, of course not,” Brian replied, patting her shoulder. “Samantha and I didn’t get along too well. I don’t think she’s quite right for Nick, but he has to find that out on his own.” Christine lost her balance and fell into Brian’s arms. “You know, you really shouldn’t drink. You’re only seventeen.”
Christine blushed. “I’ve never gotten drunk before. This is my first time.”
He looked at his watch. “I better be getting to bed, and you need to get some rest. You’re going to have a pretty bad hangover in the morning. We have rehearsal at eight tomorrow.”
“Yeah, good night, Brian. Thanks,” Christine murmured. She gave Brian a hug and opened her door.
Sandra was sitting on the bed waiting for her. She hadn’t gone clubbing because she wasn’t quite legal drinking age, and, unlike Christine, she didn’t look old enough. “So what’s up with you and Brian?” she asked curiously.
Gasping, Christine smiled. “Nothing! We’re just friends. He’s like an older brother, you know?”
“A very cute older brother,” Sandra added.
“Well, yeah, but nothing more. Trust me. He’s a really cool guy and all, but I would never go out with him,” Christine reinforced. “Besides, he’s seven years older than me!” As Sandra stepped into the bathroom to shower, she picked up the phone and grabbed her phone card.
Eventually, she got Katelyn on the line. “What do you want?” Katelyn muttered. She sounded tired, and Christine realized that if it was one-thirty here, it was twelve-thirty there, and Katelyn was not one to stay up late.
“KAT!” Christine screeched.
“Teeny? What’s up? How’s life with the five hotties?” Katelyn asked enthusiastically. “Tell me everything!”
She explained her embarrassing airplane story, and then went into detail about how much of a jerk Nick was.
“Gosh, what an asshole! He must have PMS or something,” Katelyn joked. “What about the other guys?”
“They’re all really cool. And the dancers are cool, too. I’m rooming with a girl named Sandra,” Christine bubbled. “She’s from Chicago. Andrea and Jessica are really nice, and the other one, Leah, doesn’t talk much.”
“Really? Cool!” Katelyn yawned. “I’m sorry. It’s not that I’m bored. It’s just that I’m really tired.”
“Well, I should probably go anyway. We have rehearsal at eight tomorrow morning, and Brian said I should rest because I’m going to have a hangover in the morning,” Christine said. “I’ll call you soon!”
“Hangover? Okay, whatever. I’m not going to ask. Hey, did you call your family yet?” Katelyn asked.
“Yeah, I called them as soon as I got in. I wasn’t able to call you because we had to go to dinner and then we went clubbing. I looked old enough to drink, so the bartender didn’t card me, and I got really drunk,” Christine replied.
“I was gonna say that you sounded drunk, but it’s pretty late, so I thought maybe you were just tired. Just be careful, Chris!” Katelyn was probably the only person Christine knew more innocent than herself. She was something like a mother.
“Don’t worry. Brian already lectured me. He said I’m too young to drink.”
“Okay. I’ll talk to you later!” Katelyn said. Both girls hung up and Christine collapsed onto her bed. She fell into a deep sleep immediately.