Chapter 2
"Britney, would you hurry up and take the stupid picture already?" Justin asked, just above a whisper.
"Gosh, Justin! Take a chill pill!" Britney rolled her eyes and snapped the picture. She lowered the camera and smiled at the sweet moment before her young eyes. JC and Kait had snuggled together and fallen asleep. They would make such a cute couple she thought in her head.
"Why do you want this picture anyways?" She asked as she walked back to her seat in the van and placed her camera back in her bookbag.
"In case it should come in handy sometime later in the season. And if not, just for memories."
Both were quiet for a moment, not really knowing what to say. So far during the hour long ride, they had talked about everything, and found they had alot in common. Both had families who stuck with them through everything they did, both were on Star Search, and many other things like that.
"Hey, Justin?" Britney asked, turning her head to look at him. "Do you think that the crew and people at MMC would allow couples in the cast? I mean like, really going out on dates and stuff?"
This question surprised Justin. What would Britney be thinking about that for? It certinley came out of nowhere. "Why would you ask that?"
"Well, because I think..." Britney silently searched for the right words to say. "I think I already know some people who would make a cute couple. It would be cool if they went out during the season."
"Well, that would all depend. And if they do allow dating within the cast, the two people would have to like eachother."
Britney nodded and looked out the window. In a way, she was talking about JC and Kait. There was no doubt that they would make a great pair. But she was also talking about her and Justin. He was so cute, and she had a big crush on him already. Britney wondered if Justin liked her in return. Even if it was only the tiniest bit, it still would be enough to satisfy her. All Britney could do was think, and right now that was fine with her.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Kait!"
She jerked awake and looked towards the voice. Justin stood there, smiling a stupid grin as she came back to life.
"What?" She asked groggily, wanting to go back to sleep. The plane had left her very jet lagged.
"Five minutes until we reach the studio. You might wanna wake up JC while you're at it." Justin snickered and sat back in his seat.
Kait sighed and looked at her comfy sleeping partner. His arm was draped around her back, and his head rested on top of hers. Kait's own head was resting on his shoulder, and one hand was placed on his knee while the other arm was wrapped around his stomach. How they had gotten into this position, Kait had no clue. But it did feel pretty nice.
Before she could say a word to wake up JC, the van pulled to a sudden stop and jerked both of them forward and slammed them back into their seats. That completed the job of waking JC perfectly.
His eyes fluttered open as he glanced at Kait. Noticing the position they were in, he immediatley blushed and pulled his hands away. Her cheeks turned a slight shade of pink as well, repeating his actions of puling her hands away.
"Umm.." JC said raking his teeth over his bottom lip. "We're here."
"Yeah." She said softly as the door to the van opened. "I guess we gotta go then."
JC nodded and they headed out of the van, followed by Justin and Britney. After grabbing all their bags, the three new members began to follow JC to the studio. JC was bringing in one of Kait's suitcases, since she had three along with a bookbag. The two walked towards the door standing beside eachother, walking slowly since both were pretty tired still.
"Come on you two!" Justin said, noticing their slacking. "You can sleep when we get to our rooms. Hurry it up!"
"Whatever." Kait mumbled, speeding up a bit. JC chuckled and followed her, also speeding up a bit.
Ten minutes later, the group of four arrived in the main lobby where the rest of the cast was waiting. JC handed Kait her suitcase and smiled, explaing that he had to join the rest of the cast on the side of the room.
"Hello everyone, my name is Fred Newman." A tall man with graying hair introduced. "I am one of the hosts of the MMC, along with Terri Misner, whom you'll meet later. Right now, I would just like all eight of the new cast members to come into the middle here. Just drop your bags and come on."
Kait raised her eyebrows at Justin, who just shrugged. Both dropped their bags and walked forward where the other new cast members were accumulating.
"Okay, so I am gonna call your name and I want you to simply wave and say hi." Fred cleared his throat then looked down at his list. "Christina Aguilera?"
"Hi." All eyes moved to the tiny blond haired girl standing in the middle of the room, her petite hand waving shyly.
"Nikki Deloach?"
"Over here!" A taller female emerged form the crowd of new kids, this one with thick light brown hair.
"TJ Fantini?"
"Hey." A tall and thin boy raised his hand above his head which was covered in brown hair.
"Alright then, Ryan Gosling?"
"Yup, thats me." A quick wave was produced from the tall boy who had blond hair. Kait immediatley thought he was a cutie.
"Tate Lynche?"
A hand was raised in the air, and eyes were focused on a short african american boy. He was shy, Kait guessed.
"Kaitlyn Reynolds?"
"Umm... hi, I am Kait." She raised her hand and made a quick wave, smiling kindly.
"Would you prefer Kait instead of Kaitlyn?" Fred asked her.
"Yes if its not that big of a deal. It is spelt K-a-i-t."
"Okay, consider it done." Fred smiled and wrote the note on his clipboard, then moving onto the next name. "Britney Spears?"
"Thats me." She said cheerfully.
"Justin Timberlake?"
"Hey." Justin raised his hand then pulled it down quickly.
"Okay, so now we have been un-informally introduced to our new members, and we will get to know them better later at dinner. But for now we are going to get you all settled. Will all of the girls please go to the left side of the room, and the guys to the right side?"
Kait gave Justin a small wave before she retrieved her bags and walked to the right side of the room. Immediatley, Britney walked over and began to talk to her. Justin couldn't help but laugh as Kait rolled her eyes and bit her bottom lip.
"She is pretty hott." A voice beside Justin said. He turned to see the new member Ryan standing and looking Kait and Britney's way.
"Who do you think is hott?" Justin asked him as they moved to the right side of the room.
Ryan grinned and made a quick motion with his head. "That girl, Kait. The one you were talking to."
The two set their bags down once they reached the right side destination and Justin looked at Kait. "I think she is pretty and all, but she is 15. I mean, you are my age right? Thats kind of old."
"I am aware of that, but you see I like older women."
Justin just chuckled as one of the older cast members cleared his throat. He was standing beside JC holding a clipboard. All of the other male cast members had left. "Hey guys, my name is Tony. I am just gonna tell you your room assignments, then we can get you all settled in. Two of you will go with me, and the other two with JC."
The four new male members nodded and Tony then continued. "TJ and Tate will room together in room seven, and you guys will be coming with me. Ryan and Justin will be in room fourteen, and will be going with JC."
All nodded, picking up their bags and wandering in the direction of their leading cast member. Ryan and Justin followed JC down a long hallway.
"Hey.. JC?" Ryan asked. "What do you think about Kait?"
Justin's eyes widened as he remembered what went on in the van earlier. He was anxious to hear JC's reply. All he did was give Ryan a questioning look. "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean, what do you think about her? I think she is very pretty. Very, very pretty. Justin thinks she is nice but too old. How about you?"
JC stopped in front of room fourteen and looked at Ryan. "I also think Kait is smart and pretty. She is a very nice girl and I guess thats all that I can say."
"JC likes her." JC heard Justin whisper to Ryan. "You should have seen them on the van. They fell asleep and were so close it was like they were one person."
After hearing Ryan snicker, JC rolled his eyes and began to tell the boys about the room they would be sharing for their duration as cast members.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Okay, so you two are going to be roomies the whole time you're here." Jennifer McGill explained as she walked into the room the 2 new cast members she was leading would be staying in. "Basically, you just spend your down time in here. There is a living room kind of area that has a couch and a TV along with some stuff, the bathroom which has a shower, and each of you have your own closet in the room."
"And," Ilana Miller, the cast member that had accompined Jennifer on the tour, spoke up. "As long as we don't have anything going on in the morning, we are allowed to have sleepover kind of things. But there isn't any boy girl mixing... at least there isn't supposed to be. Terri and Fred are really strict about that. But they never find out if you sneak around and stuff. You should see Tony and Kerri."
Kait and Christina, the two who would be sharing the room, laughed along with their "superiors". Though, they weren't acting like they were superior at all. Both Jennifer and Ilana acted as if Kait and Christina were old friends.
"Next is about meals." Jennifer began. "We eat every morning at 9:00, lunch at 1:00, and diner at 6:00. We usually reherse or film in between. If we are out for something in the show, we'll either buy or pack something."
Kait and Christina nodded and Ilana cleared her throat. "The schedual for the next week is going to be hectic for you new members. You have to get fitted for clothes and wardrobe, need to meet with coreographers and musical directors, film your openeing bit thingy, meet writers, have lunch with the directors, its all pretty confusing."
"Well, how will we know when we do things like that?" Christina asked.
"Each night one of the crew members and sometimes Terri brings around a schedual for the next day." Ilana told them. "I can already tell you that tomorrow everybody is going to Disney, and tonight you are going to be fitted for your jackets. But as for the rest... unsolved mystery for now."
Both nodded, chuckling a bit at Ilana's mini joke. "okay, Jen and I are going to be going now. But if you need anything, we share room three with Rhona. Feel free to ask anything."
As the two left, Kait and Christina grabbed their bags and made their way into the bedroom. Two single beds were there, one on each side of the room. Kait looked at the plain white walls then at Christina. "We are definitley going to need ot redecorate, don't you agree?"
"Oh yes, definitley." Christina said smiling. "Which bed would you like? Any specific claims you may have?"
Kait sat down on the bed on the left side a room and bounced up and down for a minute. "I think I like this one."
"Thats great, becuase I actually wanted the right one." Christina said sitting on the opposite bed. Boht looked at eachother, then at the many suitcases that lay in front of them. "You know, I really don't feel like packing right now."
"You have just taken the words right out of my mouth." Kait stood up and stretched her arms above her head. "I was tired, but I think I would like to explore the room a bit more. Want to help?"
Christina nodded and stood up, stepping over her bags as she walked with Kait into the living area. The two spent the next half hour just exploring the room. It wasn't complicated at all, mostly just how Jennifer and Ilana had explained it. But there was one thing that kait and Christina both needed to find, one thing that they as girls needed in their everyday life.
"Kait! I found it!" Christina called from the bedroom. Kait ran in and saw her roomate pulling a phone from the bottom drawer of the nightstand. "And there is a directory too."
Kait sat on her bed and looked at the paper Christina had handed her as her roomate plugged the phone into the box on the wall. The directory had the names of all the cast members, new and old, what room they were in, and the number to reach that room. Also on the bottom was an explination of how to call long distance.
"Hey, Chris... I am gonna call my mother. Would you liek to call yours too?'
"Yeah but you can go first. I'll unpack while you do that."
"Alright." Kait smiled and began dialing according to the directions.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Knock Knock
Christina's eyes fluttered open after hearing the knocking on the door to her room. Kait was asleep in the bedroom, while she had fell asleep in the living room after watching TV. Slowly she got up and walked over to the door and whoever was on the other side knocked again. Christina rolled her eyes at their imaptience before openeing the door.
"Hello, you must be Christina?"
Christina nodded, recognizing the woman as Terri, the female host of the show. She had watched the show at home and could recognize the big black hair any time.
"Hello, my name is Terri Misner. I am the female host, Fred may have said something about me during the meeting in the beginning. I trust that Kaitlyn is in there as well?"
"Yes, Kait is. But she is sleeping right now." Christina told Terri. "I could wake her up if you'd like."
"Oh, no sweetie. There isn't any need for that. I just came by to drop off the schedual for tonight and tomorrow." Terri handed her a two pieces of paper written all over. "The dinner time is over there, and A cast member will be picking you up to show you where the dining hall is. But I guess then I will see you later."
Christina smiled as she shut the door, yawning slightly. She had talked to her mother for a little over an hour, and Kait had done the same. The two had even let their roomate talk to their mothers so they could be aquainted. Both mothers were not with their original husbands, which gave them something in common. Kait's father died, while Christina's parents were divorced.
Christina was very pleased with the way things were going so far. The people had been very nice, especially her roomate. Being placed with Kait, to Christina, was the best option. She hadn't spoken to Nikki, and Britney was not on her good side right now.
~*Flashback*~
As three other new cast members piled in, Christina stood, being the shy person she was. When her mother brought her an hour earlier, Kerri had met them at the gate to the studio and showed Christina where to go. The two had spoken for a bit until she was called to help set something up.
Now they were waiting for the finall three of the eight new cast members to arrive. The man who wore a headset and carried a clipboard said that they should be here any minute, and that as soon as they arrived that they would get started.
Being imaptient, Christina began to pick at her cuticles. It wasn't quite biting her nails, but it was a simple action that she had picked up over the years during one of the many times she was bored. She stopped picking when she heard somebody say that the new ones had arrived.
"Hi," an annoingly perky voice said beside her. The owner of the voice then stood in front of her, smile bright on her face. "Whats your name?"
"Hi, I am Chris...."
"My name is Britney! I'm from Kentwood, Lousiana. Have you ever watched Star Search? Becuase I was on and I won!"
Christina rose her eyebrows in sarcasm. "Wow, thats..."
"But the second time I went on, some kid beat me and I wasn't on anymore. But everybody told me that I was alot better and that I should have won. What about you? Have you ever been on Star Search?"
"Yes but I didn't win..."
"Oh thats to bad. I mean, Imm not saying that you should have won or anything. Who knows, maybe the other person was just better than you. They like the cute and talented type, just like me. If you and I went against eachother, I would probably win because I am alot prettier and cuter than you are."
Christina's eyes widened. This annoying little brat did not just insult her! Christina tried to regain composure as Britney stood beside her. "Listen to me, Britney...."
"Hello, everyone!"
Christina was inturupted when the man at the head of the room began to start everything. Britney was one lucky girl as far as Christina was concerned. She was fuming and would have been glad to give the little brunette a piece of her mind. but she couldn't, so she just stopped and listened.
~*End Flashback*~
Shaking the memory from her thoughts, Christina advanced towards her room. hopefully, things between her and Britney would patch up. The last thing she wanted weas to be forced to be friendly to sombody. But if Britney kept on being conceited and snotty, then Christina would just have to be nice in front of everyone else.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"That was.. umm... interesting." Ryan said as he entered his room follwed by Justin who walked in behind him.
"You could say that again." Justin mumbeled, kicking off his shoes and sitting on the couch.
The dinner seemed to be very orginized and planned out, but it went completley out of sync. Most all came on time and ready to feed their empty stomachs, but they couldn't start until Britney and Nikki arrived. The two had forgotten about the two older cast members who were going to show them the way and just wandered around the studio just looking for the dining hall. They finally showed up fifteen minutes late.
Everybody was supposed to talk and socialize, but that didn't work out very well either. Tate, one of the new members, had been extremley shy and hadn't talked much at all. After Brintey arrived, the conversation came from her for her mouth didn't stop running all night. And everybody seemed to pick a group that they would chat with. Most of the older members banded together and only acknowledged the younger ones a few times.
The food itself was alright. True, it was not the best food in the world, but it wasn't horrible either. JC explained to them earlier that sometimes they would order food and eat in their rooms instead of eating the dining hall food.
Other things made the "First meal" interesting as well, but what Ryan and Justin laughed about most was the jacket fitting. The eight new members were taken aside when all was finished. The jackets were the ones worn at the very beginning of the show that had the name of the cast member on it. All that was needed was the arm and bust measurements and the correct spelling of their names. The rest would be taken care of.
Britney, who went first in the process, would stop at nothing to hint that she wanted the jacket with the blue sleeves. Ryan, Justin, Christina and Kait sat back and laughed as quietley as possible as she attempted to hint her chocice to the costume woman, Claudia. She would say little things about herself and include blue in them. It was almost impossible to keep their laughter quiet since it was so funny.
"You know," Ryan mocked. "The last time I was measured like this was for my Star Search dress. It was blue, my favorite color, and I wore it the first time I won. I think blue is just my color."
Justin laughed lightly. "We gotta stop making fun of the poor girl. She would be really hurt if she knew we ripped on her so much."
Ryan flashed Justin a question look, noticing the tone in his voice. "Do you have a soft spot for the short one?"
Pondering it in his mind, Justin looked at Ryan. After a few seconds of silence, he answered as honest as possible. "Well, she was really nice when we talked and she is cute..."
"I see how it is," Ryan said sitting down. "If you would like, I won't bash her. Hell I'll be nice to her."
All Justin could do was nod. This was the first night, and he was anticipating the days to come. Tomorrow they would all take a trip to Disney and that would be great, and the show started soon as well. Fun looked like a constant factor around here.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
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