After Arthur managed to dodge traffic, they pulled up to Carl's Jr., located in the Sierra Vista Mall. They got out and Nick came walking out of the doorway. When he spotted Laura strolling casually toward him, he flashed her a smile, came up to her, and said, "Are you hungry? 'Cause I am. Shall we?", grabbing her hand as he led her into the place. Everyone followed. There were a few people there, but apparently the lunch crowd hadn't descended yet. Nick led everyone to the table where four other guys were sitting.
Realizing that Cammy and Arthur hadn't met the boys, Sally took the initiative and introduced them "Arthur, Cammy this is Nick, Brian, Kevin, AJ, and Howie," she said, pointing at each guy as she mentioned their name. Cammy and Howie's eyes met and she felt an instant attraction to this guy she considered very good-looking.
After everyone became acquainted, Arthur reminded them of their limited time and suggested that they order their food. The guys scrambled out of their seats and took their place at the end of the line.
"What do you want to eat?" Nick asked Laura.
"A western combo," she answered as she reached for her wallet.
Nick noticed her motion and grabbed her arm. "No I got it," he insisted.
"Thanks Nick," Laura said, then glanced at Arthur, who winked at her. She stuck her tongue out at him, then turned around and continued talking with Nick.
After they ordered their food, everyone went back to the table. Kelly was seated next to Kevin and she found it hard not to stare into his deep green eyes.
"Hey nice shirt man," AJ said to Arthur. "Thanks. It's Armani," Arthur explained, then he and AJ began discussing fashion.
A few minutes later, Sally interrupted to ask AJ where Antonia was. He replied that she was sick, then he resumed his intriguing conversation with Arthur. Sally turned to Brian and questioned him about how All Access got started.
"So Cammy what are your college plans?" Howie gazed at her with genuine interest.
Cammy answered nervously, "Well I'm not really sure, but I was thinking somewhere down south." She loosened up and began speaking freely when she saw Howie's smile of encouragement.
Laura and Nick were talking about their English paper which had been assigned the day before and how they were possibly going to team up and do some research together.
The food arrived shortly and everyone grabbed their orders. Kevin accidently, in reaching for a napkin, brushed up alongside of Kelly. She jumped up nervously; it not only frightened her, but sent a thousand chills up and down her spine. Kevin apologized to Kelly for startling her, then her jumpiness seemed to ease up and she found it rather easy to talk to him about anything.
Nick looked over to Laura and saw that she had some barbeque sauce on the corner of her mouth and took his napkin and dabbed it lightly. Everyone seemed to turn and watch him as he was doing this and the rest of the table, as if on cue, said, "Awwww!" Nick and Laura both blushed and resumed their eating. He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "By the way, I forgot to tell ya, you look really nice today." Laura seemed to have a hard time swallowing the french fry in her mouth when he said this, but managed to blush, smile and say thank you gracefully.
Arthur informed them that they only had about 10 minutes to get back to class. Everyone grabbed their stuff and said their good-byes. The guys walked to the car with them, and Nick said, "Hey are you guys doing anything late Saturday afternoon?"
Cammy said, "Nope , don't think so, why?"
Nick responded, "Well this is kind of corny, but I would like you guys to come see us. We have um kind of this gig to do and would be great to see some familiar faces."
The other guys were giggling, and Laura said, "Is there something funny, or is this an inside joke?"
Brian, in between his fit of laughter, managed to say, " Well the gig is at an opening of a pet store. How funky is that? But at least we are getting paid for it, so if you want to come it might be a good idea if you actually buy something from the pet store!!"
Everyone started laughing, but agreed that they would be there to see them perform. They made it back to school in just the nick of time.
It was 9:30 on Saturday morning when Diwata rang the doorbell to Laura's house. She stood impatiently until the door flew open and Laura appeared wearing pajama pants and a T-shirt. Her hair was sticking in all directions as she grabbed Diwata's arm, pulled her into the house, and slammed the door shut.
"Laura!" Diwata said, surprised by her friend's state of disarray. "The store opens in a half an hour and you're not dressed!"
"I know," Laura ran her fingers through her curly red hair. "But I'm having a crisis. I can't decide what to wear."
Diwata sighed as she followed Laura into her bedroom, then perched on the end of her bed and watched her friend display every piece of clothing she owned. They finally decided on an outfit- cargo pants, a gray shirt, and a fuzzy black sweater- and Laura quickly changed and fixed her hair. The two friends then departed for Pet Smart.
Sky Lynn, Kelly, and Cammy were the first customers in the door when the new pet store opened at 10 am. They stood at the front end of the building, waiting for the guys to appear. After a couple of minutes, the girls were approached by an employee. He was short and stout, with long greasy hair and thick glasses. His name tag read "Buck"; he asked, "Do you need any help?"
Sky Lynn pretended to look at a dog collar and Kelly began giggling incessantly. Cammy elbowed her and answered politely, "No thank you."
Buck sniffed loudly and pushed his glasses up his nose. "Well just let me know." He walked away and the girls burst into laughter.
A couple of minutes later, All Access began performing and a large crowd gathered at the front of the store. Sky Lynn, Cammy, and Kelly waved to Laura and Diwata, who arrived just minutes before the guys sang their first song.
As Brian sang, his eyes scanned the crowd, searching for familiar faces. He located Nicole standing near the front and flashed her a smile. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a familiar-looking blonde girl. He quickly turned his head to look closer, forgetting the words to the song they were performing in the process.
Nick looked at him questioningly and Brian continued to stumble over the words until they reached the chorus. After the song ended, Nick covered his microphone and asked Brian what happened.
"I thought I saw someone," he answered.
"Who?" Nick wanted to know, but Brian shrugged off his inquiry.
"Nevermind. It wasn't anyone. Let's do the next song." Brian motioned for AJ to begin performing again. Nick eyed him strangely, but jumped in on cue when his turn to sing lead came up.
Nicole looked around the store, surprised to see such a large crowd of people had gathered to see the guys sing. She noticed a group of girls standing next to her that looked familiar; she remembered seeing them at her party, but they had never formally met. Nicole decided to introduce herself to the girl standing next to her.
"Hi," she spoke quietly, as to not disturb those who were listening. "I'm Nicole. You guys came to my party right?"
"Yeah," the girl replied. "I"m Laura and this is Diwata, Sky Lynn, Kelly, and Cammy." She pointed to each girl as she said their names and they responded with a hello.
"Nice to meet you."
"You too. So were you invited by the guys?" Laura asked.
"Uh-huh," Nicole nodded. "Brian told me about it."
"Cool," Laura smiled, then turned her attention back to All Access. She felt someone tap her on the shoulder and turned around to discover Buck had been standing behind them listening.
"I was invited by All Access, too," he said proudly. "I'm hoping to join the group soon."
Laura just gave him a weak smile and quickly turned around. The others giggled.
"What a freak," Diwata whispered, sending everyone into a fit of laughter. They quickly calmed themselves and the guys continued to sing. A couple of minutes later, they heard someone humming along softly. Sky Lynn saw Buck singing with his eyes closed and began giggling uncontrollably. The others looked at him and joined in Sky Lynn's laughter.
After the song ended, he commented, "Man, I could be a member of All Access. Don't I look like AJ?"
Sky Lynn snorted loudly, causing several people to stare at her.
"What?" Buck wanted to know what was so funny, but the girls just ignored him.
The guys soon ended their performance and began packing up their equipment. As he put away his mic, Brian glanced up to see someone walking toward him.
"Hi Brian," a female voice said.
He looked up, startled. "Emily! What are you doing here?" He grabbed the arm of his former girlfriend and pulled her away from the rest of the group.
"Well, I heard you guys were singing, so I thought I'd come watch you."
Brian frowned. "I told you we were through."
"I know," Emily ran her fingers through her blonde hair. "But can't we still be friends?"
"No," he said abrubtly. "Please leave me alone." He turned on his heel and walked quickly away from her.
"Hey Bri" Nicole said as he walked by, but he just brushed her off.
"What's wrong with him?" She asked Nick, who was talking to Laura and Diwata.
He shrugged and the girls continued their conversations with the members of All Access.
Back to chapters 1-3
Back to chapters 4-6
Back to story index
Back to BSB Humor Pages
