"I'm coming, I'm coming," Brian whined grumpily.
"Brian, man, come on, we gotta go," Howie said, coming into Brian's bedroom, where Brian lay in his king-sized waterbed. Brian sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes tiredly. He yawned and stretched, then dragged himself out of bed.
He showered and got dressed quickly. Then he and the other two had to get down to the studio to rehearse for the upcoming Backstreet Boys "Into the Millenium" tour.
Brian tried to keep himself awake all the way to the studio. He had a cold and wasn't feeling too well at all.
When they got to the studio, AJ and Nick were already there, along with Fatima, their choreographer.
"You're late," AJ said.
"I know," Kevin said, glancing at Brian "Brian wouldn't get up."
"All right, boys" Fatima said, clapping her hands. "We've got to get started. Let's work on "It's Gotta Be You" first."
Brian groaned as he staggered over to his place. He did not have the energy to dance that day.
The music started and the Boys started the routine that they had learned the day before. Brian struggled through the moves. Normally, they weren't too hard, but lately, he had been so tired that he just didn't have the energy to do them right.
Fatima noticed this. "Brian, what's wrong?" she asked, knowing that he was usually better than this.
"I don't really feel well," he admitted. "I've got a cold or flu or somethin'. I don't know what it is, but I'm really tired."
"Oh," she said, nodding sympathetically, "well, just do the best you can for now and get a good night's sleep tonight."
Brian nodded. "I will," he assured her.
But the next day Brian, didn't feel any better. Once again, he struggled through the dance moves. Whatever he had, it seemed to be getting worse.
He wasn't sure what it was. He didn't have a stuffy nose, or a stomachache, or sore throat. Mostly, he was just exhausted all the time. This had been going on for a few weeks now. And Brian was getting worried.