“What the fuck?”
Glancing at the clock, he saw that it was only 7:30. He got out of bed and walked over to the bathroom. Sam wasn’t in there. He went into Kevin’s room. Not only was Sam not there, but neither was Kevin.
“Man,” he said out loud, “I must have woke up in the Twilight Zone. Kevin’s even up before me.”
He went back to his room and searched for a note or something. No such luck.
He sat down on the bed and contemplated where Sam and Kevin could be. He got up and began pacing around the room. He put on a pair of pants and a tee shirt. Thinking out loud, he brushed his hair.
“They could have gone to get breakfast, or maybe they went shopping, or they could have gone to see Donatella.”
“You know Nick, talking to yourself isn’t healthy.”
“Sam! Where the hell were you?”
“Kevin and I went to get some breakfast.”
“You’re both up before 10:00?”
“Shocking, isn’t it?”
Nick clutched his chest and fell to the ground.
“Nick?”
He looked up at her and grinned.
“You little shit!”
“That’s what you get for giving me a heart attack.”
She smiled at him and helped him off the ground, “I came to see if you wanted some breakfast. They have cereal.”
He shot her a look, “I’ll have a cinnamon roll, thank you.”
They went downstairs to join Kevin.
“Morning Nicky,” Kevin said, not looking up.
“Hey, don’t call me that.”
“Don’t whine about it and I’ll stop.”
Nick slid into the booth next to Sam. Kevin ordered scrambled eggs, toast, and hash browns. Sam got pancakes and orange juice. True to his word, Nick ordered cinnamon rolls and a coke.
They all chatted while they waited on their food. Nick noticed that Kevin’s eyes were bloodshot, swollen, and red-rimmed again. He made a mental note to have another talk with him.
After breakfast, Kevin went back upstairs and Sam took Nick to get some film developed.
“Usually, I do this myself, but I’m not at my studio.”
“Oh, I see.”
They went to find an ice-cream shop and Nick wanted a cone. They finally found a place but they didn’t sell any Blue Bell ice cream.
“Damnit.”
“Nick, watch it. There are kids around.”
“Sorry.”
“Yeah. Let’s get some ice cream and go somewhere.”
“A’ight.”
Sam got cookies-n-cream and Nick got plain vanilla. They ate while they walked, occasionally eating off each other’s cone. They came upon a playground that was totally abandoned.
“Sam, let’s go play.”
“I don’t know…”
“Come on!”
“All right fine, we’ll play. But you’ve got to push me on the swings.”
“Fair enough.”
They played for about 45 minutes when Sam realized that she was late for a 98* shoot. They ran down the street and caught a cab.
The guys were slightly perturbed, but they really didn’t care too much. The later that Sam was meant more time off for them. Sam got right to work, instructing them what to do.
“Drew, turn towards Justin… Nick take off Drew’s hat… Now Drew, act surprised… Okay, now angry… Jeff, take off the jacket and toss it to Shantel… Now smile everyone… I said smile Justin!…”
This went on for nearly an hour before she called a break.
“Hey Sam, I thought you’d never quit!” Drew called.
She playfully punched him in the shoulder.
“How’s it goin’?” she asked.
“It’s great. I’m a little tired, but I’ll get over it.”
“Is Cricket coming to town?”
( * Author’s note: Cricket is a fictional name I made up for Drew’s girlfriend. I do not know what her name really is.* )
“Yeah, she’s coming just to see me,” Drew said proudly.
“Shut up Drew!” Nick shouted.
“What’s that all about?” Sam asked.
“We’re sick of hearing about Cricket!”
“Shut up Justin!” Drew retorted.
“Don’t let those losers get to you. It’s not worth it. Cricket’s a nice person.”
He smiled, “Thanks Sam.”
She smiled back at him and hit him in the shoulder again, “Now go do something before I revoke the break.”
“Yes ma’am!”
He ran off and Sam felt two arms wrap around her and pull her into another room. She turned to face her kidnapper and threw her arms around him, covering his face with kisses.
“How long is this break?”
“About half an hour.”
“Good,” Nick said, closing the door behind them and locking it.