Chapter 9
"WAKE UP!" Howie yelled in my ear as I groaned in pain.
"Evil!"
I whined as I opened my eyes. I rolled around, finding
my water gun, "HA!
Take that!" I said squirting water at Howie's face.
"AHH! Caisse
I'm going to kill you!" Howie said wrestling with me.
"You'll have
to get past the water gun first Howard!" I said in a fit of laughter.
"Oh
okay!" He said as we stopped moving. His hair
soaking wet as I stared
him down.
"Hey Maranda these are good," A.J. said as I turned
around
to see A.J. reading my poem book.
"Don't touch that!" I yelled
in nervousness.
"Oh my God, these…there about Nick aren't they?"
Howie asked sitting aside A.J. as they read my book.
"Um…no?"
I asked as they rolled there eyes.
"Wait a minute, Howie why are you rolling
your eyes?"
"Because everyone knows you're in love with Nick, it's
so
obvious," he said with a shrug. My mouth wide open I
grabbed my
book from them.
"Both of you never saw this," I said in anger.
I threw down
my water gun and walked up to the front.
"Come on M,
they are really good! Can I read them?" A.J. asked
sitting next to me
in the front. I looked back and saw Howie brushing
his hair as I rolled my eyes.
"No
A.J., this is like my whole heart, this one
thing," I holding the book to
my chest.
"Maranda, that's why I want to read it," he said with
a grin. I
looked out the window thinking hard…couldn't hurt right?
"I
guess so," I said handing it to him.
"What's that?" Nick asked.
"Maranda's
poem book!" A.J. said as I hit him hard.
"You write poetry?"
Nick asked sipping his coke.
"Have since I can remember," I mumbled.
"How
come I've never gotten to see it?" Nick asked.
"It's personal,"
I said with a sigh.
"Oh but A.J. gets to read it? Okay I see, excuse
me," Nick
said rolling his eyes as he walked to his bunk.
"Oh
boy," A.J. whispered, "I'm going to go to my bunk and read this okay?"
"Kay,"
I said with a nod. I watched A.J. leave, then
looked out onto the road as the
cars passed…
~*~*~*~
"Food stop!" Garry said stopping the
bus.
"Nick where's Krys?" I asked hoping I'd get an actual answer.
"She's
sick, she's staying on the bus," Nick said walking past
me in anger. 'He
shouldn't be so upset, I mean some things
he shouldn't know right?' I thought.
"What's
wrong with her?" I asked.
"Stomach bug," Howie said walking
as I sighed.
"Look there's an amusement park!" A.J. said
excitedly.
I grinned and walked over to him.
"Can we go?" Howie asked Lou.
"I
guess so we're not on a tight schedule today," he said
as we all jumped
up and down happily.
"How long can we stay?" Kevin asked.
"Only
an hour or two okay?"
"OKAY!" We all said running to the park.
~*~*~*~
"Come
test your luck!" The bulky man said as I
jumped up and down.
"Nick
go do that!" I said as he shook his head.
"I am not going to go
ring that stupid bell!" He whined.
"Cause you can't," I said
getting that sly grin on my face.
I knew if I called him chicken or anything
close to it he would do
it.
"Fine, not because you said that because
I want
to!" Nick said stepping up to the bell.
"Hey ya go son,
two tries," the man said handing
Nick the mallet.
"Go Nick!"
I said clapping happily. He swung and hit it up to
'wimpy.' I held in my laughter
as I clapped and waited
for him to swing again.
"You can do it!"
I said as Nick sighed. He swung as I saw the
look of determination on his face,
the bell ringing at the top as we
jumped excitedly. He spinned me around as
everyone
cheered around us.
"I told you I could do it!" Nick
said as the man
handed him his prize. "Want it?"
"I think
we should give it to Krys and tell her how
much of a macho man you are!"
I said in laughter.
"Oh yeah! We should be heading back anyways!"
Nick said as
I looked at his watch on his wrist.
"Come on, they're
probably waiting for us!"
~*~*~*~
As we walked across the street
I saw everyone, including
Jerry outside the bus.
"What's going on?"
Nick asked.
"Krystal wants you guys in there," Jerry said as the
guys nodded.
"She looked pissed you guys," Brian said as I sighed.
We walked
on the bus as I set down Nick's doll for Krys.
"Krys?"
I asked as I saw her get out of her bed.
"Took you guys long enough
to get here," she said as I looked at
her. She had a look of rage on her
face that scared me.
"What's wrong babe?" Nick asked also in a
look of fear.
"What the hell is this?" She asked holding up…my
poem book.
"I don't know, Maranda what is it?" Nick asked.
"Where
did you find that?" I asked walking up to her.
"On A.J.'s bed,
how dare you write these things, I thought
we were best friends!" She screamed.
"Give
it back Krystal," I said trying to take my book.
"What the hell
is in it?" Nick asked.
"Oh you want to here a poem Nick?"
She asked opening it
and started to read, "Your voice makes my heart skip
a beat,
your singing is the one thing that makes it race.
Your beautiful sensual
ocean eyes entrance me, and your lips
full and pure are what lure me in. I love
you for your soul and passion,
I love you for the man you are, and what you will
become. You are
my life, my past and my future, and you are the reason I breathe,
and the reason I love."
As Krystal read, I saw Nick's face turn
to shock and confusion.
"Need more?" She asked.
"Stop
Krys!" I said grabbing the book from her as she pushed me away.
"You
two have kissed as well? Your stupid poems said
everything!" She screamed
as I started to cry.
"No one was supposed to read it," I said quietly.
"You
love him?" She asked me angrily. I stood there,
bawling my eyes out, "I
said do you love him?"
"Yes," I said quietly.
"What?"
"Yes
okay!" I yelled wiping my tears. "If it wasn't for me you
two wouldn't
of even met and believe me every day I regret it!"
I never thought Krystal
would be so mean, and so anger-driven,
that day she punched me, right in the
eye. I fell to the ground as she held
her hand.
"Krystal that was
totally uncalled for!" Nick said trying to help me up.
"Nick, choose
now, me or it," she said as I held my bleeding face.
"You can't
do this to me," Nick said shaking his head.
"You do it now, either
I leave or she does," she said as I shook my head.
"I'm sorry I
caused you two pain, I'll go, I'm sorry," I said grabbing
my book and running
off the bus.
"Maranda?" A.J. asked running after me.
"Leave
me A.J.! This is all your fault!" I yelled as I tripped and fell
onto
the concrete. I laid there as A.J. sat down next to me catching his breath.
"What
did I do? What happened?" He asked confused.
"Krystal found my
poem book today, on your bed and I got
punched in the face and thrown off the
bus losing one of my
best friends and my one true love!" I yelled through
my sadness.
"I'm sorry Maranda, I didn't mean to…" A.J. said as
I heard Lou's voice.
"A.J. we're leaving come on!" Lou yelled to
him.
"Go," I demanded.
"We should take you to a bus
stop or something, we can't
just leave you like this," A.J. said picking
me up.
"What is she doing on this fucking bus A.J.!" Krystal
yelled as I sat up
in front next to Jerry.
"Shut up she's going to
a bus stop!" A.J. said looking for some ice.
"Brian can you get some
bandages or something, anything?"
"Yeah sure," he said quietly.
I could hear Nick and Krystal
yelling at each other in the back, my tears welling
up in my eyes as
I brushed the hair out of my face.
"Are you okay
Maranda?" Jerry asked looking at me quickly.
"I'll be okay Jerry,"
I said as A.J. walked over to me and
sat down. "Here, for your eye,"
he said as I put it on my eye.
"I am so sorry I didn't think she'd go look
for anything on my
bed," he explained as I nodded.
"A.J. it's
okay, I'm glad that they finally know," I said as Brian
sat down next to
me.
"Ouch, just looking at you makes me hurt," Brian said as I sighed.
"Thanks."
"Oh
no problem, let me play doctor on you now," he said as I
looked back at
Nick and Krystal. Nick had so many
emotions, I couldn't tell what he was feeling,
which saddened
me a little more. He suddenly looked over at me with sadness,
regret in his eyes as I looked away.
I didn't think I'd see them ever
again after that, but I did…not so long after.
