"Hello? Anybody home?" Symone called out into the house. Her older sister's car was parked outside, but that didn't mean much. Everyone in the house shared cars, so you could never tell who was home and who wasn't. All of a sudden, the incessant sound of tapping against the wood floors could be heard. It could only mean one thing.
"Poco, Jax! Did you boys miss me?" Symone's two shi-tzu puppies jumped at her legs, and licked her. They were her babies, and she had certainly been longing to see them during the 2 weeks she was away. They followed her into the kitchen, where she gave each of them a snack and they settled down to eat them.
There was a note from her mother and stepfather telling her that they went shopping for a while, and, just in case they missed each other, they would be heading to a party with some people from her mother's job, and would be home late. It was typical of her parents. They were amazing Latin dancers, and never missed an opportunity to show off their skills. They were pretty cool, letting her do a lot of stuff, within reason, and were very supportive of her love for basketball, and her dream to be a radio personality.
She opened the door that led to the garage, and walked back into the heat. The weather was almost too much for her to handle, but she had lived here almost all her life. She was getting used to it, although her hair just couldn't seem to deal with the humidity. What were curls when she was up in North Carolina and Virginia now seemed to be a mass of frizz with a wave to it. It didn't look bad, but she longed for straight hair that wouldn't be as much of a hassle. She rounded the corner, and walked into her room.
It wasn't large, but it wasn't small either. Her stepfather, Emilio, had built it two years before, when her younger brother had come to live with them. After he moved back with his mother, the secluded room was all hers. She loved the way that the room helped her feel separated from the chaos outside its walls. The walls were a sight, to say the least. Around all of the important things, such as her original Hard Days Night poster, her mirror, and her calendar, the room was wallpapered with movie ticket stubs. She had begged her friend that worked at a local theatre to give her the stubs after a busy movie weekend. It had taken a while to put up, but the outcome was amazing. The room was her special place. She put in her new CD, and started to unpack.
"Hey Sym, I thought I heard you come in."
The voice startled her, but she recognized it immediately.
"Nicole! I think you took about 10 years off my life!" Symone smiled at her older sister, and walked to the door to give her a hug. Nicole Hill was a few inches shorter than her 'baby' sister, and she was very beautiful. She had very dark brown eyes, and shoulder length brown hair that was cut into wisps around her face. Her skin was very dark, the result of her father's Jamaican heritage. The result was striking, to say the least. Although they were half-sisters, the two had grown up in the same house since Symone was 5 and Nicole was 11. And, though they were 6 years apart in age, the two were the best of friends.
"Sorry girl, I didn't mean to scare you. How was the trip?" Nicole sat on her sister's bed as Symone started to throw clothes from her bag into her hamper, and put others into drawers.
"Oh, it was great. I can't believe how much fun it was, just driving around, and stopping whenever we felt like it. The concerts were awesome, although that one girl that said she could get us backstage in Philadelphia fell through. But we had a great time, anyway. It gets very loud in those places. We wised up after the first concert and bought a couple of packs of earplugs. You could hear the music a lot better that way." She continued to ramble on about the places they had been and the things that they had seen, with her sister throwing in an occasional question. They sat on the bed for about an hour, just talking and laughing, as usual.
"So, you guys didn't get to meet them like you planned, huh?" Nicole asked, after her sister told her about their day at the beach in Daytona. "Krys must have thrown a fit. I can see her now, coming up with some far-fetched plan to get you guys backstage."
"Well, actually, she did kinda come up with this plan…" Symone's voice trailed off, and her sister gave her a look.
"I knew it. You guys didn't get arrested, did you?"
Symone had to laugh at that one. Her best friend had always had a knack for getting them into trouble, no matter how innocent all of her plans seemed. One time, when they were 12 and 14, Krysti had decided it would be a 'great idea' to spray paint the fence behind her house with their names, and the names of the boys they liked. Not only had the police come, thinking that they were vandals, and both of the girls been grounded by their parents, the whole school heard about the incident, including the boys who's names were on the wall. Symone had thought she would never be more embarrassed.
She turned to Nicole. "Nope, nothing like that. Actually, the plan hasn't really been put into effect yet. But, if it all works out, then we should be meeting them in two days." She proceeded to tell her sister the whole plan. The older woman listened carefully. It sounded like a good idea. Her little sister had actually thought this through, and she hoped the results were favorable.
"As much as I would love for you to get your chance to meet them, don't get your hopes up too high, ok girl? I mean, when is the last time one of Krysti's plans actually worked?" Nicole asked. Symone thought long and hard about that one, and didn't come up with an answer. "See? So, just keep your options open."
"You are still going to the concert, right?" Symone asked Nicole.
Nicole smiled brightly. "Wouldn't miss it. And if I did, I wouldn't ever hear the end of it from Adrienne. Its been 'N Sync this and 'N Sync that for the last month."
"Speaking of which, where is Adrienne?" Symone asked, referring to her 4-year-old niece. Adrienne had definitely gotten her mother's good looks, and was blessed with long, long wavy brown hair that never seemed to frizz. She was the sweetest little girl, and Symone enjoyed playing the role of aunt. Adrienne had been born just 5 days after her 12th birthday, and she always thought of her as a very special present. Nicole although she was only 18 when she gave birth, was an amazing mother, and by the time her daughter turned 1, she had regained every inch of her figure.
Nicole checked her watch. "She should be home in about 15 minutes. Jessica is bringing her home from her swimming class. You should see her, she is like a little fish."
Symone giggled, and then asked; "Well, do you guys want to come with Krysti and I to the mall? We are using the last of the trip money to buy some new clothes, just in case Krys' plan works."
"Sounds good. I'm sure Jesse will want to go. She never misses a chance to go shopping."
Jessica Freeman was one of Nicole's closest friends. She was very tan, and had very curly reddish blonde hair and big green eyes, very pretty. She was about the same height as Krysti, which made her about an inch or 2 shorter than Symone. Jessica was a year younger than Nicole, and she was the biggest party animal any of them knew. She was going to clubs long before she turned 18, and got in by showing a little skin and flirting with the bouncers. It always amazed Symone how her personality could change so quickly; she could go from serious to funny to ditzy to pissed off, all in a matter of moments. Most of the time, though, she was cheerful, and happy, and constantly flirting with every guy she came across. Her 2 favorite pastimes were clubbing and shopping, so she knew that Jesse would be game.
"That's true. Well, I am gonna changed and when they get here, we will go."
"OK, what car are we taking?" Nicole asked
"The Pathfinder, but its parked at Krysti's so we have to walk over there." Symone said looking for a shirt she had just put away a few minutes before.
"Sounds cool." She walked toward the door, and, then, the thought came to her like a flash "Hey Sym, you know how you asked Justin to bring a friend to play 2-on-2?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, who is playing with you? I mean, I know Krysti isn't, she's never been much good at b-ball. So, who's gonna be your teammate?"
Symone turned to face her with her lip out turned and questioning eyes. Nicole's eyes immediately got wide.
"You have got to be kidding, right? You want me to be a party to this?"
Symone spoke up. "Nicole, you are the only person I know that plays basketball as well as I do. I mean, if I didn't have the height advantage you would surely be able to beat me. And, we told him that I was a girl, so he will naturally assume that the other person is a girl. You have to help. I mean, Krysti definitely can't, she's fun to shoot hoops with and all, but she can't really grasp the game. You are our only hope."
It was Nicole's turn to laugh. "OK, I'll do it. Gosh, Sym, you make it sound like a wartime drama. It's just a little b-ball game."
"With Justin and JC." Symone shot back.
"JC?" Nicole's eyes got wider than they had been previously, and her sister was sure that they would fall out of the sockets. It was their little secret that Nicole kinda had a thing for JC Chasez. She never told anybody. She already got enough flack for liking 'N Sync's music, she didn't want to be labeled a 22-year-old teenybopper. "Who said anything about JC?"
"Come on Nic, it's a well-known fact that JC is the next best basketball player in the group. And, we know that Justin is a competitor, so he will definitely get JC to play. You still want in?"
Nicole smiled at her little sister "Wild horses couldn't keep me away!"
"That's the spirit!"
There was a knock at the door, most likely Jessica and Adrienne. Nicole went to answer it and Symone changed into a pair of khaki cargo shorts and a light green shirt with a military fatigue star in the middle.
She walked into the house and greeted Jesse and Adrienne with hugs. The 3 girls walked across the street to Krysti's house, Symone carrying Adrienne piggyback. They knocked on the door, and Krysti came out wearing the same shorts and a similar shirt to her best friend. She took one look at Symone, and turned back into her room, and changed shirts before anybody even got a chance to say hi. She walked back out wearing a bright yellow tee shirt that was probably made to fit an 8-year-old boy, but it looked good on Krysti. She said hi to the group on her doorstep, who were laughing at how alike Krysti and Symone were at times, grabbed her keys and they all got in the car, and headed to the mall.
