The Way You Said Hello ~ Chapter Two

God, what a day! Three tests and yet another term paper due. I had been up until three o'clock in the morning the night before, trying to get everything done. I fell asleep during calculus and microbiology, and caught myself about to nod off during English. I wasn't even sure I was going to make it home without falling asleep at the wheel. Luckily, I didn't.

As soon as I walked into my house, I made a mad dash to my bedroom. Well, as much of a mad dash as I could make while still running on only three hours of sleep. I was out like a light in less than a minute.

When I woke up two hours later, I started my homework. Luckily, I didn't have much, and after only a half an hour I was done - it must have been some kind of record for me! I walked into the kitchen and plopped myself down at the kitchen table. "Damn it, Dad!" I said, out loud, to myself. "When are you going to stop putting the newspaper on my chair?" As I picked it up to move it, I glanced at the front page of the Entertainment section. A headline caught my eye.

"Backstreet Boys to come in concert," I read. All right! I kept reading: "Teen pop sensations the Backstreet Boys will perform at the Ice Palace in downtown Tampa on December thirtieth. They'll be singing all of their hits, such as 'Quit Playing Games,' 'As Long As You Love Me,' 'Everybody,' 'I'll Never Break Your Heart,' 'All I Have to Give,' and more. Tickets go on sale tomorrow at five o'clock and can be bought through all Ticketmaster outlets. Expect them to sell out quickly."

I smiled to myself and started to grow excited. Tomorrow was Friday, so I could head downtown to Ticketmaster and get in line as soon as school got out. Maybe Gillie and Eilene would go with me. I'd ask Ryan too. I wasn't going to try to call through the phone because, honestly, I had zero chance of getting good seats that way. And I wanted GOOD seats.

Speaking of the Backstreet Boys, I wondered what was going on in that chat room of Ryan's. I booted up my computer and logged on. There were only a few people there, and I didn't know any of them. I was about to leave when I got a private message. In retrospect, I can safely say that the instant I got that message was the instant my life changed.

Someone I had never heard of before messaged me and said, "Hey…umm could you help me out with something?"

"Sure, what can I help you with?" I typed quickly, preparing to leave the chat room as soon as I was done with this person.

"Well, I think I have the email address of one of the Backstreet Boys, and I was wondering if it was real or not."

I raised an eyebrow. You've got to be kidding me. "Which Backstreet Boy?"

"AJ."

Okay, now this girl definitely had my attention.

My mind worked quickly, putting the pieces together. I knew that whoever this person was had no idea who I was and was just looking for help. Probably some twelve-year-old who was obsessed with these five guys she would never meet. When people love something blindly, they grasp at whatever chance they can get to, somehow, get closer. They do this because it gives them hope, however momentary or fleeting. This girl wanted, needed, reassurance that there was some chance she was ever going to come in contact with a Backstreet Boy. The least I could do was give this hope to her, even if it was a lie.

"Well, what's the address?" I typed.

"I can't tell you that…It could get spread around and then everybody would know it."

So that was how it was going to be, was it. I blew out a breath of air through pursed lips. "Listen, first of all, I won't tell anyone," I typed. "And I can find out for you if it's real or not."

"How?"

Time for the big lie. I slowly typed, "My best friend's uncle works for an internet company. He can find out for you if it's real." Well, there it was. A lie, but a lie wrapped in hope for this person and for me.

The girl gave me "AJ's" e-mail address, and I left. I never heard from her again. I never even learned her name. I wish I could have, so that I could thank her for everything. I could never have thanked her enough.

That night I wondered what to do with this new information. Should I send an e-mail? Should I just ignore it and follow my skeptical instincts-believing that it could never be real?

"For once in your life, Rebecca Jane Hammer, take a chance and *live* a little," I said to myself with conviction. I sat at my computer and began to compose the most important e-mail I would ever write. I talked aloud as I wrote.

"Hello," I began. "You don't really know me, but don't think about that right now. I was told that you, or rather the person this e-mail address belongs to, is AJ McLean. However, I don't really believe that at all. I did want to give it a try, though. So for the purpose of appearing civil, I'll pretend you're really who you claim to be. So, Alexander James, I have something to tell you. How many times have you heard it - a thousand? A million? Probably more. But I'm going to say it because it's true: I'm a big fan. I'm not writing this letter to get a response, but rather to prove to myself that I'm crazy to be writing it in the first place. However, if you're for real, I'd love to hear from you. Yours, Becky." I clicked SEND, and…poof…it was gone, flying through cyberspace at a million miles per second to end up in the e-mail box of a total stranger. Funny how these things work.

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Continue to chapter three

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