"What?" Jess poked her head out her door in disbelief and looked at her mom, who stood at the foot of the stairs.
"Pack something for every occasion, alright?" Her mother added. "Gone about a week or two."
"Every occasion?" Jess grinned devilishly.
"Jessica," Her mother warned.
"Wha-at?" Jess whined. "Where we goin', anyway?"
Iris Thayer took a deep breath. "Washington, D.C."
"D.C.?" Jess grinned. "For real? What for?"
"You'll see...Just pack!" Mrs. Thayer took a deep breath. This was going to be the hardest thing she'd ever done in her life.
"Ok! Works for me!" Jess laughed and went to her room, switching on her CD player and turning to number seven on her newest *N Sync CD, No Strings Attached.
She jacked it up loud and sang along as she threw preppy outfits, skater chic outfits, sporty outfits, slutty outfits, and a few outfits suitable for clubbing into her favorite bag. She also, for some odd reason, felt the urge to grab her diving bag and her dance bag, too, in case she needed to relieve some stress.
"Ready, Mom, but why are we going?" Jess asked as she lugged her three bags down the stairs.
"You'll know soon, baby," Mrs. Thayer sighed.
"Are you ok, Mommy?" Jess asked, worried.
"I'll be fine, I hope. I love you, ok?" Mrs. Thayer grabbed a bag and ran out the door.
"Ok," Jess said to the empty room. "I love you, too, Mom, but you're weirding me out, majorly."
She sighed and ran back upstairs to grab her soccer bag. She got the feeling she's need to relieve some killer stress down there.
"Whatever this road trip is for, Mom, I better not have any surprises I don't want. I don't know if I can handle it," Jessica said aloud as she looked out the window of her room at her mother, scurrying about.
Jess ran down to the car and piled all her stuff in quietly, ponytail bobbing.
"Jess," Her mother said once they were on the road and had about two hours behind them.
"Yeah, Mom?" Jess pulled her headphones off and looked over at her tired and worn mother.
"Always remember I love you, no matter what, ok?" Mrs. Thayer said quietly. This was going to be so hard. So, so hard. "Whatcha listenin' to?" Mrs. Thayer decided to keep things light.
"*N Sync," Jess grinned at her mom. "You should know that by now!"
Iris Thayer grinned. "Yeah, I should. Tell me, who all is in this *N Sync group?"
"Um, well...There's Justin Timberlake, Joey Fatone, Lance Bass, Chris Kirkpatrick," Jessica began.
Her mother nodded. "One more?"
"Yeah, his name is JC Chasez," Jess nodded.
Her mother nearly passed out, but recovered in time to jerk the wheel back onto the right lane of the highway. "What does JC stand for, you know?"
Jessica was worried, but she nodded. "Joshua Scott Chasez."
"Oh, God," Mrs. Thayer shook her head.
"What?" Jessica asked.
"Does he seem like a nice boy? What about his parents? Is he good at singing? Can I hear him?" Mrs. Thayer shot out.
"He seems cool. I don't know a thing about this parents. He can sing like nobody's business, and sure you can hear him," Jess shrugged and put the CD into the car's CD player, turning to number six, This I Promise You.
"He sings the second verse, Mum," Jess said. "Hold on a second."
"Is this group very popular?" She asked.
"You have no idea!" Jessica laughed. "I just know the music and their names! Some girls know their birthdays and are practically stalkers! This is him! And then-"
"Hush, I want to hear him," Her mother interrupted, turning the music up loud. "I want to hear more!" Her mother proclaimed when the song was over.
"Ok," Jessica shrugged and turned to number ten, That's When I'll Stop Loving You.
"Second verse again?" Mrs. Thayer asked.
"Yeah," Jessica nodded.
"He's good. But can he sing a fast song?" Mrs Thayer asked.
"You betcha," Jessica laughed. She could not believe her mother was listening to *N Sync with her. "How 'bout this one. Second verse again." She turned it to It's Gonna Be Me.
"He's wonderful," Her mother proclaimed.
"I thought you didn't like this kind of music," Jessica asked, curiousity getting the best of her.
"Well, JC being in *N Sync has changed my mind," Iris Thayer shrugged coolly, suddenly becoming distant. "JC is a very very important boy."
Whatever this trip was about, Jessica was certain JC was somehow tied in, and that kind of scared her. JC Chasez? Involved in something with me? Impossible. Jessica decided.