After Lance's late night from Irvington, Joey and the rest of the guys hounded him for info. His band mates always had to know the "scoop" on everything. He was smiling more and the guys were taking notice of his happy attitude. They had to know what made their spiky haired friend change in the course of a day. Of course, he didn't tell them anything since they really didn't have the right to know. One of these days, Jayla would meet the guys but when, was the question.
The semester of her senior year had come and gone. She decided to graduate early so that she could figure out what she wanted to do. At age 21, she was still very young to be considering a long time career but she was ready for it. Knowing each other for two months sparked an instant friendship that seemed to grow stronger by the day. She had received a few phone calls from Lance and was beginning to understand why people always said, "I found sanity in talking with someone." Interesting, how things turn out.
A while back, Madame Moreau took the portfolios of those whom wanted to participate in the contest and sent them to Jive Records. Jayla submitted her photos because she figured it couldn't hurt since she didn't know what she would be doing after she graduated. The winner turned out to be a girl named Melia Scott. She had won under a different alias. Jayla wanted to be known for her talent not as someone that knew Lance Bass.
"Lena! Shawn!" Jayla called through her Victorian home that she lived in growing up as a child. She missed everything about her house. She removed her shoes and let her feet sink into the dark blue carpet. The house always had a warm feeling and comforting scent of lilac flowers. The sunlight streamed through the stained glass of the windows making intricate patterns on the carpeted floor. The glossy wooden couch with plush red velvet material was smooth and inviting to the touch. The old floral patterns of the stiff high back chairs were placed neatly around the dining room table with a dark oak grandfather clock standing in the corner that gave a friendly chime every hour.
Two pairs of feet shuffled down the stairs in a mad dash to find out who called them. Jayla turned around at the sight of two figures emerging from the corner. She outstretched her arms as her brother and sister fell into them kissing their foreheads. They drew away with smiles on their faces and eyes glittering with happiness.
"Jay Jay, how come you're here?" Kailena's innocent voice came out in a muffled whispered from hugging Jayla's leg. She patted the small head of brown hair remembering the last time she saw her siblings.
"I wanted to spend time with both of you and I will be leaving on tour with *N Sync in a week. I will call you as often as I can," She promised ruffling her brother's sandy blond hair. Tears hit her pant leg of her jeans as Shawn's blue eyes peered at her with sadness. "It's okay. I'll be back before you know it. I have gifts for you." A pink rectangular box was handed to her sister while a blue envelope was given to her brother.
"No way, courtside tickets to the Knicks!" Shawn exclaimed with his eyes opened wide. Jayla smiled knowing that they both shared the common love of the game. They always had fun going to games.
"Yup, we're going for your birthday in July. Sound good?" He nodded ecstatically and kissed her cheek."I have to call Jared and tell him. Can I?" She winked at him and ushered him to go. Meanwhile, her little sister was proudly showing her brand new doll to her nanny, Bridget, who entered from the parlor. Bridget became a second mom to Jayla and her siblings. Growing up, Bridget filled the position of family when her mother and father were always too busy handling their company. They made phone calls to some people in London looking for nanny to take care of their children and hired Bridget on the spot after hearing about her credentials.
"It's nice to see you, Miss Mackenzie. What brings you here?" Her British accent was soothing and peaceful like she had always remembered during her childhood. Jayla sat down on the velvet couch next to her.
"I'm doing well. I wanted to surprise the little ones before leaving as a musical group's tour photographer next week. I wanted to spend some time with them since I don't know when or how long I will be gone."
"I hope your trip is a pleasant one cause it sounds smashing. Shawn and Kailena will miss you dearly. Don't hesitate to call me, if you need anything. If you'll excuse me, I need to prepare their supper." Pieces of her brown hair lightly framed her face when she moved to get off the couch.
"Thank you, Bridget. I will keep that in mind." Bridget smiled and left the room. "Lena bean, will you come over here?" The small child looked up from her seated position on the floor with her doll cradled in her arms and nodded. She climbed into Jayla's lap holding her new toy to her chest. "Do you like your doll?"
Kailena nodded and hugged it lovingly. "Her name is Sarah."
"Sarah is a pretty name. Take good care of her, okay? You have to be her mommy."
"Okay, Jay Jay. I'll be a good mommy for her."
"That's a good girl." She hugged her sister remembering the way her brown eyes sparkled when she was happy.
"I love you. Will you sing a song to me?"
"I love you too. How about "When You Wish Upon A Star?" Kailena always had a fascination with Jiminy Cricket from Pinnochio. A smile spread across her face burying herself into the comforts of her big sister's arms.
"When you wish a upon star, makes no difference who you are, anything your heart desires will come true..."
The little girl managed to fall asleep after hearing a few bars of the song. She always looked like a little angel when she was sleeping. Jayla was definitely going to miss this when she was gone. Family was incredibly important to her and it was going to be difficult for her to leave them behind.
