Chapter 5 (7 years later. Nick's view. He's 13)
"Nick, are you going to school tomorrow?" Caitlin asked me over the phone.
"Yup. I am all caught up with my work," I replied. I was always missing school due to auditions and stuff like that. I was actually on my way with a big break: I had met up with some guys named AJ and Howie from auditions. Then pretty soon we found a guy named Kevin, who had a cousin named Brian. We actually sounded pretty good together, if I have to say so myself. Caitlin had met AJ and Howie before, but the most recent was Kevin. Brian had arrived two days ago, so she hadnt met him yet. She was coming over tonight to hear us sing together.
"I'm going to leave now, ok?" Caitlin asked me.
"Are you walking?"
"Yup, I'll see you soon." With that, she hung up the phone. Being a nice friend, I decided to meet her on the way. I glanced out the kitchen window and noticed the black storm clouds that loomed above.
"Mom, I'm going to meet Caitlin!" I called.
"OK, Nick. But be careful. Hurry back because it looks like its gonna storm soon," my mom said. I nodded in full understandment and walked out the door. I picked up my pace when I felt the little drops of water. Pretty soon, I was running the four blocks to Caitlin's house and by the time I rounded my corner, I was soaked. I sprinted down another block and saw Caitlin. She, too, was speeding down the street. Her eyes widened when she saw me.
"Caitlin!" I screamed through the loud claps of thunder. I ran so I stood in front of her. We both shivered from the cold. We decided to go back to her house because if we tried to go back to mine, we would get caught in a torrential downpour. I was worried for Caitlin, I knew how petrified of storms she was. We were out of breath by the time we reached her front porch.
"Sorry about the mess," she said as we went inside. We stood there, dripping wet in her foyer until the phone rang. It was Caitlin's mom.
"Hello?" Caitlin asked.
"Caitlin? Are you ok?" she asked, her voice full of worry. She knew Caitlin hated storms.
"Yea, Mom. Nick's here with me."
"Ok, good. I won't be able to make it home tonight. I can't commute in weather like this," her mom said.
"But Mom! Dad's not home either!" Caitlin cried.
"I know, Caitlin. Call Jane and see if you can stay over there tonight, ok?" her mother told her. I watched Caitlin's facial expressions and she said good-bye to her mom. She quickly told me the dilemma and I called my mom. My mother answered on the first ring.
"Hello?" she asked.
"Mom, it's me. I'm at Caitlin's" I told her.
"Oh, thank god."
"Caitlin's mom can't come home from work tonight because of the storm. Can she stay with us tonight?" I asked.
"Of course! I will come pick the two of you up when the storm dies down." She reassured me.
"Thanks, Mom. Bye," I said.
"And Nick?"
"Yea?"
"Make sure Caitlin doesn't get too scared, ok?" my mom asked me.
"Yea, yea Mom. Bye" I said and hung up the phone. I looked over at Caitlin who was clutching my hand tightly. She caught her breath in her throat when lightning lit the room ablaze.
"Don't be scared, ok?" I said, giving her a hug. I felt her nod her head. I tried to calm her down in the living room by talking about video games, but that didn't hold her interest for too long. She changed the subject to the new group I was in. I explained to her who our manager was and how we were going to hit it big. She looked at me in awe.
"What have you guys thought of for a name so far?" she asked me. That was a good question.
"I don't know, yet."
"Well, that's kind of significant when you're in a band, Nick." she joked.
"Oh, shut-up," I retorted, only making her laugh more. I ended up laughing with her. Just then the power went out, and we were sitting on the couch in total darkness. She reached for my arm.
"I'm right here, Caitlin," I told her. She told me where the flashlights were and I ran to get them. When I returned, I saw a dim figure sitting on the couch. I heard Jenny's fine china rattle on the walls due to the vibrating wind.
"Let's go," I said, and dragged her to the basement. Her hand was cold to the touch, not to mention that her hands were shaking she was so scared. The flashlight had led us to the couch in the corner of her basement. We sat there quietly until we heard the rain seize, (ok, until our flashlight died). We weren't surprised to see that the power was still out. Luckily, our eyes had accustomed to the dark, so holding a dead flashlight was pretty stupid. Caitlin calmed down enough so that we were able to hold a real conversation.
"Nick? Are you going to miss more school now with this whole group thing?" she asked me. I nodded my head slowly.
"Caitlin, remember a long time ago we used to listen to a band called The New Kids On The Block?" I asked her. I watched her nod. "Well, we have the same managers as they did. They are determined to make a come-back in the music business. With us." I said.
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