Written by : Nikki .
Nikki woke the next morning around 10:30. She made her way to the kitchen to find Jaqs waiting for her at the table, eating a banana and a bowl of cereal.
"Morning Sunshine," she said.
"Yeah," Nikki grumbled. She wasn't much of a a morning person. Nikki grabbed a bowl of her own, filling it with "Corn Flakes" and then plopped down beside Jacquie to eat. After a few minutes, Jacquie went to take her shower first. She said she'd give Nikki some time to wake up.
Nikki's mind started to wander when she heard the shower start up. She thought about Liss and Fayth, about what their new roommate Alexis was like, the Charity event and the big surprise her friends had planned for her. Between these thoughts her mind also strayed to the dark haired man at the beach: Who was he? Why was he there by himself? what was it that caused him to look so sad and where had he disappeared to so fast? Something about him drew her like a moth to a flame...and now she'd never see him again.
"Well, that figures...my luck with men being so wonderful," she whispered to herself, rather sarcastically.
Unaware that 20 minutes had passed, she was startled when Jacquie walked into the kitchen wrapped in a towel, and said, "Tricks, you can jump in the shower....I saved you some hot water."
Three minutes after stepping into the shower, Nikki was bombarded with ice cold water.
"JACQUIE!!!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.
A few seconds later, Jacquie came running into the bathroom.
"What?"
Nikki whipped open the shower curtain and threw a handful of cold water onto her friend.
"I thought you said you saved some hot water?"
Jacquie screeched when the water hit her, "Tricks, I swear I wasn't in here that long."
Nikki noticed the sly grin on her friend's face. "Sure you weren't....get out of here before I pull you in with me and turn you into a popsicle too!"
Minutes later, Nikki was pink with cold and full of goosebumps while she dressed. Jaqs came into the guest room, ready to go, to tell her to take a dressy outfit with her to Lissa and Fayth's.
"What's going on?" She asked Jacquie.
"I talked to Fayth while you were in the deep freeze and she told me that Liss wanted to hit that new club I was telling you about. If we just take our stuff with us, we can get ready there and all drive together."
"That's cool," Nikki replied, "Umm....what are you taking?"
Jacquie's face crimped a bit, "I'm not sure." She thought for a moment, "Oh! I know...I'll wear my bright orange tub top and my jersey hip huggers." Jacquie turned tail and ran to her room to get the outfit she'd been speaking of. She reappeared seconds later with the top and pants. She held them up for Nikki's inspection.
"Whooo Hoooo....you go girl!" Nikki whistled.
"I do try," Jaqs said, striking a pose.
Both girls laughed. Nikki rummaged in her suitcase and pulled out something in bright red.
"Is this okay?" she asked Jaqs, turning with a red linen sheath in her hands.
"That's perfect, Tricks," Jacquie said, fingering the light fabric. "And you look great in red."
The two rounded up a supply of toiletries, cosmetics and shoes and headed out the door. On the way, they stopped to pick up Nikki's pictures. Back on the road Jacquie made a grab for them but Nikki pulled them out of her reach.
"Hey," Jaqs whined, reaching across Nikki for the pictures again, "let me see!"
Nikki slapped Jacquie's hand away, " No! You're driving."
"So?"
"Believe me Jaqs, these guys are so fine, you may just wreak the car."
Jacquie growled, "Now I want to see them even more."
"Well, you'll just have to wait," Nikki replied, the most evil grin on her face, all the while she was waving the pictures in front of Jacquie's face.
"Quit it!" Jaqs yelled, a sour look taking over her expression.
"Wook who's getting gwumpy, " Nikki cooed, pinching Jacquie's cheek.
Jaqs gave her friend a very nasty look. Nikki laughed all the way to Lissa and Fayth's apartment.
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Jaqs and Nikki climbed the steps to Lissa, Fayth and Alexis' apartment. Their friends lived on Maple Drive, right off of the USF campus. It was a modest apartment that housed the three girls comfortably. Jacquie knocked on the door and it opened to reveal Fayth in a lovely green facial mask.
"Cracker Jaqs...Trickster!" she screamed, stepping forward to wrap Jacquie and Nikki in a big bear hug.
"Run Tricks! It's the creature from the Black Lagoon!" Jacquie yelled, stepping back from the doorway quickly.
Nikki held up her hands to fend Fayth off, " Back off Brat, I don't want any of that goop on me."
"Oh, you guys....," Fayth waved her friends into the room, "get in here."
The three entered the apartment as one. Fayth told them to make themselves comfy while she went to wash her face off. She reappeared a little later in shorts and a tank top with her light brown hair pulled up in a ponytail. The three friends got caught up while waiting for Lissa and Alexis to get home. Fayth told Jacquie and Nikki about the class she was taking during the summer and about Lissa volunteering at Tampa Memorial Hospital.
That's how Lissa and Fayth had met...through the hospital. Fayth had volunteered during her first quarter, she was attending USF to be a veterinarian. She and Lissa had been assigned a shift together and found out they were both in the medical field since Lissa was attending college to be a nurse. The two became fast friends and got an apartment together. They needed a third for rent and they just happened to run into Jacquie, who was posting a "wanted" add for roommates at the local coffee shop hangout. The three had been inseparable till Jaqs had had to move. After Jacquie had gone, they found Alexis, who was a history major, at that very same coffee shop.
An hour later, Lissa Andrews walked through the apartment door with Alexis Parker. Lissa ran into the open arms of her waiting friends.
"I missed you guys so much!"
"You see me every day, Lissa," Fayth mumbled from the middle of the group hug.
Lissa lightly tapped the younger girl on the top of the head, "Not you, corncob."
Nikki noticed Alexis standing alone and looking a bit ignored. Walking over she gave the girl a tight hug, "You must be Alexis, it's wonderful to finally meet you."
After a second, Alexis hugged the strange girl back. " Since I already know Jacquie, you must be Nicole. It's great to meet you too."
At that point Fayth started shooshing Lissa and Alexis to change so the group could get to the park.
"Ok, Ok, Brat...We're going," Lissa said. Turning to Alexis, she mimicked Fayth, "We'd better hurry...we only have ALL day."
Fayth picked up a toss pillow off of the couch and hit Lissa in the face with it. Lissa looked at her youngest friend in shock.
Before Lissa could say anything, Fayth pointed toward the bathroom and said. "Go. Now."
Lissa just rolled her eyes and pushing Alexis in front of her, went off to change.
After everyone was ready, all five girls piled into Lissa's Explorer and made their way to Busch Gardens. They ran into Fayth's friend Esther while they entered the park. The doll she was, Esther snuck them all in without paying. For nine hours they had the best time. They played games, Nikki was obsessed with the ski-ball machines, rode the rides and totally pigged out on junk food. Nikki and Fayth bought two of those crazy cat-in-the-hat hats and ran around the park in them. Alexis was laughing so hard she had to pick up one of those disposable cameras and get pictures of them. Jacquie and Lissa refused to be seen with the two and walked ten paces ahead of them, but when Nikki, Fayth and Alexis skipped by singing "We're Off To See The Wizard", they joined in the fun. Around nine o'clock they decided they'd better head back so they could start getting ready to go out.
"With five girls..this may take awhile, " Lissa commented.
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They made Fayth take her shower first since she took the longest to get ready. When she was finally finished, she walked into the living room dressed in a French blue, sleeveless shell and mini skirt. Her long brown hair was pulled into a twist and her green eyes were sparkling.
"Can you believe it guys," Fayth looked at her silver watch, "I got ready in under an hour."
Cheers went up around the room. Jaqs went in next. She came out dressed in her bright orange tube top and black hip huggers. Her hair was sleek and straight, like a curtain against her shoulders. Cat calls and whistles greeted her as she walked into he room. Being the "ham" she was, Jaqs did a little boogie around the couch where her friends were sitting.
Next up was Lissa. She reentered the living room in a long sleeved boatneck top in apple green paired with a long white skirt with a side slit. Her shoulder length brown hair hung loose in soft curls.
"She looks like a box of "Apple Jacks," Fayth said, which earned her a smack from each of the other girls. "ALL RIGHT...I'm sorry," she whined.
Alexis got ready after Lissa, she stepped back in the room wearing a black spaghetti strapped dress with rich embroidery and fringe at the bottom. She had her red hair pulled into a loose twist with wispy bangs.
"Look at the hot salsa woman," Jacquie hooted.
"Shaddup Jaqs," Alexis laughed back.
Nikki was finally able to get her shower, and for the second time that day she ended up a popsicle. She opened the shower curtain and yelled, "Remind me never to go last again!" She could hear the giggles, even with the shower running. While Nikki was putting on the finishing touches to her makeup, she heard Jacquie yelling her name.
"Tricks?"
"Yeah?" she yelled back.
"Where are those pictures at? All of us want to see."
"They're in my purse, Jaqs."
It was mere seconds later that four very distinct screams split the air.
"OH MY GAWD!" : Jaqs
"HOLY SNICKERS BARS!" : Fayth
"NO WAY!" : Lissa
"I GOTTA BE SEEING THINGS!" : Alexis
Nikki knew they had gotten to the pictures of the guys, but she wasn't expecting the next outburst from all four of them at once.
"TRICKS!!!!"
Nikki ran into the living room to find Jacquie, Lissa, Fayth and Alexis with shocked looks on their faces. "What is wrong with you four?" Nikki demanded. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."
Jacquie looked at her friend with a long face, "Why didn't you tell me?"
Nikki was puzzled, "Tell you what?"
"Oh, come on Nikki...you know," Lissa said, tapping a long fingernail against the picture she was holding.
"No, I don't....what are you talking about?" Nikki replied.
Fayth, Lissa, Jacquie and Alexis all looked at each other, perplexed.
"She's clueless," Alexis said.
"She couldn't be," Fayth murmured, staring at the picture in her hand.
Nikki started to get annoyed. Crossing her arms, she looked at her friends, "You can stop talking over my head anytime now...and tell me what the HECK you're all babbling about."
All four girls held up the pictures they were holding, Nikki noticed they were the pics that she'd taken of A.J., Brian, Nick and Howie.
"Okay...you're getting all excited over the guys that I met at the beach?"
"These are the guys from the beach?" Jacquie screamed.
"My GAWD, Tricks! You met them?," Fayth yelled, jumping up and down.
Lissa noticed the totally lost look on Nikki's face and grabbed Fayth's arm to quiet her. "Maybe you'd better explain Jacquie," she stated.
"You have no idea who these guys are, do you Tricks?." Jaqs asked her friend.
"No," Nikki grumbled, tapping her heeled foot lightly.
"These guys you just happened to run into are the Backstreet Boys," Jacquie said.
"The who?"
"Nikki!" Fayth pulled Nikki to the couch and went to pop a video into the VCR. She turned on the tv and sat down beside Nikki on the couch. The other three girls made a line just behind the sofa. Fayth hit the play button on the remote control. The screen flashed to a scene with five young men sitting in stools, illuminated by soft blue lights. Nikki recognized them all as the camera cameoed each one...A.J., then B-Rok, Nick, Howie and......
"It's him," Nikki gasped.
Nikki felt Jaqs hand on her shoulder, "That's Kevin."
She turned to look Jacquie in the eyes, "And they're pretty famous?"
Lissa and Jaqs exchanged a meaningful look.
"Yeah, they are," said Lissa.
"You know that BIG surprise we had planned for you?" Jaqs asked her friend, and Nikki nodded. "Well, the Boys are the ones who organized this Saturdays benefit. Brian is highly active in the AHA and Howie actually started a Lupus Foundation in his sisters memory. Maura and I get to interview them at the benefit and I was going to weasel your way into meeting them."
"Guess the surprise is blown, " Alexis stated.
Fayth chuckled, "As if it would have mattered...Tricks has no idea who they are."
Lissa bent her head down near Fayths and murmured loud enough for all to hear, "Fayth, Tricks can't help it her nose is stuck in a computer screen 16 hours a day."
Nikki rolled her eyes at the two girls, "Shut up you two." She looked back to Jacquie, "Sorry to ruin the surprise Jaqs. Honestly, I didn't talk to them that long."
"Then it will be like the first time Saturday," Alexis said, a bit of enthusiasm in her voice.
Lissa stood and wrapped an arm around Alexis, "That's right, Lex."
Fayth glanced at her watch once more, "Whoa guys, it's already 11:00, we'd better get our butts down to the club before we miss all the hot guys."
"Such tragedy is forbidden," Jacquie announced in her best dramatic voice.
The room burst into giggles.
Nikki mimicked her friend's dramatic tone, "So declares Empress Chick," quoting Jacquie's online name.
The laughter didn't stop till they reached "Camelot."
[ Chapter Seven ]
