Chapter Three
Larson walked into the arena all set with her ticket. She was grateful to be out of her suits and
in her comfy jeans that were tattered in all the right places and one little
hole in the right knee. She had on flip
flops and a simple tank top. It was
breath of fresh air to be comfy and at a basketball game. She slowly made her way down to her seat
just enjoying the atmosphere.
The crowd was mostly young girls who
were extremely excited to be there. She
smiled wishing she could be that young and innocent again. Then she really thought about it and decided
that she wouldn’t wish to be that age for all the money in the world. She laughed at her own thoughts and let an
usher take her down to her seat.
Apparently JC had given her pretty good seats because she was in special
section by the court in the middle of the action.
She took her seat
and watched the players run up and down the court. She instantly spotted JC on the court. She glanced around for the other members of Nsync, actually
Lance. He was the one she was sure she
could spot. Her best friend was
obsessed with him. Her walls were
covered, the blankets, the works. Larson just wanted a chance to rub it in how
close she was to Mel’s dream man.
Lance was on the
opposing team to JC. It was fun to watch and she really got into the game
talking to the people beside her. They
were contest winners, a mother and a daughter. The other seat next to her was
empty as were others in various spots in their section.
JC ran by slowly and
saw that she was there, he winked and waved quickly before turning back to the
game. She smiled and waved back leaving
her to explain how she knew JC to the mother and daughter.
The first time JC
was able to talk to Larson was during the half time part of the game. His team was sitting just off their section.
“Larson, you made it.” He
said and gulped some water,
“Yeah, I pried myself away from all those stuffy professionals
finally.” She laughed.
“How’d your talk go, any fist fights?”
“Don’t I wish. It went
very well and nobody minded when I walked around the crowd.”
“They didn’t kick you out?”
He teased,
“Not that I know of yet.”
She smirked, “I actually felt more like a talk show host than a guest
speaker.”
“Maybe you missed your true calling in life.” He teased,
“Yeah, that’s it JC. I was
meant to be a talk show host.”
“You could be the next Oprah.”
He smirked and she rolled her eyes with a laugh,
“Yeah, okay. Thanks for
inviting me, this is the first time since I got here that I haven’t worn a
suit. It feels absolutely
wonderful. Plus I get to watch
basketball. Yep, I could say that I’m
close to heaven right now.”
“Close?” He asked,
“I only need those cookies from Irene’s kitchen and yeah I’d
definitely be in heaven.” She smiled,
“Well, I’m sorry we’re fresh out of cookies, but you’re welcome
for the escape.” Larson caught Lance
running by and she let out a giggle, “What?” He asked,
“I was think about how much I get to rub it in Mel’s face that I
was within five feet of her dreamy, steamy, Lanceton.” She smiled mischievously.
“You’re not evil, you’re Satan.”
He teased,
“I’m not Satan,” She protested, “I’m just his secretary.” She said haughtily and JC broke down in
laughter.
Suddenly he looked at Larson, “What?”
“Follow me.” He smirked
and waved her to follow,
“Where am I going?” She
said falling in step with him,
“To up your evilness.” He
winked over at her and Larson followed JC over and back to the locker rooms. He
turned to her, “Wait right here.” He smiled and poked his head in the door for
a few moments talking to someone. He
came back out and leaned against the wall.
“So?” She said crossing
her arms,
“Just wait a minute.”
“Okay.” She said and Lance
popped out of the door.
“Hey C, what did you want?” He asked and Larson couldn’t control herself as she doubled over
in laughter the moment she saw him.
Lance was completely confused as JC started laughing too. “What?
Do I have something on my face?
Who’s this C? JC?” Larson calmed
down a little and looked at JC,
“You’re good. She’s gonna
hate me forever for this.” She said
still giggling,
“I thought you would appreciate it.” He grinned at her.
“JC! What the hell is
going on?” Lance exclaimed and JC turned to him,
“Lance this is my friend Larson Smith. She happens to have a roommate who’s desperately, hopelessly in
love with you.”
“I’d say bordering on obsession, actually.” Larson said and held out her hand to Lance,
“Nice to meet you Lance.”
“Yeah, same here. Why’s it
so funny?” He said shaking her hand,
“Because my roommate’s gonna flip when she finds out that not only
was I within two feet of her Lance, but that I actually touched you AND spoke
to you.” She turned to JC, “I’ll
videotape her reaction and send it to you.
It shouldn’t be missed.” She
joked, “I swear her first question she’ll ask me is if I washed my hand.” She laughed,
“Well, how about a hug, then she’ll really go nuts.” Lance suggested,
“Boy Lance, I just met you and already I love you.”
“Uh oh, the obsession seems contagious.” JC teased,
“It just may be.” She
laughed and Lance held out his arms.
Larson quickly went and hugged him.
“Hey, I spent like two hours in an elevator with you and I didn’t
even get a hug.” JC pouted playfully
and she turned to him.
“Well Lance asked for one.
You never did.” She said poking
him lightly in the arm. “Don’t even
bother, I can’t risk contaminating the Lance essence. I mean he SWEATED on me, I’m worth money.” She kidded,
“That’s harsh Larson.” JC
said and she put her hands on her hips,
“Aww, poor baby. How can I
make it up to you?” She said and he
smiled,
“By coming out and hanging with us tonight. That is, if you can tear yourself away from
all those interesting stiffs you give speeches to.”
“What are you offering?”
She said crossing her arms and cocking her eyebrow,
“We’re just going to a couple of places that are our
favorites. We’ll probably leave around
ten thirty or so.” Larson thought a few
moments,
“I can’t stay out too late, I have an early flight tomorrow but
I’m sure I can escape.”
“Ooo, now your roommate really will hate you. Lance teased.
“Or love me forever because I know you.” She winked.
Larson watched the rest of the game but
had to be called back at the last few minutes of the game. JC gave her the name of the bar they were
going to hit first and told her to be there at 10:30. She didn’t change her outfit much except for to change into nicer
shoes that actually covered her feet.
She arrived at the bat twenty minutes late and hoped that they hadn’t
moved on yet. She didn’t know how she
was going to find him in the huge crowd that was there. She wondered over to the bar and got herself
a drink. Leaning against the wall she
scanned the crowd for any of the guys.
Someone tapped her
shoulder and she looked up to a familiar face.
“Lonnie my stud muffin.
Long time no see! What’s up?”
“The wonder boys wanted to invite you up to their special place.”
He grinned,
“You know from anyone else that phrase would sound really
freaky.” She laughed,
“Come on, Short Stuff.”
“Hey, just because you’re bigger than me doesn’t mean you can call
me names.” Lonnie just shot her a look,
“Well okay, maybe you can.” She joked
cracking a smile from Lonnie.
Lonnie led her up
to where the guys were sitting.
“Larson, you finally made it!”
JC said waving her over,
“Yeah, sorry I got caught up with some people who wanted to talk
to me. I thought I was going to be
there all night.”
“Well we’re glad you’re here now.” Lance smiled. JC pulled out a seat for her and she sat down.
“You know Lance, this is Justin Timberlake and Chris
Kirkpatrick. Joey’s around here
somewhere. You can meet him later. Guys this is Doctor Larson Smith.” JC introduced her and she rolled her eyes,
“Larson is fine.” She
smiled as she shook both of the guys hands,
“You’re a doctor?” Justin
inquired,
“Ph.D., not medical, so don’t get hurt. I can’t do more than put a band aid on things.” She laughed,
Chris smirked, “It’s nice to know that C’s hanging out with a more
intellectual crowd than us buffoons.”
He teased,
“Oh, I don’t know about that.”
She smiled,
“So you were the poor girl that got stuck on an elevator with C
for a couple of hours, I’m sorry.”
Justin teased,
“It could have been worse, I could have been stuck with you.” She teased to which JC grinned,
“Oh! Burned!” Justin
laughed at himself,
“I think the lady deserves a drink for that.” Lance said standing up, “What would you like
Larson?”
“A water would be fine, thank you.”
“No problem, anyone else?”
“I’m good.” JC said as
Justin and Chris both got up,
“I’ll just go with you.”
Justin said,
“And I’m going to go find Joey.
Nice to meet you Doc.” Chris
waved and she waved back,
“You too.” She smiled and
watched the whole troop leave the table.
JC and Larson were left alone and he turned to her,
“You’re not drinking tonight?”
He inquired,
“I don’t feel like it. I
have an early flight tomorrow.”
“Good point. So I never
found out, how’s Sam?”
“He’s good, I miss a lot since he moved out of the district I was
working in. I don’t see him as much.”
“He moved far away?”
“Not really, two districts over, but I miss having him in my class
everyday.”
“You were his teacher?” JC
asked, completely shocked,
“Yeah.”
“Oh, I thought that you were related, you seemed really close.”
“My classroom kids are treated like my own, if I had any. I grow pretty attached to all of them, but I
have to say that Sam was my favorite by far.”
“Do you still teach?”
“No, I just moved into a new position. I’m the head of Special Education Department in the Beverly Hills
School district.”
“Wow, congratulations. Did
you not like teaching?”
“I loved it, but this position gives me control over all the
programs that are run in the district.
So it’s like I’m the teacher of the teachers. It’s a nice job to have.”
“That’s cool.”
“So what about you? I’ve
blabbed on about myself enough.”
“What do you mean me?”
Larson smiled and poked him lightly in the chest,
“You, Mr. JC. All I know
is where you’ve lived and that you’re in Nsync, You know much more about me, so even up the score, baby.”
“I don’t know, what do you want to know about me?”
“Hmm, favorite painting, or even if you like art.”
“Um, okay.” He thought a
minute, “Starry Night, by Van Gogh.”
“Are you serious?” She
asked,
“Yeah. Why? Do you think it’s dumb?” He frowned slightly,
“No, I love that painting.
It’s my absolute hands down favorite painting in the whole wide
world. That’s amazing.” She laughed and he smiled,
“Yeah, it seems that we have more in common than we thought.”
“Okay, tell me more about yourself. Oh, I know, tell me something that you would never say in an
interview.”
“Actually I’ve got a funny story about that…”
Larson and JC ended
up talking for the rest of the night, almost completely ignoring the fact that
they were in a club. Larson ended up
getting back to her hotel room much later than she wanted to, but decided that
the new friends she had made were worth it.