21 days before the tour kicks off...
~~~Day 3 in Orlando~~~
“Hello, I’m Fatima Robinson!”
“Wow, nice to meet you! I’m Alyssa!”
“Hey, I’m Michelle”
“I’m Becky”
“Summer”
“Hi, I’m Morgan”
“Well, it’s a pleasure ladies.. I’ve heard nothing but good from Ralph and nothing but bad from the boys”
“OH, real shock!” Michelle rolled with her eyes at AJ.
Fatima started laughing “But I’m leaning towards believing all the good.. the boys are just a bit.. well.. strange..”
“Oh, thanks Fatima! You’re a real friend!” Brian shouted from the other side of the gym.
“OK, so, Ralph gave me a tape with your songs on it, and first of all, GREAT music! I like
History (That’s What You Are) a lot!”
“It’s gonna be our first single”
“Great choice! Not too Britney Spears, not too 702, Destiny’s Child either!”
“Thanks!”
“Anyway.. I’ve made up some choreography for History (That’s What You Are) and Do You Know already, so I’ll start the music and show you, and then you’ll try and do it yourselves!”
“OK”
“Oh, do you have dancing experiences?”
“Yea, we all do”
“Great!” Fatima sighed of relieve.
“HEY FATIMA!!”
“You guys have to stop interfering!!”
“Yea, well, do we have to stay and watch them dance for some boring hours, or can we go play B-Ball outside?!”
“NO! I want you guys to stay! Besides.. what’s so horrible about watching these attractive girls dance?!”
“EVERYTHING!!!”
Fatima turned to the girls “What did you do to make ‘em hate you so much?!”
“I dunno, we must’ve looked the wrong way or something” Morgan shrugged her shoulders.
“Well, do you mind if they go?”
“NO!! Please let them go if they want! They’ll only distract us!”
“OK” she turned back to the guys “HEY YOU GUYS.. YOU DO KNOW THIS ARE PROBABLY THE FIRST GIRLS IN 6 YEARS TIME WHO ACTUALLY HATE YOUR GUTS?”
Nick stuck out his tongue at her and they walked off to the Basketball court.
“This is new..” Fatima mumbled to herself, she had never seen the guys so.. upset.. with some girls who weren’t impressed by them.. she had never seen girls who weren’t impressed by them.. anyway.. they guys acted weird, even weirder than usual..
“OK, here we go!”
~~~An hour later~~~
They were working on the choreography for an hour now and it went great.
“OK, you think you got that?!”
“Yea”
“Well, let’s quit now then and go on tomorrow, can one of you get the guys?”
“Yea, I’ll go” Alyssa said, knowing that she’d probably be the one who’d act the nicest.
“I’ll go with” Morgan offered.
***
They were mixed up in playing B-Ball for an hour now and it was getting boring..
“Damn.. how long do they take to get a routine right?!”
“Yea, I bet they’re still working on the first move!”
the guys proceeded dissing the girls’ dancing skills, when Alyssa and Morgan came out on the court.
“Ahem..” Alyssa coughed.
“Oh wow, you’re ready?!”
Alyssa just gave them a look that could kill.
“Did you actually get the first step right?”
“You’ll see..” Morgan said.
“Yea, I’m looking forward to it”
“Even though I REALLY enjoy our childish quarreling, Fatima is waiting for you guys..”
Nick took the ball under his arm and they walked off. Followed by Alyssa and Morgan.
***
“So what happened between you and the guys?”
“I seriously don’t know..”
“Oh, well, I’m sure they’ll change... eventually..”
The boys and Alyssa and Morgan came back in.
“Good! You got rid of all the hatred that was blocking your energy?”
They looked at Fatima with frowned eyebrows.
“Well, Sit down, I want you to look at what me and the girls have achieved in this hour!”
They groaned and sat down on the bench.
The first single of Phantasia pumped through the gym and the girl started dancing to the beat.
“See!! Aren’t they great?!”
“Yea, wow, we’re stunned, they can actually put one foot in front of the other!”
“Guys, stop it..”
Even though they didn’t want to.. they had to admit that Phantasia did know how to dance..
it brought back many painful memories of their first encounter with Fatima.. they just downright sucked when they first worked with Fatima.. yup, their dancing had come a long way since then..and these ditzes got it right within the hour and for 2 songs!! It pissed them off royally.. just the fact that the girls not even showed spurs of impression by them.. and that they were so genuinely talented.. it was.. obnoxious!!
~~~30 minutes later~~~
Alyssa sighed once again “Man, how long does it take them to get a move right?”
“Probably 3 hours”
“Yea..”
The song ended and Michelle ran up to Fatima..
“Hey Fatima! Can we go? This is really boring..”
“Sure!”
“OK, thanks!”
“We’ll be outside if you need us!!” Summer shouted.
“Oh, I DOUBT we will ever need you!!” Kevin shouted back.
“LIKEWISE!!!!”
Fatima laughed.
“What?!?” 10 people asked surprised.
“Oh, it’s just that.. it seems to me.. you guys and girls need each other more than you realize!!”
“Yea, sure, whatever.. we’re playing B-Ball outside” Becky said, while the girls exited the gym.
“As if you will get one ball in the hoop!”
“Shut up” she just said back.
***
“Come on Morgan, concentrate!! We’re losing from those ditzes!!”
“Geez Michelle, you can try to put some more effort in your game too!”
After playing probably the worst basketball game ever, they said down in the center of the court.
“Ya know, the more I’m thinking of the tour.. the more I’m not looking forward to it”
Becky confessed.
“I’m not like you guys.. I don’t want to fight with the boys constantly.. I would like just talking with them..”
“Hey, that’s what we all want Beck” Summer placed an arm around her shoulder.
***
“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?! YOU GUYS SUCK!!!”
They startled at Fatima’s sudden outburst.
“Don’t get angry Fatima, we’re just tired”
“Well, I have not seen you dance this lousy in 6 years!”
“What about when we started out?”
“Yea, OK, you were worse then.. but this is ALMOST as worse!!”
“Sorry, we’ll do better”
“You bet you will!.. now, go take 5 or something.. we’ll try again later”
“C’mon guys, we’ll shoot some hoops!” Nick ran off.
***
They were just sitting in the center of the court, discussing girlie-stuff, when Nick came running out of nowhere it seemed.
He stopped and stared at them “What’s wrong with you?” it sounded sincere.
Morgan shrugged her shoulders “Nuthin’” she sighed.
“Well, uhm.. me and the guys.. we wanna play basketball.. so.. can you like.. do nuthin’ someplace else?”
“No, I’ve got something better in mind.. why don’t we play against each other?! BSB versus Phantasia!!”
By then the others had joined Nick “You’re on!!” Brian grabbed the ball out of Alyssa’s hands.
“We are gonna kick your scrawny Backstreet Boys ass!!”
“NO! WE are gonna kick your fat-Phantasia ass!!”
Michelle gave AJ one of her most dangerous looks “We’ll see” she said.
~~~An hour later~~~
They were so determined to defeat one another, that they totally lost track of time...
Fatima had taken place on the bench and watched them play... 15 minutes after the guys had left, she started wondering what kept them so long, knowing how they could lose track of time when playing B-Ball, she went outside to look for them, and Phantasia. Reaching the court she saw an unusual scenario... Kevin. Howie, Brian, AJ and Nick against Summer, Becky, Alyssa, Michelle and Morgan.. both parties were so hooked on outdoing each other. She could see the passion in their eyes. It was obvious who were the leaders of the competition, Brian and Alyssa ruled above all. Fatima sniggered to herself. “This surely is interesting.. I wonder who wins!”
***
“C’mon Lyss!!! You can beat a Backstreet Boy!!!”
Alyssa stopped and flashed a big, cheesy grin to Michelle “Well of course I can beat a Backstreet Boy!! Just watch!!”
The boys stood still as Alyssa suddenly stopped and said something to Michelle.. letting down his guard, Brian waited for her to continue with the game.
“Just watch!!” she said again. Knowing Brian wasn’t paying attention, she took advantage of it.. she ran past him, and scored...
“AAAHAHAHAHA!!!!” the girls laughed at Brian and the others amazed faces.
“Whoa!!!! Way to go Lyss!!!”
“GO LYSSIE, GO LYSSIE, GO LYSSIE!!!!!” Morgan cheered.
***
Fatima saw Alyssa score and started clapping and cheering. “YEA!!! GO ALYSSA!!”
***
Suddenly they noticed Fatima sitting on the bench, clapping and cheering for Alyssa..
The other girls joined Fatima in the cheering and clapping too. Alyssa made a bow for Fatima, the girls and for the guys, smiling triumphantly at Brian.
“That was cheating! You’re a fraud!!” he yelled.
Even Kev, Howie, AJ and Nick chuckled slightly.
“Hey! Why are you laughing!?” he yelled indignantly.
“Sorry Bri, but this is way fun!”
“Well, thanks Nick! I thought you were my friend! Friends don’t laugh at each other!”
“Yes they do!”
~~~5 minutes later~~~
The girls had won the game. Now they were all sitting in the center of the court, like the girls before.
“You know, that was actually fun.. for the first time since we met, we had fun with you guys”
Becky said to Howie, which was sitting next to her, a bit remote from the others.
“Yea”
“Hey Alyssa, that was awesome, what you did! It’s the best prank I’ve seen in months!” Nick said.
“Yea, well, I wanted to teach Brian here a lesson..”
“And what lesson would that be?” Kevin asked.
“PHANTASIA KICKS ASS!!!!”
“YEA!!!” Summer, Michelle, Becky and Morgan shouted in unison.
***
“Well, glad to see you’re not growling at each other anymore!” Ross’ voice said behind them.
“Did the girls behave properly?” he asked Fatima.
“Oh yes, they were good girls!”
“Why do you people always make me feel like one of those boarding school girls?” Michelle rolled with her eyes “Did the girls behave properly? Yes, they were good doggies!” she mimicked.
AJ chuckled .
“OK girls, I’m here to pick you up, your measures have to be taken so the stylist can go shopping for you and then there’s a photoshoot this afternoon!”
“Cool! I love photoshoots!” Morgan said.
“Wait till you have to do them every day..” Nick muttered.
“OK, are you ready?”
“No, we have to get showered and dressed”
“OK, well hurry on, you have 15 minutes!”
“15 minutes?!!!!” they complained.
“Yes, that’s 14 now!!”
Michelle stuck her tongue out at Ross “You suck!”
Ross just smiled “Yea, I know you love me!”
she rolled with her eyes and left.
***
“So they really did behave? Michelle too?”
They laughed “Yes Ross, Michelle behaved too, in a way..” Fatima said.
“How did rehearsal go?”
“Great! They’re wonderful dancers!”
“I know” he paused “Did you.. change your mind.. about them?” he asked the guys.
“Maybe..” AJ shrugged.
“I guess,.. we could be more cordial to them” Howie added, slightly ashamed of their childish behavior before.
“Great.. because, I think.. that if you.. keep on insulting and belittling each other.. the tour will be long, dreary, and unpleasant”
“Yea, maybe you’re right..”
“They are.. very nice girls.. they have personality and all”
Now being fully aware of the shameful way they treated Phantasia, they looked down at the ground and didn’t say a word.
“WHOA!! What happened? Who died?” Summer came back out, wet hair, clean clothes.
“Nobody..” Kevin said.
“So what’s wrong with you all then??.. Ross? What’s up? You’re always cheerful!”
“There’s nothing wrong Maddy” he smiled.
“Yea, right” she didn’t believe a word he said.
“So, are the others almost ready?”
“No.. I don’t think so.. Lyssie maybe, but Michelle is doing the Barbie-thang.. ya know.. 3 layers of foundation..” she rolled with her eyes.
“Becky is showered, but has to decide on what to wear and which body-lotion to use..” she rolled with her eyes more. “and Candy.. well.. you know her.. she’s so busy blabbing that she isn’t done showering yet” now she rolled with her eyes AND sighed. “That girl is soooo chaotic!!”
“Well, that’ll be fun! Nick is exactly the same!” Brian laughed.
“What will be fun?!!” Alyssa walked in drying her long black hair with a towel, the blonde highlights in it showed more than ever.
“Morgan and Nick.. our two chaotic kids!”
Alyssa chuckled “I doubt you’re worse than Morgan.. she’s REALLY chaotic!” she said to Nick.
“Well, just wait and see”
“So are Michelle, Becky and Morgan almost ready?” Ross asked again, but now to Alyssa.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!!.. Michelle will take at least another hour to put on her make-up! Becky still doesn’t know if she wants to wear her black or purple haltertop and Morgan.. well, she just came out of the shower when I left..”
Ross sighed “We’re gonna be late..”
“Wait here.. I’ll go get them” Summer turned round and went to the girls’ locker room.
***
“Hey you ladies!! Ross says we’re gonna be late, so HURRY!!!”
“Coming!” Becky opened the door.
“Black haltertop” Summer said, looking at her.
“Yea,.. do you think I should put on the purple one? Shall I go change?”
“Becka!.. NO, this looks fine!!”
“Sure?”
“YES! Now go wait with the others!”
Becky went outside.
“Come on!! Michelle!! Morgan!!”
“Yea, yea, relax” Michelle stepped out.
“Where’s Morgan?”
“Inside maybe?!” Michelle rolled her eyes and followed Becky.
***
Becky and Michelle came to the court.
“Black haltertop” Alyssa said.
“What?! Not good? Shall I go change? You know, Summer said the exact same thing!”
“What?”
“Black haltertop” Becky said.
“What?! No I can’t say ‘black haltertop’ anymore?! You’re way weird Becka!”
“Shut up” Becky said.
“Becky, it looks great, really” Howie complimented.
“Really?.. thanks..” she blushed.
“OK, CANDY-GIRL IS FINALLY READY!!!!!!” Summer and Morgan joined the others.
“Great, now Morgan, you have to learn how to be quick, this is a fast business, you can’t take this long every time!”
“OK” she said to Ross “I’ll try”
“Great.. now, we’ll see you guys tomorrow at the photoshoots for the tour-book and the merchandise and at the dance rehearsals!”
“Bye!” Fatima greeted the girls.
“Bye Fatima! Bye guys!”
“Yea, later”
