****
By the time they pulled up to the hotel there was a sizeable crowd. Normally this would be avoided, but since most of the people in the mass were photographers, and the whole point of this little trip was to promote the movie, the guys were going to go right into the belly of the beast. The limos pulled up and they hopped out. First Lance, Joey, JC, and Bobbie; then Justin, Chris, Dani, and Sophie. The guys stood apart for a bit, letting photographers get close ups and single shots before moving into a group and posing as they were so accustomed to doing. They broke up a few times when they’d spot actual fans in the throng, but regrouped for more photos. The bodyguards looked ready for anything, but to a casual observer they seemed at ease with their surroundings. Dani and Bobbie walked nearly unnoticed into the hotel, but Sophie was a different matter. As soon as she had gotten out of the limo she’d put on a pair of dark, turtle shell rimmed sunglasses and taken a very deep breath. She hated photographers, especially in France.
“Jeannette!” A photographer suddenly yelled, pulling her arm. “Jeannette, regard de Jeannette ici!!”
“Oh mon Dieu, Jeannette!” Another called. Several more photographers turned at the mention of a new name and began to work hastily to take her picture. Sophie removed her sunglasses and flashed them all a brilliant smile that lit up her dark eyes and could easily put any celebrity to shame.
“Beau Jeannette, beau. Toujours beau.” A male voice yelled to her.
“Oui, elle semble toujours parfaite.” The one beside him said, almost in awe.
“Comment est-ce possible?” Another asked, snapping his shutter rapidly.
“Ici Jeannette, ici!” Yet another cried.
Soon the photographers around *NSYNC began to dwindle and they started to huddle around Sophie. The guys looked over to see her standing there, as if she had always been a star, looking cool and fresh in the Mediterranean heat.
“Come on guys, let’s get you inside.” Randy said, as the bodyguards who had remained outside swarmed around the young men and herded them into the hotel.
“What about Sophie?” Justin asked. “You can’t just leave her out there.”
“We’ll go back for her. Don’t worry.” Lonnie soothed.
“You go Lonnie, don’t let them touch her.”
“It looks like she can handle it J. Look.” Chris said, pointing through the glass. Sophie turned to look at one of the photographers and her long, thick braid had shifted, so she threw it over her shoulder with a laugh. The photographers only screamed out for more.
“Now you can’t tell me she learned that at boarding school.” Lance said, folding his arms over his chest.
“Her father.” JC said softly. “Her father’s in the public eye.”
“Lonnie, go get her.” Justin was almost frantic in his plea and Lonnie rushed outside.
“Come on Sophie. We’ve got to get inside now.”
“Thank you Lulee. I was wondering when you’d come for me.” She said through a smile. She turned to the photographers one last time. “Adieu gens. Demain peut-etre?” She smiled again and shrugged. “Alright Lulee, take me away.” She whispered. Lonnie looked very big and important and escorted Sophie into the hotel as the photographers continued to scream for her.
“What was that all about?” Joey asked as she came through the doors.
“No time, up to the rooms guys.” Randy interrupted. They knew better than to argue and so they halted their conversation and headed to the elevators while Sophie took the stairs.
No sooner had they all thrown their stuff down did they all troop over to Sophie’s room to find out everything they could about the odd little scene in front of the hotel.
“I’m tellin ya Dani-girl it was the weirdest thing.” Chris said shaking his head.
“Yeah, I’ve heard of photographers taking pictures of random beautiful girls, but never anything like that.” Joey nodded.
“What was so strange?” Dani asked as the three walked down the hallway.
“They were calling her name.” JC said, joining them.
“Only it wasn’t her name.” Justin added.
“Then what name was it?” Dani asked with a furrowed brow. Justin knocked on the door and Lance joined the little crew. The door opened to reveal Sophie.
“So why were they calling you Janet?” Chris said. Sophie sighed.
“Why don’t you come in and sit down.” She said, swinging the door wider and letting them all come in. She closed the door behind JC and grabbed his hand. Their eyes met and he didn’t question it. They both sat on the end of one of the two beds.
Chris and Dani sat on the small sofa, while Lance rested uneasily on the arm. Justin and Joey had taken up residence on the other bed, and we’re both looking at her with expectant eyes. Sophie didn’t say anything.
“Well?” Lance finally intervened.
“Well what?” Sophie responded quietly.
“Why were they calling you Janet?” Chris asked again. Sophie let out a breath.
“It wasn’t Janet. They were calling me Jeannette.” As she said the name, Sophie spoke with a thick French accent.
“Yeah, but why Somine. That’s not your name.” Justin tilted his head, as if trying to understand what wasn’t being said.
“They called me Jeannette because they think I’m my mother.” Sophie said as she stared at the floor.
“Your mother?” JC asked softly.
“She was a model in the 70’s. Bigger than Twiggy, in Europe especially.”
“But why do they think she’s you?” Dani leaned forward to hear Sophie’s hushed words better.
“She hasn’t been here since she married my father. The last the press here saw of her, she looked just like me. I’m just a younger version of her.” Sophie’s last words seemed very forced. “I guess they all think that she just never aged.”
“So that’s how my father recognized you.” Justin said.
“I didn’t want to think so, but probably. My father didn’t even know I wasn’t her, Jeannette.” Once again, as the French name came out of her mouth, Sophie showed a heavy accent.
“So your mother is French?” Lance asked.
“Was French.” Sophie corrected. “My grandparents moved to Holland when she was very young. My grandmother was Spanish, my grandfather was French.”
“So you speak French, and I guess Spanish too?” Joey asked.
“I do. I had to.”
“You mean for school?” Chris asked.
“Of course.” Sophie answered swiftly. She smoothed back her hair and looked up once again. “So what’s on the agenda for today? Do I need to unpack my bag or no?”
“No.” Lance answered. “We start promotions tomorrow.”
“Come on guys, we should unpack a little before dinner.” JC said in his responsible tone. “We’ll leave Sophie to unpack too.” The others followed.
“Will you teach me some French pickup lines?” Joey said grinning. Sophie smiled at him and pinched his cheek.
“With that face my dear boy, you don’t need a pickup line.”
“No, he needs a pickup truck to chase after the girls as they run away screaming.” Chris quipped as he, Dani, and Joey left the room. JC was still attached to Sophie’s hand.
“If you don’t want to come out with us tomorrow night, that’s fine.” He said.
“How’d you guess I was going to try and weasel out of it?” She laughed.
“Because you did it at an after party where nobody was screaming the wrong name at you, so call it a hunch.” He smiled at her and put his free hand on the side of her face. “We won’t let them hurt you.” Sophie nodded and smiled.
“Didn’t you say you needed to unpack?”
“Did I say that? Are you sure it wasn’t Joey?”
“Oh, I’m sure.” She laughed and walked with him to the door. “Are you going to take Bobbie to the party tomorrow night?”
“Would you rather I took you?” He teased, half seriously.
“Nope. Take her. Think of it as her farewell party?”
“You read my mind. See you later.” He bent and kissed her forehead before letting himself out, making sure to try the door to see if it was locked before he left. The paparazzi were notorious for their lack of scruples and he wasn’t going to let anything happen to the woman in that room.