Touring The Albums (Yes, That's Right!)
The last book to The Jr. Pop Diaries: Year 1! Have fun reading it.
1. OMG!
Oh. My. God.
That’s the full form of the abbreviation written above.
And it’s really OMG news.
I won’t say it. I want you, reader, to find out.
Maybe ‘cause…well…it sure is a fun (and scary) ride!
2. Really?
“Kids!”
That was Mr. B’s excited voice. It blared through the speaker of YouTube Studios. Tana and I were playing gin rummy when we heard it. Elijah and Wylie were sorting our meals when they heard it. And Thomas and Tamira were doing some secret work when they heard it.
“Jr. Pop, please report to your common room in ten minutes. I repeat, common room in ten minutes.”
We all nodded to ourselves and rushed up the stairs, murmuring excitedly.
“What could it be?” I whispered.
“Dad sounds excited, so it must be good!” Tana’s bangs were bouncing in excitement.
Dad. The word hit me like a bullet. Tana’s adoption was nearing in four to five months…and she was going to be with Mr. and Mrs. Bowers. They had no children, and they did want to save her from further harm, her being a vulnerable orphan. I heard that she was now living with them, and her life had become loads better. But something was still making me nervous. I didn’t know what it was, but I decided to not trouble myself with that.
When I reached the common room, Mr. and Mrs. B were giggling excitedly. Maybe it was an inside joke and they called us in by accident? They might be responsible, but, well, people are people. I sat across from them, puzzled. Excitement turned to confusion.
Tana sat next to them. “Guys, what’s going on?”
I saw Mr. Bowers comfortingly put an arm around her, beaming. He looked at us.
“You’re all going on tour!”
We whooped and cheered, grinning. We finished two albums, Jr. Pop 35 and Jr. Pop 36. We also contributed a little to other albums, including Jr. Pop 34. We were now touring the country to promote them. This was a dream come true.
“Everyone, I have booked the flights, hotel rooms, and the like. We’ll be taking the standard route, but perform at more places. All 6 of you are coming with us and the teachers, okay?” Mrs. Bowers said.
We nodded excitedly, then left for lunch and to get some fresh air. Before I stepped out of the room, I saw Tana give Mr. and Mrs. Bowers a big hug. It was supposed to be happy, but I didn’t know why I felt more distanced from her than expected. Either way, I couldn’t help thinking whether she was still my best friend or not.
3. Getting To Terms…On Both Things
We started practising for tour. We had to hop in the SUV at 7:00 am in the morning. Practice began with vocal warm-ups, and reviewing both of our albums, which lasted at least an hour in all. Then, studio school, which was for two hours. Lastly, extensive dance prep. Two hours again! A lot of warm-up, music video signature steps and practise on freestyle moves. And then, for endurance, we jogged around the whole studio, while singing our songs…again! I thought tour rehearsal was going to be fun but at the end of each day until that week, my whole body ached from head to toe. My voice was sometimes hoarse, too.
I was anyway finally able to boost my immunity and adjust to travelling and concert hosting. But I still couldn’t yet adapt to Tana’s changing behaviour. Whenever I wanted to hang out with her, she politely refused and said that she was busy. It wasn’t just heartbreaking, it was also like being frustrated. I talked to Thomas about it.
“Give her time, Trevor,” he said. “This is new and most probably exciting for her. She’s still friends with you. Never forget that.”
“Okay,” I murmured, but I wasn’t okay with it. For the first time in my life, I had started to reallydoubt my best friend in the whole wide world. And that was Tana.
I decided to ask Tana why was she distancing away from me. That was during dance practice, when we were reviewing our signature steps for our freestyles.
I hit a nae-nae. “So…what’s up?”
Tana spun around. “Uh…nothing.”
I tried to improvise a two-step, my favourite dance move. She did her march and whips. After a small silence, she spoke.
“I guess you’ve noticed I’ve been avoiding you, huh?”
It wasn’t shy at all. It was more like she was trying to straighten things out. I appreciated that.
“Yeah.”
“I…I’m sorry—I mean, with all of this adoption thing and stuff—“ She sighed. “I just wanted to know…what’s it’s like to have a real family. And that means…”
We both know what she was going to say: Distancing from you for a while. But she was trying to put it into kinder words, until I tell her what she wanted to hear.
“I was sad…a little. But I know that…that you want to know what it’s like.” I took her hand.
She squeezed it. “So…we good?”
I nodded, smiling. “We good.”
4. J-Pop Duo Persona
On our third day of tour rehearsal, Mr. Bowers said that we had to do more than expected. But it was also a fun thing, as we were working with our partners.
“It’s now a chance to show your personality on the stage. You will be working with your dance partners on a song I give. Clear?”
We all nodded.
“Well then, here’s your song. As you get the name, go for practicing. Trevor and Tana, you got ‘Takeaway’, Wylie and Eli, ‘Darkside’, and Tom and Tam, ‘Stay’. Go for practice. Compose your dance moves, but be sure to take helpful hints from your teachers. Good luck!”
We nodded, and went down the hall to the divided dance room in YouTube Studios. I wondered whether Mr. Bowers chose that song because he thought Tana and I were on a rocky road. I just thought he never noticed and placed his hand on something random. But Angie always said every song has a meaning behind it. Maybe the meaning of ’Takeaway’ was to cure a friendship. I intended to do that with Tana.
Once we read through the lyrics, I asked Tana if she wanted to start singing. She nodded, and decided to take the intro.
“Your heart for takeaway, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Your heart for takeaway, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Your heart for takeaway, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Your heart for takeaway, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.”
She sighed. “How does it sound?”
“It was good! Although, I was thinking maybe you could take the first two lines, and I take the next two.”
“Okay, then.”
I sung the last two lines in the intro. It went well. Tana bobbed her head in excitement.
“That works. You can take the first part of the verse too.”
I took a deep breath.
“Hey, hey, hey
Where do you think you’re going’
It’s so late, late, late
What’s wrong?”
Tana took over the next part.
“I said, I can’t stay
Do I have to get a reason
It’s just me, me, me
It’s what I want.”
We nodded, smiling. Then, Ms. Tempi peeked in.
“I just heard. Good job, kids. Just the confidence should be a little amped up.”
“Okay, Ms. Tempi!” Tana said.
At the end of the day, we finished the singing part, and with the hints from Ms. Tempi, we were able to sing fluently and sound really professional. And Tana was feeling much better. Now, I started wondering whether the tour was going to mend the patch in the fabric of our friendship.
Dance day, which is part two of our practice. Tana composed the moves. Her routine worked. I tried to compliment her, but she politely shrugged it off. Is Tana okay? We did make up, of course, but she was still uncomfortable…which was…weird? ‘Weird’ wasn’t the word to describe her. I wish I knew what was going on, honestly.
5. Feat. EganBRaps And The Corduroy Sisters
During studio school, Mr. Bowers interrupted our twenty minutes of algebra to share even more awesome news.
“I got a call from Egan. He says he heard of the tour we are hosting, and he wants to be featured with the Cords. What do you think?”
We all thought for a moment, then Elijah said, “Let’s do it!”
We saw the Corduroy Sisters’ and Egan’s limo pull up at the studio doors. They all got out, and Mr. and Mrs. B filled them in on the tour part while we helped unload the luggage.
“We’re glad to take up the offer, sir,” said Egan, shaking hands with Mr. B. “It’s a pleasure, anyway—we haven’t had a great tour in, oh, I don’t know, years!”
We smiled. Egan himself was like us guys; he always made people laugh. I liked that about him. He was also very understanding and could solve any problem.
Which I also wanted to discuss with him.
Dance practice, day 3. I decided to tell Egan what troubled me. During the break, though, he noticed. Easier said than done.
“Dude, you okay?” He asked me.
I nodded, then took a sip from my bottle.
“I know you aren’t, man. What’s troubling you? Family? Bully problems? A girl?”
My face turned red at the last mention, but that was almost the answer.
“It’s about Tana, Egan. Did you hear?”
“About what?” Egan was listening intently.
“She’s going to get adopted.”
“That’s great, then! Why is that such a bad thing?”
“It seems like she’s…distancing from me. We told each other that it was going to get a little used to, but—something’s bugging me about the whole thing.”
Egan nodded slowly, understanding. “Don’t worry, buddy. You’ll get over it.”
I shot him a look that said, I can’t get over Tana—it’s a rule.
He sighed. “Dude, she’s important?”
I nodded.
He got up. “I’ll talk to her, see what she thinks. But you and I know that her safety might as well be in danger. Watch your step.”
As he walked away, I started wondering whether he was right. Tana’s life had been in jeopardy umpteen times. And helping her meant…
Risking my own life at the same time.
6. The Director’s Tale
I checked Egan and Thomas off my list of people who I wanted to discuss the Tana situation. I decided to approach the third person.
Elijah: “Give her time.” One sentence. No meaning at all.
Number four.
Tamira: “Give her time.” Again.
Five.
Wylie: “Give her time.” I almost swore.
The same answer everywhere. Time, time, time. I wanted to scream, ‘Time doesn’t matter if Tana’s life is in danger!’
But I knew someone who’d give me the best answer possible.
I knocked on the door.
“Come in!”
I opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind me. A man with a bushy grey beard and kind eyes looked at me intently. “Yes, Trevor?”
“Mr. Bowers? I need to talk to you.”
After telling him what happened the past few days with Tana, Mr. Bowers gave me a glass of water. I was definitely going to break down any moment, because everything was so sad that I was going to cry. I took a sip, then asked him a question, my voice cracking.
“Has Tana been confronted by Mr. C or the Monites? Is that why she’s scared or traumatised?”
For some reason, the words shook Mr. Bowers. He had a blank expression on his face when I said them.
“Is it true, sir?” I pressed.
He shook his head. “No, Trev. But it’s…it’s strange that you mention so. We haven’t heard those names in, well—months.”
I nodded. “Indeed, sir. Should we contemplate their next action?” It wasn’t my fault that I was speaking typical Elijah lingo. I always do that when I’m nervous.
“Hold yourself there, Trevor. We can’t just guess it. Tana’s life matters here.” He spins his chair slowly. “I shall ask one of the heads to increase security here, but even if it is accepted, we gotta watch our backs. Danger lurks everywhere, kid.”
I nodded again. “I think Tana is…worried, sir. She’s worried about us. Of what might happen to us if…if they—“ I deliberately used the word—“hurt us. What do you think?”
Mr. Bowers tapped his fingertips together. “I don’t know, but talk to her, son. Ask her what’s troubling her. I can’t help her so much because of all of this—“ he gestured to the desk around him, filled with papers, huge booklets and stacks of business cards—“but I know you can help her. Do it. Please.”
I vigorously nodded for the third time. “I won’t let you down, Mr. Bowers. I promise.”
7. Bon Voyage!
After weeks of practice, the time had come! We were finally going to have our New York City tour—our first! I was excited, and we were going to perform in a huge stadium, for an opening game of football.
During the somewhat agonising road trip to the stadium on the bus, I sat next to Tana. I was daring myself to ask her what was wrong, but she wasn’t thinking of answering that. At least, I was thinking that she wasn’t thinking of answering that.
Tana was still staring out the window. I nudged her. She turned to me, and raised an eyebrow.
“You okay?” I asked.
She nodded. “I am. What’s wrong?”
I cast a quick glance around before replying. “I—I can’t seem to shake the feeling that you’re not okay.”
She snorts. I’ve never heard Tana snort before. “Trev, I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about me! I’ve got it all here, and no-one’s gonna hurt me now. Wylie did teach me a little martial arts.”
“Oh,” I said, but it was uncertain. “Okay…then. But I’m keeping an eye on you, okay?”
She sighs. “Fine.”
“We’re here!” The driver shouted.
I saw the huge stadium. It was looking modern and sleek. I could see people gather around the stand, for both the football game and for our concert. As we walked to the side, I saw heads turn in our direction. Well, it might be ‘cause we’re the Jr. Pop Kids. I mean, we’re practically famous!
We were led to the back, where we were to do a soundcheck and a last rehearsal. I saw the huge prop going to be used for the show—a huge football decorated with Jr. Pop colours and the logo. It actually made sense to use a football, ‘cause, well, it was a football game we were performing at.
Right around that time, we were informed that we were going to open the game, with the song ‘The Git-Up’, which we had already practised beforehand, plus a couple of our other songs. Then, when one round of the game was over, we were going to start performing our duets. It was going to be a fun show, and one of the football teams was sponsoring Jr. Pop, which means there was a full kids-only theme when it came to the game.
Egan and the Cords were also going to perform with us, during the interval. They prepped up a few songs for the show, and they were going to be background dancers for the opening. This was going to be fun. I knew it.
8. Alright, We Didn’t Expect That…
As we were putting on our costumes for the opening game, I heard a knock on our door. A very scary knock, as if the person who just gave it was delivering bad news. Gulp scary.
Thomas opened the door, and Mr. Bowers hurried in, face flushed. I jumped from my seat.
“Mr. B? What’s going on…?”
Elijah and I led him to a chair, and he sat down, lost in thought. He finally turned to look at us, worried.
“It’s what I fear would happen. The Monites are back, and this time, they’re armed.”
“Armed?” Elijah asked, after a long silence. “You mean…with guns?”
“And knives?” Thomas ran a hand through his hair.
Mr. Bowers nodded.
I gasped. “Tana…she might be in…”
“…danger,” Mr. Bowers finished.
I got up. I had to.
I heard that the girls had finished changing into their costumes, so they were most likely going to be outside in the lobby. I found a good hiding place before, for private talks. I decided to speak to Tana there, once I found her.
I saw her in the lobby, talking with the UK girls, who had flown in to join us for the tour. Wylie and Tam were also with her.
I tapped her shoulder. She turned, whispering, “What?”
“I need to talk to you.”
“Now?”
I nodded.
She followed me into the hiding place: the makeup room, and since everyone had emptied the room hours before, we had the place to ourselves.
Once I closed the door, she blurted, “What is it?”
I sighed, swallowed, then said it. “They’re back. With worse.”
She raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean, worse?”
“They’re armed,” I whispered.
Upto now, Tana had been impatient, and she didn’t want to waste a second due to the opening. But the minute she heard the word ‘armed’, she was shocked. She grabbed the back of a chair to steady herself, then sat in it.
“Armed?” She rasps. “No, no, no…”
I slid inside another chair. “It’s true.”
Her hands shook. “I—I can’t let you do this.”
“I have to.”
I sucked in a breath. “Tana, it is you they’re after, but if I…somehow…get in the way of the target, then…you’ll be safe.”
She seemed to think it over, then turned to me. “All right. But, whatever you do, don’t—and I mean don’t—“
“What?”
She fixed me with an intent look in her eyes. “Don’t let the show stop. It has to go on.”
I nodded. “I won’t.”
9. Awesome Show + Close Call = ?
“And now, to open the tournament, we have—the Jr. Pop Kids!”
The huge crowd cheered. I was excited. I had been dreaming about this since forever. Performing in front of every single JP fan, and watching them cheer and raise the roof as we make our every move.
Before the show, I glanced at my bandits, and they nodded. They were ready to start.
We ran out on stage, like we practised, then hit the start button on ‘The Git Up’. Tamira was doing the first part, which we put a spin on—a tour intro.
“Hey, y’all! How ya doin’? Right now, I just need you to get real loose! And we got a surprise for ya! Just follow after me!”
Then, we all started our well-rehearsed singing and dancing, and the crowd got into the spirit. The Cords and Egan stepped in as soon as the music starts, and the whole stadium went wild to see the YouTube stars dancing alongside us.
“Gon’ and do the two step then cowboy boogie
Grab your sweetheart and spin a rhythm
Do the hoedown and get into it…”
After the first chorus, the song changed to—you guessed it—‘Ocean Eyes’. We rocked this one too, and by the time we were on the second part of the concert, even the players started dancing and singing along with us! We were doing well.
Suddenly, I saw a face, a face so recognisable I stopped what I was doing for a nanosecond, before continuing my routine. I saw that very face pull out a knife. I knew it.
The Monites were back, just like Mr. Bowers said.
Intermission. Whew. It was just enough time to tell everyone what I saw.
When everyone went backstage to prep for the next part, I followed, then blurted what I saw.
“The Monites. They’ve got a knife. A real one. I don’t know what to do.”
Everyone stopped talking and stared at me like I got a microphone for a head.
“I’m serious. I saw them.”
Layla got up from her seat. “You sure you weren’t hallucinating?”
I shook my head.
We all looked to Mr. Bowers. He had to give a call, but he was quiet.
Then, Tana, of all people, spoke.
“I won’t let this happen. We need to keep the show going on. We can’t let a knife scare us.”
“Tana…” Egan murmured.
She whirled around to face him. “No. We’re not giving up, guys. Let them come.” She paused to look at me. “And I’ll be ready. We have an awesome show, and many close calls. Both of them equals danger and fun. But I want this thing to have ninety-percent fun. And ten-percent danger. That’s all.”
“Your danger level may be more than ten-percent, kid.”
10. No. No! No!
Somehow, the Monites were able to get in backstage to see us. The held up their knife. I half-expected it to be covered with blood, but it was clean.
“No killing required,” snickered Mrs. Monite. “As far as I know, I’ll do this.”
She grabbed me and wrapped an arm around my stomach, making me feel like I might throw up. To make matters even worse, she placed the knife at my throat.
A knife at my throat. I couldn’t believe it. I never thought I’d find myself like this.
Mr. Monite pulled out a shotgun and aimed it at everyone else except Tana. Terrified, my friends threw their hands up. I could feel the knife beginning to make a tiny scrape against my neck.
“Now decide, girl,” Mr. Monite barked at Tana. “Either all of your friends die, or you come with us.”
Tana was quiet and shocked. She was trying to make head and tail out of this. Then, I heard the shrieking of police sirens. Police sirens? I looked at her questioningly. She nodded, then pulled out her phone and showed it to them.
“Or, I have another option,” she said.
“Excuse me, is this Marge and Neil Monite?” A high-pitched voice chirped from the phone.
Mrs. Monite was furious when she heard this.
“Yes, idiot. Don’t recognise us?”
“I do,” said the voice on the other end, cool as a cucumber. “Also, I suggest that you surrender. Yes, I know I sound like a bad movie—“
I giggled, but Mrs. Monite edged the knife closer to my neck to silence me.
“—but harming anybody around you, especially and including Mr. Sanders and Ms. Wells, will currently put you in perilous danger of being confined to a jail cell for a long, long time. Do I make myself clear?”
“Crystal,” Mrs. Monite muttered, lowering the knife.
Mr. Bowers cleared his throat. “If I may—“
“No one’s talking,” sneered Mr. Monite, but he sounded really unsure.
Mr. Bowers, who didn’t ‘cower before the enemy’, as Elijah put it, and plowed right on, asked, “But, who are you?”
Call me a fool, dear reader, but I swear I could feel the person on the other end smile.
“Why, I’m Superintendent Sierra, at your service! Our data also discovered that Mr. Cunningham, who I’m sure you know and who we jailed many weeks ago, is related to the two criminals who are currently standing with you, the former being a father of Marge Monite.”
“That’s right!” Elijah exclaimed. Now that Superintendent Sierra had quieted the Monites, we had no fear of speaking out loud. I was also amazed, but I just remembered: Tana had thanked Sierra so much that the two had swapped their personal phone numbers, just in case we ended up inn a scenario such as that one. I owed it to both of them to save us.
“As of now, the police are preparing to apprehend the Monites, and we found their location, and yours, ultimately, thanks to the activated GPS chip in Ms. Wells’ phone.” Superintendent Sierra paused. “I just heard from the officers. They’re arriving in a minute.”
I heard footsteps outside our room, coming our way.
“JPKs? Enjoy your tour.” Superintendent Sierra was about to sign off.
“Ms. Sierra? Can you hold on for a sec? I want to tell something,” said Thomas.
“Sure.”
“You know, I think your official name should be ‘Super Sierra’. ‘Cause you are a superhero, for what you did to save us, twice, and that earns a new title. Thanks a lot!”
“Just doing my job, Tom. Take care, kids!”
11: Mid Tour Production #1
When the Monites were arrested and taken in custody, we resumed our concert, rocked the stadium, and got ready to move on to the next spots on our tour map.
We performed at many places in Brooklyn, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, San Diego, and a hundred other cities in the country, within three months since we started that thing! And not just that. Apart from concerts, we were interviewed, performed on TV, attended social events, did photo shoots, etc. Wherever we went, people shouted, “Look, it’s the Jr. Pop Kids!” It was fun, but a little overwhelming. We always returned to the hotel, exhausted.
On one of those nights, I decided to call Mom and Angie. I spoke to them almost everyday, but then, with rehearsals and everything, it was harder and harder to talk.
When I called them, their faces appeared on my phone screen, tired and heavy, but smiling. Yep. Video. I saw their faces almost every single time I called.
“Hey, kiddo,” Mom said.
“Hey, Mom, Angie.” I waved to them.
“You haven’t called in days!” Angie looked a little sullen.
I grimaced. “Sorry, I couldn’t. Hectic tour business.” I shrugged. “What can I do? It’s seemingly endless.”
“It’s okay.” She smiled, forgiving me in an instant. “But call once in a day.”
“All right, then.”
“Get to rest, son,” Mom said. “Stay safe. We love you.”
“Love you both too. G’night!” I waved goodbye, then cut the call, and lay back down on my bed. Elijah was my roommate, but he snored too loudly. I sighed, then drifted off. I couldn’t focus on the next day. Like always.
“Kids!”
Mr. Bowers.
Okay, I know that wasn’t YouTube Studios in NYC, but do you know how we got rear word every morning in a hotel?
A tiny card was always slipped under our door at 6:30 am in the morning—which, if you were us, was the time you’re changing from your pyjamas to your rehearsal clothes.
I had finished changing my clothes and was tying up my sneakers. Elijah was a little slow. He had only put on his pants and was trying to stuff himself into his customary hoodie. After ten seconds of a wrestle with it, he finally pulled the thing onto his body. Then, he picked up the card, and showed it to me.
Guess what was written on it?
Kids!
We both burst out laughing, then grabbed our packs and headed down to the lobby for rehearsal. The rest of our group was there, but Egan and the Cords weren’t. Strange.
“Out for some work,” said Mr. Bowers, who walked to us, smoothening his beard. “You have got my message, haven’t you?”
Tana giggled. “Oh, we have, Dad. But a text would have been more understandable.”
We all laughed.
He nodded, smiling. “Well, okay. But, I didn’t bring you all here for tour rehearsal.”
“Wait, what?” Was our answer.
He sighed. “Look, I know that tour is important, of course, but don’t forget, we also have Halloween and Christmas albums and one last-minute song to prep up.”
We all were like, “Oh!”
“Yeah. That, and some really other important stuff that is not true.”
That was code for ‘Tana’s secret adoption by us’, as Mr. B put it before the day of tour start. We had to do it a couple of days before that year ended.
Mr. Bowers led us through the hotel to a makeshift recording studio he built in a room the manager might’ve probably given us. It was big enough to fit all six of us, plus the controls, plus the instruments. Holy cow.
We finished recording the song ‘Ready For It…?’ and then decided to take a break. Quick behind-the-scenes: we had prepared the song in between rehearsals, so we nailed it in one take. The music video, however, had to wait. It was way too soon to take a tour hiatus, according to Mr. Bowers and Tana. The real hitch would occur somewhere between October and between December. Christmas will be our last day to perform.
Long story short, we recorded a song, but we had to wait. It was going to be a long ride.
12. Mid Tour Production #2 and #3 (But it’s Really Short)
Now, you’re probably going to ask me what happened between production #1 And production #2, but nothing fun happened. Honest.
Or maybe we didn’t have fun enough. Not even while shooting ‘Halloween Party!’ and ‘Christmas Everywhere!’. Not even one ounce.
I guess we were really worried about the Monites, ‘cause that day, Mr. Bowers said that the police, using their forensic tools, found out that the Monites were still following us. I wanted everything to stop.
But (and this is the strange part) I forgot about them the 24th of September, and I never knew why, until then.
13. Meanwhile…
Narrative Continued by Elijah
What thee sayest, Tana?
Oops, sorry. That was old English for, ‘What did you say, Tana?’
Yep, don’t get me wrong, but Tana had texted all of us that day to come and meet her in her hotel room.
Actually, most of us. Trevor wasn’t included. Strange.
‘What thee sayest?’ was what I had to ask Tana when she closed the door and locked it. But I didn’t ask that. It was just hard to believe that Tana didn’t call Trevor. Those two were close friends, and each of them worried about the other. But not inviting him to the fun seemed Sherlock-Holmes-mystery creepy. Yep. I’m a reader, so you’ll find me quoting famous literature in this narrative.
So, me, Wylie, Tamira and Thomas never knew this piece of information Tana had with her all the year.
“It’s Trevor’s birthday in a week. September 24. We need to plan a party.”
Our jaws dropped. Holy unanticipated occurrences.
“And not just any party,” she said, “A surprise party.”
“Surprise party?” Tamira made a face. “That’s so cliché.”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “Practically everyone does that in the movies.”
Tana shook her head, exasperated. “I didn’t mean it like a huge thing. I meant it as in something simple. Nothing super fancy, like a huge cake or so. A small party, in his hotel room, which will be a surprise!”
That sounded better…and weird. A small surprise party? I’d never heard of such a thing.
Wylie nudged me. “I know what you’re thinking.”
“Yeah, but how do we plan it? It’s figuratively nothing. The smallest parties I know of is with a few friends and family, a homemade cake, or, at the very maximum, takeout from restaurants. The surprise part needs some work, too.”
Tam, Tom, and Tana heard what I said. I thought that I hurt Tana’s feelings, but she nodded and admitted that she hadn’t thought that far.
“Trevor’s favourite food is pizza, and he always enjoys a good Greek salad, plus some noodles. Problem is, though, that we’re on tour, and maybe eating any junk food is prone to be a deterrent to our performance and health,” I said. “What do we do?”
Everyone was quiet. That was also something we missed.
Someone knocked at our door. We all stayed where we were. Sure, it was something we didn’t want Trevor to know, but we wouldn’t want to reveal it either.
The someone knocked again. It sounded like the knock of evil.
“Everybody, hide!” Tana gritted through hissed teeth.
We all scrambled ourselves into a possible hiding place in Tana’s hotel room. Wylie crouched underneath the dresser, carrying her replica set of the traditional Filipino Arnis, which she always kept handy. Thomas disappeared underneath one of the beds. Tamira squeezed behind a cluster of suitcases. I was out of proper hiding spaces, so I dived under the second bed, and quietly watched.
The latch clicked open. Footsteps sounded beneath us, if they sounded like footsteps. I thought it was probably someone wearing dance sneakers, ‘cause, hoo boy, wearing those felt like you were gliding on air.
It certainly wasn’t the Monites, but it could be Trevor. He had to be wearing them. Maybe he was calling us for practice? Or for a snack? It was pretty close to 5:00 pm.
My suspicions were confirmed. Trevor had entered Tana’s room.
“Hello? Anybody there?” He asked.
No answer. Maybe because we weren’t ready to give him. Sorry, dude, but there hath no answers for thee.
“Oh, well. I was wondering if you’re all okay and stuff, because I’m worried that we didn’t have enough fun. Just, well…”
He sighed sadly. My heart felt weird, as if the very thought of Trevor being sad was going to plunge a dagger in my chest. I could imagine him shaking his head and moving out of the room, which he did.
When no one was in our room, we quietly moved back to where we were before he came in.
“I can’t believe Trevor would…” Wylie’s voice broke. I patted her hand.
Even Tamira and Thomas were quiet. After a brief but heavy silence, Tana spoke.
“I knew it. He was going to worry. Guys, this why I’m saying we should do this. We’re safe, but being safe means nothing if we aren’t happy.”
Her eyes softened. “Trevor’s the guy who’s supposed to keep us together. If he’s the one broken, then…disaster. We would never be the same. All in favour of the surprise party?”
Four hands went up.
“All right, then. Let’s get planning.”
14. Nah. Nope. Absolutely Not.
Narrative Continued by Elijah
“Nah.” Tana strikes off the idea in her planner.
“Nope.” Tam and Tom shook their heads.
“Absolutely not.” Wylie made an X with her hands.
So, reader, we haven’t been able to come up with the perfect surprise for Trevor. Yep. Nothing worked. We were no-ing every idea that came on paper. An exasperated Tana threw her pen on the bed, whose tip left a tiny ink mark on the comforters. “Oh, god! What do we do!”
“Maybe we can hide in his room?” I suggested.
Tamira made a face. “What if he has to change his clothes?”
I reconsidered my options. “Yeah, that won’t work. It’s gross.”
“I know!” Thomas raised an important finger in the air. “When does he get up, Elijah?”
“Uhhh…I think 6:00 am? He’s an early riser.”
“Okay, we storm into his room on his birthday at that time and throw some balloons on him, while he’s still in bed! And we’ll confetti the whole place! And we’ll all yell ‘Happy Birthday, Trevor’! How does that sound?”
“By God’s grace, that sounds amazing!” I said. “And rope the Bowers and Mrs. Sanders and Angela into the thing. It’ll be even better!”
The girls were also smiling and nodding. Tana scribbled the words ‘Wake-Up Party’ in her planner. It was all set.
After the final party draft, I walked out of Tana’s room to the lobby, where I bumped into Trevor, who was coming from outside the hotel.
“Dude! What were you doing out there?” I asked.
He seemed startled when I found him. He said, “Uhh…nothing.”
I grabbed his arm. “Wrong. Trevor, you have been on edge since yesterday. What is going on?”
He swallowed hard. “I’m fine, Elijah.”
I looked at him incredulously.
He threw up his hands. “Fine, fine. Are you guys okay?”
Out of all the answers, I never expected a question like that. “Yeah. We’re okay.” I didn’t take any bait and reveal our party plans.
He sighed, smiling. “I’m glad you’re okay. You know, after the whole episode with the Monites…”
I remembered. Well, I always remembered everything, having a photographic memory, but that one was the memory I could still experience well again. “Yeah.”
“I just…” He looked away. “I can’t be sure that everyone’s happy and smiling. I’m still worried they’re still behind us.”
“Let me guess; the police found out?”
He nodded, grimly. I could even see tears in his eyes. He noticed me looking, then he ran upstairs to our room.
Let’s hope the party works, I thought. Trevor, I hath take revenge on thy sadness, for thou seem really sad.
15. We’re Just Here To Say, ‘Happy Birthday’!
Narrative Resumed by Trevor
Ring, ring ring! That was the sound of my alarm, which I shut off. I didn’t open my eyes, though. Then, I heard what sounded like a party horn, and a chorus of voices saying, “Happy Birthday, Trevor!”
I bolted into a sitting position on my bed. “What’s this, guys? I nearly wet my PJs.”
Tana, Tom, Tam, Elijah, Wylie, and the Bowers laughed. “Well, we got the desired effect,” said Elijah, sounding like a professor, which made us laugh even harder.
The grin faded a little from my face. “Why did you do this?”
Tana looked a little shocked, though I could tell she knew the answer. “Dude, you have been sad and miserable ever since! What’s the point in us being happy if you aren’t? That’s why we did this!”
She swept her arms out to our friends, who wore party hats and held goodie bags in their hands.
Oh. While I was trying to make them happy, they were trying to make me happy. Suddenly, I felt guilty. I wished I had been staying happy all this time.
“It was no sweat,” Elijah told me, touching my shoulder. “Now, get changed, and let’s celebrate!”
Five minutes later, we were all down in the dining area, cutting a huge birthday pizza. Wylie slapped my shoulder. “Big man, you’re now twelve.”
I snatched a pizza jalapeño pepper from the pizza and put it in her mouth. “And you’re gonna love this!”
We gathered around the big dish, then Tana began singing the song, ‘It’s Your Birthday!’ I sang along with them, and then we cut the pizza. We gave each other the vegetables and toppings on the pizza to eat. Thomas even went crazy and ate the packets of the Italian seasoning and chilli flakes. That dude can chow down on a volcano if he had to.
Then, we feasted on the pizza and ate some amazing pasta and salad, which was the birthday lunch.
I had never been happier in my life then. Or maybe I had, but this one came in the top ten.
It was New Year’s, and we had finished tour, plus released the albums for Halloween and Christmas. We had also found out that the Monites had sold their house, so it was a sitting duck in our neighbourhood. It was also another special day—Tana’s birthday.
Then, Mr. Bowers came inside and waved some papers in his hand, Mrs. Bowers right behind him, holding some kind of a cage. “Happy birthday, Tana!”
We were all confused. What did a bunch of papers had to do with their present?
Mrs. Bowers looked at us in a funny way. “Now, don’t look at us like we’ve got a turnip for a head. Those are the adoption papers, plus the paperwork for that house in front of Trevor’s. You’re going to have a family, Tana, and a lovely house to live in!”
Tana squealed and ran to hug them. Then, she pulled back and pointed to the cage. “What’s that?”
“Well, this is a pet for you. We never had one, so we decided to adopt one too! This is one of those breeds whose name I forgot—“
We laughed.
“—a dog with white paws and a beautiful black-and-light-brown coat. We’ve named her Holly.”
Mr. B opened the cage, and a two-month-old pup bounded out of it and jumped on Tana. She giggled and held it close, smoothing its fur.
That would also be the best day ever for me. Tana was safe.
16. So…
…was that the end? No way!
Is this the beginning? Nah, that’s a really common way to end a story.
Is it somewhere in the middle? Well, I could say that. We’ve got two more whole years to Jr. Pop. And next year…well, it’s going to be the year I won’t forget, as much as I won’t forget this one.
Bye!
And see you in Year 2. And 3. And maybe all the way.
Who knows? I don’t. You might not, either.
All we know, is that we could rock it.
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