Rock and Roll Ruined My Life
More Numbers
Rock And Roll Ruined My Life- Chapter 8- More Numbers
Melissa rang the doorbell again. I rubbed my eyes and tried to wake up. I just had a bad gut feeling we were in trouble. I glanced at Danielle who nervously half-smiled. Finally, I saw the curtains ruffle in the bay window in the living room and my uncle's face appeared. He answered the door 3 seconds later. I couldn't tell what was going on. We were all just staring at one another. His face was expressionless.
"Hi, Uncle Joe," I said in a small voice. He stepped aside and let us enter the house. It was quiet and empty.
"Where is everybody?" Melissa asked innocently.
"They're outside," he answered walking back to the couch. I couldn't take the awkward tension any more.
"Uncle Joe, are you mad?" I said following him into the living room.
"No." I stared at him disbelief.
"You mean to tell me that you aren't even frustrated with us? You weren't even worried the whole time we were gone? We're not in trouble? Say something please!" I begged him.
"Julie calm down!" Melissa put a hand on my shoulder.
"It's like she WANTS to get in trouble," Danielle laughed.
"Oh no, you will be punished," Uncle Joe said. Danielle and Melissa both stopped laughing abruptly.
"I don't blame you Juliet. These two probably dragged you along. I WAS worried Juliet. No phone calls, no texts; just a little note. The only reason you two are trouble is because you don't care! You're lucky-"
"Uncle Joe," I interrupted him.
"Yes?"
"I just wanted to let you know I was a part of it. A big part of it actually. I don't want them to get in trouble. Blame me." Everything was quiet except for the voices coming from the television. I looked at Danielle and Melissa. Both of their mouths were hanging open so wide I thought their jaws were going to become permanently dislocated. I looked over to Uncle Joe on the couch. His chin was resting in the palm of his hand. After a while he spoke.
"I expected much more of you Juliet. I'm disappointed. But, I respect you for telling the truth... Thank you." I nodded my head in reply. It was silent for another moment. All sudden I saw a grin break out onto Uncle Joe's face.
"So, uh, did you get me some cotton candy?" he asked. We broke out into laughter.
"You were to starting to scare me there for a second Uncle Joe," I told him. He doubled over in laughter again and slapped his knee. I turned to Melissa who returned my look of sheer terror with a laugh.
"Do you like blue or pink?" I asked him.
"It doesn't matter, just as long as I get some before you guys eat it all," he replied.
"Oh, don't worry we got a bag for everyone," Melissa spoke up before I said anything that would give us away.
"Yeah, don't worry," Danielle said.
"Let's go give everyone some cotton candy! You said they were in the backyard, right?" I asked Uncle Joe.
"Yup."
"Ok, cool. Come on guys," I said pulling Danielle and Melissa's arms toward the back door.
I honestly wasn't even thinking about giving everyone cotton candy. I wanted to know how I ended up on a bunk bed in the back of the guys' bus. I tried to give Melissa this hint by catching her eye. It worked. She reached into the bag and tossed a pink bundle of cotton candy to her dad, who excitedly began to rip off a little sugary puff. With this we knew we were excused. A soon as we were down the hall I began the questioning:
"What happened?"
"Oh gosh Jules, it's a long story," Melissa smiled.
"Well, I've got all day. Shoot."
"Ok," Danielle began, "I was the first one to notice that you knocked out on the couch. So I went over to you to make sure you were really asleep and you were. So, I said, 'Guys! Julie fell asleep!' and then Mikey said that you told him that we had to get home and soon and I was like 'OMG yeah we do!' so me and Frankie went to go find Melissa. That took forever. Finally we found her by the pool with the guys she was talking to this morning.
"So after that we came back to the bus with Melissa and by that time Gerard or someone had called the bus driver over. So, I introduced the guys to Melissa and then Gerard was like 'Where do you live?' stalkerish I know, but this was Gerard Way asking for my address so I gave it to him.
"So, we gave them directions and then I played video games with the guys for a while and Melissa sat by you on the couch. And then Melissa remembered that we had to go to the carnival at the mall so we all went there, and when we got to the concession stand we both realized we left our wallets on the bus an Ray said he'd pay for it, and he did. Then Frank wanted to go on this roller coaster so we all went and we ended up staying late.
"And when we came back you were still asleep on the couch and Gerard was like, 'I feel bad for letting her sleep on the couch.' and then I said you liked sleeping on couches 'cause I knew you did. And he turned to the guys and said, 'Should I bring her to the back?' and they all shrugged and then he picked you up and brought you to the back. It was like you weighed nothing! He is so strong! Ha ha- well, then we were like 'Can we sleep back here too?' and he was like 'Sure.'
"Then I'm guessing Melissa woke up on her own and she woke me up too and before we went back out she was gunna wake you up too, but I told her no 'cause you looked tired. So when we came out we were stuck in traffic on the highway. The guys saw us in the doorway an told us to come watch T.V. We ended up watching some show that no one was paying attention to.
"All of the guy looked deep in thought, like they had just talked about something important. Then after the show ended we were home and Gerard woke you up, and now we're here," she concluded.
"Wow," was all I could say.
It was quiet for some time before Melissa spoke up.
"Come on let's go." We continued down the hallway, through the washing machine room, then finally to the backyard.
"Julie!"
"Julie where were you?"
"Hi, Julie!"
We walked past the swing set to the pool where Sarah, Sam, and Victoria were playing. Sam and Victoria were totally un-phased by our absence. Sarah however, looked on the verge of tears. Usually, I didn't pay attention to Sarah's emotions. In fact, I never really payed attention to her at all, ever. But, when I saw her standing there I felt so guilty.
Even though I knew I would regret it, I stepped forward and hugged her. When I stepped back, the whole front part of my body was thoroughly soaked with pool water.
"We got you guys some cotton candy," Melissa said. Suddenly, all of them made a mad dash to the ladder getting out of he pool. We all jumped back and I grabbed the bag from Melissa and stood on my toes. Even though Melissa was taller than me on flat feet, I knew that if I stood on my toes I would be a full nine inches taller than her.
The only reason I could stand on my toes like a ballerina, was because my track coach made us do a lot of conditioning with our ankles and feet. 'Finally, those exercises payed off,' I thought.
All three of them came to a halt right in front of me. I took three steps back and said, "What's the magic word?"
"PLEASE?!!"
"Nope!" I said with a satisfactory smile.
"I know!" said Sarah. "Accio cotton candy!" I nodded my head and smiled. I got back on my feet and gave each of them a bag of cotton candy. Every single one of them knew I was a big Harry Potter fan, so what I just did was considered normal.
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"...Now we may eat and drink!"
"Amen," we responded as we began to eat dinner.
"Can you pass the mash?" Sam asked Danielle. Danielle didn't respond. "Danielle pass the mashed potatoes!" I sighed and got up from my chair. I knew Danielle wasn't going to pass anything to Sam.
"Here, Sammy," I said as I handed her the ginormous bowl of mashed potatoes
"Thank you, Julie. At least someone cares," she said looking at Danielle who ignored her. I sat back down and continued eating. It was peacefully quiet until my aunt spoke up.
"So, who met you guys at the carnival?" All three of us stopped eating at once. I stared at Danielle and Melissa signaling to them that I would speak first.
"It was a last minute thing and no one showed up." I tried to look upset.
"Erin, Amanda, Joe, and Billy were supposed to go with us but we never met up with them," Melissa said. Aunt Mary nodded her head and continued to eat. 'That was close... I guess,' I said to myself.
"Mom, are we having dessert?" asked Victoria.
"No sweetie, I forgot to get the brownie mix, I'm sorry," Aunt Mary said in her Staten Island accent. After everyone finished eating, Sarah and I were the only ones to stay and help clean up. The girls went upstairs to 'get their rooms ready' for tonight even though they had already set up their rooms yesterday.
"Thank you for helping girls!" Aunt Mary told us as we threw out the last couple of napkins that were on the table.
"No problem, Aunt Mary," I replied as we walked over to the staircase.
Sarah went into Samantha's room at the beginning of the hallway and I continued down the hall to Danielle's room. I heard a muffled song being played on the radio. I listened hard but I couldn't make it out through the thick wood. I reached out for the handle, but the door opened before I could get to it.
"COULD WE PRETEND THAT AIRPLANES IN THE NIGHT SKY ARE LIKE SHOOTING STARS! I COULD REALLY USE A WISH RIGHT NOW, WISH RIGHT NOW, WISH RIGHT NOW!"
I looked up at Melissa who decided to put on a different outfit even though we were going to sleep. The outfit she had on just happened to include six inch heels, tight skinny jeans, and a sequined tube top.
"What the hell?" I said. Melissa, who was still singing to the blasting music, put a hand to her ear. I rolled my eyes, walked past her and shut off the radio.
"What the hell Jules?" Danielle and Melissa said in unison.
"Yeah, that's exactly what I said before." I looked at both of them. They had both changed into party outfits. "Why are you guys dresses like that?" I asked.
"This kid from my school is having a party. We were gunna ask you if you wanted to come," Danielle said. One day of sneaking out was enough for me. I already felt guilty enough with what happened today.
"Do your parents know?" I asked them. They both shook their heads 'no' in excitement.
"We're gunna sneak out! Are you in or what?" Danielle asked me.
I walked over to my suitcase and opened it up. Lying right next to the "party clothes" I packed were my pajamas. I took out the party clothes and sighed. Then I drew my arm back and let the clothes fly straight into the trash can. I picked up my pajamas and crossed over to Danielle's temprapedic bed an sat down. "I think I'll pass this time," I told them smiling.
Both of them shrugged then sat down in front of Danielle's closet mirror to do their make-up. I took the opportunity to go and change into my red and white pajama pants and tie-die t-shirt. When I walked back into the room rap music was blasting through the radio again. After an hour past, Melissa turned off the music and opened the door. Silence.
"Jules, are you sure?" she asked me. I nodded and smiled,
"I'll be ok." I made sure to hug them both before they left. I listened to their heels tip-toe down the hall and out the front door. Just like that they were gone. I closed the bedroom door and hoped they would be safe.
I shut off the lights and brought a chair over to the window. I pushed back the curtains and opened the window and the screen. I leaned out, closed my eyes, and let the spring breeze wash over me. I opened my eyes and looked up at the black sky. Even in Staten Island you couldn't see any stars.
All of a sudden, I saw the lights of a plane appear over the house across the street. Immediately I began singing the song I had just heard on Danielle's radio softly to myself. I smiled an rested my head on my arms. I spent the rest of the night just like that.
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"Juliet!" I heard my name come from somewhere far away. "Juliet!" This time the voice was closer. I heard footsteps coming down the hallway. I sat up. 'Why am I on an air mattress?' I thought to myself. I looked around the room to find Danielle and Melissa passed out on Danielle's bed faces first. They were still in their outfits from last night. I quickly got up, took off their heels, and threw my blanket over them.
I walked back over to the air mattress and laid down facing the window. It was half way closed. The footsteps came through the door. I kept my eyes open since I was facing away from the door. A manicured hand shook my shoulder. I pretended to jump up in surprise.
"Wha?" I croaked groggily. I looked up to see a blurry Aunt Mary standing over me.
"Your parents are here," she told me. I sat up, took my suitcase and my bag, and followed her down the hall and into the kitchen where my parents and sister were waiting for me.
I quickened my pace and gave them both big hugs. "Hi," I croaked. They both smiled.
"Thanks, Mary," my dad said as he leaned in to kiss my aunt's cheek.
"Not a problem. They're always a pleasure," she said through what I knew to be another forced smile.
"What do you say girls?" my mom said.
"Thank you!" said a very awake Sarah.
"Thank you Aunt Mary," I said rubbing my eye.
"Your welcome. We'll see you all soon!" With that, we were out of the door and in the car.
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"Wake up girls! We're home!" My moms voice snapped me up.
"What time is it?" I asked stretching.
"It's almost 9," my mom replied.
"At night?"
"No, in the morning."
"Geez, you guys woke us up early."
"You bet we did. How else would you get to Church?" I exhaled deeply. Church. Great. We got out of the car and took the parking lot elevator to our floor.
"Ah, it's great to be home," I said as I inhaled the smell of our apartment. It smelled so different from my aunt's house. I don't know what exactly makes people's houses smell different, but I felt so much more relaxed as soon as I stepped through the front door.
"Go get dressed so we can go to 10 o'clock mass," my mom ordered us. We both went to our rooms. I dumped all of my stuff from my bag and my suit case onto my bed and picked out a nice shirt and dress pants. After that I headed to the kitchen an poured myself a bowl of cereal.
"You changed fast," my mom said as she entered the kitchen in her own Church outfit.
"Yeah, I kind if had it laid out already," I said in between spoonfuls.
"That's good," she nodded. Awkward silence. Me and my mom weren't really that close. My dad entered the kitchen just in time. I smiled at him as I chewed on a spoonful of CoCo Puffs.
"How was the sleep over?" he asked me.
"It was good," I nodded. He nodded and poured himself a bowl of cereal as well. Sarah walked in.
"Did you enjoy the sleepover?" my mom asked her. I looked at Sarah to see what she would do. Honestly, I was a bit afraid she would tell them the truth. I held my breath.
"It was fun!" she smiled. I exhaled and took another bite of cereal. It was soggy. Yuck. I got up and dumped my cereal out.
"Ready to go?" my mom asked.
"Yup."
"Let's go then."
Before I knew it, we were sitting in traffic two blocks away from St. Patrick's Cathedral. As I was looking out the window, I saw a girl with a MCR t-shirt walk by. Instantly I longed to be back with the guys again. I felt like I belonged with them. I felt like they were part of my family. I don't know if they enjoyed having me around, but I enjoyed hanging out with them. Finally, my dad found a spot.
I had to call the guys after Mass. 'I hope they didn't leave the hotel yet,' I thought as we walked through the Cathedral's giant front doors.
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"Dad, can you hurry up? I have to pee," Sarah said as we slugged through the afternoon traffic. I admit, I was anxious to get home myself. I tried to add my two cents to the conversation, "Mom, I'm really hungry, I barely had any breakfast."
"Ok, sweetie. Johnathan, can you take this street here? It'll get us home faster," my mom said pointing to the right. Finally, we got home.
Sarah and I rushed to the elevator. "You would think there's some kind of emergency," I heard my mom say to my dad.
"There is," Sarah said as she tapped her foot impatiently. All of us laughed.
As soon as my mom opened the door we both pushed past her and went to the rooms we needed. Sarah went to the bathroom, and I continued down the hall to my room and shut the door. I pulled out my cell phone and dialed the number I had memorized all too well. It rang three times before someone answered.
"Hello?"
"Ray? It's me Juliet."
"Oh, hey! What's up?"
"Nothing much. The number that I'm calling you guys at is the hotel number right?"
"No, this is Gerard's cell."
I gaped. He gave me his cell number? 'No freaking way!' I thought.
"I-I thought that this was the hotel number, so I called you guys to see if one of you guys would give me your number. But, I guess that solves that problem," I told him.
"No, Gerard never answers his cell phone. I'll give you everyone's so you have a few back up numbers ok?"
"Um, sure yeah Hold on a sec," I said as I covered the phone and squealed. I went over to my desk. "Ok," I told him.
"Ok, my number is: 857-2305, Mikey's is: 825-6108, Frank's is: 812-9053, and Bob's is: 849-6254. You got everything?" he asked.
"Yeah," I replied.
"Ok, so just text us saying it's you."
"No, that's not a reliable plan. Anyone could say they're me. I'll just give you my number," I said.
"Ok, tell me."
"625-9031."
"Got it."
"I have to go, ok? Tell everyone I said hi!"
"Ok, bye," he said. And with that I hung up the phone, changed, and went in the kitchen to eat. I had a lot of texting to do later...
Melissa rang the doorbell again. I rubbed my eyes and tried to wake up. I just had a bad gut feeling we were in trouble. I glanced at Danielle who nervously half-smiled. Finally, I saw the curtains ruffle in the bay window in the living room and my uncle's face appeared. He answered the door 3 seconds later. I couldn't tell what was going on. We were all just staring at one another. His face was expressionless.
"Hi, Uncle Joe," I said in a small voice. He stepped aside and let us enter the house. It was quiet and empty.
"Where is everybody?" Melissa asked innocently.
"They're outside," he answered walking back to the couch. I couldn't take the awkward tension any more.
"Uncle Joe, are you mad?" I said following him into the living room.
"No." I stared at him disbelief.
"You mean to tell me that you aren't even frustrated with us? You weren't even worried the whole time we were gone? We're not in trouble? Say something please!" I begged him.
"Julie calm down!" Melissa put a hand on my shoulder.
"It's like she WANTS to get in trouble," Danielle laughed.
"Oh no, you will be punished," Uncle Joe said. Danielle and Melissa both stopped laughing abruptly.
"I don't blame you Juliet. These two probably dragged you along. I WAS worried Juliet. No phone calls, no texts; just a little note. The only reason you two are trouble is because you don't care! You're lucky-"
"Uncle Joe," I interrupted him.
"Yes?"
"I just wanted to let you know I was a part of it. A big part of it actually. I don't want them to get in trouble. Blame me." Everything was quiet except for the voices coming from the television. I looked at Danielle and Melissa. Both of their mouths were hanging open so wide I thought their jaws were going to become permanently dislocated. I looked over to Uncle Joe on the couch. His chin was resting in the palm of his hand. After a while he spoke.
"I expected much more of you Juliet. I'm disappointed. But, I respect you for telling the truth... Thank you." I nodded my head in reply. It was silent for another moment. All sudden I saw a grin break out onto Uncle Joe's face.
"So, uh, did you get me some cotton candy?" he asked. We broke out into laughter.
"You were to starting to scare me there for a second Uncle Joe," I told him. He doubled over in laughter again and slapped his knee. I turned to Melissa who returned my look of sheer terror with a laugh.
"Do you like blue or pink?" I asked him.
"It doesn't matter, just as long as I get some before you guys eat it all," he replied.
"Oh, don't worry we got a bag for everyone," Melissa spoke up before I said anything that would give us away.
"Yeah, don't worry," Danielle said.
"Let's go give everyone some cotton candy! You said they were in the backyard, right?" I asked Uncle Joe.
"Yup."
"Ok, cool. Come on guys," I said pulling Danielle and Melissa's arms toward the back door.
I honestly wasn't even thinking about giving everyone cotton candy. I wanted to know how I ended up on a bunk bed in the back of the guys' bus. I tried to give Melissa this hint by catching her eye. It worked. She reached into the bag and tossed a pink bundle of cotton candy to her dad, who excitedly began to rip off a little sugary puff. With this we knew we were excused. A soon as we were down the hall I began the questioning:
"What happened?"
"Oh gosh Jules, it's a long story," Melissa smiled.
"Well, I've got all day. Shoot."
"Ok," Danielle began, "I was the first one to notice that you knocked out on the couch. So I went over to you to make sure you were really asleep and you were. So, I said, 'Guys! Julie fell asleep!' and then Mikey said that you told him that we had to get home and soon and I was like 'OMG yeah we do!' so me and Frankie went to go find Melissa. That took forever. Finally we found her by the pool with the guys she was talking to this morning.
"So after that we came back to the bus with Melissa and by that time Gerard or someone had called the bus driver over. So, I introduced the guys to Melissa and then Gerard was like 'Where do you live?' stalkerish I know, but this was Gerard Way asking for my address so I gave it to him.
"So, we gave them directions and then I played video games with the guys for a while and Melissa sat by you on the couch. And then Melissa remembered that we had to go to the carnival at the mall so we all went there, and when we got to the concession stand we both realized we left our wallets on the bus an Ray said he'd pay for it, and he did. Then Frank wanted to go on this roller coaster so we all went and we ended up staying late.
"And when we came back you were still asleep on the couch and Gerard was like, 'I feel bad for letting her sleep on the couch.' and then I said you liked sleeping on couches 'cause I knew you did. And he turned to the guys and said, 'Should I bring her to the back?' and they all shrugged and then he picked you up and brought you to the back. It was like you weighed nothing! He is so strong! Ha ha- well, then we were like 'Can we sleep back here too?' and he was like 'Sure.'
"Then I'm guessing Melissa woke up on her own and she woke me up too and before we went back out she was gunna wake you up too, but I told her no 'cause you looked tired. So when we came out we were stuck in traffic on the highway. The guys saw us in the doorway an told us to come watch T.V. We ended up watching some show that no one was paying attention to.
"All of the guy looked deep in thought, like they had just talked about something important. Then after the show ended we were home and Gerard woke you up, and now we're here," she concluded.
"Wow," was all I could say.
It was quiet for some time before Melissa spoke up.
"Come on let's go." We continued down the hallway, through the washing machine room, then finally to the backyard.
"Julie!"
"Julie where were you?"
"Hi, Julie!"
We walked past the swing set to the pool where Sarah, Sam, and Victoria were playing. Sam and Victoria were totally un-phased by our absence. Sarah however, looked on the verge of tears. Usually, I didn't pay attention to Sarah's emotions. In fact, I never really payed attention to her at all, ever. But, when I saw her standing there I felt so guilty.
Even though I knew I would regret it, I stepped forward and hugged her. When I stepped back, the whole front part of my body was thoroughly soaked with pool water.
"We got you guys some cotton candy," Melissa said. Suddenly, all of them made a mad dash to the ladder getting out of he pool. We all jumped back and I grabbed the bag from Melissa and stood on my toes. Even though Melissa was taller than me on flat feet, I knew that if I stood on my toes I would be a full nine inches taller than her.
The only reason I could stand on my toes like a ballerina, was because my track coach made us do a lot of conditioning with our ankles and feet. 'Finally, those exercises payed off,' I thought.
All three of them came to a halt right in front of me. I took three steps back and said, "What's the magic word?"
"PLEASE?!!"
"Nope!" I said with a satisfactory smile.
"I know!" said Sarah. "Accio cotton candy!" I nodded my head and smiled. I got back on my feet and gave each of them a bag of cotton candy. Every single one of them knew I was a big Harry Potter fan, so what I just did was considered normal.
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"...Now we may eat and drink!"
"Amen," we responded as we began to eat dinner.
"Can you pass the mash?" Sam asked Danielle. Danielle didn't respond. "Danielle pass the mashed potatoes!" I sighed and got up from my chair. I knew Danielle wasn't going to pass anything to Sam.
"Here, Sammy," I said as I handed her the ginormous bowl of mashed potatoes
"Thank you, Julie. At least someone cares," she said looking at Danielle who ignored her. I sat back down and continued eating. It was peacefully quiet until my aunt spoke up.
"So, who met you guys at the carnival?" All three of us stopped eating at once. I stared at Danielle and Melissa signaling to them that I would speak first.
"It was a last minute thing and no one showed up." I tried to look upset.
"Erin, Amanda, Joe, and Billy were supposed to go with us but we never met up with them," Melissa said. Aunt Mary nodded her head and continued to eat. 'That was close... I guess,' I said to myself.
"Mom, are we having dessert?" asked Victoria.
"No sweetie, I forgot to get the brownie mix, I'm sorry," Aunt Mary said in her Staten Island accent. After everyone finished eating, Sarah and I were the only ones to stay and help clean up. The girls went upstairs to 'get their rooms ready' for tonight even though they had already set up their rooms yesterday.
"Thank you for helping girls!" Aunt Mary told us as we threw out the last couple of napkins that were on the table.
"No problem, Aunt Mary," I replied as we walked over to the staircase.
Sarah went into Samantha's room at the beginning of the hallway and I continued down the hall to Danielle's room. I heard a muffled song being played on the radio. I listened hard but I couldn't make it out through the thick wood. I reached out for the handle, but the door opened before I could get to it.
"COULD WE PRETEND THAT AIRPLANES IN THE NIGHT SKY ARE LIKE SHOOTING STARS! I COULD REALLY USE A WISH RIGHT NOW, WISH RIGHT NOW, WISH RIGHT NOW!"
I looked up at Melissa who decided to put on a different outfit even though we were going to sleep. The outfit she had on just happened to include six inch heels, tight skinny jeans, and a sequined tube top.
"What the hell?" I said. Melissa, who was still singing to the blasting music, put a hand to her ear. I rolled my eyes, walked past her and shut off the radio.
"What the hell Jules?" Danielle and Melissa said in unison.
"Yeah, that's exactly what I said before." I looked at both of them. They had both changed into party outfits. "Why are you guys dresses like that?" I asked.
"This kid from my school is having a party. We were gunna ask you if you wanted to come," Danielle said. One day of sneaking out was enough for me. I already felt guilty enough with what happened today.
"Do your parents know?" I asked them. They both shook their heads 'no' in excitement.
"We're gunna sneak out! Are you in or what?" Danielle asked me.
I walked over to my suitcase and opened it up. Lying right next to the "party clothes" I packed were my pajamas. I took out the party clothes and sighed. Then I drew my arm back and let the clothes fly straight into the trash can. I picked up my pajamas and crossed over to Danielle's temprapedic bed an sat down. "I think I'll pass this time," I told them smiling.
Both of them shrugged then sat down in front of Danielle's closet mirror to do their make-up. I took the opportunity to go and change into my red and white pajama pants and tie-die t-shirt. When I walked back into the room rap music was blasting through the radio again. After an hour past, Melissa turned off the music and opened the door. Silence.
"Jules, are you sure?" she asked me. I nodded and smiled,
"I'll be ok." I made sure to hug them both before they left. I listened to their heels tip-toe down the hall and out the front door. Just like that they were gone. I closed the bedroom door and hoped they would be safe.
I shut off the lights and brought a chair over to the window. I pushed back the curtains and opened the window and the screen. I leaned out, closed my eyes, and let the spring breeze wash over me. I opened my eyes and looked up at the black sky. Even in Staten Island you couldn't see any stars.
All of a sudden, I saw the lights of a plane appear over the house across the street. Immediately I began singing the song I had just heard on Danielle's radio softly to myself. I smiled an rested my head on my arms. I spent the rest of the night just like that.
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"Juliet!" I heard my name come from somewhere far away. "Juliet!" This time the voice was closer. I heard footsteps coming down the hallway. I sat up. 'Why am I on an air mattress?' I thought to myself. I looked around the room to find Danielle and Melissa passed out on Danielle's bed faces first. They were still in their outfits from last night. I quickly got up, took off their heels, and threw my blanket over them.
I walked back over to the air mattress and laid down facing the window. It was half way closed. The footsteps came through the door. I kept my eyes open since I was facing away from the door. A manicured hand shook my shoulder. I pretended to jump up in surprise.
"Wha?" I croaked groggily. I looked up to see a blurry Aunt Mary standing over me.
"Your parents are here," she told me. I sat up, took my suitcase and my bag, and followed her down the hall and into the kitchen where my parents and sister were waiting for me.
I quickened my pace and gave them both big hugs. "Hi," I croaked. They both smiled.
"Thanks, Mary," my dad said as he leaned in to kiss my aunt's cheek.
"Not a problem. They're always a pleasure," she said through what I knew to be another forced smile.
"What do you say girls?" my mom said.
"Thank you!" said a very awake Sarah.
"Thank you Aunt Mary," I said rubbing my eye.
"Your welcome. We'll see you all soon!" With that, we were out of the door and in the car.
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"Wake up girls! We're home!" My moms voice snapped me up.
"What time is it?" I asked stretching.
"It's almost 9," my mom replied.
"At night?"
"No, in the morning."
"Geez, you guys woke us up early."
"You bet we did. How else would you get to Church?" I exhaled deeply. Church. Great. We got out of the car and took the parking lot elevator to our floor.
"Ah, it's great to be home," I said as I inhaled the smell of our apartment. It smelled so different from my aunt's house. I don't know what exactly makes people's houses smell different, but I felt so much more relaxed as soon as I stepped through the front door.
"Go get dressed so we can go to 10 o'clock mass," my mom ordered us. We both went to our rooms. I dumped all of my stuff from my bag and my suit case onto my bed and picked out a nice shirt and dress pants. After that I headed to the kitchen an poured myself a bowl of cereal.
"You changed fast," my mom said as she entered the kitchen in her own Church outfit.
"Yeah, I kind if had it laid out already," I said in between spoonfuls.
"That's good," she nodded. Awkward silence. Me and my mom weren't really that close. My dad entered the kitchen just in time. I smiled at him as I chewed on a spoonful of CoCo Puffs.
"How was the sleep over?" he asked me.
"It was good," I nodded. He nodded and poured himself a bowl of cereal as well. Sarah walked in.
"Did you enjoy the sleepover?" my mom asked her. I looked at Sarah to see what she would do. Honestly, I was a bit afraid she would tell them the truth. I held my breath.
"It was fun!" she smiled. I exhaled and took another bite of cereal. It was soggy. Yuck. I got up and dumped my cereal out.
"Ready to go?" my mom asked.
"Yup."
"Let's go then."
Before I knew it, we were sitting in traffic two blocks away from St. Patrick's Cathedral. As I was looking out the window, I saw a girl with a MCR t-shirt walk by. Instantly I longed to be back with the guys again. I felt like I belonged with them. I felt like they were part of my family. I don't know if they enjoyed having me around, but I enjoyed hanging out with them. Finally, my dad found a spot.
I had to call the guys after Mass. 'I hope they didn't leave the hotel yet,' I thought as we walked through the Cathedral's giant front doors.
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"Dad, can you hurry up? I have to pee," Sarah said as we slugged through the afternoon traffic. I admit, I was anxious to get home myself. I tried to add my two cents to the conversation, "Mom, I'm really hungry, I barely had any breakfast."
"Ok, sweetie. Johnathan, can you take this street here? It'll get us home faster," my mom said pointing to the right. Finally, we got home.
Sarah and I rushed to the elevator. "You would think there's some kind of emergency," I heard my mom say to my dad.
"There is," Sarah said as she tapped her foot impatiently. All of us laughed.
As soon as my mom opened the door we both pushed past her and went to the rooms we needed. Sarah went to the bathroom, and I continued down the hall to my room and shut the door. I pulled out my cell phone and dialed the number I had memorized all too well. It rang three times before someone answered.
"Hello?"
"Ray? It's me Juliet."
"Oh, hey! What's up?"
"Nothing much. The number that I'm calling you guys at is the hotel number right?"
"No, this is Gerard's cell."
I gaped. He gave me his cell number? 'No freaking way!' I thought.
"I-I thought that this was the hotel number, so I called you guys to see if one of you guys would give me your number. But, I guess that solves that problem," I told him.
"No, Gerard never answers his cell phone. I'll give you everyone's so you have a few back up numbers ok?"
"Um, sure yeah Hold on a sec," I said as I covered the phone and squealed. I went over to my desk. "Ok," I told him.
"Ok, my number is: 857-2305, Mikey's is: 825-6108, Frank's is: 812-9053, and Bob's is: 849-6254. You got everything?" he asked.
"Yeah," I replied.
"Ok, so just text us saying it's you."
"No, that's not a reliable plan. Anyone could say they're me. I'll just give you my number," I said.
"Ok, tell me."
"625-9031."
"Got it."
"I have to go, ok? Tell everyone I said hi!"
"Ok, bye," he said. And with that I hung up the phone, changed, and went in the kitchen to eat. I had a lot of texting to do later...
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2/7/15