Melody sat on the edge of her bed the next morning; she was worn out and had to fight to find any strength left in her. Finally, she was able to slowly and painfully pull herself up and stumble to her closet. She found a white sleeveless top and a pair of shiny blue pants.
"Mel, hun, you awake?" She heard her mom call from the kitchen.
"Yeah," Melody answered. She quickly started to get dressed.
"Want some breakfast?"
Melody had no appetite; she could not have eaten even if she had wanted to. "No thanks," Melody said, pulling her long hair into a ponytail. A few seconds later the phone rang. Melody grabbed it, knowing who it was.
"Hi," she cooed into the phone, smiling to herself.
"Hey, how's it goin'?" Aj asked.
"As good as it can be," she sighed. There was a moment of silence, as if neither of them knew what to say.
"I have a photo shoot this morning. Wanna come check it out?" He asked, breaking the silence.
"Let me go check with my parents and see if they will actually allow me to go, hold on," Melody said, starting to set down the phone.
"Melody, wait a second," she heard AJ call, she took the phone again.
"Yeah?"
"If your parents tell you not to go, this time, don't go."
"Okay, I promise." Aj smiled on the other end off the line. He knew if Melody made a promise she would keep it, and he didn't want anything like last night to happen again.
"Mom," Melody said approaching her slowly, "I was wondering if I could go to a photo shoot with Aj?"
"I have a few questions before I let you go. How are you feeling, how long are you going, what exactly will you be doing there, and will you be up to going to your Grandparents afterwards?" Her mom said, all in one breath.
"Okay, here goes…I feel better, it shouldn't be too long, I'll just be watching, most likely sitting the whole time, and yes, I will be able to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house after it is over," Melody answered, also in one breath. Her mom seemed satisfied with her answer and nodded her head that she could go. Melody made her way back to her room to tell Aj she could go.
"I'll be there to pick you up in about an hour, okay?" He said, happy she could go.
"Okay, see you then, bye."
"Bye." Melody hung up the phone and sat back in her chair. She had just woken up but she was still tired. Maybe I should get another hour of sleep before he comes. Melody crawled into her bed and immediately fell into a deep sleep.
An hour later Aj pulled into Melody's driveway. He took the rose he had bought her off the passenger seat and brought it with him to the front door. He knocked on the door, waited for a minute, then knocked again. Finally, Mrs. Hartford answered the door.
"Sorry I didn't answer the door right away, I thought Melody was going to get it. Come in, I believe she is in her room," she said, heading back to the kitchen. Aj could smell brownies; the sweet chocolate smell filled the entire house. He causally walked back to Melody's room, smiling when he saw her. She hadn't answered the door because she was asleep. Aj crept silently to her bed and sat down next to her. He leaned down and kissed her. Melody slowly opened her eyes.
"Hi," she said sheepishly.
"Hi."
"I guess I took a little bit longer of a nap then I had planned."
"That's fine, I enjoyed waking you up," he said, handing her the rose and leaning in to kiss her again. Aj pulled Melody up off the bed and put his arm around her waste. "Ready to go?" She nodded and they started towards to door.
"Bye mom!" Melody called, as they passed the kitchen.
"Hold on one minute young lady!" her mom scolded. Melody stiffened and walked to the kitchen. "Do you have any idea what you did?" Melody shook her head no. Her mom laughed, confusing Melody. "You were going to leave without trying a brownie," she said picking a plate off the counter. Melody grabbed a brownie and tried it.
"You too Aj, don't think you'll get away that easily," her mom said, a big smile on her face. Aj took a brownie.
"Mmm, very good," Aj said with a mouthful of brownie. Melody and her mom laughed as he attempted to keep it from falling out off his mouth. Melody watched her mom, at least she seems to like Aj, she thought.
"Okay, we're going to go now," Melody said, attempting to pull Aj towards the door, but she wasn't strong enough. Aj was trying to grab another brownie as her mom held out the plate to him before he had to go. Melody pouted, so finally, Aj waved goodbye to her mom and led the way to his car.
Aj pulled out onto the road and turned on the radio. A slow song blasted from the stereo system. Melody listened to the song in distaste. A guy with a high, annoying voice sang. Aj saw her face and laughed.
"What is so funny?" she demanded.
"You don't like this song very much do you."
"Well, no, what is it?"
"It's called God Must Have Spent A Little More Time on You, by a group called Nsync."
"They sound like a cheap rip off of you."
Aj just laughed again as they sped down the road. A few minutes later they pulled up to the building where the photo shoot was.
