CHAPTER NINE-“Daydream Lover”

 

I laid there in the darkness of my bunk just thinking about how weird it felt to be sleeping on a bus.  We were already in PA, at the First Union Spectrum, the venue they would be performing at tonight and tomorrow night.  We drove most of the night arriving just about a half hour ago.  I knew it was still dark outside, my watch read six o’clock.  The bus was silent.  Lina was still asleep.  She lay in the bunk right across from me.  I woke up just around the time we arrived, hearing John turn off the engine and climb out of the bus maybe to get something to eat, or just a breath of fresh air.

 

I yawned as I reached over my head and grabbed my journal.  I turned on the small light that was affixed to the bunk.  I thought it funny how the bunks looked so tiny till you are in them.  There was actually a TV/VCR inside every bunks, and a little stand on each side of it with electrical sockets, I guess it served as a good place to recharge a mobile phone, or put an alarm clock.

 

I opened up my journal, and began writing.  I subconsciously smiled to myself as the words just came flowing from my heart to the pen.  After about an hour of writing, a thought came to me.  Lina’s birthday would be coming in a couple of months.  I wanted to give her something special, something from the heart.  I’d write her an ode.  So I titled it:

ANGELINA

 

For five minutes I searched myself for what to write, but for the first time in my life, I came up blank.  I stared at her name on the white sheet of paper, but nothing came to me.  It must be writers block, I told myself blowing it off.  I closed my journal and placed it back on the stand.  I moved the dark blue curtain away, and went to sit over the side, but when I went to sit down, I hit my head with the front of the bunk.

 

“Owww!”  I cried brining my hand to my forehead where I’d hurt myself.  “Shit, that’s smart.”

 

I heard Lina giggle from her bunk.

 

“Yeah, what are you laughing at?”  I asked, jokingly.

 

She pulled her curtain away.  “Your clumsy self.”  She smiled. 

 

I rolled my eyes and sighed, still rubbing my forehead.

 

“Good morning to you too, sunshine.”  She teased climbing out of her bunk.

 

“Good morning.”  I said climbing out of mine, and walking to the bathroom.  I took my toothbrush, and loaded it with Crest Dental White toothpaste.  Lina came in behind me, and did the same.  The sink was barely big enough for both of us.  When we were done, we went to the makeshift kitchen, to see what we could muster.

 

“Cool,” I said, as we walked over to our kitchen dinette table.  “Dunkin Donuts.”

 

There was a box of assorted doughnuts left on the table. 

 

“Wonder who left it?”  Lina asked.

 

I went over and pulled back the curtain to see if John had come back, and wanted some doughnuts.  But it seemed he’d already had breakfast.  There was an empty cup of what looked like coffee in his cup holder, the label Dunkin Donuts on it.

 

“John must have left it for us.”  I said.

 

“How nice.”  Lina said, grabbing a doughnut from the box.

 

I opened up the fridge, and asked.  “Milk, or OJ?”

 

“Neither,” Came Lina’s response, as she stood up and filled the Mr. Coffee pot with water. 

 

I pulled out the OJ, and served myself a cup.  Then sat down at the table, grabbing a glazed doughnut. 

 

RING.  Went the kitchen phone, which I had not even noticed hung right on the side of the stand that held the microwave.

 

“Hello?”  Lina said into the receiver.  “Yeah, I just got up…No we’re just having something to eat…Ok sure, no problem…forty five minutes, right…Yeah, that’s ok…bye.  Well,” She said after hanging up.  “Gotta go and rehearse in a few.”

 

I nodded,  “Ok.”

 

“I’m sorry you can’t come.”  She added.  “I know it must get boring”

 

“No, really, it’s ok.  I don’t mind.”  I told her.

 

She looked at me doubtfully as she removed the coffee pot and served herself a cup.  She leaned against the counter.  “You wouldn’t want to go to practice anyways, it can be a drag if you aren’t doing anything.”

 

“Don’t worry about it.”

 

“Ok, I won’t.”  Then changing the subject,  “So what’s up with you and Brian?”  She asked catching me off guard, almost causing me to spill my OJ.

 

“Huh?”  I asked avoiding eye contact. “What do you mean?”

 

“Oh c’mon Isa.  Don’t play innocent with me.  I told you yesterday about me and AJ, so you tell me about you and Brian.”

 

“Lina, what me and Brian?  There is no me and Brian.  He’s engaged, remember?”  I said.

 

“Oh, please.”  She exclaimed.  “It’s not like they are married yet.”

 

I looked at her with shock.

 

“Besides,” she continued in a joking fashion.  “If they were, why do you think divorce court exists?”

 

I laughed.  “Lina, I’m not interested in Brian anyways.”

 

“Oh, you mean that look last night of,” she sighed while batting her eye, making fun of me.  “Complete adulation, didn’t mean anything?”

 

“I did not have a ‘look’ last night.”  I said hiding the fact.

 

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that.  Ok, so tell me,” she said her eyes focusing in on mine.  “Who do you like?”

 

I smiled, ready to say no one really, but she knew me better than that.

 

“Ah, don’t lie to me either, I caught that smile.  What, you’re going to tell me it’s not another look?”  She teased.

 

“Ugh!  Fine.”  I said, the smile reappearing on my face.  I felt weird telling her straight out, so instead I said.  “Guess?”

 

“Kevin,” she said immediately.

 

As soon as she said that, the smile disappeared from my face.  “How’d you know that?”  I asked her.

 

“Duh, Isabelle.  You stare at him like he’s your god or something.  And the way you always lick you lips when…”

 

“I do not, you liar.”  I said.

 

She laughed.  “Yes you do!”

 

I gasped cupping my mouth with my hands.  “How embarrassing.  Lina tell me you’re lying.” 

 

“Ok, I’m lying.”  She said teasing.

 

 I breathed a sigh of relief.

 

Then she added with a laugh.  “But you do, you lick your lips every time.”

 

“Ok, fine.  Don’t you have somewhere else you need to be?”  I mocked.

 

Still laughing, she finished her breakfast, and headed for the shower.  As soon as she was done, I went in.  When I came back out she was already gone.  I put on a navy blue long sleeve tee, with a flower child design, on the bottom left hand corner, with dark indigo boot cut jeans that turn up at the cuffs.  I didn’t bother to put any shoes on, and just walked around in my socks.

 

I went into the last room, grabbed the remote control, and sat down on the sofa, turning on the television.  I flipped through the cable channels.  Nope…saw that…didn’t like that…never wanted to see that.  “Ooops” I said as I struck the playboy channel.  “Mental note, always skip over channel 65.”   I continued to flip till I ended up in the same place I always did when I’d turn on a television.  MTV.  Road Rules was on…again.

 

Boring, I though to myself as someone knocked on the tour bus door.  I was sure I hadn’t locked it.  Maybe John left his key in the ignition.  But it wasn’t John it was Kevin.  I opened the door and let him in.  “Hi.”

 

“Hi,” he said coming further in.  “You alone?”  He asked.

 

I smiled, “Yeah.”

 

“Lina told me you would be, I thought it would be nice to keep you company, till she got back.”

 

“Oh,” I said.  That’s my girl, I thought to myself.  “Thanks, that’s so sweet of you, Kevin.”

 

He smiled; I could have sworn I made him blush.  “Don’t worry about it.  So what were you doing before I got here?”  He quickly said changing the subject.

 

“I was just in the back watching TV.”

 

“Got any good videos?  I wonder if you have the same selection we do back on our bus.”  He said finding his own way to our little leisure room.  He went straight to the drawer that contained the videos and DVDs.  “Oh, look.”  He said holding up a video.  “We don’t have this back in our room.  Want to watch it?”  He asked.

 

“Yeah, sure.”  I said.  Like I’d say no to you, I thought.

 

“Great,” he said putting into the VCR, ‘The Big Hit’.  “You’ve seen this movie?”  He asked.

 

“No, actually.”  I said.

 

“I have.  It’s hilarious.” 

 

I smiled and took a seat directly across the television.  Perfect view.  He sat down right next to me.  Thank god I mouthed to myself as the movie began.  He had just showered.  His hair was lightly damp, and I could smell the fresh scent of Irish Springs soap on his skin.  He had on dark blue drawstring, Cargo pants, with reflective tape on the side and back pockets, and a heather gray, v-neck, classic winter sweater.

 

I licked my lips. Oh God I thought.  I do lick them.  I stared at him as he watched the movie. 

 

“Do you want anything to drink?”  I asked him, when I realized I hadn’t offered him anything.  “We have breakfast doughnuts if you’d like.”

 

“No that’s ok.”  He said.  “I had something to eat before I came over here.”

 

“Oh ok,” I said.  “How come you aren’t at rehearsal?”

 

“Oh, well Angelina’s the only one who really needs to get use to the stage and different venues.  We did a lot of rehearsing before we even began the tour back in May, and then after that we performed all over Europe.”

 

“Cool,” I said not knowing what else to say about it.

 

“Besides,” he said.  “I’d rather be here with you.”

 

I bit my lower lip, trying not to let the big cheesy grin escape onto my lips.  He turned his attention back to the movie, and I turned mine back to him.  Whenever he smiled at me and spoke warmly to me, it lit up my heart. Even when I was away from him, I couldn’t stop thinking of Kevin.  I often found myself just daydreaming about him.  I would go over the things he said to me that day, the way he’d looked at me.  Many high school boys lost patience with me a number of times because I claimed I wasn’t ready for an intense relationship.  But I just couldn’t help wanting something more from Kevin.  No matter how I tried, I couldn’t stop fantasizing that Kevin was falling in love with me.

 

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