Chapter 31
Nick’s
Nintendo-playing was interrupted by a loud knock on the door. Groaning, he paused his game, tossed down his
controller, and, with difficulty, got to his feet. He limped to the door and opened it to find,
once again, all four guys standing in the hall.
“What’s going
on?” he asked.
“Just wanted to
see if you were up yet,” answered Brian.
“Come on, we’re gonna go get some breakfast.”
“Eh… I’m not very
hungry,” Nick said slowly, his stomach protesting the word ‘breakfast’.
“Come on, Nick,
you have to eat breakfast,” Kevin insisted, and just when Nick thought he was
going to go into a whole spiel about how breakfast was the most important meal
of the day, Brian interrupted and spared him the lecture.
“You don’t have
to eat if you don’t want to; just come with us.”
Nick really
didn’t think that was a good idea, but judging by the looks on their faces,
this was something he probably wasn’t going to get out of. So, with a sigh, he replied, “Fine.”
“Good,” said
Brian. “You ready to go?”
“Yeah, just let
me turn off my game and get some shoes,” Nick muttered, trudging back into the
room. He shut off the Gamecube and TV
and slipped on a pair of Adidas sandals.
Then he started to head to the door, but, catching a glimpse of his
reflection in the mirror hung near the door, he stopped and went back to his
overflowing suitcase. Digging through
the unruly heap of clothes, he found what he was looking for: a squashed Tampa
Bay Bucs baseball cap. Tugging on it to
reshape it, he jammed it over his still-drying hair, not caring that it clashed
with his orange t-shirt.
“You coming,
Nick?” called AJ.
“Yeah!” Nick
shouted back. He stopped at the mirror
one last time, pulling the baseball cap low over his ears and giving his baggy
t-shirt a tug, making sure it was successfully hiding the small black pouch
strapped to his waist. Then he left the
suite.
“About damn
time,” AJ teased, playfully slinging an arm around Nick’s shoulders. Nick immediately stiffened, terrified AJ was
going to pull off his cap and give him a noogie. But AJ only let go of him and stared at him
in concern. “What’s the matter?” he
asked. “I’m only playing; why are you so
tense?”
“Sorry,” Nick
muttered. “I just don’t feel much like
playing.” Out of the corner of his eye,
he noticed the others exchanging worried looks.
“Are you sick,
Nicky?” Howie finally asked.
“Yes,” Nick
answered, then added, “I think I’m coming down with flu.”
“Didn’t you just
have the flu a few weeks ago?” Kevin asked suspiciously.
“Yeah… guess it’s
still going around.”
“Maybe it’s not
the flu. Maybe it’s mono or something,”
Brian suggested.
“Mono? Ain’t that the ‘kissing disease’ or
whatever?” AJ scoffed. “Who ya been
kissing, Nicky?”
“Ooh, I know
who,” Howie jumped in, grinning. “Leah,
right? Wasn’t that her name?”
“Ohh yeah, the
stripper!” AJ exclaimed, eyes gleaming.
Snorting, he added, “Bet mono’s not the only thing he got from her.”
Nick stared at
the two of them in shock… how did they find out about Leah? He hadn’t told anyone about her, except for…
“Brian! Why the fuck did you have to tell them about
her?” he accused, angry and embarrassed.
“Nick… I’m sorry…
I didn’t know it was that big of a deal.
If you had stayed with her, they would’ve found out anyway,” answered
Brian calmly.
“Yeah, but they
could have found out from me. I don’t
like you discussing my personal life with other people. Jeez, you’re worse than a girl with all your
damn gossiping.”
“Oh, Nick, chill,”
AJ snapped. “We’re just playing with
you. What the fuck is wrong with you
today?”
“I told you, I
DON’T FEEL GOOD!” Nick shouted. “God, I
can’t deal with this crap today. Go get
your damn breakfast; I’m going back to my room.” He pivoted and started to walk in the other
direction, but Kevin grabbed his shoulder.
“Oww,” Nick whined, squirming to get out of his grasp.
“Nick, stop
it. We’re going out for breakfast as a
group, and if you’re still a part of this group, you’re coming with us,” Kevin
said firmly, his fingers digging into Nick’s flesh.
“What the fuck do
you mean ‘if I’m still a part of this group’?” Nick questioned angrily.
“Well, you
haven’t been acting like you’re a part of the group. What is going on with you? One minute you’re happy and eager to
participate, and the next, you’re pissed off and wanting to hide in your room
all day. What’s the deal with all the
mood swings? Are you bipolar or
something? Do we need to get you
help?” His tone was calm, serious, and
matter-of-fact, but he was only pissing Nick off.
“Butt out,
Kevin. You’re not my dad, and it’s none
of your business. And no, I’m not bipolar.”
“All right.”
“Can we go
now? I’m starving,” complained AJ.
“Yes,” Kevin
said. “Let’s go. Come on, Nick.”
Sighing heavily,
Nick reluctantly followed them down the hall.
***
Awhile later, the
five of them sat in a booth at IHOP, waiting for their breakfast to
arrive. Somehow, Nick had gotten
scrunched in between Brian and AJ, where he sat, queasy and claustrophobic, ignoring
the others’ conversation and praying for a fire or anything else that would
offer him an escape.
Kevin brought him
out of his spaced out state by nagging, “Nick, take off that cap. Don’t you have any manners?”
“You’re not my
dad, Kev,” Nick reminded him sullenly.
“Cripes, Nick,
just take it off!” AJ exclaimed, reaching over and batting the cap off Nick’s
head.
“No!” Nick cried,
hands immediately covering his hair, his heart pounding fearfully.
“What? What’s wrong?” said AJ.
“Nick?” Brian asked
in concern, while Kevin and Howie just stared across the table at him.
Nervously, Nick
let his hands fall and waited, watching their faces. They only looked at him, perplexed, and he
exhaled in relief, deducing that there must not be any noticeable bald patches
on his head yet.
“Uh… here…” AJ
said uncomfortably, handing Nick his cap back.
Nick took it
wordlessly and set it on his lap, his heart still racing from the scare. He knew he couldn’t keep doing this. Close calls were more and more frequent now,
and if he did not tell them, they would soon find out the truth by
accident. But breakfast was not a good
time to do that. He would procrastinate
further.
Their waitress
soon came, balancing a huge tray carrying five plates of food. Nick held his breath as she placed a dish of
scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast in front of him, trying not to inhale its
scent. The others (mainly Kevin and
Howie) had forced him to order something.
“You’ll be hungry by the time we get the food, Nick,” Howie had said,
while Kevin continued to insist that Nick needed to eat breakfast.
Unable to hold
his breath forever, Nick slowly exhaled, and the food smell immediately wafted
into his nostrils. Normally, the scent
of sizzling bacon, browned toast, and hot coffee would be scrumptious, but now
it only triggered his nausea. Afraid he
was going to throw up right onto his eggs, he quickly said, “I gotta go.”
AJ, who was
sitting on the end, said calmly, “Go where?”
“Bathroom. Move!”
AJ only snickered at his forcefulness.
Annoyed and desperate, Nick gave him a shove, sending him spilling of
the booth onto the floor. While the
others laughed hysterically, and AJ sputtered in shock, Nick slid out of the
booth, stepped over AJ, and took off hobbling as fast as he could on his stiff
leg to the bathroom.
***