Chapter
1
"Come on, Brian, get up!" Kevin called, trying to arouse his
cousin.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Brian whined grumpily.
"Brian, man, come on, we gotta go," Howie said, coming into
Brian's bedroom, where Brian lay in his king-sized waterbed. Brian sat up
slowly and rubbed his eyes tiredly. He yawned and stretched, then dragged
himself out of bed.
He showered and got dressed quickly. Then he and the other two had to
get down to the studio to rehearse for the upcoming Backstreet Boys "Into
the Millennium" tour.
Brian tried to keep himself awake all the way to the studio. He had a
cold and wasn't feeling too well at all.
When they got to the studio, AJ and Nick were already there, along with
Fatima, their choreographer.
"You're late," AJ said.
"I know," Kevin said, glancing at Brian "Brian wouldn't
get up."
"All right, boys" Fatima said, clapping her hands.
"We've got to get started. Let's work on "It's Gotta Be You"
first."
Brian groaned as he staggered over to his place. He did not have the
energy to dance that day.
The music started and the Boys started the routine that they had
learned the day before. Brian struggled through the moves. Normally, they weren't
too hard, but lately, he had been so tired that he just didn't have the energy
to do them right.
Fatima noticed this. "Brian, what's wrong?" she asked,
knowing that he was usually better than this.
"I don't really feel well," he admitted. "I've got a cold
or flu or somethin'. I don't know what it is, but I'm really tired."
"Oh," she said, nodding sympathetically, "well, just do
the best you can for now and get a good night's sleep tonight."
Brian nodded. "I will," he assured her.
But the next day Brian, didn't fell any better. Once again, he
struggled through the dance moves. Whatever he had, it seemed to be getting
worse.
He wasn't sure what it was. He didn't have a stuffy nose, or a
stomachache, or sore throat. Mostly, he was just exhausted all the time. This
had been going on for a few weeks now. And Brian was getting worried.
***
