Starting Over

“So…” Katie started, she wanted to know her new family better. “what do you guys get up to in your free time?” Nick, Joe and Kevin exchanged a look.
“Well,” Said Kevin. “We don’t really have much free time, but when we do, we generally relax, sometimes go to parties, but mainly, we just spend time with our family.” The three of them smiled at her. She knew there was something she wasn’t quite getting…their names did seem really familiar…
“How come you three don’t have much spare time?” She was pretty confused.
“We’re in a band.” Nick shrugged.
“Called?” Katie felt it kind of piecing together in her mind…Nick, Joe and Kevin, she’d definitely heard the names before, but maybe she was imagining things, after all, she had an incredibly active imagination. Nick rolled his eyes. ‘Nosey cow,’ he thought. ‘she must have heard of us before.’
“The Jonas Brothers!” Frankie piped up from his new found place on Katie’s lap, grinning at her. Katie smiled back uncertainly, then it dawned on her.
“Oh.” She said, eyes wide. “I um… I thought your names sounded familiar.” She laughed nervously.
“Wicked, you’ve heard our music?” Joe jumped up and down excitedly, he seemed to get hyper on air, Katie chuckled.
“Yup.” She replied, fixing her attention on putting mini-plaits in Frankie’s hair. He wasn’t complaining yet. “My sister had a kind of obsession with you guys.” Katie added quietly. “I woke up one morning to find that she’d removed all my Avenged Sevenfold posters and plastered every available space with your faces, that was a hell of a shock.” She giggled.
“Awesome!!” Shouted Joe, grinning like a kid at Christmas. Something about what Katie had said unsettled Nick slightly.
“When you say had…” He hesitated, unsure of what response he would get. “did her music tastes change or something?” Katie’s head shot up, her eyes had a real deer-in-the-headlights kind of look. Pretending she hadn’t even heard the question Katie carried on playing with Frankie’s hair.
“Hey Frankie, why don’t you show me my room?” She muttered.
“Yeah!” He jumped up excitedly and started to pull her towards the door, chattering nineteen to the dozen. Kate suppressed a smile. She loved the way that he either didn’t notice, or ignored the general mood. “We painted it white, and then, on Saturday, you me and Mum are going to get some paint, whatever colors you like, and then, you can paint it!” She loved his enthusiasm, getting pleased by the slightest thing, it was refreshing, so much better than the dull black cloud that always seemed to hang over the care home.
“Y’know Frankie,” she started, smiling a little. “you’re going to have to help me paint it.” Frankie turned and looked at her excitedly.
“Really?” Katie nodded, and Frankie began to jump up and down excitedly. “I’ve never been allowed to help before! Mum and Dad always said I’d make a mess!” Katie giggled.
“I honestly doubt that will be possible with what I’ve got planned!” Frankie’s eyes lit up, and started going even faster, dragging her to her new room.