One of the Boys

I scanned the shelf of CD’s at Wal-Mart, looking for one particular CD. My eyes landed on Katy Perry’s latest CD. Found it! Just as I reached for it I saw another hand reaching for it. I looked next to me to see a boy about 16, with dark brown, curly hair. He was wearing sunglasses and a hat that hid most of his hair, with a hoodie over the hat. He looked up at me too. He immediately pulled his arm away.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you wanted that CD,” he said. I picked up the CD.

“So you’re a Katy Perry fan?” I asked with a smile. He shook his head.

“I’m looking for a present for my 13 year old cousin, Alyssa. She likes music so I thought I’d get her a CD,” he said. I nodded in understanding.

“Well, maybe you should get her a Jonas Brothers CD. Teen girls love them.” He smiled.

“She likes their music, but I don’t think I’ll get her their CD. She hears them all the time,” he laughed. How did she hear them all the time if she didn’t have their CD? Oh well.

“Um…maybe you should get her Selena Gomez’s latest CD,” I suggested.. He shrugged.

“If you say so, I don’t know what kind of music teen girls listen to,” he walked over to the S section and picked up Selena Gomez & The Scene’s CD. He walked to the cash register in the electronics section, and I followed him.

“Don’t you have a sister or something?” I asked, as we walked. He had to have some idea of the things girls liked. He shook his head.

“Nope. I have three brothers.” he said, as if it was nothing. Three brothers? Wow, no wonder he didn’t know the first thing about girls. Not that I knew all the things girls liked. I was a total tomboy. I had three brothers too, all older than me, which is why some people say I turned out the way I did. He handed the cashier the CD and he scanned it.

“That will be $12.36.” the cashier said.

“Cool, I have three brothers too.” I said. He smiled at me, as he gave the cashier $12.36. The cashier handed him the CD.

“So, do you think you could help me find a present for Alyssa?” he asked. He looked at me, or at least I think he did, I couldn’t really tell because of the sunglasses. I started to panic. I didn’t know the things a 13 year old girl wanted. I was 18, I couldn’t remember what I wanted when I was 13. Probably a football or something. Like I said, I was a tomboy.

“Sure.” But I can’t guarantee she’ll like it, I thought.

“Great, because I need help picking out a card,” he said, as he grabbed my hand and dragged me to the card isle.

Twelve minutes and two checkouts later we were walking to my car. He had insisted he walk me to my car. I took out my keys and opened my door.

“Thanks for helping me pick out a present… um..” he began, but trailed off. I suddenly remembered I didn’t tell him my name.

“Alexandra Brown, but everyone calls me Alex.” I said, sticking my hand out for him to shake it.

“I’m Nicholas, but everybody calls me Nick,” he said as he shook my hand. He didn’t tell me his last name. I wonder why…

“Nice to meet you.”

“You too. I hope Alyssa likes the present,” I said, as I got in my pickup truck. Nick walked about ten cars down and got in a small, flashy, red, convertible. I turned the key and started the car, while putting my new Katy Perry CD in the CD player. I backed up and put my car in drive. I saw Nick pull out ten cars down. Nick pulled out and started to drive away when suddenly his car stopped, right in front of the exit. I drove up behind Nicks car, waiting for him to drive away. Why did he stop?

I saw Nick was turning the key but the engine wasn’t starting, it wasn’t making a sound. I put my car in park and got out. I walked over to Nicks window and knocked on it. He jumped a little, but relaxed when he saw it was just me. He rolled down the window.

“Having trouble with your car?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer. He nodded as he turned the key again. I didn’t hear a sound.

“Pop the hood,” I said. I walked to the front of the car and pulled the hood up. Nick was still in the car.

“Start the car,” I yelled to Nick. Nick tried to start the car and as soon as he did I knew what the problem was. I dropped to the ground and slid under the car. I felt a liquid substance fall on my forehead.

“Nick, come here, I see the problem,” I said, as I slid out from under the car, wiped the liquid off, and stood up. Nick got out of the car and stood next to me.

“Your radiator is broken, which caused your engine to overheat, which is why the car won’t start,” I explained.

“So I need to pour water in the radiator to cool it off?” he asked..

“It won’t do any good, your radiator is leaking. You’ll need a mechanic to fix it, so I suggest you call a tow truck,” I advised.

Nick was frowning, as he made that call. Forty minutes later the tow truck arrived. He hooked up Nicks convertible to the truck.

“I can give you a ride to the mechanics,” I offered. Nick smiled at me.

“You don’t mind?” he asked.

“Nope. I don’t have anywhere to be,” I said. I got back in my car, and Nick climbed in the passenger seat. On the way there we listened to Katy Perry. When we got to the mechanics Nick got out.

“Thanks for the ride, Alex,” he said.

“No problem,” I replied, as I got out of the car and followed Nick.. He walked up to the mechanic.

“So what’s wrong with my car?” Nick asked the mechanic, even though I had already told him what was wrong.

“Your radiator broke which made the engine overheat and when it overheated it shut down,” the mechanic explained.

“Told you so,” I said with a smirk.

“When will my car be fixed?” He asked, ignoring my comment.

“Don’t know, could take a while, your car needs a new radiator. Two weeks at the most,” the mechanic replied. Nick’s mouth fell open.

“You don’t understand, I need my car,” Nick complained.

“Sorry, there’s nothing I can do,” The mechanic said with a shrug.

“Wanna go grab some lunch?” I asked Nick once we were outside.

“Sure,” Nick said. “But I’m paying for your meal.” He was joking right? I didn’t think guys did that anymore.

We walked to the car and drove to McDonald’s, which, apparently, was Nick’s favorite fast food place to eat. I was about to park, when Nick said, “Um…maybe we shouldn’t go inside it looks pretty crowded.” I looked inside and saw a group of about five girls, but other than that it was deserted.

“No it’s not. There’s, like, 5 people in there, but if you want to go through drive through we can,” I said. I drove up to the small box where you place your order.

“What would you like to order?” the voice said, coming from the box. I turned the music off, so the person could hear me.

“I’d like a double whooper, with medium fries and a medium Coke and-” I turned to Nick.

“What do you want?” I asked Nick. He was silent for a moment.

“A double cheeseburger, a medium order of fries, and a medium Diet Coke,” he told me. I repeated the order to the cashier.

“That will be $15.34,” the voice replied. I pulled up to the first window. I pulled out a $20 bill and was about to hand it to the cashier when Nick stopped me.

“I said I was going to pay for your meal,” he repeated, handing me $20. I laughed.

“You were serious?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he tired to hand me the money, but I refused.

“I can pay for my meal and yours. You’re my guest, after all.”

“The guys is supposed to pay for the girl’s meal and his own. It’s the rule,” he argued.

“Maybe in the middle ages, but this is the 21st century, things have changed,” I argued back.

“Will somebody just pay for the meal already,” the cashier sighed, slightly annoyed. Nick tried to hand the cashier the money, but I stopped him and handed the cashier the money. No guy has ever offered to pay for my meal, and honestly I didn’t like it. It made me feel helpless, like I couldn’t take care of myself. The cashier took the money, gave me my change and a receipt.

“Please come again,” the cashier said, but by her tone I could tell she didn’t mean it. I pulled the car up to the next window. A guy handed me two bags and two drinks.

“Enjoy your meal,” he said with a smile. I smiled back, then rolled up my window. I handed Nick his bag and drink. He didn’t say anything. After a few minutes the silence was killing me so I turned the radio on. Miss Independent by Ne-yo came on.

“She got her own thing that’s why I love her, Miss Independent, won’t you come and spend a little time.”

I looked at Nick. He was just sitting there eating his fries one at a time. He looked at me, then quickly looked away when he saw I was looking at him.

“So do you want me to drive you home, or should we go to my house?” I asked, breaking the silence.

“I don’t have to be home until seven,” Was all he said. I looked at my watch. It was 12:30. Ok then I, guess we’re going to my house. I turned the music up.

Ten minutes later we were at my house. I pulled up in the driveway and turned the car off. I grabbed my bag and drink and got out. I pulled my keys out, opened the door, and walked in. I heard Nick walk in and close the door behind him.

“Nice house,” he complimented. I smiled.

“Thanks. What is your house like?” I asked.

“Um…it’s big,” he said.

“Where is it?” I asked.

“It’s in…California,” he said nervously. This kid was suspicious, and I could tell he was hiding something from me. First he didn’t tell me his last name, then he told the mechanic he needed his car, then lastly he won’t tell me which city he lives in. I remembered I’d seen a special report on the news this morning about an escaped criminal, who was in the area. They said he was about 17 or 18, wearing a wig, and driving a convertible. Nick looked like he was 16 but he could be older than he looked. He could be wearing a wig too, I mean, how many guys have hair as curly as Nick’s? It was obviously a wig. And lastly he had a convertible and when he was at the mechanics he said he needed his car, why? Because he was the criminal on the run! Was Nick even his real name? If I got a good look at him I could probably recognize him. They had shown a picture of him on the news special, but the hoodie, wig, and hat were making it hard for me to get a good look at him. I needed to get him to remove his hoodie, hat, and sunglasses.

“Hey Nick, we’re inside, you can taken your hoodie, hat, and glasses off,” I suggested.

“I’d rather not,” he said nervously.

“Why? You must be hot in that jacket,” I said as I slowly walked towards him. He backed up with a scared look on his face. He knew I was onto him.

“Why won’t you tell me your last name? why did you say you needed your car? Why won’t you tell me where you live?” With every accusation I moved closer to him. He kept backing up. I took another step and he tried to take one back, but his back hit the wall. He gasped. He knew he was trapped.

“There’s only one explanation for that!” I yelled. He slid down the wall and covered his head with hands.

“You’re the escaped criminal on TV!” I finished. He looked up at me with a look of amusement on his face. He suddenly burst out laughing. Why was he laughing? He was caught!

“Why are you laughing? You’re going to prison!” I yelled angrily.. That only made him laugh harder. I was suddenly suspicious. Were there hidden cameras everywhere? Was I being punk’d? Was this some reality TV show?

“What’s going on?” I yelled at Nick. He wiped a tear away from his eye from laughing so hard.

“Yo-you thought I was a-” he couldn’t finish his sentence; he burst out laughing. I sat down on the couch and folded my arms. I didn’t find this the least bit funny.

“Whenever you’re ready to explain…” I said. After a few seconds he calmed down. He got up from the floor, walked over to me, and sat down next to me.

“I’m not an escaped criminal…but I do have a confession to make,” he said. He took off his hoodie, then his hat, then finally his glasses.. I reached for his curly hair and tugged on it, just to make sure it was real. When I did he looked at me like I was crazy, but he didn’t move. After I made sure his hair was real I looked at him. He looked so familiar, not like the criminal on TV, but a different kind of familiar. I’d seen him somewhere before. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. Sitting in my living room was none other than the rockstar Nick Jonas!

“Oh My Gosh! You’re Nick Jonas!” I exclaimed.