Chapter 9:
Jessica's POV:
The next morning, I was woken up by the fire alarm. I quickly jumped awake, my heart racing. I ran out of the room, forgetting about the others laying on the floor in the bedroom. As I ran out to the living room, I saw Joey, Dylan, and Jomo, but they weren't running.
"Why are you guys just standing there? There's a fire!" I said, trying to push Joe out the door.
"Jess, just calm down!" Joey said, Joe and Dylan snickering. "There's no fire."
"Then why is the alarm going off?" I asked.
"It's the easiest way to get everyone awake." Dylan explained, shrugging.
"Really? Why not use an actual alarm clock?" I asked.
"'Cause then everyone will just hit the snooze button." Joe said, reaching up to turn off the alarm. I heard a bunch of doors open and everyone walked into the living room, rubbing their eyes and dragging their feet. I laughed as I saw AJ's bedhead hair.
"Nice hair." I said sarcastically, playing with his hair.
"Yours too." He said, just as sarcastically.
I looked for a mirror and found one in the hallway. Sure enough, my hair was a rat's nest. I laughed as I mentally compared it to AJ's. I honestly didn't know whose was worse.
Once everyone was awake, people started heading into the kitchen. I followed and found about 20 different kinds of cereal on the counter with enough bowls and spoons for everyone.
I picked up Frosted Flakes and poured myself a bowl of cereal. Everyone passed around the milk.
Once people had their breakfast, they started heading back to their rooms. I followed Lauren, Jaime, Meredith, and Denise into Lauren's room. We all sat in a circle on the white carpet.
Lauren was the one to break the silence. "So Jessi, where did the note lead you last night?" She asked, curiously.
"Just to an old park that AJ and I would always go to. Even when we were too old for it, we still walked to the park and sat on the swings and talked." I said, smiling as I remembered.
"It's really great that you guys knew each other before you got into theater." Denise said.
"Yeah, I remember when you first started. You would follow AJ like a puppy dog." Jaime said, causing me to blush. "You two were inseparable. I'm just glad you finally warned up to us after about a year."
"I always get really nervous meeting new people. Especially since I am very bad with names." I said.
"So..." Meredith started. "Anything going on between you and AJ?"
"W-what do you mean?" I asked nervously. Why was I so nervous. It's not like I like AJ. Or do I? Why is this so confusing? AJ and I have been friends for years. Just because I went away for a while isn't going to change that, is it? What if I do have feelings for AJ? What if he doesn't feel the same way?
"Well, you guys haven't seen each other for a few years, and he takes you to some park, alone. I was just wondering if something else happened while you guys were at the park?" Meredith asked me, pulling me out of my thoughts.
"N-no." I said, my heart pounding. Why did these thoughts have to come into my mind? Why do I even care if AJ likes me? We've been friends for years, and I don't want to ruin that. If only I knew how AJ feels about me...
