Nelson On Tour: A Growing Up Nelson Short

Pack Your Bags

  "Yay! We're going on tour! We're actually going to see you on stage! I've never been so excited! I think I'm gonna die right here in this.....stuff that we're eating! Are you excited Carly?"

My mind was so far gone that it took my little brother Joey to snap me out of my shocked state.

  "I'm....sorry. What did you say Joey?" I asked him.

  "I said aren't you excited? We're gonna see dad live on stage? Will Wendy and Lisa be there? Joey asked as he looked at daddy in wonder.

  "Who are they?" I questioned as I scrunched up my face.

Daddy and Joey looked at me as if I grew a new head out of my neck.

  "Carly are you kidding me right now. You've really can't be my sister! I've never been so mad at you since you stole his-"

  "Yeah! Ok! I know. Big fan. You know more than me! Than you!" I shot at my brother dropping my spoon in my bowl.

  "Carlyn seriously! You can't be this disappointed. Didn't you always want me around all the time? Now that you and your brother are out of school I can do that. I just didn't to leave you guys home alone your very first summer at Paisley. I'd thought it would be nice to spend a little time together as a family." Daddy stated before biting into a piece of bread.

  "I'd be better if with uncle Andre and his wife." I muttered to myself angrily.

I guess he has super sonic hearing because daddy laughed as sipped his water.

  "Don't worry your dear old uncle Andre will be joining us too. And you will have full supervision backstage. I don't need you two wandering off and getting into trouble while I'm working. Especially you my dear Carlyn."

  "Me? Why me?" I asked him snidely.

  "You've attempted to give me more grey hairs than I anticipated. I had to call Kim and have her on stand by just in case I woke up one day and found one! I'm definitely not gonna let you succeed in that my dear."

  "Daddy? You're in your forties. We already know Mrs. Kim dyes your hair. It's not as black as you make the world believe." I scoffed at him with a smile.

  "For your information my hair is naturally black. It's blacker than that t-shirt you got on little mama. Now check your attitude and finish your food."

  "I'm not all that hungry anymore can I just go to my room or something?"

  "Is that how you ask?"

I can tell my dad was getting upset with me which I didn't understand I should be the one upset. He's taking my summer away from me and it's not fair! Snatching my napkin from my lap and I pushed my bowl of soup away from me.

  "Father? If it's all the same to you may I please be excused from the table?" I asked in a sarcastic tone.

Daddy went from being upset to suddenly being....disappointed. Like I had hurt his feelings or something. I was just too mad and pissed off to worry about it.

  "Yeah. Yeah you're excused. Good night Carlyn." He said sadly and let out a sigh.

I stood up from the table and tossed my napkin in my chair and stormed off to my room. I can't believe he's really doing this to me! Why is he ruining my life like this? I had good grades since I got to Chanhassen and this is the thanks I get for doing what we had talked about just weeks after my adoption and finally getting enrolled in a school that I actually made friends in? He really can't me serious. The more I thought about how disastrous my summer became the angrier I got. I was so mad that I just slammed my bedroom door as hard as I could and screamed into my pillow with all the strength I had in my lungs. My throat was hurting so bad by the time I was done that I thought my vocal chords were on fire. I was nearing tears when there was a knock at the door.

  "Whoever it is go away I don't wanna talk or see anyone right now!" I shouted to the person on the other side of the door.

The door came open and her head popped in with a smile on her face.

  "Well geez what's got your bra all in a bunch?" Erinalia asked stepping into my room and closing the door behind her.

I noticed that there was something different about her. She straightened her hair! And it's colored a reddish brown! Looks good! That means she has a boyfriend.

  "What are you doing here?" I asked her sitting up on my bed.

  "I am here.....to help you pack!" She replied excited.

  "Oh god." I moaned and fell back onto my pillow.

  "Oh stop it! Me and Derrin went on tour with P all the time! It's gonna be fun!"

  "Says the girl you just walked in here like she's about to go on a date." I huffed looking at her from the corner of my eye.

She crossed her arms and scoffed at me then gave me the finger.

  "You know he can see you." I said with a snarky tone.

  "No he can hear us. Not see us." She snapped back at me.

  "And we're talking about the same person right? You do know that my dad does unnormal sh-stuff."

  "Mhmm. Had to stop yourself before he came in here with that trusty jar of his."

  "Get out of my room Erin."

  "What!?!?! You know it's true. I'm sure he's specifically waiting on you to slip up and when he does he's gonna back slide all up and through Paisley and then go write a song about it."

  "Look Groves. My dad can do what he wants. He's a grown man and that's great but what I won't do is pack to go on this stupid tour. It's not even a vacation! We're either gonna be tour hands or sit in hotel rooms all day long being watched by uncle Dre all summer long! I don't wanna do that! I wanna have fun! With my friends! Spend some time with Tre! Normal things that most teenagers my age do! Not....spend it on the road with my rock star dad and not seeing him! What kind of vacation is that!?!?!?"

Erin shook her head and was still smiling.

  "Carly. Prince may be a little unorthodox with his parenting-"

  "A little?"

  "BUT what he's doing is for him to really show you guys what he does. And it's a lot more than just perform on stage for millions of adoring fans. You don't even know your father yet you ask a million questions about his on stage persona. Instead of complaining about how messed up your summer is gonna be think about what you'll learn on this trip. Maybe it will even answer some of your questions."

Erin gave me a hug then headed toward my bedroom door. She turned to me before she left and smiled.

  "Think about what I said before you make your decision." She said.

Then she left and closed the door behind her. I sat on the end of my bed with my hands covering my face in frustration. I bet he sent her to talk to me. Since Erin is on break from her summer classes she's here to be some extra help around Paisley as my dad's assistant for event planning. Letting out a hard huff of air from my nose I ran my hands down my face and into my lap when my eyes fell on my suitcase sitting in the corner.

  "I can not believe I'm actually doing this." I grunted as I stood to my feet.

I guess I better start packing. According to the tour schedule that caught my eye when I snuck into my dads office last weekend we leave tomorrow night for Chicago.