I've Had A Funny Feeling About You -- A Starkid Story

Joining the Team

The rest of the night is spent with me getting to know the Starkids and laughing hysterically at their jokes and crazy moments. I hardly pay attention to the Disney movies as they go on and off. With their help, I begin to feel as though I actually fit in with everyone and enjoy their company.

I wake up the next morning on the floor of the Starkid's living room. Lauren, one of the other girls in the group, was on my right and Darren on my left, snoring softly.

Chuckling quietly, I hoist myself off of the ground and scan the room for my bag. I spot it on the other side of the room, of course, and tiptoe over the other sleeping Starkids for it. When I reach it, I rummage inside of it for my pack of cigarettes and beam with success when I finally find them and my metallic pink lighter. Quietly, I slip outside only to find, much to my surprise, Brosenthal standing there, smoking his own.

“My oh my, Brian Rosenthal. Smoking?” I mock surprise and my hand clutches at my heart. “The world has just been shattered in front of my eyes. Brosenthal, the image of perfection, is ruined forever.”

He laughs and rolls his eyes. “I see that you have the same thing in your hand, little miss high and mighty.”

I grin and stand next to him, lighting the cigarette as I do. “How long have you been smoking?”

“Since college. Stress really got to me there and I figured this was safer than anything else that's available there.” He smiles as I laugh. “What about you?”

“When I was seventeen. Ali and I tried it together actually. She hated it, though. She wanted to slap me when I said that I didn't mind it. Then when she figured out that I kept doing it...well, let's just say murder was on her mind.”

He chuckles and takes another drag. We are quiet for a while, enjoying the silence of the morning. That's when he decided to say, “So, you moved to Chicago of all places?”

I shrug. “I wanted a fresh start. Somewhere where I could focus on who I am...who I want to be.”

“That makes sense.” A small smile lights up his face. “So who exactly are you? I don't know much about you other than you and Ali have known each other since high school.”

I have to actually think about my answer before I say it; something I rarely do in normal scenarios. I finally decide upon saying, “I'm Vivian Loraine Anderson. I was raised in Albany, New York. I started talking when I was ten months old and never shut up. I started singing at five years old. Acting came short after. And when I got to high school I met my best friend in the drama club when we began working on our first play together. I live with her now.”

Brosenthal whistles, impressed. “Why didn't you go to U-Mich with Ali? You could have done Underground Arts with us.”

I smile this time. “I wanted to, but I had...priorities.”

“And by priorities, you mean –”

“Eric...The whole reason I'm here right now.”

Brosenthal smiles gently. “Well, what matters is that you're here now. No use frowning over the things that are in the past now.”

I nod in agreement. “That's what I thought, too. That's why I'm glad I'm here. There's no better place to reinvent and rediscover yourself than in a town where nobody knows you.”

He raised his nearly burnt out cigarette out to me. “To new beginnings.”

I grin and take my cigarette up to meet his. “To new beginnings.”

After another few minutes, we both throw away our cigarettes and walk back into the house. A few of the others are stirring, but not enough to actually awaken, so Brosenthal and I decide to take matters into our own hands. We tiptoe into the kitchen where he pulls out two cans of silly string and hands one to me. Silently, we make our way back into the living room and Brosenthal starts the countdown.