Bright Eyed Boy

Past 1

I remember as a young teen falling head-over-heels in love with this boy band whose name I can’t remember now. They weren’t very popular and only had one hit song, but they were all I could think about. I just knew I was going to marry one of them one day.

I gave up those dreams when I came home from school one day and my dad was packing me a suitcase. My braces had been tightened that day and my mouth was too sore to talk. I remember my dad kneeling down and holding my shoulders, promising me that if I said no, he would too. I wasn’t sure what he was talking about, but I agreed to go on the 7 hour trip to LA to meet with this new band. To this day, I still have no idea exactly how my dad got the job offer…

I was terrified when we walked into the big record studio. It’s the dream of every 13 year old girl to record a hit single and make it big, and I was so close; if I knew how to sing. My heart was pumping and I stayed right behind my dad, hoping no one would notice my social-awkwardness.

When we walked into the conference room, the first thing I noticed was Joey’s eyes. They were a strange mixture of blue and green, and they almost seemed florescent. They matched his short dark hair and dark skin perfectly.

  Then, when I looked at the other boys, I noticed their eyes had a similar glow. They all had blue eyes, but only Joey had that hint of green.

The second thing I noticed was Harris’ voice. The moment he said “hello there,” I felt myself melt. Jason immediately noticed this and threw up his hands.

“There you go again,” he said shaking his head. “Making girls love you just by saying two words!”

“It’s not my fault I’m from Cardiff.” I couldn’t keep my mouth closed. I felt like an idiot, standing there behind my dad, breathing through my gaping, metal-laced mouth like a nerd.

My dad gently pushed me towards the second chair, directly across from Harris. I hadn’t even noticed Chris until he suddenly burst out laughing. His laugh was like honey for the ears. I could only imagine what his singing sounded like.

“…and this is my daughter, Marissa.” My dad had been talking the whole time, but I had been too focused taking in the scene to notice. I waved slowly and shyly at the boys and the man at the head of the table.

“Hello Marissa! I’m Harris” He smiled wide and waved back.

“Hey, I’m Jason.” He leaned onto the table a bit, in my direction. “Can I call you Mari?”

Chris shook his head and laughed. “Jason, you just met the girl…”

“Okay, Marissa is a long name! I could save two precious seconds each time I say her name.” He looked completely serious, but the rest of the boys were trying not to laugh.

“By that standard,” Joey said, leaning passed Harris to look at Jason, “why not just call her Mar?”

“What kind of name is ‘Mar’ Joey? Why not just call her ‘Mars Bars’?” I had never met someone like Jason before. He could be completely serious while going through with a joke that is completely unserious.

“Boys, could we please focus?” The man shuffled some papers and started talking to my dad, but the boys never stayed focused. Jason would start playing with Harris’ light brown, curly hair or Joey and Chris would start having a staring contest across the table until Harris or Jason interrupted.

 At one point, Jason started slipping farther and farther down into his seat until he disappeared under the table. Within seconds he was in the empty seat next to me, right across from his old seat between Harris and Chris. He casually leaned his elbow on the table and looked at my father and the other man as if nothing had happened. The other boys couldn’t keep a straight face and I could feel my face burning up.

My dad looked at Jason with a concerned look. “So, exactly how old are you boys?”

“Oh well,” Jason straighten up and pointed to each one accordingly. “Our youngest over here is Joey, at 14 as of last week, and then Chris is also 14, but he’s two months older. Harris is also 14, but will be 15 in two weeks.” He then flipped his hair dramatically and put his hand on his heart. “I, the oldest, am 15 and will be 16 in a little less than half a year.”

“And Marissa just turned 13, correct Richard?” The man smiled at me and then my father. I still had no idea who he was or why he was important.

“Yes, she is.” My father cleared his throat and rearranged himself in his chair. “And she is perfectly capable of speaking for herself.”

Then the pressure was on. Everyone was looking right at me, expecting me to say something. I could feel my palms sweat and my face get warmer. What was I suppose to say? I didn’t know these people and was still a little tired from the car ride.

It felt like a millennia, but I finally got the courage to say something, though I still wish I would have thought about my words more.

“I had a pet turtle one time.” It came out like tuna that had gone bad, and once it was out, I had to finish getting it out. “A boy in my neighborhood cooked it.”

Everyone was silent for a moment and my dad gave me a weird look. Suddenly they all started laughing. It took me a moment, but I realized that they were laughing at what I said, not just at me, and I started laughing as well, though it was a bit awkward.

I noticed Joey was looking straight at me, smiling more than laughing. We locked eyes, and he kept smiling, which made me blush even more and look away.

I had no idea how I was going to be able to live with these boys. Yet somehow, I managed to get by pretty well.