𝒻𝒾𝓇𝓈𝓉 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 ~ 𝒿𝑒𝓃𝓏𝒾𝑒.

chapter four • "are you sure?"

Johnny.

August 10th

"John, wake up!"

I woke up to Lauren vigorously shaking me and yelling in my face. "Stop! I'm up!" I yelled back, defending myself with a pillow. Surprisingly, it worked.

I rubbed my eyes, sleep still in them. Lauren was already dressed in a floral dress and denim jacket. She always dressed fancy on first days for some reason.

"Well, you slept in," she said. "You have 7 minutes until we have to leave; you might want to hurry up!" I looked over at my clock. I must've slept through my alarm!

I started to panic. "Can you make up my bed for me?" I asked. "I'll give you five dollars!" Before she could object, I ran to the bathroom with the outfit I picked out last night.

I took a quick shower and tried to fix my mess of a hair. Days in my house have been different than what it used to be. Ever since Dance moms ended, my mom and Lauren were trying to find their new show. It varied from Keeping up with the Kardashians to The Bachelor. But nothing seemed better than Dance Moms in their eyes.

After I got dressed, I only had a few seconds until we had to leave. I grabbed my backpack and shoes before hurrying down the stairs, where Mom and Lauren were already waiting.

"About time," Lauren commented as we got into the car. I made it to the passenger seat before Lauren could, and she wasn't too happy about that. But, she did get to choose what we listened to. I covered my ears as Mom and Lauren sang along to Never be the same.

Mom always got us food on the road on the first day of school. It was tradition. Lauren and I agreed on IHOP, even though we would have to take our breakfast to go. However, it was pretty early until school started.

We got out of the car and went inside to the "To Go" section. We told Mom what we wanted and sat down in the waiting area. Lauren nudged my shoulder. "Hey, why don't you sing one your songs in the car if you hate the radio so much?" She asked me. Lauren always made fun of me for writing songs, but she actually liked them.

"Because I don't need two American Idol judges in the car," I replied. "Besides, I could write a better song than whoever wrote that song you were singing." Lauren laughed.

"If you could, then why are you going to school?" She pointed out. "You could be in L.A right now, performing at big stadiums and being the special guest star on TV shows or something."

She was right. But instead, I was going to boring old school, where math will never help in the future unless you want to be an accountant.

We finally got our food and went back to the car. I got a Belgian waffle with chicken while Lauren got 5 mini pancakes and fruit. She was trying to be "healthy" or something.

We were back on the road again. "So, are you guys excited for school?" Mom asked us. I shook my head with a mouthful of chicken.

"Actually, I'm pretty excited," Lauren said, totally against my beliefs. "Freshman year was the worst. But, I really want to try out for the play!"

I rolled my eyes, and started to drizzle maple syrup on my waffle. We were Canadians, after all.

Mom put the radio back on, and this time Lauren were singing along to Almost love. This sounded like a really inappropriate song for my little sister to be singing! Whatever. She hears worse at school.

We were finally nearing Bridgewater. I did not miss that place at all, but I was glad to be a junior. I only had to do this year and next year before I was finally free! Well, until I have to go to college. But I'll probably take a gap year or something.

Mom stopped the car in the drop off parking area. "Have a good first day, guys!" She told us. She kissed my forehead and Lauren's. "And don't cause any trouble." That was mostly directed at me. Lauren and I got out of the car, threw our trash out in the garbage can outside, and walked inside. Lauren and I could barely get in because there was a huge crowd starting at the entry door.

"What's going on?" I asked my friend Jack, who so happened to be in front of us.

"I have no idea, but some girl screamed that Maddie and Mackenzie Ziegler are here, somewhere in this crowd of people," Jack said over all the chaos. My eyes widened, and Lauren squealed.

"Are you for real? I have to see!" Lauren disappeared into the crowd. I rolled my eyes, then followed her. The last thing I needed was for my sister to be swallowed in a sea of people.

I followed her squeals and finally found her toward the front. "Lauren, are you sure it's them..." I trailed off, and answered my own question. It was them. The girls I literally grew up watching. Was I dreaming? It couldn't be real.

Girls were screaming, yelling "You're my role model!" And "Oh my gosh, you're here at my school!" Finally, a few teachers and the school resource officer came in and ushered everyone away from Maddie and Mackenzie. Lauren ran toward me and squeezed my shoulders. "It was them!" She practically yelled in my face. "My idols!"

I put my arm around her and led her to the student lounge. "Laur, calm down," I told her. "If you ever meet a celebrity, you can't come off as crazy or they'll never be your friend."

"Says you," she retorted. "You looked frozen yourself. I'm pretty sure you had a crush on them since you were 9."

I rolled my eyes again; I do it too much for my own good. Lauren ran off to her friends and they started squealing together.

Before I went to my friends, I peeked out into the hallway. The guidance counselor, Mr.Wise, was talking with Maddie and Mackenzie. It felt like watching TV.

Mackenzie looked around before landing her eyes on me. I froze again. Lauren was probably right.

She gave me a small smile before Mr. Wise led them away.

~

{1069 words}