Red Sparks

Chapter 46: New York?

Jane’s POV

The alarm went off. I sat up on my bed and stretched before switching it off. Today’s the last day of school, tomorrow summer vacation will start, I thought happily. The camp out had been a blast, I never had so much fun in a long time. Suddenly, I remembered about the foreign student exchange programme.  I would be going home and I was sad that my time here would be over soon. I won’t even get to see the Romeo and Juliet play, as it would only be shown towards the end of the Fall Festival. I groaned. Well, at least I was no longer the stage manager. I trudged my way to the bathroom to freshen up before heading downstairs. Buster greeted me first as I entered the kitchen by barking and jumping on me. I kneeled beside him. “Good morning boy!” I said, ruffling his fur. I stood up and went over to the kitchen counter to make toast.

Mrs. Brown was baking while Mr. Brown was going through a magazine. “Morning Jane” Mr. Brown said cheerfully. “Morning Mr. Brown; and Mrs. Brown” I said took a bite out of my toast. Mrs. Brown smiled at me as she put the tray into the oven. “Good morning Jane”. “What are you making Mrs. Brown?” I asked. She usually doesn’t bake in the morning, I thought. “Brownies! My friends and I are going to the children’s hospital today to cheer them up as part of our charity program me” she said smiling at me.  Mrs. Brown had always been thoughtful. Maybe I should help out at the children’s hospital during the summer, I thought. My thoughts were interrupted when I heard Mrs. Brown calling me. “Jane, you’ll be late for school dear if you don’t leave now” she said softly. I finished my toast quickly and headed towards the sink to rinse it.

“Have a great last day of school” Mr. Brown called out as I grabbed my bag from the living room. I turned back and smiled. I gave a quick wave and headed out the door. I saw Taegan waiting by the bus stop for me and jogged towards him. “Can you believe summer vacation starts tomorrow; and it’s my last year of school” he said excitedly as we walked towards school. “It’s nothing much to me really Taegan. Back home there’s no such thing as summer holidays. It’s summer all year long” I joked. “Oh yeah. I forgot you’re from Asia” he said laughing. He stopped and looked at me. “I’m going to miss you Jane” he said softly. “Will you visit? I’ll bring you the best places to eat. I hope you have a strong stomach” I teased. “Most definitely” he said smiling. “Let’s get going or we’ll be late” he added. We continued walking towards school in silence.

Upon reaching the school, I was surprised to see so many students at the entrance. I noted that it was mainly the female students. “What’s going on?” I said, stopping a random student. “Didn’t you hear? Word is that One Direction is coming to our school today!” she said excitedly. “They are?” I said, “But I thought they’re not doing the auditions anymore?” She shook her head. “It’s not because of auditions. They wanted to come and give us a show to celebrate our summer break. I don’t know why they’re doing so, but I’m not complaining!” she said smiling brightly. I bit back a smile. “Thanks, er-” I started to say. Crap, I thought. I don’t even know her name. “I’m Jennifer Willow” she said, as she extended her hand out. I blushed. I shook her hand. “Jane Gillmore” I said. Jennifer Willow? I thought. Why does the name sound so familiar?

“Let’s go Jane” I heard Taegan say as he started to walk away. “Thanks Jennifer. Have a great summer break!” I said as I followed Taegan. The rest of the day went by quickly, and when the last bell rang; everyone rushed towards the main hall. I had managed to persuade Taegan to join me to watch One Direction perform there, so we made our way there quickly. Once inside, I looked around for a seat when I heard someone calling me. “Jane! Over here!” I searched for the voice and saw that it was none other than Lynndra. She was sitting at the front row and was grinning from ear to ear. I waved and dragged Taegan with me. “I can’t believe you managed to get front row seat! How did you manage that?” I said, as I took my seat next to her and Taegan next to me. She smirked. “Never underestimate me” she said slyly. I laughed and turned my attention towards the stage. The One Direction appeared on the stage from behind the curtains and the crowd went wild. Girls were screaming “We love you!” followed by shrieking. Taegan nudged me in the ribs. “You owe me BIG time” he said as he winced. I stuck out my tongue at him. “Sure tough guy” I said laughing.