Me, Too | Joshua Burrage

chapter four

It's a travel day, which are my favorite days of the tour. Don't get me wrong, I love being onstage, but I absolutely love travelling. Whether it's on a bus or on a plane, I absolutely love travelling. It's so relaxing, but I also get to spend the day not rehearsing or performing. I get to spend the entire day trapped with my friends. As can be imagined with a cast consisting mainly of boys, it gets quite rowdy on the bus.

I don't even mind having to get up early for them! I actually enjoy early mornings, especially when there's something to look forward to, and the mom in me comes out on these days. I have breakfast for a select group of the boys (the ones who can't function on travel days) and am the one who makes sure everyone is on the right bus at the right time. I was given this job after we left Zach behind, by the way. That wasn't my fault.

I wake up at 4:30, an hour before we have to leave, to triple check that I have everything in order. I try to be quiet enough so that I don't wake up Stephanie, but she is used to my antics by now. I recheck my suitcase, and make sure that I have things to keep my busy in my backpack. I get ready for the day as well, not bothering to brush my brown hair and just putting it in a bun before brushing my teeth and changing into leggings and a sweatshirt. I don't bother making coffee for myself; Josh is the one to make coffee for the both of us.

At around 4:45, I (intentionally) wake Stephanie up. She proceeds to get ready and I leave the room to make sure that the same boys I provide breakfast for are awake, as well as being them their food. This list includes Josh, Ben, Sky, Jordan, and Nico. Occasionally, I'll have something for Wren, Anthony, and Vincent, but their parents usually make sure that the kids are well taken care of. That, or Chaz will spoil them before I'm able to.

I go to Josh and Ben's room first, as they're just down hall from me. I knock on their door, and Ben almost immediately opens it. He looks exhausted, but his face brightens up a little bit when he sees the grocery bag in my hand.

"What do you have today?" He asks excitedly.

"Nothing special, just some fruit and cereal. You can pick an apple, banana, or orange as well as one box of cereal and container of milk," I respond.

"You are actually the best," Ben smiles as he picks his breakfast from the extended bag. "Josh! Our fairy godmother is here with food!"

"And just in time!" Josh calls back from across the room. "I just finished her coffee!" Josh walks over to the door and hands me the cup of coffee.

"You get a fruit, cereal, and milk," Ben informs his roommate.

Josh reaches to grab an apple and orange but I stop him "One,"

"What?" He whines.

"You get one fruit," I say sternly.

"But that's not fair! I'm hungry!"

"You have to leave some for the other boys," I respond.

"Well, I make you coffee. And I'm your boyfriend!" He defends.

"If I have extras, I promise you will be the first to receive any, okay?" Josh nods, pleased at my words, and gives me a small kiss to return to his room.

I walk away from the two boys and head to the next room over, where Nico and Julian are sharing a room. Nico isn't awake yet, so I have Julian pick out food for the boy. I go to the elevator to go up to the next floor to deliver the rest of the food to Sky and Jordan. All along the way, I enjoy the coffee that Josh made for me. Damn, my boyfriend makes perfect coffee.

After having successfully given each boy that needs it breakfast, I return to my room to gather my luggage and go to the lobby to meet our production manager before loading the buses. When I get to the lobby I am, not surprisingly, the first cast member to get there. I'm not alone for long, though, because I hear Andy and Zachary talking behind me, approaching some of the crew and me.