The tour

Chapter 2

'What?' she said. 'Hi Kris!'

'Look at this!' Joey said, handing her the paper.

Kristina suddenly felt scared they were gonna loose it. Why, though? She thought. She didn't believe it actually came from him anyway. Someone was probably just playing a stupid prank on her.

'Holy f...! That's Michael Jackson!' Amy whined excitedly.

'He wants you to audition?'

'Yeah, but I don't think I'm gonna-'

'Oh yes, you will!' Amy shouted.

'This is the chance of a lifetime, Kristina. You came to the states to have fun and get an adventure, and all you do is go to class, play at the beach and sit around here. You don't even date, even though you could so easily get half the hot guys at school. You have to do this, don't you see?'

'That's not all I do...' Kristina tried.

'Honey, I'm sorry, but you are on your way to Spinster Valley. I have never met a straight white girl with as little action on the sheets and in life as you. You're young, talented, sexy and beautiful. Live a little!' Joey tried.

Kristina just stood there, smiling and shaking her head.

'You know why I don't date,' she said. That shut them up.

Joey looked at her with regret in his eyes.

'I'm sorry. We didn't mean it like that. We know what you've been through.' Amy nodded with compassion.

'Hey, anyway, you still played the king of pop a song, and he seems to have liked it. Plus he is extreme hotness. That calls for celebration! We're going out!' Joey sang while popping up his eyes. Amy joined in on the cheering.

'Ugh! Will that make you leave the subject alone at least?' Kristina tried.

'After a few shots, yes!' Amy laughed. Kristina smiled.

'Fine. I'll go chance. By ready in ten,' Kristina said while walking to her room.

The two roommates watched her close her door and highfived. Getting Kristina to go out was a big achievement that they didn't succeed with very often.

--

A few hours later the roommates were at their usual club, which was a mix between a clubscene and a regular bar. They had had a few shots and the mood was high. More UCLA-people had come along, and soon everyone knew that Kristina had been invited to audition for Michael Jackson. Typical Joey to not be able to keep quiet.

'Cheers to ma gurl Kris!' Joey said while raising his glass, followed by everyone else.

'I can't believe you're actually going to meet the king of pop. That is insane!' James, a friend from the journalism-studies said and people agreed with him.

'Whoa, whoa, whoa! I'm not even sure I'm gonna go!' Kristina said, emptying her beer. That was her third, and with all the shots, she was starting to get quite drunk.

'Well, I think you should. I've seen you play, and you're really good,' James said, looking into her eyes and smiling. He held the look a little too long. Kristina knew he had a thing for her, but she tried to ignore it. She didn't want him to get too close. As saved by the bell, Joey started screaming 'HOLLA! FOR MA GURL!' and Kristina listened to the song. It was Black or White, and she rolled her eyes while laughing.

'Alright my gay friend. Why don't you bust me a move out there?' she said gesturing to the floor.

They went to the dance floor and goofed around. They were soon joined by James, who tried to dance as close to Kristina as he could. Influenced by the alcohol and the music, she gave in and let him put his hands around her waist, placing hers around his neck. They looked smiling at each other with their heads bumped together and just danced to the rhythm. James gathered up the courage to lean in and kiss her, which was all he had wanted to do since they started studying together almost a year earlier. Suddenly Kristina came to herself and pulled away. A bad and painful memory stung in her heart and she turned around to walk away from the dance floor.

'Hey, hey, hey! What happened?' James asked, catching up to her and grabbing her by the elbow. She quickly pulled away.

'I'm sorry, I can't do this!' she said loudly, trying to drown out the music.

'Do what? I was just trying to kiss you. I'm sorry, but I thought you wanted to.'

Kristinas eyes were burning from the emerging tears. She tried to hide them and put up the facade.

'Well I didn't, okay? Please, just leave me alone. Trust me, I'm not worth it!' She spun around and exited the club, leaving James clueless to what he had just witnessed.

Outside she leaned against the wall, gaining control over her breathing and the tears she felt prickling in her eyes.

'Okay. It's okay. It's okay. Don't go there,' she whispered to herself, trying to make the feelings go away. She looked towards the club. Should she get Joey and Amy? They'd surely come home with her and comfort her, make her eat ice cream and talk it through with her. They were the only ones who knew the truth, the only ones Kristina felt she could trust. Sighing loudly from the disappointment of the way the night ended, she started to walk towards home. She didn't want to disrupt the roommates and their fun night.

They weren't the ones with a broken heart.  

--

Meanwhile, in the Hollywood Hills, Michael Jackson stood out on his balcony watching the stars with his hands on his back, thinking about the girl he had heard play his song at the beach earlier that day. He just couldn't stop thinking about her, and he had even caught himself humming her version of Stranger in Moscow several times during the day.

There was something special about her, although he had a hard time figuring out what it was. Sure, she was really beautiful and looked sexy playing that guitar, and he had felt his heart skip a beat the few times they had had eye contact, but that wasn't it. It was something about the way she was. From her singing he could hear that she put up a facade, that there was something she was trying to hide. He didn't know what it was. But he wanted to find out. He just hoped she would show up for the audition tomorrow morning. Once again he cursed the fact that he had to wear a disguise in public. When he had been at the beach he saw that the girl had been a little freaked out to see an old man so interested in her, which he understood. Maybe it would have been different if she knew it was him. He laughed at the thought.

'Nah, she's way too pretty for me,' he thought.

--

Kristina was fast asleep when her now really drunk roommates tried to walk through the apartment without waking her.

'Oh, did you see James trying to kiss Kris?' Amy whispered while she poured herself a glass of water. She was going to need that in the morning.

'No shit! Finally! He has been wanting to hit that ever since he met her!' Joey laughed quietly.

'I think that's why she went home, though. I tried calling her, but she didn't answer.' The roommates stood silently and looked towards Kristinas room. So many broken dreams lived in there with her.

'Do you think she'll ever be able to move on?' Amy asked. Joey shrugged his shoulders.

'Beats me. He messed her up real bad. Poor girl.'

Joey suddenly got a look on his face as if he had gotten a bright idea. He smiled mischievously at Amy.

'Maybe she needs a little push in the right direction,' he said. Amy looked excited.

'I love when you interfere with people's lives! What do you have in mind?'

Joey knew his roommate in and out.

'Hand me her phone!'

Amy giggled a little from excitement as she snook in to Kristinas room, grabbed her phone and handed it to him. Joey started typing a text.

'Hey! Thanks for hearing me sing today :-) Can you call me tomorrow about the audition? Can't wait! XO Kristina – the girl from the beach'

'Ooooh, Joey, you're bad!' Amy whispered as they laughed together. Joey then deleted the sent text, so it didn't appear on the phone. Now only the receiver knew that it had been sent.

'I love that girl, but she has got to get her sweet little ass back into action. And if Muhammed won't come to the mountain...' he said raising his eyebrows smiling. The two roommates giggled mischievously and highfived before Amy placed the phone back at the nightstand without a sound.