“The simplest solution , is of course , to the bring the kids along with the band on tour” Nano said , keeping his cool throughout the entire conversation . No doubt he and Matt had discussed this earlier .
“That sounds okay” Rian said , “We'd need to get a bigger bus , though – and what about school ?”
“We don't have to go to school” Sam said quickly , but Nano shook his head .
“No , it's against the law for you not to get an education . We'll home-school you , just on a bus .”
“Who'll teach us ?” Charles asked .
“We can take turns” Matt suggested , “Dibs on English !”
“No fair ! I want to teach English “ Jack complained .
“Wait , wait” Alex said , “So – they're going on tour with us ?”
“Yes”Matt said , “I mean , as long as that's okay .”
“Now that matter is resolved” Nano said , “There is one more thing .”
“The press wants to know about the whole Second Chance scheme . They want an official date for the release of the reality show , they want exclusive interviews with the band and their new 'daughters' . And , they want a red carpet party , to celebrate .”
“That sounds doable “ Rian said slowly . “So , when -”
“The reality show ; not sure . In a few months , still . Interviews will be held on the tour , before concerts . And we were thinking we could have a party next Friday . Rent out a club in New York , invite as many people as we can . That sound okay ?”
“Will we be able to invite people ?” Charles asked . Nano nodded .
“Of course” He said , “It is your party .”
By the time we got home , it was already half nine . Rian went to the kitchen and cooked Pommie and himself up an omelet .
“He really likes her”Alex said to me , “Thinks of her like a kid sister . It's sweet , right ?”
“Yes” I said , “It is .”
I slipped off to the privacy of my bedroom , and pulled out my cell phone . I liked it , a lot .
“Hey , Darren ?” I said into it , as soon as he picked up .
“Hazel ! I knew you'd call ! What's up ?”
I found myself relaxing into Darren's familiar voice . Even though I didn't know him that well , it brought me back to when I was just a normal kid , not one who got adopted by a rockstar .
I began to tell him everything that had happened over the past few days , starting with being on the plane , ending with meeting his parents .
“Oh , and you were right” I told him suddenly .
“I always am” He replied , “But what about this time ?”
“They are having a party” I said , “Next Friday . And this phone call is officially your invitation .”
“Yes ! Thanks , Hazel . Who else is coming ?”
“Well , I haven't asked them yet , could you do it for me ? Emma , Tashie , and Sasha .”
“Sasha ? Really ?” Darren groaned .
“Shut up” I said , laughing . “She can be alright … sometimes . Well , I'm just inviting her because Tashie will want her to come , I guess .”
Darren sighed . “Fine , I'll ask them . But you might want to call them too , they all want to talk to you .”
“Okay . It was great to talk to you , I guess . Bye !”
“See you , babes “ He said , before hanging up .
Alex was calling me . I walked to the landing and shouted down ; “What !”
“Come here” He said , “And bring your guitar !”
Curious , I grabbed Steven's guitar and went downstairs . Alex sat in the living room , his own acoustic in his lap .
“Here” He said , tossing me a plastic bag . “That's yours .”
Inside was all the guitar things we'd bought the other day .
“It's been exactly a week since your last lesson” He said , “I think we should get started , don't you ?”
For about an hour , Alex made me play the things we'd gone over before .
“I know it's just scales and boring shit like that , but your fingers need to get used to the strings again “ He'd say , whenever I complained .
After a while , he gave in .
“I guess I'll start teaching you a song now” He said , “Any favourites ?”
I shook my head .”You're the music expert .”
Alex began teaching me the first few notes of a song by All Time Low , called Therapy .
“I've heard this before” I said after a while . “Charles did a cover of it , didn't she ? She played it for me earlier .”
Alex nodded . “Yeah . She's got a great voice , right ?”
I agreed , then turned back to the strings . Plucking them cautiously , Alex smirked .
“You'll do well” He said , “You pick things up easily , and you connect with your instrument .”
I smiled , but at that precise moment I made a wrong note , C instead of C Sharp . Alex laughed .
“Don't worry about stuff like that” He said , “Just keep going .”
We played well into the night , when I got confused Alex would pick up his guitar and show me how it was done . The two of us kept playing until Rian blundered downstairs , and told us to be quiet and go to bed . With slightly more swears .
“Fine , dude , we'll go now” Alex said , laughing . He yawned then , and blinked , as if only noticing now how tired he was . “Come on , Halo .”
The next morning was Monday . I could tell because Jack was lying on top of me , singing it into my ear .
“Time to get up , Hazel , Hazel , It's Monday , and it's time to get up” He sang , to the tune of I Feel Like Dancing . I groaned , and rolled over .
“Go away Jack” I mumbled into my pillow . He simply laughed , and continued .
“Jack , shut up !” I yelled . He whimpered a little , before climbing off of me .
“Sorry , Hazel” Jack said , “Alex sent me up , he said you had to get out of bed because the cameramen are here .”
“Oh , okay” I yawned , “Sorry for shouting at you .”
“It's cool” Jack said , shrugging it off and beaming at me .
I took a quick shower , then got dressed . Downstairs , everyone else waited for me , along with five cameramen who were leaning over their instruments , adjusting them to the light and dynamic of the room .
“Hazel !” Ritchie said , coming over to shake my hand . “So good to see you ! You look well .”
“You too” I told him , before slipping over to Alex . He smiled at me , and held out his hand for me to inspect his fingers . They looked red and raw from last night . Glancing down at my own hands , I realised that they were much the same , if not worse . The tip of my thumb had dried blood on it , obviously it had bled lightly through the night without me noticing , and a small blister was forming on my middle finger .
“Alright people” Ritchie said , “We're going to have some interviews going on in the living room , we'll be doing that one at a time at first , then maybe later we'll get some done in pairs . The rest of you will stay in the kitchen , where you'll just act like everything is normal and there aren't any cameras watching you're every move .”
Sam was brought into the living room first , with two cameramen and an interviewer . Ritchie satyed with us for a while , then switched to her , and really just walked in and out of the two rooms to make sure everything was running smoothly .
“So” Rian said awkwardly . The camera beeped softly and zoomed in on his face as he started to speak . “The party on Friday , where are we having it ? Not here .”
Alex shook his head .”I was thinking that we could rent out a club in New York . Book some hotel rooms for us , and some friends .”
“That sounds rad” Zack said , “Hey , is anyone going to make breakfast ?”
“Yeah , I'm starving” I agreed .
“Fine” Alex sighed , “Here , I'm not cooking anything , so it's only cereals .”
Alex poured us each a bowl of cereal , one of those ultra sugary ones you'd expect to find in the hoard of a five year old .
Rian winced . “Sweet” He hissed through a mouthful of it .
Jack grinned . “My favourite” He said , rubbing his hands together in glee .
“Giving him that might have been a mistake” Alex said , frowning .
After a meal , the atmosphere relaxed dramatically . The cameras still rolled , but we all talked more freely now , after getting used to them .
“We've done something like this before” Rian said to me , “But it was during a tour then . We shot a DVD , called Straight To DVD . We have it inside if you'd like to check it out later .”
“That'd be cool” I said .
Soon they called Jack inside to the living room , and Sam was released into the kitchen .
“They were really just interested in what the past couple of days have been like” She told us , as we bombarded her with questions . “They asked what it was like living with Jack , did we spend much time all together , the eight of us , and if we have any plans for the next couple of weeks .”
“Did you tell them about the tour ?” Alex asked . She nodded .
“Yeah , I mentioned it , but I told them I didn't know much about it . I think they already knew anyway , because they were actually the ones that brought it up .”
“Matt probably told them” Zack said , sighing .
“Will Matt be going on tour with us ?” Charles asked .
“Yes” Said Rian , “Matt , our merch guy Vinny , our guitar tech Danny , drum tech Grieco , our sound dude Evan , light technician Jeff , and the assistant tour manager Matt Colussy .”
I gulped . “That's a lot of people ...”
Alex laughed . “You'll get to know them quickly enough , don't worry . You tend to make friends with people faster when you're stuck in a bus with them anyway .”
“Will it be a big bus ?” Said Sam hopefully . Alex nodded .
“Fairly big . Usually we'd have a ten-bunk bus , because that's all we need , but this time we'll have to go with twenty because of you lot , and the cameramen .”
“They'll be sleeping on the bus ?” Charles asked , “I thought shooting was only from two until ...”
“We always have a couple of extra people taping stuff” Ritchie said , coming into the room , “Just in case . And , Pommie , you can go inside now .”
“How long does the Warped Tour last ?” I asked .
“About three months” Zack said , “Starts about half way through June , ends early August .”
“What's the first venue this year ?” Jack said .
“Utah” Answered Rian , “Salt Lake City . And before you ask , the last show is in Oregon .”
“Thanks”Jack said .
We discussed the upcoming tour for a while . Alex , Rian , Jack and Zack told us about the previous tours they had done ; the fans , the music , the bus . Other bands that would be going on tour with us , interviews that were often done along the way . Parties that went on until five in the morning , naps that lasted until the same time that night . Alex , Jack and several crew members , staying up to watch movies in the back lounge ; the whole bus dedicating every Tuesday entirely to popcorn .
“Hazel” Ritchie called , “Your next .”
The living room looked different from how it had been last night . It was brighter for a start , although the curtains were closed so people watching wouldn't know where Alex and Rian lived , new lamps and torches had been brought in until it looked kind of how I'd imagine it would in the Arctic , with a gleaming white sky above you , which was mirrored by the blinding white floor beneath .
“Sit down , Hazel” Ritchie said , “Make yourself comfortable .”
The sofas had been moved around to create more space for the cameras , as had the coffee table in the centre of the room . I chose a seat , and immediately the cameras were switched on and aimed at my face .
“Hello Hazel , I'm Megan” A young blonde said , sticking out her hand . “I'm going to interview you , if that's okay .”
“That's great” I told her , although the butterflies in my stomach had begun to gnaw on my intestines . “It's nice to meet you Megan .”
“I'm going to start off with some easy questions” Megan said , sitting down in front of me . “Who were you adopted by ?”
“I was adopted by Alex .”
“Do you think you and Alex get on well ?”
“I think so .” I paused , trying to think of something to add . Megan's eyebrows raised as she waited for me to elaborate .
“When Alex came to the Home I was in – you know , the first time I actually met him , me and him really hit it off . We kind of had to , I guess , because … It was like when someone's picking teams in Gym , and there's always a couple of people left over ? They kind of have to start talking and becoming friends , because they're the leftovers and they're the only ones that will ever appreciate them properly , if you get what I mean . You see , when Alex came to the Home , there was a rumour going around that Zack was the only one who hadn't picked who he was adopting , so everyone paid attention to him . Me and Alex were both just hanging around , so we started talking and … I guess you can see how it turned out yourself .”
Megan nodded , smiling at me . “Why weren't you over with Zack ?” She asked , “Didn't you want to be adopted ?”
I hesitated again . “Em , well , I did want to be , yes . But … I thought I'd have no chance of being adopted , because the band had gone to three Homes , each with about thirty children , which makes around a hundred children they'd met in total . And against that , I didn't really have a chance .”
Better to leave Mum and Steven out of this .
“Obviously you had more of a chance than you thought” Megan said , “What do you think made you stand out a bit more for Alex ?”
“I think … Probably because he started teaching me guitar about twenty minutes into our first meeting . You see , my brother used to play guitar , so I have his old acoustic , but since I didn't actually play I had no use for it . Alex offered to teach me how , and we spent hours up in my room , just strumming away . I really enjoyed it , and obviously Alex does too , so we really clicked after that .”
Megan went on to ask me questions about moving in with Alex , and living with him . She brought up , like Sam said she would , plans we had for the future and the tour . I answered as best I could , until Ritchie came in with Alex behind him .
“That's it for now , Hazel” He said , “ Alex , go ahead and sit down .”