~*~Michelle’s point of view~*~

This was great. Simply peachy.

That stupid good-for-nothing car. Only a few weeks ago, I’d invested in new headlights, since the others had died. And this was how it repaid me?

There was no way I could afford a new vehicle until another few paychecks came my way. My budget was stretched to the max as it was. Luckily (well, for lack of a better word) I lived a mile away from the coffee shop. While it would suck, I could get to and from work and my apartment. I lived at the outskirts of a sketchier area of Orlando, so I wasn’t too happy about walking around in the dark. But it turned out that even the criminals and gang members needed their beauty sleep.

At five o’clock in the morning, the streets were quiet.

I yawned, turning a corner. As if I didn’t have to be there early enough as it was, now I had to make time for a commute. Needless to say, when I finally arrived to work and started getting everything ready for the day, I was not in the best mood. Jack was there, which didn’t help matters. He seemed to find it amusing that this was currently my only mode of transportation.

Walking.

Glaring at him, I turned to the cappuccino maker, deciding that I really needed some caffeine if I was going to be polite to customers.

Pulling on my apron, I noticed a flyer on the employee bulletin board. It was from the big boss. She was hiring an assistant manager for the afternoon shift. I stared at it, suddenly wide awake.

I’d been hoping for an opportunity to advance soon. I’d been here over a year already. I had the experience, certainly. I wanted the perks, too. For one thing, I’d be the same level employee as Jack. Not having to listen to him boss me around would be reason enough. There was also the fact that it was a more normal shift. Sleeping in would be heaven. I was a natural night person, so I rarely got more than a few hours sleep each night. Coffee sustained me for my shifts and sometimes I was fortunate enough to catch an afternoon nap.

The best perk of all? A pay raise. Not only could I get that car a little sooner, but I could purchase one that would actually last me a few years. The vehicle would still be used, but I wouldn’t have to ducktape it together to make it run. Then there were all my other bills. With a higher salary, I could afford to put some away at the end of the month. I needed an emergency fund, for situations like my car dying. Those situations happened all too often.

Grabbing an application, I sat down and started filling out my information, knowing I only had a few minutes before the doors would open. I tried to think of who else might apply for the job, worrying about having competition for the position. The high school students here were barely competent enough for their current jobs, let alone one in management that required leadership. Several of the employees, mostly in the 20s like I was, had been trained by me. That was in my favor. If they trusted me to train others, then why wouldn’t they trust me to do what Jack already did in the mornings? And what Angela, the person who must be leaving for the position to be open, did in the afternoons?

I was one hundred percent certain that I could do the job better than Jack. Realizing I’d been here longer than almost everybody else and was more knowledgeable about the job, my spirits lifted. I felt like the position was already mine.

“Michelle, we’re about to open. Can you stop doodling and get behind the register?” Jack interrupted my good mood.

Setting the application aside- I would finish it on my morning break. I wanted to be the first one to turn it in- I did as I was told and I did it with a smile.

“What’s with you?” he looked suspicious.

“Oh. Nothing,” I said innocently. Let him order me around all he wanted to.

Enjoy it while you can, I thought. I’d put up with him this long. I could put up with him just a little longer. I couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when the boss announced my promotion. Maybe I’d bring in a camera, so I could always remember the look on his face. Heck, I’d take a picture of my own, too, looking smug and making sure he noticed. What a reward that would be.

Snapping myself out of the daydream, I turned to serve the first customer of the day.

~*~AJ’s point of view~*~

“Day two,” I said, walking into the studio. Brian and Howie were already there. “So is Nick going to be the late one now that Kev’s gone?”

Brian was in the middle of a yawn, but he smiled. “Well, we’ll all have to work a little harder to fill his spot. Howie, you can have the bushy eyebrows.”

“Oh, thanks so much,” Howie rolled his eyes.

“And AJ, you can go buy some man skirts. You like an eccentric wardrobe, so it really won’t be all that different…”

“Say what? I don’t think so!” I sat down across from them. “And what about you, Rok?”

“Can’t you tell? I’ll be the bossy one. So you had better do as I’m telling you!”

Nick sauntered in a few minutes later.

“Hey, Nick,” Howie greeted him.

“Mmm,” Nick said, his eyes barely open as he found a seat. Then he leaned his head on the table, about to fall asleep again.

“Well, I guess this is what one of the biggest boy bands of all time looks like early on the second day of recording. It’s pretty pathetic.” I wanted to get started. The sooner we got going, the sooner I could take a cigarette break. I was already thinking about taking five, and we hadn’t gotten anything accomplished yet.

We spent the morning listening to about a dozen demos of songs we’d been sent. The ones we liked, we played a few times, trying to see how it matched our voices and styles. Several were horrible.

At around noon, we decided to take an hour for lunch. Nick and I headed to the McDonald’s down the street.

“You guys coming?” Nick called to them, but Howie and Brian were already on their cellphones.

“I guess that’s a no,” I laughed. “They’ve gotta check in with the women.”

Nick make a noise, as if he was glad not to be tied down by the old ball and chain.

“Not jealous of the married life, eh?”

Well, Howie wasn’t married yet, but he’d been in the relationship so long he might as well have been.

He gave me an “are you kidding me?” look. “Believe me, I’m in no hurry. I mean, can you imagine being with one woman the rest of your life?”

Yes. And no. That was easier said than done, that type of commitment. “Just promise me one more thing, Nick.”

“Yeah?” he asked, pulling open the door to the fast-food restaurant.

“No more Paris Hiltons. One was enough.”

He burst out laughing. “No problem.”

I could remember Kevin’s face when he found out that they were seeing each other. It was priceless. Brian hadn’t been happy, either, although he’d done a better job of hiding it. Howie stayed out of it and was nice to everyone. As usual.

Between the high profile relationship and the reality TV show, Nick had been taking a lot of grief from Kevin. I wondered if that was part of the reason he was so contemptuous of talking about him coming back to the group or being informed of what we were doing. But I knew better than to bring it up.

“Good,” I said. “Because there is such a thing as beauty and brains.”

“Uh-huh. Like you give IQ tests before going after girls?” he rolled his eyes.

“Name one girl I’ve dated who’s dumber than Paris.”

He opened his mouth and then paused, unable to come up with an answer.

“I thought so,” I moved past him and placed my order.

The rest of the day passed relatively quickly. I said goodbye to the rest of the guys and decided to drive awhile before heading home. I rolled down the windows, blasting the top 40 station. I went a long way home, down some streets I rarely visited. Reaching a stoplight, I noticed someone walking down the sidewalk carrying several grocery bags.

After a moment, I recognized her as the girl from the coffee shop. She was walking swiftly. I couldn’t really blame her, in this area. I guessed her car was in the shop.

If it was fixable. I remembered the flames, and started to think otherwise. Apparently, that had been her only vehicle. Making a quick decision, I pulled up to the sidewalk.

“Hey, do you need a ride?”

“No,” she said, rather forcefully. Turning to me, her eyebrows raised a little, realizing that I wasn’t a total stranger. After all, I’d been present for the incident that had her walking to and from the store.

“Are you sure? It’s no trouble,” I smiled, turning on my usual charm.

She shook her head. “I’m good. Thanks anyway,” she added, although she didn’t sound as if she meant it. Without another word, she tossed her long, dark brown hair and headed down the sidewalk, taking a right when she got to the corner.

The girl was independent. I had to give her that. And I was intrigued.