"Guys? Hello? Anybody home?" Caitlin called as she walked into the house, setting her bag and jacket down as she went.
"We're in here!" Came a voice from the next room. "Will you grab me a coke from the fridge on your way in?"
Caitlin flung open the fridge, examined the sparse contents, and then grabbed
a coke before shutting the door. Walking into the next room, she caught sight
of her three roommates, hero-worshipping the Playstation.
"There is NO WAY you won that fair and square! You totally looked at
the special moves and cheated!"
"Shut up! If you are too dense to read the instruction book, then you
don't deserve to win!"
"Loser!"
"Lame-ass!"
"Dorko!"
Caitlin placed two fingers in her mouth and gave a loud whistle. "Hi
guys, I'm home." She said sweetly as she handed the coke over. "And
why the hell do you guys argue about this every day?" She said with a
grin as she flopped down on the overstuffed sofa.
"Our lives lack direction, and this is the only thing we have total control
over." Came the reply from the young man holding controller #1.
"Or because we are hopelessly bored when you aren't around." Responded
controller #2.
Caitlin grinned as she looked at her roommates. Sitting directly in front
of her, holding controller #1, was her big brother Alex. He could be a mirror
image of his sister, with the same smile and brown hair, and ruddy cheeks.
Because barely two years separated them, Alex and Caitlin had always been
very closefriends as well as siblings. They may fight like cats and dogs,
but they were fiercely protective of each other. Caitlin stuck her tongue
at him in response to his smart-ass remark.
"Shouldn't you three be working, or saving the country from imminent
invasion, or something?" Caitlin asked with a wry grin as she started
to remove her shoes and curl up on the sofa.
With a roll of his eyes, Mike gave a snort as he tossed controller #2 towards
the TV. Mike and Alex were best friends, and had been since the day they met
at the naval academy. Mike's sandy blond hair, easy smile, and rumpled clothes
made him appear to be a laid-back college student, when in reality he was
a highly-respected "computer nerd" for the navy. In fact, his nickname
was "Scout" because of his ability to find anything on the internet,
on the radar screen, or within the computer itself.
"Um. No." Scout said with a grin. "Actually, all three of us
have the afternoon off, and, Jon, are you the only one working tonight?"
"Yep. Lucky me." Jon replied with a grin. "Want a tour of the
storage shack, baby? Make my night exciting?" He asked his best friend
with a wink.
Caitlin replied, "Ooh baby. You make it sound so..." She paused.
"So totally unappealing." She replied with a wink of her own.
"Harsh. Very harsh." Jon replied with a smile. Jon was the "third
musketeer" of the navy boys in the house, and had also become instant
friends with Alex and Mike at basic training. His tall, dark and handsome
looks made him the target of many female affections--most of which he never
refused. He sarcastic sense of humor and friendliness had appealed to Caitlin
immediately when she met him years before, and they had quickly become best
friends--which they remained to this day.
Caitlin stretched her arms above her head as she settled back into the sofa.
"Tough day at the office, dear?" Scout asked.
"Actually, it was a great day! You are NOT going to believe who I met
today." Caitlin said with a broad grin.
"Mickey Mouse?" Alex volunteered.
"Not quite. JC Chasez." Caitlin said with a small squeal.
Two blank looks focused on her, while Jon gave her a bright smile and a quick
laugh.
"No WAY!" Jon exclaimed.
"Let's back up. WHO?" Alex said disdainfully.
"JC? Hello? Do you guys EVER listen when I talk? JC is one of the guys
in *Nsync." Caitlin said.
"The boyband?" Alex said with mocking in his voice.
Caitlin rolled her eyes. "They are not just a BOYBAND! They're music
is awesome, and they are great singers. Ask Jon." Caitlin said pointedly.
"It's true. These guys are pretty cool." Jon said in all seriousness.
"I don't know much about them on a personal level--I'll leave that to
the 14 year olds who hero-worship them." Jon added.
"Agreed! I mean, I've read some sites on the internet, and I catch them
on TV, but their fans take it to a whole new level!" Caitlin said. "Their
young female fans are rabid, but I really do like their music. Anyhow, he
came in to the reference desk and I got to help him. He was really nice."
Caitlin said as she got up and headed to the kitchen. "And he asked for
my phone number." She added as she walked through the doorway.
"What?"
"Nu-uh!"
"Ok, failing to tell us the most important part! That is so not cool!"
Caitlin grinned at the voices that followed her to the kitchen. She returned
moments later with a bottle of water. "Seriously, it's not a big deal.
I helped him find some information, he offered to show me around Orlando,
and I'm fairly certain I'll never hear from him again. He was just being nice."
Caitlin said as she resumed her seat on the sofa.
"Well, aren't we the cool one?" Alex said admiringly.
"Well, seriously. JC, Mr. Big-Voice-Of-The-World's-Most-Popular-Pop-Group
is not going to call me. So, can we move on to important matters, like what's
for dinner?" Caitlin asked with a searching look around the room.
Giving a dramatic sigh, Scout bounced up from the floor and headed for the
phone book. "I'm craving some take-out...who's with me?"
A chorus of voices answered as Scout picked up the phone to speed dial the
delivery number of the local Chinese restaurant.