Big time trouble
"Dogs. My office. Right now!" Gustavo's voice boomed. The boys obeyed immediately. "Sit down," Gustavo said. "Dogs, I have big news for you!" The boys were anxious to find out what the big news could be. "Griffin told me that the sales of your first album want through the roof and that you'll be going on tour throughout the US," he went on. "Really! That's so cool", Carlos replied bouncing around happily on his chair. "Awesome," Kendall said. "You see! We really can be a band!" "Yeah, but it doesn't mean that you won't have to work your butts off to improve your life performance," Gustavo shouted. "Carlos' singing has improved, but he still needs to work on that." Carlos smiled happily and was patted on his back by his friends Kendall, James and Logan. "But …," Gustavo shouted angrily. He hit his desk hard with his hand. Logan involuntarily ducked behind James' back. "Logan still can't sing or dance. He's still sucks!" Logan shyly bit his lower lip. He knew he still had a lot to learn, but he was sure he already made some progress. "Gustavo, you're not being fair to him," Kendall started defending his best friend. "Logan is trying really hard and he has learned a lot already." "Absolutely", James and Carlos said in unison. Kelly looked at Logan worriedly. He seemed to look even paler than before. "Gustavo, I really do think you're being too harsh on him," she started. "He has learned a lot and he's doing the best he can." She laughed at Logan and he timidly smiled back at her. "Okay, you are trying to do your best. I'll give you that," Gustavo said. Logan sighed with relief. "I'll try even harder," Logan said softly. "Yeah, you absolutely will," Gustavo nearly shouted. "Because I will be drilling you personally, until everything comes out perfectly. As of tomorrow you will have an extra 2 hours private singing and also dancing classes per day." "Are you nuts?" Kendall shouted. "He is only 16 years old and we have to work our butts of already each and every day." Kelly also wasn't happy with this. "He has no choice," Gustavo said. "Or would you like to screw up in front of a live audience, dog?" He peered angrily at Logan. Logan shook his head violently. "No … No problem," he stuttered. "I'll do it. No worries!" "Now get outta my sight," Gustavo yelled. Logan nearly tripped over his own feet while trying to get away as fast as he could. He still looked very pale and his friends had also noticed that. "Don't worry about him, Logie," Kendall said while wrapping an arm protectively around his friends shoulder. "You know what he's like. Don't you worry about him." "He does have a point," Logan said while walking to the limo with his best friends. "That's so not true," Carlos said. "You have learned so much already. You really have! You just need to believe in yourself." "That's enough complaining for the day," Kendall said. "Let's chill by the pool. We deserve it."
"Was that really necessary?" Kelly asked her boss once the boys had left his office. "I don't know if you even noticed this, but the poor kid got really pale." Gustavo rolled his eyes. "So what" Gustavo boomed. "There's nothing wrong in pushing the dog, right." "You have known Logan for over a month now," Kelly started. "You know how he's like. He is very shy and insecure. Do you really need to hurt him like that? If you scare him like that, he might not dare to sing anymore." "I just wanted to push him a little," Gustavo explained. "That's all there is to it. I actually see a lot of potential in his singing. He hits the high notes like nobody else. He just needs to sing with more confidence. And his dancing still needs to improve. He still is clumsy." "Yeah, but he's trying the best he can," Kelly defended. "Can't you at least give him some credit for his hard work." "Okay, okay." Gustavo agreed. "I'll go easy on him." "You better support him," Kelly went on. "Logan is a sweet boy. Make sure he starts to believe in himself."
The limo finally arrived at the Palm Woods. The boys hopped out of the car. They made their way upstairs to their apartment to get ready for the pool. They were talking to each other the whole way up, but Logan had kept quiet all this time. "Logie, what's wrong with you?"Carlos asked his friend. "Oh, nothing," Logan replied timidly. "Are you still worried about this thing with Gustavo?" James asked. "No, I'm fine," Logan said. "I already forgot about that." He tried to act tough, but everybody saw right through his act. He never really was good at lying …
They walked into apartment 2J minutes later. Mama Knight was already preparing lunch. Logan was the last one to enter the apartment and Mama Knight immediately noticed how pale the boy looked. "Hello, boys," she greeted all of them. "Logan. Sweetie. Are you feeling alright?" Logan nodded his head. "Gustavo yelled at him again this morning," Carlos answered. "Oh, sweetie," Mama Knight said while wrapping an arm protectively around Logan. "Here, sit down and have some toast. It will probably make you feel better." Logan smiled and sat down. The boys all started eating their lunch and were soon chatting to one another. Logan, however, kept quiet the whole time. Kendall finally had enough of his friend's behavior. "Would you stop that", he yelled at Logan. Everybody stopped talking all together. "Stop acting like you are about to break into a thousand pieces. You look so vulnerable and fragile all the time. We're afraid to say or even do anything wrong. You're so pessimistic and afraid of everything. Come on, dude. Live a little!" Logan didn't say anything. He stood up and without even glancing at his friends went upstairs to his room. "Is this supposed to help?" James said getting mad. "Yes, way to go, big brother," Katie said angrily, while rolling her eyes at Kendall. Mama Knight had been too busy to notice what had happened. Once she stepped into the living room, she heard the harsh discussion going on between the boys. "What is this all about?" she asked. The boys and Katie all started arguing at the exact same time. "Okay. Stop, stop, stop," Mama Knight yelled. "One at a time, please. What is going on here?" Nobody said anything and they all just stood there and watched one another. Right at that moment, Mama Knight noticed that Logan was no longer sitting at the table and had barely touched his beloved toast. "Where did Logan go?" she asked suddenly worried about the raven haired boy. "He just ran away," Kendall answered shrugging his shoulders. "Yeah. I wonder why?" James answered in a mean voice. "I just told him what was on my mind," Kendall answered. "But you know what Logie is like," Carlos said. "Gustavo already hurt him a lot and then you had to hurt him some more." Mama Knight looked angrily at her son. "What has happened today?" she asked. Carlos told her how Gustavo had hurt Logan by complaining about his singing and dancing. He also told her that Logan would need to go through an extra 2 hours singing and dancing practice each day. "Oh, that poor baby," Mama Knight said. "I'll go up to see how he's doing. Just you guys leave him alone for a little while. And Kendall, I would really like for you to apologize to Logan tonight. Okay?" Kendall simply nodded his head in agreement.
Mama Knight went up the stairs towards the bedroom Logan shared with her son Kendall. She softly knocked on his door, but didn't get an answer. "Logan? Sweetie, are you alright?" she asked worried about his wellbeing. "Can I come in for a minute?" She heard a soft sob in the distance. Although she wasn't actually Logan's mom, she did care a great deal about the boy. She carefully opened the bedroom door to find Logan on his bed crying with his knees pulled up to his chest. She ran straight towards the boy and pulled him in her arms. "It's okay, sweetheart. Let it all out! It will do you a world of good," she said trying to comfort him. Logan was happy he could cry into the arms of his surrogate mother for a while.
After a while, Logan finally calmed down a bit. "Are you feeling better, sweetie?" Mama Knight gently asked him. "Yep. Thanks!" Logan said timidly while wiping away his tears. "What has happened that made you so unhappy?" she asked. Logan explained the way Gustavo had treated him and how he actually thought he had improved. "You have improved a lot, believe me," Mama Knight told him. "You've learned so much already. You just need to believe in yourself. Logan Mitchell, you're not just really smart, you also are very talented." Logan blushed a deep red. "It's the truth," Mama Knight said. "Not many people can do what you do. You still get straight A's, you even follow advanced courses and you work really hard on your singing and dancing skills." Logan smiled his signature dimpled smile. "Thanks for your help, Mama Knight," he said. "I think I'm ready to chill by the pool with the guys now." "You're welcome, Logan," she answered while hugging him.
Carlos, James and Kendall were already occupying the pool chairs. James was still mad at Kendall. Carlos decided to sit in between them. He was really worried about Logan and was glad that he finally appeared at the pool. "Hey, buddy. I'm so glad you're here," he said enthusiastic. "Same here," James said while leaping out of his chair and hugging his friend. Logan simply smiled and sat next to James. "Are you feeling better?" Carlos asked still a little worried. "Yes, I am okay now, Carlos. Really!" Logan answered the question. Kendall hadn't said a word yet. James was still furious at Kendall. "We care a lot about you, buddy," he said to Logan. "We're here for you when you need us. Don't you worry about him !" He pointed angrily at Kendall. "No, Kendall was right," Logan said quietly. "I did overreact a bit. I'm sorry, guys." "Logie, don't say that!" Kendall answered. "I was completely wrong. I never should have said those things to you. By the way, I totally disagree with Gustavo."
