Chapter 8, Nick J Is Off The Chain

'Quantum physics informs us that a system exists in superposition – that is, in all possible states – until we observe that it is only in one specific state,' Mr. Brown explained, while slowly walking over to the computer connected to the beamer.

'Now, there is one experiment that demonstrates how observation affects quantum systems: The Double Slit Experiment.' At this word, he hit a button on the keyboard and a video appeared on the big white screen on the wall. While the video was playing, an upbeat melody coming from somewhere next to Claire caused heads to turn and therefore also got Mr. Brown's attention.

"Yo, I'm so hot just like a Tamale, so destructive like tsuna–" Kaylee quickly ducked under the table and pulled out her phone, cutting off her ring tone. A few giggles echoed through class.

'I'm sorry Mr. Brown, I'll put it on vibrate.'

'If I hear it again in my class, miss Torello, I'll confiscate it,' Mr. Brown warned her. 'Pay attention.'

Claire nudged Kaylee. 'Do you get any of this?' she asked, motioning to the video. Kaylee shook her head with an expression that looked like she wasn't even gonna try to understand it. She glanced down at her phone to see who called. "One missed phone call from Nick J", the little screen said. Then the machine vibrated for a second, a text message. Claire looked back at the video, still playing, trying to understand it.

'Holy cow, Claire, you gotta see this,' Kaylee said after a few seconds.

Claire frowned at her sudden excitement, leaning in to read the text.

"Hey Kayl, had so much fun. Almost show time for Les Mis. Btw, can I have Claire's number? I forgot something.. x Nick." Claire blushed and read it a second time.

'Should I give him your number?' Kaylee asked with big eyes and a mischievous smile. 'Or should I make him suffer?' Kaylee's fingers hovered above the "answer" button.

Claire shrugged. 'No, you can give him my number.' She whispered after being given a warning glance from Mr. Brown: 'It's no big deal. .. Right?'

Kaylee shook her head, chuckled and pressed down on the button. 'Of course not,' she said with a load of sarcasm hidden in her voice. Claire looked at her hands, keeping silent. Then she tried to focus on the video again, not really listening to the explanation of this so-called "experiment". Her mind kept wandering to her phone.

Claire was leaning against the locker next to Kaylee's, Kaylee was rummaging through hers. Claire searched her bag for her phone and pulled it out from under her heavy books. She pressed a button and stared at the screen. Still no text, no call, nothing. Kaylee's voice made her jump.

'What are you doing?'

Claire quickly dropped the phone back into her bag and crossed her arms casually.

'Nothing. ..I was just checking my, uh, phone.' Kaylee narrowed her eyes and slowly a smile began to show on her lips. 'Were you checking if Nick called you already?'

'No!' Claire opened her mouth to protest further but Kaylee cut her off.

'Listen, I don't care. I just want to say that you shouldn't get your hopes up. I know you have a big crush on him, that's just a fan thing, right? But he's a rock star. And..' Kaylee took a deep breath.

Claire sighed. 'And he can get every girl he wants? I know that. It's not like I'm hoping that he'll fall in love with me. ... Well, of course I'm hoping. But a girl can dream, right?'

Kaylee rolled her eyes. 'I guess. I just hope you won't fall in love with him. I would hate to see you get hurt..' She slammed her locker. 'But it's not like you'll be seeing him regularly anyway.'

Claire shut off her laptop, stood up and stretched. She yawned and looked at the clock. 23:00. It was late for a school night, but she didn't feel like sleeping. Besides, she could hear her mom snoring from across the hall. She lay down on her bed, maybe lying still for a while would make her sleepy. Claire stared up at the ceiling. At the posters on the wall. At the door. Out the window. At her phone. At the ceiling. At her phone. At the posters. Back at the phone. Her eyes lingered there. Her cheap old phone. It didn't move. Too bad. Claire shut her eyes and willed herself to fall asleep. Minutes passed.

"I want someone to love me, for who I am. I want someone to need me, is that so bad?"

Claire's eyes shot open and she sat up straight immediately. Her ring tone. She cleared her throat and fixed her hair, though it didn't care how she looked over the phone. Then she finally snatched the phone of her cupboard and looked at the screen. "Unknown number," it showed. She hesitated, pressed the "answer" button and held it against her ear.

'Y-yeah?' She cursed at herself in her head. 'I mean, you've got Claire.' There was a lot of background noise and no one answered. Then a barely audible voice crept to the surface.

'Hey, this is Nick.. Nick Jonas. I got your number from Kayl.' Claire hid her face in her pillow for a second, totally freaking out. Her voice sounded over-excited when she answered again.

'Uh, yeah, she told me. She said you texted that you'd forgotten something.. or something like that.'

She heard Nick clear his throat on the other line, and she bit her lip, trying not to scream.

'That's right. I, uh, I had a lot of fun at the cabin this weekend. But I just remembered yesterday that I forgot to give you an autograph. And the picture. I don't know if you really mind but..'

Claire didn't know how to respond. 'Uh. ' She heard someone talking to Nick in the background.

'It's no biggie. I mean, I had a lot of fun too.' She could hear the smile reflected in his next words.

'I'm glad. But you know, I feel like I owe you. Besides, I was planning on asking Kaylee anyway.'

Claire frowned. 'Asking her what?'

'I was thinking, maybe you two could come see me in Les Mis?' Claire's heart made a flip. Double.

'Wow, are you serious?' She visualized Nick smiling and her stomach fluttered.

'Absolutely. I just finished my last show for tonight, so I'm a little busy right now. But I'll call one of you somewhere tomorrow. I'd just love to see you again soon.' Claire smacked her hand against her mouth and screamed without sound.

'Me too. I would love to see Les Mis.'

'Well, that's settled then. Listen, I have to go.'

'Bye, good luck on the show.. I mean for tomorrow.. or whenever the next one is.' Nick chuckled.

'Thanks. Goodnight.' He hung up. Claire stared out in the blue for a few seconds, her smile getting bigger and bigger. She buried her face in her pillow and screamed, stood up to put her phone on her desk, and jumped back onto her bed. Nick. Jonas. Just. Called. Her. She covered her face with her hands, kicking the air with her feet. She just couldn't stop from giggling. The goofy smile Claire showed at the moment would probably be plastered on there for a while. A long while.