(A/N: I apologize for the long delay in between updates. I should have thought ahead a bit and realized school was right around the corner. Sorry about that. Hope you all enjoy. I've got some minor news coming up in the next chapter or two, but that can wait. Hope you all enjoy the update. -James)
"When you see the map, say map!" The TV character on screen said, as her sidekick nodded along obliviously.
"Say map Olivia. Map!" Ellie smiled at her.
"Mah."
I smile and look back to my laptop, where random items are flying across the top of the screen.
"Map!" Ellie and I say at the same time, spotting it.
"Mah! Mah!" Olivia waved her arms at the screen.
"Map! You got it! Great job!" The character said.
Olivia clapped her hands and smiled.
"Good job sweetie." Ellie smiled, then kissed her head.
Olivia kept her rapt attention on the screen while I casually check my phone.
Splashface has been super dull, with the exception that Justin Bieber apparently wants to make a comeback.
Who the hell cares?
Like seriously? People that were fans of his back in his heyday are now like Mom's age, and have moved on.
It's not like his music was all that great anyway.
Simple beats, catchy rhymes, and good marketing.
Not all that much talent. He has an okay voice I guess, but nothing to rave about.
I just don't understand why he was such a phenomenon.
Maybe it was the hair.
Maybe.
But he hasn't been the same since he started going off the deep end, getting all those tattoos and fathering kids with three women, two of which he wasn't married to.
You know there's an issue when you're cheating on your mistress.
And that's not even mentioning all the drugs, the "secret" rehab trips, and reported skirts with death.
The only really remarkable thing about him is how his manager kept things from melting down.
His manager was also managing mom around the time I was born, and she went on her tour.
She probably knows more than she has stated publically.
Mom basically has one line when it comes to celebrities in peril.
She hopes that they get their life in order and that everything is okay.
Never says more than that. Which always amazes me because when Mom had her dustup with me and her tour, TONS of people took shots at her.
Leona Lewis was totally baffled why I refused to speak to her and get a picture with her.
Hmm, after you insinuate that my mother isn't doing an adequate job and that she should drop everything and go home, you shouldn't expect a picture.
How about you keep your big fat trap shut and focus on putting out a quality product?
Stupid Leona Lewis.
What makes me even madder, is how "people close to the situation" say that I yelled at her and stormed off to go "steam off" with Austin.
They called me "truly her mother's child, in every way".
That's what I hate about Hollywood. All of the sniping back and forth, the anonymous rumors, and the lies to your face.
I see why Mom just stays here. She actually is happier than if she was in that quagmire.
It's like high school, but in real life.
Stupid and pointless.
If it wasn't for Austin and Ellie, I might just go off and start my career. Do my schoolwork on set. This semester has been a drag, and whispers follow me in the hall.
I blink and come out of my reverie to see Olivia giggling and dancing happily to the end of the show.
I look over and at Ellie, and she is looking over at me.
She mouthed "You okay?"
I nod.
Then Olivia said "Mama?"
"Mama isn't here. Everyone's gone except for us, Matt, Kevin and Corey." I say.
Olivia pushed her way to her feet, and slowly walked off.
"Mama! Mama!"
"Olivia! She's not here!" Ellie said softly as Olivia walked away.
"Oh well. I tried." I shrug.
I go back to checking splashface, only to have my concentration broken by Olivia wailing.
"What's wrong?" I ask, as Ellie scrambled out of the room.
"Mama! MAMA!" I hear Olivia yell, clearly frightened.
I hear Matt and Kevin's voices in the hall, then quickly dart out to see everyone surrounding Olivia.
"Hey, it's ok. Mama's coming." Matt said softly.
Olivia completely ignored him and ran away from all of us and into the theater room.
"MAMAAAAAAA! MAMA!" Olivia screamed, sounding scared.
Ellie scrambled to follow her, with all of us following her.
Corey looked back to me briefly, and I see that he's scared too.
"MAAAAAMAAAAAAAAAAA!" Olivia screamed, starting to cry profusely.
"Olivia! Mama's not here!" Matt said.
Olivia completely ignored him, and started running back towards Kevin's room.
"MAAAAAAMMMAAAAAAAAAAA!" She screamed.
I ignore the sound of running up the stairs as we all chase her.
But before we all can catch her, Austin comes out of nowhere and puts his hands on her shoulders.
"What's wrong? Tell me what's wrong."
"MAMAAAAAAAAAAA!" She cries out, trying to get past Austin.
"No sweetie, Mama isn't here. She's out with everyone else downtown. Mama will be home soon."
"No Mama? Aga no mama?!" Olivia said, sounding like she was about to cry profusely.
When did she start saying no?
"No Mama. Easy sweetheart. It's ok. C'mere…" Austin says, pulling her into a hug.
Olivia didn't move, but started wailing VERY loudly.
Austin just hugged her and rubbed her back, stopping long enough to glance up at me, then close his eyes and keep comforting her.
I turn at the sound of tapping and see that Ellie is texting Olivia's mom.
"If you guys can please hurry home. Olivia just ran around crying for Mama and is crying her eyes out, with Austin hugging her."
"What happened sissy?" Corey asked me.
I turn to him and say "I dunno. We were watching her show in my room, then she walked off looking for her mom, then this."
I glance back to see then Olivia is now holding onto Austin, who is still holding her.
Blink.
I glance back to Ellie's phone to see 1 new message.
"On our way. What happened?"
"Nothing. Syd and I were watching her show with her, then she ran off looking for you. Then she just lost it basically."
Blink.
I feel my own pocket vibrate and pull out my own phone.
"Is Olivia ok?" – Mom
I reply "I guess. She's not wailing but is still being hugged by Austin."
BANG!
Everybody jumped, then Austin darted to the staircase with his hands up to protect us from the threat.
Only to viciously get pushed aside by Tori and completely ignored by Andre.
"Hey, I'm here. What's wrong?" Aunt Tori grabbed Olivia as Uncle Andre sat next to them.
"MAMAAAAAAA!" Olivia basically screamed and started wailing again.
More heavy footsteps make me look to Austin, who is looking at Tori and Andre with a very confused look.
"What's wrong?" Aunt Jade asked Austin.
A moment later Beck appeared, looking in Olivia and Aunt Tori's direction.
"I…nothing. Other than Olivia." Austin said, finally lowering his arms.
"Was she doing this before?" Uncle Andre asked.
"Yes, and running around looking for her."
Ellie said, and I turn and see that Corey is on his knees next to me, looking like he's about to cry.
The door downstairs slammed, then Mom's eyes suddenly popped up on the stairs.
"MAMAAAAAAAAAA!" Olivia cried out again.
Her mom only held her close and kissed her again.
"It's ok. I'm right here."
"I don't get it." Matt said, looking really worried.
Not something you see much from him.
"She…has no reason to cry. Mom wasn't here, but now she is, and she's still losing it." Kevin said, looking just like Matt.
Shaken.
"Ellie used to do it, years ago." Mom said.
I turn back and see that she's moving towards Olivia and her mom.
Dad just got up here, also looking concerned.
"I did?"
Aunt Jade nodded, then mom said "Yeah. I used to watch you and the Syddo years ago when your parents were working or off somewhere. And occasionally, not very much, you would start wandering off, looking for Mom, wouldn't find her because she was gone, then would cry for a long time."
Haha.
When Mom calls me Syddo, she always puts a 'the' in front.
With Dad I'm just Syddo.
Like kiddo, but better, as Dad used to say.
"How long did it last?" Ellie asked.
"Usually not long." Mom said.
"Eh…I wouldn't say that. Remember that night that she kept us all up, including Sydney?" Dad said with a slight frown.
Mom groaned. "Oh gosh, now I do yeah."
"Awful. There wasn't anything we could do." Dad said.
I look back to Ellie, who looks embarrassed.
Then I turn to Olivia.
Hey!
She's hugging her Dad now.
Then I hear her say "Dada."
And turn back to her Mom and say "Mama."
I hear Aunt Tori laugh and say "Yup."
Then Olivia dashed over to Aunt Jade, crashed into her leg while reaching up for her.
"Heyyy…" Aunt Jade quickly crouched down and hugged her.
They stayed there for a second, until Olivia slipped out of the hug and moved on to Uncle Beck.
Who did exactly what his wife did, and hug her.
Then Olivia moved on again.
To Mom this time.
…
Now onto Dad.
…
I think she wants a hug from everyone.
Olivia just kept moving down the line, from Mom, to Dad and then to Ellie who looked near tears, then to me.
I lightly held her as Olivia clutched onto my shirt and made a very quiet, yet high pitched sound.
Then, like everyone before, wriggled away and moved on to Corey, who didn't have to bend over, then Matt and Kevin, who both sat down for her and let her hug their heads, then finally Austin and back to Aunt Tori.
"C'mon. Let's go downstairs." Aunt Tori scooped her up and started downstairs.
I scramble to my feet, and beside me Ellie crawled to her feet.
I glance over to Austin and see that he still is looking worried.
"Well I guess that's over for now." Aunt Jade said, letting Uncle Beck pull her to her feet.
"I thought you were supposed to get here later." Ellie said to Austin.
"Dad let me take Sam home early."
Aunt Tori tried to hide her disappointment while Olivia played with her necklace.
"Can you still help us though?" Corey asked him.
"Of course. That's why I popped by so early."
"Help?" Mom said as we reached the bottom of the stairs.
Matt meanwhile, led Kevin and Corey towards the garage.
"Baseball. I just got cleared to exercise the arm." Austin said.
I look to his arm, while the huge brace is gone.
"Seems like you just had the surgery."
"I did. 3 weeks isn't that far away. But I won't be able to push it for awhile." Austin said.
"Be careful." Aunt Tori said, bypassing us and heading to the kitchen.
"That's my middle name." Austin smirked as Kevin, Matt and Corey rushed to the backyard.
Without another word, Austin grabbed his baseball bag from the doorway and walked out to join them.
I turn and walk to see what Olivia is doing.
"Somebody is hungry." Aunt Jade smiled, as Olivia is holding onto a slice of banana.
Once she saw Aunt Jade smiling, she smiled too, then smashed the banana into her mouth.
"We'll have to work on being more ladylike." Her dad smiled.
Everybody laughed, which made Olivia freeze and looked at her dad.
Who handed her another banana slice and said "Eat."
She let out a happy sound and waved it around, which made us all laugh again.
"Can you come help me downstairs?" Ellie said to me.
I look over, nod and follow her downstairs.
We get all the way to the control panel before I ask "What am I doing?"
"Listening to… this." She said, handing me some headphones.
I give her a thumbs up, and she pressed play.
…
…
She's singing.
I've never heard the song before.
…
Nice melody though.
And the vocals are no surprise.
Ellie has a good voice.
…
The song is over too soon.
I take the headphones off and say "Does the song really end like that? It seems a little abrupt."
"Yeah." She nodded.
"Is it a cover, or all your own?" I ask.
"It's a cover."
"What's the song?" I ask.
Ellie turned around to grab and notepad, which she handed me.
'I Miss You – Blink 182' is circled.
"Are they the ones with the logo that has the tongue on it?" I ask.
"No, that's the Rolling Stones." Ellie laughed.
"Sorry."
Musical history isn't my strength.
"What do you want to do with it?" I ask.
"Well, I was thinking about releasing it on Soundstorm. To kind of gauge what people think. If they like it, I might get start doing music as a career thing."
"What about the bakery and cakes?" I ask.
Ellie shrugged and sighed. "I don't know. It's just super expensive. Starting a business. And a ton of work."
"Don't worry about obstacles. Look at yourself. What you want is more important." I say firmly.
Ellie smiled at me, then turned back to the control panel.
"It's a little different for you though." She said quietly.
Uh oh.
"Uh, yeah. I guess."
I'm not sure she's got people glamoring for her music.
"I don't mean to come off so bitter." Ellie said, adjusting switches back to Mom's preferences. "You just make it look too easy."
I nervously bite my lip.
"I'm not sure what to say. I just don't want to be a failure to Mom and Dad. You understand that. I need to not let it get to me." She frowned.
Ignoring my shaking hands, I walk over and hug her.
"Sorry about being in my shadow."
"Not your fault." She said quietly, leaning into my hug.
"Doesn't help though."
"You can do it. I know you can. I've just done music stuff. And you're doing some too." I smile, trying to be supportive.
"And I was there for most of what you did." She added.
"All you need to do is take that leap." I smile.
"I wish I didn't have to leap." She sighed.
I feel the buzz of my phone in my pocket, and let go of Ellie.
"You too?" She asked.
I shrug and pull out my phone.
"Come upstairs when you can. We're deciding on dinner." –Dad
I glance over at Ellie's phone and she's got the same text.
"Do you want to go up now?" I ask her.
"Sure. We can see what Austin is teaching your brothers too." Ellie said, then led the way upstairs.
"Hey." Mom said, once we reached the living room.
"Is everybody here?" Ellie asked.
"Nah. Olivia and Andre are outside watching the boys. But everybody else is."
Ellie wordlessly led the way to the others.
"So here's what we've got. 2 votes for Italian take out, 2 for Chinese and one for burgers." Dad smiled.
"Chinese." I say.
"Burgers." Ellie countered.
Aunt Jade smiled and rested her head on her hand.
"That's not a consensus."
"I guess we'll have to take the vote outside." Uncle Beck said.
"The boys won't want Chinese."
"Austin likes Chinese." I say.
We had it on a date.
"But Matt, Kevin and Corey won't." Dad countered.
"I'm sure we can come to a compromise." Aunt Tori said as Mom opened the back door.
I'm not even outside before I hear a massive "CRACK!"
"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" I hear Austin say.
"What was that?"
"The fence." Andre said, as Olivia clapped.
"What hit it?" Ellie asked.
"The ball." Mom said, looking out nervously.
"—ber to keep your weight back, but still keep your hands out front."
"It's hard." Matt said simply. "I'm fighting myself."
"I know. But look what you just did. That's how the pros hit it. If you hit it like that during a game, you'll get a hit."
"Will we get used to it?" Corey asked innocently.
"Yeah bud. It took me a while. And it's driving me nuts now. I can feel myself get rusty." Austin said, then giving Kevin a thumbs up.
Kevin tossed a ball to Matt, who hit it basically straight up.
"Ball ball ball!" Austin blurted out.
"Take it!" Corey yelled back at him, while getting out of the way.
Austin easily caught it barehanded.
"No need to call it." Dad joked.
Austin smiled at us, then said "Force of habit." and gave Corey a fist bump.
"Way to talk." He said, tossing the ball back to Kevin.
Kevin tossed it to Matt, who hit it about 10 feet.
Matt tossed the bat aside in frustration.
Austin simply pointed to the bat.
Matt said "Stupid rollover." before walking to grab his bat.
Now Corey's hitting.
"Why isn't Kevin hitting too?" Ellie said.
"He's a little farther ahead than Matt."
Kevin tossed a ball to Corey, who hit it farther than I've ever seen him hit one.
It went about 70 feet, bounced once, then hit the fence.
"Dude." Austin said simply, reaching for a high five.
"Yeah!" Mom cheered as Corey gave him his high five.
"Bet you won't do it twice!" Kevin called out, tossing the ball.
Then Corey did it again.
"Hah!" Corey cheered.
Austin just smiled. "Time to pay up Kevin."
"Didn't bet anything!" He called out, as Corey put down his bat.
"Why don't you hit?" He asked Austin.
"This is about you guys. And I haven't hit since my surgery."
"Hit!" Matt said emphatically!
"C'mon! Give us a example!" Corey said.
"Yeah!" Kevin said.
"Fine…" He said, turning back to us, where his bag was behind me.
"Didn't take much to convince you." Mom teased him.
"I'm just excited to be able to swing. It's been driving me nuts."
"Just be careful." I said.
"Where have I heard THAT one before…" He joked, getting everyone to laugh.
"Aga!" Olivia said happily.
"Hi!" Austin smiled at her, tossed the bat he just grabbed aside and…
Started doing windmills with his arms?
Ellie and I exchange look, and everybody else looks lost.
"What…are you doing?" Aunt Tori asked him.
"Stretching. Don't want to screw up my shoulder."
"Do you usually do that?" Corey asked.
"Every time I swing for real. Stretching is super important."
Then he jogged to the back fence and back.
"Let's go." Corey said, pointing to Matt, who is now throwing to Kevin.
"PING!"
I look over fast enough to see the ball clip the top of the fence, take a weird bounce and stay in our yard.
"Awww..come on!" Kevin said.
I laugh, and Uncle Andre shook his head.
"Not fair bud!" Dad called out.
I look back to Austin and see he's in a full on sprint to the back fence.
"What is that boy doing?" Mom asked, sounding totally confused.
Austin quickly came to a halt, taking several fast steps to slow to a halt.
"Trying to not get hurt. Let's go." Austin said to Corey, who jumped happily and ran over.
"Uh oh." Matt said behind the screen.
"Stand up. I won't hit the screen." Austin dictated to him.
"You sure?" Matt said, sounding unsure.
"Positive. Would I really hurt you?" Austin asked.
Matt shrugged, then threw one to him.
Austin, in one smooth motion sent the ball to the back fence so hard, it sounded like a firecracker.
Matt and Kevin swiveled around to look at Austin who is frowning.
"I'm gonna break the fence if I keep going." He says, not sounding happy.
"AGA!" Olivia said happily.
Austin grudgingly smiled.
"Not bad for your first swing though." Uncle Beck said diplomatically.
"Feel free to aim for the back fence. That won't be a problem if you break it." Dad told him.
"You won't break it." Mom said simply.
Corey's eyebrows rose, and Austin froze in place, then slowly turned to face her.
"…Really?"
"Dingggg…Donggg…"
Huh?
"The door?" Mom turned to face Dad.
"I'll get it."
"Any idea who it'd be?" Aunt Tori asked him.
"No. Maybe a solicitor snuck by the fence." Dad said, then walked inside.
I look back to Austin and see him looking at the back fence.
"Are you done?" Kevin asked, standing next to Matt.
"No." He said simply. "Let's move this screen and we'll be good."
"Do you need help Matt?" Uncle Beck asked.
"Nope! Thanks Dad!" He said, right before he and Matt teamed up to lift up their side of the screen about 10 feet.
As he walked back, Austin looked at Mom and said "Last chance to change your mind."
"Never." Mom said, not putting any emotion into her voice.
Austin smiled, then looked up and cocked his head to the side.
And let out the biggest smile I've ever seen from him.
"What?" Ellie asked, as I turn aroun—
NO.
I feel my jaw drop, then Austin wrap me up from behind in a hug.
And start laughing.
"What are y'all…" Jade started, then stopped mid-sentence.
I glance over, and everyone is just looking inside.
Where Dad is talking.
To Josh Hutcherson.
Jennifer and Liam are looking back at us.
They both see everyone looking at them simultaneously, and smile.
Liam simply raised his hands and pointed to Austin and I.
Jen lit up and hustled to the door.
"Surprise!" She said, meeting me halfway for a hug.
"Hi!" I say, voice coming out too pitchy.
"Uh oh, she found her." Josh joked as he got to the door.
Everyone laughed. "Liam, Ms. Valentine. Sorry for barging in with no notice." I hear him say to Mom, then glance over to her shaking his hand.
"No problem…what's going on?" Mom asked, as Corey, Matt and Kevin approached.
"It's a surprise. And Corey!" Jennifer lit up and rushed to Corey.
Matt and Kevin scramble aside and Corey basically tackled her.
"Hi!" He beamed at her.
"Sydney." I hear somebody say, and turn around to see Josh smiling at me.
"Hey!" I smile, then hug him.
"You good?" He asked.
"I'm great. You?"
"Very happy." He smiled, then introduced himself to Aunt Jade.
For a moment, Liam, Jennifer and Josh are introducing themselves to everyone, and I get to just watch.
Which turned out to be pretty cool.
I didn't know Uncle Beck already knew Jen, Liam and Josh.
My observing ended when Austin moved away from Aunt Tori and Olivia and he hugged my shoulders while still smiling.
It took a couple of minutes, but eventually Tori stopped talking to Jennifer about Olivia and everyone was quiet.
"Well, Austin hasn't stopped smiling, so this can't be bad." Ellie joked, causing everyone to laugh.
Austin hung his head. "I'm just happy."
"Did we interrupt anything important?" Jennifer asked.
"No." I say.
"I was going to prove Sydney's mom wrong. Outside of that, no." Austin shrugged.
"About what?" Josh asked.
"And why do you have a screen set up in the middle of your yard?" Liam added on.
"I don't think he can break the fence with a baseball that he hits."
Jennifer bit her lip, and Josh cocked his head to the side.
"Well usually I would say no, but knowing Austin I'd be dumb to say he can't."
"Hey!" Mom said defensively.
Aunt Jade, Uncle Beck and Dad all laughed.
"I thought you were hurt." Jennifer said.
"I was. Just got cleared to swing and throw today." Austin replied.
"Well maybe you shouldn't push it."
"Austin doesn't believe in patience." Aunt Tori said simply.
Austin shrugged and turned to Matt.
"You still in?"
"Of course!" He said, sprinting back to the screen.
"Well, somebody certainly will be wrong here." Liam said simply as Austin grabbed his bat and unleashed a practice swing.
Mom physically recoiled from it.
He usually doesn't swing that hard outside of a game.
Even at the cages, he's tinkering and swinging at half speed.
"let's go. Whenever you're ready." Austin said to Matt.
If I didn't know him, I'd think he was mad.
Short and to the point.
For one split second Matt tossed the ball, and it's just hanging there.
Then "CRACK!" right to the back fence.
A absolute laser.
I hear Aunt Jade laugh in astonishment.
"Check that." Austin says, still in his follow thru position.
With a frown on his face.
"Why the frown?" Jennifer asked, sounding baffled.
"I don't think I got it." Was his reply. "And I didn't do it right."
While Kevin and Corey ran to the back fence, Austin swung at a quarter speed, stopping with his arms extended.
Then he practiced exploding to the ball.
"NOPE!" Corey yelled.
Austin simply loosened up his neck.
"Wow." Josh said.
"I thought you had it." Dad said.
"Eh…" Austin shrugged, mind clearly still on his swing.
He's back into his zone.
The zone that makes me joke that he's in another relationship.
He can be obsessive about his swing.
Kevin and Corey raced back to us and waited for Matt.
Matt tossed the ball to him.
And Austin hit it straight up.
He immediately let out a yell of frustration.
"COME ON HARPER!" while looking up for the ball.
Uh oh.
Austin caught it with one hand and tossed it back to Matt.
"Same ball. 2 more shots." He said.
…
Matt tossed it up, and a split second later the ball let off a metallic sound.
Just like his home runs.
Then a board at the back fence simply exploded into two pieces.
"WHOA!" Liam jumped, while Jen looked startled.
I glance back to see that everyone is leaning away from Austin.
Caught them by surprise.
"I feel better. Didn't mean to make a hole though. Sorry. I'll pay for a new post if you'd like." Austin said to Dad.
"It's ok."
"That was violent." Ellie said simply.
Oh yeah.
She's never seen him really hit one hard.
"Violent is good. At least to me." Austin said, leaning his bat up against the brick pillar.
I glance over to Aunt Tori and Olivia opened her eyes and looked around, arms and legs still scrunched up.
He scared her too.
"Would you like to come inside? Talk about why you're here?" Dad offered Jennifer, Liam and Josh.
"Sure!" Jen smiled, then Matt grabbed the door.
"Thanks man." Josh smiled at him as Liam led everyone inside.
"Does anybody want something to drink?" Mom asked when she got inside.
"Water?" Josh raised his hand and smiled.
"Sure." Mom smiled back, then looked to Jen and Liam.
"Same." Jennifer said sheepishly.
"Please." Liam asked.
Mom and Jade disappeared to the back room, and everybody started settling on the couch.
Dad grabbed a chair for himself and settled off to the side just as Mom started dishing out drinks.
I unexpectedly got a lemonade dropped in my lap.
"Thanks mom." I say, making her look back and smile.
Finally Aunt Jade sat down and Liam grabbed a brown briefcase.
"So…it looks like you kept your end of the deal Sparkles." Jennifer smiled at me.
"Yup." I say, feeling everyone's eyes on me.
Sparkles is a new one.
"Deal?" Matt asked.
"Is this about that trip to Forefront?" Ellie asked.
"It is!" Josh said happily.
"We heard that morning that they were coming, and Jen took FOREVER to find them, but finally she brought them to a meeting."
"For?" Mom asked, barely concealing her interest.
"Hunger Games 5: Rose Spark."
Mom, Aunt Tori, Uncle Andre , Ellie, Matt and Kevin look surprised.
Aunt Jade looks borderline horrified.
ROSE.
Snow's not done.
Why can't he stay dead dammit.
"You're making a new one?" Uncle Beck asked.
Liam nodded.
"We want Sydney to be Willow." Josh said, looking to me and smiling.
Ellie audibly gasped.
"Who?" Kevin asked.
"I don't know who that is and I've read every book." Corey said quietly.
"She's Katniss' daughter." Jennifer smiled at me.
…
"Is this official?" I ask.
Jennifer simply nodded, while Josh and Liam smiled at me.
"Congratulations."
…
I hear Austin laugh and hug me from the side.
I…
…
Wow.
I'm gonna be Willow.
"And her having never acted before isn't going to be a problem?" Mom asked.
"Nope." Liam shook his head.
"Huh." Uncle Andre said.
"I don't know what to say really." Dad said.
"Bit of a shock?"
"Well, we knew something happened at ForeFront, but it'd been so long that I forgot." Mom answered.
"Rose Spark?" Jade asked, looking hesitant yet expectant.
"Sounds like you're putting puzzle pieces together." Josh said
"Snow, white rose, Mockingjay, fire. The title is electric." She immediately replied.
"It's a work in progress." Liam said.
"I'm not a fan yet."
"Have you picked her brother?" Ellie asked.
"Yeah. You'll meet him in a few weeks. Before we release 2 posters." Liam said.
"Poster of what?" Aunt Tori asked.
"Not sure yet. We're trying to decide between Gale and Willow, Willow and Katniss, Willow and Rye or 2 posters with 1 child on each." Josh said.
"What about you?" Corey piped up.
He smiled at him and said. "I'm not part of the main plot for the most part."
"Huh?" Corey looked baffled.
"Your sister and Jennifer are the main focus. And Rye to the most part, but he's…well…"
Oh.
…
Oh no.
"Here. It'll explain a lot. That's probably the final draft." Jennifer handed me a think binder full of paper.
The script.
Gold on paper.
"When will she start filming?" Dad asked.
"6 months or so? They're figuring out logistics and stuff. We should be able to get it done during her summer break. The kid we have playing her brother will be changing schools. Believe it or not, he's in LAISD right now."
"Really…" Mom said quietly.
"That's really interesting." Aunt Tori said.
"How many movies are we talking?" Dad asked.
"4 probably."
"General plot?" Uncle Andre asked.
"Basically nailed down. We know the beginning and ending."
"Better than the idiots that redid Harry Potter." Aunt Jade grumbled.
"Well that's a whole different can of worms." Jennifer said darkly.
"A career ending can of worms." Liam added.
"So…filming in the summers?" Dad asked.
"Unless Sydney finishes school early or things change. Right now we've only got 1 & 2 in the works. But 3 & 4 will happen."
"You're lucky nobody has heard about this. People check reserve lists and stuff like that all the time."
Jennifer suddenly laughed.
"Funny thing about that. You know the day Sydney released her music and all the focus was on her?"
"How can we forget?" Austin joked.
Josh laughed. "I forgot you were there."
Jen smirked. "We snuck it by them. Got the copyright and everything."
"Ahh…so they won't know what's going to hit them." Aunt Jade said.
"Very nice." Uncle Beck added.
"Aga." Olivia piped up.
Austin leaned over and waved.
"Aren't you being a good girl?" Liam asked, tickling her side.
Olivia started giggling before he even touched her.
"She likes your voice." Aunt Tori smiled.
"Well…" He shrugged, causing Olivia to giggle again.
"Isn't that it? That and the schedule." Josh said to Jennifer.
"Which we'll email." Jennifer told him.
Liam suddenly stood up and everybody else quickly followed.
"Thank you for having us. Hopefully the surprise was worth it." Josh said to my Mom while shaking Dad's hand.
"Definitely!"
"Text me. We should have lunch. Just chat about things. What you think of the script." Jennifer said to me, then hugged me.
"Oh, anything from your end?" Liam asked, causing everyone to stop and look over.
"No. But my brain isn't working right now."
"It's a lot to take in." Liam smiled at me.
"So expect a text a 3 AM?" Josh joked, getting everyone to laugh.
"Hopefully not." Austin said as Liam hugged me.
"Well you know who to get ahold of if you need to." Josh said, topping it off with a hug.
"And again, thanks for letting us totally barge in." Jennifer smiled sheepishly.
"Anytime. We'd love to have y'all for dinner or something." Mom said, causing Dad to nod.
"Sweet, thank you. Maybe then we can talk to everyone more." Josh said.
"Yup." Aunt Jade said.
Beck grabbed the door for them and shook everybody's hand on the way out.
"See ya Sparkles." Jen smiled at me before the door closed.
…
"SISSY!" Corey yelled, then tackled me.
Kevin, Matt and Ellie quickly piled on.
"I knew that was coming." Dad joked as I try to hug everybody at the same time.
"Congrats Sydney." Uncle Beck smiled at me.
"Thank you." I smile.
"AGA!"
"Here…I know you're sick of me." Aunt Tori smiles, handing her to Austin.
But Olivia immediately grabbed onto my shirt, causing Austin simply to transfer her to me.
"Hey." I smile.
Olivia simply crawled onto my shoulder and curled up.
"So…food?" Unlce Beck asked.
"Yeah!" Kevin, Matt and Corey say.
