After school was out, I met the guys outside school. They were gathered out by the bike rack. When they saw me coming, Darla said to me, "Hey, Spiny, we're all going to the bowling alley to bowl and play pool. You gonna come?"

Hey! I may not be good at American football but nobody like me for bowling and playing pool. Plus, all the games they've got at the arcade. Sounds like loads of fun! "Sure. And how about we all eat out afterwards?"

"I couldn't eat another thing," said Larry.

"I'll pay for everyone."

"I'm starved, then!"

See what a rat Larry is? But what can you do? Oh well. Anyways, I called Rob first and told him and Greeny to go straight home and be in bed by nine and to make themselves sandwiches for dinner.

After that, we all rode our bikes down to the bowling alley. We went in, and I paid our entrance. Then we all picked our shoes, chose an alley, signed in our names on the number score. We were there about about forty-five minutes before my phone rang. I'd just gotten ten strikes and nine spares.

I was about the go for my tenth spare when RIIIINNGG! The stupid phone scared the living daylights out of me and made me fall forward with the ball still in my hand. And as you might imagine, it was a pretty hard landing.

I answered with a pained, "Hello?"

"Hello? Your Majesty?" That voice sounded familiar?

"Where are you?!"

"HUH? Who is this?!"

"This is Mr. Dred Murphy. Whhheeere are you?!" Oh, yeah. My manager. The big, tall, muscular one with the clenched jaw and tight teeth.

The thought made me gulp but I quickly passed the thought away. I mean, appearances can be deceiving, right? I mean, there are people who look big and tough but are very friendly. And vice versa.

"I'm in the bowling alley and having a very good time with my friends."

"Singers and celebrities don't have time to be with their friends. We are ready to start recording."

"Couldn't we start tomorrow?"

"You want to release it as soon as possible, don't you?"

"Well, yeah, but…"

"Well, then come on!" Then he hung up. Well…what could I do?

I must've stood there quiet for a while, because Darla said, "Hey, Spiny? Either throw the ball or let me do it, 'cause it's my turn."

I shook my head and blinked. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry."

"Who was that?" said Patty.

"Oh, my manager. Says they're ready to start recording. That he says I should go over there to start right away."

"Now? Isn't it kinda late?" said Kathy.

I shrugged. "Well, I suppose I'll just be doing the first stages or so. Mr. Miller said that I would first see the band, the background vocalists, and things like that. I guess I'll just record one."

"Are they going to tell you what to sing or do you decide?" said Larry.

I shrugged. "I guess I'll be able to choose. Plus, even if they don't let me decide, I can use my absolute power to prosecute them, right?" I said, half-kidding.

I said bye to everyone and was leaving just as Lilia was coming from getting a snack. "You're leaving?"

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Afraid so. Music careers are demanding, you know?"

She laughed. "Yeah, I guess so. When will I see you?"

"Um, I guess tomorrow. It's Saturday. A whole lot more time."

She smiled again. "Sounds good. Have fun doing your music."

"Thanks." I leaned over and pecked her on the cheek then ran out the front door. My stomach exploded into butterflies and I could feel my cheeks burning.

I got to the recording studio in about a half hour. When I got there, Mr. Murphy, and several other men were there. Probably those who help record. You know…when a singer is with the headphones and singing into a microphone and on the other side of the glass, there's a person recording and mixing sounds.

Anyways, he introduced me to the recording team. Then he showed into the recording room. He handed some sheet music. "Here are your songs. We found them on your social networking profile online."

I paged through the sheets of music. Just to make sure they were all accurate. I mean, I'm somewhat picky in my music tastes. And I'm not that much into modern singers. I don't like music from Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, or any of those. And I don't approve of heavy metal, rap, or hip-hop. Too much electric guitar and screaming. I mean, what does most of the music talk about? Love. It should be soothing, soft, warm, and romantic. Music has really degenerated these days.

Anyways, I looked over all of these. Then I said, "Don't I have to do some breathing exercises or stretch vocal cords?"

"Listen, boy. Your voice is so good that you don't need all that fuss. You sing incredible without even doing the effort."

Well, I hate compliments in the middle of hard work. Or in the middle of arguments.

Ten minutes later, I was standing in front of the microphone, headphones on and ready. I took a deep breath and got ready as the band started playing.

We did about three or four songs. By the end, it was 10 pm. I was exhausted. I was simply beaten.

I'd really like to say which songs I did, but I want to wait until my album is completely finished. "Probably, by the end of this month, we'll be done with you. Then comes editing, album art, production, etc. Maybe by Mid-May, your debut album will be ready for release."

Well, the good thing is that I wasn't going to be rushed. Believe me; I would be busy enough just to be a regular teen boy.

I got home at around ten thirty. Boy was I beat. But inside I knew it would be worth it. Let me tell you, I slept that night feeling not only tired but also self-satisfied. That's not a common combination, you know.

Next morning, I woke up the worst way imaginable: with Larry's face right in mine. When I first opened my eyes, I thought the Grim Reaper had walked in on me. I mean, there are dinosaurs that are more or less good-looking, even for a dinosaur. But Larry's…well, let's just say that it's not very healthy to wake up in the morning and see his face first.

As you might expect, I got the scare of my life and I screamed. I blinked my eyes and shook the dream vapors out of my head. Then I looked at Larry and stared into his eyes, which showed no sign of intelligent life. "Larry?"

"No, I'm Tom Cruise. Of course it's me!"

I kicked the covers off and stood up and stretched real good. Ahh…Feels so good to stretch in the mornings. I started doing my morning exercises. I usually do jumping jacks, push-ups, sit-ups and jog in place. Gets the blood circulating and makes your body get ready for the day.

Then I went to shower and wash my face. I walked downstairs to get breakfast. Everyone was already there. Well, at least the girls were. No signs of Robert or Greeny. I sat down at my place. "How'd you sleep, Spiny?" said Patty.

"Lying down with his eyes closed," said Larry.

She made a face at him. "You're not amusing, you know?"

I looked around. "What about the boys?"

"Oh, they already had breakfast," Kathy said, putting a plate of scrambled eggs in front of me.

"Oh. What'd they have?"

"Waffles and French toast."

I was there for a minute, lost in deep thought. Then I looked down at my plate. Then I said to her, "How come they get all those fancy breakfasts, and all I get is scrambled eggs?"

She sat down in front of me and poured milk into her glass. "Well, because when I knock on your door in the mornings and ask you what you want, you always mumble scrambled eggs."

I stared at her. "Well that's because I'm half-asleep. I've got scrambled eggs memorized. I don't even know what I'm saying. From now on, when I mumble scrambled eggs, give me waffles."

"And when you mumble waffles, I give you scrambled eggs?"

"Right! And when I mumble French toast…well, I'll give you a list of mumbles so you can know what I really want."

She nodded and gave me a funny look. "Okay."

Well, Larry and I finished eating, then we said goodbye and stepped outside into TIV. While I drove down the driveway and out the gates, I saw Lilia on her bike going down the street towards the school. I'll tell you something; that girl is gonna go bike riding to the 8th Grade Dance, the High School Prom, and maybe even to college.

Anyways, I stopped beside her and rolled down my window. "Hey!"

She stopped her bike beside my door. She smiled and said, "Hey! Off to work?"

I nodded. "Yeah, you know how it is."

"Yeah. How did it go last night?"

"Oh, fine. My album might be ready by May."

"Really? Wow that sounds so exciting!"

"Yeah, it is." Then things got quiet. "Well, I'll be seeing you. Have fun!"

She smiled back in that beautiful and cute way that only she knows how. It makes me get butterflies in my stomach every time. "Yeah, see you. Have a good day." Then she waved at Larry. "Bye Larry!"

He waved back. "See you, Lilia." Then she rode off into the distance until I couldn't see her anymore. I sat there for a while and sighed. Larry said, "When's the wedding?"

I laughed and looked at him. "Oh come on, Larry! I haven't even taken her out for a date yet! One step at a time, don't you think?"

He shrugged. "If you say so, my lad." I started down the road again and drove downtown to the office building.

I sat down at my desk and placed my briefcase on the desk and opened the laptop. "Well, another day, another day, right Larry?"

He sat at his desk and turned on his computer. "Yeah, I know. Can be pretty boring and dull sometimes."

"Ha! Nothing's ever dull or boring with someone like you around!"

"Aw, thanks, Spiny."

My eyes turned into slits. "That was no compliment. It was an insult."

"Thank you. You're very kind!"

I rolled my eyes and thought to myself. "There aren't many guys like you. Matter of fact, if I ever found someone like you, I think I'd faint or something. That would be a miracle."

He smiled half-evilly half-mischievously. Was he going to…oh no! He wasn't going to…he wouldn't dare…

"No, wait, Larry. Please don't! Don't do it!"

He ignored me. I know what happens when he gets that look. You know what he did? He copied himself. He made several clones of himself. In the blink of an eye, I had about fifty Larrys in front of me, all grinning. I can only say one thing: no matter for what purpose, serious or comical, every time Larry clones himself, it brings trouble.

"Undo that right now! That's an order!"

They all grinned at me and said, "An order of enchiladas?"

Huh?! "An order of soft tacos?"

Ugh….

"An order of baked potato? An order of salad?"

Ahh! I growled at him! "I give up!" all of the Larrys said. Then they all turned back into the original. But that wasn't the end of it. Larry did…well, first let me explain. I had a very short temper. I can be impulsive and I do get angry very easily. I can't stand to be pranked, fooled, or criticized. But even though a lot of things really make me mad, there is one thing that positively makes me blow my top off.

And that's just what Larry did. You know what he does? He forces my mouth to open, grabs my tongue with his hand, and stretches it across the room like a measuring tape, and then he lets it go. And of course, when it comes back it causes great pain. Besides, sometimes it slaps me really hard in the face.

Well, he did that. Then he was on the floor, laughing and rolling so hard I thought he'd have a heart attack or something. I glared at him. "You'll pay for this! Just for that, I won't give you a free signed copy of my first album."

He waved his hands and pretended to be sad. "Oh no! Please, Spiny, please say you'll do it! Please give me a signed copy of your CD!" he said in a very exaggerated voice. Then he laughed again.

Ah! I didn't have time to deal with him. But one of these days…