The night after the concert, Kintra kept tossing and turning. Her excitement had yet to wear off, and it was beginning to bother her. Finally, she slipped out of her bunk, trying not to disturb Nick, who slept under her, and headed out to the kitchen/living room on the bus. Since it was dark, Kintra used her hands to guide her, feeling for sharp edges that she might run into. She stepped down from the small kitchen space and found herself in the little living room. Her hand reached out and connected with the smooth material of the couch and she sat down, sighing.
"You could turn on a light, you know," said a voice. Kintra jumped, not having seen anyone because of the darkness. A light flickered on, illuminating the living room, and Kintra saw Kevin, completely dressed, sprawled out on the couch. He smiled at her. "Did I scare you?" he asked. Kintra had never been one to lie a lot, so she nodded. He chuckled and said, "Sorry about that. Couldn't sleep?"
Kintra shook her head. "Too excited," she signed, blushing slightly. "Is that silly?"
Kevin shook his head. "No, it's not. Shows can be exciting, but you'll want to try and get some rest. Tomorrow we have an interview to do, and their people asked if you'd come along."
Kintra frowned. "Why me?" she asked. "I'm nothing special."
"Sure you are," Kevin said. "You played like nothing I've seen before, and you're a girl."
"Why does that have anything to do with this?" Kintra asked, confused.
"Because we're a boy band," Kevin explained. He tapped his knee, and Kintra noticed that he was actually tapping a notebook. "I usually try and write stuff down about the concert, just in case. You never know what the interviewers are going to ask you." He smiled at Kintra. "At least you can take a moment longer because you'll have to have one of us translate."
Kintra smiled back. "What might they ask?" she signed.
"Anything from 'What do you eat for breakfast?' to 'Share your deepest, darkest secret with us.' My advice: Ignore the deepest, darkest secret part. It won't be very secret after that." He smiled. "We'll, I'd better get to bed. Don't stay up too late."
Kintra smiled at her friend. "Yes, mom," she teased. Kevin chuckled and flicked off the light. When Kintra's eyes had adjusted, she realized that she was alone. She closed her eyes, thinking about what Kevin had said, and before she realized it, a new day had begun.
"Welcome ladies and gentlemen," the host said amid the roars of the audience. "Today, we have four very special guests with us. We've heard that one of them is very shy, so please give her a big round of applause. It's Connect 3 and their friend, Kintra Philips!"
Kintra followed Nick out onto the stage, her fingers itching to tug on her scarf, a nervous habit that she had picked up. She let them inconspicuously fiddle with her jeans instead and smiled pleasantly at the crowd, who was clapping excitedly, more for the brothers, she was sure, than for her. Nick placed his hand on her waist, guiding her to a chair next to his, tickling her when he was sure that no one could see. She smiled at him, thankful that he was so encouraging. Turning to the host, she shook hands with him politely and mouthed 'hello' so that he would not think that she was rude.
When the clapping had died down, the host began. "Nick, Joe, Kevin, nice to have you back on the show, and Kintra!" he smiled pleasantly. "So lovely to meet you!"
"Thank you," she signed. "Lovely to be here." Nick, who was sitting next to the host, translated for her.
"Now, Kintra," the host said, settling back in his chair as though this was going to be a long interview, "how did you meet the Connect 3 boys?"
"Mrs. Grey, their mom, is my sign language teacher," Kintra responded.
"And why do you need a sign language teacher?" the host asked.
Kintra stiffened, the words bringing the accident back in a whole, fresh way, but she bravely answered, "I was recently in a car crash and lost the use of my vocal cords. Mrs. Grey knew my nurse, so I was sent to her house."
"Interesting," the host responded. "Before we get to your amazing playing abilities from last night, I want to ask one more personal question."
Kintra made a face that made the audience laugh. "Okay…" she signed, and Nick comically translated.
"We've done some research, and we've learned that you have leukemia." The statement shocked Kintra. She hadn't been expecting the show to bring up that. "How are you living with that?"
"I'm on my last treatments," Kintra signed, waiting an appropriate time for Nick to translate. "I go back in a couple of weeks to find out if they've been working, or if I'll have to spend more time getting more concentrated treatments."
"I see," said the host, not sounding as though he saw at all. "Well, I hope it works out for you. Now, tell us about your ability that you displayed for us last night."
Kintra's hands moved quickly as Nick told the story, adding emphasis in the places where Kintra's facial expressions changed. The host watched the two interact, more interested with the way they responded to one another than the story they were telling. At the end, the host smiled. "Well, we can all see that she's now very talented, despite what she used to be." Everyone laughed and Kintra grimaced, once again remembering her failure at the violin. "We have one more question for Kintra," the host said, and then we'll move on to the Grey boys. He looked right at Kintra, a barely detectable smirk on his face, and asked, "We know from what you've said that the Grey boys are all very special to you, but is there one that's more special than the others?"
Kintra signed something and Nick laughed. At a raised eyebrow from the host, he explained. "She said, 'Special as in they need help, or special as in they're amazing?'" The audience laughed, but the host didn't look overly amused.
After pausing for the laughter to die away, Kintra continued. "They're all special in their own ways. Kevin is like an older brother to me. He's always there for comforting. Joe is, well, Joe." The audience laughed and Joe gave Kintra a withering glance. "Kidding!" she signed. "He's amazing. He's the one who showed me that my talent stretched further than just playing the piano. And Nick," she smiled at Nick, who smiled back, waiting for what she had to say. "Nick is my closest friend. I can tell him anything, and most of the time, it doesn't even have to be in words. We communicate with each other through music. He's great." The audience "awwwed" and Kintra smiled.
The host nodded. "Thanks Kintra," he said gruffly and then turned to the boys. "Now, it's your turn," he said, and the interview continued.
Afterward, Joe caught Kintra's elbow before she could get into the car. "Anything?" he asked, referring to her comment about telling everything to Nick.
She shrugged, but made no comment.
Kintra was still waiting for the courage to tell Nick how she felt.