A 13-year-old Nick Carter stood with one foot bent on his locker and his back pressed against it. In one hand he had his backpack strap in a firm grip and in the other a note for Renée St .James. He stared at the note in hand and then glanced up to see her walking towards him with her entire posse following her.
“Oh great.” He thought to himself as she breezed past him to her locker. He thought that he was going to finally get her alone to give her the note. “Why do girls always HAVE to travel in packs anyways?” He muttered under his breath.
Nick gathered some confidence and began walking towards her locker trying to look cool, calm, and collected. “Renée, hi. I’m Nick. Nick Carter. I, um, sit behind you in History class and I just wanted to give you this.” He handed her the note and walked away, running a hand through his hair.
He heard giggles in the background and didn’t want to turn around. He knew it was Renée’s friends, but he had accomplished his mission: inside that note was Nick’s heart. He had finally asked her to the upcoming school dance. Now all she had to do was say yes. Well, that would happen in a perfect world.
The next day, Nick walked into his history class without making eye contact with anybody. He was trying to keep the humiliation to a bare minimum. He took his seat behind Renée. She hadn’t even acknowledged him. He slumped down defeated in his chair. He knew today wouldn’t be any different.
It was the middle of class and Nick was taking notes. He looked up to take more notes off the board when he saw a folded piece of paper on his desk. He made sure no one was looking and he quickly snatched it up. He unfolded it silently and quickly glanced down.
It was from Renée. She was accepting his proposal to go to the dance with him. He was ecstatic that she had said yes. He wanted to jump up from his seat and dance around the room. He knew the teacher wouldn’t like that, so he stayed where he was.
He had to sit in silent excitement for the rest of the period and as soon as the bell rang, he grabbed his books and followed Renée to her locker. For once, she was by herself. “Hi Renée, I just wanted to tell you that I’m really excited for the dance on Saturday. Thanks for saying yes. Do you want me to pick you up or just meet you at the dance?” He asked excitedly.
“Um, how about we meet outside of the gym at 7:00? Does that sound good to you?” She asked him nonchalantly.
“That sounds great. See you Saturday night at 7:00. I mean, I’ll probably see you in class before then since tomorrow is only Wednesday. But I’m sure you knew what I meant. Bye!” Nick rambled nervously before deciding that he needed to get to his next class before getting in trouble for being late.
Wednesday and Thursday flew by quickly, but Renée didn’t acknowledge Nick at all and he found that odd. He figured that it was just because she was busy and had a lot on her mind. Then Friday came and she wasn’t in school. Nick wondered to himself why, but then figured it was a girl thing, getting ready for the dance and everything.
At 6:00 Saturday night, Nick got dressed in his best slacks, a button down shirt and jacket, and rolled up the sleeves together. He had on his brand new white high-tops and his dad loosely tied a tie around his neck. He slicked his hair back and sprayed on some cologne. He got to the dance at 6:45, knowing that he had some time before Renée was supposed to show up, so he leaned lazily against a metal banister leading to the filling gymnasium.
Nick checked his watch every two minutes and at 7:00, he stood up straight, expecting Renée at any minute. He watched as car after car pulled up and other people piled out of them, but never Renée. When the clock rolled around to 8:30, he went to the nearest pay phone and called his mom to come pick him up.
Once his mom arrived, he climbed into the front seat and hung his head. “I don’t wanna talk about it, ok mom?” They drove in silence all the way home.
Monday finally rolled around and Nick was going to confront Renée about why she stood him up at the dance. However, he didn’t see her all day and she wasn’t in her desk in History class. He slumped down and Renée’s friends walked in giggling and looking at him. He opened his book and pretended to ignore them.
“Hey Nick! You know Renée moved, right? That’s why she stood you up at the dance!” Melinda Johnson exclaimed in front of the entire class.
“Oh, that’s right! I heard that Carter got stood up. She didn’t like you anyways! She just felt bad because you’re such a GEEK!” Mikey Roberts yelled at him too.
“Yeah!” The entire class echoed. Then, the teacher walked in and Nick was on the verge of tears.
“Mr. Carter, is everything alright?” Mrs. Ferguson asked politely. Instead of answering, Nick ran out of the classroom wiping his eyes and sniffling.
He made it to his locker and leaned his head against the metal. He felt a single tear drop down his face and felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see his teacher with a concerned look on her face. She escorted him to the office and Nick called his mom to pick him up.
When his mom came, he didn’t speak or look at her. Nick got into the car and brooded. He stared out the window and finally said, “I hate girls mom. I don’t ever want to like another one. I’m never going to like another girl ever.”
“Well, Nicky. I hope that’s not true. You’re too handsome to not like girls.” She said and she reached over and ruffled his hair. “I talked to the office and they said Renée moved. She could have told you. It’s her loss.”
“You’re just saying that because you’re my mom!” Nick exclaimed and looked out the window.
“No, I’m not. But anyways, I got some good news today. You know that group you auditioned for a couple of weeks ago?” His mom asked him.
“Yeah…” Nick said slowly.
“Well, they called and they want you in Orlando as soon as possible. What do you say? We put this all behind us and move forward to fame?” Jane suggested and saw her son nodding eagerly. “Well, then we start packing tonight!”
Blindsided by Erica
