Break the Distance

Chapter 20

Tuesday 30th of August 2016

Toronto, Canada

Noah Williams

I send a picture of myself with a sleeping Marylou on my lap to Richelle. 'Little sisters...' I send with it and start waiting for a response. 'Haha, what happened?' Richelle sends just a few seconds later. 'This is what happened when my little sister wakes me up at 8 am and then starts begging me to watch a movie with her...' I send. 'That's so sweet of you!' she sends, 'what movie?' 'Sleeping beauty,' I send and grin at the fact that the movie is still playing even though Marylou fell asleep.

'I love that movie!' Richelle sends. 'Marylou is literally in love with the movie,' I send, ‘do you want to hear something funny’ 'What?' Richelle asks.

'Long story, but' I send, 'Marylou wanted me to come up with the perfect name for the doll I gave her for her birthday. I spent that whole Saturday looking for a name until Eldon came up with the name Richelle. Now her doll's called Richelle.' 'Really?' Richelle send, 'what a coincident.'

'No,' I send, 'not exactly.' 'What do you mean?' she asks. Eldon scrolled through i********: and saw your username because you reacted on my post.' 'That's so cool,' she sends, ‘so you think my name is perfect? I feel flattered ;p'

I feel I'm getting red and I'm really glad that nobody can see it. Well that's embarrassing. Yes to be honest I think her name is perfect. Now after a while I think it's the most beautiful name I've ever heard, but it wasn't exactly my intention to tell her that.

'Yes,' I send, 'I think you've a beautiful name.'

I refresh the page a few times, but she doesn't react. Crap, did I say something wrong, have I now ruined it all? I was really liking all the conversations we had, this can't be happening. I sigh and watch the movie again.

I think it's about 10 minutes after the movie ended when I hear my phone buzz again. 'Sorry, I fell asleep,' Richelle sends. I frown, what time is it actually in New Zealand. 18 hours in the future, it's now almost 9:30 am so 3:30 am. Wait, she's still awake.

'Sorry?' I send, 'why weren't you asleep before??' 'Have to finish schoolwork,' she sends. 'In the middle of the night?' I ask. 'Yes, I've a job since Monday so now I've to do my schoolwork in the evening. And the perfectionist I am that means not so much sleep,' she sends. I genuinely feel sorry for her. Here I am literally doing nothing, just rehearsing a few hours a day for the tour while she works like her life depends on it.

Richelle,' I send, 'don't be such a perfectionist and go to sleep.' 'Yes sir,' she sends back and I laugh slightly. 'Good night,' I say. 'You good morning,' she says. And I smile again.

"What are you smiling at?" Marylou speaks up all of the sudden. "Oh nothing," I say and lay my phone aside, "did you like the movie?"

"Is it already finished?!" she asks disappointed. "Yes," I laugh, "you slept all the way through it." "Whoops," she says with this twinkling in her eyes. "Did you like it?" she asks me. "Very much," I say, which isn't even such a big lie.

"So what are we going to do now?" Marylou asks. "We?!" I say, "I've to go to dance in an hour anyway. I don't have time." "But you still owe me!" she says and pouts. "Good point," I say, "when I come home we'll do something."

My little sister nods excited.

Rehearsal is pretty casual, we're leaving soon now and we're all super stocked about it. I check the time before I walk into the studio. 10:58 AM. We actually take way too many days to rehears, but half of the time we're too silly to actually rehears. It's fun though, they're my best friends and spending time with them is always good.

I'm so thankful they stopped teasing me after last week. I was kind of nervous when I had to see them all the next day after I walked angry away, but I'm pretty sure one of the girls told the guys not to be such douchebags.

Well, that's the only logic explanation I can think of, because I'm sure James would've just continued the next day otherwise. Sometimes I'm really thankful for the girls.

Back home I fall down on the couch. Rehearsal was pretty exhausted today. " Noah," I hear Marylou's voice within seconds. What, how does she already know I'm home? I'm pretty sure she put up a camera above the door so she can see when I come home.

"What are we going to do?" she asks me when she comes downstairs. Right, I almost forgot. "We ehh," I quickly try to come up with something, "we're going to back cookies!"

"YEA," Marylou exclaims happy. That reaction is better than I thought it would be.

My mom was less impressed. We kind of made a mess of the kitchen and when my mother came home later that afternoon we were kind of death. There was flour literally everywhere, even in the living room, don't ask me how, and she wasn't too happy about it. Marylou escaped upstairs and I got this whole speech about how I should feel responsible and that this was unacceptable and stuff. I did clean the whole kitchen and living room in record time after that, so that kind of made up. Unfortunately not enough though. It is that I'm 18 or I would've been grounded for sure.

Parents...