Chapter Eleven

Dru held the oversized menu in front of her face and bit her lip. The unintelligible lines, dots and squiggles that made up letters seemed to shimmy before her, mocking her handicap.

"Dru."

The menu slowly lowered, revealing a pair of intense blue-green eyes. They shifted between the two other women seated at the table nervously, finally landing on the elder of the pair. "Yes." Dru managed to get out after a moment.

Lynn smiled at the girl. "Do you see anything you like?"

Dru gazed at the menu again. "I...there's just so much here." She lied. "It's hard to pick."

She laughed. "You're right. That's the way I get when I come here." She paused, and scanned her menu for a moment. "I think you would like the Shrimp Alfredo." Lynn nodded.

Dru cocked her head to the side. "Alfredo?"

"It's like spaghetti." Marissa chimed in. "But it has cheese sauce on it."

"Oh. Well...ok then." Dru nodded, thankful that she had been able to conceal her illiteracy. She dropped her menu, and concentrated on stirring her ice water around with her straw.

"So Dru," Lynn continued, sensing that she wasn't about to start any sort of conversation. "Tell me something about yourself."

Her eyes filled with fear. "M-myself?" She stuttered. What could she possibly tell this woman that was going to impress her? Her past was filled with nothing but pain, and gruesome memories. Dru wondered, did she even have any good memories?

"Let's start simple." Lynn chuckled. "Where did you grow up?"

Dru pondered for a moment, trying to figure out how to make growing up in a shack sound better than it was. "I....grew up in the mountains." She got out finally.

"The mountains?" Lynn half smiled. "How interesting." Her eyes were wide, and full of curiosity.

Dru nodded.

Marissa buried her face in her menu. Oh...this wasn't good.

"What was that like?"

"It was...different." Dru murmured. "It taught me a lot about," she paused, "Survival."

"I would imagine it would." Lynn said. "What about your parents?"

"My parents..." She began, looking down at the table. "I mean...my Mother...she died."

"Oh." Lynn said softly. "I'm sorry."

Dru shrugged. There was nothing more to say.

"How old were you?" Marissa chimed in.

"Ten." Dru whispered.

Marissa nodded. This, she knew, was why Dru was living on the street. Suddenly, the girl didn't seem as bad as she thought she was. "Where did you go?"

"I..." She began, nervously. "I lived on my own."

Lynn frowned. "Justin didn't tell me all this."

Dru swallowed. "I didn't tell him."

Lynn was silent.

Marissa held her breath. Lynn knew something was up...and if she found out the truth, Justin's entire plan...whatever it was...was going to be ruined. There was no way in the world that Lynn was going to let some homeless girl travel around the world with her son, there was too much at stake...even she knew that. She didn't know why Justin tried to sneak things as important as this past his Mother...in the end she always figured it out. And right now, it was pretty obvious that Dru hadn't just come from some low income family like she was supposed to. No, she was a dirty girl from the street, disguised with a new haircut and some Cover Girl.

This wasn't going to work.

"How did you come in contact with Hand in Hand?" Lynn asked Dru suspiciously.

Her eyes widened. "I...my..."

"Her social worker reffered her." Marissa spoke up quickly, nodding at Dru. "His name was Glen...right Dru? You were telling me about him the other day."

Dru flashed her a thankful smile. "Yes. Glen, he's a great person."
Lynn nodded approvingly, but anybody could tell, she didn't believe a word of the story.

Moment's later the waiter appeared, eager to take their order. Dru was thankful. Any attempt for Lynn to inquire further about her life had been nixed, at least until she got curious again. She was annoyed at Justin, annoyed that he had made her out to be something different than she was. Part of her wanted to tell Lynn the truth now...but the other part...the part that was sick of living in misery, wanted to keep the truth buried deep within her soul. For once, she wanted to be happy. Maybe...living a lie wasn't so bad.

Just as long as it was Justin's lie.
***********************
The redheaded clown was scaring her. So was the big purple...thing. Justin had told her that this place was called "McDonalds". She stared down at her food. She shrugged...it smelled good. Maybe the silly looking characters weren't the reason that Justin had made a big deal about this place. She picked up a french fry and shoved it into her mouth. It was good. Salty...but good. She looked at the burger Justin had picked out for her, the "Big Mac". No, she wasn't sure about that yet.

The people that ran this restaurant had locked the doors. Besides Lonnie, and the people that worked here, she and Justin were the only other people in here. It was strange. She didn't understand why they didn't want anybody else to eat here. Was Justin that special? Was this what happened when you were famous?

"How'd it go with my Mother today?" Justin asked her, with a knowing smile. "She ask you a million questions? Or did she just talk to Marissa for two hours about how cute me and her would look together?" He didn't wait for a response before he took a huge bite out of his own sandwich.

"Umm." She looked down at her food. "Both."

He cracked up. "I knew it."

"I don't think your Mom likes me Justin." She said sadly.

"She's just watching out for me." He reached into his back pocket, and pulled out a piece of paper. "That's all." He unfolded the piece of paper and slid it across the table.

"What's this?"

"I went to the doctor today." Justin nodded.

"Oh...yeah..." Dru responded, pretending to read the squiggles on the piece of paper. "What happened?"

He was silent for a moment. "I'm...gonna be ok." He lied. "You know, they know what it is, they just need to run some tests in couple of weeks."

"That's good...right?"

"Sure." He shrugged. "But anyway..." He plopped the the packet of papers that he had brought with him on the table. "Now it's your turn."

She gasped. "Huh?"

"You have to read this, and sign it." Justin explained. "It has to be done tonight, because tomorrow...you have to meet with the charity people."

"What!" She exclaimed. "Justin...you never told me..."

"I know." He interrupted. "But...they want to see you tomorrow. I don't have any control over this."

The thickness of the packet overwhelmed her. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't read that...she couldn't sign her name. What the hell was she supposed to do? She couldn't let him down, he had held true to his end of the bargain. This wasn't happening....

"It's a contract." He said, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Contract?"

"It's something you sign, only after you've read it of course, that says you agree with everything that myself and the charity want from you. It's like a promise, once you sign it, you're saying that you're not going to break that promise." He smiled. He knew he should have been a teacher.

"Oh." She nodded, as if she understood. She moved the packet closer to her and began to turn the pages. "This is alot."

He chuckled. "I know, but don't feel so overwhelmed...mine was twice what this is."

She didn't laugh. "I'll do it tonight." She nodded.

"Good Dru." He smiled. "This is really decent of you."

"What exactly...am I doing? If you don't mind me asking."

"Well, like I told you before...you're going to be going on tour with me."

She nodded.

"And...you'll be doing some stuff...on the side."

An uneasy feeling came over her. "On the side?"

His eyes gleamed with mischief. "You...you're perfect for my next project." He nodded. "That's why I picked you."

She was confused. "What?"

"My next video project." He explained. "You...you're just so perfect." He cocked his head to the side. "Your hair color has got to change though...but other than that you're exactly what I've been looking for."

"Video project...I'm sorry Justin, I just don't understand." She shrugged. "What's a video project?"

"Sorry." Justin snickered. "A music video...you know what a music video is right?"

"No."

His smile grew...that was even better. "It's a video that a musician makes to go along with one of their songs."

"Okay." She said. "But what does that have to do with me?"

"I can't tell you." He smiled. "It's my little secret."

Dru had never been more confused, but, wanting to stay on the safe side of things, didn't ask anymore questions.

"Let's do something tonight." Justin said after a moment. "Maybe... Velvet. Yeah...I promised you we were gonna go the other day. I'm sorry..."

"It's not a big deal." She shrugged. "I forgot about it."

"Oh." Her answer wasn't the one he had been hoping for. "So we'll go then."

"I...I don't know if I should. I mean...I have this contract to look at..."

"You can worry about it in the morning if you have to. I'll even go over it with you." Justin nodded. "You're not gonna get out of this that easy," he smiled.

She blushed. "I can't dance...I'll just embarrass you."

"Dru..." He said softly, looking into her eyes. "I owe you...so much. You could never embarrass me."

Her mouth gaped. There he was again...praising her. Is was unreal.

"Say yes D." He ordered.

She didn't hesitate another second. She didn't even care that he had called her D this time, he had totally captivated her. "Yes."

He smiled. "Weez goin' clubbin girl!"

She had never seen him look so excited before. "Uh...ok." She laughed.

Dru couldn't help but wonder though, just what was she in store for?
***********************
"Lara."

"No."

Trace scanned the page further. "Corrine?"

Justin shook his head.

"Aha." He smiled. "Tara."

"I don't need the black book tonight." Justin smiled, studying his reflection in the mirror. He turned towards his friend, "I'm going to show Marissa how much of a gentleman I can be." He raised his eyebrows, and winked.

Trace scoffed. "You and Marissa? Mixing business with pleasure huh?"

Justin nodded. "It's inevitable. We're always together, she's cute, I like 'er, and I think she likes me too." He shrugged. "I asked her if she wanted to chill at the club a few nights ago and she said yes. Why shouldn't I give it a go?"

"At least it's not Dru you're after." Trace nodded. "Thank God."

He laughed. "Dru...isn't my type. That's why...I want you to show her a good time tonight."

His eyes widened. "You can kiss my big white a$$. There is no way in hell J...no way in hell." He shook his head vigorously.

"Come on Trace." Justin said, flashing his irresistible smile. "What's the worst that could happen?"

Trace shot his friend a hateful look.

"Please."

"No way. There is no way that I'm going to be seen in public with that girl."

"You don't even know her!" Justin provided. "You two could hit it off."

"When hell freezes over...that's when I'll take the girl to the club Justin." He crossed his arms. "And not a minute before, find some other pathetic soul to do your dirty work." He opened up the small black phonebook again, "I'll find my own date."

"That's my black book ya know." Justin nodded.

"I got you all the numbers." Trace mumbled. "It's just as much mine as it is yours."

"If you do this..." Justin paused and pondered for a moment. "I'll do you a favor."

He laughed out loud. "That's a good one Jus'."

"Thanks." He replied, sarcastically. "Some best friend you turned out to be, won't even go on a double date with me."

"Here he goes now with the guilt trip." Trace rolled his eyes. "Well...come on...let's have it. Make it quick, I got a lot of womens to be callin'."

"I give you everything..." He whined. "Money, women, trips around the world...and what do I get in return...nothing. Nothing at all."

"Sharissa." Trace nodded, tuning his friend out. "Now that's a woman."

"What can I..."

Trace glanced up at him. "Nothing." He said quickly. "I don't date street trash."

His smile faded. "She's not street trash. There's more to her than that."

"Then you f *cking date her. Dru isn't my problem J...I know you feel sorry for her, but if you can't find her a date, then that's your problem. This has nothing to do with me. If you had listened to me in the beginning then you wouldn't be in this mess." He shook his head, and looked down at the phonebook again. "But you never listen."

"Trace...just hear me out. You're going to have to deal with her the whole tour...so maybe you could consider this a "getting to know you" kinda thing. It doesn't have to be a date...you could just...you know, keep her company." He smiled. He wasn't going to give up.

Trace let out a tired sigh. "I guess I should have figured you weren't going to take no for an answer."

"Do I sense a yes?"

He moaned. "I'll sit at the same table...but that's it. As soon as I spot a girl I like Justin...I'm gone. That's a promise."

"Couldn't you just..."

"In a minute I'm withdrawing my proposal." Trace nodded.

Justin sighed, it would have to do. Hey, it was better than nothing. "Thanks Trace."

He grunted in response.