Chapter 5: MMC

“Hey Momma, where are my shoes?” Justin asked as he rushed around the small apartment, looking under the kitchen table.  His mind was all over the place that morning. It was his first day on the show and nervous jitters were bouncing around inside him. He barely got any sleep because of his excitement; he ended up staying up late talking to Lynn about what songs he could possibly do on the show. More times than not he had to pinch himself to let him know that it wasn’t a dream. “Momma?”

“Justin, they’re by the door sweetie, and don’t yell. You don’t want to wake up the neighbors,” Lynn replied, drying a dish and chuckling.

“Sorry,” he apologized, rushing over to his shoes and pulling them onto his feet. He then started pacing and Lynn laughed again.

“Justin, why don’t you watch TV or something? You don’t have to be there until 11,” she told him.

“I can’t sit still, Momma,” Justin replied “Can I see the Desrosiers?” He begged, lifting his eyebrows.

“Of course, but don’t be long. You’ll need to leave before you know it.” She winked and he smiled, rushing out the front door. He ran down the hall and went down a floor, running to the room that he knew his best friend was occupying until they officially got their new house.

He knocked on the door a few times and rocked back and forth on his heels as he waited for the door to open. He beamed when Mack opened the door. “What’s with the face?” He laughed, walking past her and into the apartment.

“School,” she grumbled, going to the kitchen. She reached up on her tiptoes and barely managed to open a cupboard to get a bowl.”Turns out Mom and Dad actually found a school for me to attend earlier than expected. Today’s my first day.”

“Ouch,” he made a face and took the cereal she had in her hands and got his own bowl, pouring it before she even got a chance. He ignored her glare as he got milk from the refrigerator and poured it over his Cap’n Crunch, making sure to dunk every single piece before lifting the spoon to his mouth.

“Go ahead take my food, I don’t care,” Mack said sarcastically.

“Thanks,” Justin said with a full mouth and then continued chewing.

“Mouth closed, man!”

He stuck out his tongue, rapidly chewed, and swallowed. “School will be fine. You’ll see. You’ll make a bunch of new friends before you know it.” She didn’t say anything, just looked at him through squinted eyes. “What?” He asked after a few minutes of silence.

“Your optimism really irks me,” she replied, shoving a spoonful of cereal into her mouth. Her cheeks practically bulged as she tried to chew the huge glob of food.

Justin laughed. “You look like a frog. Ribbit, ribbit!” Since she couldn’t speak she let her middle finger do the talking and he let out a fake gasp. “Tsk, tsk. What would your mother say if she saw that, young lady?” he asked mockingly.

“Not like she’d care. She has eyes for Dad and that’s all she sees.” She huffed and rolled her eyes. She sighed and poked at her cereal, holding her head up with her palm.

His eyebrows knitted together and he pushed his bowl away. “Ok. What’s with the ‘tude?” She shrugged. “Come on, I know something’s wrong. Tell me.”

“It’s nothing,” she replied. “I just kinda miss Trace, that’s all.”

“Kinda?” Justin teased.

“I miss him but not that much,” Mack said with a face.

Justin was about to speak again when he heard a knock on the door. Mack jumped up and rushed to the door, greeting Lynn enthusiastically once it was opened all the way. “Sweetie, it’s time to leave for your first day,” Lynn told him.

“Aww. All ready?” Mack groaned, looking at the clock. “I have to wait for the bus by myself?” She pouted.

“As soon as I get back here I’ll tell you all about my day. Have fun for me, ok? I want to hear only good things,” Justin instructed, wrapping his arms around the smaller girl who buried her face into his shoulder. “Do me a favor, try to wait at least one day before you blow up at people, ok?”

“What if they have it coming?” Mack asked innocently. Justin sighed and shook his head. “See ya, Poodle.”

“Back at cha, Smalls.” He gave her a squeeze and a parting smile before following his mother out the door. Every step he took in the direction of the car more energy bounced around inside of him. He didn’t know how to release it until it came out as a sort of verbal diarrhea. He talked non-stop about which Mousketeer he wanted to work with the most (Matt Morris), which one he thought had the best singing voice (Marc Worden), and which one made him laugh the most (Jennifer McGill).

He was as perky as could be in the car, walking across the parking lot, and setting foot into the studio. But as soon as he had to say goodbye to his mother and the door closed leaving him at the “party” he wanted to puke.

He saw a bunch of kids running around, talking, laughing, playing ping-pong, listening to music, dancing. However, what bothered him was that he hadn’t found anyone that looked remotely close to his age. A few girls were sitting off, talking and giggling; probably catching up from the school year since MMC filmed in the summer.

Justin, biting his lip, hesitated by the door. He didn’t know who to talk to first or if they would even like him. He was about to turn and run away, beg his mom to take him back home, when the door opened quickly. He backed up and fell over his feet to avoid being based in the nose as three guys—two Caucasian, one African-American—walked in through the door, laughing.

“Sorry man, I didn’t see you there,” the tallest said with a bright white smile and a hand sticking into Justin’s face.

“It’s ok,” Justin mumbled, taking the hand and allowing the guy to pull him to his feet.

“Oh, you’re one of the new kids here,” the tall guy noted with a smile. Justin could only nod. He suddenly recognized who he was talking to: Tony Lucca, Dale Godboldo, and Josh “JC” Chasez. To say he was star struck was an understatement. He suddenly lost his voice as well as any function of his brain. It suddenly hit him that he was actually there on set with everyone that he’s been watching on TV. “You’re going to love it here. Everyone gets along great and we always make every day a party.”

“Wow, way to sound like a tour guide, Josh,” the African-American said with an eye roll as the other guy laughed and punched him on the shoulder.

“Josh” laughed a little as well and shrugged. “Hey man, if you ever need anything you can always come to me, ok?” He lightly punched Justin on the shoulder and mentioned for the others to follow him.

Justin looked down at his shoes and then looked at the guys who were walking away. Before he knew it he was calling for “Josh” to come back. He paused, looked over his shoulder, said something to his friends, and walked back over to the Curly haired boy, a playful smile on his face. “JC,” he stated.

“What?” Justin blinked in confusion.

He laughed. “My name’s Josh, but here I go by JC.” He stuck out his hand, “JC Chasez.” Justin hesitantly reached out of his hand. JC laughed again. “I’m not going to pull you into a headlock or anything.”

Justin finally grasped his hand and gave it a hard shake. “Justin. Justin Timberlake.”

JC’s eyebrows rose. “Timberlake? Interesting name. No one will forget that.” He dropped Justin’s hand. “See you later, Justin.”