Four years had past. The Carters settled in quit nicely and were now used to the quiet streets of Ruskin, Florida.
Their family of four had also expanded to a family of seven, adding Leslie and the twins.
Nick and Joey attended school together and were about to start the fourth grade.
However, that summer there was a turning point in Nick's life. A small event that would eventually determine his future...
“ I'll see ya later mommy!”
Joey ran out the back door and hurried to the fence between her house and Nick's.
Stopping at a particular spot by the fence, she pushed against it and sank right through it, into the Carter's backyard.
Nick's father had made a trapdoor a few years ago, so the kids could have easy access to both yards.
They had driven Jane and Lucy crazy running from one house to the other. This way they had their own little secret passage.
Joey ran up to Nick's house and entered the back door.
“ He Joe...How's live?”. Bob asked her when she came running past the kitchen table where he was reading his paper and Jane was feeding the twins.
“...Good morning Mr. And Mrs. C!”. She yelled and continued up the stairs to Nick's room.
There was nothing weird about Joey barging in and running around the house. Bob and Jane were used to it by now.
She reached Nick's bedroom door and opened it carefully. It was dark and it looked like a bomb had gone off, as usual.
Toys, comics and clothes were scattered all around. She had to place her steps cautiously so she wouldn't trip over anything.
Making her way quietly forward she stopped when she reached the right side of the bed.
Nick was still sound asleep, all rolled up in his sheets, with just the tiniest tuft of blond hair sticking out of the top.
“ Nicky....Nicky...Wake up...”.
When he didn't respond, she tried shaking him. Still no luck.
“ Come on Nicky!...It's our last day of summer vacation!”.
Nick mumbled inaudibly and turned over to his other side.
“Ugggh...OK,..you asked for it..”.
Joey backed up a little and with a small run, she jumped, and landed on top of Nick.
“ AAAAAAA!!!..”. Nick jumped up screaming in terror and send her flying off of the other side of the bed.
Instinctively he grabbed his desk lamp and started swinging it around, when he heard a familiar laugh coming from the floor.
“ WHATCHA DO THAT FOR??”. He yelled out, still a little shaken.
Joey was splattered across the floor, cracking up.
“...HAHAHAH...Whatcha gonna do Nicky?...Shine me to death??..HAHAHA”.
Nick leapt out of bed and stomped into the bathroom.
Joey picked herself up and ran downstairs to get some breakfast.
“ What's all that noise up there?”. Jane asked.
Joey sat down at the kitchen table and poured herself and Nick some milk and cereal.
“ I woke Nick..”.
“ Ahh...that explains it...”. Bob answered and chuckled behind his newspaper.
A few minutes later Nick came downstairs.
Still pouting over what happened, he sat down at the table silently with his arms crossed.
Joey, who was sitting opposite him, looked up from her bowl and smiled her sweetest smile as she pushed the cereal she prepared for him across the table.
Nick peaked over the rim of the bowl, while still trying to look mad.
A small grin spread across his face.
There were his favorite cereal, with tiny marshmallows floating in the milk, forming a smiley face.
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After breakfast Nick, Joey, B.J and Leslie ran out into the Carter's yard. Soon it was filled with loud children's voices and scattered toys.
“ Hey...I got an idea...Let's play talent show!”. Nick suggested.
“...Yeah!!..”. The other kids cheered.
“ OK...I'll help Leslie...you guys go prepare a talent...”. Nick said.
Joey and BJ nodded. They all spread out into different parts of the yard and started working on their act.
After about half an hour Nick gathered everyone at the tree stump by the Carter's pool.
It always functioned as a stage when they played talent show.
Nick climbed on top of the stump and cleared his throat. The rest sat on the ground and circled it.
“ Ladies...Thank you for coming out today...I wanna welcome you all to our Carter/Jenning family talent show....We have some awesome acts for you today....First off...BJ!!!....Give her a big hand people!!...”.
Everybody clapped and cheered as BJ made her way to the stump, carrying a hula hoop.
After a few minutes she took a bow and Nick took the stage again.
“...Good job BJ!....And now I'm glad to present the one and only....Leslie!!...”.
As everybody cheered, Nick grabbed 3 year old Leslie by the hand. He lifted her onto the stump and whispered something in her ear.
Leslie instantly started belting out Itsy Bitsy Spider, complete with hand gestures. Nick stood by her side, coaching her.
When she finished, they cheered once again and he lifted her off of the stump.
“...And now...a very special guest....Give it up for the amazing Joey!!...”.
Joey got up from her spot and walked over to the stump. She didn't climb on, but instead took her place right in front of it.
“...You guys need to back up a little..”. She informed them.
When everybody was at a fair distance, Joey got into first position and performed a ballet piece.
She could hear beautiful music in her head as she danced the latest routine she learned in ballet class.
Joey never liked girlie things or activities. She always preferred to play outside and didn't mind roughhousing at all.
That's why she loved being Nick's friend. He had tons of cool toys and didn't treat her like some weak girl!
Somehow, ballet was the only thing she really loved to do, that involved a skirt.
The classical music made her feel lighter somehow. Like drifting or floating.
She'd even bare a pink tutu for that !
When she finished her turn, she took a bow and skipped back to her spot on the floor. Nick jumped back on the stump.
“...Ladies....I hope you enjoyed our talent show...I'm afraid that's all the acts we have today...Now I will close the show with a song...It's called Bridge Over Troubled Water....”.
Jane was doing the dishes when she heard the faintest sound of music coming from the backyard.
At first she shrugged it off but when it continued, her curiosity got the better of her.
She turned off the water, dried her hands and walked over to the back door.
When she saw what was causing the sounds, it left her speechless.
Nick was singing one of her favorite songs by Simon and Garfunkle, and he was doing it amazingly well!
As she stood there listening to his powerful voice and perfect pitch, tears started welling up in her eyes.
She had never seen her son so elated. He was actually glowing!
When he finished, Nick got a standing ovation from the girls. Joey ran up to him and gave him a big hug.
“ Wow Nicky,...That was ...really good! I didn't know you could sing like that..”. she whispered in his ear.
Nick smiled and blushed a little.
No one had never said something like that to him before. Like she was really proud of him.
Since they became friends he had gone to every single ballet recital she had done.
He had always felt so proud to be her best friend. And now the roles were reversed. He kinda liked that feeling.
“ Nick!...”. Jane called.
He ran over to her as she crouched down to his level.
“ Honey...that was amazing!...how long have you been singing like that?”.
Nick shrugged.
“ Do you like singing, sweety?”.
A huge smile spread across Nick's lips.
“ It's the best thing in the whole world mom!”. He answered full of enthusiasm.
Just seeing her son so excited made her eyes tear up again. She gave him a big hug and send him off to play.
“ Bob!...Bob!...you are not going to believe this...”.
