Saturday Morning- Tamia
11:13 A.M.
"Girl, I can NOT!" Morrissa exclaimed on the video chat.
Seriously, Mia?" Vie chimed in.
It was Saturday, and I was sitting in my room, video chatting with my friends.
"What?" I said. "You guys know I don't listen to today's music!"
That was probably another thing that made me "weird". I prefer to listen to older music, so I was never up to date with current music. Even though my girls were low-key roasting me, I never felt weird around them. We do the things most teenage girls do: shop, gossip, and talk about boys. Around them, I always feel seen and heard... unlike when I'm with Larry...
"The Draper Brothers, Mia, The Draper Brothers," Morrissa kept saying, as if hearing the name multiple times would ring a bell. Nope.
"You know I've never heard of them," I said.
"Mia, you've got to hear their music!" said Vie. "They're amazing! Especially the youngest one, Cay! I love his voice. But I love Jay too."
"Yeah, Jay is awesome, but Ray's my favorite," said Morrissa.
"Why do all their names rhyme?" I asked, extremely concerned. "Isn't that kind of cheesy?"
"Uh, NO!" they both screamed in unison.
"Y'all are fan-girling again," I chuckled. My friends love singers—especially boy bands— so I kind of understood their enthusiasm. "Well tell me about this a-MAY-zing band," I say sarcastically.
"All right, we will," said Vie. "Their debut album came out about four years ago, but they were low-key famous before that."
"Yeah," Morrissa chimed in, "They've had other EPs come out long before then, but not many people knew because they weren't mainstream yet."
"But we knew of them," Vie said, "because we're true fans."
"Nice," I said. "Anything else I should know?"
"Yeah, they live right here in LA too!" said Vie.
"Oh so that's why you two love LA so much," I laughed.
"I'll admit, that's one reason I didn't object to moving here," said Morrissa.
"Yeah that and the other California boys out here," I said jokingly.
"Actually, they're originally from Chicago," said Morrissa.
"Really?" I asked. Hmm, I guess even celebrities have to move too sometimes.
"Yeah," continued Vie, "they've only been living here since a little bit before their first album was released, which was five years ago."
"I wonder why they moved out here, though," I said. "I mean, aren't there a lot of artists living in Chicago?"
"Girl, Cali is where all the major STARS live," said Vie. "And like I said, they had better success after they moved to LA."
"You never exactly said that," I said.
"Well, it was implied," she giggled.
"Well, not all major stars live here," I continued. "There are plenty of major stars in other cities."
"Yeah, but LA is a different vibe," Morrissa said. "And I think LA fits my vibe!"
I rolled my eyes and laughed. "Are we still meeting up to go to the mall today?" I asked.
"Of course," they say in unison.
"It's Saturday," said Morrissa, "plus, I need to get my nails done."
I let out a silent groan. I mean, there's nothing wrong with a girl getting her nails done, and Morrissa always gets hers done gorgeously... but that's just not my thing—and it seems to take FOR. EVER.
We like to hang out every Saturday and the mall seems to be the only thing we can agree on. Morrissa is more of a girly-girl. She LOVES shopping (especially for shoes) and getting her nails done.
Now, Vie on the other hand, is more of a tomboy. She likes sports and is captain of the softball team. Don't get me wrong— she loves shoes and shopping too, but— yep, you guessed it— at the athletic store. But she's not the messy, dirty tomboy type. She's the most beautiful, put-together athletic girl I've ever seen. She'll usually get her nails done along with Morrissa, but that's the only time she'll get them done. Plus, they don't last long since she does sports. Morrissa definitely keeps up with her nails more.
Now me? Well, I'm sort of in between. I'm not a tomboy, but I'm definitely not a girly-girl either. I don't like getting my nails done—that's too much maintenance. I also don't like sports because I am in no way athletic or coordinated enough. Shopping can be kind of stressful; piecing together clothes, shoes, and accessories can be overwhelming. I tend to keep it simple: tank tops, shorts, and sandals.
So what do I look forward to at the mall? The food court.
No, seriously. I LOVE food! I love trying different types of food, even though I usually stick to a soft pretzel and a cold drink whenever I'm at the mall. But looking at me, you couldn't tell that I even eat.
"Mia, I know you heard me," Morrissa laughed, interrupting my thoughts.
I smiled. "Yeah, I heard you. Well let me go so I can get ready. See y'all soon."
*end call*
Saturday Afternoon- Jason
12:39 P.M.
*Knock-knock*
Ugh, what now? I thought. I rolled over and looked at my alarm clock. It was past noon, and it was also Saturday. Man, did I really sleep a whole day? I thought. I knew I was exhausted from touring, but wow.
"What?" I called groggily to the door.
The door pops open.
"All right man, you've gotten your rest, now let's goooo!" says Raymond.
"Go where?" I asked.
"I don't know, somewhere. Let's get out of the house!" said Raymond.
"Bruh, we've been out of the house for the last six months!" I replied. "Why are you and Caiden always so quick to go somewhere?"
"Man, 'cause we're bored!" I hear Caiden say, coming up behind him. "Let's hit the mall and check out some girls."
"Why can't you guys lay low for a while?" I asked. "Our management already stated on social media that we'd be back in town next week."
And by "management" I meant our parents. Yes, they manage us, and really well too. I genuinely believe we would not have been as successful without them. And even though they're older, they really got involved in social media to help promote our tours and concerts. They also let our fans know we'll be home later than we actually are, to give us some time to ourselves. "A moment to breathe", if you will.
"But that doesn't mean we can't go out!" said Caiden.
"Can we at least wear disguises?" I asked. "No one ever believes that 'celebrity look-alike' crap Caiden."
In the past when we've gone out into the public when our fans would think we're still on tour or traveling, we've tried to go to more secure places in Los Angeles— places where there are not a lot of people, or we're there's older people who wouldn't recognize us. But it always fails, someone always recognizes us.
They would go, "Hey, aren't you Caiden Draper?!" and Caiden would go, "No, but everyone says I look like him." That only worked about half the time. How could a set of three brothers all look like the Draper brothers without being The Draper Brothers?
"Fine," said Caiden.
"Yeah man, whatever," said Raymond. "Let's go! I wanna hit up the mall!"
They left and I jumped out of the bed to shower and get dressed. I love hanging out with my brothers, going out to the mall or movies—just being normal. And the only way I'd do that—I mean really get to enjoy it— is to wear a disguise. Nothing too crazy, just a hat and some shades, and also so less-flashy clothing. You see, The Draper Brothers are known for their style as well as the music. So we're always dressed to impress when we see our fans.
But honestly? All that stuff is nice for a show or a meet-and-greet, but my style is pretty basic: shorts, a T-shirt, and sandals. I also learned that when posting to social media (which I hardly ever do) I should probably dress similar to what I would wear on stage. That "keeps up appearances" as my father would say. I say it helps me be a public figure when I need to, but still have somewhat of a private life when I have to.
Normally, I'd have to remind my brothers to leave the designer clothing and jewelry at home before we step out, but today I was pleasantly surprised that they were dressed pretty much like me.
"So which mall are we headed to?" I asked.
"Hmm, I don't know," said Raymond.
"Let's hit 'em all!" exclaimed Caiden.
We just looked at him.
"What?" he asked. "Look we might as well. Jay and I are starting school again next week. Plus we need to look for school clothes."
"Fine," I said, agreeing. I almost forgot that I was starting a new school.
Oh man, I hope it's not gonna be like the last schools: kids asking for pictures with us all day, people going out of their way to extra nice because we're celebrities. And yes, other famous kids usually attend the private schools we've attended, but it still doesn't make a difference. And I don't even understand it because most of the non-famous kids' parents have tons of money and are very distinguished in the surrounding communities anyway.
Oh well. I guess I'm gonna have to have to find out what it's going to be like at Roosevelt Academy.