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Jenica Sahli just moved with her parents from L.A. to Tulsa, Ok. To her, this was a step back. L.A. was such a fun, happenin' place to be. She had tons of friends and places to hang out. Now she was in Tulsa, the middle of nowhere. "What did I do wrong?" Jenica asked her parents. "nothing," her mom replied, "Tulsa is just a safer, more family orientated place for you to grow up." Jenica cried, "Mom I just turned 16! I'm already grown up except now that you've made me move, I have no life!" "Jenica!" her mother shouted. "just leave me alone!" Jenica shouted back as she ran to her new bedroom.
As Jenica peered out her window, she noticed in the distance her next door neighbors' house. She saw what seemed to be a teenaged boy about her age with his little brother playing tag. She decided to walk over to their house and introduce herself. As she reached the driveway to the house, she stopped. "What if they don't like me?" Jenica asked herself. Before she knew what was happening, the boy and his brother walked over to her. The boy her age had long blonde hair, but she could tell he was definitely a guy, a hot one at that. "Hi! You must be our new neighbor. My name is Taylor Hanson, and this is my brother Mackenzie," he said pointing to the child. "What's yours?" Jenica, gazing into Taylor's unbelievable blue eyes, replied, "I'm Jenica Sahli. I just moved her from L.A." She was mad at her parents before, but now she was happy to be living next to such an attractive neighbor. This summer was going to rock!
Taylor took Jenica into his house to meet his family. "These are my parents Walker and Diana. Those two guys playing the Sony Play Station are my brothers Zac and Isaac. The baby that's crawling across the floor is Zoe. And last, the two girls that keep running through here are my other sisters Jessica and Avery." Jenica observed the huge family and their house. There were pictures everywhere, and she could tell that they were all very close. Jenica couldn't help noticing how good looking Isaac and Zac were as well. She already loved her new neighbors! Diana suggested that Jenica call her parents and invite them over to talk, so she did. Then the Hanson family insisted that the Sahlis stay for dinner. They had burgers on the grill and corn on the cob, potato salad, and cake for dessert. It was late so Alice, Tom, and Jenica Sahli decided to walk home. But, before Jenica left, Taylor promised that he would come over "bright and early" the next morning to take her on a tour of Tulsa. Jenica said, "Okay."
The next morning Jenica was awakened by her mom saying, "Jenica, Taylor is here to see you." Before she knew it, Taylor barged in and said, "Rise and shine sleepy-head Let's go!" Jenica said, "Give me like 5 or 10 minutes to get ready. You can wait in the den or wherever you want. "Taylor walked out and shut the door. Jenica jumped with joy as she pulled out a red t-shirt and a pair of blue jean shorts and put them on. She ran into the bathroom, brushed her teeth, combed her hair, and sprayed herself with Tommy Girl perfume. "I'm ready to go," she announced as she strolled out to meet Taylor. "You look great," Taylor told her. "Thanks, so do you," Jenica blushed.
Taylor took Jenica to the mall, to play laser tag, and to the park to rollerblade. Around 7:00p.m. they went to the movies to see Antz. When the ants kissed, Jenica imagined it was Taylor and her. She really liked him. After the movie they went to a pizzeria and shared a pepperoni pizza with extra cheese.
When Taylor took Jenica home, he promised that he would never leave her alone. If she needed him to talk to, he would always be there some way, some how. He gave her his beeper number, cell phone number, and home phone number. He said "If you're ever lonely, I'll be here for you. All you've got to do is call. If I'm not home, someone will tell you how to reach me. I won't let you get lonely this summer." Jenica knew she could never be lonely with Taylor around.
Everyday that summer either Taylor would go over to Jenica's house or Jenica would go to Taylor's. They went everywhere together in Tulsa; museums, restaurants, laser tag, paintball, Taylor's friends' house, and sometimes they just hung out at home with each others families and watched T.V. Jenica also loved listening to Taylor, Zac and Isaac play music and sing together. She knew that they were pretty popular around the world, but that didn't change what she thought of them as people or how she acted around them. The Hansons were her friends, her first and best friends in Tulsa.
One day when Taylor was supposed to come over, Jenica got the feeling that there was something he needed to tell her. When Taylor got there he said, "We need to talk." "Okay," Jenica replied. "My brothers and I have wanted to go on tour for along, and Mercury just called us to give us our schedule. We're leaving for Paris tomorrow." "Wow!" gasped Jenica. "How long is the tour?" "It's only 12 dates to start, but it will probably be longer." "When will you be home?" Jenica asked. "We're doing a show in Tulsa on July 8 but other than that, I'm not sure. My whole family is going. I'm so sorry for leaving you here, but I'll call you everyday. I promise." "Don't promise me. Just say that we'll keep in touch. Call me every once in a while and send me postcards. I'll call you too and watch for you on T.V. Deal?" "Deal" For the first time Taylor leaned over and kissed Jenica, and Jenica kissed him back. She was going to miss him a lot! That day Taylor and Jenica just sat in Jenica's den talking and watching movies. Taylor left that night saying, "I'll see you later." "Definitely," Jenica said as she leaned over and kissed him goodnight. His lips felt soft and warm against hers, a feeling she would cherish. "I love you," she whispered. She said it so quietly that Taylor didn't hear her.
The next morning Jenica ran as fast as she could to Taylor's to say goodbye, but when she got there the Hansons were already gone. Jenica almost cried until she saw a note for her, It read:
Jenica,
I'm sorry I left before we could say goodbye, but we decided to leave before dawn to get started out on the road. Ike and Zac say "Hi." I'll call you later. Remember, if you're ever lonely you can call me. Oh yeah, I love you too. Talk to you later. -Taylor
He had heard her last night! They loved each other. As long as they kept in touch, she knew she could survive without him always next to her. That was a great feeling. Moving to Tulsa ended up to be a great thing. Now, Jenica would never be lonely. She would always have a friend, and hey, you never know, someday they might be married to each other.
THE END.
written by: Jenica Sahli
December 1998