“Didn’t someone just say ‘oh my gosh’?”
“You must be hearing things,” Jo put in, figuring out quickly (as she does) that they had interrupted something best kept quiet.
Mason pulled a face at her.
“I don’t know. I’m sure I heard something...” Drew said.
“Was it a freaking out ‘oh my gosh’?” Zac asked suddenly.
“Yeah.”
“Have you just been performing somewhere?”
“Not today.”
“Got mobbed?”
“Yeah, and wasn’t that fun?” Jim grinned dryly.
“Then that’s what it was,” Zac said seriously. “That sort of thing happens to us all the time. You’ve just performed or been mobbed or something and the second you’re in a room full of friends, the normality of it all is so overwhelming that you start hearing things. Kinda like a fan echo.”
Jo cracked up. And it didn’t matter then whether the other members of Fair Dinkum believed them or not because the laughter seemed to break it all.
“So, what are you guys doing in this neck of the woods?” Isaac asked.
“Escaping from rabid fans,” Mason joked.
“You know, all we were doing was trying to have a normal day at the local shopping centre and the next thing you know we’re hearing ‘I love you Drew!’ ” Drew groaned. “So, me and Jo, we run, and we bang into the guys here...”
“And that’s when all hell breaks loose, you know,” Jim went on. “Man, my legs got a work out today. Of course, it gets worse when Jo bangs into a brick wall. Personally, I’m amazed you didn’t knock yourself out.”
“Well, you know, I wanted to,” Jo grinned. “Oh, by the way, this is our bodyguard Sam. Sam, this is Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson, Walker, Diana... ok, sorry, I don’t remember anyone else’s names...”
Taylor grinned to himself. He would have known Jo was lying about this even if he didn’t have Empathy, being as her Intelligence power didn’t let her forget a thing.”
“Jess, Avie, Mackie and Zoe,” Taylor answered.
“And such a fine bodyguard he is too,” Jim said, with a sly grin at Sam. “Letting us get mobbed like that.”
Sam gave Jim a tolerant smile.
“Oh, I think he’s a fine bodyguard,” Jo said, a flirtatious twinkle in her eye.
“Careful Sam, Jo isn’t 16 just yet,” Drew teased.
“When is your birthday?” Zac asked.
“On paper, Thursday next week. In reality? Who the heck knows! I was like, five or something, my house burned down and I was the only survivor. Whoever I lived with obviously didn’t socialise much because none of the neighbours knew who I was...” Jo shrugged. “Ahh, well, doesn’t matter.”