Zac wasn't at all interested just yet. He knew that the fun would begin when Taylor showed up and saw their new employee. In the meantime, Zac was more interested in checking his e-mail. He had been expecting a letter from an e-pal of his named Brianna.
Hey dude!
Hmm, well, maybe you should punch him back! Lol.
Zac smiled and read the rest of her letter. Bree (as was her nickname) was the only e-pal Zac had who knew who he was. And that was only because he'd slipped up when writing an e-mail that he had sent before re-reading it. When he realised, Zac had fretted for days how she would react, but as it turned out he was actually glad she ended up finding out.
The door opened. Walker and Taylor entered the room. Walker gestured to the girl to stand up.
"Taylor, I'd like you to meet Laura. Laura, this is Taylor."
Taylor shook her hand. Walker continued:
"Laura's your new bodyguard."
Taylor dropped her hand like it was contaminated with a deadly disease.
"I don't think so." He replied.
"Why's that?" asked Laura.
"Well -" but Taylor wasn't given a chance to finish.
"Laura is a tae kwon do and judo expert. You've been doing both since you were... how old was it?" asked Walker.
"Five." She replied.
"I don't care." Taylor cut in. "No offence or anything, but I just can't, no. Sorry. No way."
"What, you don't like the idea of having a female bodyguard?" Laura asked, obviously amused.
"Taylor, look, it's just for the concerts ok?" Walker assured him. "And, you know, other occasions when it isn't really necessary to have a body guard that stands out."
Taylor was not liking this at all. Zac and Isaac looked at each other, trying to hide the smiles on their faces. They didn't really believe Laura was as capable of being a bodyguard either, but that was beside the point. Taylor gave Walker a pained look.
"Tay, if it weren't for those girls jumping onto the stage, we wouldn't be doing this." Diana put in. "I know you don't like it when that happens."
Taylor shuddered. He hated it when the fans did that.
"Yeah, but how is she gonna stop them?"
"The idea is that Laura will be in the front row near you." Jason explained. "If and when a fan tries to get on the stage, she'll be there to stop them. Simple, but effective. She'll fit right into the crowd and no one will suspect a thing."
"Until she stops a fan from getting up on the stage." Isaac joked.
"Look, I can see that she'll blend in but..." Taylor paused, not knowing how to say he didn't believe she could defend herself, let alone him.
"Taylor, can I show you something?" Laura asked.
"Yeah, ok."
Laura reached out her hand towards him, and before he knew what was coming he was lying on the floor, gasping for breath.
"He's ok." She assured the others. "Just had the wind knocked out of him. Are you convinced yet Taylor?"