Free Out of the Shadow by Jl Paul Page B

graduated. But the memories of her high school years would always be tainted with her reluctance to trust that anyone wanted to be her friend because she was Ally the person and not because she was Jay Jones’s daughter.
    “ Well,” she said, biting her bottom lip. “You know, everyone bugging us about our dads and stuff.”
    Jamie crawled out of the closet, on his hands and knees, then sat in the doorway. He smiled softly at his cousin. “The more I think about it, the more I doubt if we’ll have anything to worry about.”
    “ Really?”
    He held up his hand, ticking off points on his fingers. “First of all, when we were freshmen, Cole and RJ were sophomores and everyone already knew who their parents were so when we started hanging out with them, they figured out who our parents were.”
    She inclined her head slightly in agreement.
    “ Second,” he said, holding up another finger. “The college campus is much larger than Meridian Valley and I doubt seriously if we’ll know anyone. No one I knew at Meridian Valley was planning to attend Starkeman.”
    “ Okay, but what about our names?” she asked.
    “ Jones is a common name,” he said. “Yeah, I know Winston is not so much but no one particularly noticed the similarity at football camp -which brings me to my third point, cuz. Our dads were still playing and touring when we started Meridian Valley. Now they’re not and not so much on the radar so chances are, people aren’t going to remember them so easily.”
    Ally’s eyes grew and she dropped to the floor in front of him. “That’s sort of sad. All that hard work – all those years of playing…”
    “ Ally,” Jamie said, taking her hand. “They’re not forgotten, it’s just college is a younger crowd and they’ll be listening to younger music. Oh, I’m sure there are still quite a few Tight Control fans out there and one or two of them might recognize our names, but I don’t really think it will be a problem.”
    She nodded, still nibbling on her lip. He was probably right and while it cheered her to think that she might actually be able to attend college without people mobbing her about her dad, it still saddened her to think that most of her classmates might not even know who he is.
    “ Okay, so maybe we’ll be okay,” she said.
    Jamie pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head. “They were an amazing band – still are – and they’ll never be forgotten. Don’t worry.”
    “ You’re right, as much as I hate to admit that,” she said, resting her cheek against his chest. “Just, don’t let it go to your head.”
    He chuckled and it vibrated her ear. “Now, Cole and RJ are another story.”
    Ally pulled out of his embrace to frown in confusion. “What do you mean?”
    “ They’re becoming more and more popular, especially after this tour,” he said. “And RJ told me that they shot a lot of footage on this tour for a video and it will be released soon.”
    “ I don’t see what that has to do with us?” she asked.
    “ Nothing, really,” Jamie shrugged. “We just have to be careful if they come on campus. They weren’t so recognizable last year, right? But I bet by the time the tour ends and the new video comes out, they will be. RJ said more and more people are recognizing them when they go out anywhere.”
    “ I see your point,” Ally said. “Jeez.”
    “ And I’m betting if people find out that RJ and Cole are our friends, it might be twice as bad. People will be bugging us to introduce them, get them concert tickets, backstage passes – you know.”
    “ Wonderful,” she groaned. Just when she thought life might smile on her and send her a ray of sunshine, the storm clouds gathered. She had hoped that with her new college independence, she’d be able to spend more time with Cole when he finished his tour. But it wasn’t looking like he’d be able to show his face around the campus. Or anywhere within a five mile radius of the school, either,