Chapter 11,

February 1, 2004,

I was sitting in our huge four-bedroom hotel room when dad woke up and came into the sitting area. He took a piece of gum out of his pocket and put it in his mouth. Prince and Paris walked over and sat down in between the two of us. Dad dicho "there's going to be someone coming here today to talk to tu guys about some things." I dicho "I already know what they are going to talk to us about and I think it is so stupid!" He dicho "I know tu do but; tu have to talk to them… There's no way around it, trust me… I tried to negotiate a deal but it didn't work." Prince asked "what's AJ talking about daddy?" Dad dicho "nothing Prince; just make sure that tu tell this man o woman the truth, no matter what preguntas he o she asks you!" I dicho "you don't have to worry about that; even if we wanted too, we have no reason to lie!"

About 20 minutos later, a woman walked into the room wearing a badge that dicho "Child protective services" on it. She looked around the hotel room and dicho "okay; I think I will pregunta the two younger children first and then come back to pregunta the oldest one." I arrogantly asked "you do know that I have a name; right?" Dad gave me a look of shock because he couldn't believe what had just come out of my mouth. The woman didn't say anything as she directed Prince and Paris into a separate room. Dad dicho as the woman shut the door "don't talk like that to anyone! Especially; someone with a job like hers!" I dicho with my arms crossed and feet propped up on the coffee mesa, tabla "I'm just trying to make it very clear that I don't want her here!" He dicho "I don't care! tu are digging me into a deeper and deeper hole that's going to be really hard for me to get out of!"

The woman came back a half an hora later and dicho "all right it's your turn." I dicho as I got up and followed her into the other room "alright; I just want to get this over with!" She shut the door and sat down. She dicho "my name is Andrea; what's yours?" I dicho "AJ" and sat down in the chair across from her." She asked "do tu know why I'm here today?" I dicho "because someone lied." She dicho "how do tu know that they lied?" I dicho "because my father would never ever do anything like that!" She dicho "I'm not here to get your dad in trouble in any way; I just want to make sure that tu kids are seguro here!" I dicho "yeah; that's what tu say now but; I know what all of tu are really after… Don't act like you're not either! I know más than tu think I do!"

She asked me a series of absolutely disgusting preguntas and I answered each one with a "no." As time went by; the preguntas got harder and harder to listen to. At one point, I dicho "every answer to these preguntas will be a no so; can I be done here!" She wouldn't let me leave and it was getting point where I couldn't handle listening to anything coming out of her mouth anymore. She kept me in the longest; I'm assuming because I am the oldest and she could asked me más detailed types of questions.

Almost an hora later she dicho "okay I think I've asked tu everything that I need to know. I'll give tu my number and tu call it if tu ever feel in danger!" I took it and the two of us walked out room. She dicho "alright Mr. Jackson; I have all the information that I need and I'd like to thank tu for allowing me to interview her children!" He dicho as he shook her hand "you're welcome and I hope this clears everything up!" She shut the door and I felt so relieved that she was finally gone!

Dad looked at me and I was all shaken up. He asked "how did it go?" Before I could answer him; I ran to the bathroom and started violently throwing up. He ran after me and asked "are tu okay?" I stood up and dicho "daddy; tu can't ever make me be interviewed like that again!" He dicho as we walked into one of the bedrooms that were in our hotel room "let's talk about it then." We both sat down in the recliners and I dicho "it was so gross daddy! The preguntas she asked me are things I hope I never hear again for as long as I live!" He dicho "I knew that they would ask tu the hardest preguntas because tu understand más than Prince and Paris do! That's why I tried to get all three of tu out of it! I only went along with it because I had no other choice! I'm sorry that tu had to go through all of that and I don't think anyone will have to pregunta tu again." I dicho "I hope you're right because that made me physically sick… Hearing her ask me if I ever saw anything wrong going on between tu and Gavin. I tried to get her to stop going into so much detail about specifics but; she wouldn't listen to me!" He hugged me and dicho while trying not to cry "I'm so sorry!!!"

February 13, 2004,

Today is Prince's 7th birthday and I'm curious to see what dad has planned since we are not at home. I woke up this morning and went out to Prince's bedroom in our hotel room and woke him up. When he opened his eyes I dicho "happy birthday Prince!" He dicho "thanks; is daddy awake yet?" I dicho "yeah; he just woke up about five minutos ago." Prince got out of cama and walked into the corner kitchen. He looked at the pancake batter and chocolate chips on the counter and dicho "yes!" I dicho while laughing "I know; I dicho the same thing when I saw that!"

Dad walked over to us and put his hands on each of our shoulders. We turned around and dad dicho "happy birthday manzana, apple head!" Prince dicho "thank tu daddy!" Dad dicho "that pancake batter on the counter is extra just in case we need it. I had Grace start making panqueques, tortitas and their almost done! I'm going to wake up Paris and Blanket, I'll be right back!"


Dad came back into the room carrying Blanket in one arm and holding hands with Paris with the other arm. Blanket stared at me and started laughing. Dad asked while smiling at him "what's so funny?" I dicho "I just think it's one of those days where everything is funny; right Blanket?" Blanket dicho "I get down?" Dad dicho "no buddy; we're going to eat breakfast!" Dad put Blanket in his high chair and set the table. All of us sat down and started eating. Dad asked "Prince what tu want to do today for your birthday?" Prince dicho "I want to ride go carts!" Dad dicho "alright; I'll try to find a place. If I can't; what else would tu want to do?" I asked "why would we not be able to go to the go carro track?" Dad dicho "it's not that we can't go but; it would be hard to find a place that is willing to shut their doors so I could go with tu guys without anyone else finding out."

Unfortunately, dad was unable to find a go kart track that would shut their doors so he could go with us. Prince had dicho that he would want to go to the cine to see "are we there yet?" Dad was able to go in disguise and he surprisingly pulled it off!"

February, 19, 2004,

I was watching my new favorito! mostrar on TV called "this suite life of Zack and Cody" on disney channel. Dad came into my hotel bedroom and looked at the TV. He dicho "oh my gosh… I can't believe you're watching this again!" I dicho "this is a new episode; I haven't seen it yet!" He sat down siguiente to me and dicho "after this, tu have to take a ducha, ducha de and go to bed." I asked "can I watch TV until I fall asleep?" He dicho "as long as you're not up until three in the morning and tu take your ADHD medication!" I dicho "I promise that I'll do what tu say."

During the episode a boy came on screen and started singing. I tried my hardest not to blush but; dad caught me." He started laughing and asked "what's wrong?" I dicho "nothing; nothing at all!" He asked "who is that guy?" I dicho "Jesse McCartney!" I started blushing even worse than before and dad asked "you'll like him; don't you?" I didn't answer him at first because I was trying to come up with an excuse. I dicho "no… I don't know where tu got that idea from!" He dicho "I don't know, maybe it's because your bright red and tu can't even say his name without smiling! I think my tomboys got a little celebrity crush on this Jesse kid!" I covered my face with a throw almohada and dicho "I do not have a crush on him!" He dicho "yes tu do! I can tell because tu can't even look at him without blushing!" I dicho "okay; maybe I have a crush on him but; that doesn't mean I'm going to be a girlie girl; I'm tomboy all the way!" He dicho "I know that and I don't think that will ever change! I think I worked with that boy on "what más can I give?” When he was still in Dream Street!"

April 9, 2004,

I'm starting to get sick of living in one hotel room to the siguiente and that's how it's been for a while now. The boredom is driving me insane and I think dad is starting to notice it as well. He has no clue where to live because he has not bought a permanent residence since Neverland Ranch back in the 1980s. I can definitely tell that dad is really stressed out because all he has done since the día after Paris's six birthday; all he has done is sleep and every once in a while come into the cocina area to eat something.

It was the middle of the día and I was sitting at the mesa, tabla in our hotel room doing my schoolwork. Grace was playing with Blanket, Prince, and Paris when dad finally came out of his bedroom. He was dressed in his pajamas and his hair wasn't brushed yet. One of the things that I've always loved about him is that he never let us see how much he was struggling but; I'm old enough now to where it harder for him to hide it from me. He came over and sat down siguiente to me. He asked "how's it going?" I dicho "it's going alright; why do tu ask?" He dicho as he rubbed his eyes "I know you're not happy with the fact that we are staying in a hotel for so long! I just want tu to know that I really am trying to get us out of here." I dicho "I know tu are daddy and I'm not mad at you! I just can't take being stuck in here were too much longer!" He dicho "well; I'm going to check out some rental houses for us to use until after the trial ends. Do tu want to go with me? It will get tu out of this hotel for a while!" I dicho "okay… Is it just going to be the two of us?" He dicho "yes; we will be able to see más houses that way.”

After I finished my last page of school work, dad and I headed out into central Los Angeles to look at rental houses. A realtor brought us to house after house but; nothing seemed like a perfect fit. He always made sure wherever we were that each of us has our own bedrooms no matter what. Either the houses we visited were too small o dad thought that the rent was way too high.


April 10, 2004,

After not being able to find a temporary place for us to rent, dad is obviously frustrated and hates the fact we have to mover in the first place. I was sitting in my hotel room and could hear dad cheering down the hall. I opened the door and asked "what the heck are tu so happy for?" He dicho "we have a place to live!" I dicho while smiling "where?" He dicho "the Prince of Bahrain who is a good friend of mine just offered to let us use one of his mansions for as long as we need to." I looked at him confused and asked "so we're moving to Bahrain?" He dicho "yes; right on the playa too!" I dicho "that's going to be so awesome daddy! How are tu going to be back here in Los Angeles for the trial when it starts siguiente year?" He dicho "I will just travel back and forth until it's over and tu guys will come with me! Oh my gosh; I'm so excited! I'll help tu pack your bags because were leaving in a few hours on a private jet."

Prince and Paris came running into my room and dicho "we are moving to the beach!" Grace came into and asked "what is this rolled up piece of paper that was in your room Michael?" Dad dicho "oh yeah; I forgot to give that to tu AJ! I meant to give tu on your birthday but; I lost it when we were switching hotels!" I took it from Grace and unraveled it. It was a poster of Jesse McCartney and I dicho "thank tu daddy; even though I told tu that I only have a little crush on him!" Dad dicho "you've been listening to his CD that I got tu for your birthday over and over again. For someone that only has only has a little crush on him; tu sure do talk about him a lot!" Grace started laughing and dicho "I never thought I would see Alanna blushing over a boy!"

April 11, 2004,

We are finally here in Bahrain and it is más amazing than I could have ever imagined! Our bedrooms are three times as big as the ones we had back in Neverland. I woke up this morning and just lay in cama looking around my new bedroom. My favorito! part por far is that I have my own bathroom for the first time! Then when tu look out the bahía window tu can see the perfect view of the shore. My room is pretty much a disaster because I haven't had time to decorate o put things away due to the fact that we got here so late last night.

I got out of cama and decided to put my new Jesse McCartney poster up on the muro because I knew it would make dad happy. I grabbed a roll of tape out of one of the cardboard boxes in my room hung the poster on the wall. Dad walked in and dicho "I knew tu would put it up!" Blanket came into my room with my dog pato, drake (yes, I am aware that I haven't talked about the dog in a long time!) And pato, drake climbed on my bed. Dad dicho "after we eat, Prince Al-KhalifaI coming over to welcome us to Bahrain. Don't worry, tu don't have to call him that; just call him Al. That's what I call him because I always forget his name."

Just as dad said; Prince Al showed up minutos after we had finished eating breakfast and he seemed like such a nice person. He took the time to get to know each of us and he actually told me a few jokes that were really funny. He passed a set of keys to me and I asked "what are these for?" He dicho "they are for the gate to the outdoor baloncesto court! Your father told me that that's your favorito! American sport." I dicho "that's so cool; I didn't even notice that there was a baloncesto court outside! Daddy; can I go play basketball?" Dad dicho "sure tu can; just make sure that tu lock the door when tu leave so Blanket can't get out! “Al laughed at how excited I was and dad dicho "I can't even begin to tell tu how thankful I am to tu for letting us stay here!" Al dicho "of course Michael; I enjoy having tu here and I hope this will be the first place tu perform when tu stage tu come back!" Dad dicho "without a doubt; I will! I am loving it here already and as tu can tell, so are the children! Maybe if all goes well; I will stay here and live here permanently after the trial is over!"

May 7, 2004

I'm definitely getting más comfortable here in Bahrain and my typical attitude is getting back to normal. I'm not the only one who seems back to themselves because dad hasn't been depressed since we moved here and he's back to laughing and having fun. Whenever we need something, Prince Al is always willing to get it for us and for the first time in a long time I finally feel like we have our inicial again!

I was chasing Prince around and pinned him down on the ground. Dad dicho "Alanna; be careful because tu are stronger than he is!" I looked down at Prince and dicho "say uncle, say it, say it!" He dicho "okay; uncle! Please let me go now!" Dad dicho "AJ; that's enough now!" I got up and Paris came into the kitchen. She asked "daddy; I want to find my Princess dress!" He asked "where was the last place tu saw it?" Paris dicho as she shrugged her shoulders "I don't know." He dicho "that doesn't help me out at all; are tu sure tu don't know where it is? Did tu even look for it?" Paris dicho "yes; all over my room!" Dad dicho "as soon as I'm done making lunch for everyone I will help tu look for it." She dicho "I need it now though!" Dad looked at me and smiled. I dicho "oh no; if tu think I'm helping her look for that tu are out of your mind!" He laughed and asked "please Alanna, for me?" I would my eyes and went upstairs with Paris to her bedroom.

I looked around Paris's bedroom and toys were scattered everywhere. I could barely see the carpet and dicho "no wonder why tu can't find it in here! It's a disaster!" She dicho "it's not my fault; I was looking all over for my cenicienta dress!" I dicho as I picked up a few T-shirts "yeah but; did tu really need to take all the clothes out of your dresser and closet? Why would it be in there? I've never seen any of your dress-up stuff in there!" She dicho "I've put it in there before because Prince dicho he was going to rip it when he was mad at me one time!" I asked "how do tu expect me to find it in all this mess?" She dicho "daddy always finds stuff when it's missing!" I dicho "yeah well; I'm not daddy. I'm a 10-year-old with a very short attention span! I don't know what he was thinking when he sent me up here to look for a dress!"

Dad yelled from downstairs "lunch is ready." Paris and I went downstairs and sat down at the mesa, tabla with everyone else. Dad asked as he took a bite of his emparedado, sándwich de "how did the buscar for the cenicienta dress go?" Paris dicho "AJ wouldn't help me find it!" I dicho "I tried to help you! Daddy; tu have to see her room! There has to be every one of her toys on the floor in there! There's no way I would be able to find that dress. I don't even think tu could find it in there! He dicho "Paris; if I go up there to help tu find your dress and your room is a mess tu will have to clean it!" She dicho "I don't think it's a mess in there at all." I dicho "you're kidding me Paris! I stepped on at least 50 of those little Polly pocket doll pieces!" Dad dicho "you're going to end up losing all of those if tu don't keep them all in the same place and picked up off the floor because they are so small." I dicho "I bet tu if tu clean your room tu would find that cenicienta dress!" Dad looked at Paris and dicho "AJ's right!"

After we all at lunch, I helped dad and Prince clear the table. Paris dicho "I don't need to find my cenicienta dress anymore daddy!" He dicho "okay; but that's not going to get tu out of cleaning your bedroom." Paris dicho "why do I have to clean it?" He dicho "because I saw it a few minutos hace when I went upstairs to get something out of my bedroom and there is everything from puzzle pieces to videotapes all over the floor! tu need to go clean it; right now please!" Paris reluctantly went upstairs to clean her room and I went into the living room to watch TV.

pato, drake jumped on the sofá and lay his head on my lap. I looked for the remote and found it underneath one of the sofá cushions. I noticed something blue underneath the other one so; I lifted it up! It was the cenicienta dress that Paris wanted and just as I grabbed it dad dicho "you found it! I wonder what it was doing under there?" I dicho "Paris is lucky that I had to look for the remote-control." He dicho "please watch something other than that Zack and Cody mostrar on the disney channel. I dicho "that's my favorito! mostrar though!" He dicho "I know it is; practically everyone that knows tu knows that that's your favorito! show! I know for a fact that tu have seen the episode that's on right now because I've seen it!" I asked "what if the episode with Jesse McCartney comes on after this one?" He dicho "you have seen that one about seven times! Why don't tu just buy the DVD with that episode on it?" I dicho while laughing "fine; if tu don't want to watch this then I will go to my room and watch it por myself on my TV!"

May 12, 2004,

I was listening to my Jesse McCartney CD in my room and canto along to the words when dad came. He asked "is that tu singing? Wow; you've gotten really good at singing!" I asked "do tu really think that I'm a good singer o are tu just saying that because tu are my dad?" He dicho "no I mean it; you're really good AJ!" I dicho "thanks!" He dicho "you sound a lot like me when I sing! It's actually uncanny how much we sound alike!" I dicho "I still want to be a famous singer like tu when I grow up! Dad dicho "wow; tu dicho that when tu were only three years old and that's still what tu want to be when tu grow up!"

Blanket came into my room and dad picked him up. I walked up to him and dicho "look at his hair daddy; it's sticking up all over the place!" He dicho "I think we should go comb your hair Blanket!" Dad took him out of my room and I turned on the desktop manzana, apple Computer that was in my room. I stared at my Jesse McCartney fondo de pantalla for a few minutos and then clicked on the "Firefox" icon. I went on YouTube.com and searched "Jesse McCartney concierto 2004." Jesse has been performing a few concerts at city fairs and charity benefits. I obviously really want to go to one of his concerts but; I haven't dicho anything to dad about it and I don't plan to! I don't feel that now is the right time for me to ask for concierto tickets because dad has his trial starting soon and I don't want him to be worried that he would not be able to take me to the concierto due to a día in court!