Chapter 1- What Could Happen?

June 2008.

It was almost nightfall in the North Carolina Airport. Four hundred teenagers were waiting for their 9:00pm flight to Orlando, Florida. They were the Lower Manhattan High School class of 2008. They had all graduated, now they were on their way to Walt Disney World, courtesy of the many funding ideas implemented by class president Lindsay Monroe. Sitting on either side of her was her best friend Stella Bonasera and her boyfriend Danny Messer, who had his iPod in his ears and was singing along to the Ramones – again.

Lobotomy, lobotomy, lobotomy, lobotomy!
DDT did a job on me
Now I am a real sickie
Guess I'll have to break the news

That I got no mind to lose
All the girls are in love with me
I'm a teenage lobotomy

Stella rolled her eyes. Her boyfriend, Mac Taylor, and her sometime foster brother, Horatio Caine, had both gotten nasty jet lag on the first flight and were trying to sleep it off. Unfortunately, Danny wasn't about to let that happen. Stella noticed her foster sister Sara Sidle and her boyfriend Gil Grissom making out under a blanket. However, both of them looked up disgusted when Danny, who was completely tone deaf, hit a high note during the song.

Slugs and snails are after me
DDT keeps me happy
Now I guess I'll have to tell 'em
That I got no cerebellum
Gonna get my Ph.D.
I'm a teenage lobotomy

Sara stuck her head under the blanket. Gil pointed to the sleeping boys. Horatio was probably faking as he always wore blackout sunglasses and Mac Taylor was rumored to have gotten little sleep throughout his high school career and still managed to out-lift Nick Stokes in weights.

"Stella, Danny is as good as dead," Gil whispered.

Mac woke up a few minutes later to Danny's obnoxious singing and grabbed him in a headlock. Danny swore in Italian and both boys were play-fighting right in the middle of the busy airport. They nearly knocked over Catherine Braun and Calleigh Duquesne, who had gotten coffee at the Starbucks stand in the airport cafeteria. Stella had no idea why two of the girls she was rooming with were getting coffee this late. Stella planned on doing three things on the flight down: cuddle and kiss Mac, watch the in-flight movie, and sleep – although considering she was dating an insomniac the last one would probably be a futile attempt. Yelina Salas, Horatio's girlfriend, walked over with two cups of coffee.

"Is he awake?" said Yelina.

Stella lifted Horatio's glasses up and saw him quickly close his eyes.

"Nope," said Stella.

Yelina gave Horatio a kiss on the cheek.

"He's faking it," said Yelina. "I felt him twitch."

Stella laughed then rolled her eyes when she realized Mac and Danny were still going at it.

"Both of you knock it off!" said Stella.

They stopped. Stella wasn't a mean girl but she was capable of striking the fear of Greek gods into the boys she knew. Horatio sat up and accepted the cup of coffee that Yelina had bought for him and muttered something about paying her back when they got home. Stella walked over to a window and looked at the plane she would be boarding. She had never been on a plane before the flight from JFK to North Carolina. She felt someone take her hand and knew it was Mac even before she turned around.

"Feeling nervous?" said Mac.

"No," said Stella. "How about we borrow Sara's blanket for a little bit?"

"In here? Anyone could see," said Mac. "I'd rather wait until I know Gerrard won't bust us."

Stella rolled her eyes. Principal Gerrard was power-hungry and always out to make students miserable. He had even tried canceling the senior prom, but Don Flack had typed up several pages as to why the dance should still happen and as a result the prom had been saved. Gerrard regarded Don as his pet, even though it was widely known amongst the student body that Don hated the bastard. The only students the old toad liked were the class officers, so when Mac, the only smart jock in the school, was beginning to have a huge influence over the student body, Gerrard tried getting him to run for class office. Mac refused and ever since the principal picked on him the most. Before Gerrard picked on Mac the most he had focused his pea-brain on Danny, giving him pink slips until the cows came home. Don, Lindsay, Gil, Calleigh, and Sofia Curtis never had it so good. Maybe they would be able to keep Gerrard from killing Walt Disney World. Soon Catherine, Calleigh, and Lindsay came up and stole Stella away. The three of them had been the alpha clique, and at the beginning of the year decided to take Stella under their wing. Stella was pretty convinced that the only reason was because unlike the other girls they had tried hanging out with. She hadn't tried stealing their boyfriends or tried breaking up couples they knew. Freshman year, Sofia had been one of the Fab Four, and as a result had gotten to know their primary tutor, Gil, as Catherine and Gil were good friends and she paid him to help with their homework. Gil and Sara had been dating since eighth grade, a year longer than Mac and Stella. Sofia hadn't cared about that and had tried to seduce Gil. Gil tipped Catherine off and as a result Sofia was no longer part of the Fab Four. Sophomore year they tried hanging out with Jessica Angell, but Sofia decided to start her own clique and knowing how she had been punished, got Jessica to try and steal Don away from his girlfriend, Aiden Burn. It almost worked too, but Danny figured out what was going on and told his girlfriend Lindsay, and that was the end of Jessica's alpha days, although rumor had it she had had a crush on Don ever since despite her flirtations with Adam Ross and Sheldon Hawkes. Junior year was the most drama-filled. Stella got to know Lindsay a bit better and had come to the other girls' attention. Natalia Boa Vista got to them sooner though. Stella realized something was up when Eric Delko, Calleigh's boyfriend, was spending more time with Natalia and less time with Calleigh. Needless to say Lindsay asked Stella to spy on Eric and Natalia and on the night of the junior prom caught Natalia pushing herself on Eric. Stella told the girls what had happened, which culminated in the biggest catfight in the school's history between Calleigh and Natalia. Calleigh won, and in a way so did Stella – because it was goodbye Natalia and hello Stella. Hot parties, drinking until dawn, and all the power a girl could want. Now she was rooming with them at the Disney hotel they were staying at, Port Orleans French Quarter.

"So I brought a spa kit in my carry-on," said Catherine. "Also a little makeup that we could all use that the security guys won't throw out during bag check."

Sure enough, an airport security officer walked by, German Shepard in tow. Stella noticed the first three numbers on his badge, 081. She didn't know why it had grabbed her attention, but it did.

"Oh, cute puppy!" said Lindsay.

Stella snickered.

"Those dogs aren't 'cute' Lindsay," said Stella. "I've seen them on Tru TV, they can rip your arm out of the socket."

"So Stella, how are you holding up?" said Calleigh.

"I'm fine – jeez why is everyone treating me like I'm gonna break?!" said Stella.

"Rumor has it your boyfriend plans on enlisting, that's why," said Calleigh.

"I'm proud of Mac," said Stella.

"Danny told me he's literally counting the months down until he turns 18," said Lindsay.

Everyone laughed but Stella, who knew that once Mac became a marine he was immediately going to be sent to Iraq. It wasn't that they didn't support him, but most of LMHS thought the war was wrong and all they talked about were the casualties they heard about on the news.

"Yeah, he was going to lie, but I talked him out of it," said Stella. "A few more months of sanity, please!"

"Are you serious?" said Lindsay. "Danny told me about that, but I thought it was his idea of a sick joke!"

Soon the topic of discussion became lighter when Stella asked who else was sneaking food on the plane. Turned out the other three girls were "packing" as well, not wanting to eat that dreaded airplane food.

"Yeah, we should take a shit," said Danny. "Wouldn't want Stella to catch your stinky while you two join the mile-high club, eh?"

Stella heard the gross exchange behind her and turned around. This time their faces were beet red from embarrassment instead of a rough and tumble. They ran off before Stella could get any information about it. Soon Eric walked up and tossed something to Stella, which she caught. It was a package of Trojans.

"You'll need those more than me," said Eric.

"Sure you brought enough for yourself?" said Stella.

Eric looked Stella up and down suggestively before whisking Calleigh away.

"God, he's such a skeez," said Catherine. "Every time you engage in whitty banter with him he checks you out. I don't like it."

"I have my hands full with one boyfriend, don't need anymore," said Stella.

"That's the only reason we let you in, you had Mac and the two of you aren't trying to cause drama," said Catherine. "I'm surprised though. You're one of the prettiest girls in school, how come you never capitalized on it?"

"My parents either died or didn't want me. I had already been dealt a shitty hand, so why deal it back to someone else?" said Stella.

Catherine nodded. Stella walked back to the window, the other three girls at her heels. Soon she was joined by Mac, who put an arm around her. At that moment, Stella had everything she could possibly want: she was in the most popular clique because she was being herself, her boyfriend was handsome and she knew they were in it for the long hall unlike most couples they knew who were probably splitting up after the trip. Right now, Stella was made. Honestly, what could happen?

Something always happens when you say that! No joke, I said that one day and something DID happen! Press the little purple button and make the muse happy.