Friday night came very quickly, leaving Pam almost no time to pack. She had spent most of Thursday night doing laundry and shopping at the Steamtown Mall for something to wear to the awards ceremony. The selection there was few and far between. She spent all day Friday looking through fashion magazines and gossip columns trying to get a grasp on what was hot in Hollywood. She saw tons of different styles, but couldn't picture herself in any of them. Her only hope was to go shopping at some fancy boutique in L.A on Saturday. The sales assistance out west were bound to be able to help her find something.
She envied how easy Jim had it when it came to packing. He already owned a nice suit to wear, and besides that all he needed we some jeans and t-shirts. While she stood in front of her closet for hours Jim just laid on her bed watching. He watched her as she threw shirts into different piles and moaned and groaned that nothing looked good on her anymore.
"Why are you so worried about what you're going to be wearing every day? All that really matters is the night of the awards. I know I'm spending the rest of my time in the pool." He said looking up at her from his pillow with tired eyes.
"Thanks for reminding me, I don't even have a dress for the awards. But other then that I guess you're right. I also intend on spending the majority of my free time in my bathing suit." She replied as she lay down next to him on the bed.
"Naturally, the rest of my free time will be spent in bed of course. I don't know what your plans are." He said as he grabbed her sides and tickled her. She kicked and screamed sending piles of clothes on to the floor.
"Jim! Stop it, look what you made me do." She pleaded with him desperately trying to push his hands away from her.
"Say uncle. Say uncle!" He replied as he held both of her arms over her hand with one hand, and tickled her with the other.
"Uncle!" She screamed, finally able to break away from him. She quickly began gathering the clothes up off the floor.
"Now I have to start all over again, jerk." She said with a smile.
Bright and early Saturday morning everyone gathered at the Dunder Mifflin parking lot where the bus would be picking them up. For once, corporate had actually taken care of all the details. Michael was the first to arrive of course, always wanting to be the early worm. It was only 7 am when they all had arrived, and Michael had already sucked down two cups of coffee. It was going to be a very long ride to the airport.
"Okay everybody, attention! In the spirit of things I think it would be best if we started this trip off right. Andy, would you care to lead us in a song?" Andy's face immediately lit up. He loved sharing his vocal talents with the rest of the world
"Michael, I would be nothing less then honored…" He cleared his throat and quickly dove into his rendition of Rihanna's 'Umbrella.'
"C'mon guys, everybody knows this song!" Andy pleaded with his uncooperative audience.
"Actually Andy, I've never heard that song before." Jim replied, quickly looking up at the camera.
"Yeah, me either." Phyllis then chimed in.
"That young lady is a disgrace to the female gender. Disgusting." Angela did not approve of the song either.
"Fine, we'll ride in silence, cause that is a lot of fun." Andy slammed back into his seat and stared angrily out the window. Once again his enthusiasm went unappreciated.
The airport was a complete mob scene. It is nearly impossible to keep a group of over twenty people together while fighting through crowds of holiday travelers. Just to make things even more difficult, the camera crew insisted on filming the entire trip. At this point in the shows popularity they were recognized everywhere they went. Passing by the different terminals, they heard there names being mumbled. As they walked on the mumbles turned to shouts and people began approaching them. Some of the teenage girls flocked to Jim, while the others asked where Ryan was. When they finished with Jim, the girls made there way to Pam. She blushed her way through all the compliments and tried her best to say hello to everyone.
"We do not have time for you!" Dwight yelled at the crowd as he grabbed Pam's arm.
"Pam, you need to keep up with the group. Stop being such a diva." He reprimanded her as he pulled her through the crowd.
"Dwight, your hurting me." She said as she tried to get out of his grasp.
"Quit being such a baby, Pam. We have a schedule to follow." He replied as he pushed his glasses up his nose.
The flight from Scranton to Los Angeles was a little less then six hours. Corporate had set them up with a company jet, so everyone flew comfortably. Everyone mostly slept on the flight with the exception of a few. Michael took advantage of the time and reviewed acceptance speeches from different awards shows. Angela spent most of the flight praying as she was terrified of flying. Pam searched the internet for more fashion advice, and Jim slept soundly in his window seat.
It was about eleven o'clock when the plain finally landed at Los Angeles International Airport. There was a three hour time difference so everyone still had a full day ahead of them. The sun was shining bright and the air smelled like the beach. As soon as everyone got there luggage there were two limos lined up and waiting for them outside.
"Wow, we're really getting the star treatment out here." Phyllis squealed. Her excitement was made obvious by the giant smile on her face.
"That's cause you are a star, Phyllis." Jim said wrapping an arm around her shoulder. Phyllis had been looking forward to the trip more then anyone else. It was only the second big trip she had ever taken in her life, the first being her honeymoon.
The trip was quite a culture shock to Pam as well. This was the first time she had ever left the east coast. Everything was completely different here, not even the fancy new Beesly was familiar with Hollywood's ways. Every single girl that walked by her was at most half dressed. They all had long blonde hair and perfect tans. Her red hair and pail skin made her feel just a bit out of place. All of the sudden three very perfect looking girls were surrounding Jim.
"Could you sign right here?" One of the girls asked as she pushed her bikini clad chest towards him.
"Wow, um, how about I sign that magazine your holding. I'm pretty sure signing body parts went out of style with Motley Crue." Jim replied as he grabbed the magazine for the young girl's hand. Pam couldn't help but smile.
"Alright everybody, we got to get going here. Our boy Ryan is waiting for us at the hotel." Michael yelled as he stood up on the curb, trying to get everyone's attention.
Between the two limos, everyone fit comfortably. Dwight and Angela purposely rode in different vehicles, as if everyone in the office didn't already know about there not so secret romance.
"That was very classy of you back there." Pam said as she grabbed her boyfriends hand in hers.
"I guess my boyfriend really is quite the stud among the ladies." She finished.
"Yeah, well I can't help how appealing I am to the opposite sex." He said in an obviously sarcastic tone.
"I'm not very concerned with girls like them, and you know that. All I'm concerned about is getting you into a pool." He continued as he pulled her hand to his lips.