Chapter 4
As we gathered the food from the delivery boy and transferred it into the kitchen, half a dozen new conversations broke out. Tina was describing the online shopping experience, and Macey was swearing that she would never shop another way again if she could avoid it. Bex was groaning about the homework we had yet to complete while Eva tried to make her stop bringing it up. Anna and Mick were deep in conversation about the gadgets in the basement, while Kim and Courtney groaned about the lack of tech nearby. Liz and I chatted about what Macey had managed to do with the uniforms, she really did perform a miracle. We paused in our conversations long enough to inhale about half the food we ordered, and before we could fall back into them Macey called us to focus.
"Alright girls, we have two days before our orders get here then we will have another two days to pack everything before making a fabulous entrance at Blackthorne that we've yet to plan. Talk to me." Macey announced.
"We need Solomon so we can go shopping for real clothes." Eva put out there.
"Step one, find Solomon. What comes next." Macey said summarizing as we discussed.
"We need to order luggage still." Tina pointed out.
"I have a good suggestion for great luggage." Mick put in before Macey could reply.
"Luggage will be ordered after lunch. Next." Macey said as she began to pace.
"We should all shower and work on as much Gallagher work as we can. Less to do at Blackthorne." I reminded everyone.
"Showers and homework will come after a plan to find Solomon." Macey said, we all mentally made a list.
"I wonder what happened to him." Courtney mused.
"Maybe he was kidnapped by terrorists." Tina suggested.
"Or maybe he spontaneously combusted." Eva said with a laugh.
"Wait wait wait, I got one. He ran away from the CIA to join a nudist colony." Tina exclaimed and she and Eva burst into laughter.
"Okay, I'm officially confused." Mick said throwing up her hands.
"This is a game we play, we call it "What could possibly happen" and it's how I come up with about ¾ of my rumors. It's a joke, it's actually quite a bit of fun." Tina explained.
"So a majority of your 'sources' are-" Bex began, but Tina cut her off.
"Eva mostly." She said with a smile.
"What so if we were at Gallagher you'd pick the weirdest suggestion then spread it around the school?" Macey asked.
"Yeah basically. I think the nudist colony would've won that time." Tina decided.
"Pfft please, a way weirder one is to say he was forced to leave the CIA because he was converting people to aforementioned nudist colony." I mumbled under my breath.
"Good one Cam." Tina said with a smile "That definitely would've taken the cake."
I felt strangely proud inside.
"I have an idea for how we can find Solomon, a real one." Kim said before anyone else could speak up.
"What is it?" Macey asked.
"We can call him." She said as if it were obvious, which I suppose it was.
"He said only in emergencies." Anna pointed out.
"Well, we're here alone and we kinda need to not be here." Courtney mentioned.
"I can classify shopping as an emergency. Give me the phone, we'll call now." Macey said holding out her hand, leaving no room for argument.
Liz grabbed the phone from where it sat and placed it gently on Macey's outstretched hand. She hit the only contact in the phone and held it to her ear before thinking better of it and putting it on speaker. We all crowded closer to the phone.
"Girls." Solomon's voice came from the speaker and we all looked at Macey to respond.
"Solomon." Macey replied shortly.
"What can I do for you?" He asked politely.
"You can start by telling us where you disappeared to." Bex grumbled.
"I'm just checking the preparations at Blackthorne to make sure they're ready for your arrival." He answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Where did our uniforms go?" Courtney asked confidently.
"I returned them to Gallagher." He replied.
"We need to get to an outlet mall of considerable size to make sure we're prepared for everything that could happen while we're at Blackthorne. To do that we need not only clothing to wear while we shop but a way to get to a shopping center." Macey explained.
"I was wondering how long it was going to take you to ask." I could hear him smiling through the phone. "The limo will be there tomorrow morning to take you to the nearest center at your standards, there will be clothing waiting for you inside. Can you handle the walk from the door to the car in your pajamas?" He teased.
"Yes." Macey replied through gritted teeth.
"Will we have more than one day to shop? What time will it be here?" Mick asked before Solomon could hang up.
"It will be there at 9:00 AM, whether or not you have it another day will depend on whether or not you need another day." Solomon replied.
"Thanks for everything Mr. Solomon. When will we see you again?" Bex asked.
"I'll be there to escort you to Blackthorne in four days time at 11:30 PM." He answered and since he was being so forthcoming I jumped at the chance to get more information.
"When will we arrive at Blackthorne? So we can plan accordingly." Bex said by way of explanation.
"Early morning." He replied.
"When do we get our Blackthorne uniforms?" Eva asked.
"The same day you arrive." A noise came through the background. A man's voice calling Solomon's name. "We'll speak later." Was all he said then the connection was cut.
"Okay, that went way better than I expected." Macey said when it was clear the conversation with Solomon was over.
"I can't believe how much he told us...usually he's all mystery and 'you'll see Miss Baxter'." Bex said in a horrible impression of Solomon's voice.
"Now that we have the information we need, let's plan." Tina said grabbing the same pad she had earlier.
"First, order luggage. Next, homework. As much as we can get done before midnight, and we all have to work as hard as we can, no slackers. Bed by midnight, up by seven, showers, and as much hair as we can manage with our minimal supplies. Then we shop until the mall closes." Macey spoke and Tina wrote everything down.
"Do you think we'll need to go back a second day?" Liz asked.
"Yes. We'll split in two groups, one with the card and another with the card's number so we can divide and concur. Everyone is going to need basically an entire wardrobe." Macey replied gesturing to Tina. "Tina and I will be group leaders. I'll take Bex, Liz, Cam, and Mick. That okay with you Tina?"
"Can I take Mick? I don't mind taking on an extra person." She asked as she glanced at the girls.
"You sure?" Macey asked.
"Absolutely."
"Well alright then, four and six. You guys can take the card, we'll get the number." Macey offered.
"Who gets the phone?" Kim asked.
"You guys take it, we'll take coms and we can all be connected that way." Tina suggested.
"Great idea. Am I missing anything?" Macey asked us as she looked around at each of the girls. We all shook our heads and she turned to Mick. "You had a suggestion for luggage?"
"Yeah, can I use your laptop?" Mick said turning to Kim, whose laptop was within reach.
"You can use mine." Tina said cracking open the computer and turning it towards Mick. "It's already up and the browser's going."
"Thanks." She typed in a website and turned to show us the webpage.
On the page was the most adorable vintage looking luggage set. It was mint green and hard cased but it looked like old vintage trunks.
"They have five piece and three piece sets. Something tells me we're going to need the five piece." Mick said with a smile.
"This is perfect." Macey said with a grin. "I'm going to order some for each of us. Anybody have a complaint?"
"How are we going to tell them apart?" Anna asked.
"They already ordered luggage tags." Liz reminded her.
"Right." Anna said shaking her head.
"Okay...ten five piece sets ordered. I paid extra for the express shipping but we need them here." Macey explained as she typed and clicked.
"Are all the orders going to get here the same day?" I asked incredulously.
"They're supposed to." Tina replied.
"What day are they supposed to get here?" Liz asked.
"In three days in the morning. If they get here when they're supposed to we'll have around 37 hours to pack." Macey informed us.
"That should be enough." Eva said thinking it through.
"Here's to hoping it gets here on time. I'm going to go start on my homework." Anna mumbled.
"Rematch?" Bex asked as we followed Anna to the living room.
"Sure, though I don't know why you're so eager to lose." I replied cheekily.
"Oh, you're on Morgan." Bex said taking her place across from me.
"Bring it." And we dove into the stack of work we still had to do.
Hours went by in a blur. COW, C&A, Languages, Math, Science, English, and even Cov Ops. I had never thought about how much work we really did in a semester. Worksheets, reading guides, study guides, quizzes, notes, and outlines. Words began to all blur together. Essays, summaries, paragraphs, and real life applications. Bex and I reached the halfway mark, still a few hours to work. Keep going. Everyone else went to bed but Bex decided to keep working, so I stayed with her. Early morning snack break. Back to work. Set aside study guides to go over again before we go back to Gallagher. Ignore more essays. Most teachers gave us busy work to make up for the lack of class time. Easy. Bex was about to pass out, finish the page and go upstairs. I looked over when I was done to see Bex nodding off. We weren't going to make it upstairs. I stopped fighting my drooping eyelids and collapsed on the floor next to Bex.
"Wake up sleepy heads." Liz's voice came gently.
I pried my eyes open. "Wha-what happened?" I mumbled sleepily.
"You two fell asleep on the floor again while working on homework. It's time to get up and get ready to go shopping." Liz explained quietly.
Bex groaned. "Do we have to?" She asked.
"Yes. If you don't hurry Macey's going to come down here." Liz reminded us with a little urgency.
"Can I shower?" I asked softly.
"Yes, you can use the shower next to Bex's room. No one's in there." Liz said offering a hand to help me up.
I climbed to my feet and nudged Bex with my foot. "Come on Bex, you can eat the rest of the chow mein while you wait to shower." I bribed.
"We have some left?" She asked her head popping up.
"Yeah it's in the fridge. I won't even make you heat it up first." I said as I gestured towards the kitchen.
"Okay." She quickly jumped to her feet and ran to the kitchen with Liz and I hot on her heels. She pulled the chow mein out of the fridge then handed me the broccoli and beef.
I thanked her and grabbed us each a fork. We ate on our way up stairs and quickly maneuvered our way into the bathroom by Bex's room. I handed her what was left of the chinese in my container with strict instructions not to eat it. She nodded before making her way into the bedroom.
I quickly shed my clothing and turned on the shower. As soon as it was hot enough I let the steamy water run over my skin. After locating the shampoo and conditioner I scrubbed my head and grabbed the bar of soap. The shower was over quickly, I was eager to get more food. I jumped out of the shower and dried myself. I reluctantly changed into the same thing I was wearing earlier before running one of the combs through my hair. I opened the door slowly, expecting to see the same tornado of girls running from one place to another that was in the halls earlier but found nothing. I took advantage of the lull and ran into the room where Bex waited.
"Okay, I'm done. The bathroom is all yours." I informed her, towel drying my hair.
"Thanks. Here's your food. I'll be back in a few." She said dropping the chinese food onto the dresser nearby before making her way to the bathroom.
I quickly grabbed the room temperature food and downed what was left in the container.
Macey's towel wrapped head popped into the doorframe.
"Hey Cam, glad to see you're up and ready. Where's Bex?" She inquired.
"Shower. She should be out soon." I informed her.
"Brilliant. We're leaving in fifteen minutes, ready or not." She reminded me. I saluted and she let out an exasperated sigh before leaving to check on the others.
Mere seconds later, Bex appeared. "Hey, Macey looks like she's about to have a heart attack. Everything okay?"
"I think so. Someone must've been asleep when she checked on them or something." I said as I grabbed one of the com units someone set on the bed side table. Probably Liz.
"You ready for this?" Bex asked as she tossed her towel in the corner.
"Yeah, you?" I replied with a weary smile.
"I think so. Hand me that?" She asked gesturing to the com unit as she began to detangle her hair. I grabbed the com unit and went to help her with her hair.
"Geez...Why is your hair so thick?" I mumbled as I tried to straighten it with my fingers.
"Pfft like your hair isn't just as thick." She said as she yanked out a particularly large knot.
"My hair isn't curly so it's easier to manage." I pointed out as I continued to comb through her hair the best I could.
"True. Where do you think Macey's going to drag us today?" She asked.
"Everywhere. Do you think she had Liz create a schedule?" I asked with a small smile.
"She did." Liz said crossing into the room. She took one look at Bex's tangled hair and began to help us fix it.
"So Lizzie, where are we headed today?" Bex asked.
"Some pretty good stores, some less desirable ones. American Apparel, Go Jane, Charlotte Russe, everyone's favorite underwear store, Forever 21, H&M, and Deb. Tomorrow we hit Hollister, Abercrombie and Fitch, Macy's, Dillard's, and any shoe stores she can find." Liz explained as Bex's hair began to resemble hair again.
"Wow...how long is the mall open?" I asked, slightly scared.
"Twelve hours...don't worry though, we have 45 minutes for each meal as well as regular snack breaks so shopping won't be the only thing we do, not to mention we don't know how far we're going. Plus we aren't planning on staying the whole day tomorrow, Macey wants to come home early and start sorting and folding things for when the luggage gets here." Liz comforted us as best she could.
"We better get downstairs." I said as Bex's hair was finally knot free.
"Truth. Let's go." Bex said throwing the comb down.
We tumbled down the stairs and met the other girls by the front door. Macey did a headcount to make sure everyone was there before ushering us all out of the door.
"Alright Ladies, we've got a long day ahead of us, let's go." Macey yelled over the conversations as we filed out the door.
"Here comes the limo. Right on schedule." Anna called as the long vehicle came into view.
"Perfect. Now as long as there are outfits in there like he promised, today shouldn't be too bad." Macey said running a hand through her hair.
We all quickly made our way to the sidewalk and pulled opened the door to the limo. We piled our way in and found that there were indeed outfits waiting for us. There were sheets of paper with our names on top of piles of clothing on each seat. I found mine in between Bex and Liz's. I went over what was in my pile before I began to change. There was a floral one shoulder dress that would easy to take off and put on. It came with a brown belt and matching brown ankle boots. Simple and chic, perfect.
Each of the girls quickly shed the extra large t-shirts and switched into the clothes that were provided for them. Everyone was in a type of dress or skirt that was easy to remove seeing as we were going to be trying on different types of clothing. As I glanced around the car, I saw that each of our outfits went together without being matchy.
"Anyone else doubting that Solomon picked these out?" I asked as I pulled the dress over my head.
"Oh there's absolutely no way Solomon did this himself. He probably asked your mom to do it." Macey commented.
"I agree." Bex said, poking her head out of her top.
"Okay, so do we know how long the drive is?" Liz asked.
"I'll ask." Tina said from where she sat near the driver. She tapped on the window and relayed the answer when it was received. "Looks like we're in here for two hours."
"Well then, we better get comfortable." Bex said as she threw her legs up on the seat across Liz's lap and rested her head on my lap.
"Well okay then…" Liz said before pulling out her laptop and tapping away at it.
I looked at Macey a question in my eyes. Was Bex really asleep already? Macey leaned forward and checked Bex's eye reaction then nodded a confirmation, she really fell asleep that quickly.
There was absolutely no way I was going to fall asleep on this car ride but that didn't mean I couldn't relax. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, letting the conversations float around me. Macey and Eva discussed what was necessary to purchase, Tina and Mick talked about what stores they were going to go to and when, Courtney and Anna discusses how they could get out of buying heels, while Kim followed Bex's example and fell asleep.
Approximately two hours later the car pulled to a stop. I nudged Bex and told her we had arrived. Moments later, we were standing at the entrance to one of the best places to be a pavement artist. A mall filled with teenage girls.
"Okay it looks like it's pretty crowded here today so be careful and don't let your guard down. We'll meet up for lunch in an hour and a half." Macey instructed.
"Let's split." Tina said as she broke off with Mick, Courtney, Kim, Anna, and Eva.
"See you guys." I said as we went in a completely different direction.
"What's first?" Bex asked as soon as we were out of earshot.
"Dresses from Go Jane." Macey instructed as she quickly consulted the map of the mall before leading the way.
We quickly located the store and as soon as we set foot in the doors, I knew this store was not going to make me happy.
"Okay, we're looking for casual dresses. Four each, then we can go." Macey explained. "Each dress, however, needs to be approved. Sorry to burst any plans but it's necessary if we're going to survive this next semester."
We split off. I quickly and efficiently scanned the racks and found a chevron dress with ¾ sleeves that went to mid thigh and plenty of colors. One down, three to go. Bex appeared to have found a dress too, a black and cream lace cut-out dress that would look great on her. Liz had an adorable white sundress in hand that had light floral design on the bodice. Macey was surveying an incredible black and gold dress but she didn't look sure of it. Enough watching, keep searching. I reminded myself and I turned my eyes back to the racks.
45 minutes later, our task was complete. I had the Chevron dress, a black dress cut in a similar style, a girlier pink dress, and a grey sweatshirt dress. Bex had her black and cream one, a red one, a black one, and a stunning navy blue dress. Liz had picked two white dresses, a baby pink one, and a black one. Macey decided to get the black and gold dress, a turquoise dress, a plain black one, and a silver one.
"Well, that was fun. Let's go home." I said hopefully.
"Cam, it hasn't even been an hour." Bex pointed out.
I groaned.
"Come on Cam, it's not that bad. Besides, now there's one less store to go to." Liz said linking arms with me.
"Do we have to?" I whined.
"Yes. Come on, we can get through Forever 21 before lunch if we hurry. Their store on this site is ridiculously small." Macey marched off in another direction and I woefully followed behind.
The store was ridiculously small, but Macey was not deterred. She managed to find us all several pairs of shorts (like the insanely short ones), crop tops, regular t-shirts, and even a few of those cardigan sweater hybrids that were big and comfortable.
By the time we left to go meet the other girls for lunch, I was incredibly done with shopping. As much fun as it is to try on what seriously could be endless amounts of clothing with my friends, I'm more of a 'hey let's all go for a swim then watch a movie' kind of person.
We found the others after buying something greasy and delicious from the food court, I made a beeline to sit by Anna while Macey went to talk to Tina and Bex and Liz went to sit where Kim and Eva had left spots for them.
"You up for an escape?" I questioned Anna as I sat across from her.
"Please. I'm dying. You should see some of the things Tina's made me buy." Anna begged.
"I know the feeling. So do you have any idea's on how to get out?" I asked.
"None. They're watching me like a hawk. I tried to escape from the bathroom but they weren't having it. I think we might be stuck." She explained.
I groaned. "I don't know if I can take two days of this. Will you push me down the stairs?" I asked only slightly kidding.
"No way, then I'll still be stuck with them and I'll be alone." She rejected the idea.
"Well then I'm out of ideas. How much longer are we going to be here?" I asked as I slowly picked at my food.
"Hours." She said dead serious and I groaned.
"How many stores have you guys made it through?" I asked her.
"Three." We both winced. "You?"
"Only two." I said, a plea for help in my eyes. She flinched for me.
"I'm so so sorry." She said earnestly.
"I don't know if I can do this." I replied honestly.
"Yes, you can. And you will. I on the other hand, will be dead before the day is out." She dropped her head into her hands.
"No, we have to do this. We have to prove that we are just as capable of shopping. We have to do this if only so we can succeed at Blackthorne." I whispered to Anna. "Not only are we going to do this, we're going to do it better than anyone else."
She looked at me, a new fire in her eyes. We held eye contact, a new resolve building. She nodded and we shook hands. A promise to not give up.
"You girls ready to go?" Macey asked as she and the others stood.
We made eye contact once more. Anna answered for the both of us.
"Born ready. Let's do this." We gave each other one more parting glance before turning and walking towards the next challenge...er, dropped off our bags in the Limo before heading back into the mall
American Apparel meant jeans in every style and cut. Charlotte Russe brought dozens and dozens of shirts in dozens of different styles and cuts and skirts to match. A few more dresses too, just for fun. Break time, dinner. Only three stores left today. A trip to the Limo to drop off the bags. We hit everyone's favorite underwear store before it could close and bought more than I've ever owned in my life. Next was H&M for blazers and more pants with a handful of shirts. Last store, Deb. Apparently it was essential we each got one fancier dress. Shirts and other outfits were only the secondary goal. One last stop at the food court before our last trip to the Limo.
"I have never been so exhausted in my life." Eva groaned as we set off for the house.
"I agree with Eva. Can we not go shopping again tomorrow?" Anna pleaded.
"Unfortunately, no." Macey said rolling her wrist. "We still have more we need to get."
Everyone groaned this time.
"We are still only going for a semester, right?" Bex double checked.
"Last I checked." I informed her.
"Good." Bex flopped down onto my lap once more. "Wake me up when we're back at the house."
"How long do you think it will take her to fall asleep?" Courtney asked.
"She's already out." Liz informed her.
"No way." Courtney checked Bex's breathing and snapped in front of her face a few times. "That's insane."
"You're telling me." Macey agreed.
"How many trips do you think it's going to take to get all this stuff into the house?" Mick asked. We could barely see to the other row of seats, the entire floor space was covered in bags and there were more in the trunk.
"One. If we're dedicated." Macey answered.
"Two trips are for pansies." Liz explained when Mick looked at me wide eyed.
"You seriously think we can get all this inside in one trip?" Anna asked.
"If we're truly dedicated, then heck yes." Liz exerted.
"You four are all crazy." Kim teased with a grin.
I grinned back. "You know it." Macey agreed.
"Tina did you guys go to the Apple store?" Macey asked as she went over the contents of the car.
"Oh, yeah. We splurged and got an iPod with some speakers. The house was too quiet. Kimmy said she could get some music on it tonight." Tina explained.
"Great idea." Macey said with a grin.
"SHHHHHH." Eva yelled. "I'm sleeping."
I giggled lightly and made eye contact with Liz before leaning back in my seat to ride out the rest of the drive in silence.
Approximately an hour and a half after silence fell, we arrived back at the house. We the car pulled to a stop for what I knew was the final time, I nudged Bex awake.
"Come on Bex, we've got to get this all into the house. I need you to load me up." I reminded her.
"We'll need both of you to load everyone else up as well, otherwise we'll never get all this stuff inside." Macey informed me.
"Okay guys, let Bex and Cam out first and let them hand you a bunch of bags and only get out when the person ahead of you has moved into the house. I'll go first so you guys can see how it's done and Macey will dictate from in here." Liz explained as Bex and I made our way out of the limo.
"Come on out Lizzie." Bex instructed when we had the trunk open.
We loaded Liz up with as many bags as she could carry. When it looked like she was going to fall over we called for the next person. We loaded Eva up in a similar manner, then Anna, then Mick, then Kim, then Courtney, then Tina, then Macey, Bex, and I split whatever bags were left.
I made sure to knock on the window and thank the driver before following my friends inside and as Tina closed the door behind me I let out a wail of victory.
"YEAH! That's how it's done, son!" I yelled dropping my bags and chest bumping Bex. Well, I say chest bump but our arms were crossed over our chests, we're not that crazy.
I ran around the room getting high fives from everyone before Macey pulled me to a stop.
"Okay, we need to get Cammie to bed." She began to direct me to the stairs but I wasn't tired.
"Cammie gets overly energetic when she's tired, her body does everything it can to get rid of whatever energy it has left and then she crashes." Liz explained as I argued with Macey.
"I'm not tired Mace." I said as I slipped out of her grasp once more.
"Yes you are Cam, and besides you're staying with me tonight remember? If you aren't tired can you pretend to be so I can sleep?" Macey tried persuasion.
"You're not tired either Macey, you've still got to organize the bags." I reminded her.
"I know, but as soon as I'm done I'm gonna go to bed. Why don't you go make sure the pillows are comfortable enough? You know how picky I am." She tried once more to get me upstairs.
"As soon as Cammie's head touches a pillow when she's like this, she'll be out." Bex whispered to Eva.
"You are really picky which is why you should do it." I reasoned as I tried once more to go and get more high fives.
Bex went a grabbed our stacks of homework, which were actually almost normal sized.
"Come on Cam let's go work on our homework until Macey's ready for bed." Bex said handing me my stack.
"Okie doke." I said as I followed her up the stairs.
"Oh my gosh I've never seen Cammie like that." Kim exclaimed as Bex and I raced up the stairs.
"We can usually get her to bed before she gets like that…" Was the last thing I heard as I ran into the room Macey and I would be sleeping in.
"I bet I can finish my homework before I go to bed tonight." I challenged Bex.
She smiled. "I'm sure you can Cam."
"I totally can, watch." I said plopping down in the middle of the floor. Bex came and sat down across from me, and pretended to work on her assignment but I knew she was watching me finish all my homework.
I sat staring at my worksheet and my fingers went flying. I finished four whole homework assignments before Macey came upstairs.
"Okay Cam, let's get to bed." Macey said as she changed back into her big t-shirt and threw me mine.
"But I'm not done with all my homework yet." I argued.
"It's okay, you can finish it tomorrow." Macey reminded me.
"Oh right, right." I said as I put down my pencil and shed my dress.
"Okay, I'm going to bed too. I'll see you guys tomorrow." Bex bid us goodnight after setting both of our stacks of homework on the dresser.
I called goodnight after her before climbing into bed. Macey turned off the light and climbed into the bed next to me, but I was already asleep.
When Macey rolled out of bed the next morning, I didn't hesitate to follow.
"What happened last night?" I asked as I rubbed my eyes.
"You went all crazy-Cammie on us." She explained. "And I'm going to go crazy-Macey if you don't get into the shower. Oh, here, I grabbed something for you to wear last night."
"Thanks Mace." I said as I grabbed the pile of clothes she held out and went to shower.
I swiftly showered, glaring at my hairy legs, and changed into the outfit Macey provided. A simple pair of shorts and one of the band t-shirts from the day before were all that was in the pile and I put it on gratefully. I ran a comb through my hair and went to see if I could help out. I managed to pull Eva, Liz, Anna, and Mick out of bed and somehow was drafted to get Bex out of bed. I tried every trick in the book before finally just dumping the mattress onto the floor. As soon as I was sure that Bex wasn't going to go back to bed I went to check on the noise coming from below us.
The main floor was madness. There were girls to in the living room to the left and more girls in the music room on the right. They were searching bags and throwing clothing items back and forth. It looked like a war was going on, and it looked like Kim had put music on the iPod because some pop band was blasting through the halls.
"Anybody need help?" I yelled over the noise and music.
"Me!" Kim yelled from the music room. "I'm looking for a floral top with spaghetti straps. I'm pretty sure it's from Hollister."
"I'm on it!" I replied as I began searching bags. It took three minutes but I finally found it before turning to the next girl.
"Cam, can you help me find a pair of black shorts? They're ripped on the ends like this." Mick said holding up a pair of shorts. "They're basically this exact same pair of shorts but a size bigger."
I nodded and set to searching. A minute and a half later I had found the pair of shorts and was helping Liz unearth the pink dress from the day before. By the time I had found Liz's dress Bex needed help finding a very specific plaid shirt to go over the black tank top she had bought the day before.
"I thought they organized this stuff." I mumbled as Bex and I searched bags.
"So did I." Bex agreed.
"In our defense, we were all exhausted." Macey said appeared next to us. "Have either of you seen that pair of acid wash jeans with the rips in the knees?"
"In the H&M bag in that corner." I said pointing behind me.
"Thanks. We're leaving in five minutes." She called as she ran for the bag.
"Got it!" I yelled victoriously holding up the plaid shirt Bex wanted.
"You're the best Cam." She said as she pulled it on.
"Everyone got what they need?" I called and received affirmatives. Everyone was putting on the finishing touches before we took off.
"We only have like four stores today right?" I clarified with Bex.
"Yeah, but Macey wants to go to like every shoe store in the mall." Bex reminded me.
I groaned. There were four gigantic shoe stores.
"On the bright side, we aren't staying the whole day. We scheduled out like half the day for homework." Liz put in, joining the conversation.
"I'm to the point where homework sounds better than shopping." I said in self realization.
"Me too." Bex grumbled.
"Well we are shopping for 13 weeks at a boys school." Tina pointed out as she overheard our conversation. "It's best to be prepared."
"I don't know about you guys, but I feel pretty dang prepared." I said with conviction.
"I for one, feel totally prepared." Bex agreed and Tina laughed.
"Come on guys, it won't be so bad. The sooner we get there and through all the stores, the sooner we get to come back." Tina made her way to the door.
"And do homework." Bex finished with faux enthusiasm.
"We've already done a majority of it. Half of them are probably all wrong but they're done." I reminded her.
"Does that mean we can come back and just chill?" She asked as we made our way to the limo.
"No. We have to get it done now so when we get to Blackthorne we can spend more time sparring." I pointed out.
"Okay, okay, fine. You wanna know what I just realized?" Bex asked.
"What?"
"Macey hasn't planned any sports or athletic stores. None of us have anything to exercise in." She mentioned.
"True. We should ask her about it." I replied.
"Ask who what?" Macey said breathlessly as she climbed into the limo next to us.
"Why we don't have clothes for P&E." I recapped.
"Oh, we ordered them online. They're all matchy and cute." She informed us.
"So they won't be here until it's almost time to go. How convenient." Bex said through gritted teeth.
"Why Bex are you suggesting that I purposely planned the delayed arrival of the one thing I knew would take you away for preparing for Blackthorne? Because if you are you would be absolutely correct." Macey said in a faux offended voice.
"Smart move." Liz commented.
"Why thank you." Macey replied and flipped her hair.
"So are we going to pack downstairs or are you going to make us drag all of it upstairs then back down once it's packed?" I asked as I leaned back in my seat.
"We're probably going to pack downstairs. I don't even want to imagine what kind of mess would come with trying to get everything upstairs." Macey said rubbing her temples.
"What time are we planning on leaving the mall?" Eva asked.
"Four. We'll order food on the way home so we don't have to wait long when we get there." Tina answered.
"That way we'll still quite a bit of time to work on homework." Kim added.
"So we basically have five hours at the mall instead of ten?" Anna clarified.
"Half the time at the mall?" I asked excitedly.
"Yes. Don't get too excited though, we still have a lot to do." Macey reminded us.
"That's okay. That's totally okay." Anna said holding her hands up.
"Hey Kim, did you bring the iPod?" Courtney asked.
"Yeah, I'll play something." She said pulling it out of her pocket.
And the conversations started. Everyone was talking about what they had bought or what they were going to buy, or what they wanted to get out of buying. Some of the girls talked about Blackthorne boys they hoped to see again. And by some girls I mean me, Bex, and Macey.
"So, I've avoided the subject for as long as I can. Cammie, let's talk Zach." Macey started which got Bex to sit up and give her full attention.
"Yes, let's." Bex agreed.
"Calm down there soldier, we'll talk Grant in a moment." Macey said holding up her hand.
"Fine, fine, as long as we talk Jonas after." Bex agreed waving her hand.
"What about Jonas?" Liz asked popping into the conversation.
"Hold on, we'll get there in a minute, we're talking Zach right now." Macey informed Liz. "So let's start with the kiss."
"What about the kiss?" I responded, remaining calm. I'd thought a lot about this over the summer.
"It happened. How do you feel about it happening." Macey said nudging the conversation along.
"I feel like...one kiss does not a boyfriend make." I replied.
"So you don't like Zach?" Bex questioned.
"I do like Zach, but a kiss doesn't mean much especially since it was a goodbye kiss. Any other time might've meant something but I've decided it's comparable to when Abby kissed Joe goodbye that one time. You remember?" They nodded. "It was a 'Well someone had to do it!' kind of thing and that someone just happened to be Zach."
"So what are you going to do when you see him?" Liz asked.
"Say hi, ask him how his summer was. I decided it was best to go in with no expectations so I'm not disappointed meanwhile expecting everything so I'm not surprised." I answered.
Macey nodded. "I approve of this plan fully."
"Now let's talk Grant." I said turning on Bex.
"Yes. So Bex, how are you going to greet Grant?" Macey asked with an eyebrow raised.
"I'm debating between judo flipping him and blowing him a kiss. It depends on how he reacts." Bex replied quickly. Looks like I wasn't the only one that thought about her Blackthorne Boy.
"Brilliant." I said with a grin.
"I would advise blowing a kiss no matter what. While Grant is smart, he tends to need obvious signals." Macey added.
"Speaking of obvious signals." Bex said as she turned to face Liz.
"What about obvious signals?" Liz squeaked quietly.
"You definitely have to get Jonas to ask you out." Bex told her plainly.
"You two are perfect for each other." I added.
"Really? You think so?" She asked, her voice still high pitched.
"Definitely." Macey agreed. Liz flushed.
"I think Jonas is going to need more than signals from Liz, one of us is going to have to step in." I voiced my thoughts to Macey.
"I agree. Whoever gets there first." Macey and held out her pinky.
"Youguysnoreallyit'sokay." Liz said quickly trying to get it out before Bex and I linked our pinky's with hers. She was too late. We shook our pinky's and the deal was done.
"Are you guys making dirty deals over there?" Tina called playfully.
"Possibly. You want in?" Macey replied.
"It depends on how dirty." Eva called out from next to her.
"The dirtiest." Bex said in her British accent for dramatic flare.
"We absolutely want in." Mick said leaning forward.
"We're playing matchmaker." Macey said by way of explanation.
"Oooo, does that mean you can finally hook me up with Connor?" Kim asked excitedly.
"The one kid from last year with the crazy blue eyes?" I asked leaning forward.
"Yeah!" Kim exclaimed.
"We can totally hook you up with him." Tina said without a hint of doubt in her eyes.
"Can you get Thomas to like me?" Mick asked.
"We can get any guy to like you, if we're dedicated." I said with a wink.
"Tina who was that guy you liked?" Eva asked.
"Andrew." She replied. "And you liked Peter, right?"
"Yeah!" Eva responded.
"Anna liked Sam!" Courtney announced.
"Courtney liked Jake!" Anna retorted.
"If I have anything to do with it, they'll be head over heels for you guys by the time this exchange is over." Macey promised.
"What about you Mace? Who did you like?" Kim asked.
"None of them ever caught her eye." Liz informed them.
"I bet she'll find one this year." Bex said smoothly.
"I'd better, otherwise this will be one boring semester." Macey agreed.
We were still laughing when we pulled up to the front of the mall seconds later. We quickly said our goodbye's and split to speed shop. Hollister passed in a blur of darkness and overwhelming smells. Me and Bex spent basically the whole time we were in Macy's and Dillard's picking out horrible clothing and pretended to love it to mess with Macey. We stopped for lunch and I joked around with Liz and Kim before we headed out for our last stint in the stores. We sped through Abercrombie and Fitch with only a handful of purchases, the least amount of time we spent in a store all day and the smallest number of purchases, before starting for the first shoe store.
According to Macey, there were a dozen shoe pairs that were absolutely necessary for every closet. We each had to find three pairs of fashionable sneakers, two pairs of functional sneakers, flat sandals, tall flat boots, all weather boots, combat boots, black pumps, ballet flats, stilettos, 'quiet shoes', ankle boots, and a couple pair of oxfords to wear with our uniforms. When Liz pointed out that it would be more than a dozen pairs of shoes we were informed that it was a dozen different kind of shoes and that's what mattered.
Shoes were easiest to find, surprisingly. We quickly split up to divide and conquer which was simple because we were all within the same shoe sizes. Macey went for heels and flats, Bex went for boots, Liz went to find Oxford's and sandals, while I found sneakers. I quickly found running shoes in our size that were cute yet functional. I set them aside for Macey to check then went in search of fashionable sneakers. I decided on a pair of plain black doc martin high tops (which I decided were sneakers), a pair of navy all stars, and a pair of white-ish patterned canvas ones. Macey quickly okayed them and after making sure we all had a pair or each we made our final purchase of 64 pairs of shoes. I really really really wish I was joking. Somehow we managed to make our way out of the store and to the limo to drop off our bags. Once we had dropped them off we waited inside the car for the other girls to appear.
"Hey guys, meet us in Claire's. We need to show you something." Mick's voice came through the com's unit.
We exchanged looks before quickly but inconspicuously making our way to the jewelry store. We entered the store and quickly located our friends at the far wall.
"Okay, we're here. What's the emergency?" Macey asked while keeping an eye on all the other customers.
Eva spoke first. "Okay, there's not really an emergency but you needed to actually see this as opposed to us describing it. Okay, maybe it's a minor emergency-"
"Move it along Eva." Bex cut in impatiently.
"Are we crazy, or does this look like the Gallagher crest?" Courtney asked, pushing forward.
The four of us leaned forward to examine the locket in her hand. It certainly looked like the Gallagher crest at first glance, it was almost a match except for one small difference.
"No, the Gallagher crest has a different kind of vine on it. See how the vine here has three leaf things? The Gallagher one only has two." I pointed out.
"Wow. Nice catch Cam." Macey said as she looked closer at the necklace. "I never would've noticed that."
"I've spent more time than I care to share staring at the Gallagher crest." I admitted.
"Hey guys, check it out they have crappy fake dog tags." Mick said as she surveyed the arguably horrible jewelry in the store.
"We should get dog tags." Anna suggested.
"Ten steps ahead of you, Tina and I ordered them a few days ago." Macey replied with a grin.
"What did you guys put on them?" Kim asked.
"One side says 'Hard times always reveal true friends' and the other has our name, the year, Gallagher Girl and a number, then 'Blackthorne Exchange'. Don't ask me how we managed to fit all of that onto a piece of silver metal cause I'm still not quite sure." Tina replied.
"That sounds awesome! What else did you guys order?" Liz asked.
"A locket with the Gallagher crest on the front and all our names on the back, bracelets that also have the Gallagher crest imprinted on it, and everything else we told you about before." Macey answered.
"We plan on making a statement that we're Gallagher Girls." Tina explained.
"I think it'll work." I teased.
"It'd better." Macey added.
"Can we go now? My brain is ready to explode." Kim asked.
"Absolutely, let's get out of here. Come on girls!" Macey called the others and we left the store empty handed.
We quickly trekked our way back to the car, helping our friends carry their bags and as soon as the door was closed we begged for the driver to make way for the house.
"I can honestly say that I'm done shopping." Macey said calmly.
"I can top that, I can honestly say that I no longer want to shop which is a new sensation for me." Eva groaned.
"I agree with Eva." Tina said rubbing her shoulders.
"I feel like we should document this moment, it's so rare." Courtney joked.
"You want to know what's not a rare moment?" Bex asked.
"What?" Anna replied.
"Me falling asleep in the car." She flopped her head down in my lap and I began playing with her hair.
"Well there goes Bex." Macey said as Bex caught up on her sleep.
"And Cammie." Liz added.
"Cammie's still awake." Anna pointed out.
"Yeah but she's not going to talk anymore so she doesn't bug Bex while she's asleep. Cammie's a good friend like that." Liz explained for me.
Conversations began floating around me once more, I managed to keep an ear out for anything important but otherwise just let myself fade into the sidelines.
The drive home seemed longer than usual but maybe it was just my eagerness to relax. Not that homework was really relaxing, but I could at least change into something more comfortable. We reached the house quickly and unloaded the car with more speed than we did the day before. After thanking the driver and locking the door behind me, I helped the other girls organize all our purchases. We set things into piles based on which group it was in then separated it into individual piles for each person. This is harder than it sounds, it ended up taking over an hour.
"Okay, food should be here…" Macey said trailing off to look at Liz for a count down.
"Forty five minutes ago." Liz answered.
"Right...I'll go double check the order." Macey replied to go grab her laptop.
"I'm going to go do homework." I announced before grabbing Bex's hand and hauling her up the stairs, Tina, Courtney, and Liz following behind.
"Hey, how close are you and Bex to being done?" Mick asked as we ran up the stairs.
"So close I can taste it." Bex replied.
"Well, except for the essays." I reminded her.
"Forget the essays, I'm just trying to get through the monumental stack of work." Bex groaned as we made our way to Macey's room to grab our homework.
"We've already done the easy essays." I pointed out to Bex as she groaned over how much we had left.
"It's the not easy ones that worry me. Do you think we can get the rest of the worksheets done before we get to Blackthorne?" She asked hopefully.
"If we work through the night again, yeah." I replied.
Bex glared at her work as we walked back to where the others sat in the master bedroom.
"I think it's worth it." Bex finally decided.
"So do I!" Courtney agreed. "What's worth it?" She asked us, confused.
"To work through the night to finish the rest of our worksheets." I updated her.
"Oh. I revoke my answer." Courtney said as she looked woefully at the work she had left to do.
"It looks like you're over halfway done." I exclaimed.
"Yeah well, I am. I could probably be farther but I've been writing the essays as I go." She explained, her face saying she failed.
"That's insane. How far are you Liz?" I asked, turning to my brainiest friends.
"Almost as far as you and Bex, but I've been writing the essays too." Liz explained.
"Bex, I give up." I announced as I plopped down on the floor next to Liz.
"Finally." Bex agreed sitting next to me.
"You can't give up yet! Finish the worksheets tonight, I'll even skip the essays to do them with you." Liz encouraged.
"Really?" I asked happily.
"Yeah, of course." Liz said with a grin.
"I changed my mind Bex, I'm not giving up yet." I informed my British best friend.
"So bloody close…" She murmured.
"You guys are seriously more dedicated than I am. I'm barely done through next month." Tina said as she gestured to her pile of work.
"You'll get it done, Tina." Courtney said encouragingly.
"I'm sure I will, I just wish it was done already you know?" She said moving to lay on her stomach.
"If it weren't for Cammie, we'd be in the same boat." Bex admitted as she frowned at the work in front of her.
"See now if one of my roommates were as forceful as Cammie…" Tina joked with a look at Courtney.
"That stopped being my job as soon as I was moved in with Mick and Anna." Courtney defended, hands up.
"I know, I wish they hadn't moved you." Tina said, laying on one arm. "We miss you."
"I miss you guys too. Anna and Mick are fun though." Courtney said earnestly.
"What even happened to Maddie and Carly?" I asked. They were cousins that had been roommates with Anna and Mick while Courtney was with Tina, Eva, and Kim. Maddie and Carly left sometime our 8th grade year.
"They just couldn't keep up. It became too hard for them and so their parents yanked them out." Tina explained.
"So I was yanked from room 108 and moved into 110." Courtney said glumly.
"I remember when it was just us three." I said nudging Liz and Bex.
"We had some good times." Liz agreed.
"They're better with Macey though." Bex pointed out.
"Couldn't agree more." I said with a smile.
"I used to think having three to a room would be amazing. Three sucks." Tina admitted.
"Really though." Courtney agreed.
"Maybe we'll get lucky and you four will get to share a room at Blackthorne." Liz said hopefully.
"Maybe. Doubt it." Courtney said glumly.
"On the bright side I ordered about a dozen movies for movie nights while we're at Blackthorne. I couldn't help myself." Tina informed us brightly. "Each of the girls has got to come to all of them, otherwise they won't be any fun."
"Trust me, I'm sure we'll all be eager to have movie nights." Bex reassured her with a grin. Tina's movie nights really were the best.
"FOOD!" Macey called from downstairs.
"Yes!" Bex yelled grabbing my hand and dragging up. I managed to grab Liz on my way up so Bex had to drag both of us, slowing her slightly.
"Pizza again?" Liz asked as we entered the kitchen.
"Yeah but we got bread sticks this time." Mick said holding up a bread stick for proof.
"Cam, I want to go work on the assignments we have left upstairs. Will you come with me?" Liz pleaded.
"Of course." I replied, grabbing a half empty box of pizza and a bag of bread sticks.
"Where are you going?" Macey asked as we turned to leave.
"Back upstairs. There's homework to be done." I replied with a wink before escaping with Liz at my side.
Liz and I set up shop in the middle of the bedroom she and I shared the first night. We sat side by side by the head of the bed with the pizza box sitting at the foot of it. Liz jumped right into her work while I ate a piece of pizza first. Liz was working feverishly, I hadn't seen her like this since the end of June. I reached over and placed one of my hands on hers.
"Are you okay Lizzie?" I asked quietly.
"I'm scared." She admitted, she turned to look at me, eyes full of the fear she accepted.
"What are you afraid of?" I asked kindly.
"The fact that we're going to a school full of assassins. The fact that we're going to a school for boy assassins terrifies me." She told me.
"Okay, but what about it scares you?" I asked, forcing her to think. She knew what I was doing, this had happened before.
"I guess...I'm scared because I don't know what's going to happen." She said after a few seconds thought.
"The unknown is always scary, but I think you have enough courage to get through this." I said confidently.
"What if I don't?" She asked, voice quavering slightly.
"Then you can borrow some of mine." I offered, gripping her hand tightly.
Liz smiled slightly. "Well you do have quite a bit of courage." She said slowly.
"Exactly. With our combined courage, there's nothing we can't do." I reminded her. "You don't have to be scared, I'm gonna watch out for you."
"Thanks Cam. I'm glad we're friends." She said after a few moments silence.
"I'm glad we're sisters." I corrected her and she hugged me.
"Now, let's do some homework." Liz exclaimed. I knew she would be fine as soon as she reached for a piece of pizza before continuing her work.
Liz and I worked our way through the half of the pizza and the entire bag of bread sticks. Macey and Bex stopped in at one point to say goodnight, but we kept on trucking. Several times I thought about stopping for the night but I wasn't about to let Liz work alone. Around 2:00 in the morning Liz finished with her stack of worksheets and since I only had busy work left, Liz let me copy her answers. By 2:30 we were both done with our homework (except for essays) and dead asleep.