A/N: Chapter 4! They finally get to LA, but still nothing much happens yet. Sorry about that. I will get to the real story line soon, I promise.
When the plane touched down in LA, everyone disembarked and headed inside to get their luggage. Everyone, that is, except the stars of High School Musical and their Asm. When the plane landed, Emily got up and grabbed her bag ready to get off the plane. Ashley grabbed her arm
'I wouldn't be in too much of a rush.' She said tiredly, stifling a yawn.
'Why not?' Em asked, confusion written all over her face.
'We can't get off until last.' Ashley replied, leaning back against the seat and closing her eyes. Vanessa followed suit.
'And that could be nearly an hour away.' She said, looking as though she wasn't going to be moving for a while. Em was silent as she sat back in her seat, confused, but also a little embarrassed. They gang sat in silence as they waited for everyone else to leave the plane. Vanessa was just drifting off to sleep when they were finally allowed to enter the airport. She grumbled the entire way into the terminal, and when they met up with their driver she only flashed a brief smile before her face dropped again and she continued complaining to Zac about how tired she was.
'I want to sleep.' She groaned as she leaned against Zac in the limo.
'Ummm, can I ask another stupid question?' Emily asked. 'Do you guys always travel in a limo?'
'No, actually we don't. When we're filming we generally ride in a van. But leaving airports and going to events we ride in a limo.' Lucas explained with a smile. Emily nodded, looking a little embarrassed.
'Don't worry about it.' Lucas said, sensing how awkward she felt. 'You're new to this whole thing, and we get it. We were like this at first too. We don't mind if you ask questions. We understand how you feel. So don't ever be embarrassed to ask anything. K?' he said kindly. Emily smiled at him.
'Thanks Lucas.'
'Not a problem.' He said.
'Uh, not to be rude, but could you guys keep it down?' Zac whispered. 'The girls are asleep.' Sure enough, Vanessa and Ashley were fast asleep, Vanessa leaning on Zac, and Ashley leaning on Vanessa. Lucas groaned.
'Great, now I have to carry her up to her room. Either that or wake her. Whatever I chose, it wont be pretty.'
'This is why I'm glad I'm not going out with one of these girls. I don't have to make decisions like that.' Corbin said.
'Wait until one of the others falls asleep. Olesya, Monique, even Em. Then you'll have to make a decision like this, because Zac and I will be too busy with Nessa and Ash.' Lucas retorted. Corbin looked blank. Lucas sighed.
'Never mind, Corbin.' He said, exasperated. Corbin winked at Emily.
'The blank look does it every time. If I don't have anything to say, I pretend not to get it, and they leave me alone.' He whispered. 'But that's just between us, ok?'
'Ok Corbin.' Em said with a laugh. These guys could be so funny.
By the time they arrived at the hotel, it was nearly midnight. Zac and Lucas were carrying their sleeping girlfriends in their arms. They looked around the lobby expectantly.
'Doesn't an assistant or publicist or something usually meet us here and give us room assignments?' Zac asked. Corbin shook his head.
'For once, I'm the smart one. Haven't you realised what Em is yet? Assistant stage manager. She's checking us in right now.' He said, pointing at the reception desk, where sure enough, Em was standing, receiving room cards and lots of paperwork.
Oh. I hadn't actually thought of her as an assistant. I mean, she's just one of us. She doesn't seem like she should be an assistant.' Zac said. Lucas nodded in agreement. Emily approached them.
'Ok, we're on the 12th floor. Monique, room 1214, Olesya, room 1215, me, room 1216, Vanessa and Zac, room 1217, Ashley, room 1218, Lucas, room 1219, Corbin, room 1220, Chris, room 1221.' She said, handing out room cards to everyone.
'How come you've got so many cards?' Chris asked stupidly. She laughed.
'They're the spares. I'm going to hand them over to you guys, because I think it makes more sense if everyone has someone else's spare, rather than me having all of them. So you can sort out who gets whose. Everyone has 2 spares.' She said, holding the cards out. Monique took them.
'Ok, Well, Ash will want a key to your room, Lucas, so take that one. Nessa's probably going to want Ashley's and yours, Em, so Zac, have those. Corbin, you and Chris can swap, and Olesya and I can swap. Does that cover everyone? Em, it'd probably be a good idea of you kept these, so you can contact everyone.' She finished, handing the rest of the cards back to Emily. With that, they all got into the elevator and headed up to their floor, all of them ready to crash into bed.
However, when Emily entered her room, she stopped dead and stared around in shock.
'Pretty nice, huh.' Zac said as he entered through her still open door.
'Yeah…' she said, still looking around in amazement. A king size bed, several luxurious couches, a huge plasma screen TV, sound system, her own kitchen, and a walk in closet. 'This is great!' she exclaimed.
'Well, I have to say, out of all the hotels we've stayed in, this would probably be the nicest. Definitely the fanciest.' Zac said. 'Pity Nessa's not awake. Trust me, you'll know when she wakes up tomorrow. She always gets so excited over how nice our rooms are. She still hasn't quite gotten used to the fame thing yet.' He said with a laugh. Em sighed with relief.
'So I'm not the only one who thinks this is all really cool?'
'Nah, we all get like it sometimes, not quite believing its real and stuff. But don't ever take it for granted, because once its gone, you'll really notice.' He advised. She laughed.
'I'll remember that.' She said, exploring the room. Zac took a seat on the couch. He couldn't help but think how easy she was to get along with. Everybody liked her, and they hadn't yet found a single thing annoying about her. In fact, she reminded him a lot of Vanessa. She had clicked with everyone straight away, and after being a little shy for the first 2 days or so, she was now obviously feeling completely comfortable around everyone. He could tell she was going to be good to have around. Just as he was thinking this, she plopped down on the couch next to him. She held out a packet of chocolate chip cookies, offering him one, which he gladly accepted.
'So…' he said '…how are you feeling about this whole project of ours?'
' A little nervous.' She admitted. 'But I'm also so excited! I've never done anything this big, and with the amount I'm being paid, I could retire after we finish touring and still be able to afford to send my kids to a good college.' She said, a hint of laughter in her eyes.
'I know exactly what you mean.' Zac replied, stretching out on the couch.
'I doubt I'm being paid anywhere near as much as you are. But you're a big star and I'm a nobody stage manager who no-one's ever heard of.' She said with a grin. It was obvious that this fact didn't bother her.
'Well once we've finished this tour you wont be a nobody. You'll be the most sought after stage manager in the world.' He said, taking another cookie. She laughed.
'Well thank you for the vote of confidence.'
'We believe in you, Em. Kenny too. He wouldn't have hired you if he didn't think you were good enough. I can tell, you're going to be the best stage manager ever.' He said with a smile. She smiled back at him.
'Thank you. That means a lot.'
'No problem at all. But I should be going. I have to get back to my girlfriend and get some sleep. It is, after all, almost 1am. So goodnight Em, and I will see you in the morning.' He said with a wink. With that, he left the room and Em stayed seated on the couch, still eating her cookies.
Another short chapter, but it seemed like a good place to finish. I promise Emily is not going to be a threat to Zac and Vanessa, just in case anyone was thinking it. However, there is a special friendship blooming here…I can feel it. Even though I'm the writer and I'm supposed to know these things…this is something unexplainable. Anyway…please review and let me know your thoughts on this chapter.