Disclaimer: Don't own it. I'm sad. *sigh*
So, you guys got all that?" Chris says, his grin growing wider. I glance around the room we're in and sigh inwardly. This is not going to be fun. Everyone gets up reluctantly and carries their bags into the hallway.
Where am I, you wonder? Well, this all started this morning…..
"WILL ALL CONTESTANTS PLEASE REPORT TO THE LOBBY WITH THEIR LUGGAGE?"
I jerk out of sleep, startled by the overly loud noise. I fall out of the bed onto the ground, hitting my head on the ground hard. I use the bed to push myself back up and check the clock, which is easily visible in the dim light.
4:00. Chris, you sick bastard.
I grab my crutches from beside my bed. Thankfully, someone got them for me and left them outside my door yesterday. I pull my clothes out of my closet, a quick job, as I brought little with me here. I take a quick shower, pull on some clothes, and brush my teeth, all tasks that are hampered by a large cast on your foot. Ugh. Completely ready, I limp out the door, awkwardly carrying my bag.
After five long minutes I make it to the elevator, which carries me quickly downstairs. When I finally get to the lobby, Chris and the rest of the contestants await me.
"Took you long enough," Courtney says snarkily.
"No pity for the injured," I mutter.
"Not around here," Gwen says grimly.
"Too true," I agree. A small smile flashes across her face, disappearing as swift as it appeared.
"Now that we're done waiting for Noahkins," Chris says, flashing his million dollar smile. "We can finally get on the bus!"
"Aren't you gonna explain where we're going?" Leshawna says huffily, crossing her arms across her chest.
Chris smile grows even wider. "No. No I'm not."
We all let out a collective sigh, and tramp out the waiting bus. It is small, yellow, smelly, and makes you feel dirty when you sit down. Obviously, a true school bus. On the side, the words "West Biscayne Preparatory School" are printed. Okay, any idiot could have figured out where we're going now. At least I can easily say that this school is going to be better than my dump of an inner city school. Hey, when you're the youngest of nine, you're parents can't spare any more money for "fancy-shmancy edumacation." Their words, not mine.
On the bus, the scuffle for seats begin. Of course, Geoff and Duncan nab the back seats, which guarantees lots of "Woohoo's!" that will be coming from back there.
"Tyler, dude, get back here!" Geoff calls out.
Tyler doesn't notice him, as he is deep in an argument with Eva. I distinctly hear the words football, pathetic, and clumsy oaf come out of Eva's mouth. Tyler starts to sputter and I snicker. I grab a seat in the middle of the bus, not too far up and not too far back. On a bus, unobtrusive is best.
Cody and Harold sit in the seat in front of me, deep in conversation. I stare out the window, wishing the ride was already over, when Gwen slides into the seat next to me.
"Can I sit?" she asks, already making herself comfortable.
"Go ahead," I say, gesturing at the seat.
"Glad I'm welcome," Gwen replies.
She unzips her bag and pulls out an IPod. She slips one earbud in her ear and offers the other to me. "Wanna listen?" I stare at it for a moment, unsure if I should take the offer. "It's not going to bite!" she teases me. I take it warily. The second it goes in my ear, I'm accosted by a barrage of sound, that only slightly resembles music. Gotta love metal.
Gwen grins, and I'm pretty sure that she's amused about my face, which is twisted into a grimace of pain and incredulity. Seriously, how can anyone listen to this stuff?
"Not your taste?" she asks playfully, still grinning.
"Saying not really would be an understatement," I answer.
She hands me the IPod. "Pick something you like. I've got a little of pretty much anything."
"Got any country?" I ask jokingly.
She rears back and raises her eyebrows at me. "Please tell me you didn't peg me for a country girl."
I chuckle. "Of course not. You think I could make that mistake and live to tell about it?"
She shakes a fist at me threateningly. "You better believe it!"
"Aren't we chummy?" Izzy says in an over cheerful voice.
Gwen looks up at her, a slightly irked expression on her face. "Yes, we are Izzy. Could you go away?"
Izzy's smile falters for a moment, but comes back with the same psychotic intensity as before. "Don't bite Izzy's head off! Izzy only wanted to apologize to Noah!" She turns her attention to me. "So, does Noah accept Izzy's apology?"
I stare at her blankly. Does she actually expect me to accept that? Don't count on it, honey.
"Okay, let me get this clear," I start. "You sold gay porn about me." She nods. "You hurled books at me while I ran away from you without crutches." She blinks a few times and nods again. "And you trapped me in a closet and made jokes about me being gay. Yet you still expect me to forgive you?"
"Well, when you put it like that, Izzy sounds like some sort of criminal," Izzy says.
I fix my most outraged stare on her, hoping to convey the full extent of my fury. "You are a criminal, Izzy. Apology, not accepted."
She stomps her foot. "You're a jerk! I don't know why Lindsay insists that you're so nice!"
I slump in my chair, indicating that I'm done talking with her. She slumps in the seat next to us, where Lindsay is curled into a ball.
The bus is silent in the wake of our fight, until the bus starts to go along a very bumpy road. Geoff and Duncan yell and convince others, including DJ, Katie, Sadie, Harold, Cody, and Beth, to join them in a rousing chorus of Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall. Gwen and I snicker at the sound of our fellow contestants, some of which should never open their mouths to sing. Ever.
None too soon, the bus pulls into a school with a large sign that says "West Biscayne Preparatory School – Turning Out Champions Since 1950" in gold script. We drive down the road for ages, past beautiful landscaping and large buildings painted a pale purple. We finally pull around a large circle and stop outside a large two-story building. Everyone rushes to get off the bus, sick of sitting down. We all stand outside the building, unsure of what to do, until Chris comes out of the building with a burly, bald, black man wearing a suit.
"Welcome to West Biscayne Preparatory School!" the man says. He flashes us a rather genuine smile. "I'm Mr. Ray, your Dean of Students. I'm also the head of the residential program. I'll be in charge of you during your stay here. If you have any problems here, you can talk to me." He looks around inquisitively. "Any questions?"
"Wait, so we're living here?" Leshawna murmurs.
"That's right!" Mr. Ray says. Wow. He has extremely good hearing. "Now, everyone inside!"
We all pick up our bags and head inside, following Mr. Ray and Chris. Inside, the ceilings are high, and the floors are dark wood. Everything around us looks expensive, from the art on the walls to the ornate doorway we're standing in. Almost everyone gapes at the room.
"You all like your new home?" Mr. Ray asks us.
We murmur our assent, most of us still flabbergasted by the room. The ceiling rattles and Mr. Ray's face flashes with annoyance. "Keep it down up there!" he hollers. "Sorry," he says to us. "They're just excited that you're here! Apparently, some of them knew that show that you're on." Obviously, he'd never heard of it before we got here. Chris does not look pleased.
"So, go upstairs and meet your housemates. The stairs are down the hallway," he says. He points down the hallway.
Suddenly, thuds are heard from upstairs, like multiple people jumping up and down. I hear shrill shrieking. Oh, no. Please tell me that Chris didn't purposefully give us psycho housemates! I wouldn't put it past him. I look at his face, and see a large grin.
"So, you guys got all that?" Chris says, his grin growing wider. I glance around the room we're in and sigh inwardly. This is not going to be fun. Everyone gets up reluctantly and carries their bags into the hallway.
So that's pretty much what happened. Hope I survive this….
A/N: I'm excited to get to the real action.... :) Hope you enjoyed the chapter!