Disclaimer: It's unfortunate, but I do not own the Ocean's series.
Summary: School. Homework. Cliques and basketball, Chinese food for dinner and the New York City night life. Can our gang survive these new circumstances?
A/N: A huge thank you to those who supplied characters! It really saved me a lot of thinking, and with school and everything…yeah. So, all of you get cookies! This chapter I hope it's a light hearted comedy, but with a little nastiness raveled in between just to keep the drama up, but not to much. I'm also introducing jobs, and the Queens of the Court (the popular group).Oh, one more thing. On popular demand, we're getting a call from…Read and find out!
On the plane, 7:45 in the morning, Lily's POV
"Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts as we are about to take off." The fake-cheery and almost sickeningly sweet voice of the stewardess jolted me from my doze and I clipped my seatbelt. I didn't want that smiling face in mine, telling me oh-so-politely to fasten your seatbelt or else.
"Do you think they get paid to be so nice?" said Adam. He was in the seat closest to aisle, with Leah to his right and me near the window. "Don't they get sick of it?"
"Why don't you ask her, Adam?" I said, looking up at the blond stewardess as she moved through the seats. "She won't get all yell-y on you. She'll probably politely ask you to shut your big fat mouth and kick you off the plane."
"That's a pleasant way to answer," he said, sounding hurt. "You're not a morning person, I see."
"Adam," I said, "we spent four weeks in Florida in the same hotel, waking up at six every morning. You should know I'm not a morning person by now."
"While you two are just so interesting," Leah piped up, "I would appreciate it if you'd stop yelling in my ear."
Adam grinned and pulled the headphones off the rack of the seat in front of him and began watching the movie they were playing. He sniffed a couple of times and mimicked Leah chattering away.
I laughed and Leah glared at me and then turned to Adam, who had stopped and was watching the movie again. Laughing harder, I watched her get as red as her hair and take out her latest novel.
I sat back in my seat and wondered when Rusty, Madison and Paul's flight was. They checked out of the hotel about the same time we did, but their flight probably wasn't until later.
Lucky dogs.
"I wonder what jobs we're getting." Leah was obviously bored with her novel and she fixed that by turning to me. "I hope Madison gets a smelly and dirty one."
Adam took off his headphones and listened to us. "I want something in a deli or waiting tables," he said thoughtfully. "That way I can get girls' numbers."
"You're so narrow-minded," snapped Leah. She looked mad for a second, and then she calmed down. "Girls wouldn't even go within two hundred feet of you."
"Oh yeah? What about you and Lily? Don't you count for something?"
"No, we don't."
"We don't?" I said. I was busy trying to get the tray down so I could have something to eat. "We are girls, you know."
"Last time I checked, you were my friends," said Adam. He reached over and clicked down the tray for me, watching with an amused smile as I scowled at it. "And girls and friends aren't the same thing."
I rolled my eyes and looked out the window again. We were rising higher and higher into the sky and the ground looked so far away. People weren't even visible anymore, and all you could see were the streets and the intersections, and not even that great, either. This was only my second time in a plane, and my ears still popped when we first went up.
"I wonder what the school's going to be like," said Adam. He was listening to the movie again, but one of his earphones was off his ear and in his black, curly hair. "Rusty said it was really prestigious and had a gymnastics team."
"I thought you were a male cheerleader," I said.
"Yeah, but when Yen taught me all of that stuff, I thought that was pretty cool. So, I'm going out for it." He thought for a minute. "And maybe even some of those yoga classes. Yen said that it would be great for what I'm going to be doing."
"Yen's his new hero," I sighed jokingly.
"Yeah, like you're missing out," said Leah. "Rusty woke you up, huh?"
I raised an eyebrow. Well, attempted too. "How did you know that? I'm supposed to be the recon agent, remember?"
"I heard you," she said with a shrug. "He had five coffees and he sounded really caffeinated."
"You're so nosy," said Adam.
"Curiosity killed the cat," I added.
Leah just rolled her eyes and cracked open that book again.
"You shouldn't read that much," said Adam.
"It'll make your brain explode."
Leah scoffed angrily and hit both of us with the book.
"Ow," we both drawled at the same time, and then cracked up laughing when she got up to go to the bathroom. It was kind of hilarious, and we were both chuckling when she came back.
"Immaturity," she said quietly. "I'm going to go sit with Linus." And she went off.
I settled back in my seat, ready.
Watch out, Big Apple. Here come Ryan's Five.
Or the Five Recruits. Either way it has an impact.
10:52 A.M., New York City
"What's that?" said Leah excitedly, pointing to the Empire State building.
"That my friend is the tallest building in New York," I said, paying the guy behind the counter for the hot dog and roasted peanuts. "Want a peanut?"
"You lived here?" said Adam.
I nodded slowly. "Yeah…and what's so exciting about that?"
"Well, this is the biggest city in the United States, with over two million people in population," said Leah matter-of-factly. "There's been a study that proves that when people come to New York, their pace quickens and they're always in a rush to get somewhere."
"Five million people, Leah," said Linus.
"Read a book that's updated!" I said, smacking her shoulder lightly. "You're the bookworm!" I turned to Linus. "So, did Rusty have the courtesy to hitch us a ride or do we have to kick it?"
All three of them looked at me blankly. "What?" said Adam slowly.
"Did Rusty hire us a cab or do we have to hire one ourselves?" I translated. It felt good to be the one in control for a while and get my accent back. Being down in Florida for that long kind of made it disappear. I took a bite of the hotdog and swallowed, and then poured five little peanuts into my hand.
"He didn't," said Linus.
"Okay. That helps." I tossed one of the nuts up into the air and caught it with my mouth. Chewing, I said, "Where?"
Linus made this vague gesture and shrugged. "He didn't tell me."
"So…we're supposed to wait for him?" I tossed another nut into the air and caught it, again, in my mouth.
He shrugged again.
"All right then. I have a suggestion to make," I said. "Instead of waiting the airport, why don't we have a look at the sights? This is my town!"
"All in favor?" said Leah, always going for that democratic approach.
All three of our hands went up.
So we went around the town and saw the Empire State Building, the Garden, and things like that. Adam and Leah, being from California and Tennessee, couldn't exactly keep their eyes off the skyscrapers. Adam thought that the Naked Cowboy was hilarious when we walked down to Times Square (which was far away) and then my cell phone rang.
"Where are you guys?" said Rusty's voice. I thought he sounded a little offended.
"We thought you smelled, so we painted the town black and skipped out on you," I replied smoothly, switching the phone to my other ear. I scratched my upper lip and said, "You don't smell, but that cologne you wear is just a little much. Anyway, we're down in Times Square."
"May I ask why you're down there?"
"Because Leah, Adam and Linus wanted to be tourists and see the world," I said, earning a glare from Adam and Linus and a smack from Leah. Man, she was abusive. "They're amazed at the height of the buildings."
"Why aren't you at the apartment?"
"Well, Mr. Ryan, if I was to tell you that, you'd just get all indignant and blame Linus, not yourself." I paused for a minute, listening for his reply. Hearing nothing and assuming that he was waiting for what else I was going to say, I continued. "You didn't tell us where the apartment was and you didn't hire us a cab. Now the first one is more important than the second one, because I could've hired a cab myself if you'd just told Linus where the freakin' apartment was."
He continued to be silent, though I could hear snatches of conversations. He was probably scowling or even smirking – either way would be an expression of annoyance for him. "It's Central Park West."
"Wow. That really helps, Rus." I looked around and saw that I lost Linus and the others for a minute. Spying them looking at the ticket sales for the Lion King, I shoved my way through the crowd and said, "Can you be a bit more specific? 'Central Park West' covers a lot of bases."
"3900 Spaulding, apartment 4D in the Embassy Building. Happy now?"
"Yes. Very. We'll see you when we see you." I shut the phone before he could reply and I went up to my friends. "We're going down to Central Park, guys."
"Ooh, classy," said Leah. She turned around and looked at me gleefully. "Can I hire the cab?"
"If you want to get hit by a car, then go ahead," I said sarcastically. I'm sorry. I really can't help it.
She scowled at me and I was the one to hire the cab, and then we all went along on our merry way towards the park.
1:37 P.M. The Apartment
"Now that we're all here in the same place at the same time," said Rusty, shooting a glance at me and then turning back to the group. "We'll pick jobs."
If you want a hilarious sight, picture Madison with her knees scrunched up to her chin with her fingers crossed, rocking slightly back and forth. Her eyes were closed and she seemed to be whispering something, and all I could make out was "Please not the diner, please not the diner!"
"Leah, you're working at the pizzeria down on Fifth Avenue. Adam, you're waiting tables at Mario's, the restaurant down on eighth. Paul, you're working at the deli around the corner –"
"Does anyone notice that these are all places with food?" I cut in, earning rolling of the eyes from Rusty. "You think you're going to get free food because your recruits are working there?"
"No, because our subject goes to each of these places whenever she's hungry." He chewed on his lip and then whispered out of the side of his mouth, "Maybe that too."
Raising my eyebrows but trying hard not to say anything sarcastic and slightly mean, I leaned back in the chair and waited for the rest of the job listings. I still needed a job and so did Madison, and it was all coming down to this.
"Madison, you're a cashier at the Savings Shack. And Lily…" He trailed off and smirked at me smugly, and I knew I was in for it. "You're a candy counter girl at the MAD theaters."
Scowling and glaring at him, though actually very happy with the job, I looked away. I was honestly glad I had nothing to do with waiting tables and stuff like that, and a candy counter girl was somewhat better than the rest. I was probably going to get minimum wage and all that, mostly because I was a teenager, and my sixteenth birthday was in three weeks, so until I was a 'registered' adult at eighteen, I was in for it.
"Now, with that said, other information. School starts in two days at eight o'clock – for those of you who don't remember their transportation routes, here they are: Madison, you're on foot. Leah, you've got the cab. Lily's got the bus; Paul's taking the cab and Adam's on foot. There's a uniform, and everybody bought theirs down in Florida, right? Okay. You start your jobs in a few weeks, exact dates not known." He took a deep breath, and looked at Linus, who shrugged. "Room assignments…"
Groans went around the room and Adam threw up his hands in exasperation.
Rusty looked around at us with an amused smile. "I guess I spoiled you when I gave you separate rooms. Now that we're one big happy family now," – no one could miss the well-aimed sarcasm – "we have to share rooms."
It was silent this time. We all were spoiled, I guess.
"Leah, Lily and Madison in one room. You guys have to be nice to each other," – glares shot randomly to myself and Madison – "and share the room like human beings. Otherwise, it's going to result in immediate grounding and nothing but school, homework and jobs."
Madison was obviously constructing an evil plan in her head.
"Adam and Paul will share a room. Same thing with you guys – be human beings or be grounded within an inch of your life."
"No need to worry about that, boss man," said Adam. "Me and Paulie are tight!" They did this stupid handshake thing that instantly reminded me of the Fresh Prince of Bellaire.
"With that settled, it's curfew time."
"What?" squawked Madison. "We have a curfew? What am I going to tell my friends? They're expecting me down at Club 24/7 at nine!" Her face was rapidly turning the bright color of beet red.
"Yes, Madison, you need a curfew. If we're all going to be high-class thieves, remember that we still have training and planning to do. You all need to be back here by eight thirty so we can go over battle tactics." Rusty seemed incredibly tired of talking. Apparently he was just used to two word sentences and nothing more than that. If I may add, he also looked a bit winded. "Your jobs are all right after school, and nine-thirty to eleven on the weekends."
"All right!" I said, clapping my hands and getting up. "Leah, Madison, let's go get unpacked." I grinned a little and sent a glance at Rusty saying you've got to pay for that save.
He rolled his eyes.
First Day of Class
Clearwater Academy
11:47
"Whoa, Madison's already made friends?" I looked at Madison chatting it up with five or six girls, laughing and acting all buddy-buddy. "It's been, what, three hours? I've only met three people!"
Leah blew out her nose, which meant that she was confused and didn't have a clue. "I don't know. I think those are the popular girls, though. They must've noticed her designer gear and made a beeline for her. I don't know."
I shrugged and fixed the strap on my messenger bag. "Senior year and I'm still at the bottom of the food chain," I sighed. "Doesn't get any better than this, does it Leah?" I turned on my heel and started walking away from her.
"Lily!"
I turned around and that's when I slammed into a wall. Well, I thought it was a wall. Looking back around and seeing that it wasn't a wall at all and that it was actually a pretty cute guy, I felt my cheeks get all red. "Uh, sorry. I'm a klutz, you see, and it runs in the family…"
"Hey," he said. God, he was cute. "That's all right. Here," he handed me my brand-spanking new algebra textbook, "you dropped this."
"Oh, thanks a lot." I grinned a little and straightened up. I realized that I was nearly half a head taller than him, but he was pretty tall himself. "Sorry for bumping into you like that."
He smiled. "Like I said, it's all right." He turned around to acknowledge the shouting of his friends. "I've got to go. See you later." He turned around, but not like that cold shoulder kind of turn around and that 'see you later' was the sincere 'see you later'.
"Oh my God, he was so onto you!" shrieked Leah, practically loud enough for the guy to hear. She rushed up to my side and looked at his retreating back eagerly. "Someone's in for a little competition!"
"What?" I said a little dazed. "Who's in for competition? What competition?"
"Wow, you're lost," said Leah.
Later, at lunch, Leah put her books and her tray down and opened a brand new library book.
"Already been taking from the library, huh?" I said.
"For your information, Miss Carson, this was for your benefit and not mine," she said, not looking up. She turned another page. "That guy must be in here somewhere…"
"Not that again," I said. I was used to it, though. When Leah got attached to something she never let go.
"I've got him!" she exclaimed, and pointed to the picture. It was of the Clearwater Cougars, and guess who was captain?
"Gabriel Ross," I read out loud. "He's the two time captain of the Clearwater Cougars Varsity Boys' basketball team, Boy of the Year three years in a row and well-known boyfriend of Hannah Rodriguez. Some accomplishments, huh? No honors classes, no special recognitions…" I was being annoying and Leah knew it.
"More like boy toy," said Leah. "He's been on and off with her for three years."
"And you know this…?"
"It's in the 'seen with' section," she said matter-of-factly, and turned the page. Sure enough, there was this Gabriel dude and a good-looking girl.
"Oh, and there's basketball signups if you want to go try out," she said.
"Leah," I said, "we've been in this school for four hours. Would you just relax? You don't need to know everything in the first few hours of an eight hour school day."
"Six hours, to be exact," she said. "Seniors get out two hours early."
"Really?" I said.
"Yes, really."
"Move, geeks."
We looked up to see that same girl in the picture with this ugly sneer on her face and five or six girls behind her. Gabriel was there, but he was more off to the side and looking at the girl with apprehension in his eyes.
"Why should we?" I said, not getting up. "Who died and made you the President of the U.S.A.?"
"I'm the Queen of the Court," she sneered, stepping closer.
"And I'm the Queen of England," I said. Now I was standing. "Doesn't mean anything here, does it, Your Highness?"
"Yes, it does," said the girl. The rest of the girls behind her, which I just realized included Madison, shifted. They looked ready for a fight, and Linus didn't drag me to a karate center for nothing.
"So what? Go find another table. It's easy." I turned around and sat back down, not actually caring what happened.
"Whatever." They stalked away.
Leah elbowed me and grinned. "Gabriel's looking this way!"
"Just drop it, okay?" I said moodily. "I'm not in the mood for this."
We walked down the hallway towards homeroom and I saw the sign-ups for basketball. There were already about ten kids on there, all of them except five crossed out in hot-pink, sparkly gel pen.
Christina Santos
Abby Larson
Kaily Adams
Madison George
Hannah Rodriguez
Penelope Golden
Sarah Peterson
Sheila Robinson
Adelle Daniels
Kelly Pauper
"Apparently the Queens of the Court don't want anyone else to join their team," said Leah next to me, looking the list up and down. "Even Madison's on there. They're really competitive here."
"Welcome to New York, Leah," I sighed. "You got a pen?"
"Probably. What do you need it…You're not!"
"I am." I took out a pen and scribbled my name underneath Kelly Pauper.
"They're just going to cross you out. When you come in tomorrow, expect to see your name scribbled on in hot pink gel pen."
"I don't care," I said. "I'm getting on this team whether they like it or not."
Back at the apartment
7:47 PM
I was wiped. Totally wiped. I was attempting to eat sesame chicken and white rice with chopsticks and listen to Rusty at the same time. He was blabbering on about something and everyone was paying attention to him as I tried to stab my chicken to eat it.
"Lily? Are you paying attention?" Rusty's voice stopped my chicken-stabbing and made me look up.
"Uh…maybe."
"You weren't."
"Of course not! I'm trying to eat!"
"Pay attention. You can heat it up later."
"Maybe I don't want to pay attention, Rusty."
"Maybe I said you should, Lily."
"Guys, stop fighting in immature children!" That was Leah and she sounded mad.
I sank back down into my chair and put my food on the foldable table and glared at Rusty. He looked just as smug as when I first met him. I made a face at him and returned to my chicken-stabbing.
"As I was saying, Madison it's good that you're making friends with the subject. She'll really warm up to you because of your attitude and your…clothes."
I hoped to God that he wasn't going to say something about me signing up for basketball.
"Lily, Leah tells me that you've signed up for basketball."
I spoke way too soon, didn't I?
"That's good. Maybe you'll make captain."
Was that a compliment? I looked up and raised an eyebrow at him, but he was already looking at Linus for further subjects to talk about. I sighed and shot a look at Leah, who turned red and shrugged her shoulders.
"Go do your homework, except you, Lily. I need to talk to you." Rusty took Adam's vacated seat on the leather couch while everyone strayed off to their rooms to go their homework.
Leah gave me a look that said want backup? And I shook my head and looked at Rusty.
"You're following the subject around, right?" he said finally.
"Yeah," I said.
"The subject is Hannah Rodriguez. Her dad owns the casino the Oasis, down on Broadway and off of Times Square. She's been on the Clearwater basketball team since she was a freshman and she was only freshman to ever make it on the team and she never lets anyone forget it. She takes outside shots and makes ninety percent of them and she likes to show it off. So, with that said, what do you say?"
"To what?" I said. "I have to follow the girl around and she likes showing off. What more is there?"
"She's very protective of her little clique and does not want any outsiders on the basketball court." Rusty frowned for a minute and scrutinized me again. I hated it when he did that. "Meaning you. It's going to be tough to set foot on that court. You any good?"
"I'll take you on, old man."
"Old man? I could send you back to that orphanage tonight."
"Sorry. I bet you I could wipe the floor with your face."
"I doubt that."
"Central Park, basketball courts at three thirty. Be there or never be able to live it down."
"Shake."
"No!"
"Shake."
We shook hands and I went off to do my homework.
Now don't bully me on this – I could've sworn I felt Rusty's eyes follow me until I went into my room and shut the door.
A/N: Sorry for the extreme long-ness. I had a particular idea for this chapter, but of course it would've been to long. I have a vote to put up!
Who do you want Lily to have a love interest in?
Gabriel Ross
Rusty
Linus
Adam
Paul
Happy Holidays!