Hey! I know I said I couldn't update for over a week, but I had snow days this week, so I found the time to write!!!!!!
"You kids were supposed to be home at four-thirty," Liz reminded Troy Jr. and Samantha very coldly. "What part of that didn't you understand?"
"I'm sorry. We lost track of time," Troy Jr. apologized hurriedly.
"That's no excuse. And because you weren't here to watch the little kids while dinner was being made, we all have to suffer and eat late because the meal wasn't able to be started yet. Now both of you, upstairs and into Brooke's room. The kids will all be in there. Don't come down until I say it's okay. And no dinner for you tonight. You're loser nerds, that's what you are. You don't think about anyone but your little ugly selves."
Samantha began to cry. Her birth mother had said mean things before, but this was the meanest she had ever heard.
"Stop crying, wimp!" Ron ordered.
Troy Jr. reached out and hugged Samantha.
"I w-wanna g-go h-home," Samantha sobbed.
"Mr. Evans gave us the name of the hotel they're staying at-the suite number, too. Do you want to walk down there and see if we can hang out with them for a little bit again?"
Samantha nodded and managed to smile a little. She was looking forward to seeing the Evans family again so soon; especially little Karli.
"Let's go, then." Troy Jr. let go of Samantha, then went to the front door and put his hand on the doorknob.
"Hey!" Liz shouted. "Where do you think you're going?"
"Out," Troy Jr. mumbled. Then, louder, he added, "Because no one should have to be around nasty jerks like you. If you knew how bad you were, you wouldn't blame Sam for liking my parents a lot better. Yes, they can get annoying at times, but at least they care and support me and my sisters-and Sam, too."
"Don't talk to me that way, young man. And just to let you know, I've seen your parents. They're nerds, just like you and your sisters."
"At East High, my dad's a basketball coach and my mom's a teacher. They both are in charge of drama club there, too. My twin sister's a dancer. My younger sister is only in first grade-she can't be classified as a nerd, cheerleader, drama girl-whatever yet. Leave her alone. And me-I'm a proud jock."
Ron laughed. "Whatever, little boy. Talk all you want. You don't look athletic at all."
Troy Jr. opened the door. "Come on, Sam. Let's leave the house of idiots."
Samantha went out the open door, looking behind her to make sure Troy Jr. was following. "You were really brave to say all those things to my parents," she commented once the door was closed and her and Troy Jr. were down the driveway belonging to the house.
"Yeah, well being rude has a use to it," Troy Jr. responded.
"I guess it does. So, where did Mr. Evans say he and his family were staying at?"
"Sunshine Paradise," Troy Jr. answered. Then he began laughing.
"What's so funny?" Samantha wondered.
"Sunshine Paradise.....it's a funny name for a hotel."
"Well this is the 'sunshine state'. I guess the owner of the hotel wanted a name that had 'sunshine' in it."
Troy Jr. and Samantha walked up to suite number forty-six; that was the Evans' suite. Troy Jr. then used the knocker that was on the door to knock.
"Hi," Ryan greeted as he turned the doorknob, revealing the two visitors. "You can come in if you want."
Troy Jr. and Samantha walked through the doorway. They found themselves in the small living room of the suite, where they saw a sofa and TV. In the corner of the room, there was a round table with four chairs around it.
"So, what's up?" Ryan asked, shutting the door.
"Sam's parents are being jerks," Troy Jr. explained. "That's all I need to say."
"Oh. I get what you mean."
At that moment, Kelsi came into the room carrying Karli, who was crying. "Shhhh, Karli, we're gonna go out to eat now. You'll get to eat soon."
"But I'm hungwy," Karli cried.
"Well Mommy doesn't want you to eat a snack, then not be hungry enough for dinner. You're a big girl, you can wait for food. Anyway, you just had ice cream not too long ago," Kelsi told her daughter. Just then, she caught sight of Troy Jr. and Samantha. "Oh, hi," she smiled.
"Hi," Troy Jr. and Samantha both returned.
"Sam!" Karli exclaimed as she stopped crying. "You came to see me!"
Samantha smiled. "Do you want to sit on my lap?"
"Mommy, can I?" Karli asked Kelsi.
Kelsi nodded and put her daughter on the ground.
Karli ran over to Samantha, who picked her up and sat on the sofa with her.
"You know, if we lived closer to you, Sam, you would be Karli's babysitter," Ryan told Samantha. "She seems to really like you."
"I like little kids," Samantha said. "Well, not all of them. Just ones like Karli who aren't bratty. I have little cousins who throw plastic food at me and yell."
"No one likes kids who act like that."
"Mr. and Mrs. Evans," Troy Jr. began. "Do either of you have a cell phone with you? I want to call my parents and tell them something important."
"Yeah, I do," Ryan answered. He then reached into the pocket of his tan pants and pulled out a shiny navy blue touch screen iphone, which he handed to Troy Jr.
"Oh my gosh!" Troy Jr. exclaimed. "You have this phone? Oh my gosh! This is the coolest thing! I would never be able to get one like it! It costs so much money!"
"Not to brag or anything, but the Evans family is rich."
"I can tell! Now how does this work?"
"Just dial the phone number and push 'talk'," Ryan replied.
Troy Jr. listened, then placed the phone at his ear. A moment later, his mother answered.
"Hello, Ryan?"
"No, this is Troy," Troy Jr. corrected. "I'm just on Mr. Evans' phone."
"What are you doing in New York? I thought you were in Florida! What happened?" Gabriella questioned hurriedly.
"The Evans family is in Florida, too. Sam and I are visiting them in their hotel suite now because of something that happened with Sam's birth parents."
"The Evans are there? That's great! Now, what's the problem with Sam's birth parents?"
Troy Jr. told his mother about what had happened. "So now we're at the Evans' suite and we don't wanna go back to Jenna's house or Sam's grandparents' place," he finished.
"That is the meanest thing I've ever heard of someone saying to their own child. I wouldn't be surprised if they started abusing Sam-and you. Making fun of her because she likes to read? Encouraging her-and you-to not want to?" Gabriella was shocked and horrified. "Oh, and by the way, I'm glad to hear you found a book series you like. Maybe we'll have to have a family reading night sometime. That is, if I can get your father to open up a book."
"That sounds great. Now can you tell me what Sam and I should do? We have all our stuff at her grandparents' house and we're scared to go back there because Mr. and Mrs. Andrews will probably get out a knife and murder us for ditching them if we show up." Troy Jr. was in a panic. "What should we do?"
"I don't know, Troy. This is a tough situation. Stay with the Evans family now. You're safe with them. I need to talk to your father about this. I'll call you back. Okay?"
"That sounds good. Bye."
"Bye."
Gabriella went to the sofa and sank down into it, feeling upset and panicked. What could she do? Her son and 'daughter' were in a situation that would be very difficult to improve.
"What's wrong, precious?" Troy asked softly as he entered the room, sat next to his wife, and took one of her hands in his. "You look worried about something."
Gabriella burst into tears and clung to Troy. "T-Troy a-and S-Sam. I-I'm w-worried a-about t-them."
Troy pulled Gabriella into his lap and protectively cuddled her close to him, pressing gentle kisses all over her face. "Why? What's the matter, my love? Tell me."
"S-Sam's p-parents a-are b-being m-mean t-to T-Troy and S-Sam. I-I'm scared t-they'll s-start a-abusing them o-or s-something," Gabriella sobbed. "I-I don't k-know w-what t-to do!"
"First of all, settle down," Troy told his wife. "Try to calm yourself. Take deep breaths. Give me kisses."
Gabriella followed Troy's suggestions.
"Alright, that's enough," Troy informed his wife as she placed one of a series of many kisses onto his forehead. "I think I'm drowning in your affection."
Gabriella giggled. "Well you said to give you kisses-not just one kiss."
"You are too cute," Troy commented, stroking Gabriella's hair.
Gabriella smiled and snuggled against her husband. "I love you."
"Love you, too. Now what's the problem with Troy and Sam?"
"Well Troy just called here and he said that Sam's parents were calling both him and Sam selfish, ugly, loser nerds. I'm scared that they're gonna start abusing them."
"Oh, Gabby, that's terrible. But I don't know what to say. Do the kids want to come home?"
"I don't know. The Evans family are apparently also in Florida-thank goodness-so they're with them right now in their hotel suite. But all their things are at Sam's grandparents' place, so they're gonna need to go back there at some point. They don't want to, though."
"This is tough. I don't know what to say. I guess maybe Ryan or Kelsi could take them to Sam's grandparents' when no one is home there. Maybe the door would be unlocked and they could quick run in, get their stuff, and run out. Then they could just fly back here when they were finished with all that. There's two of them, so it shouldn't be dangerous to ride on the plane with no familiar adults."
"Wildcat, you are so smart! I love you!" Gabriella burst out, hugging Troy tighter than she had been and kissing him on the lips. "I love you! I love you!"
Troy returned Gabriella's kiss. "Glad I helped, baby girl."
"I'm glad you did, too. Now let me quick go call Troy back and tell him your suggestion, then we'd better take Brie and Julliette to the mall like we planned."
Troy, Gabriella, Brie, and Julliette were walking around the mall, looking for a store that appealed to them.
"How about we go in Shoe City," Brie suggested. "I really want a pair of new shoes."
"Alright, I guess we could go in there and look," Gabriella agreed. "Is that okay with you, Troy?"
Troy nodded. "Yeah, it's fine with me."
Troy, Gabriella, and Brie walked into Shoe City, not noticing Julliette had wandered off to look at a display of kids' books that was located in the hallway of the mall.
"Where's Julliette?" Troy questioned once he was inside the store with his wife and one of his daughters.
Gabriella looked around her. "Julliette! Julliette!"
"Where is she?" Brie wondered. She went over to the entryway of the store and looked out of it. She didn't see her sister anywhere.
"Julliette!" Troy called. "Julliette, where are you?"
Gabriella rushed up to Troy and hugged him tightly for comfort. "What if we can't find her?"
Julliette glanced around her. Not seeing her parents or sister, she became very panicked. "Mommy! Daddy! Brie! Where are you? Where are you?" Then, hearing no reply, she sat down and began to cry.
"Julliette what's wrong?" a familiar voice asked.
Julliette lifted her tear-filled eyes and saw Sharpay's face. "M-Mrs. B-Baylor. I-I lost m-my mommy a-and daddy a-and B-Brie."
"Don't worry, I'll help you find them," Sharpay comforted. She then reached into her designer purse and pulled out her hot pink cell phone. Turning it on, she dialed Gabriella's cell phone number.
"Hello, Sharpay?" Gabriella answered.
"Hi, Gabriella. Where are you? I'm here in the hallway of the mall with Julliette. She told me she was lost."
"You're at the mall, too? And you found my daughter? Thank you so much! Bring her to the food court-Troy, Brie, and I will meet you there."
"Okay," Sharpay acknowledged. "See you in a minute. Bye."
"Bye."
Sharpay hung up, then turned toward Julliette. "Come with me. I called your mommy. She, your daddy, and Brie, are gonna meet us at the food court. Alright?"
"Yay!" Julliette exclaimed, standing up quickly. "Thank you so much for helping me!"
"You're welcome," Sharpay smiled.
Troy Jr. and Samantha ran out of Samantha's grandparents' house, their bags in their hands. They had just tried the plan Troy had thought up, and it was a success. Now they could get tickets for the next plane back to Albuquerque and go home to the Bolton house.
"I guess you got everything," Ryan observed as he saw Troy Jr. and Sam climb into the backseat of his rental car holding their things.
"Yeah, we did," Samantha said. "Now, are we gonna go see about getting plane tickets?"
"Yup," Ryan replied. "We're going to the airport right now. You'll probably be able to get a ride back to Albuquerque tonight; not many people ride on airplanes Saturday nights. The big nights are Friday and Sunday."
"That makes sense," Samantha commented.
Troy Jr. and Samantha rang the doorbell of the Bolton house. They had made it back to Albuquerque and walked home. Now exhausted, all they wanted to do was go inside, eat a snack, and read more of Into the Wild.
"Oh, you're back," Brie remarked with surprise as she answered the door. "Mom told me about what happened with Sam's birth parents, but I didn't know if you were coming home early or not."
"Yeah, we came home early," Troy Jr. told his sister. "We just couldn't take being with Sam's family anymore."
"Well come in," Brie invited, stepping aside to let her brother and Samantha walk through the doorway. "We're having an emergency now-Mom lost her wedding ring. Could you two help look? She's panicking. And almost in tears."
"Sure," Samantha agreed, putting down her bag of things. "Where is she?"
"Upstairs," Brie replied.
Troy Jr. also put his bag down as he swung the front door shut. "I'll help look, too, I guess. Hopefully it won't take real long because I'm really tired."
"With everyone working together, we should find it quickly," Brie assured. "Come on; let's get started now." She hurried upstairs.
Troy Jr. and Samantha rushed after Brie.
"Troy? Sam?" Gabriella's eyes brightened up as she saw her son and 'daughter.' Quickly running over to hug them both, she exclaimed, "I was so worried about you! I'm do glad you're here!"
"We're fine," Troy Jr. said. "I stood up to Sam's stupid birth parents. They were calling our family a bunch of nerds. But I told them we weren't!"
"Good for you," Gabriella smiled. "Though just be careful when talking to people like that; they could get violent with you. Keep that in mind, okay? I don't want anything bad to happen."
"Alright," Troy Jr. sighed. "I will."
"Mommy!" Julliette ran up to her mother holding a small object. "I found your ring! Tutu was about to eat it!"
"Tutu was gonna eat it?" Brie repeated. "Where is she?"
"In my room."
Brie hurried into her sister's room. There's she saw her cat lying in the middle of the floor, looking proud as could be. "Tutu! Don't try to eat things like that! Bad girl!"
"You found it?" Troy checked anxiously, walking up to his wife.
"Julliette did," Gabriella spoke. Then, she turned toward her youngest daughter. "Thank you so much!"
"You're welcome!" Julliette acknowledged.
"Oh, Troy! Sam! You're home!" Troy noticed. He went over to the two he had just mentioned, gave Troy Jr. a high-five, and Samantha a hug. "I'm glad to see you! Did you have fun at all in Florida?"
"A little," Samantha answered.
Troy Jr. agreed. "Yeah, not too much, though. Until we started hanging out with the Evans'. Oh, and when we went to the beach."
"Karli is the cutest little girl!" Samantha told her 'father.' "Mr. Evans said that if I lived close to his family, I would get to baby-sit her!"
"Wow! That would be great for you!" Troy commented.
"Yeah, I know! It would be!"
"Sam," Troy Jr. began. "Do you wanna work on reading Into the Wild? We were in the middle of an exciting part when we had to go."
"Sure," Samantha responded. "You know, we're lucky I managed to take it from where I left it in my aunt's house while you were telling my birth parents off."
"Troy? You like to read now?" Troy questioned. "And you told Sam's birth parents off?"
Troy Jr. nodded, a smile on his face. "Yeah! Sam got me interested in this great book series called Warriors. It's about cats that live in a forest. They fight and get hurt and even communicate with their ancestors! It's awesome! And yes, I called Sam's birth parents 'nasty jerks!'"
"You need to be careful about what you say to people," Troy warned. "I know you were probably trying to defend yourself-and Sam-but people can get violent sometimes if you say things like that."
"That's what Mom told me."
Brie had just finished one of her Nutcracker rehearsals. She thought she had done a pretty good job with both the dances she was in.
"Okay, everyone," Miss Emmy called out. "I have a special announcement for all of you."
All the girls in the dance studio turned to look at Miss Emmy.
"Your Nutcracker performances will be Friday, December 5, Saturday, December 6, and Sunday, December 7. They will all be held in the auditorium at East High. Each day, we will begin the show at seven o' clock-p.m. of course, not a.m. But you need to be at the school a half-hour early. Alright?"
All the girls nodded in agreement.
"And also, there's one more thing. Two members of the New York City Ballet will be coming to watch our Sunday performance. There, they will observe how well each of you dance and choose four of you to spend this coming summer in New York to be professionally trained by them."
"I am so in there," Jessica announced proudly. "Because everyone knows I'm the best ballerina in this whole dance school."
"Do you think we'll get in?" Abbie asked Brie in a whisper.
"I don't know," Brie answered. "I guess we have as good a chance has anyone."
"I hope we get to go. That would be so much fun!"
"Yeah," Brie agreed, smiling. "It would."
