A/N: Here is the next chapter! I hope you guys enjoy it! Make sure you read my author's note at the bottom! Take care and read!
"Hey Corrine, where's Marshall?" Josie asked her friend as she placed her tray on the table and sat down.
"I dunno. I haven't seen him since English class, and that was sixth period." Corrine replied as she scanned the cafeteria, hoping to see her boyfriend walk through the door.
"It's not like him to be late for dinner. Usually he's the first one sitting at the table eating." Lucas retorted jokingly.
Vaughn walked into the cafeteria and sat down next to Josie and kissed her cheek. "Hey Vaughn, you're not eating?" She asked him curiously.
"No…I'm not that hungry. I had two protein bars before I got here." He replied matter-of-factly.
Josie made a disgruntled frown and glanced at Corrine and then at Vaughn. "Vaughn, don't tell me you're starting that crap with the protein bars again. Remember what happened to you and Lucas, not to mention, almost the whole school last time when you didn't eat anything but protein bars?" She snapped as she glanced at Lucas and then at her boyfriend.
"Jos…relax, I'm going to grab a bite with Stu later on tonight. I only eat protein bars right before I have football practice so that I can have something we call energy to function. Besides, these bars have calories and all of that other crap in them." Vaughn retorted, shaking his head.
Josie glowered and cut a piece of her dinner roll and shoved it into Vaughn's mouth. "Eat it!" She demanded. Corrine and Lucas glanced at each other and snickered at the couple sitting in front of them. At the same time, Marshall ran excitedly into the cafeteria and headed towards the table where his friends were sitting.
"Guys! You are not gonna believe what I have to tell you!" Marshall exclaimed breathlessly. Corrine, Josie, Lucas, and Vaughn, who had the dinner roll still stuffed in his mouth, all turned to Marshall and looked at him peculiarly.
"Marshall where have you been? We've been looking all over for you!" Corrine asked impatiently.
"What's with all of the excitement Marsh? Are you happy that you don't need to sleep with the nightlight on in our room anymore?" Lucas asked teasingly.
Marshall shot daggers at his best friend and rolled his eyes. "Ha ha very funny Lucas. Anyway you guys will not believe where I just came from!"
"Well sit down and tell us! Take a breather before you pass out!" Josie suggested.
Marshall took heed to Josie's advice and sat down next to Corrine. "The guys and I just came from the Bourbon Café and entered Magnet 360 into the biggest contest in history!"
"What exactly is this contest?" Lucas asked with interest.
"You know that carnival that's coming in two weeks to the John Wilmot Park? They are showcasing a talent contest for the best high school band in the local area. The winning band gets the chance to tour the U.S. and Canada for 4 weeks in the summer and have copies of their cd distributed to the audience at every concert location!" Marshall answered eagerly.
"Wow that's great Marshall!" Corrine said as she gave her excited boyfriend a firm hug around his neck.
"So…I guess you guys'll be practicing to death everyday for the next two weeks, huh?" Vaughn said as he ate the remainder of the dinner roll.
"Yeah. We have to win. This is the exposure we've been waiting for. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I can't let it slip away." Marshall replied in a serious tone.
"That would be awesome. Touring for almost the whole summer like rock stars." Josie said with a smile.
"Yeah and the best part about it is that the contest winners get paid for touring! All the ticket sales count as salary for the band!" Marshall replied enthusiastically.
"Nice…" Lucas added as he nodded his head in agreement.
"Wow, if you win, you're gonna be gone for the whole summer, huh?" Corrine said in a slightly happy, yet disappointed tone as she glanced at her boyfriend. Marshall noticed her demeanor and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him.
"The tour won't be for the whole summer, Corrine...just about a month or so. Don't worry, if I win, I'll make sure that we spend a lot of quality time together before I leave and when I come back." He replied soothingly as he rubbed the length of her arm comfortingly.
Corrine smiled and nodded her head in agreement. The idea of not seeing Marshall for almost a month bothered her. Even when they didn't see each other for one weekend or for a whole day made it unbearable for them to be apart. Of course she was excited that Magnet 360 would finally have the opportunity to let the world hear their music, and hoped that they would win the contest. But there was a part of her that feared that the distance between them would cause them to grow apart.
"Wow I can't believe that the summer will be here in just two weeks! This year has gone by too fast." Josie mentioned cheerfully.
"Yeah I know…so what do you guys have planned for the summer?" Vaughn inquired.
"Well, as you know, I'm supposed to go to Florida to visit my cousin, Summer. We're planning to go on some sort of road trip." Josie answered.
"Z and I are going to the Scientists of Tomorrow convention in Ottawa for a week and then to another science convention in Nevada for two weeks in late July early August." Lucas answered.
"What about you, Corrine?" Vaughn asked curiously.
Corrine snapped out of her worrisome thoughts and glanced at Vaughn. "I'm not sure yet. I was hoping that Marshall and I could plan a trip somewhere, but it's obvious now that that won't happen."
Marshall removed his arm from around his disappointed girlfriend and sighed. "Corrine, I haven't even performed at the carnival or won the contest yet. We could still plan to take a trip." He said reassuringly as he rubbed Corrine's back.
Corrine turned and looked into her boyfriend's brown eyes and frowned. "Okay, but what if I plan our trip now, buy the tickets, and you win the contest? Now that would be a problem. We won't be able to go on our trip."
Marshall eyed Corrine confusedly and raised his hands in defense. "Whoa there missy, you are looking way too far ahead into the future. I'll tell ya what, let's just put the whole summer vacation plans on the backburner for now, okay?"
Corrine sighed and rolled her eyes. "Marshall we have to schedule our plans now so that we won't run into problems later."
Marshall put his arm around his upset girlfriend again. "Corrine, let's just play it by ear, okay? If fate causes me to win the contest, then I will make sure that we spend so much time together that you'll get sick of me. And when I come back, we can go wherever we want." He replied sweetly as he pulled her closer and kissed her forehead.
"Okay, so let's say if you do win, when would you leave?" Corrine inquired.
"They told us since the carnival is the last week in June; the winners would leave the first week of July…" Marshall responded.
"Wow that's quick! If you win, you won't have any time to celebrate with anyone!" Lucas mentioned.
"I think it's possible, you have to make sure that you celebrate that night after the carnival." Marshall replied assuredly.
"So you think you're gonna win this Marsh?" Vaughn asked.
"Yeah, from what the guys and I saw at the café, it looks like we have a 100 chance of winning." Marshall replied confidently.
"And if you don't win, what are you gonna do for the summer?" Josie asked.
"Spend my time with my darling Corrine…that has always been my number one plan for the summer, anyway." Marshall replied with a sweet smile as he looked at his girlfriend. Corrine smiled at Marshall's endearing words and placed her head on his shoulders.
"What are you going to do for the summer, Vaughn?" Lucas asked as he placed a potato chip in his mouth.
"My dad wants me to go to Penn State for a science program. Pearadyne is sponsoring a pre-college program for students in grades 11 and 12." Vaughn answered.
"What are you going to do there?" Marshall asked.
"It's a 5 week program that gives you a chance to focus on any area in science that you are interested in. Instead of waiting to get to college to study your major, you can get a head start this summer. It's great exposure if you want to know what college life is like, but the college students won't be there, of course, since it's their summer vacation, too. You guys should sign up with me so that I won't be alone." Vaughn replied.
"When does it start?" Lucas asked.
"The second or third week in July. I forgot what my dad said."
"I can't go." Lucas mentioned.
"Well you know I'm not going. It's my summer vacation. School isn't in any of my plans." Josie retorted, shaking her head.
"How about you guys? It's pretty up in the air for you two." Vaughn asked Corrine and Marshall.
"If I'm not touring, I'll go." Marshall replied.
"I'll go, but I have to think about it first." Corrine replied with an uncertain smile.
"You should go, Corrine. I think you'll enjoy studying all summer, unlike me…" Vaughn retorted jokingly.
"Yeah, but it's all the way in the States. I've always loved to travel, but…I don't know. Let me think it over and I'll get back to you." Corrine replied.
"Okay, no problem. Durst is supposed to make the announcement tomorrow morning and whoever is interested can sign up and they will have a meeting with her and my dad in the gym one day this week after school." Vaughn replied.
Josie glanced at her watch and began gathering her things and stood up. "I gotta go guys. I have to study for finals. Vaughn I'll see you later after your dinner date with your sweetie Kubiak." Josie retorted jokingly as she turned to leave. Vaughn smiled and winked an eye and patted her on her lower back.
"See ya later Josie." Her friends replied as she headed out the cafeteria door.
On her way to the staircase, Josie noticed Professor Z and three unfamiliar people coming out of his office. That's odd; I've never seen them here before. They don't look like any of the student's parents. She thought. When she leisurely walked past the group, she caught Professor Z's glance and smiled. Z smiled back and nodded his head at her as she began her ascent up the staircase. When she was finally out of their sight, she walked to the second landing of the staircase and sat down to listen to Professor Z's conversation, making sure she was clearly out of view.
"I hope you take great consideration in this opportunity we have presented to you Professor Zachary…" One man said.
"It's a great opportunity and I'll certainly think it over. Thank you for coming." Professor Z replied.
"Thank you for having us here. We truly appreciate your hard work and admire the dedication you have for your students. They are very lucky to have you here…" A woman's voice replied.
"Yes, I agree…and I tell them that everyday." Professor Z chuckled as the three people began to laugh at his joke.
Josie got up from where she sat and walked down a couple of steps when she heard the laughter and footsteps approaching the front door of the school. She peered downstairs and saw Z holding the door open for the three people as they walked out of the building. When Z turned around, he stood at the door and began to read a few sheets of paper, deep in thought. He stopped reading after a few moments and began to walk back slowly to his office. The whole time Professor Z was reading, Josie studied his body language intently. She observed that he seemed disturbed…slightly worried about something. She has seen Professor Z worried in the past, but never to the point where there was mere panic expressed on his face.
Something must be going on and it seems to be pretty big…She thought. It has to do with those people he met with. Who the hell are they and what did they want with Z?
Instead of running down to Z's office to ask him about his meeting with the mysterious businessmen, Josie decided to head back to her room to study. She didn't want Z knowing that she was eavesdropping in on his conversation and figured that it was none of her business to know what was going on. But she couldn't shake an unrelenting ominous feeling inside her that all was not well with her beloved Professor…
A/N: Hey! Thanks for reading! I hope you guys got the gist of where the gang will go for the summer. Hmmm...I wonder why those people met with Z? What is going on with him? Just remember that this is part one of the two part series I spoke about in the summary. Part 1 leads up to part 2! The summer will be the catalyst for everything that will happen between them! Stay tuned!