AN: Another day, another chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock, in case that wasn't clear already, I also don't own 'La La Land' by Demi Lovato or 'It's Alright, It's Okay' by Ashley Tisdale, forgot to mention that last chapter. I don't own Hamlet either. Wow I don't own a lot, maybe I should buy some stuff.
Eliza was sat on the tour bus which was quiet for the first time since they boarded it after the final LA show last night. She stood looking at the calendar on one of the walls which had every tour date recorded on it. The first three now had red crosses through them and as the bus continued its journey to San Jose, Eliza found herself focused on show number four at the HP Pavilion.
Eliza had the bus to herself for the next few hours of travel. Marie, Caitlyn and Mitchie had joined Nate on board a third, smaller bus, for their study time, something which all three had greatly protested against. Eliza was very relieved she no longer had to study, but wasn't looking forward to frequently having to sit on the bus alone for long periods of travel.
She moved up the stairs to her bedroom, picking up her guitar as she entered and taking a seat on her bed, strumming a few chords to make sure it was still in tune. She'd had part of a melody running through her head all morning and decided to take the chance to get it down on paper.
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"I thought I didn't have to do biology this time, after all the extra I did in summer." Nate complained to Julie, their tutor. She had been working for Connect 3 since they were signed and having seen two of the three members successfully graduate in her care, the label were only too happy to place three new student in her charge.
"The deal was you'd only have to do one module in it if you passed all your extra summer work Nate, but as you are well aware, you didn't because you were too busy getting to know someone at Camp Rock, so you have to redo the ones you failed." Julie smiled at Caitlyn, indicating to the young girl that she didn't really mind that Nate had been distracted. Nate turned back to his text book, mumbling unintelligible things under his breath as he tried to get his brain to understand the difference between meiosis and mitosis.
"Miss Lane," Marie called to the tutor, "can you explain this to me again? I really don't understand it." Julie crossed the bus to where Marie sat trying to simplify the algebraic equation in front of her.
"It's easier than you think, just remember 'First, Inside, Outside, Last', FOIL, and that it makes a monkey face." Julie explained, showing the younger girl exactly what she meant. Marie smiled.
"Oh, I get it. Man my maths teacher has been trying to teach me that for years, one day with you and it finally makes sense. Thanks." Julie Lane smiled, please she had made things clearer. She wandered over to her two other pupils.
"You two are being very quiet. Give me the notes please." She stated, holding her hand out to Mitchie and Caitlyn. The two girls looked up at her with innocent eyes for a few minutes, but when Julie just kept staring at them expectantly their resolve caved and they handed her the small stack of paper which their pile of secret notes created.
"You won't get anything past her." Nate chimed in. "Me, Jase and Shane have tried it all over the years and somehow she could always tell. She has a sixth sense or something." Julie gave Nate a disapproving look and he quickly turned his attention back to biology.
"Sorry miss," Caitlyn said, "I just don't get why I have to learn all this Shakespeare stuff." She indicated to the copy of Hamlet which lay on the desk in front of her. "I want to be a music producer, how is this ever going to come in handy?"
Julie took a seat beside her and picked the book up, turning through a few pages until she found the part she was looking for. She pointed to a section of text.
Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered country from whose bourn,
No traveller returns, puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have,
Than fly to others that we know no of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all
"Tell me Caitlyn, what is Hamlet saying there?" Julie asked.
"He's saying that it's the fear of the unknown that keeps people from killing themselves when life gets too hard. The fact that we don't know what comes after death, which no one returns from, makes us put up with what's going on in life and that makes us cowards." Caitlyn explained, with a few glances at the notes she had been making to be sure she got it right.
"Basically, yes." Julie praised.
"But, I still don't get how that will help me with music production." Caitlyn couldn't see where Miss Lane was going with this.
"Studying this is helping you understand what the meaning behind the words is, despite the odd language right?" Caitlyn nodded, "So isn't that really important in music, understanding the meaning behind the songs you produce, to help them best convey that meaning?"
"I guess," Caitlyn responded." But why Shakespeare? Why can't I just study song lyrics?" Julie laughed
"Because sadly Hamlet is part of your curriculum, and 'Play My Music' isn't." She explained.
"Well it should be" Caitlyn mumbled causing Nate, who had been listening in so he could avoid biology, to smirk.
"Tell you what," Julie addressed the whole group, "work hard today, get your work done, and done well, and in tomorrow's session we can have a music class." Everyone seemed pleased with that compromise and got straight back to work.
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"So you see Dean, we just want to spend some time with the girls, but the label won't let us, which is why we need your help." Shane explained to their bodyguard and good friend who had agreed to join the boys on their bus for this portion of the journey for a private chat. It was the first time since Eric had explained the new rules three days ago that they'd had any chance of privacy.
"I can understand where you're coming from; these new rules are pretty ridiculous." Dean responded.
"So will you help us?" Jason asked hopefully.
"If it means that much to you then I'll see what I can do." The guys exchanged a high five; glad their plan was coming together.
A short while later Shane and Jason were relaxing in their seating area, the TV on in the background, quietly playing the show which stared Nate's ex girlfriend. Jason's phone had been going off every now and again for the last ten minutes.
"Who you texting?" Shane asked from his position on the sofa opposite his older brother.
"Eliza." Jason responded. "She says her bus is very dull without the other three girls."
"Oh yeah, I forgot she wouldn't be studying with them. See this is where these rules are stupid. Eliza is forced to spend loads of the journeys alone whilst Nate has to spend time with the girls while he studies. It's ridiculous." Shane complained, pulling out his own phone to text Mitchie and continue his moaning. This was not how he expected this tour to go. He expected long hours travelling with his girl in his arms. He'd spent the summer turning his act around, yet now he seemed to be trusted even less than before. Jason's phone chimed again, pulling Shane's attention back. "What's she saying now?"
"She's going to write a song since she's got time to waste. I told her she's giving in to their plans and she should let us distract her so we can rebel."
"And you say you don't like her." Shane commented.
They'd all made sure to exchange phone numbers before boarding their buses. If the label weren't going to let them distract each other in person, face to face, then they'd do it in secret, mobile to mobile.
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Eliza had just finished writing the notes for the chorus to her new song, and was trying to work out to lyrics to go with it, when her mobile rang. Certain it would be Jason trying to continue his rebellion, she answered without checking the screen.
"Stop trying to distract me!" Eliza said jokingly down the line.
"Eliza? Sorry we didn't mean to disturb you, we can call back later if it's better?" Eliza's face blushed as she recognised her father's voice.
"Dad, no it's fine, sorry I thought you were someone else."
"That's quite alright, as long as we aren't interrupting?" Eliza informed him that he wasn't. "Your mom's here too, let me just put the phone on speaker." Eliza waited as she heard some typing occur on the phone handset before both her parents' voices rang out.
"There we go" Her dad said before her mom joined in.
"Hi sweetie, how is everything going?" Melissa Austen asked.
"Really great! Three shows down and I'm loving it more and more each day, the fans are absolutely amazing, I'm so glad I get to do this." Eliza wandered across her room, standing by the window and staring out as the countryside passed her by. She could tell this was going to be a long conversation.
"That's great. How's your sister, is she enjoying it too" Her dad questioned.
"Yeah, very much so. She's made a really good friend in Nate's girlfriend Caitlyn; the two of them are inseparable." Eliza explained.
"Is she there at the moment?" he asked.
"No, she's on another bus at the moment with the tour tutor doing her school work. It's only me on this bus currently."
"How were the first shows?" Mrs Austen enquired.
"Amazing. The crowd screamed so loud while I was performing and they sang along to the songs as well, it was so weird." Eliza and her parents fell into a natural conversation slowly, with Eliza letting them know all the details of the tour so far, and her parents updating her with the latest family news.
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"How are you doing?" Julie asked Mitchie who had been working hard for the last half hour after Julie confiscated her phone to stop her constantly texting Shane.
"Nearly finished, I just need to write a conclusion." Mitchie said, glancing up from the history essay she was currently writing. "I really like all this history stuff. If I wasn't a singer, I'd totally want to be a historian."
"Well you've got something to fall back on then." Julie responded encouragingly. "We're stopping at a service station in about ten minutes. If you've finished the essay by then you can go back to your bus if you want." She explained. Mitchie smiled and immediately turned back to her essay.
"Does that count for us too?" Nate asked, still trying to avoid his biology. The other two looked up hopefully.
"No Nate, you are all well aware you have to do one session more than Mitchie a day as you're further from graduating than her." Their groans in response filled the bus. "Stop moaning, after the break we'll move onto a joint subject which is a bit more fun. Now, back to work."
Julie laughed as she saw the sulky look which crossed Nate's face. He could be overly serious sometimes, but force him to so school work and his immature side came rushing out.
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"Miss Austen?" Angela's voice rang through the bus' intercom, interrupting Eliza mid conversation.
"One second mom." Eliza crossed to the intercom, "Yes Angela?" She responded as she pushed the talk button.
"Sorry to interrupt but we're about to make a short stop, do you need anything?" was the driver's response.
"No, I'm fine thanks, I think I'll just stay here." She moved back to the bed and returned to her conversation.
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"Boys we're making a pit stop, anything you want?" Mark called through the speaker system. Shane moved to respond.
"Yeah, we'll get out and have a look around, thanks." He crossed to the stairs, Jason steps ahead of him. They both grabbed their hats and sunglasses, which would act as partial disguises, as the bus pulled to a halt.
"I'm so buying sweets." Jason said as they waited to be allowed off.
"Is that your thing to buy every stop this year?" Shane asked. On each tour they'd been on previously, Jason had an item he would buy at every service station they stopped at. A few years ago it was coffee and after he'd drunk it, he'd kept the cups as souvenirs. Last year he'd bought a chocolate bar each time and made a massive collage out of all the wrappers. This year Shane and Nate had a bet going on what it was going to be.
"No, that would be stupid, tasty, but stupid." Jason said.
"Well what is it this year then?" Jason was about to respond when Dean re-entered the bus, giving them the all clear.
"You'll have to wait and see." Jason said, putting his sunglasses in place and leaving the bus, Shane quickly following behind him.
AN: Another chapter down. What did you all think, quite a short one this time. Reviews would be much appreciated, make this author feel loved ;)