A/N: I love all my readers and reviewers! You guys make my day so bright. Thank you for all your reviews and favorites - they make me feel special. Enjoy this chapter!
They stopped for the night at a nondescript motel somewhere in Louisiana. The motel was fairly deserted, and one feature drew the kids' eyes immediately –
"There's a pool!" Cat squealed.
"Oh, we are so going swimming," Robbie said.
"Yeah!" Tori agreed.
While Kent parked the RV and Annie unpacked everything they'd need for the night, the kids scrambled into their bathing suits in the motel rooms' beige and ecru bathrooms.
Annie came to the door connecting the rooms. "Evie, you know you can't…"
"Mom, I've had a central line before," Evie said, her legs crossed as she sat on the motel bed flipping channels. "No swimming."
"Well, I suppose you could look at it that way," Annie said.
"How else can I look at it? Even if we plastic-wrapped it to my chest like we do sometimes, there's still the tube going directly into my lungs."
There was a knock at the door. "Mrs. West, I've found it," Beck called from the hallway.
Jade hurried over to let him in. Her boyfriend was standing there clutching a bright pink pool float. "What do you think?" he asked.
"It's not really your color," Jade replied, shrugging, "but you usually do whatever you want."
"That should do," Annie said. "You think you could bear laying on that for a while, Evie-kins?"
Evie smiled at Beck. "You really are a prince among men."
"I won't let anyone splash you," Beck promised, giving her a winsome smile.
"Well, okay," Evie said.
In fifteen minutes the group met on the deck of the indoor pool. There were a few other guests, but they were on the far end of the pool, crowded into the hot tub.
"It's perfect," Tori said. "What a great pool."
Evie waded down the steps. "And the water's great!"
"And there's a deep end!" Andre said, pointing. "Robbie, we can do our famous wacky jump contests!"
"Ooh, I love those!" Cat said.
"Here, Evie, sit down," Beck said, putting the chair-shaped float onto the pool deck. "Then we'll lift you into the water."
He motioned to Andre and Robbie, and they came over. Evie tugged at the top of her purple tank suit. "This is really uncomfortable," she said to Jade, pressing on her speaking valve. "The line wrap makes my chest itch. Ugh."
She sighed and positioned herself on the float. "Okay, I'm ready, I guess."
"On three," Beck said, and he counted. The boys lifted the float carefully off the deck and waded down the steps with it, setting Evie afloat as gently as they could.
"Here's the suction," Tori said, setting down the gray bag at the pool side.
"Thanks," Jade said. "How is it, Evie?"
"Delightful," Evie said, and she dipped her feet in the water. "I feel like a princess."
With a whoop, Andre set off for the deep end. "Robbie! How about a triple-time backwards Pasquale?"
"You know I can't do that one!" Robbie protested. "Last time I pulled my thigh muscle!"
"You're such a baby," Cat said, giggling. "I can do it, Andre!"
And so began the wacky jump contest. Cat kept up with Andre, and Robbie tried his best. Tori egged them on from the sidelines, laughing when Cat and Andre splashed her with their jumps.
Jade and Beck floated with Evie in their sights, making sure the pool float princess didn't drift too far from the suction machine.
"What are you thinking about, Evie?" Jade asked.
"Oh, just stuff," Evie said.
"Anything you'd like to share with the class?" Beck wanted to know.
"Just stuff," Evie repeated. "You know, when I have my new lungs, I won't have to sit on a pool float. I'll be able to go underwater. And do a triple-time backwards Pasquale, whatever that is."
"We'll hold you to that," Beck said.
"Maybe I'll just become a mermaid," Evie said.
"I've heard that's not a career path with a lot of advancement opportunities," Jade said.
"You're such a cynic," Beck said, and gave her a kiss.
Evie trailed her hands over the sides of the float. "Feels good."
"Okay, okay," Robbie said from the side of the pool. "Who's ready to see something really awesome?"
"What's Andre going to do now?" Cat asked, looking up at him with big innocent eyes.
"No, no, it's my secret weapon," Robbie said. "Something I don't think Andre could even attempt."
"Robbie, no one cares that you can do the Numa Numa dance," Tori said.
"That guy's hilarious!" Cat said.
"Prepare yourselves," Robbie said, "to be astonished. This is a top-secret jump known only to the Israeli diving team."
"Why'd they tell you about it?" Andre asked.
"I… saved their captain's life," Robbie replied.
"I'm sensing a lot of holes in this story," Tori said.
"Just jump, Robbie!" Jade yelled from across the pool.
Robbie slicked his hands through his wet curls, and then took a deep breath as he threw his arms out into jazz hands, flailing wildly.
"Oh, man," Tori said.
Still jazz handing, Robbie twirled in a circle, bringing his knees up as high as he could. As he spun he chanted loudly, raising his voice to the glass ceiling of the pool. He spun faster and faster and then, with a sideways glance, he leapt, still spinning, into the pool.
"Wow," Andre said.
"Wow," Cat agreed.
"Um, guys? Robbie's not coming up…" Tori said.
She and Andre immediately sucked in deep breaths and dove under the water.
"Nobody's dying on this trip! Watch Evie," Jade said to Beck.
"He doesn't need to watch me!" Evie protested shrilly as Jade swam away.
Andre stuck his head up, gasping for air. "I think he hit his head on the floor!" he wheezed to Jade.
"Robbie, you goon," Jade muttered, and she and Andre took in more air and slipped underwater.
Sure enough, there was Robbie, looking as unconscious as he ever did. Tori was struggling to pull him upright.
Jade grabbed Robbie's right arm and Andre grabbed Robbie's left arm and Tori threw her arms around his waist, and together they reached the surface. Robbie bobbed between them.
"How is he?" Beck called from the other side of the pool.
"He's a moron, but I'm pretty sure that was something that happened before he did the Israeli magic dive," Jade said, wiping wet hair out of her face.
"Robbie!" Cat cried, and patted the boy's cheeks as Andre and Jade dragged him into the shallow end.
"I think he's just stunned," Tori said.
"It was a pretty stunning jump," Andre said.
They managed to get Robbie to the steps, and Beck helped Andre prop him up. By that time Robbie's eyelids were flickering. "Hunh," he said faintly.
"Robbie, if you ever try anything like that again, we're just going to let you drown," Jade said.
"Jade!" Cat said.
"I won't try anything like that again," Robbie promised. A bruise was already spreading on his temple, in stark contrast to his pale, damp face.
"Good," Beck said. "That's probably a good life decision."
After a moment Robbie seemed to come back to himself a bit. "I guess the wacky jump competition is over," he said.
"You effectively ended it," Tori agreed.
"Where's Evie?" he asked.
"Where's who… oh, shit!" Jade turned around to see Evie's float bobbing towards the deep end. "Evie!"
"I'm okay!" Evie yelled back. "I'm just fine!"
"I think she's trying to escape," Cat said, giggling.
Jade rolled her eyes. "Come on, superman," she said to Beck. "Let's go rescue the princess."
After dinner in the motel's café, Annie and Kent went back to their room. "Don't stay up too late," Annie said to the kids. "We've got a full day of driving ahead of us."
"Sure thing, Mom," Jade said, and leaned away from Annie's kiss.
"I'm still your mother," Annie said, grabbed her head, and kissed her firmly.
"You can kiss me," Evie said sweetly.
Annie reached around Evie's tubes and wires and kissed her younger daughter on the cheek. "Good night, my loves."
The kids waited until the West parents had left the café, and then they strolled out into the motel's lobby. A bored-looking man was behind the counter, reading a book.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Andre asked the group in general.
"That kittens would look adorable in pirate costumes?" Cat replied.
"Definitely not thinking that," Andre said.
"Were you thinking 'jam session'?" Robbie asked.
"I sure was," Andre said.
"Didn't you get enough of the star feeling at Disney?" Beck asked.
"Oh, come on, you love performing too," Andre said.
"I've got my guitar and my harmonica in the room," Robbie offered.
"I have my ukulele," Cat said.
"You play the ukulele?" Jade said, a bit astonished.
"Yeah," Cat said, nodding. "My uncle and uncle taught me."
"Oh," Jade said.
"Is that weird?"
"No, it's just never been established."
"And there's a piano over there," Tori said, pointing to the corner of the lobby.
"Perfect!" Andre said. "Go get your guitar."
"And I'll get my ukulele!"
"Sure thing, Little Red."
While Cat and Robbie hurried back to their respective rooms, Jade wheeled Evie over to the piano. Tori pulled some chairs closer to the piano, arranging them in a circle.
Cat returned first, carrying a ukulele case and a bright red backpack. "Here!" she said to Jade, presenting her with the backpack. "Assorted percussion instruments!"
"You travel with assorted percussion instruments?" Tori asked as Jade unzipped the backpack to reveal shaker eggs, rhythm sticks, two tambourines, a tiny xylophone, a small pair of cymbals, a strangely authentic-looking gong, a pair of castanets, two yellow maracas, and a cowbell.
"You never know when a flash mob might break out," Cat said with a shrug. She sat down on one of the chairs and started tuning her ukulele.
"It's an embarrassment of riches," Jade said.
"Can I play the xylophone?" Evie asked.
"Sure," Jade said, pulling it out. "Tori, what strikes your fancy?"
"Oh, I could go for a tambourine," Tori said. "Unless we play something that's not tambourine-friendly."
Robbie reappeared with his guitar and harmonica. "Let's get this going!" he enthused. "Cat, is that your emergency percussion kit?"
"Yeah!" Cat said with a grin.
Aware of the odd looks, Robbie said, "Um, during the last fire drill at school Cat had the kit with her."
"It was the best fire drill ever!" Cat said.
Andre took a seat at the piano and stretched his fingers over the keys. "What should we play first?"
"Ooh, let's play 'The Presidents Rap,'" Cat suggested.
"I've got a better idea," Andre said. "We all know 'Hey Julie,' right?"
"You know we do," Tori said. "We sang it at the last Tuesday Treble-Off."
"It's perfect," Beck said. "Perfect for a variety of emergency percussion, and even the ukulele fits in well too."
"Yay!" Cat cried.
"Even I know that one," Evie said. She took up the little xylophone mallet, propping the xylophone on her lap.
Andre counted softly and played an intro. Robbie came in with his guitar and harmonica; Cat picked up the melody with the ukulele; Evie plinked away at the xylophone; Tori shook the tambourine and tapped it against her hand in rhythm. Jade, who had picked up the maracas, began shaking in a Latin rhythm, while next to her, Beck created a soft backbeat with the shaker egg.
And when the intro was over, their voices joined as one, startling both the night manager and the man at the far end of the lobby refilling the Pepsi machine.
"Working all day for a mean little man / with a clip-on tie and a rub-on tan / he's got me running 'round the office / like a dog around a track…"
Under the full Louisiana moon, with the scent of a chlorinated pool wafting towards them, the circle of Hollywood Arts students sang on, to the exclusion of all outsiders. It seemed like a celebration, but then again it could have simply been a good excuse for emergency percussion and harmonica solos.
"Hours on the phone making pointless calls / I got a desk full of papers that mean nothing at all / sometimes I catch myself staring into space / counting down the hours 'til I get to see your face…"
The Pepsi refill man swayed to the beat as he packed cans of Pepsi into the machine and the grumpy-looking night manager tapped his foot as he turned a page in his accounting textbook.
And Evie's ventilator breathed for her, and Robbie lost his fingering on the guitar and whacked himself in the face with the harmonica brace as he looked for it. Cat stared off into space dreamily as she strummed her ukulele. Tori perched on the piano bench next to Andre and smiled at him as he played. Beck and Jade got silly with their percussion instruments, competing to see who could play faster but still in time.
It wasn't Disney World, not even close, but it was light and laughter and rhythm, and while it wasn't filled with the same magic as Hogwarts, it had the same effect – bringing seven people and one puppet a little closer together, putting a buffer between them and whatever was waiting for them back in the "real" world.
