Disclaimer:::
I own no one, I just like to play with them from time to time.
"Okay! Can we get a
little less noise in here?." Alex yelled over the large group of Horizon
students that had gathered in the lodge after breakfast. There were kids
everywhere. On the stairs there were the Cliffhangers, and sitting on the
couches were the Ridge Runners. It was as if the entire campus had been crammed
into the tiny room. "Here's how we're going to handle today." He looked over at
Connie and smiled.
"After
Peter is finished with his announcements," Connie started, looking at the
clipboard that she always had attached to her hand. "The Cliffhangers are gonna
report to the vans and everyone else is going to report to the following rooms.
"Ridge Runner, Sun Dog and Tracker girls will head to the Sun Dog's bunk to
start taking showers. The boys of said groups should go to the Ridge Runner's
bunk." She looked over the list once more before turning to Alex. "If I haven't
called your groups name, you'll meet Sophie and Jeff near the gazebo." She took
a step down the stairs and motioned Peter up to the top. "Peter?"
"I
don't think I need to remind you guys that you will be heavily supervised."
Peter started simply, putting an emphasis on the fact that he's said it before.
"But, as you guys have noticed, the lodge looks nowhere near close to being ready
to house the Morp." He heard groans from everywhere in the crowd as many
thought he was going to cancel the dance. "And-" Still more groans from his
audience. "And, I think it's about time to tell you what's going to
happen tonight.
"As
you've heard, you will be getting ready for the Morp in groups; With the
exception of the Cliffhanger's, of course. Then once you guys are ready, you
will be lead back here and put on busses." The noise flared up again as the
entire room started complaining. "Now guys-" Peter couldn't get the large group
of teenagers quiet enough to finish his announcement.
"Hey!"
Auggie shouted from his place on the edge of the balcony. The room quieted down
in little less than a minute. "You guys want to stop talking long enough for
Peter to finish. You might like this one." Auggie waved over to Peter who just
stood there shocked.
"Thank
you Auggie." Peter looked at Alex one more time to try to find the words to
tell the groups the good news. "As I was trying to say, you guys will be lead
out to busses where you'll be taken to the Madison Hotel in Seattle." Shouts
and claps resounded through the lodge as Peter raised a hand to quiet the
group. "Thanks to a donation made by Mr. Wallace, we're able to make a location
change for the Morp."
Alex smiled as his gaze passed Shelby's. The look on her face was unreadable. Either she wanted him dead, or she was thanking him. "Lets get to work guys." Alex clapped his hands and the room erupted with held back excitement. It was an odd site to see one hundred and fifty kids excited about just one dance. As he passed the Cliffhangers on his way down the stairs his hand was caught by Shelby's and he stopped to look at her. "Is there something that I can do for you, Ms. Merrick?" He asked her in a mock serious tone.
"Actually, there is." Shelby used Alex as a brace to help herself up. "I was wondering if you had a date for the Morp already?" She followed him as he moved down the stairs and out onto the porch.
The smile on Alex's face was nothing compared to the joy in his heart. "Not at the moment," he tried to make it look as if her had many offers, but every time he would look into Shelby's eyes his bravado failed him. "Why would it be of any concern of yours?"
Shelby leaned into him and held his deep green eyes in her blue ones. "I just thought you might want to accompany a poor helpless girl to her senior Prom." She laughed brightly as Alex blushed.
"You're anything but helpless." Alex started, knowing all too well that Shelby was testing his attraction to her.
"We can pretend for at least one night, can't we?" Her smile was a cross between secretive and evil, which usually meant that Shelby was hiding something. "I'll see you tonight." She kissed him lightly and grabbed the make-up bag that Kat was handing her. The two girls made their way out to the van labeled GIRLS and climbed in. After buckling her seat belt Shelby watched Kat looking at her for a few seconds before shaking her head. "Anything wrong Kat?" Shelby asked smiling.
"What's up with you and Alex?" She asked in her best Peter voice. "Is he to you what Brittany is to Scott?"
Shelby scooted closer to Kat so Juliet could throw her bag into the back seat and climb in next to it. "Alex is just a friend of mine from back when I wasn't Shelby Merrick." That was the only explanation that she offered, and that was the only thing that Kat accepted.
Juliet, on the other hand couldn't leave it alone. "Alex has got to be more than just a close friend from your past." She said less subtle than Kat. "After all, he flew Kat out here from New York so she could go to the Morp. And hello, if it wasn't for him, we would be staring at the lodge all night instead of dancing in the Grand Ballroom at the Madison Hotel." Shelby looked away from Juliet and the younger girl smiled. "Come on Shell, you can't deny that the guy has it bad for you."
"Who has what for her?" Auggie asked as he climbed into the van behind Shelby.
"No one has anything for me." Shelby said simply. "Now get out of the girls van before our wonderful El Capitan decides that you should be on shuns." She saw Auggie frown as he climbed out and propped one leg on her armrest. "Didn't I tell you to get into your own van?" Shelby asked as Auggie gave Juliet a quick kiss before disappearing into the van parked next to it. Before Juliet had time to say anything Shelby turned and handed her a box out of her duffle bag.
After staring at the small brown box, Juliet decided to open it. Inside was a small silver necklace. The charm was a simple claddagh. Two hands held onto a crowned heart. It was the most exquisite thing that Juliet had ever seen in her life. As Kat strained to see it in the dim light, Shelby tossed a package; similar to the one the Juliet had gotten into her lap. Inside the small box was a silver bracelet and necklace set. A series of letters made up both the bracelet and the necklace. Shelby recited the letters for Kat rather than turning on the overhead light. "CH – Cliffhangers, KC – you're initials, SM – me, JW – Jules, AC – Auggie, DGL – Daisy, EF – Freakin, SB – Scott, JM – Jessica, DR – David, PS – Peter, and SBS – Sophie, then they just start repeating themselves. I was going to send it to you after I bought it, but Alex told me that he would see that you got it." Shelby laughed and pulled out two more boxes. "Everyone gets some thing new for the Morp." She laughed as Peter and Daisy climbed into the van. Peter turned around and did a quick head count. "We're missing Jess." Shelby said as her sister jumped into the back next to Juliet and pulled the door shut behind her.
"Then again," Daisy turned to Peter and smiled as he started the van. "On boy." She commanded softly.
After two and a half hours in one of the small salons in Seattle near the hotel, Shelby and the rest of the Cliffhanger girls climbed into the van. Peter had allowed Shelby to drive while he oversaw the decoration of the Grand Ballroom, so Shelby was determined to make it a long trip. With the aid of Alex's credit card, each girl got full manicures and pedicures, as well as a few new bottles of fingernail polish just in case the color they chose didn't match their gowns exactly. Then Shelby got them all ice cream on the way back to the hotel. When they pulled up the boys were just finishing unloading the truck Jeff brought up with all the decorations.
"Whoa," Auggie said quickly as the girls got out and Shelby began to light a cigarette. "You should be careful. Peter's been running in and out of the building all day." Shelby put the unlit cigarette back into her purse and nodded. "Not a prob."
Ezra came up behind Auggie and smiled at the girls. "And where have you been?" He asked in his best Horizon counselor voice. "You should have been here an hour ago."
"We got held up," Shelby giggled as Scott showed up. "I felt like earning a few extra bucks on Main Street." The look on Ezra's face made all the girls bust out laughing and head inside. "Have you guys already taken out gowns up to the suite?" She asked Scott as nicely as she could manage.
"Yeah," A set of hands wrapped around Shelby's waist and she turned to look directly into David's eyes. "But the diary locks weren't necessary. We weren't going to peek." But Shelby wasn't listening. She was too busy wondering about why Scott was staring at her with that look in his eyes that she used to melt when she saw. "Shell?" David asked her sweetly, his arms shaking her a few times. "Shelby."
She snapped back into reality the second Scott looked away. "I'm just tired." She excused, and her and the rest of the girls headed up the grand staircase to the suite.
"Jessica's gonna take less time to do," Juliet started as she emptied the contents of her duffle bag onto he queen size four poster bed that was in the room that her and Jessica were to share. Make-up and other assorted hair items fell out and covered the bed. "Shelby and I can do her last." She looked out the door and across the large sitting room to Shelby and Daisy's room. Shelby nodded and pulled the contents of her duffle bag out and laid them neatly onto the bed. Shoes, make-up cases and curling irons and blow dryers were set in a certain order to determine what needed to be used. "I think we should start with everyone's hair and just go from there."
"That sounds
reasonable." Shelby pulled out a few butterfly clips and smiled at Kat. "Hit
the shower Cabot." She joked as she lifted one of the smaller hairdryers off of
the bed and pointed it at Kat as if threatening her with it. "And Daze, you're
next."
*****I'm gonna be nice tonight, and only ask for 12 reviews before I start to post the Morp. I also ask that you guys help me come up with meaningful songs to play at the Morp. Just include them in your Review. Thankx
Illusia
