Chapter Six: Sacramento, Here We Come
2 Weeks Later, Wednesday, 1:00 am
Lizzie's POV
We drove for hours. I didn't realize how far Sacramento was. We, Gordo, Miranda, Matt, my parents, and I, left our house at 8:00 pm on Tuesday, it still being light out. It was fun at first; we played car games and sang along with the radio. Then we worked on preparations for our performance. That took a little while.
First, Miranda decided we needed cool band nicknames.
"I all ready have one," argued Gordo.
"Well, you need a new one," she commanded, pulling a notebook and pen out of her bag.
AL: How much more unique do you get than Gordo?
"What kind of names?" I asked Miranda.
She thought for a moment. But just as she was about to say something, Dad piped in from the front seat, "You know, something like Funky Liz or Happenin' G."
Everyone, including Mom, looked at Dad with confusion. Matt patted him slowly on the shoulder, "It's okay Dad. We understand."
The three of us giggled.
AL: And the sad part is, he was being serious.
"Actually Mr. McGuire," said Miranda through laughter. "I was thinking more along the lines of," she paused for a moment then pointed to herself, "Corteza."
Gordo and I looked at each other, than turned away quickly. Things had been a little rocky between us since our phone conversation.
AL: Yea, and the four original Beatles are getting back together.
"Coretza?" Gordo said to Miranda.
She nodded. "Yea," she said. "It's part of my heritage. My ancestors date back to Cortez and the Aztecs."
AL: Sure, Miranda gets an interesting heritage. And I get dairy farmers and can makers.
"Well if you're Corteza," said Gordo smugly. "I'm the King of Norway." When we all turn to him, he just says, "What? That's my favorite joke."
Then it was my turn. Now, my heritage is about as dull as campaign commercial, so I had nothing to work with.
"What about you Lizzie?" Miranda asked me.
AL: Well, I could choose from nothing, nothing, and my personal favorite, nothing!
"Hey!" said Gordo suddenly. "I've got it!" He turned to me. "How about Catwalk? You know, you used to be a model."
AL: Wow, Catwalk! That's awesome!"
"Wow Gordo," I said. "I'm impressed."
We both blushed then. I guess we both remembered that time after the Murder Mystery party when we were "impressed" with each other.
"So it's decided," Miranda said, snapping us back into reality. "We're the Feel-Good Wallflowers: King of Norway, Corteza, and Catwalk."
I smiled. This was going to be so awesome.
But five hours later, I wasn't so excited anymore. I was half asleep with my headphones on, playing music from Jenna F. Gomez's new CD, "This is You. . . Now." Gordo was next to me, completely asleep, his video camera, on Stand-by, slowly slipping from his right hand. I quietly took it from him, turned it off, and put it on the floor of the car. That's when I noticed it:
His leg was brushed up against mine and his right hand had fallen on my knee.
Without thinking, I pushed away his hand and squeezed closer to Miranda on the other side of me, who was asleep against the window, her drool sliding down the glass.
AL: Why do I feel like I'm a Dorito caught in someone's throat?
Trying to get in a comfortable position so I could fall asleep, I could hear Matt snoring in the seats behind me. I felt like Sacramento was millions of miles away. I felt like none of this Battle of the Bands thing was worth it. If I hadn't had been so persistent about forming a band for this stupid thing, I wouldn't be in this situation with Gordo. I mean, if we won, we would be music superstars. Did we really want that? Or had we thought of this only as a good time?
AL: No. A good time would be eating oven-fried chicken with Prince William and Ashton Kutcher and having them fight over me and the last piece of chicken.
I gave a deep sigh, letting myself lean uncomfortably against Miranda's bent over side. A tear slid down my cheek. "What am I going to do?"
"Lizzie?" a soft voice suddenly said as we drove on in the darkness.
At first I thought it was my dad, but he was wearing headphones that connected to the radio, eyes focused on the highway.
"Lizzie," the voice said again, more alive this time.
I turned to look at Gordo, who I had thought was sleeping, but was actually quietly stretching his arms out.
"Gordo?" I whispered into the dark.
~ ~ ~
Gordo's POV
I looked at Lizzie. Her blue eyes radiated even in the dark. I could see that she was crying, which made me want to cry, too.
"Gordo," she repeated, wiping a tear from her cheek. "I thought you were asleep."
I tried to smile. "Nope. Just resting my eyes."
Lizzie smiled, but more tears came to her eyes. Her mascara began to run and she hung her head low.
"What's wrong?" I asked her, putting my hand on her shoulder.
She looked up at me for a split second then looked down again. "I'm just overwhelmed, that's all."
I put my hand under her chin and softly lifted her head. We stared deep into each others eyes. "It's okay." I smiled. "I'm here."
Just then, she smiled and I thought of something really important I had to tell her.
Hey!! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I've been really busy lately. Anyway, I have to correct a mistake or two in my story.
First of all, I mentioned in the third chapter how Lizzie had kissed Gordo during the class picture. THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN YET. Oops! And Miranda didn't go to Mexico yet. But Louis and Tawny did give each other the tapes. And Tawny and Lizzie were talking about the thing being that Friday when it was two weeks from then. That was messed up.
Sorry bout this cliffhanger. I'll update again soon (hopefully).
Keep it Heavenly (and cool) this summer,
(* Goddess4LiFe
2 Weeks Later, Wednesday, 1:00 am
Lizzie's POV
We drove for hours. I didn't realize how far Sacramento was. We, Gordo, Miranda, Matt, my parents, and I, left our house at 8:00 pm on Tuesday, it still being light out. It was fun at first; we played car games and sang along with the radio. Then we worked on preparations for our performance. That took a little while.
First, Miranda decided we needed cool band nicknames.
"I all ready have one," argued Gordo.
"Well, you need a new one," she commanded, pulling a notebook and pen out of her bag.
AL: How much more unique do you get than Gordo?
"What kind of names?" I asked Miranda.
She thought for a moment. But just as she was about to say something, Dad piped in from the front seat, "You know, something like Funky Liz or Happenin' G."
Everyone, including Mom, looked at Dad with confusion. Matt patted him slowly on the shoulder, "It's okay Dad. We understand."
The three of us giggled.
AL: And the sad part is, he was being serious.
"Actually Mr. McGuire," said Miranda through laughter. "I was thinking more along the lines of," she paused for a moment then pointed to herself, "Corteza."
Gordo and I looked at each other, than turned away quickly. Things had been a little rocky between us since our phone conversation.
AL: Yea, and the four original Beatles are getting back together.
"Coretza?" Gordo said to Miranda.
She nodded. "Yea," she said. "It's part of my heritage. My ancestors date back to Cortez and the Aztecs."
AL: Sure, Miranda gets an interesting heritage. And I get dairy farmers and can makers.
"Well if you're Corteza," said Gordo smugly. "I'm the King of Norway." When we all turn to him, he just says, "What? That's my favorite joke."
Then it was my turn. Now, my heritage is about as dull as campaign commercial, so I had nothing to work with.
"What about you Lizzie?" Miranda asked me.
AL: Well, I could choose from nothing, nothing, and my personal favorite, nothing!
"Hey!" said Gordo suddenly. "I've got it!" He turned to me. "How about Catwalk? You know, you used to be a model."
AL: Wow, Catwalk! That's awesome!"
"Wow Gordo," I said. "I'm impressed."
We both blushed then. I guess we both remembered that time after the Murder Mystery party when we were "impressed" with each other.
"So it's decided," Miranda said, snapping us back into reality. "We're the Feel-Good Wallflowers: King of Norway, Corteza, and Catwalk."
I smiled. This was going to be so awesome.
But five hours later, I wasn't so excited anymore. I was half asleep with my headphones on, playing music from Jenna F. Gomez's new CD, "This is You. . . Now." Gordo was next to me, completely asleep, his video camera, on Stand-by, slowly slipping from his right hand. I quietly took it from him, turned it off, and put it on the floor of the car. That's when I noticed it:
His leg was brushed up against mine and his right hand had fallen on my knee.
Without thinking, I pushed away his hand and squeezed closer to Miranda on the other side of me, who was asleep against the window, her drool sliding down the glass.
AL: Why do I feel like I'm a Dorito caught in someone's throat?
Trying to get in a comfortable position so I could fall asleep, I could hear Matt snoring in the seats behind me. I felt like Sacramento was millions of miles away. I felt like none of this Battle of the Bands thing was worth it. If I hadn't had been so persistent about forming a band for this stupid thing, I wouldn't be in this situation with Gordo. I mean, if we won, we would be music superstars. Did we really want that? Or had we thought of this only as a good time?
AL: No. A good time would be eating oven-fried chicken with Prince William and Ashton Kutcher and having them fight over me and the last piece of chicken.
I gave a deep sigh, letting myself lean uncomfortably against Miranda's bent over side. A tear slid down my cheek. "What am I going to do?"
"Lizzie?" a soft voice suddenly said as we drove on in the darkness.
At first I thought it was my dad, but he was wearing headphones that connected to the radio, eyes focused on the highway.
"Lizzie," the voice said again, more alive this time.
I turned to look at Gordo, who I had thought was sleeping, but was actually quietly stretching his arms out.
"Gordo?" I whispered into the dark.
~ ~ ~
Gordo's POV
I looked at Lizzie. Her blue eyes radiated even in the dark. I could see that she was crying, which made me want to cry, too.
"Gordo," she repeated, wiping a tear from her cheek. "I thought you were asleep."
I tried to smile. "Nope. Just resting my eyes."
Lizzie smiled, but more tears came to her eyes. Her mascara began to run and she hung her head low.
"What's wrong?" I asked her, putting my hand on her shoulder.
She looked up at me for a split second then looked down again. "I'm just overwhelmed, that's all."
I put my hand under her chin and softly lifted her head. We stared deep into each others eyes. "It's okay." I smiled. "I'm here."
Just then, she smiled and I thought of something really important I had to tell her.
Hey!! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I've been really busy lately. Anyway, I have to correct a mistake or two in my story.
First of all, I mentioned in the third chapter how Lizzie had kissed Gordo during the class picture. THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN YET. Oops! And Miranda didn't go to Mexico yet. But Louis and Tawny did give each other the tapes. And Tawny and Lizzie were talking about the thing being that Friday when it was two weeks from then. That was messed up.
Sorry bout this cliffhanger. I'll update again soon (hopefully).
Keep it Heavenly (and cool) this summer,
(* Goddess4LiFe