Chapter 9: There Aren't enough Love Songs In The Sky

Before it was time for Zaltana and Cyrus to leave for school, Zaltana said her good byes to Cyrus and his mom and walked back to her house a block away to grab her school bag. Her father was on the couch when she walked in. He wasn't asleep but he wasn't quite awake. She walked over to the couch and sat down next to him. "I'm sorry you had to come back at this point. Why couldn't you stay around long enough to teach me to throw a base ball?" she asked him before standing up to leave for the coal

"Zaltana," he said in his half asleep daze. Zaltana started to leave but stopped at the door.

"I wish it didn't have to be like this." She said walking out the door. Today was a day that she just didn't want to go to class. She grabbed her cell phone out of her bag and pressed memory 3 - Cyrus. She waited for his voice mail to pick up before she said anything.

"Hey Cy, its Zal, I'm ditching school today. I've got some stuff to figure out. Meet me at Pink's for Lunch at noon. Bring Rowen and Duncan. I figure we can ditch the rest of the day together. I have my Cell if you need to call me." She said as she started to walk down to the bus stop. She figured she would do some window shopping or chill in Hollywood for a while. "I'll call you around 11:45. Oh be at Pinks at noon. I'll give you a 15 minuet leeway. But don't press it." She hung up her cell phone to get a text message from Cyrus:

Zal, did we have USH hw?

She just send back a quick no before sitting down at the bus stop. She threw her cell phone into her bag only to hear the ring tone Time After Time (Cindy Lauper melody of course) go off. "Damn it Cy, can't you not call." She dug around to find it and she pulled it out. "Hey Cy."

"Zal, so your ditching today?" Cyrus asked over the phone.

"Yeah, I'll meet you for lunch at Pinks with the new guys." She said as a bus pulled up to the stop. She looked at where it was heading: Hollywood. "This is my bus."

"Where are you going?"

"Don't worry about it. I'll meet you and the guys for lunch." She got on the bus and paid the fair and took a seat near the middle of the bus.

"Zal Where are you going?"

"Don't worry about it. Cy just go to class. I'll be fine." She hung up the cell phone and turned off the volume. She had a second thought and hoped off at the school exit. She needed to drop her backpack off in her locker. She passed the security guards and let them go through her bag before she went off to her locker to drop off her bag in her locker. She kept walking towards the gym. She kept her face down to blend in with the hopeful teen idols and the wanna-bes and the punkers and everyone else in the school. She wishes she could become invisible but that didn't work. She turned a corner and bumped into Vanessa. "Sorry." She didn't look up to see who it was.

"Hey Zaltana. Where you heading?" She said. Zaltana turned to see Vanessa.

"Oh hey Vanessa. What's up?" She said as she started to tie her hair up in a messy bun.

"I haven't seen you around this part of school in the morning before. Are you trying to sneak out or something?" Vanessa asked

Zaltana looked down at her self. "Am I that transparent?" She forced a laugh. "Yeah, I was planning on heading to Hollywood to do some window shopping, but I grabbed my backpack this morning along with my hand bag."

"The way you were walking gave it away."

"You want to come with me?" Vanessa shook her head no. "Was it you or Catty who could disappear into thin air?"

"Its me."

"You want to give me a hand getting out of here? Just get me on the other side of the bushes and you'll be back in time for first period."

"I shouldn't."

"You sure you don't want to come to Hollywood with me? Who knows we might just get a walk on role in a movie. You know like be in the back round of a final cut."

"No go. My moms a fashion designer. She'll know when the shots were taken. I'll see you later, I don't really want to be late."

"Vanessa what time is practice today?"

"4:30 to 6. Be ready, I've got some new drills for us."

"Ok." Zaltana watched Vanessa walk off to class before running across the fields to get off school property. Once she was off campus she set out for the Hollywood shops. She arrived in Hollywood around 8:30. "I've got the whole day just to chill and hang out and figure out what the hell I'm going to do about everything." She thought walking into a CD store. Nothing could be better for her, she was cutting school to go to Hollywood and she would get that new CD she's been thinking about getting. She didn't really have anything to do, so she went and saw a random chick flick. Then she hopped a bus to get Pinks to meet the guys.

On the bus her Sun Amulet started glowing. She looked around trying to figure out who was making it glow but everyone looked normal. She slid the amulet under her shirt so she wouldn't draw attention to herself. She was a teenager out on a bus with a glowing amulet on a school day, she really didn't want to draw anymore attention to her self. She arrived at Pinks right as the guys got there, they had brought the Daughters with them.

"Hey guys." Zaltana cheerfully stated. She was relaxed and care free.

"Hey Zal, how was your shopping?" Vanessa asked as they walked grabbed a seat.

"Ladies, were buying today. Its on the guys." Rowen smiled.

"Rowen, you sure you want to buy for the six of us? We could eat you out off any cash you had." Serena asked.

"He's the one buying, who cares?" Tianna said.

"Yeah Serena I'm sure. Now what do you dolls want." They each told Rowen what they wanted. "Ow, I knew I shouldn't have been so nice." He joked. Cyrus and Duncan followed Rowen up to the counter to order.

"Hey any of you want to come hang out with me for the rest of the day, or at least till we have to head over to Kedem and Maggie's?" Zaltana asked.

"I can't I've got some classes I can't miss." Vanessa said.

"Sure I'll come." Tianna said. "You sure you don't want to come Vanessa? Hang out at some vintage shops?"

"I'm sure." She said. "you guys really should go to class."

"Come on Vanessa, let them have their fun." Catty said playfully punching Vanessa's arm.

"How bout you two?" Zaltana asked Serena and Jimena.

"Next time chica." Jimena said.

"I'll hold you to that." She said as Cyrus, Duncan and Rowen came back with the food.

"What ever she's holding you too, I'm sorry." Cyrus said to Jimena. The group of them talked as they ate their lunch. It was a perfect lunch break.

"So tonight are you guys going to be at Planet Bang? Cause Michael Saratoga and the band and I are playing tonight." Vanessa asked

"Don't you guys play every night?" Cyrus asked. He threw his hot dog holder in the trash.

"Not every night." She looked at her watch. "Come on, we've better get back to school." Tianna and Zaltana said bye to the group of them as their friends walked off back to school.

"So where do you wanna head first." Tianna asked as she practically shoveled her Freedom Fries (French Fires) into her mouth.

"Hummm. There was this classy shop that I saw earlier. It should be fun to check out. You just need a friend or two to go into that shop."

"What kind of shop is it?"

"It's a vintage shop." Zaltana started explaining the shop. It was a little vintage 70's shop, which had records and all this fun stuff in it.