Chapter 7

They finally reached their destination, one of those putt-putt, go-cart, and pizza places.

"Yeah!" shouted Orlando, Billy, and Roni when they realized where the GPS had directed them.

"We get to play putt-putt and go-cart!" Billy shouted.

"Yeah, and pizza!' Roni drooled.

Roni parked the car and they all piled out into the parking lot. The rest of the Fellowship turned up, but they didn't get out. Amy turned to Roni and said, "Hey, this is how it is going to go down. The others and I are going to work on some design problems that we are already facing. You, Orlando, and Billy aren't going to be much help right now, so we opped to let you guys go out tonight and have fun in New Zealand. You know the way home, and the guys are welcome to stay the night if they want." She paused to giggle at the widening grin on Roni's face. "But, you guys should be home before 3 a.m. You still need sleep. Alright, I am leaving, have fun."

Roni nodded and skipped off to tell the guys what was going on.

"Hey Roni, don't you want the cell?" Amy called after her.

Roni turned around. "No, why are you offering me your cell phone when I have my own? Are you afraid that I forgot mine or something, because I didn't. It's right here...or is it in this pocket? No, it's in my purse...no. Alright, found it!" She said, pulling her small flip-style, picture phone out of the pocket of her blue jeans. She waved and turned back towards all the fun.

Amy sighed as she gathered the rest of her things and walked over to the car Elijah was driving.

"Doo-be-doo-be-doop-be-doop" Roni sang as she and the guys went into the go-cart area, preparing to do battle on the track. She got into a blue car, Billy, a red, and Orlando, an orange. The three went around the track a few times, hit a couple of golf balls, had a slice or two of pizza, then sat down on a bench, bored out of their minds.

"Alright," Orlando said, jumping up. "Let's show Roni our idea of New Zealand."

While Roni was having fun, Amy was sitting in the office the two had rented with the rest of the Fellowship, plus a few others, going over charts on the computer she had connected to a big screen T.V. After two hours of work, they had finally fixed the problem.

"So," Elijah said as he leaned back in his chair. "What are the plans for Roni's party tonight?"

Amy shrugged as she turned off the computer. "Whatever you guys want to do with her."

Smiles went around the room.

With mischeif, unknown to Roni, was going on across the city, Billy, Orlando, and Roni were in the heart of it. Billy and Orlando had spent 18 months, at least, in this fair country and were bound and determined to show Veronica as much as possible in as little time as possible. The blur of people and places spun and waved in her eyes as they reeled down another street, turned another corner. She didn't quite realize it, but she was drunker than an Irish skunk on St. Patrick's Day. Billy was the only one who was sober, because they needed to get home somehow, and Roni can't drive drunk...no one can drive drunk. It is against the law, and morals everywhere. Roni didn't want to be one of those people who were selfish and thought about themselves when they were drunk, and driving, and putting innocent people's lives at risk. So Billy decided that he would be the designated driver and let Roni enjoy her 21st. Isn't he great?

So Orlando, Billy and Roni hit all of the hottest clubs in (the city that they are in). They spent a lot of time and money in that small downtown section of the city, and when they were done, Billy led the two drunkards to the car, and, thanks to Amy's preplanning the GPS, made it home safely.

When they got back to the house, they were in for a surprise. The rest of the fellowship was waiting, half of them drunk already, in the common room. Amy was off to the side with the camera just to catch Roni's face when she walked in, and then she was off to bed. (It was 3 in the morning.)

Roni and the guys walked into the room, arms spun around waists and voices rose in bawdy song. "Somebody shouted "MacIntyre"." They were interrupted with a shout of slurred "Surprise!" from the half-drunk Fellowship. Roni stopped dead in her tracks, mouth opened wide in, well, surprise. Orlando clutched his side, laughing, with his face turning red. Billy, who was one step ahead of them, let out a shriek, semblant of the little school-girl who usually shrieked at the sight of Orlando, Elijah, Viggo, Dom, or himself. Isn't he great?

Amy made her way around the house, checking that only the bathroom door was unlocked, pocketed all the keys, and went to her room. With a quiet "Don't do anything stupid." she went to bed, her radio on to drown out the drunks in the other room.

Roni looked around and saw who had gathered there to celebrate this momentous occasion. Billy, and Orli, of course, but Viggo, Elijah and Dominic were there to help her make the best of her one and only twenty-first. She shouted, "Hey everybody!" then started to walk out into the room to hug everyone at least twelve times; for some reason, she had been doing that to complete strangers all night. She didn't get that far though, cause she stumbled and would have fallen if Orlando hadn't have been there to catch her. He caught her, then broke her fall as he stumbled right along with her and fell against the side of the couch. She sat on Orlando's chest for a good three minutes, just laughing her ass off. Then, Billy swept her off his chest and off her feet.

"Come on, love. He is turning maroon. Come help me find the bar. I want to join you."

Elijah, Viggo, Dominic, and a staggering Orlando followed the two into the kitchen, where the bar, a radio, and a deck of cards awaited them. Thanking whatever gods where in the heavens that she knew how to play, Roni shuffled the cards haphazardedly, smiling like the chesire cat while she suggested they play poker...strip poker.