-Award-less-

.200.Short.

"Alright, so, is everyone content with their parts?" I asked the following day at lunch. Glancing at the list again, we seemed to have a good assortment. Except... "Logan, are you sure you'd rather not play more than one event? It's not like you to pass up the spotlight." Dana, beside me, nodded, and Nicole looked at Logan expectedly, as if he was just kidding about only playing one sport.

"I'm fine," he muttered. Travis and Chase exchanged curious glances, 'what is this really about' is what I interpreted from them. Chase and Travis offered their spots, but the more they offered, the more irritated Logan got. "I SAID I WAS FINE, OK?" He shouted, frustrated. Taking the blue school lunch tray, he threw away his trash and stormed off into his dorm.

"What is with him lately?" Dana asked quietly. Her crutches were rested beside the table and she shrugged as she took a bite of her bagel. "He's been really weird lately." Nicole and I shrugged. Kaeli, Sean and Dustin looked like they were just as confused, but Chase and Mike looked like they knew something.

"Spill," I said, looking at Chase. He cocked his head to the side, trying to look innocent, but gave that up quickly. With shifty eyes, both he and Mike leaned into the table. As everyone else leaned in to hear, Chase and Mike looked suspiciously at Dustin, Sean and Kaeli. Being the youngest, I suppose they weren't really a part of our little group.

"We will tell. But the munchkins have to leave first." Mike said, putting his hand out and 'shooing' away Kaeli, who made a face at Chase. Dustin and Sean actually had to pull her away from the table, muttering 'Stupid Travis' as she left. "Ok. Well. Chase will tell you."

"I will?"

"Yes!" I said before he and Mike got into a long and boring argument. Rolling his eyes, I lightly reached over and punched Chase.

"FINE! Ok, well. Mike and I had lost our history essays so we were looking through the desk. There was this official-like note there addressed to 'Mr. Logan Reese.'" Before Chase could continue, I interrupted.

"Wait, you read each other's mail?"

"Well, ya." Chase said, not making a big deal at all. "The other week Mike got an invitation to a modeling camp." As we rolled our eyes, he was joking about the junk mail everyone got. "Anyway, we- I mean - Mike opened it and we read it. It said:

'Dear Mr. Reese,

Due to recent failures in class and lack of kindness and courtesy to others, we have decided that it was best for you to complete at least 50 hours of community service starting on the date of June 23 rd to June 25 th, you are to spend your time at Big Brother, Big Cause center in downtown. If you do not meet these expectations, you must bring each grade up to at least an A or you will be seeing the same teachers next year.

As representative for PCA, we all feel it is best for the school to bring these matters up. This is only punishment for the smaller 'pranks' that you have pulled, do not think we are singling you out. Please contact Dean Rivers with any questions.'

And that was all we could see." Chase concluded. We all stood, open mouthed. That could explain his change of character. The lunch bell woke us from our little state of shock and we all ran inside. Dean Rivers, as kind as he was, let us skip our after lunch class to practice for the competition. That was how much he wanted a trophy for the bare trophy case in the hall.

"We should all split up, so we can practice what we need to," Sean suggested as the trio joined us in the main hall. Nodding, we all decided we could split up into the different dorm rooms and have regular meetings there.

"Well, Zoey and I can practice in my dorm, and Quinn and Chase can start planning for the SciFair. Mike and Dana can listen to endless hours of music, and I'm sure Dean Rivers would let Dustin and Kay practice wiffle-ball in the gym... Glenn isn't going to practice tonight, but Nicole can be in the gym and kick the soccer ball around. Sean can find somewhere to skateboard, and.. Logan won't be 'gracing us with his presence' I presume." Travis joked. Laughing, we all agreed to meet in Travis's dorm after half an hour of practice. As we all scattered, I followed Travis back to his dorm.

"Oh crap..." he muttered as he dug through his jean pockets for his key. Turning a bit red, he knocked on the door. Unlike last time, it took only one knock to get Glenn to open the door. He looked nervous as he let us in and left right behind. I felt a bit bad about how I treated him at the dance, but it wasn't like he had treated me better, right? Who knows, maybe he was nice in the inside...

"Zoey?" Travis called my name and I snapped back into reality. "Are you going to practice or not?" Blinking, I saw he had already set up the game. Jumping on a pad, he was on the other. He changed the settings (He was on Heavy and I was on Standard). Picking a song, we decided to practice 'Heaven' by DJ Sammy first. As the music blared, the song started out simple...

"Great Job! A!" The console shouted as we finished. Travis, again, had received a perfect score of an A, and I had, again, finished with a D. "Wh-wha-what?" The game mocked as it showed I missed a total of 53 arrows. Blushing, it wasn't a good way to start off.

"It's ok Zoey," Travis said as he set up the song again. "We have two weeks to learn this." Nodding, we tried again. Well, I did. Travis sat on his bed and watched, claiming he would find what was wrong. As the 1/8th beats came, I lost my place constantly, my face flushing as I turned to him and saw him smiling back at me.

"Ok, I know the problems," Travis said all of a sudden. Standing up, he took the dance pad next to me and demonstrated my problems. "First, you don't need to stand in the center all of the time. You can stand in a diagonal position like this," He said, showing how he stood on the left and bottom arrows. Nodding, I tried. "Great," he praised. "Next, for the 1/8th beats, relax. You hit them too fast. Just get the beat and in between the beat hit the 1/8 arrows." As he brought up a small clip with 1/8th beats, I got a bit better. "Lastly, you are stiff! Turn while you dance, you are taking it too seriously!" Pulling up another clip, Travis spun around during the freeze arrows and showed me how to alternate feet so it looked more professional.

Looking at the digital clock on Travis's bedside, it was almost time for everyone to meet back here. "One more try," Travis pleaded as he picked the song 'Can't Stop Falling In Love.' It was fast and had a lot of what he was trying to teach me, as well as plenty of times to do fancy moves. Nearing the end, there was a long stretch of freeze arrows. "Spin!" Travis coached. Smiling, I twirled and tried to catch the next arrow. Missing, I ended up falling backwards off the dance pad!

"Whoa," he called as he jumped. Catching me, I was leaning back into his arms. Our eyes met for a second and I felt my self shiver, in a good way. He had really nice, unforgettable blue eyes...

Just then the door flew open. Panicking, Travis lightly pulled me back up to my feet, but not soon enough. "What are you guys doing?" Chase asked as he walked in, an eyebrow raised. My hands flew to my locket (what I did when nervous) and Travis scratched the back of his head, almost casually. Running to turn off the music, he gave a nervous smile.

"Er, nothing." Travis said, shrugging. "What are you doing?"

"The door was open," Chase said with suspicious look on his face. I blushed and Travis and I took seats on opposite sides of the room. "And, I thought we were supposed to meet here." Nodding, I stayed quiet. Though part of me was guilty for warming up to Travis so quick, the other part of me was still melting away.

"Chase! Why did you run away?" Quinn asked as she walked into the room. I saw Chase hold his breath a bit as she neared. "We were just about to test the artificial sulfur paste's effects on human skin. If it doesn't kill him, we have created a paste that can hold together steel, and is light and easy to make. Want to know the ingredients?" She asked excitedly. Travis and I shook our heads and she sighed and crossed her arms. As the door opened again, Sean, Kaeli, Nicole and Dustin all filed in.

Kaeli and Sean had ice packs on their head and Nicole was limping. "What happened to you guys?" I asked.

"Well," Kaeli began as she sat down on the floor. "Dustin and I were practicing wiffle-ball and Dustin hit it. Hard. Right back to the pitcher." Holding her head, she groaned and Dustin's face turned beet red. "The second time he hit it far, hitting Sean in the head as he left a ramp jump." Sean merely nodded as he moved the ice pack.

"And Nicole?" Chase asked, pointing to Nicole who was still limping towards the couch.

"While practicing soccer, I kicked the ball really hard and it bounced off the gym wall and hit me in the shin." Choking a giggle, I knew Nicole wasn't the most talented athlete. As she sat, the door jerked open, causing Nicole to scream. Walking in was a very annoyed looking Dana and Mike.

"What happened to you guys?" Travis asked.

"Well, you try listening to half an hour of country songs and see how you feel," Dana snapped as he lay her crutches against the bed. "And, ooh, fun, tomorrow is Rock, then Jazz." Mike rolled his eyes and Kaeli laughed.

As everyone began talking again about what the tournament would be like, my cell phone rang. Pressing the 'Talk' button, the room went silent and my eyes widened as I listened. Hanging up, I looked in horror to the rest of the group.

"That was Logan. He said he checked the SummerFest site, $100 is only part of the entrance fee. We are $200 short! And, if we don't get the extra $200 in by tomorrow night, we can't compete!"

N/A: Dun dun dun! lol. Well, I hope to get more reviews off this story! Lol. This will be a fairly long story, because I want to focus on their time before the competition and after. I already have a list of twists for the story, so not everything is what it seems... Lol. Review!