hey all! what's up? chapter 8's up! jeez, that's corny. ignore that.

to everyone who's reviewed: thanks so much!

Peace and Peaches,
            Kristine and Cimmy

disclaimer: The Ducks belong to Disney. Fred and Cecilia belong to Cimmy. Lex, Jeff, Matt, Anna, Anthony, Sammie, and Chris belong to NYgoldfish54.

Oh, and you know what else, something we should have mentioned earlier? In case you didn't guess, Disney World belongs to Disney. All the rides and parks and restaurants are not made up, they're actually in Disney in Florida…at least, according to DisneyWorld.com. Please don't think we made them up and just use them and not give Disney credit… we could get in a shit load of trouble for that, and lawsuits from Disney are really not something we'd like to add to the book we'd be writing in jail. (note the first Ducks movie reference *wink*)

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Chapter 8: Kids at Heart
By NYgoldfish54

Julie's POV

"Are you Connie or Julie or Cecilia?" a blond haired girl says to me, sitting down in the chair next to me. The chair was empty now because Ken was pulled out by Connie. I'm just finishing up myself.

"I'm Julie. The really small one who looks rather miserable is Cecilia. The dark haired one that looks like she's on a permanent sugar high is Connie," I say smiling at her.

She laughs and says, "Hi Julie. I'm Sammie."

"Hey Sammie," I say, shaking her hand.

"I'm trying my best to be really friendly. Lex and Jeff talk very highly of all of you. They really like you all."

"Really?" I ask, and to my surprise, I'm smiling. I guess I figured Lex and Jeff liked us otherwise we wouldn't be here, but it's different when you hear it from other people.

"Yeah, they really do."

"They talk about you all the time," I tell Sammie. That's the truth. Lex and Jeff are always talking about kids from back home, especially the ones that are here with us.

"Here's your orange, Julie," Luis says, tossing me the fruit I'd asked for a few minutes ago.

"Thanks," I say, catching it.

He offered to get it for me because I couldn't find one on the table they set out. They were all taken by the time I got there, and I have an orange every morning. Luis noticed, and offered to find me one. He's sweet like that. He's a flirt and all, but we're friends, and he's really good to his friends.

"Yeah, that blond boy, Adam, mentioned they talk about us a lot," Sammie says to me.

"Wow, Adam talked to a girl that wasn't me, Lex, Cee, or Connie? Incredible," I say, and Sammie laughed.

"Actually he was talking to Chris, but I happened to overhear. I sat down to join them, and Adam just about ran away," she says, and we both burst out laughing. "Your friends seem really wonderful," she says, when the laughter dies away.

"They are, at least, most of the time. We're a good team. Your friends seem great too, except…why were you guys beating up Fred?"

"Well, if you walked into your room and you didn't know Matt, and it was just some strange guy sleeping on your bed, what would you do?" Sammie asks me.

"Yeah, I think I see your point," I answer.

"We grew up in New York, and while it's a good place, if you find someone you don't know asleep on your bed, you don't just let him stay," Sammie says. "Anyway, Anthony tried to apologize again, before, but Fred didn't really seem interested."

"Oh, don't worry about that, Fred's always a bit distracted."

"Ok," she says, smiling. "Well, I'd better go introduce myself to some other people. Nice to meet you, Julie."

"Nice to meet you, too, Sammie," I say and she turns to go. Then she stops and turns back. She sits back down.

"Are you going to the parks later?" she asks me.

"Yeah, of course. Why? Aren't you?"

"That's great! I am too, and I was just thinking, maybe we could go on Space Mountain together. It'd be fun."

"Yeah, it would be, let's do it," I say, finishing my orange.

"Now I better go talk to somebody else before we go, see ya later Julie!"

"Bye Sammie," I say.

Well, now I have someone to ride Space Mountain with. I feel just like a first grade kid who's got a buddy for a field trip. Hmmm…isn't that interesting? I think I've just made a friend.

***

Averman's POV

I can't believe it! I'm going to go on the Dumbo ride! YES! I've wanted to do that since I was seven!

We're almost at the park, and while almost everyone seems excited, Connie is definitely the most ecstatic. She's talking a mile a minute to Guy, who's just sitting there, smiling, and looking rather cheerful. Guy had better watch Connie carefully when they get to the park. She might hyperventilate.

When we finally get to the park, she barrels over Portman, Charlie, and Banksie (no small feat) and hops off the bus.

"Whoa Connie!" says Fulton, grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her back so she doesn't run straight through the gates. Julie catches my eye and we both turn away, grinning.

Finally, we're in the park! I'm going to go on the Dumbo ride!

"Wow this place is huge!" declares Portman at the top of his lungs.

"Well, what did you expect?" Fulton asks with an amused look on his face.

That reminds me. Those two have been in a right state lately. Sometimes they're mad at each other, other times they're happy as could be, and all the time they're throwing each other strange looks. It's the same way Connie and Guy act most of the time. If I didn't know better, I'd say the Bash Brothers were having lovers' quarrels. But that can't be. The Bash Brothers are all big and tough and manly. They can't walk the other side of the line. Could they? I guess they could…but why wouldn't they tell us? I mean, we're their best friends. We wouldn't care…at least, I wouldn't. But I really don't think the others would either.

"LOOK, AVERMAN!" says Russ in mock excitement, bringing me out of my thoughts of how manly the Bash Brothers are compared to the transvestites they show on NYPD Blue, "THE DUMBO RIDE!"

"We're going on the Dumbo ride, Guy," Connie says. Guy looks genuinely horrified.

"Connie, are you sure? I mean, it's for 8 year olds…" he trails off. Way to go Guy! Ruin her happiness! However, Connie doesn't seem upset at all.

"Come on, Guy, I've been waiting my whole life to come here. Come with me, please?" she says in her best I'll-love-you-forever voice.

Guy looks back and forth to Charlie then to Adam then to Jeff for help. When none of them say anything and Jeff turns away laughing, Guy says, "Alright, I'll go with you on the Dumbo ride, Connie."

"Great!" she exclaims. Grabbing his arm, she practically drags him away to go stand on the line.

"Don't say I never loved you," we hear Guy saying to Connie as the rest of us look around.

"Well, I'm going on the Dumbo ride too. I've wanted to go since I was seven, and I'm not passing it up now that I have the chance," I announce. Everybody just stares at me. "Who wants to come with me?" I ask. Everyone continues to stare at me.

Julie steps forward, and looks at the rest of the Ducks. "Are you all really that embarrassed that you won't go with your friend on a ride for 8 year olds in a place with people we'll never see again?" she asks, her voice full of disbelief.

"Yes," says Goldberg, in a very matter-of-fact tone. Thanks a lot Goldie! I'm finding a new best friend now!

 Julie rolls her eyes. "I'll go with you, Averman," she says.

Charlie considers, then says, "Yeah, I guess I'll come too."

Lex looks around. "I'll ride with you, Charlie," she decides. Fred looks mildly disappointed.

"And us," said Fulton, grabbing Portman by the sleeve of his t-shirt.

"What?" asks Portman in disbelief.

"Oh shut-up and come on," Fulton says, yanking him toward the line.

"What the hell?" says Goldberg. "The Cat Lady's right, we'll never see any of these people again…"

So we all ended up on line for the Dumbo ride, 15 Ducks and 7 band members. All in all, 21 teenagers, on the line for the Dumbo ride. Sort of pathetic, yeah, but what can I say? We're all kids at heart.

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crazy4nc128: glad you like it. Connie is a bit nutty, isn't she? hmm…she's a kid a heart.