a/n-everyone--i am sooo sorry about not updating sooner. i hate when ppl dont update, and i def. kno what its like to be kept waiting. so i kno, im a bitch, i shud have had this up earlier. im sorry. most of the week i had too much hw to write it, and then when i finally wrote it and wanted to post it, my internet was out. and then today after school the power was out cuz it snowed and someone got into an accident or something. i kno u prolly hate these excuses, and i kno it doesnt help at all, but here u go. and again im soo sorry, dont hate me too much.

Chapter 16: Phase 1

So there I was again. Back in detention, alone for 45 minutes. The teacher was gone, no one else had detention, and I was left to an annoyingly silent room with all my homework done already. I tapped on the desk anxiously waiting for 3:00 to come around. Lilly was going out with Zack that afternoon. What did she see in Zack anyway? What did she say about him? I tried to think of what she had told me that morning on why he was so awesome.

"We're not that great in school." Hey, neither am I, so we have that in common. What else did she say? I thought hard. "We both love to have fun" Obviously I loved to have fun too. The last things she said were "He's funny and tells great jokes, he hates to read, his favorite color's red, and he loves Hannah Montana." She might as well just go out with me! What does Zack have that I don't? I'm everything he is, right?

Wrong. She said he skateboards. Lilly tried to teach me how to skateboard once in elementary school, and I failed miserably. I thought for a moment. "I can teach myself to skateboard!" I said aloud. Then I looked around, embarrassed, to see if anyone was around to hear me. Good thing there wasn't. In the time that passed, I came up with a plan.

I would go home, teach myself to skateboard, and then I would get my dad to let me off the hook (he is pretty lenient like that). Then I would find Lilly and impress her with my amazing skateboarding skills. That's the only thing Zack can do that I can't. She'll drop Zack and come to me. Sounds like a plan to me. Yeah, in my dreams. But, it's worth a shot.

I took out my cell phone and dialed Miley's number. "Miles!" I yelled immediately. "Are you with Lilly?"

"Yeah you want-"

"No, don't tell her I'm on the phone with you. Tell her it's your dad or something. Listen I need you to do me a favor."

"What is it?"

"You guys are on your way to meet Zack and Cody right?"

"Yeah…"

"How long will you guys be there for?"

"I don't know. I won't be there for long because Jake wants me to have dinner at his house, so he's picking me up at the beach."

"Oh, well is Cody gonna be there?"

"Well, I would think he'd go home a little earlier than Zack so he wouldn't be the third wheel, ya know?"

"So…you're just leaving Lil alone with…Zack?" I asked, saying his name like it was a curse.

"Whoa, calm down Ol-I mean Dad. Why do you care so much anyway?" she asked, and by this time I knew she was smiling.

"Shut-up. Call me when you leave." I ordered.

She laughed. "Fine, bye Daddy!" she said and hung up.

Ok, the plan was being put in to action. Once Miley called, that would mean she had left, which would mean Cody would be leaving soon. So by the time I get to the beach, it will just be Zack and Lilly. I can call over Lilly-no! Better yet, I can skateboard over to her. Wait, I can't skateboard on the sand. You know what, I'll just improvise once I get there.

Finally the 3:00 bell rang and I sprinted out of the school and onto the late bus. It stopped at my house and I ran off, throwing my backpack in the house and darting into the garage to get my skateboard. Actually, it was one of Lilly's old skateboards, but she gave it to me incase I ever wanted to learn.

I went in the driveway and put on my helmet, but didn't bother with elbow pads or knee pads. But once I got on, I could barely stand on the skateboard without losing my balance. How the hell did Lilly do this?

"Oliver?" my dad called from inside the garage. "What are you doing?"

"Skateboarding," I said matter-of-factly.

"Well…since when do you skateboard?"

"Dad, do I have to be grounded?" I asked, ignoring his question. "I mean, I have detention all this week. And that's worse than being grounded, 'cause I can't talk at all and I'm sitting alone in silence for 45 minutes. You know?"

"I see…Well…what do you need to do instead of being grounded?"

"Dad, just please. Tonight I can't be grounded."

"You'll only be ungrounded if you tell me what's so important to do tonight."

"I have to go to the beach!" I snapped, frustrated at my failed attempts to skateboard.

"I see…so why skateboarding?"

"Maybe I just wanna learn to skateboard. Something wrong with that?"

"You know, I saw Miley and Lilly walking towards the beach on my way home from work. What's going on down there?"

"Nothing, Dad. So am I ungrounded?"

"Are you trying to impress Lilly by skateboarding?"

"What!" I yelled, falling off the skateboard and landing on my elbows.

"I'll take that as a yes." My dad laughed. "You're ungrounded…for now."

"Thank-you!" I said, getting back on the board. Phase 1: Complete.