Author's Note: I apologize for the long delay. I try to have multiple chapters written before I post to the site. Since I've written so much since my last update, I'm also going to post the next chapter today as well.
"Come on, girls! You don't want to be late!" Mr. Sertori yelled into the house. Leaning against the jam-packed car, he pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers. The day had just begun, and already he could tell it would be a very long one. It started out with him having to single-handedly wake the entire house up, make everyone breakfast, send Kim off to school, and lug all of Cleo's bags down the stairs and into the car. He didn't think he could be any more tired, but that changed when Emma's family's car pulled up next to him and he got a look at Mr. Gilbert. From the bags under the man's eyes and his normally well-kept hair standing up in odd places, Emma was giving the man as much of a run as Cleo was giving him.
Neil stopped the car and got out, he and Don sharing a look as he too leaned against the Sertori's car.
"Fun morning?" Don asked, and Neil merely looked at him and scoffed.
"5:30 in the morning, she wanted to get up. 5:30…" Neil mumbled, inhaling the morning air, thankful for the first moment of peace he'd had since he went to sleep last night.
Don scoffed. "At least Emma was awake. It took me ages just to get Cleo and the rest of the family out of bed. I've basically been working alone here."
"Well, at least the hard part is finished." Neil patted Don on the back and they shared an exhausted grin before leaning against the car once again, enjoying the last few precious minutes of rest they had before it was time to head out.
/ - / - / - / - / - / - /
"Ok, so have we got everything?" Emma asked as she and Cleo sat in Cleo's now-barren bedroom.
"I think so." Cleo replied, her eyes gliding around every inch of her room. She couldn't believe how different it looked. Looking around, the reality of the day was finally hitting her.
"We're really doing this, aren't we?" She looked toward Emma, and the blond nodded solemnly, knowing exactly what Cleo was asking.
"Yes, we are. I can't believe it, either. We've spent so many hours in this room. I'm really going to miss it."
Cleo could feel tears well in her eyes, but tried her best to push them back. There was no need to cry. This was a happy day for her and her friends and the start of new adventures for them. And although she knew she would miss the security of always being home, gaining a new sense of independence by going away to school was something she was looking forward to.
"Well," Cleo wiped at her eyes and stood, "we will just have to make new memories once we get to school."
Walking around, she picked up a notepad Emma had brought over. Being the more organized of the group, she made a series of checklists not only for herself, but for Cleo and Rikki as well to make sure they did not forget one single detail before officially heading off. Planning on rechecking the list one last time, they were interrupted by Cleo's door opening.
"Girls?" Cleo and Emma looked up to see Bev and Sam walking into Cleo's room. Bev walked toward Cleo and wrapped an arm around her while surveying the now fairly empty space of her daughter's bedroom.
"Come on, get a move on. Rikki has just arrived and we should be going. Do you both have everything in order?"
Both girls nodded and, with one last look, left the room and headed downstairs. Reaching the bottom, they saw Terry Chadwick sitting on the couch while Rikki was standing in the kitchen drinking a glass of water.
"There you guys are." Rikki said, smiling brightly as she saw her two best friends. "Are we ready to go?"
Cleo and Emma smiled back and walked toward her.
"Yeah, we're all set. You seem really excited for it to be 9:00 in the morning." Cleo teased before she and Emma offered a greeting to Rikki's father.
"Oh, I'm better than excited. I heard back from financial aid an hour ago. Turns out everything is in order and I have enough money for the entire year."
Cleo's eyes lit up and she offered Rikki a huge smile.
"That's wonderful, Rikki! I'm so happy for you."
"Not nearly as happy as we are." Terry stood and put an arm around Rikki's shoulders, giving them a tight squeeze. "Can't even believe it. My little Rikki, off to university…"
"Alright, dad. No need for all the warm fuzzies. We've got to be going now." She said sternly, but with a smile.
Emma and Cleo looked on, truly happy that everything worked out. Emma didn't know if Zane had anything to do with it or not, but if he did, she had to commend him on a job well done. This was something that even Rikki could not be angry at if Zane did happen to have a hand in it. As tempted as she was to text him to see, she suppressed the urge. She'd do it after the three of them settled down in their room.
Don, Neil, and Lisa walked in just then, and everyone turned to face them. After Rikki and Terry showed up, the two men had the pleasure of attaching Rikki's bags to the hood of the Gilbert's car, under the supervision of Lisa. Terry had wanted to help, but after hearing about Don and Neil's morning, he figured sitting inside and making sure Rikki and the girls were ready would be helpful enough.
"Alright, everything has been packed, and the gas tanks are completely full. Looks like we're ready to go."
"Hey, where's Lewis?" Rikki asked, shooting Cleo a confused look. "I thought for sure he'd be here."
"He really wishes he could be here, but he's already at the school. His professor needed his help on a project, so he moved in a few hours ago to beat the rush."
"Smart move." Neil whispered under his breath, causing Don and Terry to hold in their grins.
Rikki, having not noticed the comment, nodded at Cleo's explanation.
"So, we'll be riding with you then, Neil?" Terry asked, and Neil nodded. Considering the only reliable mode of transportation for the Chadwick's was Terry's bike, Rikki and her dad took a cab to the Sertori's in order to carpool. As much as Terry hated showing any type of weakness or reliance on others, they had no other choice. The phone call from financial aid that morning put him in such high spirits that he couldn't really be upset about anything that day.
"And I'll have Sam, Cleo, and Bev in my car." He looked at his watch. "What time do you need to be there, Cleo?"
"At 10 o'clock."
"Alright, we should get there in plenty of time. So let's get a move on."
Walking out of the house, everyone got into their respective cars and waited for Don to finish locking the doors before heading off.
That's it for this chapter. Next chapter will be posted in the next 10 minutes. Please leave a review if you have time.
