Yay! Day 1 in Vegas!
CHAPTER 5 -DAY 1-
Tori's POV
I yawned while I waited in the lobby of the hotel with my friends. Cat didn't go to bed until 4 a.m. because she was so excited to use the pool. I warned her not to drown while I tried to go to sleep, but of course, her loud splashing and giggles kept me up the entire night.
Sikowitz had gone back up to the rooms because Beck and Jade weren't down yet, and he seemed surprisingly paranoid about it. André and Robbie discussed some sort of bowling tactics, and I was very glad to see that Robbie had left Rex upstairs, claiming that the puppet wanted to sleep in. Cat was still full of energy and was bouncing around even though she only got about four hours of sleep.
"Hey, look, there they are!" Robbie said suddenly.
I turned around and saw Sikowitz guiding Beck and Jade towards us, both looking like they had just woke up.
"Why do we have to be up so early?" Jade whined.
"Because if you want to have a look around Vegas, then you have to do it now. We're going to the news casting station right after lunch, and who knows how long we'll be there," Sikowitz explained. "Let's eat so we can go shopping."
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The breakfast buffet was very delicious, and Jade was too sleepy to be mean to me. When we were finished, we went back to our rooms and got our purses and stuff (well, the guys got their backpacks and Robbie had a 'murse') and we went out onto the streets, where it was already quite warm.
"Where do you guys want to go first?" Sikowitz asked, pulling a map out of his pocket.
"Can we just walk around?" André asked, "If we see something we like, then we can go there."
Everyone agreed, and we were off, walking down the bustling streets of Las Vegas. The first thing we saw that perked our interest was a discount jewelry store that both Cat and Rex wanted to go into.
"I gotta buy something for my Northridge girls!" Rex exclaimed when we all gave him a weird stare.
"All right, but don't take too long," Sikowitz said resignedly.
Robbie and Rex went into the store, not looking embarrassed in the least. Cat went in too, and she had somehow managed to drag Jade in with her. Beck, André, Sikowitz and I waited outside.
In about fifteen minutes all four of them came out. Robbie held a small paper bag with the store's name on it, and Cat had a nice new necklace around her neck. She kept pulling at Jade's hand, who was giving her no reaction and looking grumpy.
"What did you get?" Beck asked Robbie curiously, a mischievous grin on his face as we started walking again.
"Got a couple of bracelets for my girls," Rex informed him.
"And what did you get, Cat?" I asked the little redhead.
"I got this necklace," she said, pointing to the little pendent on the end of the silver chain around her neck, which was in the shape of a heart. "And I got Jade a matching one, but she doesn't want to wear it." She put on a pouty look.
"Why not, Jade?" I turned to my frenemy. "Your best friend bought it for you."
Jade shot me a death glare but said nothing. I continued to pester her until she finally said, "Fine! Just shut up, Vega, okay? I'll put the stupid thing on." Cat handed her the matching necklace and Jade quickly put in on, tucking it behind her shirt.
"Yay, Jade! Now we match!" Cat wrapped her arms around her best friend. Jade rolled her eyes, but she didn't seem to mind.
We walked around for an hour or so, coming across the wackiest stores I've ever seen. There was one that sold just products of bacon, like bacon-flavored gum, bacon-scented soap, and bacon candy. There was also a supposed haunted house that gave free tours every hour, and of course Jade wanted to go in, so Sikowitz let her. Jade brought Cat and Beck with her, because everyone else chickened out, but Cat looked absolutely traumatized when they were done while Jade looked like she'd had the time of her life.
And then we came to the biggest candy store I've ever seen.
It must've been three stories tall, and the outside was brightly colored with designs and decorations of different candy brands. Cat jumped up and down like a little kid, the haunted house visit forgotten, begging to go inside. I didn't argue with her. I was pretty interested in seeing it for myself.
We went in through the double doors that looked like sugar glass, and my mouth hung open in shock.
I'm not even sure how big the first floor was because the shelves piled with bags and boxes of candy were tall enough to hit the ceiling. Tons of people were milling about, especially adults with little kids, and even teenagers. The workers, I assumed because they were wearing candy cane patterned shirts and jeans, were walking around, with samples in their arms, passing them out.
"Good Gandhi," Sikowitz murmured.
"Oh my God, yay!" Cat screamed, rushing to the nearest worker with samples and trying some.
"Dang, this is a nice candy store," André whispered.
"Hey look, Jade," Beck said suddenly, pointing to a large shelf in one corner that only had dark-colored boxes on it, "your favorite candy." Jade's eyes widened and she left us to go over to the shelf.
"What candy is that?" I asked Beck when she was out of earshot.
"Exploderz," he replied. "They're shaped like bombs and dynamites and grenades and when you bite into them there's this red sugary stuff that explodes in your mouth." He looked at my awkward expression. "They're actually really good," he laughed.
"Okay, well, I think I'll take a look around." Sikowitz nodded at me and I wandered away from the group. I took a look at the tall shelves, seeing the most unheard of candy: Gloober Goods, Pea Nuts, Silver Bars, and a bunch of other weird things. I picked up a few samples of candy, surprised to see that they all tasted quite good.
I was in this section where all the candies were shaped like musical instruments where I met André, drooling over a keyboard-shaped piece.
"This is totally legit," he said, carefully picking up the plastic-wrapped candy. "I gotta get some of these." He picked out a few more, like a drum set and two different guitars. "We have got to check out the second floor." He shoved his candy into the basket I didn't even realize he had and dragged me over to the escalator. As we made our way up, I looked down at first floor, suddenly realizing how big it was. I managed to catch a glimpse of Jade, holding a rather large black box, as Beck laughed next to her.
The second floor was just as amazing as the first. I didn't even know it was possible to have so many different types of candy in one place. On this floor, the bins on the shelves were clear with scoopers and bags to put in as much as you wanted. André and I walked around, taking more samples and browsing. I got a basket and piled it full of new candy. We eventually found Robbie and Rex in the gingerbread section.
"Check this one out," Rex said, pointing to a woman gingerbread.
"Hey, Robbie," André said as we walked over. "This place is pretty cool, huh?"
"Yeah, it is," Robbie replied enthusiastically. He picked up his basket off the floor, showing us its contents. To my amazement and slight horror, it was filled with gingerbread women.
"Really, Rob?" André asked, looking worried.
"What? I like gingerbread." Robbie shrugged.
"But just women gingerbread?" I took a piece out of the basket and waved it in his face.
Robbie turned bright red and said, "They ran out of men." I cleared my throat, crossing my arms. The shelves were stocked with both men and women gingerbread. "Okay, fine. They're for my mother, and I think she would freak out if I sent her just a bunch of gingerbread guys." I rolled my eyes at his pathetic excuse.
"Well hey, did you check out the third floor?" André asked.
"Nope, we were just in this section," Robbie said, gazing longingly at the many gingerbread stacked on the shelf in front of us.
"Then let's go check it out," André suggested. Robbie picked up his basket, Rex sitting on his arm at an awkward angle, and we made our way up the escalator to the third and final floor of the candy store.
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Jade's POV
I was actually in a really, really good mood. Beck was following behind me, his own basket filled with candy. I was just carrying around a box of my favorite Exploderz, and I couldn't wait until I got to eat them. Hmm, that was kind of weird. Jade West, getting all excited over candy? That's something Cat would do.
Speaking of my best friend, Beck and I were trying to find her. We wandered around the second floor of the building. I'm not sure where everyone else went, but Sikowitz had told us to stay in the store, so I'm sure they were around here somewhere.
"If 'oo were Cat, where would 'oo go?" Beck asked around the huge jawbreaker in his mouth that he had gotten from one of the workers.
"I don't know," I replied. "This is a candy store, and Cat is practically a child. So if you were still a little kid, where would you go?"
Beck looked and me for a moment and said, "Evy'air."
I nodded in agreement, grabbing his free hand and dragging him around the store. I was really considering calling her, but too lazy to take my phone out. Fortunately for me, Beck found her before I had to take drastic measures.
"Hey, Cat," I said calmly as we walked up to her.
"Hi!" she said back with unnecessary enthusiasm. I saw the basket in her hands filled to the top with a ton of random candies.
"Are you really going to buy all that?" I asked.
"Of course! I love candy!" She turned back to the shelf and grabbed more bags and stuffed them into her basket.
"Why on't we o an try ta ind de utters?" Beck said.
"What?" I asked, confused.
He swallowed loudly and shook his head. "Wow, that was some good candy. But I said, 'Why don't we go and try to find the others?' We should probably head to lunch soon because we have to be in the studio by one and it's almost twelve."
"Fine. Come on, Cat."
We went down to the first floor and Beck helped Cat with her candy at the register. They came back with three big bags and my Exploderz box.
"Call André," Beck suggested.
I took my phone out and dialed his number, but he wasn't responding. I rolled my eyes. "Why the heck does no one answer their phone anymore?" Beck shrugged, and Cat had wandered off again, leaving her things with us.
But we wouldn't have to wait any longer as I saw Tori, André, Robbie and Rex coming down the escalator.
"Where's Cat?" Tori asked them as she came over to us.
Beck pointed in one direction, because I wasn't interested in talking to Vega.
"Okay, so we're all here but Sikowitz," André said, looking around. "Does anyone know where he might be?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"I'll call him," Tori offered, taking out her phone. "He gave me his number when we got here." She brought the phone up to her ear and we all waited. Nothing happened. Tori looked slightly outraged and I grinned at the sight of it. "He's not picking up. Geez, why does no one pick up their phones nowadays?" Beck and Robbie cracked a smile at her reference. I rolled my eyes.
"Well, we can't just wait here all day-we have to be in the studio in an hour!" Robbie exclaimed.
"If you were Sikowitz in a candy store where would you go?" Beck asked.
We were silent as we thought. Suddenly, we exchanged quick glances and said in unison, "The coconut section!"
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Sikowitz's POV
My basket was heavy with coconut-flavored candy. I had no idea there were coconut M&Ms, or Hershey bars with coconuts on the inside. This place was like my own personal heaven. I looked at gummies with 'coconut filling' when I heard someone call my name.
"Sikowitz!"
"That's me," I responded, turning around and saw six teenagers standing there looking at me. "Well, hello. Have we met before?"
"Sikowitz, we have to go," Jade spoke up. "We have to be at the studio in an hour."
"Oh, all right."
I followed the teenagers—who I recognized to be my students— down to the first floor, where everyone paid for their things and we proceeded to leave the store. I got us a few cabs and they drove us to the news studio.
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Tori's POV
The news studio was a rather short building, but its outside was lit up, even though it was the afternoon. There were some beefy-looking guards standing on the outside, and we walked up to them.
"We're here for the Vegas 777 thing," Sikowitz said calmly.
"Right this way." One of the guards opened up the big doors and we were quickly ushered inside before the door closed behind us, leaving us in a rather dark hallway.
"Hello, hello!" A voice boomed in the passage.
We all looked up to see Mr. Jeffrey Highes, in an expensive-looking black suit, walking towards us with a big grin on his face. "Hello, hello!" he repeated.
"Mr. Highes," Sikowitz greeted like they were old friends, "what a pleasure to meet you."
"You too, sir, you too," Mr. Highes said, shaking hands with everyone. He seemed like a nice man, in his early forties probably. "Welcome to the LV: Daily Reports news studio!" He threw his arms out, still smiling at us. I was seriously wondering if he was the same, awkward person we had seen on the video. "Would you like to take a quick tour?"
"Yay!" Cat clapped her hands together excitedly.
"I'll take that as a yes." Mr. Highes winked. He motioned for us to follow, but no one moved. Sikowitz looked at us, waiting obviously. Jade pushed me to the front. I gave her an angry face, and she smiled innocently at me. "This is just the front hall, and I'm not really sure why we have it. But it has to stay clear at all times, mind you." We all followed behind him slowly, and he laughed. "Come on, I'm not going to hurt any of you." I exchanged a nervous glance with André.
Mr. Highes led us to the end of the hall. "This door leads to our green room. I'm sure you're all familiar with what a green room is, right?"
"Yes sir," André replied when no one else said anything.
"Loosen up, you guys," Mr. Highes said, laughing again. "You can't be on TV if you're going to be as quiet as that." Everyone perked up immediately. He let us into the green room to put our bags of candy down. "So if you follow down this way with me, we have the makeup and changing rooms." He led us into a large room with stalls lined up by the walls and swivel chairs in front of fancy mirrors with light bulbs running along the edges.
"We have something like this at Hollywood Arts," I said, remembering the time Cat had taken a makeup class and I had visited her in the makeup room.
Mr. Highes nodded, let us look around for a couple minutes, and took us out into the dark halls again. "Here are a few other rooms, but these are mostly for the technical crew that work with us." We walked down a couple more halls. "Ah, here we go. The MCR, or master control room. In here is where we do the actual broadcasting of the show. Well of course, first the recordings go through the PCR, or production control room before coming here." The MCR had a bunch of technical things that lit up, beeped, and had a ton of switches.
We also saw the PCR room, which was full of even more complicated-looking things.
"And I've saved the best for last," Mr. Highes said, stopping at a heavy-barred doors, with a dimmed 'On-Air' sign at the top. I heard Cat squeal quietly, and my heart thumped loudly with excitement. Mr. Highes pushed the doors open, revealing the beautiful studio.
There were the two 'islands' set in the center of the stage, which were surrounded by huge professional cameras. Beautiful wood paneling covered the floor and the tops of the islands, and lights hung from the ceiling. Behind the islands were several TV screens that were currently blank.
"Welcome to the main filming stage," Mr. Highes boomed, his voice echoing in the currently empty room. He walked over to the islands and sat down on top of one of them, grinning down at us. We were all frozen at the door at the sight of the room. "Well, don't be shy, come on over here!"
Jade pushed me forward again, and I glared at her, but didn't hesitate to walk into the bright lights next to Mr. Highes. My friends looked at me as I stood next to the billionaire, grinning at them.
"Well," Mr. Highes said, crossing his legs and picking up a piece of paper from the wooden counter, "I've got six positions that I need to be filled in, and I think I know which ones will be the best for each of you." He hopped down, gathering us in a circle in front of the main stage, a gleam of excitement in his eye. "So you ready to hear who's doing what?"
Sorry if the last part seems kind of rushed, but I wanted to end it with Mr. Highes asking the gang if they were ready to find out who would be doing what, and the candy store part ended up being a lot longer than planned.