CHAPTER 3:
On January 10th, many of the Bellas met for lunch at a restaurant.
"Okay, everyone. Now that we're all hereā¦" Chloe said before being interrupted.
"Uh, no, we're not. We're missing quite a few people," CR pointed out.
"From what I remember, not everyone will be joining us today," Chad said.
"Ken has to work today. And even if he didn't, he still would've opted out. Because of his job as a police detective, participating in today's event could be bad for his permanent record," Alice explained. "Grace is already busy - a friend's mom invited her over for a playdate today. So she'll be occupied while I'm gone."
"Ashley decided to stay home with Danny today and keep him company. Which definitely saved us the trouble of having to get him a sitter," Jessica explained.
"Yeah," Kyle said. "The kids and I won't be joining you guys - I didn't think it was a good idea for them to attend. So we'll stay with the group for lunch, and then I'm taking Bella and Kim out to the movies while Stacie goes with you all." He turned to Bella, "Isn't that right, kiddo?"
"Yeah!" Bella exclaimed. "We get to have popcorn and candy and everything!"
"That sounds like fun!" Aubrey smiled.
"Rachel's too shy to try and do this, so she and Denise went to a movie themselves," CR explained. "I'm kind of glad. I didn't think it would be a good idea for her to come anyway."
"Beca said she didn't want to do the subway ride today, and Esther and Flo are doing the one in Boston since it's a shorter drive for them," Chloe explained.
"How come Beca doesn't want to do it?" Stacie asked.
"She's worried about it affecting her job," Aubrey replied.
"Yeah, I mean, I know she loves her job. So, I guess I can't blame her for her decision," Amy said.
"So, we asked Beca if she would babysit Sophie for us today, and she very willingly agreed. Especially since it was the perfect opportunity for her to have a playdate with Joey," Chicago explained.
"Likewise, she also agreed to watch Star for us today, too. So, those three little tykes ought to have fun together," Amy added.
"Well, that's a good thing," Aubrey said as Chloe's phone rang.
"Hey, Emily," Chloe said, answering.
"Hey, Chloe. I meant to text you last night. We're going to pass on the subway ride today," Emily said.
"Are you sure?" Chloe asked.
"Yeah. Garrett and Shannon invited us to go bowling today. Not only that, but we've been meaning to take Russell bowling for a while now, so we decided to do that today instead," Emily explained.
"Oh, okay. Well, I hope you guys have a good time," Chloe said.
"You too. Later," Emily said, hanging up.
"Well?" Aubrey asked.
"Emily's out," Chloe said.
"Okay, I guess everyone's here then," Aubrey said.
"Yep. So, let's go over everything: Aubrey, you brought the duffel bag, right?" Chloe asked.
"Got it right here," Aubrey said, holding up the bag.
"Good. And Stacie, you brought the towels, right?" Chloe asked.
"Yep. Though I do wonder why we actually need them," Stacie said.
"To cover the seats on the trains. I read some rumors on Twitter," Chloe explained.
"That'll be good, so we don't have to sit on cold benches," Chad said.
"Good point, Chad. Now I would recommend that everyone turn off their phones and put them away before we go through the turnstiles, so we don't lose them," Chicago suggested.
"And so we don't accidentally lose our phones during the route," Chloe added.
"I have a question as well: Since most of us are wearing blue jeans, how will we tell whose pants belong to who at the end of the route, since they'll all be in Aubrey's duffel bag?" Jessica asked.
"I got that covered," Alice said, grabbing a bunch of written name tags out of her purse. "Each of these name tags has your name on it. Take the one with your name on it and stick it on the leg of your pants, so you'll be able to easily tell which one is yours when the route is over."
"That's so cool. You've thought of everything," Chad said admiringly.
"Yeah, this should be a fun time," Aubrey said as their food started to arrive.
While the group was eating their lunch, Bella suddenly realized she wasn't feeling so good.
"You okay?" Stacie asked.
Bella shook her head "no" before quickly running to the bathroom. The group wasn't sure what was wrong with Bella, so Stacie followed her.
"What do you suppose could be wrong with her?" Aubrey asked.
"Not sure," Kyle said.
Three minutes later, Bella and Stacie returned to the table.
"Hey, guys. Bella just threw up in the bathroom, so I guess I should take her home," Stacie said.
"Actually, Stacie, you stay and have fun with the Bellas. I'll take the girls home," Kyle suggested.
"You sure, hon?" Stacie asked.
"Of course. I'll keep you updated if something happens," Kyle said.
"Okay, I'll see you tonight," Stacie said before she and Kyle shared a kiss. "I hope you feel better, Bella. I'll see you at home later."
"Come on, girls. Let's go home," Kyle said as he grabbed Bella's hand, prepared to leave.
"Dad, what about the movie?" Kim asked, whining.
"Sorry, Kim. Your sister is sick, so we have to go home," Kyle said.
"Thanks a lot, Bella! I was looking forward to that movie!" Kim said angrily.
"That's enough, Kim! Look, we can always go to the movies another day," Kyle said as he and the girls left the restaurant.
After the group finished lunch, they all headed for Foley Square, where all the other participants for the subway ride were gathered. Once the host gave everyone the instructions, including which route was going to be taken, the group went down into the subway station. They remembered what Chloe and Chicago said about turning off their phones and putting them away before going through the turnstiles, so they each turned their phones off and stowed them away. Once that was taken care of, the group got out their MetroCards, went through the turnstiles, and waited on the platform for the subway to arrive. It soon arrived, and they all boarded.
