Roswellrox: Thanks! I’m soo glad you liked it. Max did go a little soft there, huh? Gotta mean something…
Prettyfulpink: Welcome and thanks! Music is definitely what I want to put a lot of into this fic, so glad you like it!
GottaFeedTheMonkey1257: He, yeah they sure have some different ideas…
Thanks!RASaero611: Oh yes, their togetherness is a must!
Kismet: Thanks a million for the bumps and support! No stopping for me, at least not permanently...
roswellian504: Thanks, glad you think so!
I hope that you guys enjoy this part… although I’m sad to admit that it may not be as fun as the last few. I kinda wanted to show a bit of what each group was like just together before they left, but don’t worry there will be lots more fun in the next part.
Part 11: Ridiculous
After a good three hours of practicing, Serena decided that it was time for a quick break.
“Okay, let’s break for now. How about some lunch?”
Everyone enthusiastically agreed with her suggestion and began openly expressing their preferences on food.
“Chinese!” Tess yelled.
“No pizza!”
“Quiznos!”
“No, let’s get tacos!”
“Oh my gosh, you guys are so bad at this.” Serena groaned. “Do I have to go and get the hat?”
“Yeah, let the hat decide!” Alex agreed. “The hat never lies.”
“The hat is stupid!” Tess argued.
“No it’s not!”
“Yes, it is!”
“Alright, alright! Calm down, we either eat where I want to eat or we use the hat!” Serena shouted, silencing the two.
“Where do you want to eat?” Tess asked hesitantly.
“Does this mean no hat?” Serena asked everyone.
“No!” everyone shouted back.
“Okay then, we use the hat.” She sighed and headed for the closet. She pulled out an old baseball cap and everyone quickly jotted down what they wanted on paper and stuck it into the hat.
“Okay…” Serena said, once they were all in. She stuck her hand inside of the hat and moved it around. “Mexican it is!”
“Yes!” Tess squealed.
“The hat ain’t so bad now is it?” Michael asked her sarcastically.
“Okay, here’s the menu.” Serena said pulling out a large binder full of fast food menus. “Everyone write down what you want and I’ll go get it. And try to keep the price down peoples. I think we’ve got about twenty five bucks today.”
“Hmmm, that’s not bad.” Liz commented.
“Yeah well, tomorrow it’s P.B. & J.” Serena replied glumly.
*~*~*~*~*~*
“Can we stop now?” Kyle groaned, once they finished the song that they’d been practicing for the last hour.
“Yeah, I’m getting tired of this song. I mean, we just played it about twenty bazillion times!” Maria burst.
“Plus, I’m starving!” Kyle moaned, placing his bass down on its stand.
“Fine, fine. Hold on, let me go and get the book.” Zan sighed, standing up.
“No I remember, it’s my turn!” Maria said, waving him off.
“Hey! I thought that it was my turn to choose today!” Kyle argued.
“No! It’s my turn!” Maria growled.
Zan shook his head and gestured to the others that he was indeed going to go and get the book.
“Nu uh, you like just went!” Kyle protested.
“No, last time Max chose. I go after Max!”
“No I go after Max!”
“Enough!” Zan said holding the book up in the air. “I got the book and it’s… Kyle’s turn to pick where we’re going to eat today.” He said glancing inside.
“Ah ha!” Kyle burst smugly. “I told you so, I told you so, I told you-”
“Yeah, yeah, hurry up and pick someplace.” Maria groaned, crossing her arms across her chest.
“Okay… uh, how about… uh…” Kyle sat down and frowned. “Hmmmm…”
“Urgh!” Maria groaned before throwing herself onto the couch. “He’s gonna take forever!”
Max rolled his eyes at her. “Well it’s better than eating pizza again!”
“Hey! I don’t always pick pizza!” Maria replied.
“Yes you do.” Isabel blurted.
“Do not.” Maria huffed.
“Why are you soo cranky today? Did you not get enough sleepy bye time?” Max cooed.
“No,” Maria replied sweetly. “I’m pmsing, and I’ve got a stick up my-”
“La, la, la, la!” Max yelled, covering his ears. “Don’t wanna hear it!”
Isabel and Maria laughed. “Oh please, it’s better then being taken over by testosterone
stupid-ness 24/7!” Isabel shot out.
“Excuse me, but I happen to be quite proud and satisfied with all of my testosterone!” Max gasped, placing his hand on his chest, pretending to be hurt by her words.
“Kyle did you pick a place yet?” Zan interrupted, causing everyone to look back at where he was sitting in deep concentration.
“Uh, yeah… how about… Oh! That really good Mexican place, Taco Del Mar!” he finally said in resolution.
“Sounds good, let’s make a list and I’ll pick it up.” Zan nodded, pulling out a piece of paper.
*~~*~~*
“Okay, I need three chicken tacos, three pork burritos, two veggie burritos and two cheese quesada’s.” Serena read off of the small slip of paper.
She waited patiently as the staff prepared her order.
“Wow, that’s a lot of food for someone so small.”
She spun around, baffled to see a smirking Zan.
“Hey!” she burst, smiling. “Don’t I know you from somewhere?” she joked.
“Hmmm,” he began, scratching his head. “I don’t think so…” he frowned despite the small twinkle in his eye.
“Oh, I know!” she gasped, pretending to hit herself in the head.
“You’re that kid who got wasted and serenaded me ten years ago with ‘baby got back’, on my birthday, on my front lawn, at two in the morning!” she replied, grinning.
Zan burst out in laughter. “Ohmifreakinggod! I can’t believe that you still won’t let that go!”
“Well I’ve got to say, it was quite memorable.” Serena smirked.
“Yeah especially when your sister threw a bucket of ice water on me from her balcony and then your dad threatened to call the cops!” Zan added.
Serena laughed. “Oh yeah… I was mad at Liz for that you know. She didn’t even know you and she still did that!”
“Yeah well, I did wake her up at two in the morning… so I can understand why she would be mad.” Zan concluded.
Serena giggled. “True…”
“Mam, here’s your order. That will be $23.45” the cashier said, handing Serena her bag of food.
Serena paid while Zan ordered his food.
“Well, I’ve gotta go. See you at work!” Serena told him, smiling.
“Yeah, see you.” He answered, returning the smile.
Serena left happily, as Zan proceeded to order his own list of food.
*~~*~~*
Two days later (Saturday evening):
“Yeah,” Serena laughed, switching the phone from her left ear to her right. “No, no that’s not what I remember… seriously?! Nobody told me that!”
Alex peeked his head into the kitchen slowly, glancing first to the right and then to the left at Serena. He gasped and slowly took a step retreating backwards when Serena put her hand up to stop him, glaring meanly.
“Zan, could you hold on for a minute? Thanks…” she said before setting the phone down onto the table. She stood up and crossed her arms.
“Alex, what are you doing?! What did you not understand when I said that nobody leaves the garage until I said so?!” she shouted.
Alex hesitated. “Uh, well I…”
“Well what?” she demanded, tapping her foot impatiently.
“You were talking to Zan!” Alex shot out suddenly, pointing an accusing finger towards her.
“So-soo?” Serena stuttered.
Alex’s hand shot to his chest as he replied dramatically. “You can’t fraternize with the enemy!”
“Yes I can!” Serena replied instantly.
“No you can’t!” Alex shot back.
“Can too!”
“Can not!”
“And why not?” Serena asked, throwing her hands in the air.
“Be-because, he’s working with another band! That’s why!” Alex answered after a moment.
“So? We’re old friends, we’re just talking!” Serena burst.
He narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. “Oh, really? Just talking eh?!”
Serena nodded. “Yeah, there’s no harm in that!”
“Au contraire madam!” Alex snapped. “You’re always flirting with him! Not only that but you two are co-workers. Who knows what kind of things you do at work… and I do believe that you were missing for a few hours just yesterday! What about that, huh?!”
Serena couldn’t help the blush that crept up her checks at Alex’s accusation. “I was paying my bills and doing some errands!”
“Riiiiight…” Alex replied, nodding at her knowingly.
“I swear!” Serena squeaked.
Alex just smiled smugly, still nodding knowingly.
“Hey A-man, where’s those sodas?” Tess asked, barging through the kitchen door.
“I was just about to ask Mrs. Betrayer where they were!” Alex replied, pointing to Serena accusingly.
“Huh?” Tess responded.
“Maybe we should ask her boyfriend, Mr. my band’s gonna beat you!” Alex burst, running towards the table to grab the phone.
“Alex!” Serena cried, trying to wrestle the phone from him.
“I know what you’re doing!” Alex said into the phone before Serena jerked it away from him for a moment. “You’re not going to get-” he shouted, before she pulled it the other way again. “-away with this!” he finished when he got the chance.
“Zan?” Serena said into the phone after harshly jerking the phone from Alex. “Yeah, can I call you back later? Okay thanks, bye.”
She clicked the phone off and then glared at Alex menacingly. “Why you little-”
“Epp!” Alex squeaked, before bolting out of kitchen.
“Hey! Get back here!” Serena shouted before running after him.
Tess frowned. “Hmm…” She went to the refrigerator and opened it up. She spotted a box of sodas on the bottom shelf and smiled. “Ah ha!”
*~~*~~*
Okay thanks, bye
Zan frowned as the phone clicked off.
“About time!”
Zan turned around and Maria snatched the phone from his hand.
“What are you doing?!” Zan asked.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” Maria burst, holding up the phone. “You’ve been hogging this thing for way too long!”
“Well, you’re definitely not practicing!” Zan answered angrily.
“Oh please, you got to talk to your girl for the last two and a half hours! I haven't talked to my boy in a week!” Maria shot back.
“Oh, so you’re calling Hunter?” Zan stated unhappily.
“Yeah, so what?!”
“You know he only digs you because you’re in a band.” Zan told her glumly. “-and hey! Did you call Serena my girl?!”
Maria smirked, dialing a well known number.
“Hey baby.”
*~~*~~*
Wow, it’s the night before we leave. I should be excited, but I’m not. Not really. Truthfully this whole thing kinda worries me. I mean, if we don’t win then I think that it would devastate some of us. Tess, she has so many goals for this band. She really wants for us to make it. Mike loves music, what would he do without it? He’s not stupid or anything, but I know that he doesn’t really have a back-up plan. Well… nothing realistic anyways, lol. Lizzie, she threw away a lot to be in this band. It shouldn’t be for nothing. Serena has worked so hard to get us where we are now. She pushed us, encouraged us and led us all in the right direction. I just don’t know what we’d do if we didn’t make it. Maybe we could all join the circus? Oh! Or we could join the army. Michael would make a kick-ass general. Anyways, let’s just say that this thing is gonna be important. Just a tad bit…
~ Alex
)
And have a great holiday everyone!!! 
