Laurie went to sleep that night, finally. When she woke up the next morning, she was the first one awake. That is, except for Mackie.
"Laurie?" he whispered.
"Mackers, what are you doing up?"
"I just felt like getting up. Can I come up with you?"
"Sure, buddy, come on up." Laurie climbed down the ladder and helped Mackie up. They snuggled under the blankets.
"Laurie? You're so nice," Mackie said, sleepily.
"Thanks, Mackie. You are too."
"I want to go home," he said suddenly.
"Why do you want to go home?"
"I miss my bed."
"But don't you like the bunks? You have your own TV and phone and everything."
"I won't call anyone. I have my own TV at home."
"He doesn't miss anything!" Laurie thought silently. "What about sleeping in a bunk? Isn't that fun?"
"It's just like being in a regular bed."
"Not always," Laurie said.
"How?"
"Well, if you're on the top bunk, it's higher up in the air."
"I'm on the bottom."
"You have someone above you."
Laurie waited for Mackie's reply to that. She didn't get one. The little guy was curled up into a ball, fast asleep. She grinned.
"Sweet dreams, Mack," she said, adjusting herself into a good sleeping position.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Laurie groaned. She checked her watch. 8:30. She went ahead and pulled herself out of bed. Mackie was gone already. Nobody else looked to be up. She turned on the TV in her bunk very quietly. She found her concert tape on there from last night. She popped it into the VCR. The guys ran on and started to play "Gimme Some Lovin." She lightly clapped her hands to the music.
"Is this a one person party?" a voice startled her. Laurie whipped around.
"Nope, come on up Zac."
"Think the bed'll hold us?"
"Yeah."
Zac cautiously climbed up. He got in next to Laurie. They watched the tape together again, lightly drumming along with it and singing with it. It really was a spectacular concert. One by one, people kept waking up.
"Guys, we're going to Hardee's for breakfast," Diana said.
"What? No home cooked meal?" Zac teased.
"It'll be home cooked, the people at Hardee's are cooking you a home-cooked breakfast that happens to be fast food," Diana replied.
"Oh, in that case, lets go!" Zac yelled.
"Calm down!" the whole bus yelled. Zac's eyes got huge.
"Well sorry!" he yelled.
Everybody managed to get dressed fairly quickly, at least as quickly as you can in a bus. They finally got to Hardees. Everybody went inside and ordered. Laurie got a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit, hash browns, and an orange juice. Since it was semi early in the morning, and only older folks come in, there wasn't any hype about the guys. Laurie was glad. She still had a trace of a headache from last night, but two asprin from her Mom cured her.
"Lets go, guys. We have to be in Detroit in a few hours," Walker said.
"Where are we now, Daddy?" Avery asked.
"We're in Cheboygan, Wisconsin," Zac said.
"Really?" Avery asked.
"Nah, it just sounds cool, though," Zac replied.
"Where are we REALLY at?" Avery persisted.
"We're in Tarrytown, Wisconsin," Walker told her.
The answer seemed to satisfy Avery. Soon, they left the Hardees and they got back into their vans. It was almost 9:00 am.
"I'm getting a shower, I feel grungy," Andy said.
"I'm next," Laurie said.
"Then me," Taylor said.
"I'm after Taylor," Zac replied.
"I'm after Zac," Ike squeezed in.
"I hope the hot water lasts," Mrs. Hanson observed.
* * * * * * * * * * *
"Put the water gun down! Taylor! Now!" Laurie said. Taylor had one of the Super Soakers from the show last night with him, and he was chasing Laurie.
"No way! This is fun!" he said.
"I thought that was supposed to be on the prop van!" She said.
"Nope. Now, say that I am the coolest guy in the universe!" Taylor commanded.
"No!"
"Say it, or else," he said, raising the water gun and pumping it up.
"All right, I am the coolest guy in the universe!" Laurie shouted, with a triumphant grin on her face. Taylor pulled the trigger, getting Laurie's shirt, hair, and face soaking wet.
"Taylor! I said what you wanted!" Laurie said, still in shock. Luckily, nothing around her got very wet, only she did.
"No, you didn't say Taylor was the coolest guy in the universe!"
"You knew what I meant! Now I gotta change," she said. She went to her duffelbag and pulled out a new t-shirt. She quickly changed. Then, she hopped down from the bunk. She saw Zac making water balloons in the sink.
"What are you doing?" she asked him.
"Water balloon fight!!" he exclaimed.
"Not in here!" Mrs. Woodman and Diana yelled.
"No, with the people in the other bus!" Zac yelled.
"Be careful!" Diana yelled.
"Okay, Mom!" Zac yelled. Then he turned to Laurie. "You'd think I've never had a water balloon fight in my entire life!"
"We know that's not true, is it?"
"Of course not!" Isaac came in.
"Are you ready with the balloons?"
"Yeah, I'm cool. You guys have the guns?"
"Yep. Man your stations!" Isaac yelled. "Laurie, you can use a gun. I'm going to launch water balloons."
"All right," she said. She picked up the water gun on the floor. She went to the window. Taylor was sitting on a chair, reading a newspaper. Laurie decided to capitalize on her opportunity. She pumped the watergun up and fired.
"Gotcha! Now we're even," she said with a grin.
"Laurie! That was our concert review from last night. That's the only copy we have on the bus," Taylor said angrily.
"I'm sorry," she said.
"Actually, it's not the only copy, Mom and Dad have one too, but still," he said.
"Lighten up, it was a joke! You nailed me with a water gun, too," she said.
Zac came in and broke the fight up. "Come on, we're gonna shoot now!" he said. Taylor and Laurie went to their windows. They pumped up the guns and started firing. The other bus had water guns too. Everyone got soaked! It went on for a minute or two, then one bus pulled ahead of the other.
"Next time, it'll be worse!" Zac screamed out the window. They closed them all. Everybody was grinning.
"Guys, get dry clothes on, we're going to be at Joe Louis Arena in 15 minutes," Diana said. Everybody went to their bunks, drew the curtains, and got some dry clothes on.
"Kids," Diana said with a grin.
Chapter 12
Chapter 10
Heading to Albertane
Kelly's Stories
