Chapter Six
Tanna rolled over and bashed her wrist on the metal railing. "Ow!! Goddamn! Where the hell am I?" she cracked open her eyes and looked around. She got up and put on her bathrobe.
Walking downstairs as quietly as she could, she looked into the living room and saw Brian and Howie still fast asleep. Smiling she opened the fridge and took out the orange juice. She fed the cat and let Hobbes outside. Then, sipping her juice, she got the paper from outside. By the time she was finished, Brian was awake.
"What time is it?" he whispered.
"8:45, want some juice?"
"Sure." He got up and pulled on a T-shirt over the boxers that he had slept in. Tanna handed him a glass, and gestured for him to sit at the table with her.
"Thanks for putting us up last night." Brian said.
"No problem. It was fun." Tanna smiled. They talked until everyone else had woken up, except for AJ. Brian went to wake him up, and Tanna made breakfast with Drew's help.
When Tanna's parents came out of their hotel room, at about one o'clock in the afternoon, they were relaxed and well rested. They went downstairs and stood in line to check out. While standing in line, Barbara Thompson thought she heard a familiar laugh. She looked around, but all she saw was the backs of a group of five guys and three girls getting into an elevator. She shrugged, and turned back to the clerk.
"Phew! That was close." Tanna sighed. "I thought that my mum saw me for a sec, there. That would have been a disaster!" Drew laughed along with Tanna.
"Why?" asked Brian.
"Well, because my mother would probably say that I had to walk the dog, clean my room, and scrub the floors before she let me go with you guys. Plus ? I think it might have given her a heart attack to see me going into a hotel with one guy, let alone five!"
"Ah!" the guys said. Just then, the elevator doors opened.
"So where are your rooms?" Mackenzie asked, as they stepped into the hall.
"Turn left, and go to the end of the hall, that's what the lady at the desk said." answered AJ.
Howie leaned over and whispered to AJ, "Man, she was one hot chick!"
Drew overheard, and smacked his arm "Don't be a jerk!"
By that time, they had reached the boy's rooms. Drew, Mackenzie, and Tanna helped carry their bags in, then they all gathered in Kevin and Brian's room.
"So where to now?" asked Howie.
"West Ed?" suggested Nick. There was a chorus of agreement. All eight of them filed out and down to the car. When they arrived, the guys headed towards Galaxyland.
"Let's go on some rides." Nick encouraged. "Remember, that's where we met you guys after the concert that first time?" He squeezed Drew's hand. She squeezed it back, sharing the memory.
"Okay." Everyone agreed. They paid admission, all arguing which ride to go on first. They walked past the Twister, and Howie, Drew, and Kevin decided to try it out. The rest of them watched, laughing, at the expression on Howie's face as the three of them were suspended upside down, 30 feet in the air.
Next, they all went on the Swing of the Century. Afterwards, Tanna and Nick both felt a little queasy. So, they watched as the rest of the group went on the Swing again.
Eventually, they ended up in front of the Drop of Doom. Howie and Kevin elected to try it. As those two stood in line, AJ, Nick, Drew, Mackenzie, Brian and Tanna watched a few groups go on.
"Just thinking about that makes me ill." said Tanna, looking up at the top of the ride. "Heights and I don't mix well." Mackenzie, Nick and Brian agreed with her as Drew and AJ laughed at them.
Then Drew and Mackenzie excused themselves to go to the washroom.
"Let's try the Mind Bender!" AJ suggested, looking at the newly shortened line.
"Nah, we'll wait here for the girls, but you to go ahead!" Nick leaned against the railing, and Brian agreed.
"I dunno?" Tanna hesitated.
"Come on. It'll be fun!" coaxing, AJ pulled her down towards the line. By the time she grudgingly assented, they were near the front at the line. They waited a few minutes, and then the ride attendants opened the gate.
"I'm not sure if this is a good idea, I just had a hotdog." Tanna tried for a token protest, but AJ pushed her ahead of him into the car. The attendant walked down the line of cars, pushing down the restraints. As the cars began to move, Tanna muttered, "Oh, man. I must be nuts." Then there wasn't time for any more thoughts as the roller coaster hurtled along.
They got off, and saw the others waiting for them, looking at the pictures that were taken of the roller coaster. They were laughing.
"Man! This is the funniest picture. Look at the expression on Tanna's face!" Drew pointed, and Tanna blushed.
"You can buy copies of these, right?" Brian asked. When the guy behind the counter nodded, he paid for two of them.
"No! You've got to be kidding. Why would you want to have one of those?" Tanna exclaimed.
"It's to remember the day we spent here. One for you guys, one for us." Brian took the pictures from the guy behind the counter, and handed one to Tanna.
"Okay." Tanna sounded skeptical, and they moved off to see what else there was to do.
Eventually, they got tired of Galaxyland, and headed out into the mall again. They just wandered aimlessly around, window-shopping. By that time it had gotten to be around 6:30 p.m.
"I'd better call my parents, and tell them what time to pick me up." Tanna said as they passed a payphone near Bourbon Street.
"Don't worry, we'll drive you home." Said Kevin.
"But Mackenzie and Drew are staying at the hotel here tonight. Won't you be staying late, then going straight to your hotel?" she asked.
"If worst comes to worst, I'll drive you home, then come back for the others." Brian assured her.
"If you're sure??" Tanna paused. They all nodded. "Okay, I'll just call and tell them I'm alright and what the plan is."
"We'll wait for you at Baskin Robbins, over there." Howie pointed across the pedway. Tanna nodded, and the group headed off.
When she joined them, they had gotten a large table near the back. Drew, Nick, and Kevin were sitting on one side, Mackenzie at the head, AJ at the foot, and Howie and Brian on the side. Tanna slid into the empty chair beside Brian. He had had his arm over the back of it, but didn't move it when she sat down.
Drew saw that and gave Tanna a 'look' as she asked, "How did it go?"
"Oh, you know. She protested, but I talked her out of it. I think she only said something because she felt she had to." Tanna rolled her eyes, and Drew nodded in agreement.
"Now that you're here, we can order." Said Howie. "And let's do it quick, I'm starving!"
"Big surprise!" all three girls said at once, and everyone laughed. They walked up to the counter and chose their ice cream. Nick and Drew picked Mint Chocolate Chip, Mackenzie picked Vanilla-Chocolate Swirl. Kevin and AJ both had one scoop of Double Chocolate, one of Rocky Road, and one of Bubble Gum. Tanna chose Irish Cream; Howie had two scoops of Cappuccino Crunch and one of Vanilla. Brian had two scoops of Strawberry.
By the time they had all finished their ice cream, and had sat talking for a while, it was getting late. Tanna looked at her watch and made her apologies.
"Don't worry, we understand." Said AJ.
"If you guys want to stay a little longer, I'll give Tanna a lift home, then come back." Brian offered. Howie started to say something, but Brian shot him a look that stopped him short. Howie shrugged.
Saying her good-byes, and finalizing plans for the next day, Tanna picked up her purse and jacket.
"Bye! See ya tomorrow." Was echoed around the table as Brian escorted her out.
"What's with Brian? He's been really, abnormally quiet." Mackenzie asked.
"He's got it bad." Replied AJ.
"For Tanna?" Drew questioned. Both Howie and AJ nodded. Drew shrugged, grinned, and leaned into Nick's arm. "Okay, cool."