Transitions

Ch4 - Drama Queens and Questions

The boys looked up at us, smiling, "Of course. Let us join you; we'll buy you girls anything you want."

We walked through the different shoppes in the casino. One of the ones I wanted to go in was Lush. They have so many different bath bombs, and just in general amazing products. As we made our way into the concourse with all the stores, I trusted my nose to guide me. Looking up, I saw the black, green and yellow sign staring me straight in the face, as well as the overwhelming scents coming from the small store. I walked in and started looking at everything on the tables. I picked up a few different bath bombs, some shampoo and conditioner, as well as a few random products to try out. Walking up to the counter, I started to pull my wallet from my bag again as Michael stepped in front of me.

"No, you save your money. I'll pay for it."

I groaned in annoyance, "Mikey, I appreciate it and all, but I'm 17, with my own money.. I can handle $20 worth of stuff."

I handed the cashier the amount I needed to pay and received my change. Walking out of the store, I saw Mackenzie talking to Ashton about where we were going to go to school.

"Yes, you will have to wear uniforms unfortunately." Ashton said, making my sister pout.

We continued to walk around the concourse visiting the different stores. Michael finally insisted on buying me something as a gift, so he bought me a really nice guitar from Spin City.

"So, it's now 7:30PM... who wants to go swimming? I heard the pool is warm and heated so it will be a perfect way to relax before a long day of meetings and paperwork tomorrow. Actually, more or less, do you two have any swim suits that fit?"

I had to think for a moment whether or not I had a swim suit in my bag, "No, I don't have a full bathing suit. I think Mackenzie has one though. I have basketball shorts I can use for bottoms, and a random bikini top from like two summers ago, that I'm pretty sure still fits."

We made our way to the escalators. As I stepped on the moving staircase I heard whispering.

"Why is Riley with the 5 Seconds of Summer boys?"

The voice instantly connected with a thought, it was Chloe, the blonde haired, blue eyed princess of Waterford High School. She is the biggest brat I have ever met. I turned around and looked her right in the eyes.

"What do you want Chloe?" I growled at her.

"Just to know why you and your loser sister and hanging around with 2 of the members of the best boy band in Australia." her squeaky voice trailed on whining about how Ashton was so hot and that I don't deserve to be with them.

"One, it's none of your business. Two, stop following me. Three, I don't know who you think you are, but I will make you go away, even if it means pushing you in a ditch 6 feet under."

The other girl she was with (whom I've never met before) rolled her eyes at me. I instantly snapped.

 "Listen; don't roll your eyes at me. I'm not going to put up with this. You torment me enough at school, but guess what? Your days of that are over. You're just jealous because I have their attention and you don't. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to enjoy my last few days in America with my FAMILY."

I stepped off the escalator, shoving my way past Chloe and her friend, nearly knocking them over in the process. I started walking towards the concourse leading to the room. I followed the tribal patterns on the walls, allowing them to lead me in the right direction. I stopped in front of the door and waited for the rest of the group to come.

"Riley, what was that back there?" Ashton asked.

"Oh, them? Don't worry about her. She goes to my high school and she's just a pain."

Michael slipped his key card into the slot on the door allowing the handle to illuminate and unlock. I walked in with my sister on my trail and went straight to my duffel bag. I pulled out my purple and black striped bikini top and a pair of basketball shorts so I could go change. I looked around the suite so I could figure out which direction the bathroom was in. I found the bathroom and walked in, locking the door behind me. After laying my swim suit on the counter, I removed my skinny jeans, one leg at a time. I folded my pants, placing them back on the counter, and doing the same with my shirt, and the remaining undergarments. I slipped my grey shorts on, and pulled my top over my head adjusting it as needed. I slid my jersey back on, because it was still fairly chilly in the room. Unlocking the door, and grabbing my clothes I walked out of the bathroom allowing my sister in to go change. As I walked out into the main area of the room, Michael was sitting on the bed in his underwear, digging through a suitcase.

"MICHAEL GORDON! Please, put some pants on. There are children in the room."

His face turned bright red as he yanked a pair of shorts out of his bag and slid them on. Mackenzie came out of the bathroom in her bathing suit ready to go swimming. We paraded out of the room down the tribal patterned concourse to the pool. As we made our way to the elevator we stopped to look at the map. The pool was 4 floors above us. Mackenzie pushed the button to call the elevator and after a few minutes the upwards arrow above the doors was illuminated. The doors opened, and we stepped in, pressing the button that said P, directing that was the level the pool was on. When the doors shut and the music begun playing, Mackenzie started spinning around dancing. The music stopped after a few seconds, with the elevator making a beeping noise, alerting us that we have reached our destination. The doors opened once again, from the other side of the elevator, letting us out to be exposed to the smell of chlorine. I ran to one of the red lounge chairs on the south side of the pool, closest to the walls, which were full glass windows. I stopped to stare out the window for a moment. The view from up this high was absolutely breathtaking. You were way above the treetops. I could see across the Thames River into Norwich and Preston. After watching the world go by for a few moments, I finally laid my towel down on the lounge chair and dipped my feet in the pool. The water was warm, but not too cold either. I stood up and took my jersey off tossing it on my chair. Allowing my body to adjust to the temperature, I slowly made my way into the water. After warming up a little bit more, I dove into the clear water and let the warmth engulf my body and soul as I swam to the other side. When I came up for air I had to push my hair out of my face. Michael and Ashton were sitting on the edge, while Mackenzie was sitting in the Jacuzzi tub with a smoothie sitting on the edge. I swam back over to where the boys were sitting on the tiled edge of the pool. I could tell they were deep in conversation when I approached them. Splashing a little bit of water in their direction, heads started to turn.

"What's up kid?" Ashton said, standing up to pull off his shirt.

"I just have a question about Australia."

"Um, alright. Go ahead I suppose."

"Well first, how are we going to live and go to school there if we are American Citizens? I don't have a visa; my sister doesn't even have a passport."

"Oh, your case manager took care of that already. She took care of the paperwork to get you and your sister dual citizenship. We have the paperwork and everything set up already. We just have to go pick up your cards and get the photo taken, as well as notate that we're your legal guardians," Ash explained.

Inodded my head as if I really understood everything and then swam away,splashing the boys in the face as I went. I eventually got cold, and swam tothe ladder to climb out of the pool. I grabbed onto the ladder and hoistedmyself out, onto the slippery tile.