“Baby, I might be a little late coming over tonight. The slave driver AKA Wade Robson is determined no one is leaving until this dance for the Billboard Music Awards is perfect.”
“Lance, that performance isn’t for weeks!” Monica said almost shocked. She was always worried he, along with his four band-mates, pushed themselves too hard. It was already 8 p.m. They had been working for a good portion of the day. And from the tone of Lance’s voice they weren’t going to get done anytime soon.
“I know, I know. But we also have a tour to start rehearsing for. You know how Wade is. He wants everything perfect at all times. What are you doing anyway? It is awfully quiet there. It isn’t like you not to have the radio on. You know there is this really great ‘Dirty Pop’ group…Nsync I think they’re called. I hear the bass singer is really hot. You could be listening to them!” Lance said trying not to laugh.
“Funny Bass funny,” sarcasm dripping from her voice. “Actually…” she trailed off as if thinking.
“Yo, Lance,” Joey called as he walked in the room. He had come to tell Lance that Wade was getting impatient.
“I know the group you are talking about,” Monica continued, “you know I think you are wrong though. That Joey guy is pretty hot,” she said nonchalantly.
“Joey?!?!” Lance gasped.
“What?” Joey asked puzzled.
“Oh nothing…my girlfriend just professed her love for you.” Joey ran over to Lance with a huge grin on his face and grabbed the cell phone away from him.
“See baby I knew you would come around and dump this loser. Who needs him when you can have the Italian Stallion,” Joey said seductively into the phone. By now Monica was laughing so hard she could hardly breathe.
“Oh…my…gosh…Joey,” she said in between laughs and gasps for air. Finally catching her breath and calming down. “Don’t flatter yourself, Mr. Italian Stallion. He may be full of himself, but I love Lance anyway.”
“Hmph,” was the only response she got from Joey. Tossing the phone back to Lance he turned to walk out the door. Then he suddenly remembered why he was there to start with. “Oh yeah!” he said as he turned back around to face Lance. “Lance, Wade said for you to hurry up or we all have to stay longer to make up for missed time. Let me just say that I speak for the entire group when I tell you that if that happens, we will kick your butt! Right now the only thing in the world I want is to go home and go to bed!” With that Joey turned and left the room. Lance groaned and mumbled, “slave driver,” under his breath as he put the phone back up to his ear.
“Something wrong, sweetie?”
“Huh? Oh, no, nothing. Wade is just being impatient as usual. You never did tell me what you were doing.”
“Homework and studying for my calculus test,” she groaned.
“Awe, honey don’t let that get you down again,” Lance said in a calming voice and then sighed. He knew how much she had been struggling through her calculus course. It had really been getting her down lately. Between all his rehearsals, appearances, photo shoots and what not and her school schedule and constant studying they did not get to spend much time together. He and the guys had been talking about how they all needed a break. Also, Justin, Lance, & JC all wanted to do something special with their girlfriends before the tour started. So the five of them had a plan, but it was still a surprise for the girls.
“LANCE,” Justin, JC, Chris, Joey, & Wade all screamed from the next room.
“Damn it,” Lance grumbled, “COMING!” he yelled back.
“I take it you need to go. Tell Wade that I want you back in one piece. Don’t work too hard. Kay?”
Lance walked back into the studio they were practicing in. “I will and try not to stress yourself out over that test. I promise I will be over just as soon as SOMEONE decides to get a life and let the rest of us go home to live ours,” he says looking right at Wade.
“I heard that Poofu!” Wade called out.
“I love you baby. I will see you later tonight.”
“That is if make it through the rest of the night,” he sighs. “I love you too.”
“Bye,” Monica told him, laughing as she hung up, Lance mumbling obscenities under his breath.
(3 and a half hours later)
“Monica?” Lance called as he walked into her house. No answer. “Mony?” he called again. He thought to himself, “wonder where she is.” Lance came in and closed the door. Suddenly he heard stirring coming from the couch. Walking quietly over to the couch, he found Monica sound asleep, books and papers strewn everywhere.
“Poor thing,” he whispered.
He walked around to the other side of the couch cautiously, as to not step on her books, papers, or to wake her. Lance moved all the books out of the way and picked her up and carried her upstairs to her bedroom. Gently he tucked her into bed, and brushed her long blonde hair off her fair-skinned face. He set her clock so that she would be up in plenty of time for them to spend time together before her class in the morning and before he had to go back to his “slave driver”.
Lance walked over grabbed the extra pillow off and a blanket off the foot of the bed, ready to crash and fall asleep. He knew that she would upset that he didn’t wake her up when he came in, but she just looked so peaceful asleep he didn’t want to disturb her. He also decided not to sleep in the room with her for the same reason. So he decided to stay the night on the couch and not go back to his house. Before he left the room he grabbed a pair of sweat pants and a T-shirt out of a drawer. He had left some clothes at her house just in case he ever needed them. He put the pillow and blanket on the couch and went to take a shower.
(Next morning - January 30, 2001)
“Beep, Beep, Beep!”
“ACK! Shut up! It can’t be eight already,” Monica groaned as she rolled over and glared at the alarm clock. The bright red numbers glared back at her letting her know it was only six. She was just about to reset her clock and go back to sleep when suddenly she realized she was in her bed and in her jean shorts and T-shirt. “What in the world,” she thought out loud, “I don’t remember coming up here. And why didn’t Lance ever come over last night?” She rushed over to the window and saw his black Toyota 4-Runner parked beside her baby blue Toyota Celica. “That is strange,” she continued to think out loud, “if he is here, where is he?” Turning her back to the window and looking at the bed she realized one of her pillows was gone as well as the blanket off the foot of the bed.
After looking around upstairs and discovering Lance was not upstairs, Monica practically ran downstairs. Finally after looking around downstairs to no avail, she went to sit on the couch to think about where he could have disappeared. If she had been any more lost in thought she would have sat on him. “LANCE,” she squealed when she realized she had found him. That scared him to half to death. He went to roll over to see what was going on, but he had forgotten where he was and fell in the floor in a heap with the blanket right at Monica’s feet. Laughing she leaned down and tried to untangle him from the blanket. Playfully growling Lance grabbed her arms and pulled her down onto the floor with him.
“What the…” Monica cried as the blanket engulfed her. She found herself sitting in Lance’s lap with the blanket wrapped around them both. Lance, looked at her through his shimmering yellowish-green eyes and asked if she'd had fun scaring him. Monica’s blue-green eyes met his and she thought about how easily she could get lost in his eyes. After a few seconds of not answering Lance leaned in to kiss her. It was a soft sweet kiss but it brought her back to reality. He pulled away from her just as abruptly as he had leaned to her.
“But…” she tried to protest.
“Ahhh, you can speak after all!” Lance chuckled and laid back as she tried to smack him with the pillow she had just grabbed off the couch. When he did that he knocked her over and she fell on his chest. They began to stare at each other again. Lance reached up and brushed Monica’s hair out of her face. She leaned down to kiss him but without warning got off the floor and started to walk away.
“Mony?” Lance called after her puzzled. “Did I do something wrong.”
“Nope.”
“Then why did you leave?” he whined. Monica turned around walked back over to him and leaned down so that they were eye-level.
“You wanna know why baby?”
“Um…yeah,” Lance said starting to get worried.
“Because we both have BAD morning breath!” she laughed, kissed him on the nose and stood back up.
“What?!?” Lance snorted.
“You heard me. Go and brush your teeth!” she continued to laugh as she walked out of the room. Groaning, Lance got up to go and brush his teeth. After Monica got done brushing her teeth she went to go and start making breakfast. She decided to make French toast, Lance’s favorite. He came in and fixed the drinks and set the table while she cooked. When both of them were done they sat at the table.
“So what time did you finally get here last night?” Monica asked.
“Around 11:30. What time did you fall asleep?”
“Um, probably about 11. I really don’t know. I remember talking to you and then studying some more. The next thing I knew my alarm was going off and I was in my bed. Why didn’t you sleep upstairs instead of down here on the couch.”
“Because I didn’t want to disturb you and I was all nasty from practice.”
“Um…Ok well first of all I know you took a shower before you went to bed. I know you all too well. You hate being dirty. And second of all even if you didn’t want to sleep in the room with me…have you ever heard of the guestroom? Why didn’t you sleep in there.” Lance just sat there and stared at her for a minute. Sleeping in the guestroom had never even occurred to him.
“Well…I…you see…um…,” Lance stumbled trying to think of a good reason. “To tell you the truth I don’t know. I was so tired I didn’t even think about it.” Monica just giggled at his dumbfounded expression.
“Did you get done studying?” Lance asked trying to change the subject.
“No, but I don’t guess it really matters. No matter how hard I try, I can’t pass any of that woman’s tests. I swear I think she likes making us suffer!”
“Monica, you are stressing out over this way to much,” he said taking her hand.
“Lance, you don’t understand. I can’t afford to fail this class. Do you realize how bad it is going to pull down my GPA?”
“And you think that I over work myself,” Lance mumbled.
“What did you say?” Monica said giving Lance a weird look.
“Nothing. Nothing. Don’t worry about it. Hey...um, you get out for the summer on May the second right?”
“Yeah,” she answered puzzled, “Why?”
“Um, no reason. I was just wondering is all,” Lance lied. He wanted to make sure that his plans for the surprise were going to work. They sat and talked for a little while longer and then Monica went upstairs to get ready for school and Lance went to go and clean up the mess in the living room. He packed all her books up for her and then he folded the blanket and took Monica’s pillow and blanket back upstairs. She had already made the bed so he put the pillow on it and pulled the cover over both of them and then put the blanket back over the foot of the bed. He looked around and saw Monica standing in the bathroom putting on her make up. Lance walked in the bathroom and put his arms around her waist and kissed her neck a couple of times. He leaned forward and put his chin on her shoulder.
“Have I told you I loved you today?
“Um, nope I don’t think so,” she said and smiled at his reflection in the mirror.
“I love you,” he said and kissed her neck again. She turned around and gave him a soft kiss on the lips.
“I love you too!” she smiled. “I gotta jet or I am gonna be late for class. Are you going to get ready for rehearsals here?”
“Yeah if you don’t mind.”
“No, I don’t mind, just lock up when you get done.
“Ok. Oh by the way, why don’t you come by after your last class tonight so we can spend some time together. Considering last night didn’t exactly go as planned…somebody fell asleep,” Lance said with a chuckle.
“You are just so funny,” Monica said sarcastically. “Bass, you are just too much! But I really got to go baby. I will see you tonight.” She kissed him again and then turned to leave as Lance started getting ready to take a shower.
Monica went and suffered through her horrid Tuesday. She always hated them…first history and then economics. She hated them almost as much as her calculus class. Finally she got done and headed over to Lance’s house. It was almost six by the time she got to Lance’s. She was surprised to see his 4-Runner in the driveway. She figured the “slave driver,” as Lance liked to call Wade, would have kept them there for awhile. She grabbed her backpack out of the car; she had planned on doing some studying tonight, even though she knew Lance would protest. Then she let herself in the house and called out for Lance. He answered and told her that he was in the kitchen. She walked in and found him making dinner.
“Hey sweetie,” he said but didn’t look up. He was busy setting the table.
“It smells yummy, what did you cook?”
“Um, nothing much. I cooked steaks out on the grill when I got home. They just got done and the potatoes will be done in about five minutes.” Monica helped Lance fix the drinks and then after all the food was done they sat down to eat. They told each other about their day while they ate. After they got done Lance told her they were not going to worry about the dishes tonight, that he would take care of them tomorrow. They went in the living room and sat down on the white leather couch to watch a movie, Gone with the Wind, Monica’s favorite.
Both of them stayed awake during the first tape of the movie. Monica got up and put the second tape in. Soon both of them were asleep. Lance woke up about 1 am, the movie was over and Monica was sound asleep. He woke her up enough to get her upstairs. He tucked her into his bed and then set the alarm clock. She had to go to class in the morning, and he had practice again…or so she thought. Then crawled in next to her. He pulled her close and snuggled close to her.
(Jan. 31, 2001 – Monica’s Birthday)
The couple woke up to the rude awakening of Lance’s alarm clock. Monica at first did not want to get up, but then she remembered it was her birthday and got motivated. Lance was surprised to see her so alive in the morning. He knew that she was excited about her birthday but purposely did not say anything about it. They got up and Monica went to take a shower and get ready for class. Then went downstairs to eat breakfast. She found Lance in his pajamas eating cereal. She sat down next to him and poured herself a bowl.
“Oh I just remembered something!” Lance suddenly exclaimed. Monica thought that maybe he was going to say something about her birthday. She was wrong.
“What did you remember?” she asked with a hopeful gleam in her eyes.
“I need to go grocery shopping today. Where is your backpack so I can get a pencil out?”
Monica’s face fell. Lance saw it and it broke his heart, but he had to do this in order to carry out his plan.
“It is beside my shoes next to the front door.”
“Thanks,” Lance said and ran out of the room. After a few minutes of sitting there Monica finally gave up hope about him remembering her birthday and went to go find him to tell him she was leaving. He was zipping up her backpack when she found him. She slipped her shoes on, grabbed her backpack and then told him goodbye with a hurt look in her eyes.
(In calculus class)
So far no one had acknowledged her birthday at all. “I bet they all remembered today is Justin’s birthday,” she thought to herself. Her and Justin were both born on January 31, 1981. She reached into her bag and pulled out her calculus book. 'Just what I always wanted to do, spend my birthday in calculus!' she continued. The teacher walked in and told the class what page they would be studying today. As she flipped through Monica realized that there was something in the book. Finally she found the right page and found an envelope with her name written in Lance’s script. “Weird,” she whispered to herself. She picked the envelope up and immediately opened it. Inside she found a note, there was something else inside, but she decided to read the note first.
Lance,
Here are the two tickets for you and Monica
for the cruise to the Caribbean. Hope that the you all have
fun. Try and not get sunburned…
Sincerely,
Mindy
Orlando Travel
Then she looked in the envelope and pulled out the tickets. She carefully looked them over and slowly things began to sink in. “OH MY GOSH!” she screamed out loud. Everyone in the class turned and stared at her. At that point she just didn't care. Monica hastily gathered all her stuff together and ran out of the room. She began running down the hall while trying to find her cell phone. She knew that she had to get him on the phone, or see him, or something. Finally she found it and started dialing his cell phone number. She got the automated message that his phone was turned off. “Crap,” she muttered and tossed her phone back in her bag and began to search for her keys. She was still running towards her car. She was having no luck digging through her bag and running at the same time, but she didn't give up. By this time she was in the parking lot, she knew exactly where she had parked so she didn't even look up until she was near it. She finally gave up on finding her keys. She looked up in frustration only to find Lance leaning back against her car with a grin on his face. She ran up and threw her arms around him.
“Happy birthday baby,” was all he would get out before she started kissing him over and over and telling him how much she loved him.
Keeley finished washing her hands and dried them on a towel before she took one final look around the kitchen. She’d spent the entire afternoon making dinner, and the kitchen she saw now was spotless, unlike the kitchen that looked like a tornado blew through a couple hours ago. Wonderful aromas were flowing through the house by the time she finished cleaning up. She glanced at her watch and sighed, a slight smile playing on her lips. “Well I guess I’d better get myself ready, he’ll be here in 30 minutes,” she said to herself. She’d been waiting for tonight for weeks, and after what seemed like an eternity, it was finally here.
She went up the stairs and put on the outfit she’d just bought that weekend. She’d spent all of Saturday searching the mall with her friend Monica for the “perfect outfit.” Keeley laughed out loud as she remembered the ordeal they had gone through. Finally after about 5 hours of searching and Monica threatening to abandon her at the mall if she didn’t hurry up, she’d found it. She fastened her new Australian crystal necklace, as she looked herself over in the mirror, “Yeah, he’ll definitely like this,” she thought. Her sleek new black pants and red halter-top fit like a glove. She wanted everything that night to be perfect. It was her anniversary and she was making dinner for her boyfriend to celebrate. They rarely got time to have a nice quiet dinner together so tonight was going to be special. She pulled her long brown hair up in little twists and fastened it with pins, and just as she finished the doorbell rang.
She ran down the stairs, opened the door and gazed at her boyfriend with a big grin on her face. “Justin!!” she cried as she threw her arms around his neck. He put his strong arms around her picked her up and twirled her around on the porch.
“Happy anniversary baby,” he said. After a moment he set her back down and together the two of them walked into the living room. Justin gazed around and noticed the special things she’d done to decorate for their evening. The room was lit up only by candlelight. "Nice touch," he thought to himself. As he entered the dining room he saw she’d set the table with the china she’d received from her grandmother, and there was a red rose on each of their plates. In the center of the table was a bottle of wine chilling in a bucket of ice with two crystal wine glasses.
“Everything looks amazing Keeley,” Justin said, “smells great too.” He looked at her with a sly smile. “But you know what is missing?” he asked.
“What,” she replied as her face fell. She’d tried her best to make everything perfect, and he wasn’t pleased with her.
“This,” he whispered as he pulled her to him and gave her a long soft kiss. When they pulled away she had a dreamy smile on her face.
“You know, I’d have to agree with you,” she laughed. She motioned for him to sit down and she disappeared into the kitchen. She heard the cork pop out of the wine bottle as she gathered their dinner.
“The guys wanted me to tell you happy anniversary, and they cant wait to see you next week,” he called after her. He and the rest of the guys of Nsync had been really busy lately while preparing for the tour and Keeley didn’t get to see the rest of the guys much because most of the time when Justin was off work, she wanted to see him alone.
“Aww, that’s sweet, tell them thanks,” she replied as she entered the dining room carrying the casserole dish with their dinner. She’d spent the entire day making lasagna with her family’s secret recipe. She finished bringing out the salad and the sourdough bread before she took her seat.
She looked across the table at him as he poured the wine into their glasses. “I’d like to make a toast,” he said as he raised his glass. She smiled at him and did the same. “To the girl who is my everything,” he said as he looked her in the eye. “ I’d always thought about what my life would be like when I was young, and my childhood dreams can nowhere compare to the blessings I have received.” He noticed the tears in her eyes as he continued, “Keeley, you are the sweetest gift I have ever received and I love you so much, to us, and to many more anniversaries.”
She blinked away the tear in her eye and smiled as she replied, “ I’m the one who is blessed, thank you baby.” They clinked their glasses together and took a sip of the wine.
“One more thing,” he said, “I have a surprise for you.” He pulled a small box off the floor and handed it to her. It was wrapped in silver paper with a blue satin ribbon tied around it. She took the box from him and looked at him confused.
“Justin, I thought we said we weren’t going to get each other anything,” she replied.
“I know, I know, but it’s something I thought you’d need,” he said with a mischievous grin. His blue eyes sparkled as he waited for her to open her present.
She carefully pulled the ribbon and it fell from the box. She opened the paper and revealed a plain white box. She couldn’t imagine what he thought she needed and was shocked when she opened the box to find a bottle of sunscreen in it. She raised an eyebrow at him and asked, “So you thought I’d need this huh…”
“I didn’t want you and your white self to get burned,” he exclaimed as she continued to give him a look of bewilderment.
“Justin, it’s the middle of February, I don’t think I have to worry about getting sunburned, but um… thanks… I uh love it,” she said as she forced a smile on her face.
“Oh yeah, I forgot to give you this,” he said as he handed her an envelope. She took the envelope from him and looked at him wondering what this could be, his first gift was so strange that she was starting to wonder if maybe one of his old high school tests was in it. She’d understand that about as much as why he’d given her sunscreen for an anniversary present. She tore the envelope open and her jaw dropped open. She stared in disbelief at what was in her hands.
“Is this what I think it is?” she said. Her hazel eyes were shining as she looked across the table at him. “Oh my gosh, I cant believe you got this!! This is so awesome!,” she squealed. “But wait a sec, this costs way too much, I cant accept this,” she said as her face fell and she handed the envelope back to Justin.
“But baby,” he said, “I know how much stress you’ve been under with school, and it’s not just you. The guys and I have been stressed too and we can all use this. They’re all in on this, and Lance is bringing Monica too.” He passed the envelope back to her and she took it in her trembling hands.
“Thank you so much,” she cried as she ran over and threw her arms around Justin’s neck. He gave her a gentle kiss and they continued to embrace each other. She pulled back and grasped his hands and shook her head in disbelief, “I can’t believe we’re going on a cruise!”
(9 am)
“Time to get up,” Lance said as he came in Monica’s room and laid down on the bed next to her. She slightly stirred, but did not wake up. Lance pulled her close and she snuggled against him.
“Wake up,” he said again and chuckled when she buried her face in his chest trying to get away from his voice. “I mean it. It's time to wake up…or you're gonna be sorry,” Lance tried one last time. Finally she looked up at him gave him an evil look before burying her head again. “Ok you asked for it.” With that Lance got up and left the room.
A few minutes later Lance came back into the bedroom with JC close behind. Monica had heard them coming in but choose to ignore them. Suddenly the two guys started jumping up and down on her bed. She decided that if she ignored them long enough they would go away…she was wrong. When they realized that was not going to work they resorted to tickling. Monica, who is one of the most ticklish people in the world, could not fight long and soon got drug out of the bed and downstairs. She sat in Lance’s lap and pouted for awhile.
“Why did I ever give you a key to my house. Justin would never do this to Keeley,” Monica whined.
“Keeley actually will get OUT of bed,” Lance retorted. Monica groaned and buried her head in his chest. Finally after they threatened to tickle her again, she turned her attention to JC to find out why he was there at such an early hour.
(11 am)
“Be right there,” Cari called as she heard someone knocking on the door. She had just finished getting dressed and was in the process of pulling her shoulder length light brown hair into a ponytail. She secured it with a scrunchie and walked to the door. She was surprised to see her friend Monica standing there. It was eleven in the morning. And Monica was the type that slept until after noon on Saturdays.
“What’s wrong?” Cari asked, thinking the worst.
“Well hi to you too!” Monica laughed. “What makes you think something is wrong?”
“It is only a little after eleven on a Saturday morning and you are up, dressed, and out of the house. Does this not seem weird to you?”
“Well believe me I wasn’t happy to be awakened, but it was for a good reason. That and the fact that Lance and JC ganged up on me this morning to get me out of bed,” she answered thinking about the rude awaking she had gotten this morning.
“Well what was the good reason?” Cari asked, still confused.
“Um…JC wanted me to give you this,” Monica answered as she dug into her handbag and handed Cari a small red envelope.
“What is this?”
“Well…it’s…um…it’s a surprise.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Just open it. I have to run, my job here is done,” Monica said and turned to walk away.
“But…” Cari tried to protest, but all she got was a wave from Monica who didn't even turn around. Cari watched Monica walk to her car and hop in. Monica backed out of the driveway into the street, shifted into first gear and was gone. Cari looked down at the envelope in her hand. She turned around, walked inside and closed the door. Cari walked to the kitchen and sat down on one of the barstools. She continued to stare at the envelope wondering if its contents would be good or bad.
“Cari, you are being silly,” she spoke to no one but herself and began to gingerly open the envelope as if being to rough with it would cause it to explode. Inside she found a note scribbled in JC’s handwriting. The note read:
Cari, it’s time for a little scavenger
hunt. Go to our favorite seafood restaurant
and there you will find your first clue.
Love,
JC
P.S. I love orange lifesavers.
“What in world?” Cari read the note over and over, trying to make heads or tails of it. “Ok, whenever we go out for seafood we always go to Red Lobster next to Disney,” she thought. She grabbed her car keys and ran for the door. On her way to Red Lobster she tried to call JC from her cell phone, all she got was his voice mail.
“C, I don’t know where you are but I would love to know what you have up your sleeve. I mean, you got Monica out of bed! I am on my way to Red Lobster, though I am not sure why. I guess I will talk to you soon,” and with that she hung up the phone.
Minutes later she pulled into the Red Lobster parking lot. She got out and started walking towards the door. Cari stood and stared for a moment.
“Orange lifesavers? What in the world?” She finally opened the door and walked in. The hostess greeted Cari.
“Ah, Cari we have been expecting you!” The hostess said in her bubbly voice.
“You have huh? Do you know why I am here, because I sure don’t!”
“Of course I do, but I can’t tell you. All I can say is that what you are looking for is in this room.” Cari gave the hostess a weird look but thanked her none the less. Her eyes began to scan over the room. So far she noticed nothing unusual. Then he eyes fell on the bubble gum machine. There was an orange life vest attached to it. She walked over to examine it more closely. Attached to it was another envelope. Inside was a key, a ticket to Sea World, a parking ticket, and another note.
Well I didn’t make this clue to hard. Just
wait there is more to come! The enclosed
key is to a locker inside Sea World. Your
mission is to find what locker. Inside it you
will be rewarded with your next clue.
Love,
JC
P.S. Take the vest with you, you will need it later!
Cari carefully unhooked the life vest and started walking towards the exit, she was far beyond confused by this point. “Why in the world do I need a life vest…and does JC realize how many lockers there are inside Sea World? I am gonna be there all day looking!” she thought to herself. By this time she was in the car, heading for I-4.
She got to Sea World shortly. When Cari pulled into the parking lot she saw how many people were there. “Oh dear Lord…” she sighed. Cari parked the car, got out and started walking towards the gate. Once there she handed the booth operator the ticket from the envelope JC had left her and proceeded into the park. On her way in she grabbed a map. Looking around for a place to sit, she finally found a bench and sat down to examine the map. After scoping out the different places lockers could be found she decided to go ahead and get started. She had the feeling she was going to be there for awhile.
She was close to one of the buildings with lockers in it so she decided to stop there first. She began to try the key in every one of the lockers that were locked. After about 30 minutes she finally finished trying every locker in the room to no avail. She was beginning to get frustrated.
'Well I guess it is off to the next set,' she thought as she set off looking for more lockers. This continued for about another hour and a half. By this time Cari was worn out and was about ready to give up. She came to the last set of lockers. 'If this stupid key doesn’t fit one of the lockers JC is going to get an earful…heck he is going to get an earful for the first two hours I spent hunting for the locker!' Cari thought to herself. She cried out in frustration causing people around her to turned and stare. Her cheeks turned pink and she turned around to avoid thier stares.
She tried all of the lockers in that locker bay until she came to the last one. She inserted the key and turned it. To her surprise she heard a click and the locker popped open! She peered into the locker and pulled out its contents. In her hand she held a red Roxy bikini. She held it up to examine it. It was the suit that she had been eyeing at the mall for weeks. “Well,” she thought, “at least this makes up for me having to go through a zillion lockers!” When the material shifted a little note fell out onto the floor. She picked up the note and opened it carefully.
Congratulations, you’ve found clue #2, but your
quest is not over yet. Head to Keeley’s house and go
where it is hottest. There you will find your prize
and your next clue.
Love,
JC
P.S. Don’t forget to take your new suit with you!
“As if I would leave it behind,” she said shaking her head as she walked towards the exit. She hopped in her car and headed towards Keeley’s house. “That girl had better be able to shed some light on this,” she thought as she took the exit on the freeway. A couple minutes later she pulled into Keeley’s circular driveway. She ran up to the porch and knocked three times…nothing…she knocked again…silence. “Damn it, where is she,” Cari said aloud. She was starting to get impatient when she knocked a third time. She heard a muffled call from inside and a moment later Keeley flung the door open with a grin on her face.
“Have you been standing here long, I was blow drying my hair and I didn’t hear you,” Keeley said. “Come on in, you know what you need to do.”
“Girl what is going on?!?” Cari cried.
“JC would kill me if I said anything, I’m sorry C. But I guarantee you won’t be sorry.”
“Gee thanks you’re a lot of help,” was Cari’s reply. She stormed past Keeley and into the house.
“Okay, I have to go to the hottest place in the house,” Cari thought to herself as she looked around. She ran her hand through her hair and sighed. She turned toward the stairs and took off up them. She rounded the corner and entered Keeley’s room. She peered around the room with a look of disgust on her face. “How in the world am I supposed to find anything in this pigsty,” she thought. She heard a noise behind her and turned around, to find Keeley staring at her with a sparkle in her eye.
“Sorry the place is a little uh, untidy, I haven’t had much time to clean lately,” Keeley said as she tried to stifle a laugh.
“Keeley your room is never clean,” Cari replied as she rolled her eyes. Keeley just laughed in response. “So anyway, I’m in the hottest place in your house,” Cari said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, “what exactly am I looking for this time, some lingerie maybe?”
Keeley totally cracked up, she was grabbing her stomach and her eyes began to tear up. “I guess you could say this is the hottest place in my house, but I don’t think this is what JC had in mind, I think you need to head down stairs.”
Cari sighed as she left Keeley’s room and went down stairs. She walked into the living room and closed her eyes to think. “Hot, some place hot,” she repeated to herself. All of a sudden her eyes flew open and her lips curled into a smile. She took off for the laundry room and opened the dryer door. A little package fell out. The only other thing in the dryer was a large fluffy beach towel. She pulled the towel out and closed the door. She sat down in front of the washer and tore the package open.
Wow, you’re good at this! You’re almost
done, just two more clues. You need to go to
the mall. There’s a tape enclosed and that
will be your clue as to where to go. Good
luck.
Love,
JC
Cari took the tape out and went to the living room. She popped it into the tape player and a familiar 80’s song called “The Future’s So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades” began to play. She listened to the song for a few moments before she stopped the tape. She knew where she had to go.
Cari pushed through the huge doors that led into the Florida Mall. She made a beeline to the Sunglass Hut. She walked into the store and glanced around at the rows upon rows of sunglasses. One pair caught her eye. She walked over to the case to get a closer look. A pair of purple sunglasses, just like the ones in the movie “Charlie’s Angels” were in there, and connected to them was a note.
A sales woman made her way over to Cari and asked, “May I help you?”
“Um yes, I would like to see that pair right there, the purple ones with the little star made out of rhinestones,” Cari replied. The woman gave her a knowing smile and reached into the case.
“Here you are dear, these have already been paid for, I will wrap them up for you,” the sales woman said.
“Huh?” Cari said with a confused look on her face. She couldn’t understand how the glasses had been paid for already, and how did the woman know that Cari was going to pick them up?
“A handsome gentleman said that a young woman with your description would come in and want to see those glasses. I can only assume it’s you. Is your name Cari?” the woman asked.
“Why yes it is,” an astonished Cari replied. She followed the woman over to the counter and while she wrapped up the glasses Cari opened the note.
I thought those glasses would look great on
you, I hope you like them. This is your final
clue. Enclosed you will find a ticket into
Disney World. You need to go to Magic
Kingdom tonight at 8:00 . It will be after
hours but don’t worry, you will have no
trouble getting in. Just remember, it’s a
jungle out there baby.
Love,
JC
P.S. You’ll need to wear all the items you have gathered.
Cari gathered her new sunglasses and headed home. She still had a couple hours to kill until she had to go to Disney. She wanted to collect her thoughts. She couldn’t believe that JC expected her to walk through Disney World wearing a bikini, life jacket, towel and sunglasses. She was definitely going to have a little chat with him when she got a hold of him. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed his familiar number. It rang and after a while his voice mail picked up. She clicked off her phone and decided she’d take a little nap until she needed to leave.
When Cari woke up she glanced at the clock. It read 7:15 p.m. “I’d better get up and get ready,” she thought to herself as she got up and collected all of her new things. She walked into the bathroom and emerged a few minutes later wearing her new red bikini, her bright orange life jacket, and the towel around her waist. She had pulled her hair into a ponytail and had stuck the glasses on top of her head. She walked into her closet and pulled out some sandals and headed for Disney World.
Cari arrived at Magic Kingdom around 7:55. She walked up to the entrance and found one of the ticket booths still open. She walked up to it to find a young man behind the counter. She reached into her purse and grabbed her ticket and handed it to the man.
“Have a nice time,” he said as he took her ticket. Cari couldn’t help but notice the sparkle in his eye as he watched her walk away.
“I’m going to kill JC,” she thought outloud as she pulled the towel tighter around her waist. Even though it was February, it wasn’t that cold out. Besides, Cari was from California, so she was used to the weather getting a little cooler than tropical Florida.
She thought back to her clue, “…Just remember, it’s a jungle out there baby.” She thought she knew where she needed to go. She headed over to Adventureland and made her way to the Jungle Cruise. She walked through the walkways that winded around that were designed for crowd control until she reached the dock of the ride. She looked around and became very confused when she couldn’t find anything. The place looked deserted. Just then she heard the sound of one of the boat’s motors as it rounded the bend. The lighting was really poor, but Cari could make out the figure of a man guiding the boat to the dock. As the boat drew closer she recognized the captain and let out a squeal of delight. “JC!” she yelled and started waving her arms. She then remembered her interesting day and her even more interesting outfit and let her arms drop to her sides. She put her hand on her hip and started to tap her foot impatiently. JC docked the boat and hopped off to join her. He approached her with a huge grin on his face.
“Aww, what’s the matter,” he asked with a twinkle in his eye.
“You know very well what’s the matter! I’ve had the most awful time with your little scavenger hunt, and now you’ve got me standing here looking like an idiot! What in the world is this all about?”
“I have a surprise for you,” he replied. As he took a step toward her she took a step back.
“I don’t think I want any more surprises from you!”
“Trust me, You’ll really like this one,” he said as he reached out his hand. Reluctantly, she reached out and grasped his hand and let him pull her into a hug. When they pulled away from each other JC reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out an envelope. “Here is the last envelope of the day.”
She took the envelope from him and opened it.
You’ve made it to your final destination.
Now for your reward. Enclosed is two
tickets for a cruise vacation. I hope you feel
your efforts for the day are worth it. I love
you girl.
Love,
JC
Cari reached into the envelope and pulled out the tickets. She gasped as she stared at them with disbelief. She raised her eyes to JC. He was standing there looking at her expectantly while rocking back and forth with his hands in his pockets. “Well?” he asked cautiously. Her face showed no emotion as she stared back at him. JC started to say, “Are you still mad…” when Cari came running over and jumped into his arms. She almost knocked him into the water because he was not expecting it, but managed to regain his balance and catch her. He leaned in and lowered his mouth to hers. She pulled away, smiled at him and kissed the tip of his nose.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!! Now I understand why I was on a wild goose chase today! Thank you so much…for everything!”