Title: Road Trip ? Chapter 5 Author: Alicia Blade E-mail: Kammi22@sprintmail.com Sigh? the last part. To all those of you who stuck with this one, hope you like the ending! Go visit First Love: A Sailor Moon Story Archive at www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Spa/4410 ?Our hearts are sad; instead of dancing, we mourn. Zion?s glory has disappeared! And we are doomed because of our sins. We feel sick all over and can?t even see straight; our city is in ruins, overrun by wild dogs. You will rule forever, Lord! You are King of all time. Why have you forgotten us for so long? Bring us back to you! Give us a fresh start. Or do you despise us so much that you don?t want us?? Lamentations 5:15-22 Serena and Ami had finally made it to Florida. Serena stared happily out of the car window at the blue Atlantic Ocean stretching widely before her. ?Oh, it?s absolutely gorgeous here!? she exclaimed. ?Yes, I have always wanted to see the Atlantic Coastal Plain,? agreed Ami. Serena looked at her strangely. ?Okay, let me see if I can remember. A plain is a large relatively flat area, right? And the coastal plains are different from the others because they aren?t quite as flat and they have swamps and marshes and eerie stuff like that, right?? Ami stared at her friend in amazement, before tearing her eyes back to the road. ?My, Serena, that is very impressive. I?m glad that you have been listening to me. I am incredibly astonished!? Serena smiled happily. ?And you said I was incompetent of an intelligent conversation!? Just then, Serena looked out her window to see that they were passing a public beach. ?Ooh, let?s go to the beach! Please, Ami? Pretty please with a cherry on top?? begged Serena, rather annoyingly. ?Yes, yes, Serena, we?ll go to the beach!? ?Ooh, yay! I can?t wait! I wonder if we?ll meet anyone like Chad again.? ?Incompetent.? ~ 10 minutes later ~ ?Yay! The beach!? Serena ran happily toward the waves, dipped her bare toes into the water, and then jumped back screeching, ?COLD!? Ami laughed and laid her towel on the sand, preparing for a nice relaxing afternoon to catch up on her studies. ?Excuse me, but can I sit here?? asked a female voice. Ami looked up to see a girl with a towel in hand hovering above her. She had thick black hair down to her waist and bright violet eyes. ?Oh, go ahead,? said Ami kindly. ?Thank you so much. The beach is very crowded today. Mostly teenage girls. I do believe most of them are here for the concert. Is that why you came?? ?No, I haven?t heard of any concert.? ?Really? Oh it?s the biggest thing happening around now!? ?What is it?? ?It?s the Backstreet Boy?s first concert in Florida since they went on their European tour! Nick Carter is from Florida, you know.? ?No, I didn?t know that. Are you going to the concert?? ?Wouldn?t miss it! I even bought extra tickets to sell for extra, since I knew they were going to sell out in less than half an hour. I camped out in front of Ticket Master the night before they went on sale! I?ve made a good bargain, but still have a few left.? ?Really? What are you going to do with them?? ?I?m not sure yet? hey, would you like a couple?? ?Oh, no, I couldn?t possibly?? ?No, I insist! You?ll have tons of fun! Free of charge too. And you can bring a friend if you?d like.? Ami thought about it for a minute. ?Well, I?m sure Serena would strangle me if she found out I?d turned this down, so? sure, why not?? ?Great! I?ll meet you outside the Sand Dollar Arena* at 7:00, okay? It?s in Jacksonville, only a couple miles north of here.? ?I?ll be there! Oh, by the way, my name is Ami.? ?I?m Raye. It?s great to meet you.? ?Likewise.? Ami smiled kindly and returned to her physics book while Raye threw on a pair of headphones. Serena continued to prance about happily in the water. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ?What?! You got us tickets to a Backstreet Boys? concert?!? Serena squealed before lunging herself at her friend. ?Oh, Ami, you?re the best friend ever! I can?t wait! This is going to be so cool! Omigosh, I have to figure out what I?m going to wear! What if Nick sees me?!? Serena began digging through her suitcase, searching for nothing in particular, occasionally holding a shirt up to look at it before tossing it over her shoulder. Ami sighed. ?Well, while she?s busy doing? whatever she?s doing, I guess I?ll go make arrangements for a flight back home.? And she did just that. ~ Half an hour later ~ Serena modeled in front of the full-length mirror on the closet door, sporting a freshly chosen outfit? the fourth one so far. ?Do you like this one better, Ami?? Ami hung up the phone. ?Yes, Serena, it?s very nice. Now here?s the deal?? ?I dunno. I think the blue shirt brought out my eyes better?? ?Serena, you had better listen to this.? Serena sighed and plopped down on the bed, looking up at Ami patiently. ?Okay, our plane will leave at 8:00 tomorrow morning, so we have to get up around 5:30?? ?5:30?! Are you kidding?! After tonight I?m going to be so exhausted, I doubt I?ll be able to lift a finger before noon!? ?Well, tough, I?m getting you up at 5:30!? ?But Ami?? ?Would you PLEASE stop whining, Serena?? Serena crossed her arms and faked a pout. Ami sighed. ?And then we?ll have the car shipped over to Seattle by boat. Okay?? ?Whatever you say. You?re the smart one.? ?Well, duh!? Ami thought silently. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ?Oh, Ami! Over here!? yelled a voice amid the other screaming teenyboppers. ?Oh, hello Raye,? greeted Ami, walking over to the dark-haired girl, with Serena trailing on her heels. ?This is my friend, Serena.? ?Hi there!? ?Hello, it?s very nice to meet you!? ?You to.? ?So when do we get to go inside?? asked Ami. ?Any minute now, they should be opening the doors.? ?Ooh, I am so excited! I absolutely love the Backstreet Boys!? ?Really? Me too! Which one if your favorite?? asked Raye. ?Nick, definitely!? ?Personally, I prefer Kevin. What about you Ami?? Ami looked down, blushing slightly. ?Well? I don?t really go for that sorta stuff? but I guess, if I had to choose? Brian.? ?Yeah, he?s pretty cool too.? ?Hey, it?s the Backstreet Boys! They?re all wicked cool!? cheered Serena. ?There I would have to agree with you.? ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ?I can?t believe I am in the same room with Nick Carter,? gasped Serena after the screaming had somewhat died down. The three girls had gotten excellent seats with much thanks to Raye, and after the numerous opening acts, the long awaited for Backstreet Boys appeared onstage, singing a cappella. They were now in the middle of their third song and Serena was beginning to feel rather faint. ?Yeah, and Kevin Richardson too!? screamed Raye, standing beside her. Even Ami had been screaming wildly when the quintet had appeared. Serena watched in awe, screaming whenever the large overhead screen would picture Nick, and sighing whenever either of the Boys smiled or waved in their direction. Raye jumped up and down and screamed furiously when Kevin would dance over to their side of the stage. And Ami would smile brightly each time Brian would come into his solo. ~ Half an hour later ~ The band was on their sixth song, one of the more upbeat tunes, ?If You Want It To Be Good, Girl.? Serena sighed when Nick came walking over to her side of the audience. And then he? ?WHAT?! Was that my imagination? Did Nick just? smile at me?!? Serena fainted on the spot. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ?I never though she would actually faint,? said Ami, helping Raye lift the girl up, Raye at the arms and Ami with the legs. ?Yeah, but there ya go! Hey, at least she wasn?t the only one who fainted!? The two girls looked around briefly. The arena was nearly empty except for a few stragglers lifting their unconscious companions to help carry them outside. ?Yeah, I guess you have a point.? After Raye and Ami had finally reached Ami?s car and shoved Serena into the backseat, Ami gave much thanks and appreciation to Raye for the excellent tickets, and for helping carry Serena back to the car. With a trade of phone numbers and addresses, Ami hopped into the car and drove back to the hotel. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Ami woke up to the beeping alarm clock around 5:30 the next morning to an empty hotel room. ?What? Serena up already? Impossible.? After she had thought about it for awhile, Ami remembered that she had left Serena in the car, not wanting to wake her, and not with the strength to carry her up to the room. ?Well, I guess I?ll get our stuff ready then.? She packed the suitcases, randomly tossing Serena?s clothes, which she hadn?t bothered to pick up before the concert, into one of the suitcases. She then wasted no time in showering and dressing, before calling the airline to see if the flight was on schedule. After checking to see if Serena was alright and finding her sleeping like a baby in the backseat still, Ami had tossed the luggage into the trunk and taken off to the airport. As she looked out the car window toward the Atlantic Ocean, she thought, ?Well, overall, I would have to say this was one exciting vacation!? ~ Epilogue ~ ?Ami Mizuno, here?s your report,? said the instructor, handing a small stapled bunch of papers back to Ami. ?Great job.? Ami looked down at the paper. At the top, in bright red ink, was a large A+. She smiled in satisfaction. Flipping to the last page, she read over the teacher?s notes. ?This was a very well written report. I enjoyed the structure and the first person style immensely. The personal experiences also added interest and uniqueness. Overall, a most excellent, well-researched and thought out essay. Congratulations! - Ms. Rehberg? The end? for real! * I don?t know if the Sand Dollar Arena exists. Probably not. Whatja think? www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Spa/4410 Luv and God bless! <3 Alicia