Chapter 97
I looked around the room, raising an eyebrow. "So… what's the plan now?"
Monica replied, "We were planning to stay here one more day, and visit you in L.A., but… you're already here."
"Well, I have a proposal for you all," I said, leaning forward a bit. "You can visit L.A. at the end of May—when the premiere of Joey's movie will happen."
"Wow, how do you know the date?" Joey asked, looking surprised.
"I'm one of the investors in the movie," I said with a small shrug.
"So, did you get Joey the role?" Chandler asked
"Not really," I replied. "He got it on his own merit. I didn't say anything. The most I did was tell Joey about the role."
Joey beamed, proud. "Man, that means even more. I actually earned it!"
"Yes, and we're all very proud of you," Phoebe said, patting his shoulder.
"Thanks, Pheebs," Joey said, grinning.
Chandler finally raised his coffee. "Here's to Joey Tribbiani—actor and star."
Everyone did the same, raising their cups and congratulating Joey with smiles and cheers.
"Did you watch the movie?" Joey asked, looking around the table.
"No, I saved it for the premiere," I replied.
Pepper watched it, though. And she was impressed—said it might be another dark horse. She even decided to launch it in way more theaters than Paranormal Activity originally started with.
Rachel tilted her head. "Wait, what was the proposal you were going to make?"
"Ah, right!" I said, snapping my fingers. "I got some tickets for shows—Cirque du Soleil: Mystère, Blue Man Group, and David Copperfield. Ten tickets each."
Pepper got for free. All hail Pepper
"Whoa," Joey said. "That's a lotta shows."
"Well, we're in Vegas," I responded. "Might as well enjoy it properly. We can split into groups or try to hit everything over the next two days."
So we ended up watching them together— including Alan, Charlie, and some girl Charlie had just met in Vegas. Typical.
Later, after saying our goodbyes, Charlie got behind the wheel, and we drove back to Malibu.
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Back at Charlie's house, Laura was sitting on my lap, her arms loosely around my neck.
"Next time, you need to call me too," she said, biting my shoulder
She was a little envious of the three shows I got to see.
The trio showed up—Carly, Sam, and Freddie—and they joined us out on the deck as the sun began to set.
Shortly, Cher and Regina appeared too.
The seven of us were now sitting together on the deck, the ocean breeze rolling in softly.
"I can't believe you didn't call us to go to Vegas," said Regina, giving me a playful glare.
"I have a better one," I said with a wink.
"What is it?" Cher asked, leaning in with curiosity.
Laura also looked at me, intrigued.
"It's about my music recording " I said. "But this time," I added, looking around, "I need you all to behave. Especially you two." I pointed at Cher and Regina.
"I only flirted with one of the singers," Cher said quickly.
"Regina flirted with two," she added.
"But he was cute," Regina said defensively.
Before the two could start gossiping about it, I raised a hand. "Okay, okay, it's not about that."
"This time, the singer is actually pretty famous," I added, giving them a look that only made them more curious.
"Who?" asked Laura, her eyes locked on mine.
Everyone was now paying close attention, waiting for the reveal.
"Jennifer Lopez," I said simply.
"J.Lo?!" screamed Cher and Regina at the same time.
Laura had both hands wrapped around my arm, eyes gleaming with excitement. Carly looked amazed. Even Sam was animated.
"What's so special about Jennifer Lopez anyway?" Freddie asked.
Everyone turned to look at him.
Cher and Regina stared at him with a murderous gaze.
"Idiot", Sam kicked him under the table
I cleared my throat. "Honestly, I'd prefer if you all acted a bit more like Freddie. Just don't go all fangirl with her, okay?" I said, shooting a glance at Cher and Regina.
They both gave me identical looks of mock innocence.
"No promises," Regina said with a sly smile.
"We'll try," Cher added, already failing to contain her grin.
Everyone chuckled.
The group chatted for a little while longer, until Freddie broke the rhythm.
"So, no one's gonna talk about the tests we have this week?" he asked.
"You are such a nerd, Freddie," Sam said, rolling her eyes.
"Well, I'm not the one at risk of repeating the year," he snapped back.
"Or maybe that's not a bad thing, I wouldn't have to put up with you in class anymore," Freddie finished.
"Shut up, you idiot," Sam shot back immediately.
Carly sat quietly, a bit conflicted.
"I'm okay being a B student..." Cher said with a shrug, unbothered.
Laura nodded in agreement beside her.
"Maybe I need a little help," Regina admitted with a sigh.
"Wait—are there tests this week?" I asked, blinking.
Everyone looked at me
"Now and June are our main testing periods," Carly said, finally breaking her silence.
I just shrugged.
"You're the one nerd that irritates me the most," Sam snapped, visibly annoyed. "You sleep in class more than I do."
I gasped, pointing at her dramatically. "Lies… fake news!"
"You totally do," Carly said deadpan. "I even have to wake you up sometimes just to tell you class is over."
"I didn't know you were that kind of person," Laura uttered, a little surprised
I leaned closer and whispered, "That's a little your fault. You keep texting me until late at night..."
Laura playfully bumped her shoulder against mine, grinning.
"And yet he got all A+!" Sam shot.
"What??" said Laura, Regina, and Cher in unison.
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