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❪   CHAPTER EIGHT !   ❫
-ˏˋ BIG TIME PALM TREES ˊˎ-

( this chapter is not too exciting,
but chapter nine makes up for it. )

IT WAS ELEVEN O'CLOCK ON A BITTERLY COLD Tuesday morning. It's been three days since Kendall made his deal with Gustavo, and the boy was currently at the airport in Minnesota with his friends and family. They had already gone through security and handed over their suitcases. Now, they were waiting at their plane's boarding gate.

Kendall and his friends sat in a row of five chairs, Katie and Mrs. Knight sitting across from them. Kendall and Carlos sat on both ends of the row, and Aurora sat in the middle of the group in between James and Logan. They each wore some sort of thick jacket since it was a very cold day in Minnesota, and the group of five was more than happy to be leaving and heading into the nice weather of Los Angeles.

"I can't believe we're actually going to L.A." Carlos spoke with a broad smile.

"I can't believe they actually let you through security with that helmet." Logan commented, looking at Carlos' head. Carlos gave him another cheerful smile in return.

James looked up at the ceiling with a dreamy look. "I can't believe I'm actually gonna be famous."

"I can't believe my mom actually let me go with you guys." Aurora admitted with a chuckle. Convincing her mother was most definitely not a simple task, but after stressing on the point that they would not have to see each other for three months, Ms. Mendoza eventually agreed.

Logan turned his head to face Aurora. "How did she react when you told her you were staying in L.A. for three months?"

Aurora shrugged and lied, "She was cool with it."

The rest of the boys turned to Aurora and raised their brows in disbelief. Aurora noticed after a couple of seconds and frowned.

"She threw a spoon at me." She admitted.

The boys cringed.

"Well," Kendall began. He pointed a finger in Aurora's direction. "You won't have to worry about spoons being thrown at you anymore." He smiled sweetly.

Kendall looked at the rest of his friends and continued, "Because we are going to prove to the record company that we are an amazing band."

The teenagers nodded, excited for what California had in store for them.

"So," Kendall looked at the rest of his friends. "Any ideas for the band name?"

James made a big gesture with hands and suggested, "James and the Boys." He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows.

"The Reindeer Astronauts!" Carlos added with excitement.

Logan nodded to himself in satisfaction. "Logan and the Brainiac Bunch."

Aurora pressed her lips together. She looked at Kendall and saw that his nose was wrinkled as he pulled a face. He nodded his head and told the group, "Yeah, we can think of band names later."

The muffled voice of a woman echoed through the halls of the boarding gate.

"Good morning passengers." The woman announced, "This is the official boarding announcement for Flight B0413 from Shakopee, Minnesota to Los Angeles, California. We are now inviting all passengers to begin boarding at this time. Please have your boarding pass and identification ready. Thank you."

Mrs. Knight immediately stood up and grabbed her carry on luggage. She rolled the small suitcase over to where the group was sitting. Katie mirrored her mother's actions, and the five teenagers stood up.

"Okay." Mrs. Knight began. "Does everybody have their tickets and passports ready?"

Everyone held out their passports and boarding passes so Mrs. Knight could see.

"Good." The woman smiled in relief. She pointed to the boarding passes and continued, "On the plane, we have both sections of Row F, and one seat in Row G, which is mine." The woman stressed, wanting to have some time away from the kids. "So, you guys can pick your seats out of those six."

Carlos smiled, ecstatic. He gripped onto his carry on luggage. "I call the window seat!" He spoke quickly and almost ran over to the woman near the boarding entrance.

James picked up his belongings and rushed behind him. "I call the aisle!"

"I guess I'll sit in the middle." Logan said plainly and followed behind his friends.

Kendall turned to Aurora. "Sit next to me?" He asked with a sly grin.

"Sure." Aurora replied with a smile before pointing a finger at the boy. She spoke in a stern voice, "But I'm taking the window seat."

Kendall chuckled and lifted a hand up in surrender.

With the Knight family trailing behind her, Aurora grabbed her luggage and followed her friends to hand off her boarding pass.

"Have a wonderful flight." The woman spoke in an almost robotic tone with a smile, handing Logan his passport and ticket.

Logan returned the smile. "Thank you." He replied. He strolled away to catch up to Carlos and James.

Aurora stepped up to the small stand. The woman checked out Aurora's passport,  scanned her boarding pass, and then ripped off the extra piece of paper attached to it. She gave the passport and ticket back to Aurora, giving her an award winning smile.

"Have a wonderful flight." The woman repeated.

Aurora gave her a smile in return and walked off down the hallway that lead to the airplane.

She glanced down at her ticket a few times, looking at her row number just to make sure she knew were she was going. She dragged her carry-on behind her and followed her friends onto the plane.

Aurora hesitated once she saw the tons of rows of seats on the plane. It was her first time flying, and she was honestly a little nervous.

Once Kendall finally made it behind her, he noticed her hesitance. He smirked for a second and walked up next to the girl.

"Wow," He spoke in a dramatic tone, capturing Aurora's attention. He went on, "Is Minnesota's fiercest female scared of flying?"

Aurora scoffed, "No."

Kendall lowered his brows and narrowed his eyes into slits, showing he did not believe the girl.

"Okay, maybe, just a little." Aurora came clean. She sent him a glare, warning him not to make fun of her for it. "I've never been on a plane before."

Kendall gave her a promising smile. "You'll be fine." He nodded his head in the direction on the seats on the plane and started to head to his seat. "Come on."

Aurora let out a soft breath of air before trailing behind her friend.

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THE AIRPLANE RIDE TO LOS ANGELES WAS about three hours long, and was an interesting experience. Logan panicked about the idea of the plane crashing for the first hour, but eventually pulled himself together. Him, James and Carlos played video games for the rest of the flight.

Aurora was a slightly nervous flyer. Kendall managed to calm her down after the plane was finally in the air. The two of them decided to watch Mamma Mia to pass some of the time. Katie sat in the same row as them, but paid them no mind. Similar to the other three boys, she played Castle Smashers on her DSi for majority of the flight.

Now, the group of seven was recently escorted out of a shiny black limousine. The plane ride was exciting for the group, but the car ride was what they enjoyed the most. The airport was quite a far distance away from the place they were staying at, so the ride was long. The group got to see some of Hollywood's greatest tourist attractions through the windows of the limousine.

The group was greeted by Kelly outside of the building. She had her cell phone in one hand, and a burgundy folder in the other. Once everyone got all of their belongings out of the limousine, they followed the woman towards the apartment complex.

"Welcome to the Palm Woods," Kelly began, sounding like a tour guide. "Home of the future famous."

The group smiled as they looked around at their surroundings. It was clearly called the Palm Woods for a reason, since there were palm trees almost everywhere. The atmosphere was hot but the breeze was cool and fresh. They watched as other people came in and out of the Palm Woods.

Mrs. Knight stopped for a brief second and leaned over to touch a palm tree that was planted. The others also stopped when they noticed what she was doing.

She spoke in amusement, "That's the first palm tree I've ever touched."

The group could not help but smile. Kendall laughed quietly and pulled his mother into a small side hug before they continued to walk.

Kelly went on as they approached a set of stairs. "Every year, kids and parents from all over the world come here looking for fame in TV, movies, and music."

"Oh, hey!" Kendall announced, stopping the group once more. He happily pointed to a red haired woman dragging what seemed to be her son up the steps. Kendall continued in excitement, "There's that funny kid from the juice box commercials!"

"I just want my childhood back!" The young boy tried his best to pull away from his mother's grip. The group's smiles faded and a line formed in between Logan's brow.

"Tyler," The woman somewhat whispered through gritted teeth. She continued to pull her son up the stairs. "Let's go."

Kendall, Carlos and Aurora all watched the two of them make their way away from the Palm Woods. A short, awkward silence fell over the group for a quick second.

"Okay!" Kelly said in a peppy voice, trying to ignore what just happened. She walked down the stairs and headed inside the Palm Woods with the others trailing behind her.

The lobby doors were wide open, but yet it was still much cooler than outside. The floor was carpeted and the walls were painted with a tan color. The lobby had couches where people were currently sitting in sit and hanging out. It also has set of double doors that seemed to lead to an outside area in the back of the building. There was a station with a computer which guests can use.

There were elevators that lead up to the higher levels as well. Palm trees were also planted in pots inside the building.

"You guys are gonna love it here." Kelly assured with positivity. "The rooms are clean, you're close to the studio,"

"And..." Kelly continued in a dreamy tone, "There is an amazing pool."

Those five words were just enough to cause the boys to drop all of their bags and leave the lobby. They sprinted out through the set of double doors that led to the area in the back of the building, seeing that the pool was there.

Kelly and Mrs. Knight shared a look once the boys were gone. Mrs. Knight shrugged, knowing the boys would not be coming back any time soon. Aurora simply shook her head, not surprised. Katie rubbed her nose, unbothered.

Mrs. Knight turned to Aurora. She asked, "Can you go make sure they don't do anything stupid enough to get us kicked out?"

Aurora dropped her belongs. "On it." She replied and walked towards the set of double doors.

The girl was greeted by the heat once again when she stepped outside of the lobby, and she almost smacked herself for not changing out of her long jeans at the airport.

The Palm Woods pool was indeed amazing, and everyone at the Palm Woods knew it. A lot of teenagers were relaxing outside either on lounge chairs, inside tents, or at tables with umbrellas connected to them. Aurora ducked her head as a boy jumped into the pool, not wanting to get wet.

She laughed with joy at the sight in front of her—this was going to be her home for the next three months.

Focusing back to her task, Aurora scanned the area for the boys. She saw them relaxing with grins on their faces in four lounge chairs not too far away from the doors. There was an empty chair in the middle of the boys, between Carlos and Logan. Kendall sat next to Carlos, both of them having their hands placed behind their heads. Logan and James had their eyes closed.

Aurora smiled as she headed over to the group.

"You guys look very relaxed." Aurora pointed out, smiling down at her best friends. Logan and James both opened their eyes.

Logan chimed, "We saved you a spot."

Aurora turned her head downwards slightly and gave the boys a coy smile. "Thank you." She sat down onto the lounge chair. She leaned back and closed her eyes, letting out a satisfied sigh.

James hung his head back. "We are so not in Minnesota anymore." He remarked, shutting his eyes closed again.

"Uh, Minnie who now?" Logan smiled, earning a soft laugh from the rest of the group.

Kendall sat up from his chair and leaned his elbow over his knee. "What can I say?" He asked, rhetorically. "You guys were right."

Kendall turned his head around when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. Before he could even see who it was, the person gave him a hard, loud slap across his cheek. His mouth shot open and prominent lines formed between his brows. His friends immediately turned to him once they heard the noise.

"How dare you?!" The person asked, practically shouting. If the slap that she gave Kendall did not attract the attention of the people in the area, her loud voice most certainly did.

The girl had her curly brown locks pinned up neatly out of her face. She wore a long sparkly purple dress that had a big flower on her left shoulder. Her cheeks had a pink tint to them, and her lips matched in color.

The girl pointed to herself. "What we had was real! But you threw it all away for Trish!" She shrieked, flying her arm in the air to exaggerate what she was saying.

The four boys looked at the girl in confusion. Kendall had scooted backwards in his chair a little, not wanting to get slapped in the face again. Aurora's eyebrows were raised, her realizing that the heartbroken and aggravated girl was simply a really impressive actress.

"Trish! My sworn enemy!" The girl stressed. She shook her head and her voice cracked, "I never wanna see you again, Troy! Never!"

The girl let out a loud squeal and began to shed tears in character. She fanned herself in the face, as if she was trying not to try. She walked away from the group with speed, the teenagers never taking their eyes off of her. As she passed by a boy with a towel and a beach ball, she smacked the ball out of his hands and into the pool. The boy shrugged his shoulders and walked over to what seemed to be his friends.

Kendall's cheek was practically glowing with a shade of red. He shook his head in confusion, "What just happened?" He asked his friends.

"You new guys just met Camille, the Palm Woods method actress queen."

The teenagers heard a muffled kid-like voice come from somewhere. The rest of Kendall's friends sat up and searched around them, confused as to where the voice came from.

After searching for a couple of seconds, Kendall's eyes landed on a green trash bin that was placed next to him. He cautiously lifted his hand up towards the lid.

Kendall snatched the lid off, and almost immediately, the red haired boy from earlier popped up from inside.

"The name's Tyler." He introduced himself, standing up.

The teenagers smiled eagerly, amused at the fact that they were seeing the iconic kid in person once again. Tyler continued, "You may have seen me acting on various juice box commercials. Only, I don't wanna be an actor." He relieved, holding out his arms. "I wanna be a kid!"

"Tyler!" A woman's voice wailed from inside the lobby.

Tyler's face changed, knowing it was his mother searching for him. "Oh! Hide me!" He directed before crouching back inside of the trash can.

Kendall placed the lid back on the trash can and moved in front of it smoothly, his eyebrow raised. He placed his elbow on top of his knee.

The woman rushed up to the group. She tried to control her breathing to keep her frantic emotions from consuming her. She questioned in an anxious manner, "Have you seen my son? Red hair, adorable," She clenched her hands into fists and stressed, "Born to be a star!?"

She fanned her face and shrieked, "We've got an audition!"

The teenagers did not even have to share a look to agree on what they were going to all say. They simply responded, "He went that way." They pointed towards the double doors leading into the lobby.

On that note, the lady rushed back into the building.

The teens turned to face the trash bin. They smiled, "She's gone."

Tyler popped his head out from under the green lid of the bin and looked around. Kendall took the lid off of his head and placed it onto the ground. The kid smiled in gratitude, "Thanks." He stood up.

Logan looked around at all of the people in the area. He questioned to Tyler, "So, is everyone here an actor?"

"No." Tyler shook his head and pointed to someone. "That's guitar dude. He's a 'songwriter.'" He spoke, making quotation marks with his fingers.

The group turned in the direction that Tyler pointed to, and it did not take them long to figure our who he was talking about. A long haired boy sat on a chair with his three other friends with a pair of shades and a guitar. He lifted a hand up at the group, making a rock symbol with his fingers.

"What's up?" He stated. Carlos lifted up his hand and smiled in response.

Inspired by his last two words, Guitar dude stood up and began to play his guitar. He sang, "What's up, what's up? What's up!"

He snapped his fingers and sat down. "Yeah." He nodded to himself, satisfied with his song. Aurora let out a soft laugh, and James waved the boy in respect.

A dog barked from across the pool.

Tyler's head shot in the direction of the dog barking. "Oh," He pointed at the dog. "That's Lightning, the TV wonder dog."

Before anyone could question why the dog was also wearing a pair of shades, Lightning waved at the group.

Kendall smirked, surprised and impressed. "He's good." He pointed out. Carlos nodded his head in agreement.

Tyler nodded, but got distracted and looked at the double doors that led to the lobby. He noticed something, and then spoke again.

"Oh, and then there's the Jennifers." Tyler began almost plainly. With more enthusiasm, he continued, "Three girls of the same name, who sing, dance, and act."

While the group was distracted, he pointed a fan in the girls' direction. They appeared to be walking in slow motion, and the air coming from the fan made them look like they came straight out of a teen fiction movie. The group of five could almost here the dramatic music playing as the girls walked in their direction. They all wore cube shaped sunglasses and differently styled sundresses. They each wore their bags on their left shoulders, and reached up to push up their glasses at the same time.

James' lips parted slightly and he sat up in his seat as the girls walked past. Tyler made sure to keep the fan pointing in the girl's direction, allowing their hair to flow almost flawlessly. Kendall, Carlos and Logan all looked at the girls in complete awe, goofy lopsided smiles on their faces. Carlos was practically drooling. Aurora gave them an impressed look, giving them props for knowing how to make an entrance.

"Hey!" James called out loud enough for the girls to hear. They stopped dead in their tracks and turned around to face him, almost expressionless. They took off their glasses.

James nodded at the girls. "We're in a band." The rest of the boys nodded with joy. Aurora looked back and forth between her friends and the three girls, interested in how the situation would pan out.

The Jennifers' jaws dropped and they spoke in sync with excitement, "Really? Oh, my gosh!" The girls feigned in high-pitched voices. The boys all smiled at each other.

The three girls dropped their happy expressions and replaced them with cold, bored ones. The Jennifer with straight brown hair, Jennifer Woods, changed her tone and spoke, "And we're actresses who don't care." She spoke bitterly.

Aurora gave the girls a dirty look. The boys all frowned, except for Carlos. He was still peppy and did not give up. He continued with enthusiasm, "Wanna go to the movies tonight?"

The blonde Jennifer, Jennifer Chandler, raised her brow and cocked her head to the side. She asked with vague interest, "Are you guys...starring in the movie?"

Carlos replied with slight hesitance, "No..."

The final Jennifer with curly brown hair, Jennifer Davis, gave Carlos a sarcastic small smile. "Then no."

Kendall pressed his lips together and turned his head down.

Jennifer Woods placed a hand on her hip, the fan still blowing air in her direction. "If that seems harsh, it's because it is, and so is this town." She narrowed her eyes, "So..."

The three girls put on their sunglasses in unison. They waved and spoke in a sour tone simultaneously, "Later."

The group watched as Chandler and Woods walked away. Jennifer Davis handed a twenty dollar bill to Tyler, most likely paying him for fanning them. He smiled and put it in his pocket as Jennifer walked away with her other friends.

Aurora scoffed—she could not tell if the girls reminded her more of the Heathers or the Plastics.

Carlos fell back in his seat, giving the sky an adoring gaze. "I'm so in love." He put his hands behind his head and slid down the lounge chair.

Kendall shook his head and opened out his arms. He grimaced, "Okay, reality check." He turned to his best friends. They all looked at him, knowing a small speech was coming along.

"We have to promise ourselves, now, that we're not gonna let this singing thing or this town change us." Kendall spoke, not wanting to become cold blooded like the Jennifers.

He proceeded, "We are four hockey players and one..."

Kendall paused, looking at Aurora. He tried to think of a description for her, but his mind went blank. Aurora shifted towards him, interested in what foolish name he was going to end up calling her.

When Kendall did nothing except grimace, Aurora rolled her eyes. "Female." She said plainly, giving him and idea.

Kendall went back to his small speech. "We are four hockey players and one female from Minnesota, and we can never forget that." He pointed to his friends. "Do we all agree?"

The group beamed their obvious response, "Yes."

Kendall let out a heavy sigh of relief and slumped back down into his chair.

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STARTED WRITING: July 25, 2019
PUBLISHED: July 31, 2019
WORD COUNT: 3882

the "airport" scene was originally supposed to be a full lengthened chapter, but i decided to remove it. so, instead i just cut it short and used it as a short scene instead.

though, the parts of the chapter will most likely be posted at the end of this season along with other cool deleted scenes. :)

also, in the show, only one of the jennifers had their last name revealed, which was jennifer woods. so, i just made up last names for the other two.

of course i named the blonde jennifer "jennifer chandler" because...you know...heather chandler...

anyways, thanks for reading darlings. ;)