One

Alex woke up as somebody was shaking him up. It was Leo, his best friend. He was a skinny Latino boy with some freckles across his nose.

"Wake up! We are gonna be late!" Leo said in a cheerful voice.

"Uh... What?" said Alex, waking up.

He then remembered which day it was and bolted upright.

"Shit. Where is Finn?" Alex asked Leo as he stuffed some clothes into his duffle bag.

"Downstairs. Looting your fridge."

"How many times we have left?"

"Mm.. Almost an hour," said Leo.

"What?"

Alex looked at his phone to find out that it was five in the morning.

"Well, We woke up way too early and decided to wake you up."

Alex glared at Leo.

"And we wanted some coffee too," added Leo.

Alex packed the rest of his bag and went downstairs. He saw a tall handsome black-haired boy sitting at his table, eating a bowl of cereal.

"Hey," said Finn. waving to him.

Alex waved back and picked up his book from the table.

"Which cafe are we going?" asked Alex.

"The one on the corner," said Leo.

"Caitlyn quit last week," Finn said as he washed the bowl.

"Who? The blond girl?" asked Leo.

"Yeah."

"Why? And why do you know her name?"

Finn put the bowl on the top counter.

"Because of you. And she is my sister's friend."

Alex laughed as Finn sat back down on his chair.

"Why didn't you tell me that you know her? You know that I have a crush on her."

"Cause we'd like to see you do stupid things," said Alex.

"You knew to?" yelled Leo.

"Be quiet. It's five in the morning," said Finn.

"Anyway, How did you wake up? You usually sleep till noon."

"Leo woke me up thirty minutes ago. And that's why we are here at this hour for coffee," said Finn, glaring at Leo.

Alex grabbed his duffle bag and got up.

"Let's get going. Or we'll really get late."

They walked down the street for about ten minutes and went to the only open cafe. They got their coffees and headed to the bus stop across the street. While they ordered the coffee, Leo asked the cashier,

"Did the blond girl here quit?"

"Yeah. She said there were too many boys asking for her phone number. She got annoyed. And she said that she is going somewhere this winter. Wait, aren't you the one that came here almost every day after school?"

Leo shook his head and said,

"No. You look sleepy. I think you got confused. Anyway, bye!"

He picked up the coffee and ran outside.

The bus arrived shortly after that incident and they were headed to the airport. When they arrived at the airport two hours later, there was a group of students gathered around.

"Is this the meeting point?" asked Leo.

"I guess so," said Finn, looking at his phone.

A woman in a white suit walked up to the boys and asked,

"Are you guys going to the Bio Lab?"

A few months ago, Leo found this poster that said, 'Welcome to Bio Lab! We greet you with pleasure!' Bio Lab is a big company that sells medicines and all sorts of medical supplies. They were never opened to civilians but, it's now open for two weeks for students all around the USA.

"I guess so," answered Finn.

"Great! Here are your name tags."

The boys put on their name tags that the woman gave them.

"Great! Now, any questions?"

"Um... How many students are going on this trip?" asked Leo.

"About Fifty."

"What is your name?" asked Alex.

"It's Tiffany. I'll be your guide for two weeks. Oh, I should get those students." she left as some group of students were coming in their direction.

Alex threw out his coffee cup and found a girl with long blond hair. It was Caitlyn. She saw Alex and came towards him and Finn.

"Hi, Finn. Your sister told me that you were coming."

"Well, she didn't tell me that you were coming. You know Alex right? And Leo... Where is Leo?

"Leo? He came to?"

Alex found Leo behind the pillar next to the trash can.

"Yup. And this is Leo." Alex dragged Leo in front of Caitlyn.

"Hi?" Leo squeaked.

Caitlyn didn't say anything but glare at Leo.

"Okay. I feel really bad that you have to quit your job and everything and..."

Everyone except for Leo laughed.

"What? Is this some kind of prank?" Leo said in an annoyed voice.

"I didn't quit my job because of you and I know you like me. I know that you were my friend's brother's sister. And I just ignored you because Finn asked me to. Does that explain everything?" Caitlyn said.

"What? Then for one and a half years, you three were waiting for this very moment?"

"Yeah. For that very look in your face." Alex laughed.

"Okay. Just let me get this straight." Leo started

"Did you really quit your job because some guys were obsessed with getting your phone number?"

"Mmm... Actually no. I quit my job because I got this place downtown. And I wanted to open my own place."

"But the owner said you quit because of some guy."

"That is all made up. He knows that I'm opening a new shop downtown. I asked him to say that. He's my uncle by the way."

"So... Do I have a chance to date you?" said Leo in an excited tone.

"No dummy." Caitlyn smiled and then said,

"Prove you worthy and I will be yours, Leo Diaz."

Caitlyn turned to walk towards her friends.

"What just happened?" Leo pinched himself in the arm as if to see that this was not his dream.

"Calm down man. She's not yours yet." Finn said as he punched Leo on his arm.

"Everyone follow me!"

The woman in a white suit yelled at the group of students hustled around. She then led the students towards the gate.

About an hour later. They were on their way on a plane headed towards Auckland airport.

"How long is the ride?" asked Alex.

"I don't know. Maybe ten hours?"

"It says here that it's about fifteen hours," Finn answered as he looked at the screen in front of them.

"I should get some sleep." Finn fell asleep as soon as he said that.

"Yeah me too," Alex said and turned around to face the wall of the plane.

"Well, I guess I'm going to sleep as well." Leo closed his eyes and fell asleep immediately.