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Chapter 3

That night there was a dinner before the concert.

"Hurry! we are so late!" Michelle pushed Dan and Lily.

"I dont see why we have to dress up anyways," Lily said as she put in her last earring.

"b/c they're our guests," Dan rolled his eyes.

"if you two wouldn't have spent the past four hours playing with the dolphins in Key West, then feeding the sharks in Terror, we wouldn't be in this rush!" Michelle scolded.

"yes mother," Dan said dutifully. Michelle sighed.

"are we ready?" she asked.

"yes ma'am," Lily and Dan chorused. Michelle stomped her foot in frustration and they all laughed and headed out the door.

"they should be here momentarily. Lily and Dan probably got tied up over in Terror." Jim said, glancing at his watch.

"Terror?" Justin asked.

"yes, the Terrors of the Deep, tunnel tour. They were feeding the sharks and other animals today. It's really a rather breathtaking event, you should go to a show one day. Never-racking if you're their boss. They lose an arm or leg and i lose a valuable trainer." Jim shook his head.

"this is a dangerous job," Justin commented.

"you have no idea." Jim said, chuckling a little. "Lily is the worst. She almost drowned one time. One of the pilots was giving birth and the baby was having difficulty coming out so she jumped in to help before the mother and calf drowned. Well, the calf was a stillborn, but the pilot was so panicked it rammed Lily with the side of it's head and knocked her unconscious. Dan rescued her thank god. She's a hand-full, she's always going to South Africa to try and protect the pygmy right whales and protesting whaling ships in Alaska, she shoulda joined the Peace Corps, but i'm lucky she didnt and decided to follow her mother's footsteps, God rest her soul." Jim said. Just then Lily, Michelle, and Dan entered the room.

Justin was at a loss. Lily was beautiful. Her bicep-length honey blonde hair was pulled into an elegant bun, her big turquoise eyes glittered. She was wearing a turquoise formfitting dress that accented her eyes and complexion perfectly.

JC stared at Lily. Earlier she was just a girl w/o makeup in a wet suit with a dripping ponytail. Now she was amazing. Her deep tan was set off by her golden hair and turquoise dress that matched her eyes. She was breathtaking. She and Michelle were model-material. Michelle's deep eyes and dark hair set off by her golden shimmery dress.

"Damn," Joey whispered beneath his breath. Chris and Lance nodded. They were all focused on the two girls who, just hours earlier were simply cute, with good bodies, were now mind-blowingly beautiful. Lily gave a unsure smile, obviously not used to dressing up. Michelle smiled confidently, winking at the five dumbfounded men.

"I think they're surprised. You two were so ugly before," Dan joked. He was in a gray pantsuit with a grayish blue shirt and gray tie. His deep tan bringing out his ice blue eyes and sunlighted blond hair. The three were by far the best looking staff Sea World had to offer, which was partially why they were chosen, little did they know.

"Sorry we're late," lily apologized. "Dan and I were down in Key West with the dolphins, then got carried away feeding the sharks and what not. Sorry." she said quietly. She wasnt used to dressing up. She felt like a fish out of water. Put her on a beach or in the water or on the stage and she was probably too confident and cocky. But here she felt shy and awkward.

"it's no problem. Thank you for joining us. You both look amazing," JC said, causing both girls to blush. He smiled to himself. He leaned over and shook Dan's hand. "Thanks for coming, man. I'd say you look amazing too, but it'd be too weird." JC joked.

"No problem. It's fine with me." Dan laughed. They all sat and ate their dinner.

"So Lily, how'd you get interested in whales and stuff?" Joey asked as he stuffed his face with pasta. Lily smiled.

"well, my mom loved the ocean. We had a house right on the beach when i was little. When we moved here to Orlando she got a job here. I would always come and watch her. It was amazing. I loved everything about it. The way these animals move through the water, the way they seem to not have a care, the intelligence in their eyes. It's incredible." Lily smiled.

"what's your favorite whale?" Chris asked. He laughed at the question and Lily giggled.

"well, i dont know. The killers are by far the most loving, the bottles are the smartest and the pranksters. But I really like the belugas. They make some of the most incredible sounds, and they have this uncanny ability to form almost expressions. The can reshape the form of their foreheads to create facial expressions i guess you could call it. I love watching them." Lily shrugged. She looked at everyone staring at her and she blushed slightly. "Sorry. I'll give the short answer next time." She said quietly.

"no, don't." Justin spoke up. Lily looked at him and he smiled. "I like hearing about it." he said and she smiled shyly.

"Lily is very passionate about our finned companions." Jim laughed. "she's also very aggressive when it comes to protecting them. Last year was, what, your 3rd time narrowly missing being arrested?" Jim asked. Lily looked down immediately uncomfortable. She shrugged. Michelle studied her plate. Dan shifted, his gaze fixed on Lily. "as i told you earlier Lily here is quite the activist. Tell them the South Africa story Lil," Jim bragged.

"oh I don’t think they want to hear that," Lily shook her head. "it was nothing."

"baulderdash it was nothing Lil. You are a legend to those local tribes!" Jim said, the erupted into laughter. "They think she comes from the ocean. They say she's the protector of the sea. Some of the shamans think she's evil. It's rather amusing. Last time she was almost sacrificed when she refused to let the natives kill a stranded pygmy right whale." Jim said. Lily was red, she looked down at her hands in her lap and mustered a small smile.

"they're so rare, i couldnt let them just kill the poor thing. It was terrified." Lily tried to explain.

"she gyped them out of a meal is what happened. She was forbidden to step foot on the land again." Jim countered.

"they're just superstitious natives with no regard to conservation. They cant decide if i'm good luck or bad luck. Some fear me , others hate me, and others revere me. It's odd. Then there are the townies from the nearby town who know i'm an animal conservationalist and tell me to keep away and stop bring American idealogy into Africa. Others support my cause. They're all mixed up over there." Lily said. Jim started to speak again. "but enough about me and my recklessness," she said shooting Jim a glare. "how did you guys like the rehearsals, you feel comfortable enough?" she asked. Dan leaned over and placed his hand over hers for a moment. Lily smiled at him and turned her attention to Justin as he spoke.

"yeah. It'll be hard to not just stop and stare at the animals and everything, but we can handle it," Justin said confidently. He smiled at Lily and she blushed. He laughed quietly.

"it'll definately be a new experience." Lance added, the others agreed.

"ditto," Michelle nodded. "we've never had a band perform live before. it's kinda exciting." she said.

Suddenly Jim clapped his hands. "well, looks like dinner is over." he said happily. "You all better go backstage before the crowds arrive. Get dressed, warm-up, whatever you all do. Showtime is in three hours!" he said. "good luck." Jim said to the guys. "save the whales Lil!" he said and laughed at his own joke as he walked away. Lily took a deep breath and pushed her chair back.

"i am so ready to get out of here," she exclaimed. "not only am i in a dress, but i'm subjected to Jim's mockery and I cant say anything about it!" Lily fumed as she, Michelle, and Dan walked out of the dining hall, not far behind them was Nsync. Halfway to the arena she took off her sandals and threw them into the nearby bushes. Everyone laughed.

"she's got spunk," Chris said as they walked behind the trainers. They all watched as Lily vented to Michelle and DAn, her hands flailing as she spoke rapidly.

"spunk? Nice adjective Old Man," Lance laughed.

"man, she's just hott! So's Mickey." Joey exclaimed. All the guys nodded. "She's 21?"

"which one?" JC asked.

"either."

"Lily is 21," Justin laughed.

" how do you know?" Joey wiggled his eyebrows. Justin pushed him jokingly.

"she was talking to me about the whales and how old they were and stuff and i asked how old she was. And she told me. She was born in June." he shrugged. They walked into the arena and backstage. The about 30 people were milling around the stage, hoping to get a glance of one of the whales.

"let out Nonnie and Jolie.," Dan said to Michelle. "give the people something to fawn over."

"Lily, you mind helping me?" Michelle called. Lily lifted her dress up and ran over to try and divert the other whales' attention. She and Michelle managed to get just the mother and calf out. They heard the group gasp and 'oooh' and 'awww' over the baby whale. Lily smiled. She went down into the huge walk in fridge and grabbed two buckets of fish, then carried them out side and set them near the back of the stage. Dan came out with two more buckets. He and Lily stopped and watched the mother and baby swim around. The baby playfully swimming around it's mother and nudging her, clicking and squealing. Lily laughed and they headed backstage.

She, Dan, and Michelle changed into their wetsuits. They were made specifically for this show. Lily's was a babybluish-turquoise, Michelle was a vivd blue, and Dan's was a deep, almost purple blue. Each of them were bright and had the Sea World emblem on the center. Lily pulled her hair into a high ponytail and looked in the mirror.

"I look like a cross btween a gymnast and a power ranger," she groaned. She noticed Justin watching her from the reflection in the mirror.

Justin smiled as Lily muttered to herself about the outfit. His eyes roamed up and down her body. She was built perfectly. She was curvy in all the right places, thin, but she gave off the impression she could kck your butt in a moment's notice.

lily noticed Justin eyeing her and blushed a little She turned around to face him.

"a power ranger huh? " he asked raising an eyebrow. Lily laughed and blushed.

"yeah, it was stupid. I thought i was alone." she said shyly.

"no it wasnt stupid. It was funny. You really do look it though. you just need those gloves, boots and funky helmet and you'll be good to go," he said and they both laughed.

"were you needing my help?" Lily asked after a moment.

"uh, yeah actually." Justin had forgotten why he'd come. "JC told me to come and get you. I cant remember why though. The whole power ranger thing thru me off," Justin said, smiling cutely. Lily laughed.

"well, lead me to JC and I'll find out what he needs." Liliy suggested. Justin nodded and they headed out to where the rest of the guys were backstage.


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