PRT 410- “Reunion Part 2”

Day 2- Denver, CO

We woke up at around 4 AM and loaded up the bus to head to Denver. We weren’t even getting a hotel in Denver because we literally were performing then heading out. We got to Denver and the buses parked in a secured area behind the mall so we could get ready.

“This is what we get for having a rushed tour.” I said as I fixed my hair. I hadn’t much liked having stylists so I’d turned them away in favor of doing my own hair and make up.

“Yeah, and it’s a miracle we got this rushed tour together.” Kelly said as she applied her make up. She’d decided the bus was too small to have stylists on with us so she opted to do her own as well.

“Yeah, everyone is so busy these days. Um…where is Zack? Shouldn’t he be getting ready to?” I asked.

Kelly laughed, “He’s been ready for half an hour now. I think he went to the front of the bus to call your mom and check on the kids.”

“I’m more worried about Mom than the kids. They probably are driving her crazy by now.”

“Nah, she’s stricter with then than we are. They behave very well with Grandma.”

I nodded, “I can see that. I wouldn’t want to mess with my mom now.”

“No, not at all…your antics toughened her right up.”

“Eh, you can thank me later.”

When we were ready we went into the mall and it was pretty much like the day before. Nothing out of the ordinary. The next day in Phoenix, AZ was pretty much the same as well. The nice thing was soon as we finished in Phoenix we headed to Austin, TX. We had a day off before our appearance and we all decided Texas was a great place to spend it.

Day 4- Austin, TX-Day Off

We arrived in Austin and went directly to our hotel. It was nice to actually be able to stay some place for two nights. I decided a nap was in order. I was very happy to sleep when I was woken by a knock on the door. I went to answer it. Zack was there.

“Wake up little sister.” He said.

“What?” I mumbled.

“We’re all gonna go out to 6^th Street. Would you care to join us?”

“You wanna go party with me? I thought you were opposed to my partying.”

“I’m opposed to you going to Sunset with Jon and your old crew. They let you get into trouble. With us we can take care of you and make sure you don’t go overboard.”

“Ah, so you just think I need supervision.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to.”

“You want to come or not?”

I nodded, “Sure. Let me get ready. I’ll be ready in an hour.”

“Ok, meet me in my room.”

“Got it.”

And so I did. I put on jeans and a halter top, did my make up and hair, then I headed to Zack’s room to meet up with the others. We piled in the limo and went to downtown Austin. For those that don’t know, 6^th Street is one of the top party streets in the country…it’s quite possibly the top college party area. So yes, that being said we were older than most of the crowd. It was weird. Anyway, we ended up downtown and found Coyote Ugly…yeah…the bar that the movie was based on. I was in that movie…good memories. Anyway, I had a soft spot for Coyote Ugly. We all got our drinks and enjoyed watching the Coyote’s dance on the bar. We were having a great time and pretty low key until one of the Coyote’s recognized me.

“Hey, it’s Michelle Morris!” she cried.

“Seriously? Wow…Michelle, you wanna join us?” another called.

“Someone turn on ‘Can’t Fight the Moonlight’!” yet another called.

“She’s just keeping it low key tonight.” Zack said.

I smirked. By this point I was buzzed already. “Naw, gotta give the fans what they want.” I said as I hopped up on the bar. They handed me a microphone and “Moonlight” started playing through the speakers. I started to sing and dance on the bar as the Coyote’s danced around me. The crowd loved it and I had a blast. After the song I did a shot then I stayed on the bar and danced with the girls some more. Sometime much later, at least I think it was much later, Zack grabbed my hand and tried to pull me off the bar.

“We’re leaving.” He said.

“Stop playing protector and have some fun.” I said pulling my hand away.

“Stop being wild and just have fun with your friends.”

“This is my fun. If you guys wanna go then go. I’ll meet you back at the hotel.”

“No way in hell am I leaving you alone here.”

“Suit yourself, but I’m not leaving.”

Zack sighed, “I should have known this was a mistake. When you drink you’re completely illogical and unreasonable.”

“Whatever, go away, I’m having fun.”

“Zack, come on. You’re not going to win with her. You know that. She’s a grown woman. Leave her alone and let’s have some fun.” Kelly said pulling Zack away from me.

I smirked and stood up on the bar and got back to dancing and drinking. I always enjoyed being the life of the party and I was the life of the party. Some point around 2 I vaguely remember AC coming in and throwing me over his shoulder. I also vaguely remember standing up in the limo and sticking my head through the sunroof and shouting to Austin some jibberish. I don’t remember much after that.

Day 5- Austin, TX

The next day I felt like complete crap. I was really glad we didn’t have to be at the mall until 6. I spent a good part of the morning dozing in and out of sleep. I popped a couple of my pills and that helped some.

By the afternoon I was feeling much better. I got dressed then decided to head out to explore. I came across this theater close to the hotel called Alamo Drafthouse. It was amazing. They had taken out every other row of seats and put in tables so you could actually have a full meal while watching a movie. They had a pretty complete menu. I decided to stop and catch a movie. It’d been a very long time since I’d been to a movie by myself. I went inside and ordered a pizza and soda. It was pretty good food and it was so relaxing to just sit back and be by myself.

I got back to the hotel just as Zack was sending the rest of the cast off to look for me.

“There she is…” AC said.

“Michelle? You scared the crap out of me. You just vanished.” Zack said.

“I went to a movie.” I said.

“Without telling anyone?”

“Didn’t realize I needed permission.”

“You had me worried sick. You could have at least told me you were going out.”

“Whatever. I’m not 12 and I’m back now so chill. We need to get ready.” I said as I went back in my room.

About an hour later we took the limo to Lakeline Mall. Security took us in through the back door of Macy’s and through the side to the stage. We were announced and went on stage. Again we did the band thing then answered questions from the Austinites. It was my turn to intro the Q&A session.

“Hey Austin! It’s so great to be here with all of you…you all are among my most devoted and long term fans and I can’t tell you what that means to me. It’s you that helped to make my dreams come true and I will forever be grateful for that. We were just kids when this rollercoaster ride began and I don’t think any of us could have predicted how our little show would have exploded. We were all complete unknown children, some of us struggling to get a role anywhere, and you turned us into superstars…so thank you. Now we would like to give you the chance to ask us the questions you have and then we’ll take some time to sign autographs and speak with as many of you as we can.” I finished.

“Michelle, being a child star has clearly affected your life. If you could go back would you want to still be famous?” was the first question.

“Yes. Honestly, I don’t feel I missed out on anything. Thankfully my mom did make me go to a normal high school. I feel like I kinda got the best of both worlds.” I said.

“The original Hannah Montana.” Zack teased.

I laughed and started to sing, “You get the best of both world, best of both worlds…”

“Seriously, she really did have the best of both. When we moved to Angel Grove, once the newness of having a celebrity in town wore off, we were treated like normal, everyday people.”

“Absolutely. Fame did change my life but I don’t think it was all bad. There’s people that still think I should have many regrets because of the way I’ve lived my life but I still don’t regret anything. I lived my dream, my way, and I make no apologies for that.” I said.

The next fan stood up, “How much of what we saw on TV was real and how much was staged?”

“It really depends on the episode you’re referring to. Some episodes were almost all reality while others were 99% staged.” Jessie said.

AC nodded, “Yeah, it varied. Now, if you’re speaking in general terms then I’d say a good part of it was real. I mean, we had our personas that we had to be, but in most cases the personas we portrayed weren’t that different from who we were.”

“With some major exceptions.” I pointed out, “I was not at all the innocent girl that I had to be on TV.”

“That not exactly true. I think you were acting out and being something you weren’t when you partied just as much as when you were on camera.” Zack said.

“To an extent I guess that’s true. I did have to be something I wasn’t on camera though. But yeah, I guess it was a little more real than I like to remember.” I finally admitted.

And again we did questions, I sang my songs, and we signed autographs. Afterwards I took security with me and walked around the mall awhile. I wanted to do some shopping. I went to JC Penny, Macy’s, and even Hot Topic, among other stores. I found this awesome dress at a store called Earthbound. It was very celtic and was purple with this sleeves that fanned out…it was like something out of a Greek Myth. I loved it. I immediately bought that dress as well as some jewelry I liked. I expected shopping to help me…I was feeling kinda depressed…oddly enough it didn’t help me at all.

I finally decided to leave the mall and we all went across the street to this great Mexican restaurant. They had the best queso I’d had…maybe ever. It was so thick and had amazing spices but the best part was that it had avocado mixed in to it. It was amazing. I also may have had a couple of margaritas while I was there. It was ok. This time was actually fun. We all just sat around the table eating and drinking.

“Do you remember the time Zack tried to brainwash Kelly into asking him to the dance?” Jessie laughed.

“Oh my god, yes! When we caught on we all pretended to want him, even AC.” Kelly laughed.

“Hell, even Michelle played along.” AC added with a laugh.

“Yeah, you have any idea how icky it was to pretend to have a crush on my own brother?” I asked as I made a face.

“But you pulled it off beautifully.” Lisa said

“And Miss Michelle wasn’t exactly Miss Innocent either. Remember the time she wanted to get out of that Algebra test and she tried to convince Mr. Tuttle that she had amnesia?” AC asked.

“It almost worked too! I nearly got excused!” I cried.

“Yeah, she’s right…if it hadn’t been for Tuttle overhearing Mich and Zack talking she probably would have.” Lisa said.

“Hey, I’m a Morris. It’s in the genes.” I smirked.

“Yeah, and a little bit of Morris rubbed off on our friends. Remember the time I used the video yearbook to set up a dating service and they set up a revenge plot on me?” Zack asked.

I smiled, “Yeah, of course. I helped with that…although most of the credit has to go to Kelly. Most of it was her idea.”

“It was brilliant.” Kelly said with a smile.

“You guys ever miss the old days?” Jessie asked.

“Not really. I mean, it’s fun to look back, but my life is so great now…I don’t really miss it, I just look back on it fondly.”

“Same here.”

“I’m glad we’re doing this tour though. It’s nice.” Lisa said.

AC nodded, “Agreed. It was hard to pull off but I’m glad we did.”

“Yeah, me too.” I said.

At the end of the night we went back to our hotel and I ended up back in Zack and Kelly’s room.

“I had so much fun.” I said as I sat on their bed.

“I did too. That was really nice.” Kelly agreed.

“Yeah…but some things are too much like old times for my taste.” Zack said as he threw his jacket across the room.

I rolled my eyes, “You mean me?”

“Yes ma’am, I do.”

“My god, lay off. You act like I’m still some 12 year old running wild.”

“If the party dress fits.”

“OMG…seriously? You’re lame.”

Zack raised an eyebrow, “Did you just say ‘OMG;’?”

“Yes, I did.”

He rolled his eyes at me.

“Ok, enough. I’m going to my room. See you guys in the morning.” I said as I left and went to my room. I fell on the bed and crashed.

Day 5- Houston, TX

The next day we were up bright and early. We headed directly to Houston, which was about a 3 hour drive from Austin. I had nice memories of Houston. I’d been here many times but my fondest memory was when I was about 12. I’d been on tour with Jonny and he had a show in Houston. I ended up doing a show at the Galleria (the same mall we’d be at today) the same day. That night Jonny had taken me on a date and we’d had a great time. It was one of the most special nights to me just because we got to be together. I was still worried about Jon because he still hadn’t answered any of my calls. I missed him a lot. Anyway, it was nice to be back in Houston. We weren’t getting to spend the night here because it was a long way to Nashville, which was tomorrow’s stop. Tonight we’d be sleeping on the buses.

First we had to go to the Galleria, which had back rooms we could use as dressing rooms. It was another great show and the fans were amazing. It was truly remarkable just how many people still came out to see us.

Day 6- Nashville, TN

I woke up just was we were pulling into the parking lot of our hotel. I was thrilled to have a bed. Bus bunks are probably the least comfortable beds in the world. It would be nice to have a short nap before I had to get ready. That’s exactly what I did, then I got ready because I had things to do before we went to the mall. This was Nashville…the capital of country music…and with my career sinking I needed to so something.

Holly called me and let me know she’d booked me for an interview on GAC. It would be nice to do a solo interview instead of a panel…ok, so perhaps I liked being a solo star. Anyway, the interview was great and it would get me face time on country television again. Much needed face time. Then it was time to prepare for the mall show. I took a limo to the mall to meet the others. We went and did our show and it was great…these tours get monotonous after awhile. Sometimes, however, something happens to add some much needed excitement. That’s what happened after the Nashville show. We got to our hotel and outside my room with a dozen purple rose stood Jonny. I froze and blinked a couple of times to make sure it was real.

“Oh crap.” Zack mumbled, letting me know it was real.

“Jonny? You’re here?” I asked

“I’m sorry Mich…I’m really sorry. I’ve missed you.” Jon said.

“Oh Jonny, I’ve missed you too.” I said as I ran to his arms and started to cry.

“Ugh, I’m gonna be sick.” Zack said as he went to his room. The others followed suit.

“We can’t be seen out here. Let’s go inside.” I finally said.

Jon nodded and followed me in. I took the flowers and put them in water then I sat on the bed next to Jon.

“So, what happened?” I asked.

“I am so sorry. I wanted to tell you what was going on but I was with my family and…the needed my undivided attention. I know you must be furious at me and I am so sorry.” Jon explained.

“It’s ok. I mean…it’s not…but I know you have a family and I’m just your mistress so I’m trying to be understanding. Mostly I guess I just missed you.”

“You know I love you, right?”

“I know. And I know I’m not your wife anymore. I mean, I hate coming second to Dot, but it’s ok I guess. Are your kids ok?”

“Yeah.”

“You gonna tell me what happened?”

“We really just wanna keep it in the family, but know everyone is ok.”

I nodded, “OK…I want to be mad but I’m just so happy to see you I can’t be.”

Jon laughed, “I’m glad to hear it.”

“So am I still going on tour with you?”

“I hope so.”

I smiled, “I’ve love to.”

“Good.” Jon said as he pulled me into his arms and kissed me. We spent the rest of the night making up for lost time. It was amazing.