A/N: Hello fellow readers! We are back with the second story of my so called series, Welcome to the 8th Grade! Zoey is in for a lot more fun, drama, and a little bit of romance as the school year and marching band season starts up. If you're just tuning in, check out Summer Fun or Not? to find out what Zoey has been up to during her summer break! So, we begin with Zoey at the middle school, the day before the school year starts. Looks like the fun is just getting started.

The summer has come to an end and the school year is a day short of beginning. There is a lot to expect with starting a new grade; new things to learn, new classes to take, new teachers to deal with, and new rules to follow. Zoey and all of her friends have been looking forward to the first day of school and their last year in Seaside Heights Middle School all summer. There are many things to worry about as their middle school career comes to the end. The summer was just a small version to what might happen during the school year. No one knows what will exactly happen, but they are surely not waiting around to find out.

Tuesday morning, the day before the school year begins. Many teachers are at Seaside Heights Middle School getting ready for the first day of school. Zoey was with Kaitlyn, also known as Ms. Sanderson, helping her set up their new classroom. Kaitlyn was putting up paper on the bulletin board outside the classroom while Zoey was in the room putting up pictures of the whole class on a bulletin board by Kaitlyn's desk. She grabbed a picture out of the picture box and glanced at it. It was a picture of the class from the first grade. She laughed to herself as she sat that picture down and grabbed another one out the box. This was another picture of the class from fourth grade. She grabbed the two pictures and stapled them on the board. She reached into the box to find another one of the class from last year.

"Man, last year went by so fast. Still feels like I'm in seventh grade…" she mumbled to herself. She stapled that it onto the board and grabbed another picture out the box again. It was one of herself and Kaitlyn with Kevin and the music teacher Mr. Neil from second grade. The picture was taking during a teacher-student potato sack race at field day. Zoey laughed hysterically at the picture, thinking of that day. She stapled it onto the board and continued to put up more. Kaitlyn walked into the room and curiously looked over at Zoey.

"Having fun over there?" she asked as she walked over to her desk.

"Yeah…these pictures are too funny. It's nice to look at how we were way back then." Zoey replied.

"Yes it is. We've had some good times." Kaitlyn walked over to the board and glanced at the pictures.

"It doesn't even seem like I'm in eighth grade." Zoey laughed.

"Well, time sure does fly by when you're having fun."

"Yup…they were some fun times." Zoey grabbed a couple more pictures and started to staple them onto the board again. Kaitlyn grabbed a roll of cringe paper and left the room. Once she was finished, Zoey placed the box on Kaitlyn's desk and grabbed the "Memory Board" banner. She taped it above the bulletin board and took a seat at a desk. She looked around the empty room, at the desks in rows, the books stacked being ready to be handed out. She couldn't believe that she would be starting the eighth grade tomorrow. Seconds later her phone starting to buzz. She reached over to her bag and answered it without looking at the caller I.D.

"Uh hello?"

"Hey, it's Carlos." the person on the other end said.

"Oh. Hey Carlos. What's up?"

"Not much. Where are you? Danny, Ellyn, Conner and I came by your house looking for you, but your mom said you weren't home."

"She never told you guys where I was?"

"Nah, she just said you weren't home."

"Oh…well I'm at the school with Kaitlyn."

"For what? You don't have to be there until tomorrow, remember? Unless today is Wednesday…oh god! I'm late for school! Why didn't those boneheads tell me?"

"No Carlos, calm down." Zoey couldn't help but laugh at her friend. "You're fine. Today is Tuesday. Kaitlyn needed help finishing the room so she called and asked me to come in with her."

"Oh...well, that's cool. What are you doing afterwards?"

"I don't know yet. I might either go back home or Rocky's I suppose."

"Alright, well call any one of us. We're going to head to the pier for a bit."

"Okay, see you later." Zoey hung up and sighed. She heard a voice coming from the hallway. She placed her phone on the desk and tried to listen in on the conversation taking place. "Hmm…I wonder who that is." Moments later, Kaitlyn walked into the classroom with Mr. Banks following behind.

Mr. Banks was puzzled to see Zoey, but gave her a small smile. "Well hello there. Nice to see you again, Zoey." He greeted.

"It's nice seeing you too, Mr. Banks." Zoey said with a smile. Oh brother...she thought.

"How was your summer?"

Zoey slouched into the chair and hung her head. "I'd rather not talk about it sir, if you don't mind."

"May I ask why?" Mr. Banks asked with concern.

"Let's just say that it didn't exactly turn out to be what I imagined." Mr. Banks looked at Kaitlyn and she shook her head.

"Long story," was the only response she could give.

"Fair enough I suppose. Well, I have to head down to the main office. Good-bye Kaitlyn, good-bye Zoey. See you tomorrow morning." Mr. Banks waved good-bye and left the room.

"English will be pretty…boring this year." Zoey sighed.

"Don't say that, Zo." Kaitlyn sat on top of her desk and glanced down at Zoey.

"Hey, it's not my fault the guy is boring."

"Mr. Banks isn't that bad, you know. At least you'll have two new teachers for math and science."

Zoey sat up and grabbed her phone from the desk. "Well, that's some good news. What about reading and gym?"

"You have Ms. Garcia again for gym. And you have me for reading, again."

"Okay, I'm happy now." Zoey said with a smile. Kaitlyn laughed at Zoey's reaction as couldn't help but smile. She took a quick glance at the clock and her eyes grew big.

"It's already one. I have to meet with Mr. Clark and Mr. Simpson in like ten minutes." she said while jumping off the desk.

"Another meeting?"

"Yeah, it happens when you're the head of a department."

"I guess so." Zoey replied as she watched her gather her bags together.

"What do you plan on doing the rest of the day?"

"That, my friend, is a good question." Zoey shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, are you hungry enough to grab a bite somewhere?"

"That sounds like an awesome idea." Zoey grinned.

"Alright, well let's head down to the main office so I can get this done and over with." Kaitlyn laughed.

Zoey grabbed her bag and phone and walked out the room. Kaitlyn followed behind with her bags and a pile of packets. The two stopped by the eighth grade office first to drop off the packets, and then made their way downstairs to the main office. As they walked into the office, Zoey grabbed a seat and Kaitlyn made her way down the hall to Mr. Simpson's office. She heard two men talking inside as she approached the door. She knocked on the door a few times and heard someone say, "Come in."

"Hello Kaitlyn, have a seat." Mr. Simpson said. She took a seat next to Mr. Clark, the eighth grade principal, in front of Mr. Simpson's desk.

"Wasn't there some girl with you?" Mr. Clark asked angrily. Mr. Simpson glanced at Kaitlyn with a puzzled look.

"Is Zoey here with you?" he asked.

"Uh, yes she is." Kaitlyn choked. "I asked her to come in and help set up my classroom." She answered a little worried.

"Zoey Rivera is such a sweet girl, Andrew. She's one of the best students in this school. You'll enjoy having her this year." Mr. Simpson said. He looked over at Kaitlyn again. "How is she? You know...considering what happened this summer?"

"She's great." She answered with a sigh. "She's doing great. A whole lot better actually."

"What exactly happened this summer with Zoey?" Mr. Clark butted in.

Mr. Simpson and Kaitlyn looked over at Mr. Clark and looked back at each other. Kaitlyn shifted in her seat and took a deep breath, "Uh well, Zoey didn't have such a great summer. She had a few issues with people at band, and at home..." Mr. Clark gave her an odd look. "Let's just say that things didn't go as planned."

Mr. Clark glanced over at Mr. Simpson and said, "Don't you think it is a little strange that a teacher and a student have such a 'close' relationship?"

Before Mr. Simpson could answer, Kaitlyn jumped right in and said, "No, considering the fact that she is my goddaughter."

"I see..." Mr. Clark replied back quietly.

"Okay, well then. Uh Ms. Sanderson, it's nice to hear that Zoey is doing well." Mr. Simpson chuckled nervously. "So well, I just have some more packets for you, Ms. Sanderson. Just some information you'll need for the social studies department." Mr. Simpson handed her the stack of packets.

"Thank you." Kaitlyn sat the packets in her lap. "Oh, I also brought back the information packets for my homeroom. I left them in the eighth grade office with Barbara."

"Already?" Mr. Clark asked.

"Yes. I handed them out to my students in June. I had Zoey and another one of my students collect them and asked them to hold on to it until I came back from Italy."

"Do you usually talk to your students on an every day basis, besides Zoey I mean?"

Kaitlyn's grew eyes and she laughed. "Most of them, yes. I had all the same students since pre-kindergarten."

"Really? You never had one new student in your class all those years?"

"Come to think of it, no I haven't."

"I see…" Mr. Clark slumped down in his chair.

"Well Kaitlyn," Mr. Simpson said loudly as he stood up from his seat. "I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning." he said with a smile.

"Good-bye Bill, bye Andrew." Kaitlyn got up from her chair and walked out the office.

"That's it? I thought it would at least be like twenty minutes." Zoey said as she was typing a message on her cell phone.

"That's what I thought. Nothing but more packets." Kaitlyn sighed.

"So, are we good to go?"

"Yes we are. Let's get out of here. I'm in the mood for a hot dog." The two left the middle school and made their way to the pier.

The duo arrived at the pier and parked by the Stewarts, a famous place known for their great food. They got out the car and went inside to get some food. Once their order was done, they grabbed a booth to sit in.

"I still can't believe school starts tomorrow. I'm not as excited about it as I was at the beginning of the summer." Zoey said as she bit into her hot dog.

"Why do you say that?" Kaitlyn asked.

"Well," Zoey took a sip of her coke, "I mean, I feel like I'm already dealing with the high school drama even though I'm still in middle school. Who knows what will happen next year when I'm actually a freshman. Plus, I'm worried that the class might not stay together, or that you might stay here at the middle school, or some of us might move. I don't know."

"I think we should just focus on this year. Enjoy it all while you can." Kaitlyn ate a couple of fries.

"Yeah that's exactly what I plan on doing. This summer was just too much for me. I think everything that happened must be a sign...or something."

"Which part?" Kaitlyn took a sip of her sprite. "The whole birthday situation, you and Conner kissing, the McKenzie problem, or the Brittany problem?"

"Maybe all of it? If I had all these problems during the summer, I can only imagine what's in store for me."

"I wouldn't worry about it too much. Your birthday is long gone until next summer, nothing really changed between you and Conner...well you claim that nothing changed, Brittany went back to New York and she isn't coming back, and the whole drum major issue with Alana can be easily fixed with Mr. Rush."

"If you say so..." Zoey mumbled.

"So speaking of Conner, where is he?" Kaitlyn asked as she ate a few more fries.

"Oh man, I forgot." Zoey began as she looked at her phone. "Carlos said that he was going to be here with Ellyn, Danny and Conner."

"Want to go look for them?"

"Yeah, let's go." The duo got up, grabbed their drinks, and left Stewarts. They walked down the boardwalk to the pier looking for the four classmates. They entered the pier and Zoey spotted Conner sitting on a bench. She and Kaitlyn walked up to him and took a seat.

"Hey, I didn't know you two were going to be here." he said with a smile.

"We decided to come." Kaitlyn said as she patted his shoulder.

"Where are Ellyn, Danny, and Carlos?" Zoey asked.

"They're on some ride."

"Why are you sitting here?"

"I don't know." Conner chuckled.

"Well, here they come now." Kaitlyn pointed towards the three kids walking in their direction.

"Hi Ms. Sanderson." They greeted.

"Hi kids, how are you?"

"Pretty good." Danny and Carlos answered with a smile.

"It's nice to see that you came with Zo." Ellyn said.

"We just came from Stewarts. So what are you guys up to?"

"Well, we just wasted all of our tickets." Danny said.

"So going on more rides won't happen." Carlos laughed.

"Let's head to the arcade then." Zoey suggested.

"Yeah, good idea." They all started walking towards the arcade when Zoey's cell phone started to ring. Everyone stopped in place while she took out her phone from her bag. She looked at it and saw Tommy's name show up on the caller I.D.

"Tommy's calling me..." she choked out. "I wonder what he wants." He flipped the phone open and sighed.

"Hello?" she said a little puzzled.

"Hi, Zo?" he replied on the other line.

"Yeah, hi Tommy. What can I-"

"Hey listen," Tommy said interrupting her. "Mr. Rush needs you and Jacky to come by the band room now."

"For what? Is something wrong?" Zoey asked. Everyone looked at her with confusion written on their faces. She shrugged her shoulders with no knowledge of what was going on.

"I don't know. He called me up and asked me to call you, Jacky, and Alana. So that's what I'm doing. Can you come in the next ten minutes?"

"Uh yeah, sure I can." she replied as she gave Kaitlyn a questioning look. She gave her a quick nod. "I'll be there ASAP."

"Awesome. See you in a bit."

"Alright then, bye." Zoey hung up and looked at everyone.

"Everything okay, Zo?" Carlos asked.

"I'm...not sure. Tommy said that Mr. Rush wanted me at the high school." She answered unsurely.

"For what?" Ellyn asked.

"Who knows? All he said was to get there. So I have to go."

"Why don't we head there now then?" Kaitlyn suggested.

"Thanks. I'll see you guys later." Zoey and Kaitlyn waved good-bye and made their way back to the car.

Ten minutes later, they pulled into the back parking lot of the high school. Kaitlyn stopped in front of the doors that led to the band room.

"I'll call you whenever this is done." Zoey said as she got out the car.

"Alright sweetie. I'll be at Terrence's place, so I'm not too far away." Kaitlyn replied.

"Okay thanks." Zoey closed the car and Kaitlyn waved good-bye. She walked through the doors and straight into the band room. She looked around to see an empty room. She glanced over to Mr. Rush's office window and saw him inside with Jacky, Tommy, and Alana. She made her way to the office and knocked on the door.

"Come in." she heard Mr. Rush say.

"Hey Zo." Jacky greeted as she walked in.

"Hey everyone. So, what's up with the emergency meeting?" Zoey questioned.

"Yeah, Kevin. I was just about to go to work when Thomas here called me." Alana said.

"Well for one Miss McKenzie, you can't call me Kevin until you graduate." Mr. Rush stated.

"Okay then, Mr. Rush, what's with this?" Alana snapped at him.

"I had you four come here because we have a slight problem. The pep rally on Friday was switched to another day. Apparently the staff wants us to do our show for the high school and the middle school." Mr. Rush said.

"The middle school? Are you kidding?" Jacky said.

"Nope. They want us to give both schools a preview of what we have for our program here. I told them that I can give them what we have done already, and possibly some of the third song. They also want us to demonstrate some things."

"Oh wow, that's kind of unexpected." Tommy said.

"And when do they want us to do this exactly?" Alana asked.

"Tomorrow…" Mr. Rush doubtfully answered.

"Tomorrow?" All four of the students screamed.

"The first day of school? Are they crazy?" Zoey asked.

"What possessed them to change the pep rally date to tomorrow?" Alana chimed in.

"They had to change the date anyway due to the football game on Friday. It's way up in Freehold so the pep rally was going to get cut really short. Changing it to tomorrow, I don't think that was the smartest thing to do." Mr. Rush informed them.

"But the first day of school? Well nothing beats missing class for a prep rally." Jacky said with a shrug.

"Eh, well we get to do the show one way or another I suppose." Tommy added.

"So what do you want to do?" Zoey asked Mr. Rush.

"I want to call an emergency rehearsal so we can review songs one and two, then perform the two tomorrow along with marching demonstrations. Maybe even learn a little bit of song three, just in case they want a longer performance. If I can get that done, we don't have to waste the rest of the week and just work on stand music indoors. We'll run the show a couple of times for Friday's game."

"That seems like a good idea." Jacky said.

"So emergency rehearsal it is." Tommy, Zoey and Jacky gave Mr. Rush a quick nod, but Alana looked angry and worried.

"I can't do it. I have to go to work in five minutes. Plus, I don't know song two or three." She replied quietly.

"What do you mean 'you don't know song two or three', Alana?"

"I know it…just not that well. I forgot most of it."

"Alana, we had this conversation once before." Mr. Rush said aggravated.

"I know that. I just haven't worked on it as much since the last rehearsal." Alana answered.

"So are you telling me that you don't know rest of the show too?" Alana didn't say a word. Mr. Rush rubbed his face and looked at Alana. "Alana, you're supposed to know the show. You're the one who's running the show with Tommy, not me."

"I know that. I'm sorry." Alana pleaded.

"Yeah, I'm sorry too. I'm sorry to have named you as one of my leaders. I can't believe you don't know the show. I can't have Tommy do it all by himself. Half way through song one and the end of song two I have him back field with half the band. There's no way he can conduct the band like that. And this is the third time you came to me with these excuses." Mr. Rush said angrily. Jacky and Zoey looked at Mr. Rush, and then at each other. Jacky had a very big smile on her face. Zoey tried to study Jacky's face, wondering what she was thinking of. Jacky leaned over towards Tommy and whispered something in his ear. He had nodded and smiled at Zoey too.

"What?" she asked.

"Mr. Rush, what if we have Zoey take Alana's place tomorrow and conduct the show with Tommy?" Jacky suggested.

"Say what?" Alana and Zoey shouted together. Zoey glanced over at Mr. Rush, who was now processing the thought in his mind. She looked back at Jacky and Tommy, then Alana. Her face started to frown.

"Are you kidding?" Alana snapped.

"Zoey, you know the show pretty well and you know you're charts." Tommy said.

"You know the whole show from the back of your hand. You're the assistant drum major. So you're perfect for the job." Jacky added.

"Jacky, you're the assistant drum major too!" Zoey claimed.

"Yeah I know, but you want to be drum major way more than I do. I know the show and everything, but just not as well as you. Plus Zo, you have more conducting experience than I do."

"Well that is a nice idea, but who would march Zoey's spot if she's on the sideline conducting?" Mr. Rush asked with concern.

"Don't you remember? That freshman Kayla is Zoey's shadower. She knows Zoey's charts for songs one and two." Tommy said.

"Oh yes, I forgot you had a shadower. So, would you be up to it Miss Rivera?" Mr. Rush asked Zoey. Zoey blankly stared at the people around her. While Alana was giving her the death stare, she could feel Tommy and Jacky shooting their eyes at her with excitement. She continued to look at Mr. Rush, not knowing what to say.

Hope you enjoyed this long chapter! So, what do you think Zoey will say? Will she agree to be Alana's temporarily replacement? Or will she give Alana the satisfaction and back down? Leave some reviews and let me know what you think! The next chapter will be up soon!