Going into lunch was quite a rush. I was giddy beyond belief, and only River knew why.

"Well don't you look happy?" River teased, prodding my cheek with his finger.

"Can it, Rio," I joked, elbowing him. He, in turn elbowed me. I went to run into him, but he side-stepped and I ended up losing my balance. My lunch tray tipped, evidently killing my good mood.

"Oh man... I'm so sorry," River said hastily.

"Nah, it's okay, it's okay. There was a wet spot on the floor,"

I quickly snatched up anything that applied to the five second rule. That left me with my apple and a little bag of carrots. The soup was hopeless, and the sandwich had split open, rendering it inedible.

River grabbed a napkin to help me wipe off. He helped me to my feet and guided me through the crowd of people all looking and snickering at the soup covered girl on the floor. He led me right back to our usual table.

He cracked open his bag lunch and started pulling some stuff out. It was all vegan stuff, lots of vegetables. It looked really healthy.

Bill, Ted, and Scar joined us a few minutes later with their trays of food. I shined my apple on my shirt.

"Hey Lucky," Bill greeted, messing up my hair. "Where's you lunch?"

"Over there on the floor," I shrugged. River proceeded to lay a napkin in front of me and set half his sandwich on it. I was surprised by this gesture.

"Dude, you don't have to do that," I said quietly, pushing his sandwich back at him.

"I owe you that much," he smiled. "Not letting you go hungry."

Ted pulled out a bag of chips and handed them to me.

"Yeah! Here, take these, b--dude,"

I smiled awkwardly, "You guys are too nice."

"We're not too nice," River grinned, nudging me knowingly. "You're too nice..." He signaled for me to say the news.

Scarlet handed me some of her sandwich as well, and I took a deep breath.

"You guys know Electro Records?" I finally said.

"Yes! They backed bands like Poison, ACDC, and Van Halen!" Of course Scarlet knew that. I grinned.

"They did. And you wanna know who else they wanna back?"

Everyone leaned in close like it was a secret, even though they seemed to know the answer.

"WYLD STALLYNS!" I declared.

"SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!" Scarlet screamed, hitting me on the back.

"NO WAY!!!" Bill and Ted chorused, air guitarring excitedly. Only River didn't react, because he knew the news, but he did pull me into a squishy, sideways hug.

"This is excellent! This is excellent!!" Bill was cheering, "Thank you!"

He kissed me on the cheek in excitement, then joined River on my other side in a tight hug.

Ted jumped over the table to get to us and dragged Scar with him.

"You're the best manager ever oh my gosh I can't believe this is actually happening I've always wanted to be signed to Electro Records thank you Lucky thank you I love you thank you so much," Ted snuggled right up against me, his sentences turning into a big jumble as he said them all in one breath.

"Okay, okay, guys listen," I giggled, hugging them all back.
"Nathan Sheppard from Electro Records called me last night after he saw us at Conglomerate. He said he wants to meet us this Friday at Milo's downtown. We all should wear something nice to impress him."

"I've got a suit from when I applied for a job at Pretzels and Cheese," Ted pondered.

"Yeah, I've got some nice clothes from when my dad married Missy," Bill added.

Scar scowled. "Does my band t-shirt count as nice?" She grimaced a bit at the thought of having to shed her dude clothes for something girly.

"Scar, I've got something I think you'll like. C'mon over my house Friday after school, and we can get ready together."

Scarlet nodded, and the lot of us pooled our lunches, so that no one had to go without.

***

I was running around my house Friday night at 6:00 in a tank top and a puffy pink skirt, comb stuck in my hair.

"Mom! Mom, I need your help!" I shouted, tugging on the little plastic comb embedded in my knotty hair.

Mom came in to my room and started chuckling at the sight.

"Well, you're really in to this," she teased.

"It's Nathan Sheppard, I have to be. Is Scar here yet? She said we'd get ready together." The doorbell rang and I groaned. Even though I still had an hour before my meeting with Nathan, everything seemed to be crashing in on itself. I was stressed out and busy.

Scarlet came in, let in by my dad, and cracked up at the sight of my hair so fluffy, with the comb hanging in my face.

Scarlet had purple hair. My jaw dropped.

"Scar.... what is this...?" I asked in disbelief. Her hair, that used to be long and brown, was now a deep purple.

She flicked it easily.

"Like it? I did it earlier. My sister helped."

"It looks great... it's just... wow!"

"If you're getting me to wear a dress, this is the least I can do," she smirked. "Now how on earth did you do that to your hair?"

I sighed and shook my head. "This is a disaster. Please help."

Mom sat down with a brush and started trying to work it through the knots. Scarlet rifled through my closet to find something she would like.

"Can I wear this?" She asked, holding up a violet little number from the back.

"Yeah, it goes with your hair!"

Mom got the comb out of my bangs and put my glasses back on. She helped me tease my hair and spray it into place. It had kind of a slicked back vibe, which I actually thought looked pretty cool.

"Mom, will you do my makeup?" I asked, grabbing her sleeve.

"Makeup too? Wow, you're really dressed to impress!"

"I don't really have a choice, do I?"

My mom spun me in the chair and started helping me with some pink eyeshadow and blush. I never wore too much makeup, unless it was a special occasion, so more likely than not I would've messed this up so bad.

Scarlet gave me her chapstick to use, just to give my lips color.

I looked beautiful. I didn't think that very often. However, the makeup covered my patchy skin and any moles or freckles. My hair was so different, teased up, slicked back, and my eyes looked greener than usual. I actually thought I looked really pretty.

I pulled my favorite dress out of the closet and climbed into it, kicking out of my skirt. Scarlet zipped me up in the back. It was a simple little dress, nothing over the top.

I wore my lucky gold ring necklace, and put my rabbit's foot in my purse.

Scarlet put her hair into a braid down her back, and it looked really good purple. I helped her in her dress and reached for the makeup.

"Don't even try it," she warned. We grinned at each other. "You look awesome, Lucky," she encouraged.

"You do, too, sister," I held her hand and we both went downstairs, out to where River was parked.

"You guys ready?" I asked the Stallyns in the band van.

Bill and Ted were in tuxedos with bowties on. Ted's hair was as fluffy as ever, and Bill's curls were still prominent, but cropped close on the sides of his head. They looked awesome. Very, very handsome.

River opened the door for us in a nice white button-down with a jacket over top, as well as dress pants. This was the nicest I'd ever seen any of Team Stallyns. I hopped in the back next to Bill, wobbling in my heels. Bill's eyes widened.

"Wow... you clean up nice...," he breathed. Then he smacked himself in the forehead. "I-I-I mean..."

"I know, Bill," I teased, buckling in. "So do you."

"Yeah, definitely," Ted added, looking the two of us over and blushing. "Scarlet, I love your hair, dude!"

"Thanks!" She grinned.

"I've never seen you in a dress before," Bill commented.

"Don't get used to it, either," she winked. She got in the front seat with River.

"River, you look awesome!" I said from the back seat.

"You too, Lucky!" He grinned. "Here's to us, tonight." He held up his hand, we all followed, hands over our hearts.

We finished in an air guitar riff, and River drove off.

***

Milo's wasn't the fanciest place in the world, so we were a touch overdressed, but sure enough, there was a guy waiting in a suit, who we could only assume was Nathan Sheppard. He was dressed to the nines, and I was now happy that I was as well.

"Nathan Sheppard?" Ted asked him. He looked up from his book and stood. He was younger than I thought, with nicely cropped brown hair and tan skin. He shook all of our hands politely, pausing to kiss Scarlet and me on the back of our knuckles. I was red already.

"Nathan Sheppard, my name is Lucky. That's what everyone calls me, anyway."

Wow that sounded really dumb. I never realized how childish my nickname sounded until tonight.

"This is my best friend Scarlet, she writes the music. This is River, he gets all our expenses in order, and this is Bill and Ted, the actual talent here."

Nathan smiled, but it was a strange smile, like he knew how desperate we were. The hostess came to seat us in a more private section. I was all too aware of how my ankles wobbled in heels, and hoped Nathan didn't see. Bill grabbed my arm to help support me, linking through my elbow. I appreciated the gesture greatly.

River got my chair for me, and Ted got Scarlet's. We sat at a round table, Bill and Ted on either side of Nathan. I was on Ted's right, River between myself and Scar, and Scar sat next to Bill.

I sat arrow-straight, legs crossed, napkin on my lap, just like clockwork. It was my typical nervous pose, and I'd probably be sore by the end of the night.

The lot of us ordered Pepsis, which seemed to surprise Nathan for some reason.

Ted kept bumping my leg with his own nervously. Every time he would do it, he'd glance at me apologetically. I laid my hand on his leg under the table, and he calmed down a bit, no longer moving his leg.

Nathan and I talked business, and as soon as I set into my element, I was gold. I told him of my goals for Wyld Stallyns, both minor and major, and explained to him the music writing and recording processes.

I felt at ease talking business. That was the only reason I was able to swallow my dinner. Otherwise, more likely than not, my throat would've been too tight to even enjoy my meal.

The details went by in a blur, with too many things to remwber completely. I remember him asking each of us our ambitions. He talked about the prospects of pay, copyright laws, music videos, and television air time.

In short, there seemed like almost no downsides. Nathan knew how to play his cards way better than I did.

Official songwriters would be helping the boys write, but Scarlet still would have a hand in doing so. River was still permitted to handle the boys expenses, but Electro Records would help out with budgeting, and most importantly, I would not be shoved to the side or replaced by an actual manager.

Granted, none of these were physically written in the contract, Nathan made a very compelling deal.

By the end of dinner, the lot of us were comfortable with each other. My hand stayed on Ted's leg almost all night as a way to keep myself grounded, and it didn't seem like he minded.

He kept nodding every time Nathan would talk, and I wondered how much he really understood about the technical terms.

Nathan took a minute at the end of dinner to make a phone call. As he stepped out, we went into an impromptu group huddle.

"This seems like a bodacious deal," Bill said.

"I hope he wants to sign us," Scar said, crossing her fingers.

I found my rabbit's foot and gripped it tight.

"I like him," River stated, "He seems like he knows what he's talking about."

Ted nodded quickly, "Nathan's coming back."

Nathan returned, drawing a paper out of his briefcase.

"I just spoke with my boss, and he gave me the green light. What do you say? Would Wyld Stallyns like to be a part of Electro Records?"

Around the table, like a chain reaction, we nodded at each other. Holding the paper in my hand didn't feel real until the ink was drying on the paper with all the other signatures.

This is the beginning of the Stallyns' Age.