After his run the next morning, Marc found everyone in the kitchen having breakfast.  Grabbing a plate of food Marc sat down at the head of the table with  Justin on his right and Chris on his left.  “Morning, Just, how did you sleep?”

“Like a log.  How was your run?”

“It was good.”  Marc noticed Chris giving Justin and him funny little looks.   Catching Justin’s eye, Marc let Justin know it would be wise to move.

Just as Chris took a big drink of his milk, Marc said, “Hope all the moaning last night didn’t wake anyone.”  With that statement, Chris choked and blew milk out his nose.

Reaching over, Marc gave Chris a pat on the back.  “You  alright Chris?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” <cough, cough>

“What moaning?”  asked Lance.

“I woke up with severe leg cramps from last night’s dancing.  They were so bad I couldn’t straighten my legs.  If it wasn’t for Justin’s help, I never would have made it into the whirlpool.”

“Is everything ok now?” asked Chris.

“Yeah, I’m fine.  Thanks for asking,” said Marc with a smile.

“Is everyone packed?”  Marc asked.

“Yeah, we’re packed,”  answered Josh.

“While you get breakfast cleaned up, I’ll grab a quick shower.  Then we can load the van and get going.” 

After locking the house Marc approached the van to find the guys arguing over who was going to ride up front. 

“Who was in the front seats when we met?” asked Marc.

“Justin and Joey,” answered Lance.

“Ok, those two in the back seat,”  said Marc.  Turning to Chris he handed him the maps and said “You have shotgun.” Pointing to Lance and JC, he instructed, “You two in the middle.  We’ll rotate the seat at each leg.”

The trip to the first destination took a little over two hours.  The whole time everyone talked and listened to tapes.  The guys got into singing along with the music as they drove.  Chris noticed that at no time did Marc join in.  “What’s wrong, Marc? You don’t know any of the lyrics?”

“It’s not that, Chris,  but _I_ don’t_ sing.  I’ll leave that to you guys.  Besides, this way I get a preview of next week’s show,”  Marc said with a smile.

Later, as they pulled into a parking lot, Chris asked, “What’s this?” 

“Our first stop.  House on the Rock.”

“I’ve heard about it.  It’s some sort  of museum,” said Lance.

“It’s more than a museum.  It’s hard to explain you just have to see it.”

The guys entered the gatehouse and were met by a guide.  “Hi, Marc, glad to see you again.”

“Hi, Millie.  Is everything set?”

“Come on into the office and I’ll get you set up.”

Bypassing the ticket booth, they all went into the manager’s office.

Millie and Marc talked off to the side for a minute then Millie left.

“Ok, here’s the drill,”  said Marc as he handed each a visitor pass and small two way radio.  “This place is huge.  We’ll go through the House on the Rock together.  Then after that you will spread out and walk through the other buildings at your own pace.”  Marc then gave each a roll of quarters.

“What’re the quarters for?” asked Joey.

“One of the best parts of this place are the music boxes.  Well, music rooms actually.  And to see them in action you need quarters.  The first roll is on me.  You’ll find change machines throughout the displays.  We’ll all meet up at the snack bar, it’s about at the half way point of our tour.  We can have lunch before we see the rest.”

“How big is this place anyway?”  asked Josh.

“It will take us four to five hours to go through.  That’s why the radios, if any one has any problems just give a call and let us know where you’re at so I can get to you quick.”

“How much is this costing, Marc?.  We don’t want you paying for any of this,”  said Lance.

Laughing, Marc said, “This isn’t costing me anything.  Millie is a friend and she is taking the cost out in trade.  Come on, let’s get started.”

“Ah Marc,  what do you mean trade?”  asked Josh.

“Oh, never mind about that,”  said Marc with a cheesy smile.

The first stop on the tour was the House on the Rock. Millie had arranged it so they had the place to themselves.   Everyone was looking around when they heard Justin yell, “Wow!!  Look at this!” 

Justin had found the Infinity Room.  Justin, Lance, Joey and Josh walked out into the all-glass room.  It gave the visitor the impression that the room went on forever.  It hung in space over the valley some 80 plus feet below.

Marc was smiling at their reaction when he spotted Chris standing back from the room’s entrance with a look of fear on his face.  Remembering Chris’s fear of heights, Marc walked up beside him and put his arm around Chris’ shoulder.  Forcing  Chris to turn with him away from the room, he said, “Why don’t we go check out some of the exhibits.”

“Yeah, thanks, Marc.”

The music rooms were a big hit.  Justin and Lance were running around like kids, feeding quarters into the machines.  Of course, they soon ran out of quarters.  After getting a new supply at the change machines, they were back in business.  Marc and Chris just strolled along talking and watching the antics of the others.

“You know, don’t you, if we just keep this pace, we won’t have to use any of our quarters,”  said Marc, grinning.

Chris smiled and agreed.  “Those four can be such kids at times.  You should try living with them when they’re like this.”

“I am, right now,”  smiled Marc.  “Chris, I’ve seen you guys have disagreements and have been amazed at how quickly it’s forgotten.  How do you handle big problems when they come up?”

“Well the big stuff is handled like the small stuff.  Marc, you have to remember we’ve been together for some time.  We’re family, we’re each other’s best friend.  No matter what life throws at us, we know we can count on the support of each other.”

Marc and Chris continued talking as they walked through the exhibits, managing to catch up with everyone at the snack bar area.
**

While waiting for Chris and Marc to catch up, Joey sat at a large table deep in thought.

“What are you thinking about?” asked Josh as he joined Joey.

“Ah, I was thinking about Marc.  Has anyone noticed he seems to be trying to spending some, one-on-one time with each of us?”

“Yeah,” said Lance with a smile.  “That’s one of the things I like about him.  He sees us as individuals, not as just part of NSYNC.  I hope management ok’s Marc coming on tour with us.”   Noticing the looks from his band mates he added, “I called Pete yesterday and asked if there was any way I could have Marc come with us on tour.  I’m sorry I didn’t say anything to you guys about this.  I wanted to be certain before I said anything and got our hopes up.”

“Guys, I had the same idea.  I called Pete yesterday also,”  said Josh.

Grinning, Joey added, “So did I.”

Justin confessed,  “When I called my mom, I told her about Marc and asked her to check with Pete about Marc coming along.”

Laughing at the situation, Justin said, “I wonder if Chris had the same idea?”

Just then, Marc and Chris walked into the snack bar area.

“It’s about time you two got here, we’re starving,”  said Justin. 

As everyone went over to place his order, Lance pulled Chris aside.  After a few minutes of conversation, Chris and Lance grinned, turned to their band mates and gave a little nod in response to the questioning glances. 

Lunch consisted of junk food and a lot of good conversation.  Chris noticed Marc’s friend Millie standing by a door trying to catch Marc’s eye.  “Marc, I think your friend is trying to get your attention.” 

Turning, Marc gave Millie a wave.  Marc got up to leave saying, “Duty calls, you guys head out the green door, it will take you to the organ house.  There’s a show starting in fifteen minutes.  I’ll catch up with you there.”  With that said, Marc turned and walked over to Millie.

“Does anyone know what’s going on?”  asked Joey.

“Marc did say something about Millie taking out the entrance fee in trade,”  said Josh.

“No,    he wouldn’t,  would he?   I mean, him and her, doing "it",”  said Justin with a sour face. 

Laughing at Justin, Lance said, “Knowing Marc, I doubt it.  Come on let’s find this organ house.”

Marc and Millie went to a workroom in the organ house.  “Everything is all set,  your costume is over in the corner,”  said Millie.

“Thanks, I’ll be ready in five.  Are the guys in place?”

“Yeah, John’s in place to make the switch.”

“Wow!  Look at this place!” exclaimed Justin in awe as they joined a small group of visitors already in the organ house. .

“It says here, ‘This is the largest private collection of theater organs in the world,’” read Josh.

Looking around at the collection of organs on display, Lance was the first to notice the movement on the  catwalks high above them.  “Hey, guys, look up.”

High above the organs, two men, dressed as London Bobbies were searching the  catwalks for something or someone.  After searching the catwalk and getting everyone's attention, they exited through a door.   As the door closed, one of the organs roared to life and as in a Vincent Price movie, the organ console rose from the floor with a black-cloaked figure with a black fedora, playing J. S. Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor. This mysterious figure kept his back to his audience as he played.  Stopping suddenly, he slowly turned to reveal his face to the audience. 

Turning to face the audience, they saw a man whose face was half covered by a gold mask.

“Cool, the Phantom of the Opera,” said Chris.

The phantom looks over the audience, smiles, and says in a very British accent, “Welcome to my sanctum.  Here I have collected the finest theater and church organs in the world.” 

From outside came the shouts and police whistles of the Bobbies.   The phantom quickly turns and dashes to another organ, his black cape swirling behind him.  Sitting down he begins to play selections of Andrew Lloyd Webber including songs from Cats and Phantom.  Then more shouts and whistles and the phantom was off again, this time to the biggest organ in the collection.  But to everyone's surprise, the phantom started with the traditional sports arena  CHARGE!!  Followed by Moon River, the Macarena, then ending with N SYNC’s Giddy Up.

“This is wild,” laughed Lance.

“Hey, I think I know that one,” said Justin.

“I sure hope so,” laughed Josh.  “That has got to be Marc.”

Now there was a commotion outside a door at the far end of the hall.  In step the two police officers.  Spotting the phantom, they shout and give chase.

The phantom leaps off the organ and runs behind a large organ in the corner of the hall and climbs a ladder to the catwalks above.  As he reaches the top, the police are just starting their climb.  Rushing to the center of the catwalk he grabs a long rope .  As the police race toward the phantom, he leaps off the catwalk and swings above the audience’s heads coming to rest on a catwalk on the other side of the hall.  The audience cheers as the phantom makes his escape through a door.

As everybody's attention is on the people on the catwalks above and the phantom makes his swing, Marc steps up between Lance and Joey.  As everyone applauds, the phantom’s escape, Marc says, “Wow, that’s awesome.”

Five heads snap to look at Marc, not believing he is standing there.  “Marc,  how’d you,  where’d you,  how long have you been there?” asked a stunned Lance. 

“Great show wasn’t it?” asked Marc as he turned and started to walk to the exit.  Struggling to contain his laughter, Marc attempted to get out the door before he lost it.  But he never made it.  Slumping against the wall, he roared with laughter, pointing to the guys.  “You You should see your faces.” hahahahahaha “I wish I had a camera,” Marc gasped out as he slid to the floor. 

It did not take much to get everyone else laughing and they too fell down with Marc in fits.  The rest of the people made their way out the hall casting strange looks at the six laughing idiots. 

It took a few minutes for everyone to calm themselves to the point they could speak.
“Marc, the Phantom was you right?” asked  Joey.

Marc could only nod his head yes.

“How did you get standing behind us?”

Still with a little giggle, Marc answered, “When I went behind that big organ in the corner we made a switch.  As John was climbing, I was running, throwing off the costume and as John made the swing, I was coming up behind you.  I worked here last summer, we did this show on weekends.”

“I take it, this was the trade, you were talking about earlier,”  said Lance.

“Yeah, this was it.  Come on let’s finish the tour.”

Getting up, the six of them made their way through the next exhibit.

Lance got excited when they got the weapons exhibit, with its collection of ancient swords,  and guns.  And everyone was amazed at the Crown Jewel Collection.
The tour finished up in the Transportation Building with its collection of cars.  It was late afternoon when they returned to the van.

Josh took the front seat with Chris climbing into the back.  “Where we going next?” asked Josh.

“We’re heading for the Dells,  we need to check into the bunk house before we get something to eat.”

“Bunk House?” asked Lance.

Laughing at the reaction, Marc explained,  “The Bunk House Motel.  It has a western theme.  The cabins are called Bunk Houses.  They sleep eight  in a large main room.  It has a large shower room and bath.  Oh yeah, there’s eight beds.”

“Finally, a bed to my self,”  said Justin.

Marc looked at Justin in the rear view mirror.  “Justin, I’ll remember that statement next time you climb into my bed.”

Not knowing by his statement whether or not Marc was hurt, Justin said with a lowered head, “I didn’t mean that way, I’m sorry, Marc.”

“You’ll see how the bear likes you snoring,” said Marc with a little laugh.

Marc pulled up to the motel office and got out to register.  At the registration desk a perky receptionist named Amy greeted Marc.  “Good  afternoon, sir. How may I help you?”

“Good afternoon, Amy. My name is Marc Newman, I have a reservation.”

“Yes, Mr. Marc Newman, group of six, two nights, right?

“That’s right.”

“Will you please fill out this registration card?.  And how would you like to pay?”

As Marc filled out the card he said,  “I’ll put it on my Master Card.”

“Well we have a choice of cabins.  Is there a location you would prefer?”

“If at all possible do you have something near the back, where it’s quiet.”

“I have cabin 24 open,  it’s clear in the back, but it’s quite remote.”

“That will do.  The quieter the better,” said Marc. 

Amy was eyeing the van trying to see who else was in it.  “Are you  and your friends here to take in the sights?”

“No, we’re here for the youth mission conference.  We will be taking the last of our orientation before we leave for Africa.”

“How long do you plan to be in Africa?”

“We’ll be there for one year, to help finish building the school.  Then we will remain for the next five years as teachers.”

“Six years, that’s a long time to be away from home.”

“Not when you’re doing God’s work.  We have been preparing for this all of our lives.”

“Here’s your key,  your cabin is all the way down than take a left.  It’s kind of hidden by the big pine trees.  I’m sure your group will find it very peaceful.”

“Thank you, Amy. I’m sure it is just what we need,” said Marc smiling.

Returning to the van with a big grin on his face, Marc drove back to their cabin.

“Ok, Marc, out with it.  You’ve been grinning like the Cheshire Cat since you came out of the office.  What did you do?”  asked Lance.

“Oh, nothing. The receptionist was getting nosy,  so I told her we were a group of  missionaries here for a conference, before we go to Africa to do God’s work.  She seemed to loose all interest in me or my friends.”

“That’s not very nice Marc,”  said Joey.

“Well since she had your faces plastered on her chest I thought it wise to get her attention off us.”

Pulling up to the cabin the guys quickly unloaded the van.  Entering the main room, they found a large open area with eight beds lining the walls.

Laughing, Chris said,  “It reminds me of summer camp.”

After checking out the bath, Joey said,  “Yeah, just like summer camp.  Right down to the shower room.”

Looking into the shower room, they found a large tiled room with six shower heads. 

“Oh great, group showers,” whined Chris.

“Don’t worry, Chris, I promise not to look.  I know.  We can leave off the light.  That way no one will have to see Chris naked,”  said Justin laughing. 

“Oh,  that could be interesting.  Six naked guys groping around in a dark shower,”  said Marc with a big smile, giving Lance a little shove with his hip.  “Oh, sorry about that Lance.  How about washing my back for me buddy,”  he smiled at Lance with bobbing eye brows. 

Lance turned three shades of red as everybody broke up laughing.

Pulling Lance into a head lock, Marc said, “Come on lobster boy, let’s get something to eat.”

“Yeah, food!”  shouted Josh, as everyone turned to leave.

Marc released Lance from the head hold and leaned in to whisper in his ear, “Lance, I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to embarrass you.  At times my mouth gets ahead of my brain.”

Seeing Marc’s sad eyes, Lance pull him into a hug and whispered, “Marc, it’s no problem.  And don’t ever change.  Besides, brothers don’t get mad.  They get even.”  Breaking the hug,  Lance smiled at Marc. 

Marc had a confused look on his face, which quickly turned into a big grin, at what Lance had just said.

TBC

Authors Note:  For more information about the sites visited on the Road Trip, just click on the name link in the story.