Michael had gone almost depressive. He had missed Logan since his expulsion, and now he had also lost Zoey. He had thought that either James or Chase had had the power and will to dissuade Zoey from her mistake, but James had only been a short-time distraction for Zoey, and Chase had now got Addie Singer. Neither his clackers nor Olivary's hymns to the moon, accompanied by ancient lunar rituals, could restore his good mood. He hid in the wardrobe, playing his flute.

Addie and Chase bounded in. They had never seen that coming, and it wouldn't have come so far hadn't Zoey pushed them into fessing up. They were of course going to miss Zoey. Too bad the eclatant time shift did not allow for regular video instant messaging.

"Stacey is going to tape a record with her songs!" Stacey announced. "Our songs, rather!"

Chase smiled. Stacey had been such a pest, but now he and Addie had helped her to move ahead.

"By the way, Stacey replaces Zoey as our new roomie." Addie chuckled.

"Moze told me already!" Cahse nodded. "Now she gets to hear the sassafrass song all night and all day."

Addie and Chase started performing that song.

Michael has always been allergic against Stacey's song. Thus he cringed and whimpered painfully in his wardrobe, doing him finally in.

Chase heard sounds from the wardrobe. he opened it and found a totally crazed Michael inside. "Oh my dear! What's that? Michael!"

"Let me die in here!" He cried at the top of his lungs. "Please, don't bother with me anymore!"

Chase and Addie shrugged. But they couldn't let Michael down.

"Michael has got a grandma whom he respects very much ..." Chase remembered.

Addie shrugged. "OK, I've heard about that. Do you want to call her? Even bring her to Michael at PCA?"

Chase sighed. "She seems to be our last anchor and parachute."

Zoey had guided her little brother to his dorm in Covington. She had already met her own new roomie, a certain Tabitha. Dustin's roomies weren't around for the moment being, so she had decided to help him a bit. She noticed that Dustin's face had turned to stone. Thye had not been talking the long flight from Los Angeles to London Heathrow, as Dustin had rigorously refused to open up.

Alas, Dustin appeared to break down any moment.

Zoey couldn't watch it any longer. "Dustin! What's going on?"

The dwarf broke into tears. After a few seconds, the whole floor was wet.

"Please, talk about it!" Zoy insisted. "Why have you agreed to come to London, although it makes you deadly sad?"

Dustin couldn't talk yet, just sob.

Zoey wanted to call the parents who were about accomplishing a bunch of formularities in the office of Dean Ponds, but she figured that Dustin would just have become even more terse. "Dustin, spit it out. Why did you so readily join us to London, although you feel that bad? See, a few months ago, you did lots of nonsense because you've missed my attention. But you've found many good friends, ever since. Is something wrong with them? Juanita, Harper, Nevel, Megan, Reginald, Diego, Freddie, Carly, Sam, ... "

Dustin blushed deeply when his elder sister had mentioned Carly.

Zoey had noticed that. "Has something bad happened between Carly and you that scared you across the ocean?" Zoey couldn't imagine. Carly had always been such a nice girl, Dustin should have been more than glad to have her among his friends. That she had denounced him watching a movie rated NC17 was for his own best, and Dustin had recognised that long since. Finally, Carly had made them clear how much Dustin needed the attention of the right people."Dustin?" She shook her little brother vigorously.

"Quite the contrary ..." Dustin sobbed, blushing deeper and deeper. "I ..." He was too much embarassed to finish his clause.

For the better or worse, Zoey could imagine what he wanted to say. "Are you in love with Carly?" Just in love wouldn't be enough to describe it. Maybe - in Quinn's terminology - from uvula to pancreas would be more like it, for that's where Dustin's skin had turned all crimson. Yet then it was even much harder for Zoey to imagin why Dustin had panically fled to London. She didn't see anything wrong with Dustin loving Carly, when compared to certain girls she had seen him with before, Trisha Kirby being the peak of that hill. "It's alright if you are, but why does this make you run away? Does Carly know?"

Dustin sighed deeply. He was already terribly exhausted.

Zoey sat him on her lap and held him in a way as she had done last time like 11 years ago when they played mom and baby. She hoped him to start talking. "If you love Carly, why do you run away from her?"

Dustin sobbed. "Freddie has wanted her for over three year. But she has always turned him down."

"That is not your fault ..." Zoey shook her head.

"But he's got the older rights, and he's my friend, so I can't take Carly away from him." Dustin ket on weeping piteously.

Zoey sighed. What to do with such a love-sick puppy? Here, he was going to wither like a flower in Quinn's portable chemshop. She had to talk to dad and mom. She also wished to talk to carly about it, but London and LA were like eight hours apart. Write an e-mail?

Carly Shay had just checked her e-mail. She stormed into the lounge, where she caught Fredweard Benson and Samantha Puckett bickering as usual. "Freddie! Sam! Stop that!"

The frenemies looked up.

Zoey Brooks from Covington.

"I've heard that the English kitchen is utter crap" Sam roared, filled with disgust.

"Do you always have to think about food?" Freddie boomed. He noticed that Carly coughed and choked when she opened the email. Seeing his friend unable to read it, he took her laptop and read it on her behalf. "Dustin is what? In Carly?" Now he coughed and choked. "I've seen that coming!"

"Awwww, someone else than Freddork likes Carly?" Sam's voice was particularly sarcastic and sadistic, torturing Freddie even more.

Carly shrugged. "Thing is, I could really like him more than just a bit ... Freddie, has he ever talked to you about it?"

"Maybe somehow, cryptically ..." Freddie sighed. " I guess he didn't dare to challenge me, knowing that, for several years ..."

"Give it up, Freddork!" Sam boomed. "Carly will never accept a loser like you!"

Freddie pouted. Alas, it was nothing new. Sam had always tormented him like that.

"And Dustin has got style! He doesn't blackmail Carly into kissing him, as a certain obnoxious freak does." Sam's voice was more penetrant than ever before.

Freddie almost exploded. He wanted to slay Sam with his laptop, but it had been too expensive for that, and his mom had said that slaying girls is not considered a good thing. Yes, he had often enough hugged Carly for longer than she wanted, and he had tried to persuade her into kissing him, as a way to return favours. But Sam had exaggerated beyond any scope.

Carly had no clue as of what to do. She liked Dustin too much to let him wither from heart rupture. Freddie and Sam, apparently, were not much of a help in her situation, thus she had no choice other than calling her elder brother Spencer Shay.

Beverly, the secretary of Dean Rivers, had called Carly into the headmaster's office.

To Carly's surprise, not only Spencer, but also their grandpa was present. He was an old uptight advocate, or retired advocate for that matter. Carly greeted them wholeheartedly.

Grandpa sat down and explained: "OK, Carly, your dad's submarine is docked in some English harbour, not too far from London, for the next half of a year, even more. I think it might be a good idea for you to visit him ..."

"I can't!" Spencer shrugged.

The old man nodded. "Yeah, and I know that most good universities prefer pupils that have spent a year at a renowned boarding school abroad. It counts more than good marks and tests. And Carly should not become a loser like a certain law school dropout." He pouted sarcastically into Spencer's direction.

Carly's heart started missing beat after beat. "You're going to send me to Covington?"

The grandpa nodded. "Only so you may find out what's the best for you and Dustin."

Carly sighed. "Probably. Poor guy, and I like him really. Why did I not notice that earlier? I could jump from the tower bridge for that!"

Spencer objected. "No way! The tower is closed for repairs!"

Carly chuckled. "Alas, what will happene to Sam and Freddie?"

Grandpa shrugged. "I don't see a way to send them to England as well. Freddie's mom is afraid of transcontinental flights, and Sam ..."

Carly shrugged. "The English cuisine would kill her." She chuckled. "But who will prevent them from slaying each other?"

Spencer shrugged. "I don't know. Their other friends, maybe?"

Carly nodded. "Sure. It won't be easy for them. Have you already told Dustin that ..."

"They are already asleep in England!" The grandpa shrugged. "And we don't have any time to waste. Our flight goes in five hours!"

Spencer grabbed Carly. "Let's get your belongings together. Only the most necessary ones, I'll care for the rest later on, togetherwith Freddie and Sam. You won't need much, as dad is going to send someone to help you getrting started."

Carly smiled. "It will be a nice surprise for Dustin and Zoey."

Now Michael's grandma entered the office of Dean Rivers. "I'm here for Michael Barret ..."

Dean Rivers nodded. "He's close to going insane. I have to grant him 4 weeks of vacations. He's yours now!"

"You're a very caring old lady?" Grandpa Shay remarked, with the voice of a true gentleman.

The old woman nodded and smiled in a friendly manner.

"Do you want to join me for a coffee?" Then he noticed that time was about running out. "Sorry, we've got to postpone that."

Carly, Spencer, and their grandpa finally gone, and nothing could stop them anymore.