Amid the bustling halls of Westmont High School, whispers of excitement buzz around in all of Matthew Batz’s science classes. Today he will be taking them on the field trip of a lifetime! Although he is no Mrs. Frizzle, Batz has conjured up a trip to the fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada where the students will get to venture north and explore the true wonders of Area 51! Wearing one of his signature corny chemistry t-shirts, Mr. Batz takes the wheel of the giant yellow bus with his students all crammed in the back. For the entire seven and a half hour bus ride from Westmont his students sing along to Taylor Swift and Harry Styles. A few hours in, speeding down the highway, the students all point out another school bus on the road with the Campbell Union High School District label printed on the side. Mr. Batz’s students all turn their heads to try and tell whether the bus they are passing, in the middle of Bakersfield California, is really full of other Campbell Union High School District students. As they pass, they wonder what their fellow peers from Prospect, Leigh, or Branham, may be doing out here in the middle of nowhere town, several hours away from school. To their disappointment however, the windows are completely blacked out and the Westmont science students can barely make out the faces of the kids on the other bus. Then, Mr. Batz steps on the gas and the students get a good look at the driver of the other Campbell Union High School District bus. Tall and slender, with glasses, thin, dark hair and a toothy grin. Who could it be? They couldn’t get a clear enough look at the driver’s face going 120 mph down highway 5! Eventually they lose sight of the other bus and the students nap and talk throughout the rest of their Journey to Vegas.
Upon arrival in the fabulous Las Vegas, the students were greeted by the hum of high tech screens and architecture like the sphere, the dazzling array of neon lights, and so much to look at. Mr. Batz drops his students off at the Bellagio hotel where they will be staying for the next 3 days! Each student receives their own room key and passes by the famous Bellagio Fountains as they rush to their rooms to crash for the night. The journey to Vegas tiredthem all out!
The next morning, Mr. Batz’ lovely chemistry and physics students awaken at approximately 7am to meet for a fancy and fulfilling breakfast! A huge smorgasbord of pancakes, waffles, french toast, eggs, sausage, bacon, omelets, hash browns, and you name it! Batz warned them all to eat well for the busy day ahead of them. First they will all take a tour of the giant city, take a break for lunch and gambling in the casinos, and then drive north to explore the mysterious Area 51! Throughout their morning, Westmont students take many pictures, see lots of people, and immerse themselves within the city! There is so much to do and see! At approximately 4pm everyone arrives at a space alien themed McDonalds for a bathroom break on their drive up to Area 51. As they pull into the parking lot many of the students are too distracted by the giant alien figurine out front with the Mcdonalds logo on his space suit, to notice that the same Campbell Union High School District school bus they saw was parked in the same parking lot! How curious! The science students stop for a quick lunch break and use the restroom as needed and then continue their drive. When they arrive at the edge of the mysterious territory marked on their tour maps as Area 51, the students are jittering with excitement at the thought that they might see some extraterrestrial activity. The bus pulls off to the side of the road and students unload. Mr Batz instructs his students to explore the deserted area and take pictures of any curious things they see. As the students explore, they begin to see a figure appearing in the hot sandy distance, fogged by heat waves radiating off the ground. Could this be an alien? Is it just an ordinary desert animal? Soon they notice more figures, slowly emerging behind the main figure. Their hearts are beating faster than ever now. Are they really about to witness an out of the ordinary extraterrestrial experience? Now, Mr Batz’s attention is brought to the matter and he points out that the figure resembles a human. A tall slender man with dark hair. As it moves closer with a stampede of figures behind it they can begin to make out that the creature is wearing glasses! Is it… could it be… it is Eric Hsu! The students can’t believe it! What is Westmonts physics teacher, Mr. Hsu doing out here in the middle of the desert? Is he an alien? Mr. Batz takes off running and goes to greet Mr. Hsu with a big smile and a Hug! The students are joyous as well when they discover that the large crowd appearing behind Mr. Hsu is really all of their fellow students. As it turns out Mr. Hsu was not the alien they were all hoping for but everyone was equally as excited. The Campbell Union High School District bus that Mr. Batz’s students kept seeing actually belonged to Mr. Hsu’s class, and now they could spend the best field trip of their lives with their fellow classmates! Hooray!