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The Story of Joserinas

This is a work in progress, but I have decided to post a story up here that I am writing.
~Roy

Chapter 1 (Desdemona) A girl sat cross-legged on her bed with a pillow smashed against her face. A muffled screaming found its way though the material to no end. Finally all was quiet. It was Easter, and the egg hunt had been held under a burning, unrelenting sun, with no wind whatsoever. Joserinas was furious. Every year, it seemed like every year the grown ups wouldn’t let the kids go out until the end of November for trick-or treating and that would make the fun go away. Also, finding Easter eggs in the blazing hot sun was absolutely no fun. This was because at the beginning of October, it suddenly started to rain and snow, and in the beginning of April, it started to be blazingly hot. It was time for some action because thirteen years of “maybe tomorrow” was unnerving her. Next Halloween, she would go to the old witch’s house in the valley for advice and maybe a solution. Not the next Trick-or-Treat day, but actual Halloween. It would be the day that she was supposed to go out for candy, not a month after. She carefully decided on Halloween because the witch would probably be much happier and more likely to be in a listening mood at Halloween than at Easter. The day rolled around. Joserinas trembled as she walked through the gate. She couldn’t spot a doorbell so she knocked hesitantly on the old door. While she waited, she fruitlessly attempted to shove the rumors of dead bodies hanging out of this house out of her mind. Presently, a thin voice cackled, “Come in.” Taking a deep breath, Joserinas pushed the door open and met face to face with a grinning, bony little lady. “Are… are you the witch?” she asked. “No” the lady replied, in a somewhat evil voice. “The witch is this way. I’m just the old housekeeper. Why don’t you come in?” Joserinas shuddered involuntarily. “Maybe I should just back out” she thought. “After all, I haven’t talked to Mom about my complaints. She might have a simple idea.” But the always freezing mid-November wind slapped her cheek and brought her to her senses. Her mom would not be able to control the weather. Her mom would not be able to change when they went Trick-or-Treating or whether the yearly Easter Egg Hunt would be held under a soft sun with a breeze in the air. She would not even know what caused this to happen! The only thing that would help her right know would be magic. Even if the only thing that the witch could tell her was how to make sure that the weather was calm a week after Halloween, she would be happy to be able to shorten even the few days. Every kid would think of her as a heroine and she would be a legend. “Are you coming?” The witch’s housekeeper startled Joserinas. “Yes” she replied more surely than she felt. “Let’s go.” Joserinas stepped in the house and gave a little jump when she saw a massive skeleton hung in front of a hallway. When a dozen or so curious spiders landed on her head and shoulders, she barely managed to stifle a scream. As she went further into the house, she saw more gruesome things. The most frightening thing was a “clomp, clomp” sound that would follow them but would end abruptly when she turned around only to start again after she resumed walking. It would get louder at every “clomp.” “Here she is,” cackled the housekeeper. When Joserinas walked in, she gasped. Sitting on a rotten, three-legged stool was an old woman, whose body was uglier, more gruesome, and a whole lot more frightening then anything that she had ever seen. The witch was so thin that Joserinas could see most of the veins and bones were jutting out. There were so many buzzards flying around her that Joserinas could barely make out the face. And the face she was able to see was hideous. Every feature on the witches face was deformed. Warts covered half the face and most of the nose, which was fat and turned up like a pigs’. The lips were cracked and shrunken. Her hair was not hair in Joserinas’s eyes, it was a ton of filthy, lice covered, and wiggling worms that were tangled into what looked liked a bun if you really used your imagination. But what Joserinas thought was worst were the eyes. One eye was practically on the forehead and one was almost next to the nose. Both were bloodshot though one was greenish-brown and one was a pinkish-purple. As if to match her appearance, her clothes were ragged and so dirty that Joserinas could barely make out the word “UGLY” written across the shirt front. “An ugly person would be beautiful compared to this…… monstrosity.” Even though she was the top student in her class, Joserinas couldn’t think of a word close enough to the witch’s appearance; even monstrosity was mild. “Well,” the witch asked, “Why did you come here?” Out of all the things, the witch’s voice was the thing that made Joserinas’s hair stand on end and make her actually feel goose bumps on her. It was screechy and scratchy like a car that hasn’t been driven or oiled for a long time. But she replied very bravely, “I want help, magical help. I want to be able to trick-or-treat on Halloween and find Easter eggs in a not-so-very-hot sun.” “I can’t help you unless you do something for me in return” the witch rasped and cackled. “What do you want me to do?” inquired Joserinas. “Please don’t say that it is something hard” she wished inwardly. “The solution to your problem is to get the five weather gems: the Turquoise of Water, the Grey Opal of Clouds, the Garnet of Sunshine, the Diamond of Snow, and the Sapphire of Wind. Those you can seek and keep. I want is the Ruby of All Evil in return. Oh, and call me Desdemona” The witch told her. “How can I find them?” Joserinas inquired. The witch told her to wait and sauntered out of the room with more energy than one would expect her to have. In a few minutes she was back holding two old, tattered pieces of paper and some odd utensils. As the witch handed one to her, she told Joserinas that on the piece of paper was a legend. Desdemona told Joserinas that if she read the legend carefully, she would find out what she could get the gems. The other piece of paper would show her a map of the places mentioned. This was what the legend read: In ancient times there was four seasons, true People had their weather gems and made them all equally important. Spring, they made by mixing clouds, rain, and sun, Summer was the sunny month, made by sun and occasionally clouds. Then came Autumn, rain and winds mixed with clouds and drops of sun. White winter then took over and snow covered the ground. For centuries this cycle turned smoothly as can be But in the end, men became lazy and the cycle couldn’t turn Sorcerers seized this chance and took the gems away. Alas, the gems were only made for humankind and didn’t obey the sorcerers. The king of the sorcerers got very angry and then, Scattered all the gems away. Though the king was angry, he was merciful, He left the men directions to all the gems and gave them things to seek with. A cloak, for swiftness and for flying. A telescope for twenty- league vision, A breather for underwater travel And a detailed map of the journey. The Diamond of Snow was hidden in the topmost mountain, The Grey Opal of Clouds was hidden in the Jungle, The Turquoise of Water was hidden in the Ocean, The Garnet of Sunshine was hidden in the hottest desert. The Sapphire of Wind was hidden at the edge of the world, If anyone found every gem, the finder would also be given two extra gems. The Ruby of All Evil and the Emerald of All Good. The king also said that a group of no more than five people may go. None of the gems were found but there had to be weather so This is why there is only summer and winter. Men fell into despair And so it was said that if a person found any of them, They would be able to choose one more reward. “You see? It is very simple. All you have to do is find all the gems!” said Desdemona. “Simple?” thought Joserinas. “It’s anything but simple.” As if reading her thoughts, Desdemona said, “Don’t forget that you can take up to five people with you and you have the cloak, telescope, and breather. And you have the map, and you only need to find the turquoise, sapphire, and the gray opal.” “Still…,” said Joserinas. “I’m a kid and if I ask an adult, he or she will try to run the expedition. If I ask any boys, they would try to run everything. I should go only with my best friend Shamara. But then, we wouldn’t be able to brave ogres and giants and worse, dragons.” Desdemona replied, “What you say is true, but I shall give you one more gift.” She disappeared into a room. Then, she came out holding a large jar with a fairy inside it. “Her name is Ophelia,” said Desdemona, holding out the jar to Joserinas. “You may have her. She will help you a lot. Just let her out once in a while and feed her on marshmallows and peanut butter. Oh, and she will hate you and refuse to listen to you if you don’t let her out twice a week and let her have a bath once a week.” Joserinas gently took the jar. Ophelia let out a high-pitched shriek as Joserinas almost dropped her. Joserinas jumped. As both regained their balance, Ophelia scowled at her. Joserinas grinned uneasily as she realized that befriending the fairy would not be an easy task. Turning to Desdemona, Joserinas smiled. “Thank you for your help,” she said. “No problem, little girl. What did you say your name was?” asked Desdemona. “Joserinas,” Joserinas replied. “Joserinas Leomarcia.” “Alright, Joserinas Leomarcia,” replied Desdemona. “Well, I’ll be on my way.” Joserinas said. Something about the way that Desdemona had said her name made her get the shivers. Chapter 2 (Plans and Partners) “So, you went to the witch’s house, asked her for help, got help, even got a fairy, and now you want me to help you on your quest?” Joserinas and her best friend, Shamara Grelinda were walking to Joserinas’s house after school, Shamara rushing to keep up with her friend’s long strides in the icy air, and Joserinas had just told Shamara about Halloween. “Well…yeah. That’s pretty much the story,” replied Joserinas, and then, mistaking her friend’s expression, added, “But you don’t need to come on the journey with me if you wouldn’t like to.” “Are you kidding? Of course, I want to come. I’m so glad you went, and I’m annoyed with myself for not thinking of asking the witch. When are we going to start? When, when, WHEN?!?!?!” shouted Shamara, her bright blue eyes getting brighter and shining with excitement. “Calm down,” laughed Joserinas. “Can’t you see that we need to get a lot of supplies and plan out a lot of things? We are obviously not going to be able to survive with just a fairy, a map, a legend, a breather, a cloak, and a telescope. We need food, for one and most of all we need to know how to get from every place and back.” “I know, I know, but when are we going to start planning out the adventure? I want to get started, but what do we have to do for the trip?” Shamara was bubbling over with excitement. “Well, we will start today, but we probably won’t finish until next month. Even if we plan the whole trip, we can’t go until we nick a whole lot food.” “Why can’t we just ask our parents for food?” questioned Shamara. “Why do we have to nick it from people?” “Isn’t it a bit obvious? Do you honestly think that our parents will let us go by ourselves and try to get a couple of gems when grown men have not even succeeded? Heck, they’re probably going to ground me for going to the witch’s house and then, they won’t let us out of their sight from then on.” Joserinas suddenly dropped her voice. She could see her mother waiting outside for them to come. Although her mother probably could not hear her, she certainly wasn’t taking any chances. Joserinas and Shamara greeted Mrs. Leomarcia and then hurried upstairs to Joserinas’s room. They quickly finished all their homework and then sat on Joserinas’s bed. “Since you are better at reading maps, you can look over the map and try to see which one we should tackle first. I will feed Ophelia and let her out for a while and reread the legend for any hidden clues,” Joserinas told Shamara, and walked to the closet, where she had been keeping Ophelia. When she opened the door of the closet, she let out a tiny yelp. Ophelia was lying on the bottom of the bottle and she looked dead! Shamara called, “What’s wrong?” Not taking the time to reply, Joserinas hurried to the kitchen and went to look in the refrigerator. She wondered if Ophelia would like chunky or creamy peanut butter, and if she would like mini or regular marshmallows. Not daring to waste any time, she just grabbed all of them and rushed back to her room. Shamara had taken Ophelia gently out of the bottle and had put her on Joserina’s bed. Ophelia seemed dead, but as soon as Joserinas took the marshmallows out of the bag, Ophelia stirred. Joserinas took a mini marshmallow and held it out for her. Gratefully, Ophelia took it and immediately ate it in small, quick bites. Soon, the marshmallow was finished. Joserinas then screwed off the top of both jars of peanut butter and dipped a spoon in each one. She held out both spoons to the fairy and Ophelia attacked the creamy peanut butter and nudged away the chunky kind. Then, Joserinas suddenly realized that Shamara was not there. In a few seconds, though, Shamara reappeared holding a spoon of water. “Drinks are as important, if not more important, as food,” said Shamara, “She won’t be much help to us if she dies of thirst.” She held out the spoon so that Ophelia could drink. Ophelia tinkled lightly, and her face beamed, showing her thanks. Momentarily after she tinkled, a tiny bead of sparkling light appeared on her palm. When the fairy blew on top of the light bead, it grew very large. Finally, Ophelia put her other palm on top of the huge bead of light, as if to sandwich it. The light grew into a small duffel bag, but it got bigger and bigger by the second. Soon, Joserinas and Shamara could easily fit inside with plenty of room to move around comfortably. “PERFECT!” exclaimed Joserinas, “We could pack all our food for the journey in this bag.” “Think logically, Joserinas, how in the world are we going to hide this bag until we get enough food. And, even if we managed to do that, we obviously can’t carry it,” pointed out Shamara. “Ophelia couldn’t and wouldn’t have made this if she knew perfectly well that it would be useless. I think that there is much more to this bag it seems,” insisted Joserinas. They both tried to lift the bag with all of their school books inside. Surprisingly, it was as light as a feather. When they tried to put the bag in Joserinas closet, it bunched together, and became as small as a toddler’s clenched fist. “Told you!” said Joserinas. “O.K., I admit, you’re right. The weather predictor said that the storms will probably be mild tomorrow, so I’ll ask my mom if I could go shopping with you tomorrow. You ask yours right now,” ordered Shamara. When Joserinas asked her mother for permission, her mother said that it was perfectly fine, since the two girls hadn’t been out for pleasure for an extremely long time. When Shamara’s mother came to pick Shamara up, she also consented, and Shamara and Joserinas exchanged quick glances, marveling at the way everything was turning out so perfectly. Chapter 3 (Girls…Aren’t Boys) “Tell me again what we’re going to buy,” said Shamara. Joserinas took the list of items out of her pocket. They had made it during break, and they had been very anxious for school to end so that they would not have to worry about people peeking at their list. “Hmm,” said Joserinas, scanning the list quickly. “We need paper and ink from Stationary Plus, two swords and shields from Weapons Galore, two sleeping bags from Campers Heaven, and a lot of boys’ clothes, especially pants, and with the leftover money, as much dry food as possible.” For a whole afternoon, they shopped and shopped. They shopped until their arms and legs were falling off. “I hate this!” complained Shamara, who was carrying two small boxes and three bags that were overfilled with items. “I can’t even see!!” You’re better off than I am!” retorted Joserinas. “At least you aren’t carrying bags and bags of beef jerky and bottles filled up to the brim with water!!” “Well, it’s not my fault that we could only think of jerky and raisins and nuts to take!!” pointed out Shamara. Joserinas bit her lip. It wasn’t fair that she had to do this. Going on this trip would be so much easier with more people! Joserinas and Shamara sighed at the same time. Surprised, they looked at each other and burst out laughing. “I wish we had more people,” Shamara admitted. “I do too, but we have to leave soon, and besides, we can’t tell anyone or else they might tell a grownup and we’d be in a lot of trouble,” Joserinas said. Shamara sighed again. “When are we leaving?” she asked Joserinas, not wanting to think about anything. “Maybe at the end of the week,” said Joserinas thoughtfully. “I mean, it wouldn’t hurt to start early, and it gives us somewhere around enough time to practice some moves with the swords, since it’s only Tuesday.” “Perhaps,” answered Shamara, “If nothing interferes. The schedule might not fit well, though, and we might not be very good at fighting by then.” Joserinas gasped. “Oh my gosh. I totally forgot!” she whispered, “How will we learn?” “What do you mean?” asked Shamara. Joserinas whimpered. “First of all, nobody around here would ever teach girls without our parents’ permission, and even if they agreed, it would make them suspicious!!” The girls groaned. After all their hard work, reality had come crashing down on them, hard and cruel. Now someone would surely figure out that they were up to something, something that girls shouldn’t do. “Wait! That’s it!” cried Shamara. “What’s it?” asked Joserinas, confused. “Guess,” tempted Shamara, so proud of herself of thinking of it. Joserinas shook her head. “We can sneak out, and get someone from out of town to teach us!” Shamara almost shouted. But Joserinas was doubtful. “What if they report us to this town?” she asked. Shamara sighed. “We’ll have to travel a long way before we ask for lessons.” “We can’t!” Joserinas exclaimed. “You don’t understand. First of all, we’ll probably starve before we get to any gems, and secondly, there’s going to be very few towns out there, or else they would have already found all the gems!!” Shamara whispered something in a hollow voice. Joserinas sensed that something was wrong. “What’s wrong?” she asked softy. “Well, it’s…” Shamara hesitated. “What if we fail? I’m trying to be happy and excited, that’s why I’m acting like this, but…” “Fail?” interrupted Joserinas angrily. “I just know that we are going to be perfectly O.K. And don’t talk like that. If we THINK that we’re going to fail, we ARE going to fail. Be more optimistic” But even as she said it aloud, Joserinas felt doubtful. Most of her nights were filled with nightmares of ogres, dragons, and angry wizards and the only thing that prevented her from totally giving up was Ophelia. Now that she knew about Ophelia’s need to eat a lot, she always kept a fresh spoon of peanut butter and marshmallows inside the fairy’s jar. This obviously pleased Ophelia very much and she had been as helpful as a sheepdog to a farmer by keeping Joserinas’s spirits high. The two girls walked in silence for a few minutes. Both were hoping that the other would be able to comfort her and change the subject. Finally, the wind knocked over one of Shamara’s boxes and both reached to pick it up. Seeing the raisins made Joserinas realize something. “Shamara,” she said, “I just remembered, without fresh fruit, our skin won’t get enough vitamins to heal itself if we get cuts.” “Why can’t it be dried fruit?” asked Shamara. “’Cause when you dry fruit, it takes away a lot of the vitamins. The only other way is to eat raw onions, because onions don’t rot very easily if they’re packed into barrels tightly. I, for one, though, am NOT going to eat raw onions if my life depended on it,’’ announced Joserinas. “Neither am I.” “Hmm… And it’s not like we can get into stores along the way, either, since we’re girls. Even going to the stores to buy us these things was SO hard, and the attendants kept staring at us. The only reason they believed your stories is because we’re known to be trustworthy. We’re GIRLS! How are we supposed to be able to go on a quest when girls are supposed to stay home and cook and clean and boring stuff?!” Shamara sighed. This was going to be hard, and since they weren’t even close to good at swordplay, they were sure to get a lot of cuts. “Joserinas? I think we’re going to HAVE to enlist a boy. This is going to be hard enough without having to worry about food along the way.” “SHAMARA! ARE YOU INSANE! A BOY? You KNOW what they’re going to do. All of them are so uppity because they think they know so much more than girls, just because they can go to school all around the year, and girls are only allowed in school during the winter.” “Well, some of them aren’t THAT bad... I know a boy in my class who is really nice to girls. Well, sure, he doesn’t talk much at all, but he’s really nice to girls when he does.” “You mean, nice to YOU. YOU are always popular with boys because you’re outgoing and funny and bubbly and pretty.” Shamara sighed. They had this conversation at least once a month, and the conclusion was always that Joserinas won and Shamara was pretty and popular and Joserinas was not. She thought that Joserinas was prettier than her; it was just that Joserinas liked to hide her beauty. Joserinas had long, shiny black hair, which was very different in a place where most people had white-yellow hair, like Shamara. Also, Joserinas had beautiful sparkling violet eyes, and was rather tall and slim. Like the others in the town, though, Shamara was small, definitely not skinny, and had normal, blue eyes. “Why don’t make up a… a test for the boy to see if he is worthy of this trip or not?” she suggested, changing the conversation away from the girls’ beauty. “Fine, but it’s going to be really hard and I’m not accepted anyone who has less than a 100% on it. And if he does seem right, we’re still not telling him that the gems control the weather. That part is too dangerous to mess with. We can just tell him that we’re searching for gems that are going to help us in life.” “What about with the legend? Then we can’t show him that!” “Of course not. We can just remind him that he promised to let us control.” “Deal.” Shamara grinned. She was 100% sure that the aforementioned boy would pass the test. Chapter 4 (Virendra) Joserinas and Shamara were leaving school when Shamara suddenly pulled her friend’s sleeve and squealed, “THERE HE IS!!” The black-haired girl looked and saw…a boy unlike any other boy she had ever seen. Like Joserinas, he had the rare dark hair, and was tall. He looked about 15, which made sense because Shamara, like herself, was in classes with older kids because they were smart. But what really stood out was his face, so different from the other boys’. His eyes were kind, colored a soft shade of light brown speckled with honey. Instead of the usual snotty look that looked down at girls, he had an open, honest face, and smiled at every girl he saw. It wasn’t a flirtatious smile, but a genuine, kind smile. This boy already was getting points. “I think…maybe you were right about this boy. Maybe he is right for us,” Joserinas admitted, “Let’s go talk to him,” she added. “What, right NOW?” “Why not?” “Oh. I just…never mind. Let’s go talk to him.” The two girls ran to the boy to catch up. Joserinas, having longer legs, got there first, and opened up their talk, “Hello.” Even though he looked bewildered at the sight of two girls that he never formally met talking to him, he replied with a smile and, “Hello. Who are you?” “This is Joserinas, and I’m Shamara. What’s your name?” cut in Shamara. “Hello, Joserinas and Shamara. I’m Virendra Darise. Call me Vidra.” “Ok, Vidra,” Shamara paused. Would it be wise to tell him right away? His looks were promising, but who knew? Evidently, her friend felt so as well. “Vidra, can I ask you a few questions? And can you promise me to answer truthfully?” “Sure” “Vidra, can you keep a secret? A really important secret? Are you afraid of journeys? Do you think that girls are a waste of time? Could you be content in following orders from a girl?” Virendra looked more puzzled than ever. “Secret? Journey?” he inquired, “I can keep secrets, sure. And I guess I would be an insult to boyhood if I told you I was afraid of journeys,” he smiled his easy smile, “and I have no problem with girls, but why are you asking me?” Joserinas thought quickly. So far, the boy was passing the test. But what if the boy was being untruthful? This was going to be a tricky business, making sure the boy was the right one. Although he SAID he was being truthful, you really could never tell with boys. The only reason any were nice to you was that they liked you. She took a wild chance, a question that would either make sure he was in, or make sure that more questions were needed. A question that might make this boy think she was not quite right in her head. “Vidra, tell us who you like.” Shamara looked at her like she was mad. She felt like she was insane, too. And, judging by the look on Virendra’s face, he thought she was crazy as well. But, he recovered surprisingly quickly “Is this what you usually ask boys that you have met for five minutes?” he asked with a smile, “Or are you just asking this to me? Either way, I’ll tell you. I don’t like any girl right now. Not because I think they’re stupid or anything, it’s just that none seems right for me. Are you satisfied?” The two would-be adventurers looked at each other and understood that both accepted this new member. There would be no other. No other boy would spend so much time without yawning loudly, and no other boy would talk to them like equals. With an explanation like that, there was no way he could be lying. The entire story came tumbling out while he walked them to Shamara’s house. As they told the story, his face seemed to understand, and though both checked often, he didn’t seem on the verge of laughing at them. When they finished their story, they had reached Shamara’s house. The threesome lingered at the gate silently, until Vidra said, “This sounds like a crazy story,” Shamara and Joserinas exchanged panicked glances, “because there is only a SLIGHT chance this might have happened. I’m inclined to believe you two, because you girls don’t seem like the type to lie…” “We don’t,” reassured, Shamara. “Yes, I can sort of see that, but I still have doubts. I want to believe you, but my mind won’t let me until you show me some evidence.” The two were getting impatient with his doubt, but they both knew that they needed this out-of-ordinary boy, so they both thought about “evidence”. Finally, Vidra told them, “It doesn’t need to be something big. You don’t have to show me…your fairy or anything like that. Just anything that proves that you are serious about your story.” Then, Shamara was able to come up with a test. Or, rather, an idea for a test. “Vidra, ask us both the same question, but separately. If we were not making this up, our stories should be exactly the same on points that we haven’t even mentioned.” Vidra saw the sense in this, and it would be a simple test, so he preformed it on the spot. He asked both what their fairy looked like. Needless to say, they both had the same answer. Both even mentioned very minor details, such as the colors of the individual spots on Ophelia’s wings. What was a bit humorous to both girls about this test was that each was hoping for this question, for the night before, they had been studying Ophelia so that if they found other fairies, they could tell her apart! “Ok, girls, I’m pretty sure I’ll be in the adventure. This test has convinced me enough. How many others are in the group?” “Well, it’s actually just Shamara and me…and you now. We needed a boy to teach us fighting and things like that, and we also need a boy because only boys are going to be allowed in stores along the way. We’ll supply the products to trade, and we have some gold coins between us, but we’re girls, so…” “…so you need a boy to buy the things. I understand. But, I’m only 15. We’re going to have to wait until I’m 16, and then I can go to all stores, not just the ones for food. They don’t let 15-year old boys in weapon shops and taverns. You two were EXTREMELY lucky to get into all of those shops. I know you don’t care about taverns, but we’re going to need to go there to get the news and about the weather and the search for us.” “We can’t wait. You don’t understand. We need to go as soon as possible!” Joserinas was getting hysterical. “Joserinas, calm down. I’m turning 16 next month. Can you just wait one more month? We’re going to need to buy more supplies, and I need to pack, and make sure we have everything, anyway. And I have a solution to the fruit problem. They taught the all-boys class last summer. But you guys need to go. Shamara, your mom is waving to you two to go to your car. I’ll talk to you tomorrow after school. Bye.” “Bye,” the girls replied. Maybe this boy was right. They could afford to wait one month, though it may be just barely. Of course they could. Chapter 5 (Assumptions of Affections) On opposite sides of the school, Shamara and Joserinas both looked at the sunstick on their end. There were five minutes before the school ended for the day. Vidra was in a class right in the middle of the school, so he couldn’t see a sunstick. He was spending his leisure time during class to plan for the trip, and got so absorbed in his preparation that he half jumped when the loud shout was heard, signifying the end of the school. Then, grabbing his leather bookbag, he ran towards the front of the school, their chosen meeting spot. Joserinas was already there when he arrived, and Shamara was only a few yards away, running towards them. In the middle of the “how-do-you-do’s” and “how-was-school’s”, they were interrupted. One of Vidra’s friends had come. With a superior look on his face, with his pale blond hair flipped back, the friend commanded with an air of leadership, “Run along, girls. Go… wash some clothes or wipe the floors. You might want to scrub some of the building walls. They’re filthy with graffiti. You can flirt with Vidra later. For now, we need him for our ball game, boys only.” Then he turned to Vidra. “Come, Vidra. We need you on the court! We’re battling one of the harder teams today, but we can win, of course!” Joserinas and Shamara were outraged. For a boy to think that they were flirting with Vidra, to be told to “run along” like silly little children, to be thought of as inferior, as less important than a game, to be told to “wipe floors” or “wash clothes”, or even “scrub the building walls,” a low job for the cleaners, it just made their blood boil. But, a boy was a boy, and they would get in serious trouble if they talked back or, the gods forbid, flatly refused. And Vidra needed to be as normal as possible to not attract attention, so he had to say, “Girls, go away. I need to go to my game. I don’t want to go to the party with any of you. I’m only going to help you with your schoolwork after I have my ball game practice. Your mother is only paying me for that!” After fixing the boy for several moments with their most disdainful, annoyed stares, they turned on their heels and stomped off, making a sharp point, but it was lost on the blond boy, as he had already turned his back with a ugly, twisted smile pasted on his face. “So, Vidra, attracting 8th sectors, are we? Cashlin is going to be so angry. She’s been making doe eyes at you for the last three weeks. And the black-haired one isn’t so bad looking, either.” “I know, Drake.” Vidra attempted a smile that came out as a grimace, but it went by unnoticed by his friend, “but they’re so young and naïve. Really, they are flirting outrageously, and using my teaching them as an excuse to talk to me.” It really pained Virendra to say these things, but it was necessary. He gave a false laugh, and jogged ahead to the court. Meanwhile, as soon as Joserinas and Shamara were past hearing distance, both started to yell and complain. “How could he even think that we were flirting!?” “We don’t even know when the next party for anywhere is! Or even if there is going to be a party anywhere near here!!” “How could sweet, nice Vidra be friends with such a creep?!” “VIDRA needs more help with school than we do!” But they were soon joined by their friends, who also asked ridiculous questions, such as, “Girls, how could you even THINK of flirting with Vidra? He’s already been claimed by Cashlin! She’s like, practically the most popular girl in the whole school!”, “No, she is the most popular girl in the whole school!” “ She might even be the most popular girl in the history of this school! How could you even consider being better than her? Like Virendra would choose you over a 9th sector like Cashlin!”, “Joserinas, we all know you are the most popular girl in the 8th sector, but in the 10th sector, you have no chance! Let the 9th and 10th sector girls get him; he’ll never pay attention to 8th sector girls like us…”, “He’s WAY too old for you, Shamara”, and even “Are you guys going to fight over him? Have you guys fought over him? Or has one of you already claimed him, and the other was just there for support?” “The things that people dream up,” both girls thought. Out loud, Joserinas said, “Girls, you are all getting it wrong. My mother is going to pay him for helping us with school things and class help, and we were asking him… some questions about some of the problems in our lessonbooks that we didn’t quite get today.” “Oh,” was the dull, disappointed reply. They all shuffled away, muttering inaudible comments amongst themselves. One comment was heard faintly, whispered by a girl who loved to talk, especially about other people. “Yeah right, like that’s true. She was more likely talking about Virendra’s new haircut, and how cute it was.” Some of the girls giggled, and one girl murmured back, “Are you sure you’re not mentioning what you were thinking of?” And all the girls burst out laughing. Joserinas smiled inwardly. She knew that everyone wanted her to start liking someone so that they could gossip about it around school. After all, it was true that she was the most popular girl in the 8th sector, and gossip seemed to find her more than her friend. She and Shamara started walking briskly to her house. They would meet Vidra there, like they had planned in case of an emergency. The girls certainly considered being interrupted by a creep like the boy they had met an emergency. It was a huge emergency! Chapter 6 (Planning with a Boy) “VIDRA, HOW could you be friends with such a…a…a…” “A SEXIST!” “Look, girls, I’m so sorry about him. I didn’t have a choice but to play along with him. If I suddenly was nice to you, then people would get suspicious. Can you understand?” The girls calmed down a little after they processed his words. They were in the park across the road from Vidra’s house. Since they couldn’t go into each other’s houses because of the awkward gossip that would spread, they were confined to public parks and they had to bring their books in pretense of studying. Shamara spoke first. “When are you turning sixteen again Vidra? Do you mind hurrying up a bit? We don’t have that much time left.” “Twenty-two days. That’s not too long is it? Do you mind if we leave in the early morning twenty-three days from now? I want to celebrate with my parents before I leave.” Joserinas was alarmed. “You didn’t tell them, did you? It won’t work if you did you know!!” “Of course not!” Vidra laughed. “I wouldn’t do that.” His expression sobered. “I do feel a little guilty though.” Joserinas and Shamara both sighed simultaneously. They had both gotten over guilt a long time ago. Shamara told him, “Don’t worry. We won’t die or anything. They’ll just have to wait a while before we come back. It’s the adults’ faults anyway that we’re going on this trip. If they’d just looked for the gems a long time ago and didn’t make us get stuck with summer and winter, instead of getting the gems, controlling the weather, and making everything right again, we wouldn’t be in this situation!” Joserinas glared at her, but she had the sense not to bring it up as Shamara looked horrified. Vidra gave them a confused glance. “Summer and winter? Controlling the weather? Is there something you aren’t telling me about the trip? What’s going on girls?” Biting her lip, Shamara looked at Joserinas. Sighing, with a sharp look at Shamara not to say anything, Joserinas began in a low voice. “Everything else we told you was true. I promise that. But I didn’t tell you one thing; why I started this trip. I got sick of having only summer and winter, sometimes not being able to go trick-or-treating on time, and always finding Easter eggs under a blazing hot sun. I went to the witch last Halloween to get help.” At this point, Vidra interrupted. “You went to the witch?” Joserinas answered with a nod, and continued. “She gave me a map and a legend. It’s about how we lost Autumn and Spring.” Joserinas took out the legend and the map. “Here.” Vidra spread the map out on the ground. “Is that all I missed out on?” Joserinas nodded again. “That’s all.” The worn-out map and legend were studied carefully by Vidra. “Going to the witch was smart. I would never have thought of it. And these are going to be really useful during our journey.” He looked up. “I think we shouldn’t leave sooner than twenty-three days. Maybe a week or two from now would be a good time to leave. We don’t have enough time to hesitate.” Shamara and Joserinas were momentarily shocked, but began planning with renewed vigor. Shamara said, “Wouldn’t the Turquoise be easiest to find? I mean, we’re pretty close to the ocean. We have the breather too.” Vidra immediately shook his head. “But we only have one breather. I’m not sure how to get around the problem of having only one of everything.” At this, everyone frowned. “Do you think we should visit the witch again?” prompted Shamara. “I mean, Joserinas, you said that she was pretty eager to help before.” Joserinas nodded slowly. “I did say that, and maybe we should go.” She looked questioningly at Vidra. “We should think more deeply about it. We don’t really know anything about this ‘witch.’” “Besides the fact that she gave all this stuff to Joserinas,” Shamara told him pointedly. “That’s what worries me,” Vidra replied carefully. “Why should she help us? Why did she give Joserinas all this stuff, when she isn’t even sure that we are really going to use this to get the gems?” He turned to Joserinas. “You told us that she asked for the Ruby of Evil. Why would she want that? How would she know that we would find it? Why should she even believe that we would go on the quest? Or even if she was sure we would, why would she think we would give the ruby to her? I mean, she’s a witch. Is she even? Are we even sure? Let’s say she was, but then why would we give her something that she could use to create mayhem all over the world?” Vidra sighed. “I don’t know if we should trust her.” Joserinas was shaken. She hadn’t even thought of any of this! Why had she been so foolish? Why didn’t she just go to an adult she knew well? Shamara smiled though. “That’s why we should go. That way, we can actually meet her, and Vidra, you can determine whether she is trustworthy or not! Only Joserinas got to see her the last time.” “You guys don’t want to see her,” Joserinas grinned suddenly. “She’s a mess. She’s… well. If you guys want to go, you can see her.” “I guess we’d better go.” Vidra sighed. “I just hope she’s trustworthy. And we can’t go today. You guys want to meet tomorrow? To ‘study’ let’s say, right after school?” The girls nodded. “Okay girls, then I’ll meet you here tomorrow.” He stood up and brushed off his pants. Suddenly, he groaned. “What?” Shamara asked, with a half-smile on her face. But Joserinas had already spotted what Vidra had seen, and nodded her head in that direction. They all squinted to see in the fading light. All at once, it was clearly visible who it was, and the smile faded from Shamara’s face. A boy approached them with a grin on his face. It was Drake. Chapter 7 (A Case of Overboard Sexism) Joserinas looked over to her friends to see their expressions, to see if they were ready to scream and yell and punch Drake as hard as they could in the face like she was. Shamara looked frustrated and angry, but she was trying her best to look rather embarrassed. They needed that effect, since they were “studying” with a 10th sector boy. Vidra though, looked calm and relieved. Joserinas suspected he was acting. Vidra shut his book with a thud. “Drake! Thanks for coming. I thought I was dying. I…” He turned and looked at the girls. “Joserinas, Shamara, why don’t you study what we’ve gone over? Let’s go talk over by that tree, Drake.” They strode over to a tree a ways off, and whispered, so the girls could not overhear. Shamara felt like screaming. That… that… Shamara didn’t even want to think the word she came up with. He just had to ruin their planning! What was wrong with that boy? Joserinas voiced her anger, but softly. “I know what you’re thinking Shamara. He needs some attitude help, but we need to act like there’s nothing wrong. So clear that stormy face and we should pretend to study. That way, he won’t suspect anything. Not that he has the brains to, but still…” Shamara nodded, and Vidra walked over to them, along with Drake. Drake grinned he ugly, lopsided grin, and he spoke to the girls in a superior voice, like last time they had met. “Okay girls, Vidra has to come with me, for… let’s say a meeting with the 10th sector boys. We would invite you but… well… you guys aren’t 10th sectors, and you aren’t boys. Therefore, my conclusion is, you guys should go home.” Joserinas and Shamara were furious. Vidra was too. “Drake Seviste!” Vidra exclaimed. “I told you I couldn’t shirk on my responsibilities! We talked about this. I can’t go with you guys.” The older boy remained calm. “Don’t worry V,” he said. “I will handle everything.” “Everything? So you’re going to talk with the girls’ moms. You’re going to tell them that I wasn’t there for the full hour and a half, that I left them alone. You’re going to tell them that I couldn’t tutor their daughters because I was away playing a game with my friends! You’re going to tell them all that? Because I’m not planning on doing it! “Of course not. My mom will. She’ll do anything for me.” Drake went to a nearby tonophona and punched a number, evidently the number to his house. “Mom? Okay, I need you to come to Tree Park immediately. MOM! Do it now! I don’t care that you need to go to a business meeting. A woman’s post is at home serving the males in her family, anyway. Since Grandpa is dead, and Dad is away on a business trip, you should be serving me. Come to the park now! I need you to drop off two girls at their houses, and to take Vidra and me to the game. Don’t be late.” He slapped the tonophona down and smiled haughtily. Joserinas, Shamara, and Vidra had trouble concealing their horror at Drake’s attitude to his mother. They had never heard someone speak in such a manner to an older person. Women were looked down upon, but still they were respected by those younger than them, especially children and teenagers. The way Drake had spoken to his mother almost defied the laws! What did this boy think he was? “Mr. Drake?” asked Joserinas in a quavering voice, playing the part of a foolish young girl, the part that she hated dearly, “that still doesn’t solve the problem of telling our parents, and m-“ “Oh, just hush up, girl,” Drake’s voice put as much contempt in the word as possible, “Why don’t you do something productive? Oh, yes, you should clean my shoes. Because you girls decided to flirt with Vidra here, I had to walk through yards of dirty snow. Look at my shoes!” Drake’s shoes were black to begin with, so it was impossible to tell the dirt from the shoe. Vidra caught this too, but could not say anything that wouldn’t arouse suspicions. Since in Joserinas’s time, any male’s word was law over females, Shamara and Joserinas had no choice but to grab angrily at the cloth being proffered and clean the shoes, kneeling at Drake’s feet, red with humiliation. Helplessly, Vidra watched them and talked normally to Drake at the same time. After fifteen minutes, Drake spotted his mother coming up in a fancy trolmobile, and told them that they could stop. As the girls climbed into the trolmobile, they saw Drake’s mother, and her face was one they would not forget in a while. It had a haunted beauty. With graceful, arching eyebrows, royal-blue eyes, and hair colored a yellow that reminded Shamara of the time she saw a picture of a dandelion in a history book, she was very pretty. But within the beauty, there was a broken, whipped look that reflected clearly off her eyes. Both girls shuddered to think of the poor woman’s life, catering to her family’s every needs. Even though she was clearly hurt, she smiled at Drake, Virendra, and Shamara. When she saw Joserinas, though, she looked intently into the girl’s face, as though searching for something that she was sure would be there. After a long silence, she smiled, and Joserinas went into the vehicle. Drake’s mother waited until Drake and Virendra were comfortable before she set off. There was no way Joserinas or Shamara could possibly comfortable, no matter how long she waited. While the boys had soft, velvet-padded seats that had backrests positioned for maximum comfort, the girls had straight-backed, wooden chairs that weren’t even rubbed down to prevent splinters. Vidra thought longingly of giving up his seat for the girls, but all he could do was sit and talk to Drake, appearing to not give a care to the girls. As they neared Joserinas’s house, Vidra hurriedly checked the sunstick in the front yard. Luckily, they were right on time for the “lesson” to end, so that there would be no awkward moments with Joserinas’s mother asking them what this whole tutoring situation was about. Before Drake could get a word in edgewise, the two girls jumped off and ran to their homes. Drake, shaking his head, said, “Those girls are really such flirts, aren’t they, Vidra?” Vidra, fighting the urge to punch his “friend” right in the nose, replied, “Yes, they are.” Drake, oblivious to the trouble he caused, continued to make light conversation all the way to the game. By imagining that the ball was Drake’s face, Vidra was able to lead his team to victory. Chapter 9 (Saying Good-Bye) The group finally was able to make a plan on escaping. It would be in four days, and at the dead of night. Vidra would get as much food as he could. The secret to the fresh fruit problem was actually very simple. For an experiment four summers ago, a 11th sector class decided to mix fruits with nuts, to make a hybrid, edible plant. After the 14th experiment, they succeeded in mixing almonds with apples. The nutrition of the apple mixed with the dryness of the almonds made a perfect traveling food. This was not taught to the girls in fear that the girls would then give up cooking, and just serve these plants all the time. Virendra, being a favorite of the teachers, was able to sneak into the planting area and steal ten jars of this wondrous root. All three still felt guilty every time they stole, but they just kept telling themselves that they were saving the people a lot of weather problems by being able to go on this journey. At last, it was the night. The trio was having the last “tutoring” session, while going over their list of supplies. “Witch’s map, and the map from the history book?” asked Joserinas, concentrating so much she was frowning at the paper. “Both are here, but the history map’s edges are a little ripped,” replied Shamara. “Peanut/Apple concoction?” “I got enough for a while.” “Dry clothes enough for ten days?” “I packed yours and my and clothes, Joserinas.” “And I have cloths, too.” “I brought the washing soap, and the cloths soap.” “I brought six pairs of hard, leather boots.” “I brought two bottles of Softrub to help keep our skin moist.” “And I have enough beef jerky and raisins to feed the whole village for a month.” “And I have enough water to quench the thirst of the village for a year!” The trio smiled. They were ready. The only part of this problem that still had to be worked out was their parents. None of them wanted to just leave their parents, but it just could not be possible to warn their parents ahead of time. Joserinas, Shamara, and Virendra all looked at each other. Saying goodbye to their parents was going to be the hardest part of this whole trip. Carefully, they wrote letters to their parents on the creamy, fancy rolls of parchment that Shamara had brought out, explaining their situation. All of them hoped fervently that the parent’s wouldn’t look for them, but, so deep down that none of them knew, they all wished to be found out, comforted, and brought back home. But none of them knew this, and they never would until the journey started. “I’m going to miss them,” sighed Joserinas, speaking for the group. “M-me-me too,” sniffled Shamara. And then she burst out in hot, wet tears, followed seconds later by Joserinas. Virendra, being the oldest, and the boy, kept his similar emotions hidden from the two and devoted his energy to comforting the two girls. After fifteen more minutes, the two dried their tears, wiped their streaked faces, and they all did a group hug before parting for dinner. At night, all three would-be adventurers acted similarly. The usually-talkative, bright-eyed Shamara was quiet, and was nice to everyone more than usual. Whenever she made eye contact with a family member, she didn’t break her stare for a while, as though scared to tear herself, as though looking away would cause the person to disappear. She ate everything, even her fruits, without complaint, and went upstairs right after dinner, only to come back down and hug and kiss every member in her family. Joserinas, who usually talked about school during dinner, did not even get close to mentioning the fact that she beat Drake in science, or that Drake liked Cashlin. She asked people to pass things to her, then took their hand like she would never let go. After dinner, she hugged her parents very tightly, and went upstairs to say one last goodbye to her room. Being the boy, Virendra didn’t show much difference. But he was unusually quiet and peaceful, not arguing with his brothers the whole dinner, and being nice to his parents, carefully and patiently answering every question. While his parents were surprised, they just assumed that he was growing up. His brothers were just glad that he wasn’t picking on them like usual. The dinner was quiet until the topic of Virendra’s Age Turning came up. “As you know, Virendra, you will be performing the Age Turning ceremony this year, and we are all excited about this prospect.” “I am too, Dad,” he mumbled back. “And so, I was wondering if you have given any thought for what you are going to take as an apprenticeship.” Virendra’s father looked up at his son, but did not catch the momentary look of sadness, mixed with regret and hurt. “I’m not very sure, Dad. Maybe I should think about it some more before I decide. After all, I’m going to have to stick with the job for the rest of my life, and I don’t want to choose wrong.” “Of course, Vidra, of course. Now…” Virendra’s father proceeded to explain, in detail, all the open jobs and what they were worth, although assuring him all the while that money wasn’t much if you liked the job. Poor Vidra’s head was occupied with thoughts of guilt, sorrow, and many other emotions, none of them good. But, what must be done must be done, and so he rallied up against these feelings, excused himself from the table, and went off to pack last-minute things. Chapter 10 (Leaving) “Okay,” Vidra whispered once more. “Do we have everything?” They were in the alley behind the park, just before midnight. “YES!!” muttered the girls in irritation. He had asked that question numerous times, and it was getting on their nerves. “Okay, just checking…” Joserinas and Shamara shook their heads. Vidra was just making them more nervous. What if they had forgotten something and didn’t find out until… Shamara groaned. They were doing it too. “Let’s just go. I think we are finished.” She whipped her head towards Vidra, who was beginning to open his mouth. “NO! DON’T EVEN ASK IF WE FORGOT THIS OR THAT!! DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT ASKING!” “I was just going to say that we better be careful. We might leave tracks.” “Er… Vidra? The road is paved.” Shamara looked at him in confusion. “Right. I knew that. I was just… uh… trying to get our spirits up…” He grinned self-consciously. “Whatever,” Joserinas shook her head doubtfully. This was starting to seem impossible. The trio crept along the alleyway, looking everywhere in case someone was there. Suddenly, something clattered behind them, and Virendra only just in time was able to cover the girls’ mouth before they started to scream. Silently, they flattened themselves against the shadows of a tree, scanning the area. No one was in sight, yet they waited for a couple of minutes as a precaution. “Let’s go,” Shamara said, rather too loudly. Vidra and Joserinas glared at her to keep her quiet. “Sorry,” she whispered in an embarrassed tone. Vidra pushed the girls forward and followed them out of the shadows. “We need to be more careful on making noise and making sure that people aren’t following us. That is the most important thing we can do.” The girls rolled their eyes dramatically. As different as Vidra was from norm, he could still be conceited when he liked. They quietly crawled along, and met no further disturbances until they found the gate that indicated the end of the village guarded by at least a dozen soldiers. Shamara and Joserinas looked at Vidra questioningly. The older boy frowned and leaned closer to them. “I don’t know how to get out. We never learned about the wall around our village, though everyone knew it was there, and the adults always cautioned us to stay away from the entrance. We had no idea anyone would be there.”