Disclaimer: I do not own Narnia or Beastly Set after VDT before SC. I know Eustace had really short hair in the movies, but I think it should be a little longer than Kyle's was at the beginning of Beastly.

I look around where I'm at. The cars, the houses. Before my trip to Narnia with my cousins, I would've been screaming my head off. But, this wasn't Narnia, was it? I call out to Aslan. A voice says, "Child, you have come to help a boy in a situation similar to yours. This is 2011 in New York."

2011? If Aslan hadn't told me, I would've thought myself balmy. I ring the doorbell? Suddenly, a man in his 30s answers. "Um hi."

The man says, "I can't actually see, but the boy here doesn't want to be seen. "

I step in, brushing myself past him. "That's too bad. I was sent on a task."

"By whom?"

"By..oh forget it it. You won't understand."

Suddenly, a strange looking kid with a bald head and weird stuff all over his body, along with scars steps into view. Okay. Awkward. "Look, I'm actually from 1950…um I was sent by Aslan…"

A look of familiarity, if you call it that appears on the 30-something year old man's face. "Why, you must be one of those children who went to Narnia. My favorite story come to life. I'm Will. Come on in."

"Thanks, Will." I move towards the boy, noticing he's about my age. In his eyes, I see desperation and sadness. I look deeper. The look of someone enchanted. I motion to talk with him in private. Not really just about my experience, but because Lucy had told me to try my hardest to make friends.

The boy chuckled, "Don't worry. I responded to Will much worse when I met him."

"You're Kyle Kingsbury, right?"

He shrugged. "Hunter now."

I put my hands into my pocket. Running my hands through my hair didn't seem right when the teen next to me was bald and probably as a result of a curse. I learned from when I pulled Reepicheep's tail.

Casually, I said, "I was put under a curse once. Turned into a dragon."

Kyle, excuse me, Hunter asked, "Don't those only exist in fairytales?"

I lean closer, showing him I wasn't in the least bit afraid of his appearance. "And in Narnia. I was a bit of a bully, selfish and arrogant…"

It is Hunter's turn to lean forward. Seemed like we were part of some secret "I've been altered in appearance club." A hint of sadness went on his face. "Me too."

A feminine voice asks, "Would you two like something to eat."

I lift up my head. A Puerto Rican woman. Awesome! Can't wait to tell my cousins! "Yeah. My parents make me eat food that states like rot. I try to eat as little of their food as I can."

Trying to mind my manners, I turn to Hunter. "What about you?"

He shrugs. "Not like I have anything else to do here. Especially after finding out how much my friends hate me."

That sucks. I realized how much my cousins and the crew of Dawn Treader loved me when I was cursed.

I hand him a peppermint. "This clears your mind."

"They had drugs in the fifties?"

"Um…I've heard of those. My cousins haven't, but my school is what they call progressive and that means we learn about everything. I'm surprised they haven't even taught about the future. When I get back, I'm telling them they have to do a session on the future. On these cars, these houses…"

When Hunter raised his...um word "suck"…I knew I was rambling. "Sorry. My cousins are always on me for not letting anyone have a word in edgewise. I forget my manners at times."

I was relieved when he shrugged. Good. I wasn't being annoying. That's be a first. Open time, I annoyed a teacher so bad…okay, never mind. Back to the moment. I scarf down my food, just because my parents aren't here to tell me it isn't proper. Okay, it's not the best of manners but I'm hungry. I'm a growing chap and just got caught up in a time warp. Excuse me if I wanna eat as fast as I talk.

Finally, I ask, "Can you tell me about American sports? Any swordfighting?"

Hunter's eyes opened wide. "Swordfighting? For real?"

"For real. Um, more like fencing in England. In Narnia, it was much more awesome!"

"Is it okay if we do it inside? Kinda don't want to be seen."

"You can't live your life unseen."

The woman spoke up, "He's right. In order to break the curse, you need to get a girl to fall in love with you in a year."