Dawn, and the ships are leaving, a lover's grief is lifting on the
tide. And hearts too young for sorrow, torn asunder. The cruel
ocean's deep, and dark, and wide.
Hi, my name's Rachel. That's all I can tell you. I can't tell you
where I live, or my age, or even my last name. It's way too risky.
You see, my friends and I all have to be careful. I mean, the Yeerks
are out there. Everywhere.
My cousin Tom is a Controller someone with a Yeerk in their
head. So the Yeerks aren't as far away as you think. What's a
Yeerk? An evil, parasitic slug that takes over your mind and
controls everything. It's horrible. And the only people trying to
stop them from totally invading Earth are a group of kids and one
Andalite. Andalites are a good alien race that hate the Yeerks as
much as us and maybe even beyond.
The only good Andalite currently on Earth is Aximili, our friend.
We call him Ax' for short. He helps us fight the Yeerks.
Jake, my cousin and brother to Tom, is the leader of our small
group. He's a perfect leader: strong, levelheaded, and serious.
My best friend, Cassie, who is also part of our little group, has a
crush on him and it's vice-versa! They don't really admit it
though, although we all saw them kiss before.
Jake's best friend is Marco, who is my own personal pain in the
you-know-what. He tells the most stupidest jokes and then laughs
at them himself like an idiot. And then there's Tobias.
Tobias is a red-tailed hawk with the mind of a boy. He got trapped
as a hawk awhile ago, but has the power to morph back to his old
human self. I often wish that he would just stay in human morph,
but he never really answers me. Just sort of avoids the question.
That's pretty much the whole group of us Animorphs except for
moi. I'm tall blond, and pretty reckless. Okay, that's enough said,
let's get on with this.
I was sitting in my room one sunny day after school doing my
homework when I heard the doorbell ring. Probably just one of
Jordan's friends, I thought. I continued doing my homework then I
heard, "RAAACHEL!!! THERE'S SOMEONE HERE TO SEE
YOU!!!"
I sighed and put down my Geography book. I walked down the
stairs into the livingroom where Sara was watching the TV full
blast. "Sara, can you lower that?" I asked, annoyed, while passing
through to get to the door in the next room. I walked into the next
room and saw Jordan there with Tobias?
"Hey Rachel," he said, grinning his sweet smile.
"Tobias, hi! What are you doing here?" I said, hugging him. He
looked kind of surprised when I hugged him, but hugged me back.
Jordan made gagging noises. I looked at her. "Don't you have
somewhere to be?" I asked her, waving her away.
"No," she said flatly, not moving. Then Sara came out.
"Who's he?" Sara demanded, pointing to Tobias rudely.
"I'm Tobias," Tobias said, smiling.
"Oh. Are you Rachel's boyfriend?" Sara asked. Jordan giggled and
Tobias blushed. Stupid sisters, I thought. They are soooo annoying!
"That's it, out! Go watch some more TV! Ba-bye! Go!" I shooed
them away. They reluctantly left and I turned back to Tobias.
"Sorry," I said, embarrassed.
"It's okay. I just wanted to know uh if you um wanted to go
for a, ah, walk," Tobias stuttered, still as red as a tomato. I smiled.
"Sure, hold on." I walked into the livingroom and told Jordan and
Sara I was going for a walk and would be back soon. They just
nodded, their eyes glued to the TV, in a trance. I rolled my eyes
and grabbed my Spring jacket. Then I walked back to the door
where Tobias was waiting. "Let's go," I said, taking his hand.
As soon as I shut the door to my house and we started walking, I
asked him what the real reason was that he came over to my house.
He looked down. "I don't know I'm not really sure. I mean, I
have no idea," he said. He looked back up at me with his dreamy
eyes.
I smiled. "Well, I'm glad you did."
"Yeah, me too. So uh, what were you doing in your room?" he
asked.
"Geography homework," I groaned.
Tobias laughed. "Don't worry, it's almost summer vacation. You
know, I always looked forward to the last day of school. I guess all
kids do," he said. I could see the pain in his eyes. I squeezed his
hand.
"Well, you are human, Tobias. And no matter how long you stay in
your hawk morph, you'll still always be human. Don't ever forget
that, Tobias," I said with a sudden passion.
Tobias nodded. "Thanks, Rachel," he said.
I smiled and kissed him softly on the lips. He grinned after, which
made me laugh. "I should be getting home," I said.
He looked down. "Yeah, I guess."
"Before my sisters kill each other."
He laughed now. We started walking to my house. "Maybe I'll stop
by later to visit you," he said when we reached my house.
"I'd like that," I said, smiling. We leaned in close and kissed again
and heard, "Ewwww!!" from inside. I turned around to the source
of the noise and found out my annoying sisters were looking out
the window. "Jordan! Sara!" I yelled angrily. They giggled and ran
away into the livingroom. I looked back at Tobias and sighed.
"Sorry again," I whispered.
He smiled. "It's okay, not a big deal. I've gotta demorph now.
Bye," he said, turning to walk away.
"Okay, bye," I said kissing him again. He left and I opened the
door to my house, walked in, and shut it again. My sisters were
there, grinning innocently. "I'm gonna kill you guys," I said, mad.
They turned and ran upstairs giggling. I sighed again and threw
myself onto the couch, flipping on the TV. I surfed through the
channels, nothing was on at all. I left it on one of those stupid
channels where they try to sell you useless things for lots of money
and closed my eyes.
I must have dosed off for awhile because the next thing I remember
was mom shaking me to wake up. She must have just walked in
because when I opened my eyes I realized she still had her jacket
on. "Hi honey. Where are your sisters?" she asked.
"Upstairs, I think," I said groggily. I sat up and rubbed my eyes.
Just then Jordan and Sara came down. "Hi, mommy, guess what
we saw!" Sara said excitedly.
Mom smiled and walked over to them. "What?" she asked.
"We saw Rachel kissing some boy!" Jordan exclaimed. Mom
turned to look at me, her eyebrows raised. I flushed. I wanted to dig
a hole and bury myself. "Really?" asked mom, still looking at me.
"What boy?" she asked Jordan and Sara.
"I don't know him, but he was cute!" Sara said, grinning.
"Yeah. Except he needed to brush his hair," Jordan agreed.
"What boy, Rachel?" mom asked calmly.
"Tobias," I said slowly, still flushed.
"Tobias? What kind of name is that?" Jordan exclaimed.
"I wouldn't be talking, your name is Jordan!" I shot back angrily.
"Girls, stop it. Rachel? I'd like to have a word with you in the
kitchen," mom said sternly, heading towards the kitchen. I sighed
and muttered something under my breath.
We both walked into the kitchen and mom shut the door. "Rachel,
honey, I'm not mad, it's just that well I don't even know this
boy " mom started.
"Tobias is very sweet," I interrupted in defense.
"I'm sure he is. But " mom got interrupted again. This time it
wasn't by me, but by the doorbell. "That must be your father," she
said, walking out of the kitchen to the door. I followed her.
"Dad? Why?" I asked curiously.
"You'll see," she said simply. Now I was confused.
"Daddy!" Sara had already opened the door.
"Hi, kiddo!" he said scooping her up in his arms. "Woah, you're
getting big!" he said, putting her back down. Then he hugged me
and Jordan. "Ah, my girls are getting more and more beautiful
every day!" he said, looking at us.
Sara and I look more like him, with blond hair and blue eyes, while
Jordan looks like mom with brown hair and dark eyes. He looked
up at mom. "Hello," he said to her with a fake smile.
"Hello," she replied, her smile just as fake.
Jordan also must have noticed this. "Why are you here, dad?" she
asked.
"I have big news for you girls," he said.
"What? What?" Sara asked, hyper.
Dad laughed. "Sit down and I'll tell you," he said. We sat down on
the couch. "Okay. Your mother and I have decided that we both
want to see you. I want to see you more often, though, too. You
know I don't get to because I live so far away from here," he said.
"Yeah, so ?" I asked impatiently.
"So, we've decided that we will split the time evenly. I'll have you
for six months, and your mother will have you for six months," he
said, waiting for our reaction.
Sara leaped onto him. "Yeah!" she screamed, excited. Jordan I just
stared at him and mom, open-mouthed.
"What?" I finally blurted out.
"But what about school?" Jordan asked.
"And our friends?" I asked.
"It's okay, we've settled that. Where I live there is an elementary
school, a middle school, and a high school right down the street.
We've already signed all three of you up for them," he said. I just
kept staring at him in awe.
"You mean we don't get a choice?" Jordan asked.
Dad shook his head. "Sorry, kiddo. But I know you'll love it there.
It's warm out all year round," he said.
I didn't know what to say. I had millions of things running through
my head. School .Animorphs Tobias ? I wanted to scream out
angrily. I wanted to break down and cry. I even wanted to start
having a laughing fit like an insane person in a mental institution.
"It'll start on Saturday, all right? So get packed," he said grinning.
He hugged as again. "Oh, it'll be nice to be with my girls again,"
he went on.
I just smiled weakly. "Sounds great, dad," I finally said,
half-heartedly.
"Yeah, it will," dad said, still beaming. "Well, I better be going,
I'm supposed to be on a business trip. I'm leaving on Saturday and
I'll take you kids with me, all right? So be ready early!" he said,
rushing out the door. "Bye!" he called.
"Bye," we replied.
I couldn't believe it. I lied on my bed, crying. All of the sudden I
heard the flutter of wings as Tobias flew through the window.
*Hey, Rachel Rachel?* he asked in thought-speak. He must have
noticed me crying. He morphed human and sat down next to me,
putting his arm over my shoulder. "What's the matter Rachel?" he
asked softly.
"Oh, Tobias, it's awful awful " I said between sobs.
"What is?" he asked. "I'm I'm moving for six months," I said
in a rush.
"Moving?! Wh-where?" he asked, trying to stay calm.
"My father's place," I said. "Your father's there?! But that's "
he started.
I nodded and wiped a few tears off my face. It's kinda funny
because here I am all upset and I'm thinking about how gross I
must look with my makeup running down my face!
"When?" he asked.
"Sa-Saturday!" I broke down in sobs again.
"Shh, it's okay, Rachel, it's okay," he said, trying to comfort me. I
put my head on his shoulder.
"It's not fair," I said, starting to sob less. "I don't even get to
choose. It's not fair."
"Rach, the Animorphs and I can always visit you," he said, moving
my hair off my face.
"But it's so far away!" I exclaimed.
"No, no, it's not," he cooed softly, "We can morph birds,
remember?"
I nodded and started to feel a little better. "Will you miss me?" I
asked, looking at him.
He grinned sadly. "Beyond belief." I smiled and he kissed me.
"Rachel! Rachel, can you come here for a minute!" I heard my
mom yell from downstairs. Tobias and I broke apart.
"I'll see you tomorrow," I said.
"Okay, good night, Rach," he said, getting up.
"Good night. And Tobias? Thanks," I said, hugging him. He
winked at me and demorphed. Then he flew out the window and I
walked downstairs.
The next day, mom let us skip school so we could have more time
to pack. She handed us each about ten giant bins. I sighed and went
up to my room. I flipped on my radio and started packing.
I could hear my sisters fighting in the hall. "No, Sara, that green
bin, is mine! You have all the pink ones, Rachel has all the blue
ones, and I have all the green ones! So give it back!"
"No!! This one's mine! Mommy!!!"
"Tattletale,"
"Bin stealer,"
"Reject,"
"Moron,"
"Idiot,"
"Jerk,"
.And so on. I sighed again and turned my radio up louder. Then
it got on my nerves and I shut it off. Then I got cold and shut the
window. Then I got hot and opened it. Man, what was wrong with
me??
After many hours of packing I heard the phone ring and then Sara
yell, "Rachel!!! It's for you!!!"
I ran downstairs and got it. "Rachel? It's Jake. I heard what's going
on. Sorry um I mean "
"It's okay, Jake, I know. I want to get a chance to say goodbye to
all of you. Maybe we can meet someplace?" I asked.
"Sure, how about in the barn at let's see seven?" he suggested.
"Great, I'll be there, see ya," I said.
"Bye," he said and hung up. I put the phone down and stared out
into empty space.
At about 6:30, I finally finished packing. And just on time, too,
because I had to start walking to Cassie's barn. "Mom, I'm going
to say goodbye to my friends, okay?" I yelled to my mom, putting
on my jacket.
"Sure, honey, go ahead!" she yelled back. I walked out the door,
outside. The sun was just starting to go down and there was a soft
breeze. I thought about moving as I walked and pretty soon I was
there. Time flies when you're thinking about something you dread,
huh? I walked into the barn, where everybody already was.
"Surprise!" they yelled when I walked in. They were all there, with
a few balloons and crepe paper and a cake. I laughed, surprised.
"Happy uh leaving, Xena!" Marco said. I laughed again.
Everyone suddenly grew silent.
"I'm gonna miss you guys," I said, my eyes filling up.
Cassie came and put her arm around me. She was starting to cry,
too. "I'll call you all the time," she said.
I smiled. "You better," I said.
"Okay, okay. Enough sappy stuff. We want cake!" insensitive
Marco cried. We all laughed and had some cake. Pretty soon it was
time for me to go.
"I have to get up very early tomorrow," I said. Jake nodded. It was
time for me to say goodbye. I stepped in front of Jake first. "Bye,
couz," I said. I hugged him tightly.
"Bye, Rach. We'll probably see eachother a lot," he said. I looked
at him and he smiled and nodded.
Then I walked over to Ax who was in human morph. "Bye, Ax," I
hugged him, too.
"Goodbye, Rachel. Achel. Chel," he said, playing with his words
like always. I laughed and let go.
Then I turned to Marco. "Bye, pain-in-the-butt," I said, hugging
him. Everybody laughed, including him.
"Ooh, Xena strikes me again with yet another spear," he said. Then
he whispered in my ear. "Keep fighting, Xena." I smiled.
Then I turned to Cassie, who was crying. "Don't worry, Cass, I'll
be back," I said, hugging her.
"Yeah, I know," she said softly. "And I'll write and call all the
time," I said. "Promise."
Cassie looked at me and nodded. "You go girl," she said. I
laughed.
Then I turned to Tobias, who was looking down at the ground. He
looked up at me and didn't say anything. I kissed him. Long and
hard on the lips. We finally pulled away, gasping for breath.
"Wow," he commented softly. I giggled and hugged him. He
hugged me back like he never wanted to let me go. "I'll miss you,
Rachel," he whispered to me.
"Me too," I said. We separated and looked at each other.
"I love you," he said.
"I love you too, Tobias," I said. I walked away slowly and then
turned back to my friends, the Animorphs. They all looked at me
sadly, Jake trying to comfort the crying Cassie. Then I turned back
around and walked away.
tide. And hearts too young for sorrow, torn asunder. The cruel
ocean's deep, and dark, and wide.
Hi, my name's Rachel. That's all I can tell you. I can't tell you
where I live, or my age, or even my last name. It's way too risky.
You see, my friends and I all have to be careful. I mean, the Yeerks
are out there. Everywhere.
My cousin Tom is a Controller someone with a Yeerk in their
head. So the Yeerks aren't as far away as you think. What's a
Yeerk? An evil, parasitic slug that takes over your mind and
controls everything. It's horrible. And the only people trying to
stop them from totally invading Earth are a group of kids and one
Andalite. Andalites are a good alien race that hate the Yeerks as
much as us and maybe even beyond.
The only good Andalite currently on Earth is Aximili, our friend.
We call him Ax' for short. He helps us fight the Yeerks.
Jake, my cousin and brother to Tom, is the leader of our small
group. He's a perfect leader: strong, levelheaded, and serious.
My best friend, Cassie, who is also part of our little group, has a
crush on him and it's vice-versa! They don't really admit it
though, although we all saw them kiss before.
Jake's best friend is Marco, who is my own personal pain in the
you-know-what. He tells the most stupidest jokes and then laughs
at them himself like an idiot. And then there's Tobias.
Tobias is a red-tailed hawk with the mind of a boy. He got trapped
as a hawk awhile ago, but has the power to morph back to his old
human self. I often wish that he would just stay in human morph,
but he never really answers me. Just sort of avoids the question.
That's pretty much the whole group of us Animorphs except for
moi. I'm tall blond, and pretty reckless. Okay, that's enough said,
let's get on with this.
I was sitting in my room one sunny day after school doing my
homework when I heard the doorbell ring. Probably just one of
Jordan's friends, I thought. I continued doing my homework then I
heard, "RAAACHEL!!! THERE'S SOMEONE HERE TO SEE
YOU!!!"
I sighed and put down my Geography book. I walked down the
stairs into the livingroom where Sara was watching the TV full
blast. "Sara, can you lower that?" I asked, annoyed, while passing
through to get to the door in the next room. I walked into the next
room and saw Jordan there with Tobias?
"Hey Rachel," he said, grinning his sweet smile.
"Tobias, hi! What are you doing here?" I said, hugging him. He
looked kind of surprised when I hugged him, but hugged me back.
Jordan made gagging noises. I looked at her. "Don't you have
somewhere to be?" I asked her, waving her away.
"No," she said flatly, not moving. Then Sara came out.
"Who's he?" Sara demanded, pointing to Tobias rudely.
"I'm Tobias," Tobias said, smiling.
"Oh. Are you Rachel's boyfriend?" Sara asked. Jordan giggled and
Tobias blushed. Stupid sisters, I thought. They are soooo annoying!
"That's it, out! Go watch some more TV! Ba-bye! Go!" I shooed
them away. They reluctantly left and I turned back to Tobias.
"Sorry," I said, embarrassed.
"It's okay. I just wanted to know uh if you um wanted to go
for a, ah, walk," Tobias stuttered, still as red as a tomato. I smiled.
"Sure, hold on." I walked into the livingroom and told Jordan and
Sara I was going for a walk and would be back soon. They just
nodded, their eyes glued to the TV, in a trance. I rolled my eyes
and grabbed my Spring jacket. Then I walked back to the door
where Tobias was waiting. "Let's go," I said, taking his hand.
As soon as I shut the door to my house and we started walking, I
asked him what the real reason was that he came over to my house.
He looked down. "I don't know I'm not really sure. I mean, I
have no idea," he said. He looked back up at me with his dreamy
eyes.
I smiled. "Well, I'm glad you did."
"Yeah, me too. So uh, what were you doing in your room?" he
asked.
"Geography homework," I groaned.
Tobias laughed. "Don't worry, it's almost summer vacation. You
know, I always looked forward to the last day of school. I guess all
kids do," he said. I could see the pain in his eyes. I squeezed his
hand.
"Well, you are human, Tobias. And no matter how long you stay in
your hawk morph, you'll still always be human. Don't ever forget
that, Tobias," I said with a sudden passion.
Tobias nodded. "Thanks, Rachel," he said.
I smiled and kissed him softly on the lips. He grinned after, which
made me laugh. "I should be getting home," I said.
He looked down. "Yeah, I guess."
"Before my sisters kill each other."
He laughed now. We started walking to my house. "Maybe I'll stop
by later to visit you," he said when we reached my house.
"I'd like that," I said, smiling. We leaned in close and kissed again
and heard, "Ewwww!!" from inside. I turned around to the source
of the noise and found out my annoying sisters were looking out
the window. "Jordan! Sara!" I yelled angrily. They giggled and ran
away into the livingroom. I looked back at Tobias and sighed.
"Sorry again," I whispered.
He smiled. "It's okay, not a big deal. I've gotta demorph now.
Bye," he said, turning to walk away.
"Okay, bye," I said kissing him again. He left and I opened the
door to my house, walked in, and shut it again. My sisters were
there, grinning innocently. "I'm gonna kill you guys," I said, mad.
They turned and ran upstairs giggling. I sighed again and threw
myself onto the couch, flipping on the TV. I surfed through the
channels, nothing was on at all. I left it on one of those stupid
channels where they try to sell you useless things for lots of money
and closed my eyes.
I must have dosed off for awhile because the next thing I remember
was mom shaking me to wake up. She must have just walked in
because when I opened my eyes I realized she still had her jacket
on. "Hi honey. Where are your sisters?" she asked.
"Upstairs, I think," I said groggily. I sat up and rubbed my eyes.
Just then Jordan and Sara came down. "Hi, mommy, guess what
we saw!" Sara said excitedly.
Mom smiled and walked over to them. "What?" she asked.
"We saw Rachel kissing some boy!" Jordan exclaimed. Mom
turned to look at me, her eyebrows raised. I flushed. I wanted to dig
a hole and bury myself. "Really?" asked mom, still looking at me.
"What boy?" she asked Jordan and Sara.
"I don't know him, but he was cute!" Sara said, grinning.
"Yeah. Except he needed to brush his hair," Jordan agreed.
"What boy, Rachel?" mom asked calmly.
"Tobias," I said slowly, still flushed.
"Tobias? What kind of name is that?" Jordan exclaimed.
"I wouldn't be talking, your name is Jordan!" I shot back angrily.
"Girls, stop it. Rachel? I'd like to have a word with you in the
kitchen," mom said sternly, heading towards the kitchen. I sighed
and muttered something under my breath.
We both walked into the kitchen and mom shut the door. "Rachel,
honey, I'm not mad, it's just that well I don't even know this
boy " mom started.
"Tobias is very sweet," I interrupted in defense.
"I'm sure he is. But " mom got interrupted again. This time it
wasn't by me, but by the doorbell. "That must be your father," she
said, walking out of the kitchen to the door. I followed her.
"Dad? Why?" I asked curiously.
"You'll see," she said simply. Now I was confused.
"Daddy!" Sara had already opened the door.
"Hi, kiddo!" he said scooping her up in his arms. "Woah, you're
getting big!" he said, putting her back down. Then he hugged me
and Jordan. "Ah, my girls are getting more and more beautiful
every day!" he said, looking at us.
Sara and I look more like him, with blond hair and blue eyes, while
Jordan looks like mom with brown hair and dark eyes. He looked
up at mom. "Hello," he said to her with a fake smile.
"Hello," she replied, her smile just as fake.
Jordan also must have noticed this. "Why are you here, dad?" she
asked.
"I have big news for you girls," he said.
"What? What?" Sara asked, hyper.
Dad laughed. "Sit down and I'll tell you," he said. We sat down on
the couch. "Okay. Your mother and I have decided that we both
want to see you. I want to see you more often, though, too. You
know I don't get to because I live so far away from here," he said.
"Yeah, so ?" I asked impatiently.
"So, we've decided that we will split the time evenly. I'll have you
for six months, and your mother will have you for six months," he
said, waiting for our reaction.
Sara leaped onto him. "Yeah!" she screamed, excited. Jordan I just
stared at him and mom, open-mouthed.
"What?" I finally blurted out.
"But what about school?" Jordan asked.
"And our friends?" I asked.
"It's okay, we've settled that. Where I live there is an elementary
school, a middle school, and a high school right down the street.
We've already signed all three of you up for them," he said. I just
kept staring at him in awe.
"You mean we don't get a choice?" Jordan asked.
Dad shook his head. "Sorry, kiddo. But I know you'll love it there.
It's warm out all year round," he said.
I didn't know what to say. I had millions of things running through
my head. School .Animorphs Tobias ? I wanted to scream out
angrily. I wanted to break down and cry. I even wanted to start
having a laughing fit like an insane person in a mental institution.
"It'll start on Saturday, all right? So get packed," he said grinning.
He hugged as again. "Oh, it'll be nice to be with my girls again,"
he went on.
I just smiled weakly. "Sounds great, dad," I finally said,
half-heartedly.
"Yeah, it will," dad said, still beaming. "Well, I better be going,
I'm supposed to be on a business trip. I'm leaving on Saturday and
I'll take you kids with me, all right? So be ready early!" he said,
rushing out the door. "Bye!" he called.
"Bye," we replied.
I couldn't believe it. I lied on my bed, crying. All of the sudden I
heard the flutter of wings as Tobias flew through the window.
*Hey, Rachel Rachel?* he asked in thought-speak. He must have
noticed me crying. He morphed human and sat down next to me,
putting his arm over my shoulder. "What's the matter Rachel?" he
asked softly.
"Oh, Tobias, it's awful awful " I said between sobs.
"What is?" he asked. "I'm I'm moving for six months," I said
in a rush.
"Moving?! Wh-where?" he asked, trying to stay calm.
"My father's place," I said. "Your father's there?! But that's "
he started.
I nodded and wiped a few tears off my face. It's kinda funny
because here I am all upset and I'm thinking about how gross I
must look with my makeup running down my face!
"When?" he asked.
"Sa-Saturday!" I broke down in sobs again.
"Shh, it's okay, Rachel, it's okay," he said, trying to comfort me. I
put my head on his shoulder.
"It's not fair," I said, starting to sob less. "I don't even get to
choose. It's not fair."
"Rach, the Animorphs and I can always visit you," he said, moving
my hair off my face.
"But it's so far away!" I exclaimed.
"No, no, it's not," he cooed softly, "We can morph birds,
remember?"
I nodded and started to feel a little better. "Will you miss me?" I
asked, looking at him.
He grinned sadly. "Beyond belief." I smiled and he kissed me.
"Rachel! Rachel, can you come here for a minute!" I heard my
mom yell from downstairs. Tobias and I broke apart.
"I'll see you tomorrow," I said.
"Okay, good night, Rach," he said, getting up.
"Good night. And Tobias? Thanks," I said, hugging him. He
winked at me and demorphed. Then he flew out the window and I
walked downstairs.
The next day, mom let us skip school so we could have more time
to pack. She handed us each about ten giant bins. I sighed and went
up to my room. I flipped on my radio and started packing.
I could hear my sisters fighting in the hall. "No, Sara, that green
bin, is mine! You have all the pink ones, Rachel has all the blue
ones, and I have all the green ones! So give it back!"
"No!! This one's mine! Mommy!!!"
"Tattletale,"
"Bin stealer,"
"Reject,"
"Moron,"
"Idiot,"
"Jerk,"
.And so on. I sighed again and turned my radio up louder. Then
it got on my nerves and I shut it off. Then I got cold and shut the
window. Then I got hot and opened it. Man, what was wrong with
me??
After many hours of packing I heard the phone ring and then Sara
yell, "Rachel!!! It's for you!!!"
I ran downstairs and got it. "Rachel? It's Jake. I heard what's going
on. Sorry um I mean "
"It's okay, Jake, I know. I want to get a chance to say goodbye to
all of you. Maybe we can meet someplace?" I asked.
"Sure, how about in the barn at let's see seven?" he suggested.
"Great, I'll be there, see ya," I said.
"Bye," he said and hung up. I put the phone down and stared out
into empty space.
At about 6:30, I finally finished packing. And just on time, too,
because I had to start walking to Cassie's barn. "Mom, I'm going
to say goodbye to my friends, okay?" I yelled to my mom, putting
on my jacket.
"Sure, honey, go ahead!" she yelled back. I walked out the door,
outside. The sun was just starting to go down and there was a soft
breeze. I thought about moving as I walked and pretty soon I was
there. Time flies when you're thinking about something you dread,
huh? I walked into the barn, where everybody already was.
"Surprise!" they yelled when I walked in. They were all there, with
a few balloons and crepe paper and a cake. I laughed, surprised.
"Happy uh leaving, Xena!" Marco said. I laughed again.
Everyone suddenly grew silent.
"I'm gonna miss you guys," I said, my eyes filling up.
Cassie came and put her arm around me. She was starting to cry,
too. "I'll call you all the time," she said.
I smiled. "You better," I said.
"Okay, okay. Enough sappy stuff. We want cake!" insensitive
Marco cried. We all laughed and had some cake. Pretty soon it was
time for me to go.
"I have to get up very early tomorrow," I said. Jake nodded. It was
time for me to say goodbye. I stepped in front of Jake first. "Bye,
couz," I said. I hugged him tightly.
"Bye, Rach. We'll probably see eachother a lot," he said. I looked
at him and he smiled and nodded.
Then I walked over to Ax who was in human morph. "Bye, Ax," I
hugged him, too.
"Goodbye, Rachel. Achel. Chel," he said, playing with his words
like always. I laughed and let go.
Then I turned to Marco. "Bye, pain-in-the-butt," I said, hugging
him. Everybody laughed, including him.
"Ooh, Xena strikes me again with yet another spear," he said. Then
he whispered in my ear. "Keep fighting, Xena." I smiled.
Then I turned to Cassie, who was crying. "Don't worry, Cass, I'll
be back," I said, hugging her.
"Yeah, I know," she said softly. "And I'll write and call all the
time," I said. "Promise."
Cassie looked at me and nodded. "You go girl," she said. I
laughed.
Then I turned to Tobias, who was looking down at the ground. He
looked up at me and didn't say anything. I kissed him. Long and
hard on the lips. We finally pulled away, gasping for breath.
"Wow," he commented softly. I giggled and hugged him. He
hugged me back like he never wanted to let me go. "I'll miss you,
Rachel," he whispered to me.
"Me too," I said. We separated and looked at each other.
"I love you," he said.
"I love you too, Tobias," I said. I walked away slowly and then
turned back to my friends, the Animorphs. They all looked at me
sadly, Jake trying to comfort the crying Cassie. Then I turned back
around and walked away.