Vida, Chip, Maddie, Xander, and I were working at the Rockpouirm, like usual. "Come on Xander, you have to work too," I said, a little annoyed at Xander for not working.

"I am working, Megan," Xander said, "I'm supervising everyone for To- OW!" I smirked and took my foot off of his after I stepped on it.

"You may be 15, but you know how to cause a lot of pain."

"I agree with that V. One time Megan hit me really hard just because I teased her about wearing pink," Chip said. I went over to where my guitar was, and started to play.

"Go Vida!" Maddie said, holding out her camera, like always. "Sounds great, sis," she said. Chip was fooling around, like he was fighting something mythical. "Whoa, battling again, Chip?" Maddie said, her attention on Chip.

"HIYA!" he exclaimed and went off being his bubbly self.

"Hey!" Xander said.

"Hey, Xander!" Maddie said, now on Xander. He had Maddie zoom in on his 'muscles' as I like to say.

"Hello, Guitar Girl!" Maddie said coming over to me.

"Maddie! No exposure to my music playing until my song is complete!" I said.

"Same old Megan, not wanting anyone to hear her songs until they're complete," Maddie said. "OH! Toby!" she exclaimed as she saw Toby wet and in scuba gear. Vida stops her music and we all head to where Toby was.

"Hey, nice snorkel, Boss!" Xander says.

I asked, "Weren't you taking the day off today?" He said something, but it was muffled. "Yes I… Yes," he said more clearly. "As a matter of fact," Toby continued, "I was at the beach, uh snorkeling with the little fishes. And one swam right up to my mask, and he looked at me with these big fish eyes." Toby put his hands to his face, making it fish-like and said," And he said, 'Are your employees cleaning the store, like they said they would do?'" Vida, Maddie, and I were cracking up as Toby said that and we had to cover that up. "Now, I have to go back to the water, back to the reef, find the fish, and say 'No'."

"Why don't you relax, Boss. Take a breather. I'll gather the troops, assign them things to do, like sweep the floor, stock the merchandise, put out the trash, et cetera, et cetera." Xander is soo lazy I thought.

"Oh, y-you mean do the jobs I pay you for. GUYS!" Toby said as he headed into the office.

"You heard him, Chip and Vida you grab a broom, Maddie, you deal with the stock, Megan, you take out the trash."

"And what are you gonna do, Xander?" V asked.

"Supervising," he just said. "It may look like I'm doing nothing but…" I rolled my eyes and started out for the door, but there was a rumbling sound and Chip shouted, "Earthquake!"

Vida shouted over it, "Everybody, take cover!"

"…end of the world! Just kidding!" Chip was saying.

"CHIIP!" I said, pulling him back behind the counter with Maddie. Toby was saying not to panic and rattling off the procedures to us. After maybe three minutes, it stopped.

"Is it over?" Maddie asked, coming out the other side of the counter.

"Oh, great, the store's messier than before," I said.

"Well the good news is, the worst is over," Xander said, with his skateboarding helmet in his hands.

We were all messing around outside. Xander was skating, Vida was listening to music, Maddie was filming, I was playing my guitar, and Chip was…being Chip.

"After narrowly escaping death, the human species copes with it in very different ways. Some use physical activity. Some listen to or plays music," Maddie says, with her camera on Vida and I. We wave to the camera and go back to our activity. "And some eat," Maddie says, camera at Chip who was eating pizza. "Tell me Chip Thorn, what type of pizza are you eating?"

"Chicken, pepperoni, cheese…and chocolate marshmallows," he said with his mouth full.

I stepped over and said, "Ew. A fine example of the nonhuman species."

"Somebody, please help me!" an old man said, "Please, someone! Anyone!" We all looked at each other and I headed over, the others right behind me. "It's my brother. We were walking just up the road, and some creature grabbed him. I fear the worst. I-It's just out of town. The creature took him into the woods."

Most people walked away, and Xander whispered in my ear, "Can you imagine that, Meg? Him asking for someone to go into the woods?"

"Won't someone please help me?"

"I will," a boy a few years older than me in a white shirt said at the same time as me. "I could use a break," he said.

"Thank you," the old man said to me and the guy.

"Hey, I'm, uh—I'm Xander. Your new around here, aren't you? And I know you aren't Meg." I rolled my eyes and said, "Don't try and freak him out by telling him those stupid stories. I mean, really, trolls? They don't exist!"

"Well, he's not aware of the facts, and there's only one: You go into the forest, you don't come out," Xander said.

"I heard about it, but the guy needs help."

"Finally someone in this town's not scared of the woods," I said.

"Look," V said, "he isn't the only one who's not a coward." Chip said he'll also go, but he thinks it's some quest.

"This is a dangerous quest, right?"

"Perilous, " V said

"Sweet!"

"Well, let's go," I said.

"Read my mind," the new guy said.

"Don't look at me," I heard Maddie say, "I'm the sister with the common sense."

Xander's P.O.V.

We were all messing around outside. I was skating, Vida was listening to music, Maddie was filming, Meg was playing her guitar, and Chip was…being Chip.

"After narrowly escaping death, the human species copes with it in very different ways. Some use physical activity. Some listen to or plays music," Maddie says, with her camera on Vida and Megan. They waved to the camera and went back to their activity. "And some eat," Maddie says, camera at Chip who was eating pizza. "Tell me Chip Thorn, what type of pizza are you eating?"

"Chicken, pepperoni, cheese…and chocolate marshmallows," he said with his mouth full. Meg stepped over and said, "Ew. A fine example of the nonhuman species."

I laughed a little and gave a small smile, but thank God Megan wasn't looking.

"Somebody, please help me!" an old man said, "Please, someone! Anyone!" We all looked at each other and Meg headed over, the rest of us right behind her. "It's my brother. We were walking just up the road, and some creature grabbed him. I fear the worst. I-It's just out of town. The creature took him into the woods."

Most people walked away, and I whispered in Meg's ear, "Can you imagine that, Meg? Him asking for someone to go into the woods?"

"Won't someone please help me?"

"I will," someone the same age as me in a white shirt said at the same time as Meg. "I could use a break," he said.

"Thank you," the old man said to Megan and the guy.

"Hey, I'm, uh—I'm Xander. Your new around here, aren't you? And I know you aren't Meg."She rolled my eyes and said, "Don't try and freak him out by telling him those stupid stories. I mean, really, trolls? They don't exist!"

"Well, he's not aware of the facts, and there's only one: You go into the forest, you don't come out," I said.

"I heard about it, but the guy needs help." "Finally someone in this town's not scared of the woods," Megan said.

"Look," V said, "he isn't the only one who's not a coward." Chip said he'll also go, but he thinks it's some quest. "This is a dangerous quest, right?"

"Perilous"

"Sweet!" "Well, let's go," Megan said. "Read my mind," the new guy said.

"Don't look at me," Maddie said, "I'm the sister with the common sense."

"I just hope Meg will be okay," I whispered, so no one would hear. The truth is, I kind of like her. She's adopted, so she doesn't know here real family. I followed Maddie, wherever she went.