When we finally boarded a plane to Canada I was starting to get exhausted. Canada and I had been talking the entire way here. It was starting to become a little more believable that they were all the personifications of countries. Canada himself said that he had fought in the second World War. He also told me a lot of other things about his life, like where he lived and how he was almost never seen or remembered by anybody.
"That sounds so sad! I know how it is to be ignored though…" I said when I had heard this.
"Yeah, it's kind of disappointing but it makes me a great spy!" Canada had responded mischievously.
Almost as soon as we sit down in our seats on the plane I fall asleep. My dream started out as they usually do, with something really bizarre. When I looked around I was in my school Auditorium. All the lights were on me and I couldn't see anyone in the audience. Suddenly the music for I Dreamed a Dream came on. I managed to hit every note perfectly and at the end I ended with a smile on my face waiting for applause. Strangely there was none.
I decided to climb down from the stage to see if there was anybody there at all. When I finally got off the stage I managed to see the audience. I gasped as I realized it was everyone I had met earlier today. I tried to make out the faces of Canada and Arthur, but I couldn't see them. All of the people in the audience had their eyes glued on me but they were frowning. As I was looking around I noticed someone behind me. The boy that I had tackled to the ground earlier today looked at me with empty black eyes. He took a step forward, so I took a step back. Soon I was running away with him chasing after me, but then, at the end of the auditorium, I saw my sister and she was motioning for me to run to her. As I ran towards her I tripped, and the little boy grabbed my shoulder-
I yelp as I'm woken by Canada grabbing my shoulder. I immediately begin to cry at the memory of my sister. "Hey, what's wrong?" Canada asks in a slightly panicked voice. I realize it's time to get off the plane, but I can't help but continue to cry as I walk away. Canada looks like he doesn't know what to do so he just awkwardly pats my shoulder. "What's wrong, Earth?" He says quietly.
I stop immediately and turn to him. "Did you just call me Earth?" I ask trying to wipe my tears away.
He hesitates at my sudden lack of tears. "Um yes? I'm sorry it's what you personify and since you keep calling me by my personification I figured you should be called by yours…" He looks at me uncertainly.
I don't know what to think. If all of this personification stuff is true then I guess Earth is my new name. Anyways, I have been calling Canada by his personification name. I don't know if I'm quite ready to give up my real name yet. "How about you call me by my human name, and I call you by yours!" I say as I reach a happy medium.
Canada looks a little shy, but he nods. "I guess so… Well my name is Matthew," he says as we finally reach the entrance to the airport. Soon enough we're off in a cab and speeding towards Matthew's house. While we're driving I soon come to realize I am now without most of my normal things. Including clothes.
"Hey Matthew, I just remembered something…" I say kind of hesitantly. I hate asking favors of a guy I just met, but… I really need clothes.
"Sure, what is it?" he asks. He isn't really paying attention and is instead looking out at the trees and wildlife that is rushing past the window.
Well, here goes, "I need some more clothes, I'm sorry!"
With this he finally notices me and when he does his head snaps towards me. "Maple! I completely overlooked that!" He then turns to the driver and says, "Can you actually drop us off in Vancouver? Thank you!" Soon enough we are headed in a different direction and Matthew looking out the window again. The rest next ten minutes are spent in silence until I decide to try and break the ice.
"So, what is your favorite thing to do?" I ask.
"Hm? Well I do love Hockey, also I love making pancakes!" He replies eagerly. His usual calm face has lit up with the mention of these two things. That gets the ball rolling with conversation and he continues to talk about Hockey. When I admit I've never played the sport or even really know much about it he looks shocked. The next twenty minutes are spent trying to explain the sport to me.
Unfortunately we are soon interrupted by the cab finally reaching Vancouver. As I look out the window I realize something. "Hey Matthew, guess what!" He looks over to me with an eyebrow raised. I take this as an invitation to continue, "This is my first time outside of America! I always wanted to see other countries!"
Matthew looks at me as a big grin stretches across his face. "In that case, welcome to Canada!" Finally we've pulled into a major shopping center. I climb out of the car with Matthew following close behind me. I look around at all the shops and all of them seem to be more expensive stores. I decide to head off in a general direction looking for stores that would sell jeans instead of prom dresses. When I finally reach one of these stores I walk in with Matthew following close behind.
I pick out a few pairs of jeans, one skirt, and one pair of leggings, and I go to try them on. They all seem to fit so then I go looking for shirts. As I reach the section of the store that sells shirts I stop in surprise. As I look at the shirts I see all of my favorite fandoms and instantly grab a few in my size. I manage to get Matthew distracted for a few minutes while I pick out several things that only women need. Soon we're out of the store, and the sun has started to set on the horizon. Matthew said that he was going to a store that sold hockey gear so I start looking for such a store. Finally, after a while of searching I find him.
Matthew smiles at me when I walk up and asks me, "Hey are you hungry? I am…"
Almost in reply my stomach growls. I laugh a little before I respond. "I am, too. Do you know anywhere with burgers?"
Matthew seems to deflate a little when he hears this. "You really are American aren't you…?"
"It's fine if you don't like burgers! We can have something else! I know you like pancakes, do you want to go to IHOP?" I say all of this in a rush. I feel kind of bad about the way he responded to my last food request. Luckily he nods eagerly at this next suggestion. Unfortunately for me he nearly rips my arm off trying to drag me to the nearest IHOP. It seems as though Matthew is a regular customer since the waiter takes us to a table immediately. Within a minute there is a large pile of pancakes sitting in front of me. I raise an eyebrow at Matthew, wondering how we had gotten food so fast.
He seems to notice my look, but decides to answer me while shoving pancakes in his mouth. "Last time *chew, chew* took too long *swallow* may have *munch, chew* started a riot…" Matthew tapers off at the end. I can't help but laugh loudly at this.
"You started a riot in IHOP because the pancakes took too long?" I gasp out while still laughing loudly. I think I hear him mumble about being really hungry but I'm laughing too hard to hear. I stop laughing when I realize he's already through half of the pile of pancakes. I quickly put a few on my plate before he eats all of them. I barely finish three pancakes before Matthew has eaten the other twelve. "How did you do that?" I ask in awe.
Matthew just shrugs before saying, "I like pancakes." He pays for the pancakes and soon we're headed out the door. Almost as soon as we reach the sidewalk though Matthew's phone buzzed. As he looked at it he groaned and then showed it to me. It read:
To: All Countries
From: England
Subject: Missing Earth
If you missed the meeting earlier today it was mainly about how we have found another personification. It turns out she is the personification of the Earth. Unfortunately, she slipped away in the middle of the meeting. We believe she acted on her own since we counted everyone and nobody had left. We need to find her now since she has run away. She could spill the secret that there are even personifications. Please help us search for her. Her name is Blaze Miridom and has blonde, wavy hair, green eyes, and is 5 feet 2 inches. Her picture will be shown below. We will be holding a meeting a week from today at 2:00 in London, England. If anyone finds her please bring her to London, England immediately.
Below it showed my school picture from last year. I sigh and look at Matthew. "Well at least they remembered to send the message to you…" I trail off as I look at him.
Matthew looks frustrated and says softly, "They didn't remember me. 'We counted everyone and nobody had left!' I was the one who put myself on the list for group chats." I realize that even though he is speaking softly he is actually angry. Angry at being ignored yet again. One other thing I realize is he probably won't turn me into that group of wackos now. I can't help but feel guilty realizing that last thought was actually my first.
Unfortunately we do need to find out what the plan is with me meeting the other personifications. "So, what are we going to do? I mean I guess I should meet with them," I say. "I also don't think it's fair that they constantly ignore you. How do you think we can change that?"
"I don't know," Matthew sighed. Suddenly I got an idea.
"Here let me see the phone! I'll make sure they remember you!" After saying this I grab the phone from him and start typing a reply:
To: All Countries
From: Canada
Subject: Canada
Dear Countries:
This is Blaze. I did not run away from all the countries. In fact I stayed with one. His name is Canada, and if you remember him long enough you will be able to find me. That is right I am in Canada. Unfortunately for you, Canada is a rather large country and I'm not going to tell you where I am. Canada is constantly being ignored and maybe if you take the time to visit his country you would be able to recognize him!
Sincerely,
Blaze (AKA Earth)
I show the message to Matthew and he smiles. I take this to mean I can send the message so I do. When we finally get a cab Matthew's phone starts vibrating like crazy with all of the responses. It seems like most of the countries are still trying to remember who Canada is. The responses range from France asking how everyone could forget his old colony to Russia being happy there is someone else he could try and force to become one with Russia. Matthew visibly shudders at Russia's response.
Soon the responses are dying down though since the general excitement has worn off. The cab has been driving through the woods for the last half hour when finally it pulls out into the front yard of Matthew's house. The Canadian's house is huge like his brother's, and I instantly want to go and explore it. Unfortunately I'm dead on my feet as I walk through the front door. Matthew leads me up to a room with huge windows and a very cushy bed. I throw the shopping bags with all of my new clothes onto the floor before collapsing onto the bed. Almost instantly I am fast asleep.
When I wake up at first I don't recognize the room that I'm in. As I look around and notice the Canadian flags everywhere I remember the previous few days. I sigh in sadness as I realize again that I won't be able to see my family again. I decide it is best not to dwell on it so I walk over to the shopping bags that I had dropped by the door. I pick out a shirt that said, Pegasisters are 20% cooler!, and put it on. When I finish getting dressed I leave the room and follow the smell of pancakes.
I arrive in a large kitchen where Matthew is cooking a large number of pancakes. From what I see there are blueberry, chocolate chip, banana, and a bunch of other kinds of pancakes. I decide to get one of the chocolate chip ones and ask Matthew about the others. "Hey, what type are these?" I ask.
He turns away from the stove and looks around the kitchen. "I guess I got a little carried away didn't I? Oh well… and those are maple pancakes." I immediately grab two and sit down to begin eating. Matthew soon joins me but he has fifteen pancakes on his plate. I stare quizzically at it for a moment before shrugging. "Hey do you want to hear something?" Matthew asks. In the five minutes I was not looking at him he has managed to eat his entire plate of pancakes.
At a loss for a proper response about the pancakes I dumbly say, "What?"
Matthew practically squeals when he says, "Someone made it into Canada!"
Quickly getting with the program I ask, "Who? And When?"
"It was France and he got in early this morning! I had all the airports monitor for incoming countries. He doesn't seem to remember where I live though, since he went to Quebec…" He sighs at the last part but still seems relatively happy. Suddenly, Matthew's phone pings with a message. He gleefully looks at his phone.
The response is instantaneous. His face pales and his hands start to shake. I start to get nervous just looking at him so I ask, "What happened?"
Matthew turns and says, "It's Russia. He arrived in Vancouver half an hour ago." Both of us shiver, mainly because I wonder if he'll be mad at me for slapping him. I wonder how much time we have until he arrives. Unfortunately my question is answered when there is a loud, booming knock on the door. Matthew hesitantly walk towards the door but before he opens it he turns back to me. "Hey, Blaze, is it alright if you call me Canada while the other countries are here? Should I still call you Blaze, or…?"
"Call me whatever you want to. If it really matters then call me Earth, but I still prefer Blaze," I say trying to sound less nervous. Matthew nods and turns the door knob.
The door swings open and on the other side stands Russia. "привет (hi), Canada! You are looking well, da?" Russia says with his seemingly innocent smile. In fact the longer I look at him the more I don't understand why everyone is so afraid. His face is like an adorable plushy! Well it was adorable until he turned towards me and a dark aura seemed to fill the whole room. "And you are, Blaze, that girl who slapped me, Da?" he smiles and the creepy aura fades away. "Nice to meet you without having to argue over the rest of the nations!"
I sigh in relief that he didn't kill me. "Yes its nice to meet you, too. I am sorry for slapping you but you shouldn't ask people to become one with you! It's weird!" I say to him. He looks at me confused.
"But isn't that normal? Nobody has ever told me it is not," Russia says confused. I want to facepalm so badly but I manage not to.
Instead I sigh and say, "Well I'm telling you. Anyways, please don't tell anyone where we are. The whole point of this is so that everyone will remember Canada. It's not really fair the way you guys have been treating him thus far." I remember something suddenly. "Hey hold on a minute guys," I say as I run and grab Matthew's phone. When I come back I start typing out another message:
To: All Countries
From: Canada
Subject: First Person to Find Earth
Dear Countries,
While France was the first person to arrive in Canada, he was not the first person to find me. That award has to go to Russia. Yes, Russia was the first to find me. Hope to see you all soon!
Sincerely,
Blaze AKA Earth
I click the send button and look up to see Canada looking slightly terrified and Russia's creepy aura starting to fill up the room. "Why are you so scared of him, Canada? He's just standing there! And you, Russia, stop trying to scare him! Why don't we go out and do something?" I ask them.
Both of them look at me as if I'm the crazy one. "Um, Blaze, it snowed last night. Did you not see it outside the windows?" Canada says in a quiet voice. I notice that over time he had started to speak louder, but when Russia came Canada had become quiet again.
"Well it looks like Russia is already wearing a coat, and I'm sure you have one too, Canada! If you'll let me I could just borrow one of your's if you have a coat to spare. Besides if it snowed then there are so many things we could do outside! Like build an igloo, have a snowball fight-" I am suddenly cut off by Russia. While I had been rambling Canada had gone and gotten a coat.
"A snowball fight, Da?" Russia says cutting me off. His creepy aura immediately fills the room. Thinking back on it I may have just challenged a possibly insane county who is primarily made-up of snow. Maybe this wasn't the best decision… Oh, well! My death was coming at some point or another! Right as I'm about to sign my life away, Canada says something.
"A snowball fight, Eh?" Canada says in an uncharacteristically loud voice. "Are you sure you could beat me?"
"Anytime I could beat you!" Russia says in his childlike voice. "I bet that when I beat you I will get first week with Earth!" I stare at them confused. 'What do they mean first week?' I think to myself. I'm about to ask when I am suddenly cut off by Canada. I never thought Canada would be able to cut off anyone!
"And if I win I will get the first week! Let's get started, Eh? We have thirty minutes to build our forts and then the game will begin!" As soon as Canada finishes they both race outside. I stand there for a minute before accepting that I was just left there to find my own coat. After about ten minutes of searching I finally find one. I slowly trudge outside in a pair of oversized boots I found in Canada's closet.
As soon as I step outside I stand in amazement at the scene before me. First there is about three feet of snow on the ground. Second is that Russia and Canada have seemed to make snow forts the size of Canada's house! Right now it seems that they have begun to make snowballs. Already a huge pile has started to accumulate on either country's side. I shrug and start building my own. Surprisingly its a lot easier to work with the snow then I remember. When the twenty minutes has run out I look proudly at my snow fort. Its a small but useful in protecting me. I also have a small pile of snowballs next to me. When I look up my self esteem plummets.
Russia and Canada obviously are playing to win. Both snowforts look like castles. Canada's snow castle has tall towers that shoot up at random places and seem to be equipped with mountains of snowballs in each tower. It also had a drawbridge somehow made out of ice. When I look over at Russia's snow castle I see a huge fort with what seem to be… Are those ice cannons?! I feel like I'm a little under prepared for this fight. I look at my watch just as the timer for half an hour runs out. Almost immediately a flurry of snowballs come flying from one fort to the other. My panic of being beaten to death by snowballs soon subsided after I noticed that no snowballs were even heading my way. It seemed like all Canada and Russia cared about was destroying each other. I quickly got bored since nobody seemed to be interested in snowball fighting with me.
Right when I was about to get up to go back inside a snowball hit me in the back. I get up and look behind me. Behind me is a polar bear that looks more like a plushie than an actual bear. He seems harmless so I say, "And who are you little guy?"
I fall back on my butt in surprise when he replies, "Kumajiro! I'm Canada's polar bear. Who are you?"
I swallow trying to get over my surprise. I mean if the countries have personifications why can't polar bears talk? "I'm Blaze. I'm the newest personification. I personify Earth! Do you want to have a snowball fight with me?" I ask Kumajiro since he was the one who originally started throwing snowballs at me. Besides, it doesn't look like Canada and Russia will be giving up anytime soon.
In response Kumajiro throws a snowball at me. We keep throwing snowballs at each other for about an hour. After that we are soaked to the bone and freezing so we both trudge back inside. When I look behind me I see that Canada and Russia are still going at it. It also seems they have both been able to build various firearms out of snow.
Once we are finally inside the house I start making both me and Kumajiro some hot chocolate. When I finish I bring the hot chocolate out to Kumajiro and sit down. I stare at Kumajiro for a few minutes before asking, "So how long do these competitions last?"
"Until one of them passes out or gets knocked out," the polar bear responds. We both sip our hot chocolate at the same time and stare awkwardly at each other.
"So how long does that normally take?" I ask.
Kumajiro seems to take a moment to consider it before saying, "A day and a half."
I stare in shock. "A day and a half?! What will they eat?" Kumajiro shrugs in response. We both sit there silent for a minute before I say, "Do you want to watch Doctor Who?" He looks at me confused before I say, "It's one of my favorite TV shows! C'mon let's go!" I get up and search the house for a computer. When I finally find the computer I get Doctor Who up. We sit and watch some Doctor Who for a while before I hear a ding come from the kitchen. I go look what it was.
Apparently, Canada had left his phone on the kitchen counter. I see that a message has been sent to him, it reads:
To: Canada
From: Vancouver Airport
Subject: Arriving Country
Canada:
Another country has arrived at our airport. We believe it is Hungary and Prussia.
I try and remember what these countries look like and all I can remember is a red eyed man yelling something about being awesome… I shrug and look outside to see if Canada and Russia are close to giving up yet. It has started to snow again and neither of them seems close to giving up yet. I sigh and look at the clock. It reads 8:30 and my stomach growls in response. I look in the fridge to see what there is to eat. Pancakes. All there is is pancakes. 'I hope Hungary and Prussia can cook because I'll be getting tired of pancakes very soon...' I think to myself. I grab a few pancakes from the fridge and head back to the couch to continue the Doctor Who marathon.
Well, here's chapter 2! I hope you guys like it! By the way, you guys can vote in the reviews who you want to win the epic snowball fight between Canada and Russia. Anyways I'll try to keep up with this story, but I don't know how well that will work out. School started for me today… Please Review so I know what you guys like or don't like about this story. See ya later!
