I will admit now that I've only been on tours through farms, though living in the Midwest, you tend to be well-acquainted with that sort of thing. [I don't live there now.]
As for the disclaimer, I'm not sure if any copyright laws really apply to the 1939 film version of Wizard of Oz, considering the age if the film, though just to make sure:
I do not own anything regarding the film Wizard of Oz. I lay no claim on thinking up the characters, story, or places. It all belongs to MGM & Warner Bros.
Dena knew she'd reached Nana's farm, because of Marty the Scarecrow. A large cornfield stood by the long, long driveway that led to the farm, and guarding it was an ancient scarecrow everyone called Marty. Why he was named that, Dena hadn't a clue.
She quickly passed the stick figure on her skates and was soon skating onto the gravel in the main yard with Tahoe. It didn't take her long to find Nana. All she had to do was follow the yelling. Nana was in the chicken coop, shouting at one of the farm hands. Judging by the voice, it wasn't Skyler, Jake, or Ryan, so it had to be one of the day-hands. The farm was too large for just Nana and Dena's three friends to run, so a number of hired hands came in during the day to help as well.
Dena stumbled over to the hatchery, walking clumsily in her skates. She hated how none of the areas around the barnyard were paved, causing her to be unable to follow her great-aunt on wheels whenever and wherever she wanted. It irritated the heck out of her, and since Nana refused to pave at all, Dena had little choice but to ditch the wheels at home. Just as she was about to listen in, Nana suddenly came bursting out of the coop.
"Hey Nana!" Dena shouted, tearing her skates off again.
"Oh, hi Dena," the old woman said quickly before going back to her earlier argument.
"I thought I told you to make sure the fans were running in here," she scolded a farm hand, "you want the chickens to bake to death? They can't lay eggs in this kind of heat!" Dena hopped along as she attempted to get some more decent shoes on and follow Nana at the same time.
Nana was so deep in conversation over matters of the chicken population that Dena could hardly get a word in edgewise. To her, getting shot at by a crazy old hag was far more serious than a bunch of smelly, noisy birds.
"Nana!" she finally let out in a sort of whiny tone she didn't intend to use, "I got something really important to tell—"
"Juanita Dena Lian Patsatzis!" Nana snapped, "Please to God be quiet for a moment! I'm busy!" The older woman sighed in frustration and held her forehead, probably due to another migraine, and went off to yell at her day workers some more.
Dena knew to back off when Nana used her full name. Was it her fault she was part Philippino? She actually hated her full name, because people were always messing it up. Even back at Lake Tahoe they did that. Just as she thought of it, little Tahoe was brushing against her leg, asking to be petted. The girl obliged and then went off to find the Dynamic Trio, as she sometimes called them. She found Ryan, Skyler, and Jake all tinkering with the John Deere, trying to get it running again. The over-sized lawnmower had broken down again.
"…I don't get why we have to hold this piece of crap up instead of using a jack," Skyler was complaining.
"Because the jack is holding up the chicken coop, and I'm better than that stupid thing," Ryan answered, for he and Skyler were holding up the mower while Jake was messing around underneath.
"You still haven't fixed that stilt on the coop yet?" Dena joined in.
"Oh, hi Dena," Ryan said. He and Skyler could only nod, since waving would have had dire consequences for Jake.
"Dena?" Jake said, before banging his head on the engine.
"Ow!" he yelled. He quickly scrambled out from under the mower, bits of oil on his shirt, face, and hands.
"Hey Dena, nice to see you," Jake greeted, clapping her on the shoulder. Dena was grossed out by the big smear of grease he left on her uniform.
"Eww, thanks a lot," she said, grabbing a rag as Ryan and Skyler put the John Deere down.
"Next time this thing conks out, you're holding it up," Skyler told Jake.
"Hey guys, there's something I need to talk about, since Nana is in one of her 'moods,'" Dena told them.
"'Sup?" Jake asked, all three now getting her attention.
"It's the Weck."
"Oooohhhh," the three of them all said at once.
"That old crone," Ryan said in understanding.
"I'm surprised that old fossil is still living," Skyler commented. Ryan then started heading for the pens.
"Aren't you gonna listen?" Dena asked.
"I'm listening, just follow me. I gotta feed the pigs."
"Fine," Dena said in satisfaction. She and the others followed the big guy over to the pens. It took her a moment to get used to the smell before going over to where the pigs were.
"Oh God these things stink," she complained.
"Be lucky this isn't a hog farm," Ryan said, "my uncle owns one, and you can smell it for miles before you ever even see it."
"Gross!" Dena wrinkled her nose.
"No kidding," Skyler agreed.
Dena found a seat up on the gate to the pen. Jake and Skyler leaned on it as they listened.
"Well, you guys know how I have to go past the Weck's house every day after school and work. Is it my fault Squall is there to make Tahoe chase him?"
"Who's Squall?" Jake asked. Dena glared at him.
"He's the Weck's ugly-as-a-rhino's-butt hairless cat." Skyler and Ryan snickered at this.
How could Jake be so dense? She asked herself.
"Tahoe always goes after that cat and chases it through the Weck's gardens. I honestly think that thing is evil."
"How come you've never tried a different route?" Jake asked, "If you took a different road, Tahoe wouldn't trample the Weck's flowers, and you wouldn't get into trouble."
"Nice try Einstein," Dena retorted, "the only road that leads directly home from town goes by that hag's house. What do you expect me to do? Take the road that goes five million miles to the south and then back home? I'll be stuck out there till next year or worse, you think I should walk through those fields? Do you have any idea how disgusting those corn fields are inside? They're full of bugs and crap!—"
"Okay! Okay!" Jake threw his hands up, "Sheesh! Put your claws away for cryin' out loud." Dena calmed a bit.
"Sorry, it's just, you guys all know what kind of a hassle this is for me. And if I left Tahoe here, he'd just cause trouble for you guys. Remember the time he chased every barn cat he came near?" Dena's three friends groaned, remembering all too well the chaos that had ensued from the barn cats being chased out into the yard.
"Listen Dena, are you gonna let this hag bully you your whole life?" Ryan asked, getting more pig feed out.
"What, you think she scares me? Heck no, she's just annoying," Dena told him, swinging her feet to and fro.
"Well then the next time she starts harping on you, just take a paintball gun and fire a few rounds off the top of her head. That oughtta shut her up real good," Ryan joked.
"Funny you should say that, considering she shot at me today with her husband's rifle," Dena commented irritably.
"She did what?" Jake and Skyler cried out at once.
Unfortunately they jiggled the gate Dena had been sitting on too much, and the girl went tumbling off into the pigpen. She fell face-first into the mud and was temporarily blinded while Jake fumbled with the latch. The girl couldn't even speak because she was spitting out mud, though she let her disgust and shock be known to half the farmyard. The guys had to act fast, because the hogs were notorious for eating anything that fell into their wallowing area.
Ryan stood there, petrified and shocked at what had happened, as well as Dena's news. Skyler finally got fed up with Jake's inability to open the latch, and Ryan's lack of action. He leaped over the fence, grabbing Dena up out of the mud and slinging her over his shoulder before climbing back out. He sat Dena down on a nearby bench and gave her a rag to wipe her face. The others rushed over to see if she was okay.
"Oh God that was horrible," the girl let out after a moment of wiping.
"What the heck is going on here?" a new voice demanded. The foursome looked up to see Nana. She had her hands on her hips and looked both worried and displeased at once.
"Dena fell into the pigpen," Skyler reported. Nana took in Dena's now soiled appearance.
"Yes, I can see that," she commented. "What have the three of you been up to?" Before anyone could explain, Nana changed her mind and waved them off.
"Never mind, I don't wanta hear it. You better have fixed that mower. I don't want it conking out again when the grass is getting cut." Immediately she went into farmer mode.
"Jake, I want the horses groomed today, not when you see fit. Skyler, either you muck out the barn or feed the animals, I don't care which one you do, just get it done. Ryan, do something about the chicken coop. That jack will not hold a coop and a bunch of people walking around inside it. Either use the cinder blocks down in the basement or fix the stilt. And I want no whining regarding how dark the basement is, it's not a dungeon. And Dena, take a shower."
With that she headed off to the main house. Dena and her friends exchanged glances before the threesome headed off to their various tasks. Though as Dena headed for the house, Jake couldn't help but follow.
"Dena?" The girl had just opened the screen door.
"What?" she asked.
"I'm sorry…about you getting in the pig pen." Jake managed to say.
"Fine," Dena relied flatly, "and next time you knock me in there, make sure I'm not on the gate."
"I'm sorry," Jake repeated, "what more do you want?"
"Honestly, sometimes I think you have less brains than Marty up the road." Dena said before going inside.
Ok, I'll admit that Dena was being a little mean in this chapter. But after what happened last chapter, you can see why. Having to live in a different state from your home one and getting shot at by a crazy old lady can grate on anybody's nerves, wouldn't you say? And it's not unusual for people to take out their frustrations on friends and loved ones, since you know they'll actually listen to you.
I'll update soon, and once again I thank x-xMasqueradeAngelx-x for getting me started on this fanfic :D