I do not own W.I.T.C.H. Everything happens for a reason, no matter how random… Sorry for those people who like random…
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Episode 2 (The Road to Success)
"Hay Lin, will you please explain to the class the steps you go through when you change lanes," instructed the teacher as he walked up and down the rows of desks, passing back old driving tests. Hay Lin looked up in surprise from her notebook. Doodles of cars and chickens and flowers had exploded from her pencil and filled her page of notes.
"Hay Lin!" called the teacher.
"Um, use your turn signal, and then changes lanes?" smiled Hay Lin.
"Uh-huh, maybe if you spent more time taking notes and less time filling your notebook with doodles, you might know the answer," said Mr. Kingston, handing her test back. The class laughed and whispered amongst themselves until the last test was handed back to its owner.
"Can anyone tell me what the correct steps are for making a lane change?!" shouted the teacher. His veins were popping with anger. One of the students in the back of the room answered the question correctly and he relaxed.
"Now students, today is our first real driving test. It will be a short test, only a few minutes per person; we're only driving from the parking lot in the back, around the front of the school, and back to the parking lot. Grab your things, let's go!" ordered Mr. Kingston.
"Hay Lin come on, don't you want to drive?" asked Irma.
"Yeah, let's go," smiled Will, waiting for the others. The five girls had been taking driver's education for only a month, starting when school had started up after break. Amazingly they found that they were all in the same class. Will and Cornelia were the oldest ones in the class, aside from a few boys who looked like they had been held back a year or two. The whole class assembled outside in the back parking lot behind the gym.
"Oh no, it looks like it's about to rain," sighed Taranee, covering her eyes with her hand, and watching the approaching wall of clouds from the west.
"Don't worry Taranee, I won't let it rain on us," smiled Irma. She looked down from the sky and over to the approaching car Mr. Kingston was driving. "Ew! We have to drive that!" Similar shrieks of disgust came from the other students standing nearby as they watched the old car come to a stop. The little, beat up compact car was a gaudy, golden-yellowy color with an old, off-white Driver's Ed sign bolted to the roof. Mr. Kingston opened the car door after he turned the machine off, and handed the keys to a nearby student, a tall, lanky boy with a blond mop posing for hair.
"Hay Lin and Taranee Cook, you're next!" Mr. Kingston called from the passenger window as the car pulled away and rounded the first turn.
"Oh no, I can't drive that thing!" complained Hay Lin.
"You'll be fine, just don't hit anything," added Will, patting her on the back.
"Yeah, just pretend that all the cones are little people, and you can't hit any of them," smiled Irma.
"Thanks," sighed Hay Lin as the car pulled back around the school and stopped next to her. The boy in the driver's seat removed himself from the car looking petrified. Cornelia stifled a laugh and turned away as he past her. Hay Lin sat down in the car and remembered to buckle her seatbelt and to adjust her mirrors before she pulled away from the curb. As she did, Taranee bit her lip with nervousness and watched the car leave sight.
"Taranee, you're next," said Irma, leaning on her friend's shoulder.
"Will?" asked Taranee, her voice trembling, "do your powers work on cars? Can't you make it drive itself or something?"
"Um no, only if the car runs completely on batteries or electricity. Why?" Will wondered, "Are you ok Taranee?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Hey look, here comes Hay Lin," pointed Taranee, her hand visibly shaking. She stepped up to the curb and took the door from her friend.
"Don't speed so much Hay Lin, but you're off to a good start, C+," said Kingston, "Taranee you're up." Hay Lin walked past her and whispered a good luck to her. Taranee shut the door to the car after she had entered and watched Hay Lin rejoin the girls next to the building on the sidewalk.
"Are you ready?" asked Mr. Kingston. His tone suggested he had already asked her this same question before.
"Oh, yes," Taranee responded, shaking her head and concentrating on the task ahead of her. She reached up and fixed her rearview mirror, adjusted her side mirrors, and fastened her seatbelt securely.
"Drive around the school once," said Mr. Kinston. Taranee stepped on the brake pedal and shifted the car into Drive. She then stepped on the accelerator pedal and the car jumped forward and around the side of the school.
"I guess I forgot to tell her that the gas is kinda touchy," smiled Hay Lin, crossing her arms behind her head. The girls sighed collectively and listened to the shouts of Mr. Kingston and the squealing tires of the car around the other side of the school.
"I didn't think she'd be this bad," frowned Cornelia, after a large flock of pigeons was heard taking flight after a loud squeal from the tires.
"You've been wrong before," shrugged Irma smiling.
"Irma!" Cornelia exclaimed, grabbing for her.
"Stop you guys, the car's coming back!" Will said, hushing the girls as she stepped in-between them. The car was slowly making its way down the sidewalk, starting and stopping, starting and stopping. The yellow car had almost reached the class until Mr. Kingston reached over and turned it off. Hay Lin noted he looked similar to her when she had been seasick when she had been on a boat when she was a boat. Taranee fumbled with the lock on the door until Will reached inside the window and opened it for her, volunteering to go next. Cornelia and Hay Lin helped Taranee away from the car and sat her down in the shade the school building offered. Irma waved to Will as the car disappeared around the school.
"So? What did you get?" questioned Hay Lin.
"I got a D, my mom's gonna freak!" complained Taranee, burying her face in her hands.
"Come on, we've taken like a million tests in this class. One D won't destroy all that hard work," Cornelia offered, "and besides no one gets above a B on their first round. It's like an unwritten rule of driver's ed teachers, especially Mr. Kingston."
"Unless they're a football player," laughed Irma. Taranee, Hay Lin, and Cornelia all looked up at Irma, confusion across their faces.
"Mr. Kingston's a football coach! Almost all driving teachers are, thus only the football players get good grades in this class, it's rigged!" explained Irma letting her voice get louder. Cornelia tried to shush her, but she just continued on.
"That's so stupid; football players are so thick anyway. The rest of us smart ones have to work to get descent grades while the lamebrains get them for showing up!"
"Irma Lair!" Irma turned slowly around to face her teacher. Will was holding back laughter which threatened to spill out of her mouth any moment, as she handed her friend the door to the car. Irma gulped and took her turn in the car, driving away around the school to take her test.
"She's in for it," smiled Will.
"What'd you get?" asked Hay Lin.
"Just a B-, I can't turn that well to the left," replied Will.
"I wonder if I'll have time to go today?" wondered Cornelia aloud as she got to her feet. The rest of the class was becoming impatient, and watching the clock on the brick wall above the back door. Fifth period was almost over; several students looked down at their stomachs and then back at the clock.
"The class ends in eight minutes, you might not go today if Irma doesn't come back," sniffled Taranee.
"Nope, you're definitely going today, there's Irma," said Hay Lin, then she asked, "is that a cone stuck in her front tire?"
"Great," sighed Cornelia sarcastically. She traded places with Irma and told her about the cone. Irma un-wedged it from the front left-side tire and smiled innocently at Mr. Kingston who shook his head slowly as he sighed.
"This won't be long," called Cornelia out the open window of the car to the girls.
"What do you think she meant by that?" asked Will.
"Maybe she's awful and it will be over really quick, then we can go have lunch," guessed Irma. The girls stood in silence, waiting for the disgusting, old car to come zipping around the last turn. Instead, just as the bell rang, the gaudy, yellow car came to a complete, controlled stop at the curb. Cornelia stepped out of the car with Mr. Kingston, a smile adorning her lips.
"Congratulations Cornelia, I've never seen any student do so well on their first time in the test car," said Mr. Kingston, shock evident in his voice. Irma was petrified with amazement at this tidbit of news.
"Thank you," smiled Cornelia, shutting the car door and handing the teacher the keys.
"You have just earned yourself an A-, Miss Hale. I hope to see more surprises like this from you on our upcoming drives," beamed the driving instructor. Cornelia nodded and walked inside, the rest of the girls were too dumbstruck to do anything but follow. Once they found their table in the cafeteria, Hay Lin broke the hanging silence.
"How did you do it? Where did you learn to drive so well?" she asked leaning over the table towards Cornelia.
"Well, my Dad always took me driving when I was little. Besides, learning to drive is like, a rite of passage. If you can't drive, you can't do anything in the real world," Cornelia explained, tugging at her blond hair. Taranee thought over her friend's words and shuddered at the thought.
The school day continued with no problems. The final bell rang at three, releasing the girls to say their goodbyes and walk to their homes. Taranee walked with Will until their paths parted, then Taranee made her way to her house alone. Grabbing a snack as she walked inside, Taranee greeted her father in the kitchen.
"Taranee, your mother's staying late today, so I'm making dinner. How does stir-fried chicken sound?" smiled Mr. Cook.
"Remind me to warn Peter," Taranee joked under her breath. She nodded to her father and sat down at the table to begin studying for her upcoming test in trigonometry. She tried to put as much space between her and her horrible grade as she could. That night as Taranee went to sleep. She struggled to keep the images of her failure out of her mind as she slipped into the world of dreams.
The car inched along the highway, the gaudy, yellow paint shining in the hot sunlight. Taranee sat behind the wheel, petrified as the other cars, almost twice her size, sped around her. Mr. Kingston appeared in the passenger seat. He was as red as a ripe tomato and was shouting at her to step on it. Pressing her sandaled foot to the accelerator pedal, Taranee was forced back into the leather seat as the car jumped forward, the speedometer registering speeds of over seventy miles per hour. Taranee looked down and saw her knuckles had become as white as freshly, fallen snow as she clung to the steering wheel. Mr. Kingston had continued to shout, but she could no longer understand what he was shouting about. It was almost as if he was speaking another language like German or Japanese.
Suddenly Peter had appeared in back seat of the car, frowning at her along with the rest of her family. The car continued to speed down the highway even though Taranee had taken her foot off the gas pedal ages ago. The highway had disappeared, and before the car now laid an abandoned stretch of lonely, dessert road, complete with bleached cow skulls and tall, green cactuses.
"You can't drive!" laughed Peter from the back seat as he twirled his basketball aimlessly on his finger.
"People who can't drive don't get good jobs," jeered her father.
"How did you ever think you could get to be where I am without driving?" questioned her mother, a frown on her face.
"You're a loser!" Mr. Kingston chortled. Taranee released the steering wheel and pressed her hands over her ears, attempting to block out the evil jests her family was throwing at her.
"Stop it!" cried Taranee closing her eyes. Taranee felt a burst of speed from the car around her and the voices had been silenced. Opening her dark, brown eyes Taranee glimpsed a worn down sign that read, The Road to NOWHERE. Shock widened her eyes as the car flew off a cliff as the road abruptly ended, and plummeted down to the canyon floor below.
"NO!" screamed Taranee. She blinked her eyes once or twice before registering where she was. Her room was dark, only small traces of light seeped through the window under her curtains. She was sitting straight up in her bed, the covers clutched tightly in her hands. Glancing again around her room, the fire guardian sighed with relief.
"It was just a dream," she mumbled to herself, hopping she hadn't made too much noise during the night and woken her family. Her gaze rested on the clock, 6:58 AM. Taranee noted it was time to get up and get ready for school.
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"Then the car sped up to a hundred miles per hour and the road just ended, sending the car and I flying down towards the ground," explained Taranee at lunch. That day Mr. Kingston had assigned study hall to everyone who had driven the day before, giving Taranee time to finish all the homework she had been assigned that day.
"Then what happened?" asked Hay Lin, her head resting her hands.
"Then I woke up, but it was all so real," sighed Taranee pushing her lunch away.
"You're just nervous, why don't you ask your parents for help, maybe they could help you practice," suggested Will as she finished off her turkey sandwich.
"Didn't you hear her dream Will?" asked Irma, "She's afraid her parents will freak!"
"Taranee, driving can be a little nerve racking at first, but don't panic," smiled Cornelia, "all it takes is a little practice, and a lot of deep breathing at first."
"Thanks," mumbled Taranee.
"Why don't we go to the restaurant again today?" Hay Lin said. Everyone smiled.
"As long as I don't see any stir-fried chicken on the menu," Taranee joked.
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"Where's Irma?" wondered Hay Lin.
"She said she'd be here a little late," Will said.
"Whatever, at least we'll have some peace and quiet-" said Cornelia before she was interrupted by the door. Irma rushed down the stairs.
"What was that Cornelia?" laughed Will. Cornelia frowned and looked away.
"Irma, you smell worse than my brother when comes home from playing basketball," said Taranee wrinkling her nose.
"Sorry," smiled Irma. She paused and sniffed the air around her, "hey I don't smell so bad. I just stopped at the barn before I came here; I forgot to take my boots home."
"Are you still riding there?" asked Hay Lin as she offered her a chocolate, fortune cookie.
"Not really, I do every now and then when I do enough work, or when we're not busy," explained Irma, setting her boots down at the foot of the stairs.
"Well spare us the smells next time," said Cornelia, holding her nose.
"I think riding is much more fun than driving, the horses actually listen to you, unlike that car Mr. Kingston makes us drive," joked Irma, "you should try it Taranee."
"No, no I think I'll stick with the evil car. Horses just aren't my thing," Taranee said. Irma shrugged and ate two more cookies as she joined the other girls in a conversation about school. Taranee leaned back and became lost in her own thoughts. Her gaze fell upon a red, cinnamon candle, the flame burned tall and wide, consuming the whole wick in its small blaze. Taranee's eyes looked into the dancing flame, seeing flickering images within it. Fear swam through her body, but the guardian of fire took a deep breath and watched the images meld together and become a visible picture.
"Elyon?" wondered Taranee out loud, her eyes caught up in a trance.
"What did you say Taranee?" asked Hay Lin, leaning over closer. The girls stopped talking about planning a trip to the mall, and watched the fire guardian stare into her element. Taranee noticed the change of the atmosphere of the room around her but continued to watch the chaos taking place in the candle flame. Dogs and cats raced around the streets of Meridian. A horse cart zoomed past a group of soldiers. Elyon and Caleb were trying to calm the people of the city and herd them away from the chaos.
"We have to get to Meridian!" exclaimed Taranee. The girls nodded in understanding. Will pulled out the heart and held it up in the air.
"Guardians Unite!" Will shouted. The heart encased each girl in her respective colored orb and they transformed.
"Water!"
"Fire!"
"Earth!"
"Air!"
"Quintessence!" finished Will. She created a fold to the Meridian marketplace of Taranee's vision.
"Ah!" shrieked Cornelia as a chicken flapped up, almost colliding with her face.
"Girls you're here!" called Caleb, "All the animals just went crazy. No one knows what spooked them all." Irma flew up in the air and surveyed the situation. She hovered over to Will and explained the problem.
"This whole block is overrun with wild animals," she explained.
"Everyone, block the two entrances to this street, keep all the animals in!" commanded Will.
"Great, we've been reduced to dog catchers, how fun," sighed Irma sarcastically.
"Irma!" scolded Cornelia.
"What? Did I say something?" smiled Irma as she flew off. She conjured a small wave of water from her hands and sent the liquid down between the two buildings of the street.
"Hay Lin!" called Irma. Hay Lin swooped down and sent a gust of air to meet the water, freezing it place. The wall of ice glittered in the sunlight.
"One down, one to go," smiled Will to herself, "Cornelia!"
"I'm on it," replied the earth guardian. She flew down and landed at the opening between the two buildings. Pressing her hand to the earth at her feet, the ground rose up under her and created the second barrier.
"Good work, now we have to catch all the animals," sighed Will, diving down for a dog that ambled past. Each guardian sighed and swooped to the ground helping to herd the dogs, cats, birds, and other sorts of Meridian creatures back to their cages. Caleb, Elyon, and the towns people contributed as much as they could, opening and closing cage doors, scaring the animals away from behind shops, and calming the larger animals.
Hay Lin eased the last of the black ducks into their cages, and leaned against a horse drawn cart with Will. The girls surveyed the market, feathers and fur littered the ground and flouted up in the air, the animals seemed unusually calm after their brief bit of freedom.
"Taranee, Cornelia," said Elyon, "could you take down the walls. Everything seems under control now." The two guardians nodded and went to work. Will and Hay Lin settled themselves in the cart, leaning up against the boxes of fruit and other produce, watching as the ice barrier easily melted as Taranee blasted it with fire.
"Will, did you hear that?" asked Hay Lin.
"No. What did you hear?" questioned Will.
"It sounded like a hiss, it could have been a snake or a-" Hay Lin didn't finish. The two girls were flung into the cart and buried by the boxes as the horse took off.
"Help us!" shouted Will as more boxes shifted, eliminating any chance of escape.
"Will!" called Taranee as she melted away the last bits of ice.
"Hay Lin!" exclaimed Irma leaping into the air. Cornelia raced across the street and shoved Elyon and Caleb out of the cart's way as the horse galloped up behind them. They ended up in a heap in some vender's stall who sold rugs, very, dusty rugs. Irma and Taranee took to the air and flew over to the cart.
"We to stop it!" called Irma.
"Just help me get these boxes off of them," said Taranee, landing on the cart's small ledge where the driver would sit. The reins flapped wildly in the air just inches from her wings as she tried to move the boxes
"Irma lift the top one!" shouted Taranee. Irma flew closer, gripped the box with both hands, and started to pull it off until an unforeseen force snatched her out of the air.
"Irma!" shrieked Taranee. The box she had held a moment before, smashed into the ground, snowberries and kumquats littered the ground. Irma watched the scene from above, twisted up in someone's cloth-line strung out between two buildings.
"I'm ok," laughed Irma, trying to get free, "stop the cart!" Taranee glanced at the heavy boxes imprisoning her friends and sat down in the driver's seat. Grabbing the reins, Taranee's foot found a bar and she pressed it down with all her might. The wheels locked and started to skid across the cobblestone ground, spooking the horse even more. Fearing that the wheels might break off, Taranee toke her foot off the brake pedal and tried another way to stop the cart.
"Whoa!" called Taranee to the horse, jerking back the leather reins. The horse kicked up at the cart and Taranee loosened her grip, but still kept contact with the horse's mouth. The horse responded slowly and eased up on its pace to a fast canter instead of the mad gallop. Taranee felt a smile creep onto her face, I can do this! She thought. Alternating increasing her hold on the reins and pressing down on the medieval style brake pedal, Taranee slowed the horse and returned to the main square with the cart and the two buried guardians intact.
"Are they ok?" asked Elyon rushing over to the cart.
"I hope," said Taranee, her heart still racing as fast as the horse was. Caleb tossed the boxes out of the cart and helped Hay Lin and Will to their feet.
"Are you ok?" asked Cornelia, hugging Will, Hay Lin and Taranee.
"Thanks to Taranee," Hay Lin smiled as Cornelia let her go.
"Those were amazing driving skills, even though it was on a horse cart," Will laughed.
"I know I'm ruining a perfect moment, but will someone get me down!" yelled Irma. Taranee smiled, pointed her finger like a gun at the string holding Irma up, and fired a single ball of flame at it. Irma fell to the ground with a loud thud, causing all the girls and Caleb to laugh. Cornelia fell to the ground in tears, she laughed so hard.
"Yeah, that was hilarious," Irma said sarcastically as she dusted herself off. The girls continued to laugh until Irma walked over and threatened them if they didn't shut their faces. Still bright faced and giggling, the girls walked with Elyon to the castle. Cornelia slowed down to walk with Caleb in the back of the group, hand in hand.
"So what's going on?" asked Hay Lin, "How did all the animals get loose?"
"We have no idea. All the people say the cages and pens just opened and the animals ran for it," said Elyon.
"Some of the people thought they heard a hissing sound and think the animals spooked from a snake," Caleb added.
"I heard a hiss too!" Hay Lin exclaimed, "right before the horse took off."
"Do you have a snake problem in Meridian?" asked Cornelia. Elyon shook her head back and forth.
"Why would all the animals go crazy and all the cages and doors just open by themselves?" Will questioned, "it makes no sense!"
"Well anyway, I hope you solve the mystery. We have to get going. My mom was worried about me last night with all that noise I made," sighed Taranee.
"Ok, see you soon Elyon!" called Will as the Heart of Candracar created a fold back to the Silver Dragon's basement. Cornelia said her goodbye to Elyon and kissed Caleb lightly on the cheek before disappearing back to earth.
"What do you think that was all about?" asked Irma.
"We've been reduced to chasing animals in Meridian, just like you said," sighed Hay Lin.
"Great! Now we all smell like horses!" complained Cornelia, "I'm going home to take a shower, I'll see you all tomorrow." The other girls said their goodbyes for the night and left Hay Lin alone to finish her homework.
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"Ok Taranee, your turn," smiled Will as she stepped out of the car, "good luck." Taranee smiled her thanks and traded places taking a seat behind the wheel.
"Ok Miss Cook, around the school and back," instructed Mr. Kingston. Taranee nodded her understanding, buckled her seatbelt, adjusted all three of her mirrors, and pressed her foot to the brake to shift into Drive. Gently applying pressure to the accelerator, Taranee fixed her glasses and eased away from the curb and around the building. Taranee felt the car around her and relaxed, everything is under control, she thought to herself smiling.
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"How do you think it's going?" asked Hay Lin.
"She looked like she knew what she was doing," smiled Cornelia, "and she's only had two days to get better."
"I know she'll do really well, she was so relaxed," Will added.
"Look, she's back already!" pointed Irma. The car made a slow, easy stop and parked in front of the class. The window was open and the guardians overheard Mr. Kingston talking to Taranee.
"-never have I seen such quick improvement in any of my students this year! Congratulations Miss Cook, you've earned yourself a B+," said Mr. Kingston. Taranee stepped out of the car beaming.
"You did it Taranee!" exclaimed Will, hugging her friend in congratulations.
"Great job, now you can teach me," smiled Irma, looping her arm over Taranee's shoulders and leaning on her. The five guardians laughed and watched the rest of their classmates as they took their driving tests, worries far from their minds.
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Episode 2 is completed. Episode 3 (A Princess in Waiting) is next. I love Reviews!