This chapter is dedicated to Chelsea. From fear and turmoil, good things will come.
Carly was pleased with the way I was settling in. I told her in truth, I hadn't yet really settled in too Lark Creek at all, I had simply found one good friend. Carly shrugged and waved that off as an important detail. In my mind I knew I had settled into a different place entirely – my own kingdom, Terabithia.
After Christmas Tristan and I began exploring further and further into our kingdom. We never got lost, but we unfortunately never got too far either. The magic of Terabithia always seemed to pull us back to where we had started, the castle stronghold, in some unidentifiable loop. So we started taking pens, paper and an old compass I found with us every time we went, and bit by bit we made progress into the mysterious outer territories. We'd already engaged in several goblin and hag fights along the way. The outer territories were definitely in need of some protection from evil. Thanks to the Narnia books he was now reading, Tristan's imagination had all but trebled.
In school, a new boy appeared. I was annoyed to find he had absolutely no problem fitting in, but then I guess the manner of his dress sense should have alerted me to that. Every day he wore mainly black and his hair contained so much gel I swear he could have fixed a broken car. Girls were all over him in a second and guys were practically queuing up to be his friend. Despite all this, I was elected to 'take care' of him for a week and show him around. Apparently this was logical in the sense that we could feel out of place together.
It was a load of rubbish.
However, I did try.
"In there is the library, it's quite small."
The new boy, Brandon, snorted. I ignored him.
"And, ah, that's the art classroom and the science lab –"
"Listen, chick, thanks and all that but I can find my own way around."
My hands balled into fists. "Chick?"
"Oh, feisty. I like that is a girl." He placed a hand on my shoulder. I was so stunned by the cheek of this guy that I didn't shrug his hand off instantly. But by the time I did, it was too late. Tristan had walked around the corner.
"See you in class," said Brandon with a wink I knew he did all for effect. I just shook my head and turned around to face Tristan so we could have laugh and loudly abuse Brandon together. Tristan, however, had his fists clenched by his sides in much the same way I had.
"Tristan? You right. Did you just see Brandon, I mean, the way he winked..."
"Yes. I saw it," Tristan said shortly. "See you later." He marched off, leaving me completely confused.
Mrs Donald made me sit next to Brandon in English, much to my disgust. Half-way through the lesson he threw a note at me.
'Smile, chick. You're sitting next to me after all.'
I was so tempted at the moment to take some extremely drastic action, but instead I simply wrote a scribbled note and shoved it back to him.
'I'd rather take a holiday in hell.'
At first a dark shadow crossed Brandon's face, but it quickly cleared. He shrugged and gave me another roguish wink. Behind us there was a crash. I spun around. Tristan had dropped his pencil and ruler on the ground. I instantly got to my feet to help him. No-one cared that we were best friends anymore. However, before I could help him, Tristan hastily scooped up his possessions and sat down hurriedly on his seat, avoiding eye contact with me.
I was totally perplexed, but unfortunately I had to take my place. I'd ask him what was up that afternoon in Terabithia.
He didn't come to Terabithia.
As soon as we got off the bus he mumbled something in my direction and rushed off to his house. I assumed he had a chore to do and he would come in a short while. I set off to Terabithia without him, but as soon as I crossed the bridge, it didn't feel right. The magic was gone and without their King, the Terabithians had gone into hiding. I headed back home and greeted Carly. I dodged her questions about why I wasn't 'playing in the field' with Tristan and headed into my backyard, thoroughly bored.
As I was wondering around, searching for a way to entertain myself for the remainder of the afternoon, I spied some old timber in the far corner of the yard. It wasn't the timber that interested me but the thick long rope that bound the pieces together. And idea struck me like a bolt of lightning. So bored was I, I didn't even pause to contemplate the depth of my inspiration. Instead, I headed momentarily back inside to tell Carly I was going to play in the field after all. I then proceeded to untie the rope and take it with me.
I set off back to Terabithia, singing softly to myself as I went.
Once I reached the bridge, I bypassed it and headed back to where it had all begun – the broken rope. I gave the tree from which the rope hung an inquisitive glance before promptly climbing up. I reached the correct branch and carefully began edging my way out along it. I instantly knew it would be blasphemy to untie the original rope, so I tied my new rope beside it, using a loop knot so that there was no way it would untie. I climbed down the tree full of energy from my success. I stood on the bank and used a stick to fish for my new rope. Once it was in my hand I prepare myself to swing and it was then I stopped.
The creek had only a slight trickling of water running through it, but I felt as if the ghost of Leslie Burke herself was holding me back. For a moment I contemplated abandoning my adventure all together, but there was no real danger. I swung out and all my fears melted away. It was the most incredible feeling, especially when I tilted my head back and the sun warmed my face.
I spent the remainder of my afternoon swinging back and forth and come just before sunset; I had made up my mind. Tristan had not arrived, so I would go and get him.
As soon as I reached his house, I took a left and headed for his shed. Sure enough, there he was, working on one of his many projects.
"Tristan? Why are you down at T- in the forest?"
"I thought you would have wanted to go with Brandon instead," Tristan said harshly.
"What? What are you talking about?"
"I saw him winking at you. I saw you pass notes."
My mind worked in over gear. "Oh. That was him being a cad. Tristan, I ha – I strongly dislike him. He's so up himself."
"Really?"
"Really. Is that why you were acting so odd today?"
"Yeah, I guess. I felt a bit – never mind."
"OK then," I said with a smile, deciding to leave things as they were. "Come with me, there's something I have to show you!"
I set off running. Upon reaching the new rope, Tristan skidded to a halt. "What have you done?"
He sounded so shocked. I laughed. "I put a new rope up. It's lots of fun." And with that I swung out on it.
"No, Alex!" Tristan cried, his voice echoing through the wood. I swung across and back and landed safely on the bank beside him.
"It's perfectly safe."
"Alex, please don't. It's too much like the story. Please don't."
"Well, alright, if you really don't like it. Do you want to have dinner at my place?"
Tristan nodded, his face still pale. As we walked back, I thought about the promise I made. I would never swing on the rope while Tristan was there again, as it obviously scared him a lot. But the freedom of swinging was simply to amazing to give up entirely. I would swing on it whenever he wasn't around. The rope was strong and probably fairly young.
I knew it would never break.
Yes, this chapter has taken a while and it's short. I've had so much stuff on though. Music exams mean you practically have no life. I'll have another chapter by next weekend.
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