Authors' Note: Well, we didn't die in Hurricane Irene. Nothing happened to us at all. Really, it was pretty much like all the other hurricanes for us: rain, wind, etc. And now, on with chapter 12.

Chapter 12

The day after Easter, which was today, Rose came over. She was with Robert and Daniella. I guess Marvin decided not to come, because he's probably still sulking about the Egging Festival. Rose was looking at Robert and Daniella. She had that creepy grin on her face again.

"Hey, Basil," she greeted me. Then she looked around furtively like she was trying not to be seen. She whispered, "Hey, don't Robert and Daniella look like they like each other?"

I glanced over. They were definitely exchanging glances and smiling, but not in a romantic way. They were looking at each other like they were up to something.

"I guess… Maybe they're trying to hide that they like each other?" I guessed halfheartedly. Robert and Daniella were my friends, but honestly, I didn't really like to meddle with people's personal stuff.

"I have an idea," she whispered back excitedly. "See, they kept slipping off to be alone together, and when they came back, they looked all giggly and embarrassed like they'd been having a personal conversation. Don't they look like that? I heard a rumor that they could be dating."

"Oh, that's cool." I couldn't think of anything else to say. Rose apparently had a weakness for gossip. This should have been obvious to me a long time ago.

"Anyway, I think we should let them have some alone time. What do you think?"

I wanted to say no. But Rose looked so excited that I felt guilty, and said, "Sure, why not?"

Rose giggled excitedly. "Hey, guys? We're just going to go outside and… find my keys. I think I dropped them."

"Do you need help?" inquired Daniella.

"No, I think Basil and I got this." She dragged me out of the house.

"Now what?" I asked. "Do we just stand here and wait?"

"Of course not," said Rose. "Let's go to the woods."

I followed her, and we wandered around, having the most random conversations.

"Hey Basil, have you ever climbed the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center?" she asked.

"Isn't that illegal?"

"It wasn't always illegal. I did it once, but that's why it's illegal now."

I raised my eyebrows. "And when was this?"

"1938."

I must have heard wrong. "What?"

"I climbed it in 1938. I guess I should mention: I'm older than I look," she explained awkwardly.

"And how old would that be?" I asked hesitantly, not really sure that I wanted to know.

"It's rude to ask a lady her age, Basil. Didn't your mother ever tell you that?" she asked, snickering.

"Sorry, I just wondered."

"It's okay. And I was born during my parents' first marriage, before Dad went and married all those other women."

This was getting weirder and weirder. I decided to change the subject. "Hey, were you around when the Cyclone was built?" I questioned, referring to the famous wooden roller coaster in Coney Island.

"Maybe," she replied coyly.

"What do you mean, maybe?" I asked, curious.

"Well… Are you sure you want to know? Okay, for a really long time, I refused to age, because I have Everafter blood, so I can do that. I looked like a seven year old for a really long time. And when the Cyclone was built, I still looked seven. Anyway, at the time I lived with Hans Christian Andersen's descendants. So, being seven, I looked too young to get on during the daytime, when it was open. But at night, I—" Rose was cut off by a strange noise, kind of between a bird and a large cat.

"What was that?" I wondered.

"I don't know for sure. It sounded like an animal."

"Maybe a cat?"

Rose looked around. "Let's follow it and see what it is," she suggested. I followed her deeper into the woods. Then, between an oak tree and a beech, there was a weird animal playing in a patch where some strange herb grew. The animal unlike anything I'd ever seen. It was only about three feet long, but it had really big teeth and a lizard like body. As if that wasn't enough, it had wings, too.

Rose caught her breath. "A Jabberwocky," she whispered. Fear was etched into her face. "We have to get out. They're really dangerous." She began to walk away slowly, but of course I stepped on a twig and it snapped. The thing looked up and made a soft cat/bird noise. It walked right up to us. My heart was pounding in terror. I did not want that thing coming near me.

"Jabberwocky?" it asked. Then, it came right up to Rose and dropped something at her feet. It was a deer bone. It looked up expectantly. She looked confused, but I picked it up. I hoped this thing was like a dog.

"Want the bone, boy? Want the bone? Fetch!" I called, and threw the bone as hard as I could. The thing flew away and returned a few seconds later with the bone. Rose looked a bit surprised. I handed her the bone. She threw it, and the Jabberwocky brought it back. She smiled.

"You know, he's actually kind of cute," she said to me.

"Cute? Seriously?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Okay, not really, but it's not so bad. He seems pretty tame. And look!" She pointed at the Jabberwocky, which was rolling in the patch of herbs. "It's playing in the cilantro!"

I had to admit, it was kind of funny to see something so scary acting so harmless, but I couldn't exactly come home and say, 'Hello family, I found a deadly animal playing in the woods, but don't worry, it's playful!'. That would be wrong.

"We should keep him!" suggested Rose.

"How? I don't think anyone would really let him in the house."

"True, but I could keep him in my house."

"I think it would be a better idea to just leave him here and visit him once in a while," I suggested.

"That's kind of harsh, don't you think?" she asked.

"So you're keeping a deadly animal as a pet," I said. "Are you sure you're that old? Because that sounds like something a seven year old would do."

"Hey, I was seven for a long time. And the only reason I stayed that way was because I refused to think like an adult. So technically, I do have the brain of a fourteen year old, I just happen to have seen more."

I realized that this was an argument I could not win, so I gave up. "Fine, keep it. Do you even have a name for it?"

I realize that this should be the last of my concerns, but I was curious as to what a person with a name like Rosalina Helena Sapphira White-Charming would name a deadly animal that wasn't all that deadly.

"Cilantro," she replied firmly.

..~0~..

I was never sure of how Rose managed to take a Jabberwocky home. When I got back to the house alone, Robert and Daniella were still there.

"Hi guys," I said, afraid I might have interrupted something. Evidently, I had not.

"Hey Basil, we were just going to look for you and Rose," said Robert.

"Did she find her keys?" asked Daniella.

"No, but we found a Jabberwocky."

"WHAT?"

"I know that's probably a bad thing, but don't worry, it's really friendly. We named it Cilantro." At that, Robert fell over laughing, and Daniella just looked at me incredulously.

"You realize that this is a huge problem, right? I should probably find my father and tell him to call out the Knights of the Round Table to slay it!" she exclaimed.

"No, really, it is friendly. And wait, your dad is a Knight of the Round Table?" I asked.

"Actually, he's King Arthur, but that's besides the point. You're sure it's friendly?" Daniella asked again.

"Yes, I'm sure. It plays fetch."

"Oh, okay," she seemed to relax. Then the phone rang. I answered.

"Hello?"

"Basil, it's Rose. Have you seen my keys?"

"Um, no."

End of Chapter

Authors' Note: Well, it's Monday. So what did you think? Leave constructive criticism, praise, flames*, anything.

*Will be used to roast marshmallows*.

*Do we even have marshmallows? Shut up.

Lea and Cal Read Reviews

Evil Scrapbooker: That was exactly what I thought when I read the flame. It wasn't really much of a flame, but seriously, why did he/she bother reading the next few chapters if he/she hated the first one? It was quite pointless. We love hearing your opinions, though. Thank you for explaining to the flamer.

TricksterPrincess4000 : we do live in New York, but not the city. We hope you were okay during the hurricane.

loverofbooks4eva: I would also cry if Twilight vampires were real. Are they even real vampires? They're an insult to good vampire stories (Like The Vampire Diaries, True Blood, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Dracula)Anyway, we both hope you were safe in the hurricane.

RockSuperstar: Wicked was a book? I had no idea. Anyway, we're glad you liked it. If we had known it was a book, we'd have done research on it. We hope you like this chapter too.

yorkie999777000: I pretty much died laughing at your review. The flaming reviewer probably does watch Telly Tubbies. Maybe he/she watches Barney& Friends, too. LOL. I loved that show… when I was in kindergarten.