Some more info so my story
makes sense: The Swanson's live somewhere in Maine, US. I have never been to
America so correct me if the distances/ geographical locations are not correct.
Ch 3 Fond memories
A younger Ellie appeared
on the scene. Jarod cringed as he looked at the screen behind her and the
instructions she was given. He was feeling a bad sense of de ja vu.
"Hello Ellie, My name is Sydney. I'll-"
"Hello Mister Sydney
sir!" Ellie replied shaking his hand.
Obviously startled by
Ellie's frankness, Sydney smiled and continued.
"Ellie, I want you to
build me this building, the one on the screen behind you."
"Mister!" she cried in
her high girly voice, "I've been there! With Aunty Janice who's not my real
Aunty, and Ernest, that's her real boy, yeah and we went up to the very top!
And then Ernest wanted to climb up the tall stick thing they stuck on the top
and then Aunty Janice took us to a real fancy shop with yummy food and lots of
art and there was these statues that Aunty Janice wouldn't let us see cos they
had no-"
"Ellie!"
By this time Ellie had
managed to climb up on to the only piece of furniture, a small table the video
projector was on and was preceding to show with her hands how Ernest was
planning to climb to the very top. She turned around and lost her balance.
Sydney stepped over and caught her just as she was about to topple off the
table.
"Ellie," he said
kneeling down to her level. "I have to go somewhere for a few minutes. I'll be
back soon. Can you build me this building?"
"You're leaving?" Ellie
said, tears threatening to fall down her cheeks.
"I'll be back soon, I
promise." And with that a frazzled Sydney quickly left the room.
The next few minutes
show Ellie with her back to the screen building…something. She then walks up
and taps on the glass, looking directly at the camera.
"I'm fin-"
Whatever she had built
suddenly fall flat on the floor. Ellie rushes over and picks it up then rushes
back to the camera.
"Now I'm fin-nished!"
Sydney walks in and set
eyes on the…thing…that Ellie has built. He kneels down again to Ellie's level
and asks her to explain her version of the Empire State Building to him.
She giggles and says,
"It's not the whole Empire
State Building. That would never fit in here! So I just made the things
that stop you from falling off the building!"
She then walks up
behind her railing and pretends to look out over New York, pointing out
invisible landmarks to whomever she imagined was behind her. Sydney, hand to
his mouth, chuckles quietly.
An older Sydney takes the
DSA out of the slot and turns to Jarod, smiling.
"Ellie had the skills at
four that many will never have, especially those at the Centre, including me
and even you. She is special in a different way yet, thank God, they failed to
realise this. But she's not a Pretender. And she can never return to the
Centre."
He looked at Jarod and the
Pretender immediately understood.
"It would destroy her
soul. She couldn't survive in such a cold, frigid place like the Centre." Jarod
observed.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
* *
Sydney left early the next
morning after breakfast, leaving the Swanson's with his best wishes. After
lunch Jarod prepared the RV for the journey to the city he'd planned his next
pretend. Thanking them for their hospitality, he presented Alice with a nice
cheque and a promise to return. Waving goodbye, he drove out of the driveway
and on to the road where he was quickly overtaken by Ellie and Shaun, who were
driving to the nearest town eight miles away for *essential* (cough)
supplies for their journey the following day. He was barely within the
outskirts of the town when an old women lost control and crashed into the front
of the RV. Fortunately neither had been travelling fast enough for a serious
accident and they both managed to climb out of their vehicles. The old women
was a little shaky and Jarod walked her over to the nearest diner and brought
her a drink of water to calm her nerves then making sure she was fine went out
to inspect the damage. Unfortunately the RV was a total write off and the
woman's van needed a good panel beater's TLC. He walked slowly back to the
diner, thinking, when he ran into Ellie with those *essentials* like
chocolate, candy and vanilla coke.
"Hey Jarod!" Ellie smiled
then she noticed his face. "What's wrong?"
Shaun came jogging up
behind her.
"Elles, There's been a
collision and Mrs Cadbury's cars a wreck. Funny, the other vehicle looked
really familiar…"
Then her noticed Jarod's
expression and stopped.
"Hey you all right?"
"I'm fine. But I really
need to be in Boston by tomorrow at the latest. Do you know where I can catch a
bus there?"
Shaun laughed. "From this town? Not for the next few days, if that. You might
get lucky at the-no forget about that! Ellie and I are heading south to the Big
Apple tomorrow, we can drop you off in Boston on the way if you want a lift."
"Yeah come! It'll be fun.
If you can brave Shaun's lame jokes for a few hours." Ellie added.
"Thankyou but I'll be
fine, I'll just check the bus time-"
"Look Jarod, you're coming
with us now whether you like it or not so you better well deal with it. We're
leaving at 7.30 tomorrow morning and we'll EXPECT to see you outside the house
waiting for us." Ellie demanded, cutting Jarod off. "Come on Shaun, now we have
an excuse to buy that extra packet of salt and vinegar chips so you can collect
the whole set of Star Wars cards. See you tomorrow morning Jarod."
On that note she turned
around and began walking to the car.
"You better be there man.
She's not nice to people who break their promises!" Shaun remarked and ran off
to join Ellie.
Jarod, bewildered,
shrugged and then realised something.
How am I going to get back to the
property?
He thought as their car
whizzed by.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
* *
"Today is sure going to be
a beautiful day so get out there and soak up the sunshine. It is going to be a
beauuuuuutiful 80 degrees. A little cloudy this afterno-"
"-and now for Beethoven's
5th Symphony-"
"-the bases are loaded.
Jones slowly comes up to the bat. Roberts pitchers-AND HE HITS IT WAY OUT INTO
THE OUTFIELD-"
"She loves me! Yeah yeah
yeah!"
Shaun reaches over and
switches the radio off. Ellie goes to turn it back on when he gives her a
fierce look.
"So Jarod," Ellie asks
from the back seat, head back, arms stretched out across the to of the seat,
breathing in the fresh air coming in from the sun roof. "Have you ever been on
a road trip before?"
Jarod grins.
"Yes I have."
"So what was it like?"
"Oh, it was pretty
memorable."
"I had my first road trip
when I was 13. My sister and I just packed up and drove to L.A. for a month
during the summer vacation. We had such a great time!"
"Yeah, Sarah must have had
a really brilliant time." Shaun said from the drivers seat. "Where did
she meet Louis anyway?"
"Philly. We drove up the
coast on the way back. I couldn't stand him back then."
"That's right! I remember.
You were such a tomboy back then. You hated anything mushy and from the sounds
of it, Louis fitted in with the role of Romeo VERY well."
Jarod laughed. "Not one
for romances are you Ellie?"
Shaun smirked, covering it
up with a cough whilst watching Ellie go a deep shade of crimson.
"Oh Ellie's got a nice old
crush on someone who she isn't letting on about."
From then on, Ellie knew she was in trouble!
After a few hours they
begin to see signs marked Boston so many miles. Soon they were in the heart of
Boston passing the famous landmarks and tall buildings.
"Just up here near the
diner will be fine." Jarod pointed.
Shaun pulled up and parked
in the parking lot.
"Thanks for the lift."
Jarod said shaking Shaun's hand.
"Anytime Jarod." Shaun
replied.
He turned to Ellie who was
holding a small piece of paper.
"Jarod. Can you give this
to Sydney next time you see him? I forgot to give him my new address and phone
number*(see below)."
"Sure." Jarod said taking
the paper.
"Well…Seeya Jarod." Ellie
punches him on the arm and jumps back into the car.
Jarod smiles and waves as
the car drives off.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
* *
A couple of weeks later in
Boston Jarod emerges outside a hospital with a young couple and their young
boy.
"Thankyou Jarod for all
you've done for us." The mother said and wrapped her arms around him. Behind
her he can see three familiar figures getting out of a car. He whispers
something in the mother's ear and hands her an envelope then he seems to
disappear. The family start walking toward the parking lot ready to go home
when a sharp brunette approaches them followed by two men.
"Have you seen this man?"
Miss Parker asks, holding a picture of Jarod.
"Yes, he saved our son but
he left a few minutes ago. I'm sorry you missed him." The father said.
The mother looks at Sydney
then looks at her hand covering the note from Jarod.
"Come on Syd, we've missed
him." Miss Parker sighs and turns around with Broots at her heels. Sydney quickly
takes the envelope and pockets it, nodding a quick thankyou then joins the
other two.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
* *
It's morning and Jarod is
eating at a bar somewhere in NYC. He looks at his red notebook and smiles. The
Headlines read:
"Company manager confesses
faulty goods sales for high profits."
"Crippled Boy walks!"
His attention is then
drawn to the morning news on the TV. The barman goes to change the channel,
when Jarod stops him.
"Wait. I want to see
this." He says with angst in his voice.
*Ellie is living on campus
at NYU with a friend while Shaun lives in an apartment near Central Park.