I'd just like to thank my one encouraging reviewer EvilFairy27 for
inspiring me to keep working on this story.
8. Chapter 8 (ran out of chapter titles)
"Oh my god, are you kidding me? What are the odds of something like this happening, seriously?" said Catty in desperation.
"Calm down, chica. Every time someone flushes the toilets, it all goes down to the sewer (A/N: I'm not sure that's the word I'm looking for. English is my second language, I have a hard time sometimes. My French/English dictionary said that's what it meant, but e-mail me if you don't understand what it means.). What we have to do is find an opening to the L.A. sewer, find a way to open it, and then we can go down and look for the watch. The hardest thing to do will be to know where we're going and to follow the watch's path. We don't have much time. Come on!"
Jimena was proud that she was the boss in this situation as of now. Catty had been ordering her around since they had gotten there in the first place and she realized that it was completely normal since they were following Catty herself around, after all. And Catty was the only one that was able to know where she went. But now, with Catty standing right beside her, obviously completely panicking, she felt like she was the stronger leak. She smiled in confidence, grabbed Catty's hand, and dragged her away from the window.
Catty couldn't believe what was happening. She already thought it would be hard to retrieve the watch if it appeared while her other self was in class; but this, was much worse. Jimena had taken her hand and was trying to lead her away from the window, and she started to let herself be taken away from it, but then, she planted her feet on the ground and whispered:
"It's not worth it."
"What was that? You're going to have to speak louder than that. No wait, screw that. Just shut up and keep walking."
"It's pointless Jimena. Can't you see?" Catty said louder this time. "I used to believe we could make it. But I've seen the truth. We don't even know where the closest sewer opening is. What if we walk 10 miles to the left while there's one only ½ mile to the right? We don't know what direction the water went either. Do you have any idea what sewers are like? It's a bunch of tunnels intertwined together in complicated patterns. No, screw that. IN NO PATTERNS AT ALL!!!" She was panting now, but she kept going nevertheless.
"We'll get lost for sure. We'll get dirty. Besides, it's really dark down there. What if there are alligators or other wild animals down there? I give up, Jimena. You can go if you want to, but I won't follow you. Oh wait, that's a stupid thing to say. Even if you find the watch, you won't be able to go back without me..."
"CATTY! SNAP OUT OF IT!" Jimena had involuntarily yelled.
"I want you to listen to me. We're going to go together." She emphasized that last word as she pointed at herself and then to Catty. "On our way here, I saw a sewer opening. It's not even a mile away. We will find a way to get in there. They never close these things completely anyways. It shouldn't be too hard. Besides, there must be some kind of magical link between you and time-related objects. You'll be able to find your watch easily once we get down there. I'm sure there aren't any animals down there; maybe dead fish, but no more. About the whole darkness issue, they always leave at least one flash light right under each entrance. I'm sure we can use the one we find. Now come on! Maggie said we had about 45 minutes to find the watch before it disappears, and you already wasted about 15 of them."
"You're right. I'm sorry," Catty whispered.
She felt ashamed. She felt like a little child being reprimanded by her mother. She didn't know what had come over her. It was like someone else had taken over her body. When she looked at Jimena's face, she read excitement. Catty wasn't sure Jimena realized how important and life- defining this was. It seemed like it was all just a video game to her. But she decided not to burst her bubble. After all, she herself, who seemed to take the situation 'more seriously' had been about to give up and wasn't nearly as motivated. She decided that it was wiser to run closely behind Jimena, and not say anything in order to not slow them down.
Jimena knew it was wrong, but she couldn't help but feel a certain rush as she ran through bushes hiding from view, and closely observing the sidewalk in order to not miss the sewer entrance. She could hear Catty breathing loudly behind her. Finally, the sewer entrance came into view. She and Catty slowly walked out of the bushes over to the sidewalk. Jimena bent down and put her fingers through the two holes in the metal plate.
"We're lucky. It's open. But it's extremely heavy. These holes are only big for one or two fingers to go in each; and that definitely won't be enough space for us to dedicate all our strength to opening it."
"Mhhhhhh. I guess if we both try at the same time, we can do it. Okay, on the count of three."
Jimena nodded reluctantly. Once again, Catty was acting as if she were superior. She slowly slipped her fingers through the holes once again, as she felt Catty doing the same. As she heard Catty counting down, she felt her muscles tensing, preparing to pull.
Catty didn't know what she had expected but she was disappointed to see that they had barely managed to move the plate over about an inch or two to the right out of its hole. At least, now they wouldn't have to lift anything, all they'd have to do is push. Apparently, Jimena thought the same thing. It felt as if they had shared thoughts as they bent down and pushed the plate in perfect synchrony. Jimena looked up at her and smiled. She smiled back and stood back up.
8. Chapter 8 (ran out of chapter titles)
"Oh my god, are you kidding me? What are the odds of something like this happening, seriously?" said Catty in desperation.
"Calm down, chica. Every time someone flushes the toilets, it all goes down to the sewer (A/N: I'm not sure that's the word I'm looking for. English is my second language, I have a hard time sometimes. My French/English dictionary said that's what it meant, but e-mail me if you don't understand what it means.). What we have to do is find an opening to the L.A. sewer, find a way to open it, and then we can go down and look for the watch. The hardest thing to do will be to know where we're going and to follow the watch's path. We don't have much time. Come on!"
Jimena was proud that she was the boss in this situation as of now. Catty had been ordering her around since they had gotten there in the first place and she realized that it was completely normal since they were following Catty herself around, after all. And Catty was the only one that was able to know where she went. But now, with Catty standing right beside her, obviously completely panicking, she felt like she was the stronger leak. She smiled in confidence, grabbed Catty's hand, and dragged her away from the window.
Catty couldn't believe what was happening. She already thought it would be hard to retrieve the watch if it appeared while her other self was in class; but this, was much worse. Jimena had taken her hand and was trying to lead her away from the window, and she started to let herself be taken away from it, but then, she planted her feet on the ground and whispered:
"It's not worth it."
"What was that? You're going to have to speak louder than that. No wait, screw that. Just shut up and keep walking."
"It's pointless Jimena. Can't you see?" Catty said louder this time. "I used to believe we could make it. But I've seen the truth. We don't even know where the closest sewer opening is. What if we walk 10 miles to the left while there's one only ½ mile to the right? We don't know what direction the water went either. Do you have any idea what sewers are like? It's a bunch of tunnels intertwined together in complicated patterns. No, screw that. IN NO PATTERNS AT ALL!!!" She was panting now, but she kept going nevertheless.
"We'll get lost for sure. We'll get dirty. Besides, it's really dark down there. What if there are alligators or other wild animals down there? I give up, Jimena. You can go if you want to, but I won't follow you. Oh wait, that's a stupid thing to say. Even if you find the watch, you won't be able to go back without me..."
"CATTY! SNAP OUT OF IT!" Jimena had involuntarily yelled.
"I want you to listen to me. We're going to go together." She emphasized that last word as she pointed at herself and then to Catty. "On our way here, I saw a sewer opening. It's not even a mile away. We will find a way to get in there. They never close these things completely anyways. It shouldn't be too hard. Besides, there must be some kind of magical link between you and time-related objects. You'll be able to find your watch easily once we get down there. I'm sure there aren't any animals down there; maybe dead fish, but no more. About the whole darkness issue, they always leave at least one flash light right under each entrance. I'm sure we can use the one we find. Now come on! Maggie said we had about 45 minutes to find the watch before it disappears, and you already wasted about 15 of them."
"You're right. I'm sorry," Catty whispered.
She felt ashamed. She felt like a little child being reprimanded by her mother. She didn't know what had come over her. It was like someone else had taken over her body. When she looked at Jimena's face, she read excitement. Catty wasn't sure Jimena realized how important and life- defining this was. It seemed like it was all just a video game to her. But she decided not to burst her bubble. After all, she herself, who seemed to take the situation 'more seriously' had been about to give up and wasn't nearly as motivated. She decided that it was wiser to run closely behind Jimena, and not say anything in order to not slow them down.
Jimena knew it was wrong, but she couldn't help but feel a certain rush as she ran through bushes hiding from view, and closely observing the sidewalk in order to not miss the sewer entrance. She could hear Catty breathing loudly behind her. Finally, the sewer entrance came into view. She and Catty slowly walked out of the bushes over to the sidewalk. Jimena bent down and put her fingers through the two holes in the metal plate.
"We're lucky. It's open. But it's extremely heavy. These holes are only big for one or two fingers to go in each; and that definitely won't be enough space for us to dedicate all our strength to opening it."
"Mhhhhhh. I guess if we both try at the same time, we can do it. Okay, on the count of three."
Jimena nodded reluctantly. Once again, Catty was acting as if she were superior. She slowly slipped her fingers through the holes once again, as she felt Catty doing the same. As she heard Catty counting down, she felt her muscles tensing, preparing to pull.
Catty didn't know what she had expected but she was disappointed to see that they had barely managed to move the plate over about an inch or two to the right out of its hole. At least, now they wouldn't have to lift anything, all they'd have to do is push. Apparently, Jimena thought the same thing. It felt as if they had shared thoughts as they bent down and pushed the plate in perfect synchrony. Jimena looked up at her and smiled. She smiled back and stood back up.