Chapter 4
"Well, it definitely had something to do with the large, yellow object,"
Adrienne declared after Legolas had finished his tale. They had decided to
skip seventh period, even though Jill and Adrienne seemed rather eager to
swim with their favorite elf. They all privately felt it was too good to
be true and was a dream so they wouldn't really be in trouble.
"Yes, it did," said a familiar voice behind them.
"Aragorn!" cried Legolas, happy to see his best friend.
Adrienne whirled around. Confirming it was the Ranger, she promptly fainted.
**************************************************************************** ****************
"Adrienne. Adrienne. *Here my voice,* said a voice she recognized immediately. This must be a dream, she thought sleepily.
"Um, Mr. Aragorn, sir?" put in Andy's voice. "I don't really think that it's that serious. She just had her biggest dream come true."
Everything came back to her now, and she was enraged at what her friend had said. She opened her eyes, judged the distance, and knocked him to the ground with a single, well-aimed kick. She was rather pleased that she didn't even have to remove her head from its comfortable position in Aragorn's lap.
"Nice reflexes!" exclaimed Legolas with a laugh, eyeing Adrienne speculatively. "Maybe I could train her so that she has better skills than even our newly-arrived friend here." The elf's eyes danced with mischief as his human friend muttered a curse under his breath, then looked apologetically at the girls present.
"It's okay," said Jill hurriedly. "In our culture, swearing is much more common than in yours, both male and female."
"Oh," said Legolas curiously. "Anyway, let's get back to the task at hand. Estel, you were just saying that our appearances here did have something to do with that thing when Adrienne left us, probably from that dreadful odor that permeates from your being."
"You try hiding in the forest from Nazgûl without breaking a sweat!" he yelled heatedly, painfully remembering that horrid time.
"Sorry, mellon nin," the elf apologized, sensing his friend's pain. "But you did have a few days at Rivendell to cleanse yourself," he added. "And elves don't sweat."
"What does 'mellon nin' mean?" asked Andy.
"'My friend,' you nit!" replied Adrienne.
"You speak elvish?" the pair said in the same breath.
"Just a few simple phrases," admitted Adrienne, blushing furiously.
"Wow!" exclaimed Aragorn in surprise. "That's weird! Anyway, I was talking about how we got here. Apparently, Merry and Pippin, the younger hobbits I rescued, took it into their heads to put one of Mithrandir's—"
"Who's?" interrupted Andy.
"Gandalf's!" yelled Adrienne. "Now stop interrupting!"
"As I was saying," continued Aragorn, slightly startled at her outburst, "they decided to grind up one of his fireworks and bake it into their cheese."
"Why would they do that?" asked Stephanie cluelessly.
"They said they 'wanted to make it spicy'," Aragorn replied, scowling. "Anyway, and here's the weird part, Ada—"
"Who?" asked Andy once again.
"Elrond," replied Jill.
"Oh, Smilrond!" laughed Andy.
"Smilrond?" repeated Aragorn, puzzled.
"You know, Estel," prompted Legolas, grinning broadly, "Elrond does the eyebrows, like that guy, Smith, from the—"
"Matrix!" finished the Ranger. He suddenly remembered the conversation with the elf-lord in question. "Legolas, can these people be trusted?" he questioned, his hand going to the hilt of Anduril.
"I...I think so." The elf was confused by his friend, who was now unsheathing the sword reforged.
"We need to find out exactly what world we're in," explained Aragorn. "Tell me," he turned to the others, "what exactly do you know about Agent Smith?"
"Um...well...he's this weird FBI agent thing that works for the machines and chases Neo in the movie, The Matrix," said Jill hurriedly, having seen what Aragorn could do with a sword.
"What's a movie?" asked Aragorn, caught off guard.
"It's a series of pictures projected on a screen in rapid succession with objects shown in successive positions slightly changed so as to produce the optical effect of a continuous picture in which objects move," explained a random passing Kaiting.
After having glared at the hunny-pot-making-one, Stephanie continued, "Actually, you're in one."
"Ai!" exclaimed Legolas, not having understood the words of Kaiting, but getting what Stephanie said. He turned to Aragorn. "Estel—"
"Who?" asked Andy stupidly.
"Aragorn, now shut-up!" yelled Adrienne once again. Legolas continued his explanation to Aragorn, ignoring the interruption.
"—they think that the Matrix is fictional."
"How do you know?"
"Stephanie said that both us and them were in a 'movie', whatever that is—'
"I told you," put in the once again passing Kaiting, "it's a—"
"Give it a rest!" retorted Jill, growling. The Kaiting scampered off, leaving them in relative peace.
"Anyway," continued the now utterly bewildered elf, "they thought we were fictional, so since we're in a 'movie' and so are Neo, Smith, and the rest, they must also think the Matrix is fictional."
"That's pretty much how it is," confirmed Adrienne, silencing Andy with a look; he had opened his mouth to argue, and she didn't want
Anduril sticking out of her back.
"Oh, good," said Aragorn. "I won't have to kill you all then."
"Why did you want to?" asked Stephanie. She had started looking for something in her locker when Aragorn had first unsheathed his sword, and still hadn't found it. Everyone present under the age of 21 had a suspicion that she was looking for a very Silk-like object. Sure enough, when she stood up, she was clutching a long, sharp knife.
Andy started to slowly back away, Jill smiled broadly, Legolas exchanged a nervous look with Aragorn before drawing his twin knives, and Adrienne muttered a single word: "Silk!"
"One does one's best!" said Stephanie. "Don't worry," she added, noting the looks on their faces, "I'm not going to use this on any of you. At least not now that I know that you're not going to hurt us, Aragorn."
"Silk?" said Legolas quizzically.
At that moment, a random passing Mr. Abdulovic appeared. "No knives in school!" he said robotically. He then tried to take Stephanie's knife away from her, since the other knife-holding people were oddly-dressed, younger than him (so he thought), and very strong-looking. This turned deadly.
"You should never disarm a lady, unless you are in a throne room!" exclaimed Legolas, thrusting his twin fighting knives through the moldy, old man. "Oops. I guess I should have asked if any of you minded if I did that before-hand. Sorry. Do you mind?" he asked with Frodo-eyes.
"Not at all!" exclaimed Jill, grinning from ear to ear.
Then, random middle-schoolers popped out of all the lockers in the hall (except none were in a couple near Stephanie's) and burst out in song:
"Ding Dong, the Dean is Dead! Which old dean? The moldy dean.
Ding Dong, the mold dean is dead.
Wake up, you sleepy head, —"
At that point, they saw Jessi down the hall, kicking a sleeping Yater's head in a pitiful excuse to try to wake him up. The song continued:
"Rub your eyes! Get out of bed!
Wake up, the moldy dean is dead!
He's gone where the teachers go, below, below, below, yo ho, let's open up and sing, and ring that school's out.
Ding Dong! The merry-o sing it high, sing it low,
Let them know the moldy dean is dead!"
The song finished, the small ones, led by Joey and Tyler, took a bow, and scattered.
"Oooookaaaaaaaay..."
"Yes, it did," said a familiar voice behind them.
"Aragorn!" cried Legolas, happy to see his best friend.
Adrienne whirled around. Confirming it was the Ranger, she promptly fainted.
**************************************************************************** ****************
"Adrienne. Adrienne. *Here my voice,* said a voice she recognized immediately. This must be a dream, she thought sleepily.
"Um, Mr. Aragorn, sir?" put in Andy's voice. "I don't really think that it's that serious. She just had her biggest dream come true."
Everything came back to her now, and she was enraged at what her friend had said. She opened her eyes, judged the distance, and knocked him to the ground with a single, well-aimed kick. She was rather pleased that she didn't even have to remove her head from its comfortable position in Aragorn's lap.
"Nice reflexes!" exclaimed Legolas with a laugh, eyeing Adrienne speculatively. "Maybe I could train her so that she has better skills than even our newly-arrived friend here." The elf's eyes danced with mischief as his human friend muttered a curse under his breath, then looked apologetically at the girls present.
"It's okay," said Jill hurriedly. "In our culture, swearing is much more common than in yours, both male and female."
"Oh," said Legolas curiously. "Anyway, let's get back to the task at hand. Estel, you were just saying that our appearances here did have something to do with that thing when Adrienne left us, probably from that dreadful odor that permeates from your being."
"You try hiding in the forest from Nazgûl without breaking a sweat!" he yelled heatedly, painfully remembering that horrid time.
"Sorry, mellon nin," the elf apologized, sensing his friend's pain. "But you did have a few days at Rivendell to cleanse yourself," he added. "And elves don't sweat."
"What does 'mellon nin' mean?" asked Andy.
"'My friend,' you nit!" replied Adrienne.
"You speak elvish?" the pair said in the same breath.
"Just a few simple phrases," admitted Adrienne, blushing furiously.
"Wow!" exclaimed Aragorn in surprise. "That's weird! Anyway, I was talking about how we got here. Apparently, Merry and Pippin, the younger hobbits I rescued, took it into their heads to put one of Mithrandir's—"
"Who's?" interrupted Andy.
"Gandalf's!" yelled Adrienne. "Now stop interrupting!"
"As I was saying," continued Aragorn, slightly startled at her outburst, "they decided to grind up one of his fireworks and bake it into their cheese."
"Why would they do that?" asked Stephanie cluelessly.
"They said they 'wanted to make it spicy'," Aragorn replied, scowling. "Anyway, and here's the weird part, Ada—"
"Who?" asked Andy once again.
"Elrond," replied Jill.
"Oh, Smilrond!" laughed Andy.
"Smilrond?" repeated Aragorn, puzzled.
"You know, Estel," prompted Legolas, grinning broadly, "Elrond does the eyebrows, like that guy, Smith, from the—"
"Matrix!" finished the Ranger. He suddenly remembered the conversation with the elf-lord in question. "Legolas, can these people be trusted?" he questioned, his hand going to the hilt of Anduril.
"I...I think so." The elf was confused by his friend, who was now unsheathing the sword reforged.
"We need to find out exactly what world we're in," explained Aragorn. "Tell me," he turned to the others, "what exactly do you know about Agent Smith?"
"Um...well...he's this weird FBI agent thing that works for the machines and chases Neo in the movie, The Matrix," said Jill hurriedly, having seen what Aragorn could do with a sword.
"What's a movie?" asked Aragorn, caught off guard.
"It's a series of pictures projected on a screen in rapid succession with objects shown in successive positions slightly changed so as to produce the optical effect of a continuous picture in which objects move," explained a random passing Kaiting.
After having glared at the hunny-pot-making-one, Stephanie continued, "Actually, you're in one."
"Ai!" exclaimed Legolas, not having understood the words of Kaiting, but getting what Stephanie said. He turned to Aragorn. "Estel—"
"Who?" asked Andy stupidly.
"Aragorn, now shut-up!" yelled Adrienne once again. Legolas continued his explanation to Aragorn, ignoring the interruption.
"—they think that the Matrix is fictional."
"How do you know?"
"Stephanie said that both us and them were in a 'movie', whatever that is—'
"I told you," put in the once again passing Kaiting, "it's a—"
"Give it a rest!" retorted Jill, growling. The Kaiting scampered off, leaving them in relative peace.
"Anyway," continued the now utterly bewildered elf, "they thought we were fictional, so since we're in a 'movie' and so are Neo, Smith, and the rest, they must also think the Matrix is fictional."
"That's pretty much how it is," confirmed Adrienne, silencing Andy with a look; he had opened his mouth to argue, and she didn't want
Anduril sticking out of her back.
"Oh, good," said Aragorn. "I won't have to kill you all then."
"Why did you want to?" asked Stephanie. She had started looking for something in her locker when Aragorn had first unsheathed his sword, and still hadn't found it. Everyone present under the age of 21 had a suspicion that she was looking for a very Silk-like object. Sure enough, when she stood up, she was clutching a long, sharp knife.
Andy started to slowly back away, Jill smiled broadly, Legolas exchanged a nervous look with Aragorn before drawing his twin knives, and Adrienne muttered a single word: "Silk!"
"One does one's best!" said Stephanie. "Don't worry," she added, noting the looks on their faces, "I'm not going to use this on any of you. At least not now that I know that you're not going to hurt us, Aragorn."
"Silk?" said Legolas quizzically.
At that moment, a random passing Mr. Abdulovic appeared. "No knives in school!" he said robotically. He then tried to take Stephanie's knife away from her, since the other knife-holding people were oddly-dressed, younger than him (so he thought), and very strong-looking. This turned deadly.
"You should never disarm a lady, unless you are in a throne room!" exclaimed Legolas, thrusting his twin fighting knives through the moldy, old man. "Oops. I guess I should have asked if any of you minded if I did that before-hand. Sorry. Do you mind?" he asked with Frodo-eyes.
"Not at all!" exclaimed Jill, grinning from ear to ear.
Then, random middle-schoolers popped out of all the lockers in the hall (except none were in a couple near Stephanie's) and burst out in song:
"Ding Dong, the Dean is Dead! Which old dean? The moldy dean.
Ding Dong, the mold dean is dead.
Wake up, you sleepy head, —"
At that point, they saw Jessi down the hall, kicking a sleeping Yater's head in a pitiful excuse to try to wake him up. The song continued:
"Rub your eyes! Get out of bed!
Wake up, the moldy dean is dead!
He's gone where the teachers go, below, below, below, yo ho, let's open up and sing, and ring that school's out.
Ding Dong! The merry-o sing it high, sing it low,
Let them know the moldy dean is dead!"
The song finished, the small ones, led by Joey and Tyler, took a bow, and scattered.
"Oooookaaaaaaaay..."