Chase grimaced as sand was whipped up into her face; she was surprised at
how much windier (not to mention sandier) this road was, it was more like a
beach than a desert-a beach with no water that is. Chase wondered what this
whole desert must have looked like hundreds of years ago; a giant lake that
went on for miles, a peaceful little village, a strange mountain on the
other side of the lake that resembled a fist with the thumb pointed
straight up into the air...
Children smiling as they hurried down the steps of their newly furnished schoolhouse, the waft of onions in the air as someone called out "Onions, get your sweet onions!" Summer time filled the air; a sweet scent of peaches, sweeter, they say, then even the nectar of the Gods; the sweet ambrosia. A beautiful woman with light blonde hair embraces the onion man- not knowing what is to become of this.
Chase jumped as someone had rested their hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Squid walking there beside her. Thinking he would talked to her she opened her mouth to speak but closed it again as Squid past her by. She realized that Squid, Zigzag, and Xray had just been trying to get around her as she had been walking too slowly for their liking; Squid had only placed his hand on her shoulder so he could get around her without bumping into someone else. Chase sighed.
Squid hadn't known why he'd done it, he had just wanted to touch Chase. Without thinking he had just placed his hand on her shoulder, to pull her to him and embrace her. But luckily he had realized what he'd been doing and stopped himself in time. But there was still the matter of his hand on her shoulder; he couldn't take that back now. So he decided to cover for it by pulling Chase back a little ways and moving around her, pretending he thought she'd been moving to slowly. But this only made matters worse; now he couldn't even see her unless he turned all the way around, and you can guess how many times he did that!
Zippy jogged along before everybody; now more anxious than ever to get home. Suddenly she slowed down and furrowed her brow. What would Zero do? She hadn't thought of this yet; she hadn't considered what would happen to Zero when they all got home. He didn't have a home. Zippy would have gladly offered her house but her parents wouldn't like the idea of two fourteen year olds of the opposite sex living in the same house. Two fourteen year olds sleeping in the same house. Two fourteen year olds being left home alone together when there was work to be done at the office. Zippy knew all of these things would come into her parent's minds if and when she asked them.
"You're asking us if a fourteen-year-old boy you met at a camp for juvenile delinquents can live here?" they would probably say. Zippy knew what their final answer would be. But they couldn't just force Zero to live back out on the streets, to sleep in a tunnel at a park, to steal the things he needed from stores; that would be too cruel! She had to ask her parents, had to bribe her parents, even had to scream and yell at her parents if nessesary.
She looked curiously over to Zero on her right, who smiled back at her.
"We're almost there," Zero said, taking her hand in his. "Almost there."
"Is that a-" Twitch squinted through the haze.
"A bus stop!" Magnetic cried, she started running towards the tiny black line in the distance they were calling a bus stop, Magnet watching her every move.
It was a bus stop sign but it wasn't really a great piece of architecture- nothing like the bus stops in cities and such. The weathered sign was wind bitten and crooked, as if someone had rammed into it. Beside the sign there was a very old bench that looked as if it would fall into pieces at a single touch of one's finger; the paint had all worn off and so had most of the wood, leaving a lot of splinters and holes. At a first glance you wouldn't even know the sign and the bench duo was a bus stop.
"Doesn't look like any bus has come around here in years," Static said sadly.
"This stinks!" Fidget said, plopping right down onto the bench. To everyone's surprise it didn't break. "Now we hafta keep walking for hours and hours and hours just to find a freakin' bus where we'll hafta pay lots of money just to get dropped off at the next bus station where we'll hafta pay lots of money just to get on the next freakin' bus!"
"That, my friend, is life," Chase said, sitting down beside Fidget. The bench still didn't fall under their weight.
"How many people do you think it would take to break that bench?" Squid asked.
Everyone stared at him though they had all been wondering the same thing.
"Dude, that is the stupidest question I've ever heard!" Zigzag said, laughing a little. "Lets try it out!" he sat down on the bench on the opposite side of Fidget. The bench still didn't break though it creaked a little bit.
"Guys, this is stupid!" Chase said. "If you really wanna break this poor old bench why not just kick it down or jump on it or something?"
"Where's the fun in that?" Squid asked, sitting down beside Chase. "Don't you wanna have a little fun before you die?"
The way Squid said it and the way he was looking at Chase made her get the feeling he wasn't talking about breaking benches any more.
"Come on Static!" Zigzag said, patting a spot on the bench beside him.
A little reluctantly Static sat down beside Zigzag. The bench still didn't break.
"Wow, this is a stronger bench than I thought," Squid said. "But no worries, we've still got plenty of people to pile on it."
Magnet sat down next to Squid, the bench was becoming very crowded now.
"Where am I gonna sit?" Twitch asked excitedly.
Fidget stood up and gestured to the place where she'd been sitting.
"But then where are you gonna sit?" Twitch asked.
"On your lap," Fidget said as if it were a no-brainer.
Twitch looked VERY excited now and he quickly sat down, wrapping his arms around Fidget's middle as she sat down on his lap. She started fidgeting with the collar of Twitch's shirt and you could tell she was excited too.
"Come on Lei!" Static called.
Lei looked very reluctant. "There's no where for me to sit," she said slowly.
Zigzag pulled Static onto him. "You can sit here," he said, gesturing to Static's previous spot.
Lei took a step forward but then paused again and bit her lower lip. "But won't it hurt when it falls over?" she asked.
"Oh, who cares!" Squid cried. "Just sit down! It'll be fun!"
Lei slowly sat down on the bench.
They could feel it tremble but it still didn't break.
The small bench was now extremely crowded and nobody had any room. But they were all enjoying the anticapation despite the fact that there was no more room.
"We need more people!" Zigzag said. "Maybe like just one or two more people. Come on! Xray, Magnetic get over here!"
"Where am I gonna sit?" Magnetic asked.
"Oh move over!" Zippy cried. She jumped up on Chase's lap.
"Geez Zip! Next time could ya' give me a warning?" Chase asked.
Zippy grinned up at her. "Come on Zero!" she called.
Zero slowly approached the bench and then jumped on it next to Zippy, it was too crowded to tell who he was sitting on.
"Well that didn't really help!" Squid said. "They're to small!"
Zippy and Zero both smiled.
"Come on chica!" Magnet said, grabbing Magnetic by the arm and pulling her up onto his lap.
The bench shook terribly and they could feel it wobbling beneath them but somehow it still stood.
"Come on Xray! Armpit! Rogue!" Squid called.
Xray jumped onto the bench over by Squid and Magnet, Rogue glared at everyone then turned away from them, and Armpit took a step forward.
"Well, okay!" Armpit jumped onto the bench and back it fell, spitting pieces of broken wood and members of D tent everywhere.
Chase landed on top of Squid and for a moment her lips touched his face until she quickly pulled back and stared at Squid with wide eyes, all the while he stared back. The other members of D tent started cracking up.
"That was awesome!" Lei cried. "I wish we could do that again!"
Zippy smiled broadly as Zero lay back, his head resting against her stomach. "Great idea Squid!" she said.
Magnetic, who had fallen over Magnet and Xray had fallen over her, got up, brushed the dirt away from her shirt and smiled. "That was pretty fun!" she said.
"Whoo! Ha-that was great!" Twitch laughed, Fidget was lying on the ground next to him, also laughing.
"What'd you think Chase?" Zippy asked.
Chase forced her eyes away from Squid's and smiled at Zippy. "That was fun," she said.
Squid smiled. "See," he proved. "Told ya' it'd be fun! You're on your way Chase."
Again Chase thought he was refering to something else-something MORE fun he was thinking about. She didn't think on this long though as soon all the members of D tent were back on their feet, walking down the lonely dirt road again.
Children smiling as they hurried down the steps of their newly furnished schoolhouse, the waft of onions in the air as someone called out "Onions, get your sweet onions!" Summer time filled the air; a sweet scent of peaches, sweeter, they say, then even the nectar of the Gods; the sweet ambrosia. A beautiful woman with light blonde hair embraces the onion man- not knowing what is to become of this.
Chase jumped as someone had rested their hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Squid walking there beside her. Thinking he would talked to her she opened her mouth to speak but closed it again as Squid past her by. She realized that Squid, Zigzag, and Xray had just been trying to get around her as she had been walking too slowly for their liking; Squid had only placed his hand on her shoulder so he could get around her without bumping into someone else. Chase sighed.
Squid hadn't known why he'd done it, he had just wanted to touch Chase. Without thinking he had just placed his hand on her shoulder, to pull her to him and embrace her. But luckily he had realized what he'd been doing and stopped himself in time. But there was still the matter of his hand on her shoulder; he couldn't take that back now. So he decided to cover for it by pulling Chase back a little ways and moving around her, pretending he thought she'd been moving to slowly. But this only made matters worse; now he couldn't even see her unless he turned all the way around, and you can guess how many times he did that!
Zippy jogged along before everybody; now more anxious than ever to get home. Suddenly she slowed down and furrowed her brow. What would Zero do? She hadn't thought of this yet; she hadn't considered what would happen to Zero when they all got home. He didn't have a home. Zippy would have gladly offered her house but her parents wouldn't like the idea of two fourteen year olds of the opposite sex living in the same house. Two fourteen year olds sleeping in the same house. Two fourteen year olds being left home alone together when there was work to be done at the office. Zippy knew all of these things would come into her parent's minds if and when she asked them.
"You're asking us if a fourteen-year-old boy you met at a camp for juvenile delinquents can live here?" they would probably say. Zippy knew what their final answer would be. But they couldn't just force Zero to live back out on the streets, to sleep in a tunnel at a park, to steal the things he needed from stores; that would be too cruel! She had to ask her parents, had to bribe her parents, even had to scream and yell at her parents if nessesary.
She looked curiously over to Zero on her right, who smiled back at her.
"We're almost there," Zero said, taking her hand in his. "Almost there."
"Is that a-" Twitch squinted through the haze.
"A bus stop!" Magnetic cried, she started running towards the tiny black line in the distance they were calling a bus stop, Magnet watching her every move.
It was a bus stop sign but it wasn't really a great piece of architecture- nothing like the bus stops in cities and such. The weathered sign was wind bitten and crooked, as if someone had rammed into it. Beside the sign there was a very old bench that looked as if it would fall into pieces at a single touch of one's finger; the paint had all worn off and so had most of the wood, leaving a lot of splinters and holes. At a first glance you wouldn't even know the sign and the bench duo was a bus stop.
"Doesn't look like any bus has come around here in years," Static said sadly.
"This stinks!" Fidget said, plopping right down onto the bench. To everyone's surprise it didn't break. "Now we hafta keep walking for hours and hours and hours just to find a freakin' bus where we'll hafta pay lots of money just to get dropped off at the next bus station where we'll hafta pay lots of money just to get on the next freakin' bus!"
"That, my friend, is life," Chase said, sitting down beside Fidget. The bench still didn't fall under their weight.
"How many people do you think it would take to break that bench?" Squid asked.
Everyone stared at him though they had all been wondering the same thing.
"Dude, that is the stupidest question I've ever heard!" Zigzag said, laughing a little. "Lets try it out!" he sat down on the bench on the opposite side of Fidget. The bench still didn't break though it creaked a little bit.
"Guys, this is stupid!" Chase said. "If you really wanna break this poor old bench why not just kick it down or jump on it or something?"
"Where's the fun in that?" Squid asked, sitting down beside Chase. "Don't you wanna have a little fun before you die?"
The way Squid said it and the way he was looking at Chase made her get the feeling he wasn't talking about breaking benches any more.
"Come on Static!" Zigzag said, patting a spot on the bench beside him.
A little reluctantly Static sat down beside Zigzag. The bench still didn't break.
"Wow, this is a stronger bench than I thought," Squid said. "But no worries, we've still got plenty of people to pile on it."
Magnet sat down next to Squid, the bench was becoming very crowded now.
"Where am I gonna sit?" Twitch asked excitedly.
Fidget stood up and gestured to the place where she'd been sitting.
"But then where are you gonna sit?" Twitch asked.
"On your lap," Fidget said as if it were a no-brainer.
Twitch looked VERY excited now and he quickly sat down, wrapping his arms around Fidget's middle as she sat down on his lap. She started fidgeting with the collar of Twitch's shirt and you could tell she was excited too.
"Come on Lei!" Static called.
Lei looked very reluctant. "There's no where for me to sit," she said slowly.
Zigzag pulled Static onto him. "You can sit here," he said, gesturing to Static's previous spot.
Lei took a step forward but then paused again and bit her lower lip. "But won't it hurt when it falls over?" she asked.
"Oh, who cares!" Squid cried. "Just sit down! It'll be fun!"
Lei slowly sat down on the bench.
They could feel it tremble but it still didn't break.
The small bench was now extremely crowded and nobody had any room. But they were all enjoying the anticapation despite the fact that there was no more room.
"We need more people!" Zigzag said. "Maybe like just one or two more people. Come on! Xray, Magnetic get over here!"
"Where am I gonna sit?" Magnetic asked.
"Oh move over!" Zippy cried. She jumped up on Chase's lap.
"Geez Zip! Next time could ya' give me a warning?" Chase asked.
Zippy grinned up at her. "Come on Zero!" she called.
Zero slowly approached the bench and then jumped on it next to Zippy, it was too crowded to tell who he was sitting on.
"Well that didn't really help!" Squid said. "They're to small!"
Zippy and Zero both smiled.
"Come on chica!" Magnet said, grabbing Magnetic by the arm and pulling her up onto his lap.
The bench shook terribly and they could feel it wobbling beneath them but somehow it still stood.
"Come on Xray! Armpit! Rogue!" Squid called.
Xray jumped onto the bench over by Squid and Magnet, Rogue glared at everyone then turned away from them, and Armpit took a step forward.
"Well, okay!" Armpit jumped onto the bench and back it fell, spitting pieces of broken wood and members of D tent everywhere.
Chase landed on top of Squid and for a moment her lips touched his face until she quickly pulled back and stared at Squid with wide eyes, all the while he stared back. The other members of D tent started cracking up.
"That was awesome!" Lei cried. "I wish we could do that again!"
Zippy smiled broadly as Zero lay back, his head resting against her stomach. "Great idea Squid!" she said.
Magnetic, who had fallen over Magnet and Xray had fallen over her, got up, brushed the dirt away from her shirt and smiled. "That was pretty fun!" she said.
"Whoo! Ha-that was great!" Twitch laughed, Fidget was lying on the ground next to him, also laughing.
"What'd you think Chase?" Zippy asked.
Chase forced her eyes away from Squid's and smiled at Zippy. "That was fun," she said.
Squid smiled. "See," he proved. "Told ya' it'd be fun! You're on your way Chase."
Again Chase thought he was refering to something else-something MORE fun he was thinking about. She didn't think on this long though as soon all the members of D tent were back on their feet, walking down the lonely dirt road again.