After dinner, I just sat around silently observing everyone. Even though they were as different as night and day, Felix and Jack had moved off to talk to a couple other boys. Peter and five other boys were still fighting each other with swords, Peter blocking everything that was thrown his way. I was about to move my attention elsewhere when his eyes caught mine. The ever relentless smirk found its way back to his face and I rolled my eyes before looking away.
Doing so made me notice my two new buddies walk up to me slowly. "Kim, we know you said no more of the Doctor story tonight," Alex started looking down at his feet. "But we were wondering if you would tell us more? Even if it's just a little bit. Pleaseeee," Colin whined.
They were too adorable to deny, but I acted like I had to really think about it anyway. I didn't have any siblings of my own, but I always loved talking to my friend Taylor's younger ones.
"Well," I considered, "I guess I could tell you a little more if that's what you want." High fiving each other in excitement, they sank straight to the ground to get ready to listen to more of the story. "Now where did I leave off exactly?"
"With Bop!" they exclaimed.
"Right, right, right. Poor Bop. Well not only did that happen to Bop, but then the Doctor realized they were in more trouble than they thought…" I went on to describe how there wasn't just one rogue angel on the loose, but many more were being formed. Explaining how the Doctor and the rest of the people tried escaping from the angels was difficult, but the boys took it in stride. As I was telling the story, some of the other boys came over to sit next to Alex and Colin. Eventually everyone except Jack, Peter, and Felix were sitting in front of me listening to the story; the three of them stood in the back still just as focused.
Reaching the point where the Doctor had to leave Amy behind with a few of the soldiers, I finally told the boys I had to stop telling the story. Disappointed shouts entered my ears, and I laughed at how adamantly they demanded I finished. "I promise you that I'll finish the story," I said looking down at them. "It's just not going to be tonight. I am too tired to keep talking." Despite my earlier nap before dinner, the day and hours of talking had taken its toll on me.
Some of the boys still tried to protest, but it was hard to believe considering they yawning and rubbing their eyes tiredly. My attention was drawn away from them when I noticed Jack nudge Pan in the arm. After sending him a small glare, Peter turned back to the boys and cleared his throat to gather their attention.
"Obviously you all are tired. It's time to head to bed."
Next thing I knew, Alex was poking my arm. "You're coming with us tonight, right?" he asked. Looking over to Peter, I raised my eyebrow in question knowing he could hear his question over the distance. Gaining a smug look on his face, he barely nodded his head in confirmation. Once I turned back to Alex, I nodded smiling.
Dragging me away, we started quickly walking through the forest away from the fire. After roughly ten minutes of begging him to slow down we finally made it to a massive tree. Its base had to be at least 7 feet wide, and it went into the air at least 60 feet with large branches sticking out all over the place. Showing me the specific vine to pull to open the door, Alex headed inside the tree first and I followed close behind him.
There was another staircase that went down into the ground, but this time there were what I assumed to be magical lights in the hallway because there was a dim glow to guide the way. Walking down the steps revealed a large doorway. Alex stopped and opened it only to reveal a long hallway that was littered with doors spread far apart. "Here's my room," he said when we reached the third door on the left. I stood in the doorway as he walked in which revealed a new surprise. The room wasn't large by any means and had more of the glowing lights. A small bed was placed in the corner, but there were also what seemed like skylights in the ceiling. Looking up, I saw that there were very small holes placed around the dirt ceiling that must have been covered above ground by sticks or leaves because the light of the moon cast their shadow on the ground. Small, but cozy.
"So where am I supposed to stay?" I asked even though I wasn't sure Alex would know.
"I'll show you," came a voice behind me.
Spinning around with eyes widened in surprise, I found the source of the voice. "Do you find the need to do that every time, Pan?" I asked. Silent sneaking was starting to get old.
"Why would I stop? The result is so consistently great," he teased. "Now come on."
Wishing Alex a good night, I followed Peter up until we reached the seventh door on the right. Peter stepped to the side, gesturing for me to open the door. It was nearly identical to Alex's room with the exception of a small, slightly dirtied mirror hanging on the wall near the door.
"Is this room a one-time sort of thing?" I asked him, turning around. I just wanted to be absolutely clear about room arrangements, tired of trying to guess his games.
"If you preferred last night's arrangements, it doesn't even have to happen one time," he said winking.
Rolling my eyes, I turned back around and headed to the bed to take off my shoes. "Bye, Pan," I said with the wave of my hand. I heard his chuckle as he closed the door and walked away before I lay down to enjoy a night of dreamless sleep.