Woohoo! WhEnAlLhOpEsFaLlS was my 200th reviewer! Yay for her!
Anyways, as for the reason this hasn't been updated in 3 weeks *bows head in shame* I was really busy. I know, that's like the lamest excuse ever. But with all the tests, projects, quizzes, holidays, etc. things got pretty hectic. Plus, this is the 3rd time I wrote this chapter :P The first 2 times came out horrendous.
Okay, that's all I have to say. On with the story!
Disclaimer: This is so annoying. I don't own anything.
I thought we should've just stol- er, borrowed someone's car.
But of course they disagreed, because apparently that was "morally wrong" and "illegal" and a bunch of other things I didn't really care about. So despite my protests on how it was a waste of time and money, they insisted on calling over a taxi.
Unfortunately, we learned very quickly that no NYC taxi driver was gonna stop for a few kids at 8 am when there were hundreds of more reliable workers.
So instead, we decided to do things the old fashioned way and get on a train.
Now, although walking to the train station, buying a ticket, and finding a seat was all very exciting, I'm not going to bore you with the details.
So anyways, we were standing around, waiting for the train to come (which was really difficult for a couple of ADHD kids to do). There were a few tourists snapping pictures of each other and giggling, a man talking on his phone in some foreign language, and an old lady with her granddaughter on the other benches.
"Oh, look Deborah! Those kids are your age!" said the lady. She was in a floral sundress, with a big floppy hat. Orthopedic shoes were looking pretty stylish on her feet.
"That's nice, grandma." answered her granddaughter. Her thumbs were flying across the keyboard of her phone, and when her grandmother looked away she rolled her eyes.
"Sweetie, don't be shy! You should go sit with them." She nudged her granddaughter's shoulder, pushing her in our direction.
"That's alright. I prefer sitting here with someone I actually know." She continued texting, but the woman looked disappointed.
"Don't be silly! I don't want to spoil your teenage fun!"
"Grandma, really, it's alright." she said, but there apparently her grandmother's mind had already been set.
The little old lady looked over in our direction, and Riley and I quickly averted our eyes. "Excuse me, young lady?" she called out. We nudged Hailey, but she looked deep in thought. "You there, in the green shirt." Riley elbowed her, and she finally looked up.
We pointed to the lady, and she blushed. "Uh… yes?"
"Grandmaaa!" complained Deborah, but her grandmother ignored her.
"Oh, hush up Debbie. Now, my granddaughter was just telling me how much she wanted to sit with you all."
"Grandma!" she shouted.
"Her name is Deborah. She's very sweet, loving, funny, and pretty." Deborah's face was starting to resemble a tomato.
"Uhm… alright?" said Riley.
"Hear that Debbie? They invited you to sit with them!"
Debbie groaned. "For the thousandth time, I don't wan-"A man's hat suddenly flew off of his head, and a few people lost their newspapers as wind gusted up. "Oh look! The train's here!"
Grabbing her grandmother's frail old hand, she yanked her up and dragged her outside to board the train.
Figuring it was what we were supposed to do, we just followed them out onto the boarding area. The train continued to fly by us, until it finally came to a screeching stop. Expecting to see one of those new high-tech speed trains, I was temporarily disappointed to see one of those ugly old fashioned ones. The outer paint was chipped and rusted, and judging by the loud screech the wheels had made, I was slightly scared of the actual train's condition.
With all the people carrying huge bags of luggage, I felt out of place with just my backpack. One girl dragged a trunk behind her, while countless bags of designer luggage hung off of her arms. For such a tiny girl, I gave her credit for her determination.
"The 10:45 train to Ohio is now boarding!" announced the speakers loudly. Passengers immediately stood up and rushed into the open doors, eager to start their journey.
Quietly following the other passengers, we found a group of seats that could fit us all, and threw our backpacks onto the shelf above.
Considering none of us really knew each other, we remained silent.
I was hoping I could spend the long ride storing up on some sleep that I'll most likely need later on, but that idea was quickly squashed when one of the attendants hooked up a microphone.
"Hello, passengers!" she said cheerily. A smile was plastered onto her face, and her hair was perfectly in place. She was wearing the same blue uniform as the rest of the crew, along with the mandatory makeup. "I'm sure you're all very excited to take this journey. Not only physically, but also historically!"
…Historically?
The smile stayed on her face as she talked. "Now, this train is one of the oldest running trains in America! It's been going since 1896, and was only renovated twice! How exciting!" she gushed. I didn't see how exciting a 100 year old train was, but if I was lucky her droning would lull me into a sleep.
I closed my eyes and shifted until I found a comfortable position.
"Originally owned by Cornelius Vanderbilt, this very train has transported lumber, grain, and industrial supplies for-" her voice was cut off. "Young man, are you listening?" I could hear her heels clicking as she walked down the aisle way. Feeling sorry for the poor sucker that was about to be yelled at, I didn't even notice the shadow that was casted over me.
"Young man," the voice had suddenly gotten a lot closer, and a lot less cheery. "you will look at me when I am talking to you, do you understand?" The strong scent of breath mints flooded over me. Slowly creeping one eye open, I saw a pair of grey eyes staring back at me.
Hailey, who was sitting next to me, looked concerned. While Riley, on the other hand, looked like he was trying to hold back laughter.
The woman glared at me. "I expect this will not happen again."
While she was petite and had a pretty face, her eyes were so intimidating that I could barely find the strength to nod my head. But once I did, she stood up straight, and the smile popped back onto her face. "Good." She let out a light laugh, and then walked back over to the microphone.
"And in 1902, the famous actress Mary-Ann Keltra rode on this train, on her way to-" she continued going on about the history of the train, and the other passengers looked sincerely interested. Riley decided then would be a good time to let out his laughter quietly.
"Is Nico scared?" he taunted, "Did the little lady scare Nico the Great?" Hailey kicked him in the knee. "Ow! What was that for?" he complained, rubbing his knee.
"That was for acting like a 7 year old and teasing our quest leader!" she yelled back at him. I didn't understand I wasn't allowed to rest without some lady yelling at me, but they were allowed to argue loudly without a single complaint.
Why do attractive people always get picked on?
Soon, the still scenery outside the window began to move, and we set off on our trip. Too lazy to make my way to the sleeping cart, I put my hood over my eyes and let the oh-so-fascinating history lesson act as a lullaby and put me to sleep.
(what a pretty line this is, huh?)
"Nico…" someone whispered. They shook my shoulder.
In an attempt to get them to leave me alone, I turned over and readjusted myself.
"Nico." they said again, this time a little louder. They continued to shake my shoulder, and I tried my very best to ignore them. Judging by the feminine voice, I assumed it was Hailey.
"Go away…" I managed to mumble. A sharp slap hit my arm. "Ow!" I complained.
"This is no time for your foolish mortal laziness!" Listening closer to the voice, I realized it was too matured to be Hailey's. I rubbed my aching arm, wondering where I had heard that voice before.
"Why don't you understand! Get up!" Was it Annabeth?
Something heavy was dropped on my stomach, and I immediately sat up, prepared to yell at whoever was disturbing my precious rest. But by the time I looked around, there was no one there.
"Hello?" I called out.
Scanning the room, I saw Hailey had fallen asleep sprawled across the seat, which explained why Riley was squished against the window. If there hadn't been an armrest holding me back, I would've been pushed into the aisle.
"Helloooo?" I said again. Somebody from another seat shushed me, and I sat back down. Unfortunately for me, I sat down on something hard and pointy. Swearing quietly, I reached down to throw the item across the train and get back to sleep. But instead of picking up a piece of glass or a spare knife, my hands picked up a book. Not just a book, but a children's book. The cover was decorated with a small duckling in a pond, and just holding it made me embarrassed.
Once I put the book in my backpack, I sat back down. Horribly confused about what had just happened, I strained to think of why the voice was familiar. Had it been someone I used to know? Someone I still know? Someone I don't know at all?
For a few minutes, I closed my eyes and scanned every memory I could remember, trying to find the voice. I thought of teachers, campers, friends, everyone. And still, I couldn't figure out when I had heard that voice before.
I was just dozing off when I figured it out.
It was the same voice I had heard when I had been picked for the quest.