"And no one else heard the bell ringing?" asked Sim. When Arden got back to their room, the two were up and she told them everything that had happened on her walk in as much detail as possible.

Arden shrugged. "Not as far as anyone knew. Tom certainly didn't know about it."

"That poor fellow, having to deal with such an annoying girl like that," said Terry with a shake of her head.

Sim sighed and rolled her eyes, but she was smirking. "I'm sure he thinks a mysterious bell ringing is more important than a girl who can't take a hint." She turned to Arden. "But I'm more curious about this pub and pool business."

Arden laughed. "You two, such one-track minds!"

Terry scoffed as she flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Well how else could you know us so well?"

Arden rolled her eyes and groaned, but she was grinning. "Fine, fine, whatever you say. Want to get brunch in town and check out the pub?"

Sim grinned. "Sounds like a great plan!"

"I'm all for it!" Terry said. "We can explore some of Morrisville too!"

"Which in your book means hitting all the malls," quipped Arden with a chuckle.

Terry scoffed as she flipped her hair over her other shoulder. "Well of course! What else is there to see? Besides, those are the best places to catch all the gossip!"

Since scoffed. "Looks like the bell tower could be added to that list."

"Only the mystery gossip, it seems," said Terry as she grabbed her purse. "And who knows what other ghost stories can be found in town." Terry wiggled her eyebrows.

Arden shot Sim a grin. "Now that sounds like fun," admitted Arden.

"Now who's the one with the one-track mind?" Sim teased.

Arden laughed. "Touche. Well then, since Morrisville might have everything we're interested in, let's go find out!"

"No need to yell, goodness Arden," said Terry. She was already opening the door. "We're going!" Sim chuckled before following her out, leaving Arden to take up the rear. She quickly checked to see if she still had her keys, wallet, and phone before locking the door and walking out.

The walk to Morrisville was pleasant, birds were singing, the sun was shining, and there was a gentle breeze blowing through the treetops, knocking off some of the slowly changing leaves.

"I can't believe we're going to get some fall here!" said Arden as a few leaves fell next to them. They had stopped at an intersection and were waiting for the light to change.

"It is odd considering how close it is to the sea," said Terry.

"But it does make sense as we're not that close to the sea," remarked Sim. "Do you know what the name of the town that's near the bay is?"

"I want to say it's Candleton," said Arden, "but I'm sure we can find out for certain at the mall." She shot Terry a knowing grin.

Terry smirked. "Oh definitely." She glanced at Sim. "And I should have remembered Morrisville wasn't that close to the sea considering you would be heading over there every day instead of the school's pool, or this pub's pool."

Sim grinned. "Precisely."

The light changed and Arden began walking across the street. Sim and Terry quickly followed. "Oh that's for sure, but I would have thought that being as close as we are, there wouldn't be four seasons."

"Oh, the autumns and winters are definitely much milder in comparison to Pentville, which is more inland and further north," remarked Sim matter-of-factly. "But we will get a bit of chilly weather, no doubt about that."

"Well good, I can go shopping for some cute jackets!" said Terry.

"Now Terry," began Arden.

"Oh come on, Arden, you know she would simply combust if she doesn't go shopping at least once," teased Sim.

Terry scoffed. "But of course, how else would we get to know the town? Besides, you would simply combust if you didn't get to swim at least once a month."

Sim snorted. "Alright, touche, touche."

Arden sighed and shook her head, grinning from ear to ear. "You two." The three laughed.

They found a local restaurant that sold breakfast items. They ordered and ate in the restaurant. They chatted about their plans for the week, though Terry's favorite topic proved to be what they each should wear to the parties at Pixie's Pub and Pool.

When they finally finished eating, they paid their bill, left a generous tip, and rushed over to the pub.

"Closed for maintenance?" exclaimed Sim with a moan.

"Oh, but it does say it will reopen at six, just in time for the party to begin," said Terry, reading the fine print.

Sim sighed. "Well, fine then. Guess they would want everything nice, clean, and working in time for the party tonight."

"But the pool could still be closed," said Arden, "this is a pub after all, and there's bound to be drinking at a party."

"That is true, but I'll come prepared anyways," said Sim, turning away from the doors.

"That's the spirit!" said Arden. "And if anything, you can find out when exactly the pool is going to be open tomorrow so you can come and swim."

"Precisely!" said Terry. "And next up, the mall!"

The three found the mall pretty quickly, and found that their old classmates Ethel and Jane were already there, along with their roommates. The nine hung out in the mall for the rest of the morning and well into the afternoon. They rushed back to the dorms with new clothes for the party and hurriedly changed before heading back out to the pub.

"Come on, hurry it up!" exclaimed Arden, her blue eyes laughing at Terry daintily making her way through some brush. She did not want her clothes or her hair ruined.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" said Terry with a huff. "I can't believe you two not only took the worst path, but that you can run through it without worrying about your looks and the new clothes!"

Sim rolled her eyes. "You've been our friend for what, twelve years, and you still haven't noticed that we don't care as much as you do?" Arden let out a laugh.

Terry huffed as she joined them, still picking leaves out of her auburn hair. "I know, I know, but if it weren't for me, you'd be running all over this campus in naught but your swimsuit."

Sim grinned. "Oh you'd better believe it."

"I don't believe it, I know it," said Terry with a huff. She ran her fingers through her hair and straightened her skirt. "Alright, I'm ready."

"Again?" said Sim with a smirk.

Arden laughed. "Oh come on, let's get going! It's going to be over by the time we get there!"

"And then we can't introduce ourselves to cute boys!"

Sim scoffed. "The pool will be closed!"

"Exactly!" said Arden. "So come on!" The three rushed toward Pixie's Pub and Pool. Sim saw the doors to the pool and began veering towards it. Arden grabbed her arm. "Let's go double check to make sure the pool is open first." She nodded towards the window. "Looks like there's quite a crowd already here."

Sim nodded. "Right." She followed her two friends into a crowded room. Two bartenders were working at the bar, serving up drinks to everyone, while a handful of waiters and waitresses bustled around, serving platters of food. Arden noticed that the drinks being served weren't all alcoholic drinks. She saw a couple of waters, a few juices, some soda, and even a glass of milk or two. She let out a sigh, so they could get something here. It was open to people of all ages, and probably rightly so because of the pool. She smirked as she watched Sim march determinedly towards the bar and talk to the bartenders. She looked around for Terry, and rolled her eyes. Terry was already off in one corner talking to a few guys and girls. Arden decided to follow Sim to the bar and help her out, if necessary.

"What can I get for you ladies?" asked one of the bartenders.

"I want to go swimming," said Sim matter-of-factly.

He shook his head. "I'm sorry, I'm not going to open the pool for just one person. I don't need anyone who's buzzed drifting into there and drowning. If it was in the morning, sure, but I've got people who've already had more than I think they should have."

Sim blinked. "Oh, oh I see . . . that makes sense . . ."

Arden placed a comforting hand on her shoulder before turning to the bartender. "I can assume you run this place?" She glanced at his name tag. "Mr. Aramon?"

He nodded. "I do, and if you're going to try to change my mind . . ."

"Oh no," Arden hastened to say, "I'm not going to. But, the only reason why my friend came was because of the pool. Um, there's no other pool around? The campus pool is closed until it can be fixed."

He sighed and shook his head. "Afraid not, that's part of why this bar is so popular, I run the only other pool besides the ones at the campuses."

Sim glanced at him in surprise. "Wait, Sanford has a pool too?"

Aramon laughed. "Well of course they do! They're training astronauts, after all."

"Well, we didn't know that. We didn't really look at Sanford's programs, we were already set on going to Cedar Ridge," said Arden with a chuckle.

"Oh? And what degrees are you aiming for?"

Arden pointed to herself. "I'm going into Psychology."

Sim smiled. "I'm going for Education, I like having my summers off."

Aramon chuckled. "So you can go swimming, huh?"

Sim grinned. "Yup."

"But why not go swimming professionally?"

Sim shook her head. "I did some competitive swimming in middle school, just wasn't my thing."

Aramon nodded. "Fair enough."

"There you two are!" said Terry with a huff. She glanced at Sim. "I thought you would have gone into the pool by now."

"It's closed," said Arden and Sim at the same time. Aramon gave his explanation why.

Terry blinked. "Oh, oh! Well that does make sense. You're a very responsible manager."

"Owner," said Aramon, "I own it."

"Oh, that's even better! Well, I hope you don't mind me taking my friends away."

Aramon shook his head with a smile. "Not at all. You three enjoy the party." He pointed at Sim. "And I have a feeling I'll be seeing you tomorrow morning. I open the pool at seven."

Sim grinned. "Thanks, you will." The girls said goodbye before following Terry to a group of people. She introduced everyone and in a few minutes, they were chatting away easily. The majority of this group was from Sanford, a couple of their friends were going to Cedar Ridge as well and the girls were promptly introduced to them. Louise Haydock, Sally Wheeler, and Kit Clavering were rooming in number 420 while Jim Valier and Maurice Stetson roomed in number 488. By then, Ethel and Jane had shown up with their roommates and everyone was introduced yet again. But the highlight of the party had to be when they met the Martian Orin McMahan and the Venusian Astro. There was even talk that the group had met a mermaid or two at Sanford, which was equally as exciting.

It was close to midnight when everyone finally left Pixie's. Louise, Sally, and Kit joined Arden's group back to the Cedar Ridge dorms. They were chatting away the whole way back.

"And to think we're just a few rooms apart!" exclaimed Louise.

"Well we're a floor above you technically," said Sim, "but yes, we are pretty close!"

Terry turned to Kit. "Though I have to wonder, what was up with your brother and Tom? Tom seems like such a nice fellow!" Arden glanced between the two. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly in thought. She had noticed how Ralph Clavering seemed so relieved when Tom Corbett was chatting with her and would tense up a bit when he included Linda Carlton in a lot of his conversations. Though, in a way, Arden couldn't blame him, there had been a couple of times that Arden herself wished Linda wasn't chatting with them. But the more she got to know Linda, the more she liked her and could understand why Tom hung out with her so much. Arden also began to realize that maybe Tom wanted Linda to be around since he seemed a little shy and Linda was more outspoken than he was.

"Oh he is," said Kit with an enthusiastic nod of her head and a soft blush coming to her cheeks. "He's really sweet. My brother's just loyal to a fault and lives in his own perfect world. Simply put, he follows Linda like a little puppy dog and thinks Tom's out to get her for himself!" She shot a glance at Arden out of the corner of her eye. "But what my brother doesn't realize is that Linda prefers a man, not a puppy, and that she's been telling the truth this whole time, she only sees Tom as a brother, nothing else." Kit pouted. "Then again, it really doesn't help that my mom has practically controlled much of my brother's life."

Jim scoffed. "The mere fact that your brother doesn't believe Linda when she tells him how she feels should tell him he's not ready for a relationship with her, or any woman at the rate he's going."

"Oh, but Ralph's sweet too!" said Terry.

"Oh he is, he's just blind to his faults, that's all," said Kit with a shrug. "Once he finally sees the error of his ways and becomes a man in his own right, then he'll be one of the best men out there. But until then, well, what else can I say? Outside of the fact that he's as annoying as brothers go." The others laughed.

"Oh I know it," said Terry. "Well, I suppose, I don't know if being twins makes it all that more different."

"Eh," said Kit, "not by much. I just think he's more of my younger brother than anything half the time."

"Even though he's said how many times he beat you out by five minutes?" said Maurice with a chuckle.

Kit scoffed and waved her hand. "Like that's ever counted for anything."

"Say, did you guys hear that?" asked Linda Lewis, coming to a stop. The others stopped and listened.

"I don't hear …" began Jim, but then everyone went silent and stiffened. A bell could be heard tolling in the distance!

(Author's Note: Hello my rosy readers! Oooh, a clifhanger! Well, not the same kind of cliffhanger as what Tom, Linda, and Mike are having, but, you know, just something to get this ball rolling, lol. This chapter wasn't giving me the same kind of problems as the Monoplane's third chapter, nor as many, but there were a few. Maybe once I've gotten this all written out I should come back through and edit it. Maybe by then I'll have figured out what's wrong with both of them, but for now, here they are, to get these chapters over with, lol. Thanks again for waiting, and reading, and have a great day! God bless!)