"That went better than I thought it would," Charlie said as they crossed the stream.
"Yeah," Beth replied absently. "Where did that last part come from? I mean, we discussed what to say and what you said wasn't anywhere in what we'd discussed."
"I'm not sure," Charlie replied, keeping her eyes focused on where she was walking.
"Well, whatever it was, I think that probably made him accept," Beth said, putting her arm around Charlie's shoulders. "I mean, we never discussed ending your agreement with him if he didn't accept our terms, but I think he was afraid we'd do just that."
Charlie didn't say anything, but rather kept walking. She didn't try to get out from under Beth's arm, she was instead replaying the meeting with Heathcliff in her mind, trying to figure out when it was that she somehow became confident in herself and knew what she should say, even when she wasn't sure what to say.
Charlie shook her head as they entered Petals' forest, trying to dislodge that thought. It didn't make sense to her and made her confused.
"What's wrong?" Beth asked, removing her arm from Charlie's shoulders.
"I'm not sure," Charlie replied miserably.
"Come on, maybe talking about it will help you get more sure, even if I don't say anything," Beth said.
"Well…" Charlie hesitated of what to say. Even where to begin wasn't something she was sure about. "I was trying to think about where in the meeting I somehow knew what to say when I wasn't sure what to say." Charlie sighed. "Then that thought didn't make sense, so I shook my head to try and clear the confusion, but it didn't help." Charlie sighed again.
"Yeah, I can understand that, but I think it's that you weren't sure what to say because you couldn't think of what to say, but you still knew instinctively what to say somehow. Maybe you have a knack for politics," Beth remarked.
"Yeah, I'm not sure if I'd want to get involved in that."
"Probably a good thing. After all, you know what the definition of Politics is, right?"
Charlie looked at Beth out of the corner of her eye. She wasn't sure what Beth was getting at, but given the grin she was wearing, it was clear she had something in mind. "Probably not what you're thinking," she said carefully. "I mean, I know what it generally is, but I don't think that's what you're going to say."
Beth laughed. "Oh, you know me so well," she said. "Anyway, the definition is: poly- meaning 'many' and ticks meaning blood sucking insects."
Charlie sighed. "You know, I'm pretty sure ticks are arachnids."
"Eh, tomato, tomato," Beth replied, giving both accepted pronunciations of the word tomato.
"Pretty sure it's not as irrelevant as that, but anyway, when do you think we should ask Amelia's dad for self-defense lessons?" Charlie asked, wanting to change the subject and that was what first came to mind.
"I'm pretty sure Amelia's going to handle that herself," Beth said. "I mean, she knows him best as well as the best times to ask," Beth said.
"Just wondering," Charlie said, more worried about what preparations they would be able to complete before they needed to begin their expedition.
"Don't worry, I'm sure it won't be long," Beth assured Charlie.
_
The next two weeks went by almost in a blur. Charlie was a little relieved when Alex acted the same around her as the previous week at school, knowing that if any changes there would occur, it would probably be after the homecoming dance the following weekend.
However, her focus was now on their weekend trip to another world. One that they hadn't seen before, although depending on what they find, they might choose a different world. It was Friday afternoon, just a little after school had let out and Charlie was ready for the trip. Though, there was a big problem with the trip for her that she completely blamed Beth for.
"Do we really need her to accompany us?" Charlie asked, even though she'd gotten the same answer the several times previously that she'd asked.
"Yes, we do," Beth replied. "I know my mom wouldn't let us go for a weekend camping trip without even the semblance of 'adult supervision' and unless you know of someone else who knows about magic we have to go with her."
Charlie knew those reasons, but still wasn't happy that Shirley was the 'adult' in charge of their trip. The upside was that once they made it to Arachii's world, Shirley was going to spend most of the trip on there while they continued on to Petals' forest and the world beyond that. Meantime, they were waiting outside of Tim's house waiting for Shirley to pick them up, where she would take them to Heathcliff's and they could then use the gate to Arachii's world.
Though, the plan made Charlie wonder, if her father's security company did get the job to make sure Heathcliff's property was secure, whether they were aware of the gate or not, would this still be a viable method to make an excuse to view other worlds through camping trips where they had to go the other route to Petals' forest since it likely would raise too many questions for them to answer using the one by Charlie's and Tim's homes.
"Come on, Charlie!" Wes called out from the other side of their group. "Don't think about what you don't like about what's required for this trip, think about what we might encounter!"
"You mean like giant spiders, like Shelob?" Amelia teased Wes. Charlie had a feeling that was a reference to something, but hadn't a clue as to what.
"Hey! Don't joke about that!" Wes protested, which Amelia and Hannah answered with giggles.
Charlie sighed. At the very least, her parents had agreed, though she had to acknowledge that they were hesitant before she mentioned that Shirley would be accompanying them.
Maybe this won't be so bad, she told herself. Though, while she was wary of Shirley, she did trust Beth, and so had to accept Beth's judgement about the older girl. If nothing else, she'd just have to keep her distance from Shirley.
"I think she's here," Ralph called out, looking down the road from where it turned around the hill in the distance.
Almost right after Ralph said that, they saw Shirley's SUV moving along the road. Even though Charlie had planned on taking the seat farthest from the driver's seat, she couldn't help but start to feel a sense of panic rising inside her.
She almost jumped out of her skin when she felt Beth put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll be sitting next to you, remember?" Beth asked, smiling brightly at Charlie.
Charlie couldn't help but feel the panic in her deflate. Though, she had difficulty returning Beth's smile.
"I'll try," she said. Maybe things around Shirley would get easier over time, but right now, she wasn't sure if she'd really be able to handle it very well at the moment. "I just wish there was another way."
"I can understand that," Beth replied as Shirley's car pulled up. "Just remember, no matter what happens, you can count on us."
"Cheesy much?" Charlie asked dryly, trying to feel calm all the while she was completely tensed up inside.
What surprised Charlie the most about the trip was the fact they were able to fit all of their packs in the small space in the back of the SUV since they needed all the seats to make room for everyone.
Even though Charlie had to keep her focus on the scenery outside her window, she was happy that the trip over to Heathcliff's wasn't too far away. It made the trip short, regardless of how long it felt to her.
At the very least, it wasn't too bad given Shirley didn't even try to interact with Charlie. It was almost like they got an Uber to take them rather than someone they knew. Which actually helped her relax a little.
Then after they arrived at Heathcliff's house, they quickly made their way to the gate and before Charlie knew it, they were in Petals' forest facing the entrance to the next world they were going to see.
Even though she couldn't deny the trepidation she felt at this experience, she felt far more excited about it. She couldn't be sure if she really should, given how far removed she'd become from seeking a more quiet existence.
"Who wants to take the first step into the next world?" Charlie asked, part of her wanting to take the step herself, while another part wanted someone else to, just in case it proved to be a similar experience to the gate at Berthoud Pass.
"I'll go," Ralph volunteered, "but any wagers first on what we'll find there?"
"You mean like monsters and stuff?" Hannah asked.
"No, I mean more about what kind of environment. Will it be forested? Will it be arid? Will it be snowy? I could go on, but I'm sure you get the idea," Ralph elaborated.
"I'm saying grassland," Amelia said.
"What's your wager that it'll be a grassland?" Ralph asked.
"Why wager?" Beth asked. "Why not just give out a guess on what we think it'll be and move on?"
"Making a wager will make it more interesting?" Ralph countered. "I mean, it doesn't have to be money. How about whoever is closest gets to pick the next movie, regardless of whose place we watch it at."
"I like that idea," Amelia said.
"I'm game for that too," Wes chimed in.
Looking around, Charlie saw the rest were up for that kind of wager. "I'll sit this one out then," Charlie ventured, but was surprised at the objections to that idea.
"Sorry, Charlie," Tim said. "You're part of the group, so you have to take a chance. Just think of it as if you win, your luck just didn't work out."
Charlie sighed. "Fine, but I'll go last then," she said, a little put out at having to participate.
"I'll say it's a tropical beach," Hannah said. "And we'll wish we brought our swimsuits."
"I'll say mountain. You know, like the Himalayas," Wes predicted.
"I think it'll be a desert. Hot and dry," Tim offered.
"Well, I'll go with a cold beach. You know, cold as in like winter-time in Alaska," Beth said, her grin telling Charlie she was more amused at how she expected everyone else to like it if it turned out to be true.
"I say it'll be a canyon," Ralph said. Then turning to Charlie, he added, "Okay, Charlie. Your turn now."
Charlie sighed. "Fine, I'll say a forest, and by that I mean a deciduous forest. Not coniferous."
"A little specific, but kinda like Beth's and Hannah's," Ralph commented. "But anyway, on to the new world!"
With that, Ralph stepped through. Wes and Beth were next, then Charlie went through, knowing Amelia and Hannah would be behind her, leaving Tim at the rear.
As she stepped through to the world outside of that part of Petals' forest, she was appalled to see that it was very much a deciduous forest. Which meant she had won the wager. Charlie groaned as she realized that fact.
"Congrats on winning the wager," Ralph said to her as Tim came through to the world.
"Let's just see what we can find in this world," Charlie said, wanting to think about anything else right now, part of her hoping everyone would forget about the wager before she had to decide on a movie.
"What's the rush?" Wes said. "I mean, it looks like it's morning."
"Wait what?" Beth said. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I mean, look," Wes replied, pointing at some flowers in the shade of some trees on the edge of the clearing the entrance to Petals' forest opened into. "You can see the dew on them."
Charlie looked at the flowers and could easily see the dew. She was about to look around more when she noticed something important about the flowers. "Um, I think it's not only morning, but spring here as well."
"Why do you say that?" Amelia asked.
"Those are spring flowers. They only grow in spring outside a greenhouse," Charlie answered.
"Well, at least we have plenty of daylight left then," Ralph said. "Which means, more time to explore!"