Okay, so this awesome story is being written by Gabby and Jordi, two fan fiction veterans with our own stories. We have decided to write together XD
So here we go!
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EMILY-
As the 'Fasten your seatbelts' sign flashed up at the front of the plane, I rubbed my sore eyes. They had adjusted to the generic light of the aeroplane hours ago, but I knew as soon as I stepped off into the bright light of Nashville, Tenessee, they'd be watering like crazy. My eyes were just weak like that.
I smiled weakly at my friend at the plane landed. It was a long, long flight, and for a hyperactive person like myself, it isn't easy to sit still for that long. The plane shook and I closed my eyes, a bit scared. This was the first time I'd ever been on a plane, and it was a bit of an experience.
As the plane slowed to a stop, I glanced out the window. I was pretty shallow when I imagined the big green fields, with clear blue skies. Of course, that image had been shattered by my friend Maria, who lived right here, somewhere in that maze of buildings.
I'd never really been one for cities. I mean, for short stops, shopping trips, concerts, it was a bit of a novelty. But I really preferred wide, open spaces, where I could run around, burn some energy. I was excited about this trip, sure, but Nashville was just a stopover on the way to Hollywood, the place our school had been fundraising for us, the tenth grade drama class, to go to for two years.
We were scheduled to be in Nashville for two days, and we were allowed to shop and do pretty much whatever we wanted, as long as we stayed downtown. Unfortunately, that put a trip to Maria off the itinerary.
The funniest part was, even though I had been talking to her over the internet for a year, I hadn't told her I was coming. I had planned to visit her on our second day here, surprise her completely when her Australian pen pal turned up on her doorstep. But ever since the teacher had declared downtown only, I had no way.
"So, I'm guessing your visit to Maria is off," my friend Sally stated bluntly. I nodded, sighing.
"Well, why can't you just email her, and tell her to come downtown?" Sally asked, raising her eyebrows as we stepped out of the airport.
"That, my dear, is an excellent idea." I giggled, and looked around. "But I need the internet."
"Emily, this is America. Don't they have like internet cafes or something?"
"True." I nodded.
"Its times like this when you miss the free wireless we get at McDonalds, hey?" Sally laughed, and I cracked a grin. We both looked up as our teacher called for our attention.
"Alright guys," he said, "We are staying at the Doubletree Hotel, which is right here downtown. You all have your maps, and curfew is at 8, which gives you about five hours. Remember, you have tomorrow as well, so don't splurge too much."
And with a few more warnings, the group split up. Sally and I had never really been big shoppers, so we busied ourselves in trying to find somewhere with internet. It got really busy around us, people always pushing and shoving with grumpy looks on their uptight faces. But, we needed information, seeing as neither Sal nor I could read maps very well.
"Excuse me!" I called to a man who was walking past. He kept walking, so I got a bit pissed off. I ran after him into the crowd of people, and tugged on his arm. He turned around angrily.
"Excuse me sir, do you think you could tell me where the nearest internet café is?" He frowned at me, looking me up and down.
"Go back to your own country, tourist." He sneered and strolled away. I was really angry, and made my way back to Sally.
"What an ass." She agreed, laughing at my face. "Luckily, I've asked someone a bit more knowledgeable." She led me over to a small garden, rimmed with stone, to where a teenage boy, maybe a bit older than us was leaning against a pushbike.
"So how can I help you ladies?" he said slyly, and I grimaced.
"The nearest internet café?" Sally asked.
"About a block away." He replied, and Sally and I looked confused.
"Oh, right, Australians. Things are a bit different here, right?" I nodded.
"Could you just point us in the right direction?" I asked, wanting to get away from him.
"Sure, honey." He took a few minutes explaining where it was, and Sal and I thanked him before hurrying along the crowded street. The layout of this place was so confusing, and it didn't help that I was at least a foot shorter than everyone else. Luckily, Sally was tall, and she took my hand and led us over to the blue themed café.
We trudged inside, and ordered hot chocolate. I was never one for coffee. We then made our way to a computer all hooked up on the side of the shop as our drinks were brought to us. I took a sip, and almost gagged.
It didn't taste right, like normal chocolate, or good old Milo.
Oh right, America.
I logged into my email address, and typed up two messages for Maria. The first was just a couple of words to freak her out.
Nashville smells funny.
Sally laughed and sipped at her drink, making a face.
I giggled and wrote another.
Hey Dude,
YES, I am in Nashville!
School trip :) I was going to come visit, but my evil teacher has pronounced that we are allowed downtown only. I will be here all day tomorrow, but the day after that I leave for Hollywood. It would be awesome if you came and met me tomorrow, we could chill, maybe have an intense face to face discussion about Narnia…(DID I MENTION MARIA ANDI ARE MEGA FANS?!)
And you can show us the sights.
Lemme know dude.
I'm staying at the Doubletree Hotel, downtown. Give me a call, hey?
Catchya,
Emily.
MARIA-
"For Narnia, and for Aslaaaaaaaan!!" shouted Peter Pevensie from my TV as his unicorn reared back and he thrust his sword into the air, looking sexy all the while. He then charged forward, followed by hundreds of creatures of the magical variety, and lead his army straight into the oncoming assault of the White Witch's army. Oh look, there's Edmund and Mr. Beaver.
Just then my mother came into the room to the sight of me sprawled across the couch, a Pepsi in hand, watching in complete captivation as the two armies met after a moment of slow motion silence and dramatic close ups. Her snort alerted me to her presence.
"You're watching that movie again?" she asked skeptically, eyeing the TV with a raised brow. I spoke without looking up at her, my eyes glued to the screen as the scene changed from the battle to Susan and Lucy at the Stone Table, crying over Aslan's dead body.
"It would appear so," I said.
"Don't you think you've watched that movie enough to have it memorized? I'm pretty sure the other night I heard you quoting it in your sleep."
"Moooom I'm bored! What else am I supposed to do with myself? And anyways, I can't help it if they're fantastically addicting movies!" I said in a whiney sort of tone, rolling onto my side and facing her. I batted my eyelashes at her innocently.
"They're called friends. You might want to try getting some." Mom said sarcastically. "Lauren lives four houses away from you! Go over there and hang out with her!" she shouted, indicating to my best friend's house.
"Don't boss me, woman! Besides, Lauren came over yesterday. I want to watch hot sexy guys save Narnia!" I said.
Mom offered no reply, only threw a pillow that was sitting on the loveseat at my head and left the room, saying she had better things to do with her time than watch me drool over some fictional characters as she went. I contentedly rolled back over and continued watching my movie.
That was the pattern of my days. Get up, eat breakfast, check email, watch movie, fight extreme boredom. Every day, very rarely varying. It was mind-bogglingly, horrendously boring and repetitive.
It was fall break, and at my school, we had two weeks off-one for Thanksgiving, the other for the teachers because they don't like us and need more time away. Two weeks of doing absolutely nothing, just sitting around being lazy and procrastinating the projects and other homework one was assigned.
It was awful. I felt like my brain was melting and I was being forced to paint my walls with the pinkish liquidy substance left behind. Every one else had gone out of town, so no one could come over and there was no ones houses to go to. And as a result of them being out of town, no one was able to answer their phones when I call them nearly crying from the boredom. So I was stranded and left alone to fend away the evil villain that was nothing more than a state of my own mind.
As I snapped out of my reverie about my boredom and actually focused on my movie again, I saw not the epic scenes of the battle, but the final shots of the Pevensie's coronation. Jeez, snooze much? I thought sarcastically to myself. Not much feeling like watching the children grow up and then go back to England, to their great horror, I stopped the movie and stood, stretching till my back popped. After that was accomplished, I looked around the room for something else to do.
Watch another movie? Nah, my butt was numb from sitting in one place for such an extended amount of time… Play Wii? Nope, no fun by yourself… Play with my dogs? Don't think so, that'd only be fun for them.
Have you ever noticed how wonderful timing mothers have? I'm not sure if it's a universal thing with women who have had children, but my mom sure as heck does. Just as I was about to scream in frustration at the lack of things to do, she bustled into the room, cell-phone in hand, and said,
"Hey Maria, your grandmother sent you a funny Thanksgiving email, go check your email and send her a nice reply to it."
Check my email! There was something I hadn't done in a while. I could have sang I was so happy. In fact, I did, but only momentarily.
"Yes ma'am!" I said, skipping upstairs and into the computer room.
I pulled the computer up and logged into my email. Sure enough, there was an email from my grandma entitled "Happy Turkey Day, Gobblers." Among around twenty five other messages. Oh, happy day, I should be here for a while.
After typing up a good response to my grandma, going through about half of the messages, which turned out to be from a social website called Facebook, I came to two emails from my friend, Emily.
Emily was a dear friend of mine, although we didn't technically know each other. We had met and befriended each other on a website called Fanfiction, where you write original stories for your favorite books, movies, etc. I was reviewing one of her stories and managed to guess part of the upcoming plot, about which we started messaging each other, which turned to emails, which turned to Facebook, which turned to letters, and the rest is history. We were now dear friends, despite the fact we didn't even live in the same country and hadn't officially met. Emily lived in Australia, 13 hours away from my home land of the USA. But we still managed a continuous chain of communications back and forth.
I opened her first email, and frowned in confusion.
Nashville smells funny.
What on earth..?
Hoping for an explantion, I opened the second email and, as I read through, felt my jaw drop, and once I had finished let out a scream of elation. I feverishly typed a reply, two words, praying for her to understand., before I jumped up, ran to my room, grabbed a jacket, ran down stairs(tripping and falling down the last five in my haste), told my mom I had to go somewhere, and sprinted out the door. I was halfway out when I turned on my heel and barreled back up to my room, throwing my closet doors open and, after a minute of searching, found what I was looking for. Having changed, I ran back down the stairs, this time managing not to fall, and out the door, slamming it behind me. I ran across the cal-de-sac and up to my neighbors front door, anxiously ringing the doorbell in my haste.
Thank God, it was Lauren who answered. She was wearing pajama pants and a band shirt, and I could hear her Ipod speakers blaring from the computer room. It was pretty obvious she was home alone.
"Hey Maria, what's up?" she asked, opening the door and letting me inside. "Nice shirt," she added sarcastically, rolling her eyes as she looked at my last minute wardrobe change. I sniffed. Yes, it was a nice shirt. Who wouldn't want Peter and Edmund on their boobs? And anyways, it was perfect for the occasion. But I chose to ignore her comment.
"I really really need you to drive me some where. Please? I will pay you and be your personal slave forever." I said in a rush, drawing ten bucks from my purse.
"I'll keep the cash." she said, taking the money and putting it down on her coffee table. "Here, let me go get dressed. Where do you need to go?"
"No time to get dressed. We need to go, like, now. The downtown library. I'll explain on the way." I said, literally jumping back and forth between my feet in my excited state.
Getting her keys from the key ring, she snorted and said sarcastically, "What, is there a massive sale on the Narnia books you can't wait to get your hands on?"
"I'll explain on the way." I said firmly.
And so, we sped off for the downtown public library, bordering on speeding the whole trip, I told Lauren about the email I'd gotten from Emily and its contents. After hearing it, she sped up even more until we got there at the exact time I was supposed to.
"I'll text you when I need you to come get me," I said, jumping out of the car. Lauren nodded.
"I think I'm going to go get some fast food, seeing as I now have some cash to blow. You want anything?" she asked distractedly, leaning onto her wheel and looking out the windshield to find any available restaurants. I smirked. Typical Lauren, obsessed with eating yet constantly managing to remain ultra thin.
"Sure, I'll have whatever you do." I replied, zipping my jacket against the bracing November air.
"Ok. Well I'll see you later. Have fun!!" she said, her face breaking into a grin.
"I can guarantee you I will. Thanks for the ride." I said, also grinning from ear to ear.
"Thanks for the cash. See ya."
And with that, I slammed her car door and watched as she sped away, before turning and sprinting into the library, the stupid grin never leaving my face.
Hey Dude,
YES, I am in Nashville!
School trip :) I was going to come visit, but my evil teacher has pronounced that we are allowed downtown only. I will be here all day tomorrow, but the day after that I leave for Hollywood. It would be awesome if you came and met me tomorrow, we could chill, maybe have an intense face to face discussion about Narnia…(DID I MENTION MARIA AND I ARE MEGA FANS?!)
And you can show us the sights.
Lemme know dude.
I'm staying at the Doubletree Hotel, downtown. Give me a call, hey?
Catchya,
Emily.
EMILY-
I clicked inbox for what seemed like the zillionth time in ten minutes. I really hoped Maria had been near her computer, I truly did. I sucked in a breath when I saw her reply. Two words:
Public Library.
"SALLY!" I yelped, and she ran back over from where she had been ordering a brownie.
"She replied?" she asked, and I nodded in happiness.
"Public Library…" Sally breathed.
"Have you got the map?" I asked.
Sally just looked at me.
"Aw, that's cute. Like you actually think I can read it…" Sally mocked, and I laughed.
"Hang on," I sighed, and walked over to the counter where an elderly lady was leaning.
"Excuse me, could you tell me where the nearest public library is?" I asked sweetly, hoping she was nicer than that ass downtown.
"Sure, sweetie. Australian, huh? Never been to Australia, I say it must be hot there," she babbled, and Sally cleared her throat.
"Uh, the..library?" Sally pressed.
"Oh, of course honey!" She made a little handrawn map, and we set off in the direction of the library. As we walked, we passed various shops, and I caught a glimpse of a t-shirt.
Actually, that's a lie. I caught a glimpse of Edmund Pevensie's (SIGH) face, and I stopped dead. I leant back, and saw him and Peter imprinted on a t-shirt.
OHMYGOSHIHADTOHAVEIT.
So I bolted inside the store, a confused Sally on my heels. I grabbed the shirt, and bought it straight away, before slipping it on in the changing rooms. Maria was going to looooovvveee this.
We left the store, and kept on our way. But as we did, we saw an antique store. At least I think that's what it was. It was full of random things, books clothes…
We had plenty of time, so Sal and I edged inside. I just had a feeling that something important was here. I made my way up to the jewellery counter, and looked at the glass.
What I saw nearly took my breath away.
Two identical necklaces, with thin twisted chains, and the pendant..a tiny gold lion's head.
They were perfect, and my first thought was Aslan.
So, naturally, I pulled out my ancient wallet, and bought them, keeping them both in the tiny wrapping the employee gave me.
Oh yes, Gabby was going to loveee me.
Sally and I hurried the rest of the way to the library. It was big. Okay, that was an understatement.
In my tiny town, the library was about the size of a tiny house, and even the one in the bigger town was about the size of a bigger house.
So naturally, me always having a love for books, my jaw dropped, and my eyes widened.
"Wow," breathed Sal. She turned to me. "I think I'm going to go find some fast food. Hopefully something better than that café." We both made a face at the memory. I smiled as she walked away, before hurrying up the stairs into the massive, awesome building.
Review :)
From Gabby and Jordi.