Into The Orchard

I

Although Buck wasn't happy with my idea of traveling alone to the nation's capital, he couldn't forbid me from doing so. He himself had only recently urged me to talk to Kevin and explain the whole situation. If he hadn't driven me to the train station in Koseva, he would have shown his hypocrisy. Fortunately, Buck was not of the problematic sort. He was afraid that, and I quote, "Von Rostovovie would rip his head off." Eventually, though, I turned those eighteen years old and didn't need anyone's permission as to where I wanted to go or what I wanted to do. That was the first plus of adulthood. The downside was that, knowing the Von Rostovs, I wouldn't get an excuse for a missed day of school. How about telling the coach that I needed to rest after the competition? I think it was the perfect excuse.

Buck handed me 90 crowns that Gregory had given him the day before for unforeseen expenses during our trip to the dance competition in Koseva. The currency of that country, was similar to that of the United States. In fact, 90 kroner was about 115 American dollars. A train ticket cost 30 kroner. Assuming that a return ticket with a student discount would cost the same, I would still have 30 crowns left. I will probably spend it on some food, because Kevin will be able to pick me up from the train station in Karkarom only in the evening. As you can guess, Kevin was surprised. I didn't call him, I simply texted him that I would be in the capital in the afternoon and that I needed to meet him. Kevin apparently guessed what this was about, because he didn't protest or even ask what I might be talking about. I didn't know what else to do in this situation. It seemed to me that going to Karkarom was the only right solution. I don't know if the man will forgive my behavior. If I were him, with his point of view, I would be angry. Angry, or disappointed. The situation at my birthday party taught me an important lesson that I hope to remember and take to heart for a long time. You can't eavesdrop is one and two, you have to talk. Because of me, Luna found out that Kevin is most likely gay. Although the woman promised discretion, there could still be a whole domino of difficult situations to resolve from this unpleasant situation. The bad thing was that the wolf woman found out about everything.

When I bought my train ticket, I learned that the trip would take about four hours. I was lucky, because apparently I bought the last available ticket in second class. If I didn't make it, I would have to wait at the station for the next fast train, or take another nightmarishly slow one. An eight-hour trip on a train was not something I wanted, which is why I think fate wanted me to get on that train right now.

The train itself looked quite solid. Maybe it was not as technologically advanced as, for example, in Japan or Germany, but there was nothing wrong with it. It was the most ordinary train I had ever seen. Maybe there were better locomotives in the country, but their ticket price would probably be higher too. The 30 crowns I had to spend seemed like a good price for a last minute ticket. Inside, the train looked as normal as outside. It was not divided into compartments. The seating arrangement was more like the seats in an airplane or some long-distance bus. I immediately noticed that there was not much space between the seats, so the journey was not very comfortable. Considering that I've been on the road since morning, by the time I get to Karkarom I'll probably be exhausted. However, I think Kevin will let me stay the night at his place...as long as we can talk and clear things up. We can always argue even more and I'll have to go back to Kosev that same day. I then thought of Buck, he would then have to come pick me up and he would drive back and forth from dawn to dusk. So going back the same day was a bad idea, but what could I do if Kevin didn't feel like looking at me any longer than necessary? I wasn't going to find out about all this until the evening.

The train started from the station in Koseva. Some passengers were still looking for their seats, which were marked on the tickets. I quite quickly found my place. As it turned out, I was assigned a seat by the large window, which was a pleasant surprise. I was surprised that the seat next to me was empty, even though at the ticket office I was told that I bought the last free seat. Having more space for myself was a good thing. I immediately put my jacket and bag there. When I got comfortable I started to look for my headphones in my backpack. I was not going to go so long without listening to music. I regretted not taking the book I got from Kevin for his birthday with me. I could have killed more time that way. So I had to settle for music alone. I put my headphones over my ears, played music from my phone, and closed my eyes. I thought I might be able to sleep for a while. I will say that I was even gathering sleep, only there was one problem. You know that feeling when you know someone is watching you? For a brief moment, that's exactly how I felt. So I opened my eyes with the intention of looking around. What I saw made me jump up and down in my chair, and my headphones fell out of my ears.