A Crack Away from Destiny

Shijie

This is chapter is kind of long... Well, for me, anyway X) Enjoy!

This time, the sensation of falling lasted for mere seconds, rather than minutes. As soon as the fall ceased, a familiar house began to materialize. Louise's house. Shijie glanced down at the fortune, but it immediately disintegrated into ash (however, Shijie didn't feel any heat oddly enough) and was swept away by a slight breeze.

"I think The Teleporter brought us to wherever we went last," Louise said after she got a grasp of her surroundings. Shijie nodded, severely shaken by the previous occurrence that had transpired but a moment ago. How did the police get there so quick? Shijie wondered. And who was this French man? What part did he have in this? Suddenly a thought popped into his mind. What about this man in the cream-colored trench coat? Could they be-

"Do you have any leads on this French dude yet?" Louise asked, waking Shijie out of his reverie. Why everyone had to do that, he had no idea.

"No. I know speaks French and uses minds," Shijie replied with as much composure as he could muster. Louise looked down at her watch.

"You know, we traveled to an English school, inquired a couple of people if they knew two people that attended there, got caught, and got back here in only fifteen minutes." Her face suddenly paled. "Crud. My parents are gonna get a phone call... Well, they won't unless I erase it," she added with a sly glint within her gray eyes. If it wasn't for the current situation, Shijie would've provided her with a long lecture upon how disobeying your parents does not end with a positive result, for he knew from experience. But considering that they couldn't really explain to anyone that they just teleported from New Jersey to England in a matter of seconds (or minutes, it was hard to tell if time was the same in the portal), especially with all the evidence having been completely disintegrated into micro-sized pieces, they really didn't have much on their side. Shijie's stomach turned. The thought of lying not only to his parent but to another's parent within only two days time did not please him. After all, the honorable Chinese who believed in Confucius' teachings, knew that disobeying an adult was like withholding food from a malnourished peer or family member while you were already overweight - it was a selfish and an inexcusable act. Shijie sighed inwardly. It was either having the police show up and take Shijie away in handcuffs or deal with the circumstances that he had provided for himself, which, on the whole, weren't looking too negative at the moment. Louise grinned, as if excited to betray her parents, and went up the stairs on her porch two at a time, whereas Shijie went up them with high reluctance, feeling as if a hundred-pound rock was weighing down upon him. Louise produced the same key she had earlier and jiggled it into the lock until it swung open. Louise stuffed the key in the pocket of her jeans. Without asking if Shijie would like to enter, she sprinted inside, letting the door remain wide open, implying for Shijie to come in. Shijie entered inside the house warily. Louise ran up to a land phone that was hanging in the kitchen.

"You no have phone cell?" Shijie asked out of sheer curiosity. Louise glanced at him as if noticing him for the first time. She shrugged.

"My parents think that I should only need it for emergencies. I did have a cell phone at one point," she affirmed beaming. Her face fell. "But I kind of used it once or twice for non-emergencies...," she admitted, staring out into space for a moment before recalling the task at hand. She focused her attention back to the phone and began pressing an arbitrary button.

"Breachwood High School would like to notify you about a child of yours, Louise Melón, who has been absented from our premises for-" Louise pressed another button, holding onto it, and said in a somewhat eerily perfect imitation of an older woman, "Yes, I am aware of her absence. I had picked her up earlier today, but it must've slipped my mind because I completely forgot to sign her out. She is back at home safe and sound." Concluding her message, she let go of the button and faced Shijie with a grin that stretched from ear to ear.