Weirder Things in Trolberg

Chapter Five: The Troll Rock

I'm cowboyalchemist on Discord. Come on over if you want to chat and talk about ideas. If you want an invite to join my discord server, you only have to ask me.

I'm honestly so excited for season three tomorrow. So, without further adieu, here's the new chapter. Enjoy.

Rather than seeing Hilda as a friend, Thomas saw her more as a daughter.

That's the reality of his view on the adventurous blue-haired girl, and it wasn't hard to understand why. He'd spent so much time with her, protected her from monsters in the forest, and was almost always there for her as a patriarchal figure. She was a sweet, kind, and creative girl who opened up a whole new world to him. Hilda had become the daughter he never had—and never knew he wanted. He saw so much of himself in that little girl it was almost scary, and he would go as far as to say he loved her like she was his flesh and blood.

And as of right now, those feelings he felt for the girl were formulating in his mind again as he drove Hilda to her school.

"So, you got the nittens?" Thomas said, looking at the girl from the corner of his eye as he drove his truck.

"Right here, and they're all nice and happy," Hilda said, smiling as she lifted the lid of the box in her lap. Smiling as the purring and sleeping tiny kitties.

"Alright, because we're here," Thomas said, parting the car in the school's parking lot. Together, they exited the vehicle and closed the doors. They were about to start walking toward the building when Thomas's phone rang. Pulling it out of his pocket, he saw it was Johanna and answered with a big smile. "Hello? Paranormal Investigator Thomas Pines, how may I help you?"

Johanna giggled on the other line and said, "Well, aren't you acting all professional, dear? How's Hilda?"

"Oh, she's right here," Thomas said, looking at Hilda as she stared at him.

"Hi, Mum!" Hilda said to the phone.

"Hi, Hilda! I'll see you after work. Thomas, I can't thank you enough for this. I would have come, but this new project needs to be done by tonight. But when I'm free, I'll come right over."

"No worries, Johanna. You know you can count on me," Thomas said with genuine care, placing a hand over his chest. "We better get going in. See you later."

He ended the call, and together, he and Hilda walked away from the truck and started walking towards the school. It was a quaint-looking school. By 2043, most schools have been trying to modernize, but this school looked as though it was still in the 1990s.

As they approached the school, they saw a short man on a ladder, dusting off the leaves on a banner hanging over the school entrance that said "Welcome Parents." He was a big, balding man with a gray beard and large eyebrows.

As Thomas and Hilda approached the entrance, the man looked down from his ladder and saw the two. "Oh, hello!" The man waved at them before sliding down the ladder. "Ha! Welcome to parent's night! I'm Principal Magnusson. Oh, we welcome you and your daughter!"

"Uh, thanks," Thomas said, looking at Hilda with a raised eyebrow. She just smiled at him and shrugged. He would have said he wasn't her father, but there didn't seem to be any harm in not correcting the man. "Glad to be here."

"As am I to have you here. Make sure to stay for the grand finale," the principal said with giddiness in his voice. He then inhaled and pretended that he was beating a drum set with sticks, even making the sound of a drum.

Thomas and Hilda looked at the man with wide eyes, weirded out by him trying—and failing—to beatbox, then went back to the drum sounds. Thankfully, he started and laughed for a moment.