Enchanted Waters

Chapter Two Location

My family has always told me that my taste in music is very different. I like all kinds of genres of music. I can listen to anything just as long as it is has a melody. I am switching over from classical to rock on my way to Abby's house. She lives a good fifteen minutes away and I can't stand commercials on the radio so I brought my iPod. I can't hear anything but the mixture of wind and music in my ear. I always drive with the windows down. It's the closest thing to flying.

I'm so excited to figure out where Abby and I are going this week. She has a giant map of the U.S. in her basement and we decided that we would choose where to go by throwing a dart at it and go where it lands. It seems unsafe, I know, but we are young and indecisive so we chose this as the best option.

I pull in her driveway at 8:14. One minute early. Abby is very punctual and so I try to be as well. I want to please her as much as I can even though I know she won't care. She will just laugh warmly at me and toss her golden blond curls off her shoulder so they land perfectly in the middle of her back. I have always been jealous of her hair. The way it curls ever so perfectly. How it doesn't get hot enough to cook an egg on even though the sun has been beating down on it. I used to have long hair; longer than her's, but then I cut it. It was going to be too hot to have around during the summer. Abby sees me pull in and is waiting for me on her porch. We would always sit on that porch as children and talk about princesses and charming knights that would save us if we were ever taken away.

"Are you ready!?" She squeals. I can tell she can't hold in her excitement at all. She isn't even trying. "Because I'm ready. Like, I can't even describe how ready I am. Just so prepared for this that I couldn't eat my supper!"

"That isn't healthy Ab! You should really eat." I love teasing her because she will do it right back.

"I will start eating when you start showering."

"Aw shoot. I've been doing so well though," I say walking past her, "it's been six weeks since I've bathed last! I don't want to break my streak just because you won't eat!"

She hugs me and laughs as we walk to her basement. "When you are sleeping this week, I will summon the rains and drench you in soap to clean you. I'm not sleeping next to a person that smells like dog."

"Ha. Ha. You can't even summon your dog. How can you even begin to think you have any control over the weather."

"Watch me," she says with a wink as we walk up to the giant map that holds out destination for the next week.

I stare at it with butterflies in my stomach. I look over to see the dart laying on the table. I turn to see Abby, with a huge smile on her face, staring at the same thing.

"Rose."

I look up at her waiting for her to say more.

Nothing.

"What?" I say sort of annoyed.

"I want you to throw the dart," she says as she hands it over to me.

"What?! No way! It's your house, map, dart, and jeep! And besides, I'd miss the map."

"Yeah, fat chance of that happening. Do you see how big it is? The odds of you not hitting it are slim to non. Goodness, If you miss I will give you one hundred dollar. That's how hard it is to miss."

I drop the dart and smirk at her. "One hundred dollars please!"

"Okay smart-ass," she hisses as she shoves the dart back in my hand, "Try throwing it this time."

I fiddle with the dart in my hand for a second and close my eyes. I spin in a small circle to make my chances of throwing straight into the Midwest smaller. We live there so it wouldn't be as exciting to drive twenty minutes and call it good. I keep spinning and then stop. I can feel it. I am supposed to throw now. I fling my arm back and launch it forward. I open my eyes and hear Abby laughing hard at the way I threw it. We both search for the dart and find it at the same time. The dart landed so perfectly compared to the way I threw it. It looks as though it knew I would suck at throwing it so it just chose for us. Written right above the dart in small pretty letters is our road trip destination.

We are going to Veiled Grotto, Florida.