CORRUPTED FILE [Lumina Chronicles Past Drafts]

Level Seventeen: Famous Last Words

Elle's PoV

I had come to that moment. The life moment every teenager must inevitably face: Asking one's parents for permission to travel across the country to meet with the creator of a popular video game series in order to gain information on saving one's best friend from the characters of said game. With a stranger.

I liked to lie to myself and say I wasn't the only person going through that.

Maggie had been gone for an entire week and I was seriously running out of time to save her. If she was still alive, that is. I was trying to remain positive though, so yes. She was definitely still alive. And Jared Frobisher would be my key to saving her. Of course, I couldn't give my parents the whole story. So when they asked why it was so urgent for me to traveled to California the very next day, I had to make up a believable story.

I am a horrible liar. And when it comes to traveling as far away as Fresno, pinecones were no longer a valid excuse. So I came up with the best excuse I could think up that my parents might actually have went along with:

School.

"Let me get this straight," My dad sighed after about the fifth time I'd explained the situation. "You expect us to allow you to hop on a plane to California-- tomorrow-- for a science project?"

"Mhm," I nodded enthusiastically, smiling at my parents from my spot across the table, "Collecting pinecones."

"Sweetheart, can't you just walk out back and find pinecones?" My mom suggested, "You did that earlier this week already."

"Yes, but in California they have special pinecones," I insisted. "It's for Biology. I'm honestly extremely lucky to be one of the few students chosen to go on this trip. My teacher must have noticed my immense interest in nature." I knew I should have stopped talking, but I just continued rambling on, hoping some sentence that spilled out would be the special one that convinced them. Unfortunately, they just looked more and more skeptical the longer I talked.

"Don't you have a permission slip for this? Or at least a packet of information from the teacher we could look over?" Mom asked.

"Isn't this a bit late to be telling us, Stellie? The plane leaves tomorrow you said?" My dad rubbed his temple, obviously perplexed. Of course hr was perplexed, I was attempting to lie my way to California!

"I would have told you sooner, but with everything that's been going on lately, it kind of slipped my mind." I allowed myself to tear up, hoping their sympathy over my lost best friend hadn't run out yet.

My parents both looked ready to dive for the box of tissues on the counter. "I understand, Dear." Mom said, smiling sadly at me, "Do you at least have a way to get in touch with the teacher so we can speak to them ourselves? It might be best hearing this explained by the person who organized it."

Oh llamas.

Panicked, I ran through options in my mind as quickly as I could. Option A, quickly make a new email account and pretend to be my teacher, email my parents fake information about a fake field trip. Option B, call Marcus, make him pretend to be my teacher. Option C, crawl in a deep dark abyss and never resurface.

While Option C looked promising, I decided to go with calling Marcus. Just in case my parents wanted me in the room with them at the time, the email thing couldn't have worked.

"I, um, actually have his number." I said, forcing my smile back in place. "Why don't I go call him right now?" I suggested, rising from my chair without giving my parents a chance to respond. I scurried out to the living room, where the house phone was charging, and dialed Marcus's number. As the phone was ringing, my parents came into the living room. I was planning to bring the phone out to them after explaining the situation to Marcus. I did not plan for my parents to be in the room.

Well, being completely honest, I hadn't planned for any part of it.

After a few more rings, Marcus picked up the phone. "Hey, Elle." He said calmly, though he did sound a bit confused. "I didn't expect to hear from you today, especially not this late. Are we still on for California tomorr--"

"Hello Mr. Shoe...senheimer." I chirped, swiftly making up a name.

"Mr. Shoesenheimer? What--"

"I'm calling about the Biology field trip tomorrow. The one to California. For pinecones." I said, hoping he got the message. "My parents have a few questions, do you have time to answer them?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, and then Marcus said, "Oh, um right. I'm Mr. Shiesenheimer, your Biology teacher." Marcus responded with a sudden burst of artificial enthusiasm, rivaling mine.

"Mr. Shoesenheimer," I said, stressing the name since he'd just messed it up. "Here's my father now." With a slightly shaking hand, I passed the phone to my father.

"Hi, Mr. Shoesenheimer? I'm Estelle's father, Trenton Carter." My dad spoke into the phone.

Once he and my mom were both distracted, I ran upstairs and picked up the other phone. I had to hear what was going on.

"--eally necessary to travel to California for pinecones?" My dad asked.

"Well, it's more than just pinecones, Sir. We'll be studying all kinds of flora and fauna native to California." Marcus explained, his voice full of authority. "Miss Carter just seems to be fixated on the pinecone part."

Marcus began explaining details of the imaginary field trip, and as he spoke even I found myself starting to believe it. When the phone call ended, I quickly made my way back downstairs to hear what my parents had to say.

"I guess it is a good way for you to get your mind off of everything that's happened and back on school." My dad admitted.

Holy waffles, Marcus had actually convinced them? Sure it was lying, but suddenly I felt a million times better about going to California.

"Well, let's get you packed I guess." My mom sighed, "It's a good thing this is only a weekend trip, you are not missing any more school."

I had never been much of a liar, for obvious reasons, but even so I knew this was way too simple. It never worked out this easily, did it? There was always that one part in a movie where everything seemed to be going perfect, that was usually where the main character shouted "What could possibly go wrong!?" or something of the sort. That was inevitably where the metaphorical crap hit the metaphorical fan, and this gigantic lie was rolling said fan into place.

Still, as I lay in bed that night after packing with the help of my mother, I had the stupid impulse to whisper up to my ceiling: "What could possibly go wrong?"

Oh, I don't know self, maybe everything?