That One Summer (A Narnia Fanfiction)

Thomas

(Well, they said for me to start this story off in this journal thing, so I guess since they’re going in birth order, I’m first. Renae might be doing more chapters then the rest of us ‘cause she actually writes as a hobby. Anyway, here you go)

I'm sitting in the shotgun seat of our van, staring out the window at the vast hill country of south Texas. My mom always goes the "scenic" route to our grandmother's house, 'cause she likes the view. My brothers and I just want to take the quickest way there, but we're not the ones driving, so we don't really have the say in which way we go. Anyways, we always go to Meemaw's house for a week during summer vacation and they are usually our favorite weeks of the whole break. We still have about twenty minutes to go before we arrive. Getting out of this car will be a relief, because the eighth grade brother of mine won't stop yapping his head off. He is texting three of my cousins, Allen, John, and Jay, on his blue iPhone, and is keeping us updated about what they're doing. Apparently, John and Jay are playing Halo on their X-box. Allen and his sister, Renae, still have about an hour and a half to go before they get to Poteet, which is the town that Meemaw lives in. Sometimes, I feel sorry for Renae, being the only girl out of the seven of us. Most might think that she wouldn't do half the things that we do, but usually she just goes along with it. I guess it's the country blood in all of us.

My thoughts must have gotten the best of me (again) because before I know it, we turn onto the sandy road that leads up to the farm house that has been one of my favorite places for years. The dogs run up and trot along beside the car. Blair's face is pressed against the window, making his face look like a pig. That dork. We pull up under the big oak tree, and begin unloading the car. I grab my pillow and suitcase, and begin walking inside the house. I get to the door and twist the knob. Keith is already inside, trying to keep his cool.

"Hi boys! How was the trip?" Meemaw asks.

"Long. And boring." Keith says.

"It wasn't that long. It was only long because mom wanted to take the scenic route." I say.

Meemaw smiles. "Of course."

"Boys! Put your stuff down and get outside and help Blair with the luggage!" My mom calls from inside the bedroom that we share when we're here.

I glance out the window and see him walking in, with his arms full of stuff. "Ah, I guess I'd better help him." I say. Keith just shrugs. We are usually partners in crime, so to speak, but he's really ignorant sometimes. When we go skiing, it's the three of us on one of the slopes. Blair almost always ends up falling, with one ski shooting down the hill. With him down at the bottom, it's me who has to go and retrieve it, and take the slow process of climbing back up the mountain to give it to him, only to repeat the ordeal again in about fifteen minutes.

"Blair! You need any help?" I ask.

"No, I've got it." He answers.

"Whatever you say." I say, moving aside to let him pass.

I then walk to the back of the car and get the rest of my stuff and some of my mom's stuff. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Keith coming out of the door to help.

"Here's some of Mom's stuff. Blair got all his stuff, mostly." I tell him.

"Okay." He says as he grabs the other luggage.

We make our way back into the house, and begin arranging our stuff in our room. I don't see the point in doing this, because our room always ends up the messiest out of all the rooms in the house. Our room consists of two bunk beds against the walls. One of them has a queen sized bed on the bottom. That's where my parents sleep when both of them are here. My dad never comes in the summer, because he has work. Renae and Allen's dad works during the summer, so the only adult guy that's here is my Uncle Bubby (His name that he goes by is J.W., but I came up with Bubby when I was little, and its stuck I guess), who lives next door with his family. Keith sleeps on the bunk above that, and I sleep on top of the other one, with Blair on the bottom.

I walk out of the bedroom, and go into the living room; being careful not to step on grass burrs, which are tiny little prickly balls of pain. They really hurt if you get them stuck in your foot. We mostly try to take our shoes off before entering the carpeted part of the house, but they always make their way into the living room of the house. I take a seat on the two-seater couch next to Meemaw.

"How is Thomas doing today?" She asks me.

"Good. Just glad to be out of the car." I answer.

"Of course." She says.

"So, how have you been, Meemaw?" I ask.

"Oh, just the usual. I went and had lunch with Maryann at Dan Juan's today." Dan Juan's is one of her favorite places to eat in town. Well, besides the Dairy Queen, it's about the only other place to eat in town.

"Is she going to make any Banana Pudding for us?" Ms. Maryann makes the best banana pudding in the world. She usually says that she brings it over just for Renae, because it's one of her favorite deserts, but we all love it, and constantly sneak into the kitchen for a bowl full.

"She said that she might be able to whip up some for us." She says, with a playful grin on her face. I hear the dogs start barking outside, and glance out the window and see two people walking up the sidewalk. Must be John and Jay.

"Look! Johndi and Jaylolin are here!" Blair says, jumping up from his seat in the office, where he was probably playing minecraft. We call John, Johndi, because it sounds like 'Jedi'. His dad really loves Star Wars, so that's probably where the nickname came up. Jaylolin is just something that we made up about four years ago while we were bored.

"Hey, Blair!" John yells.

"Dude! Come look what I built on minecraft!"

"Have you made anything on our underground hideout thing?"

"Yeah! And they're totally awesome!

"Let me see!" John replied. With that; they head into the office area to play their video game.

"Thomas!" Jay says, coming up to me and trying to give me a hug. He is the second weirdest out of all of us, coming in right behind Blair.

"Hi Jay." I say.

"Are Allen and Renae here yet?" He asks, sounding a bit hopeful.

"Does it sound like they're here? Just kidding. No, they aren't." I answer.

"Okay. I'm going to go get a snack." He says, walking off into the kitchen.

I sit back down on the couch, taking the remote to the television and pressing the power button. It takes a few minutes for it to come completely on. After it's done booting up, I go immediately to the military channel. I love all the war movies, just like my grandpa used to. My grandpa (Or as we call him, Poppy) was a Vietnam War veteran. He always loved watching the movies about them. I guess that's where I got my love for them. He died when I was eight, so it's been about eight years since he passed away. We all miss him, and wish that he was still here. But, sometimes you just have to accept that they are in a better place, and you'll see them again in Heaven someday.

"Renae and Allen are here!" One of them calls from the other room.

Sure enough, I look out the window that is on the door, and see a red mini-van making its way up the driveway. Now all the chaos can officially begin.

~~~

UNEDITED!

Hello fellow Wattpadians!!! How'd you like the first chapter of my new book! I've had the idea for this for a while, but I have never written it down on paper before! Well, really computer screen, but you get the point! Every chapter is going to have a different point of view (POV, in case you didn't know) Starting with Thomas, then going to Renae, then Keith, Allen, Blair, John, and Jay. I know this chapter was kind of uneventful, but things will start getting interesting in a chapter or two!!! I'm so excited for this!!!

-Love, Lessae