Penelope Orion: Prophecies

Chapter 4

Penelope's P.O.V.

We walked through the building, stopping here and there for Coach Hedge to lecture us with his megaphone, which alternately made him sound like a Sith Lord or blared out random comments like "The pig says oink."

Leo kept pulling out nuts, bolts, and pipe cleaners from the pockets of his army jacket and putting them together. He was keeping his hands busy. I looked around the museum, gawking at all of the exhibits. If it hadn't been for Jason, I would've wandered off. I guess it was his instincts, but he eventually kept me by his side.

"Pen, I don't want to lose you." He whispered to me, squeezing my hand. "Seriously."

"I know, Jason. I just like it here. It's so cool." I told him. "I like learning." The goosebumps hadn't gone away yet and I kept glancing at Dylan. Something told me that this was all wrong, that he wasn't part of the group. Then, I looked at Piper. She wanted to get away from Dylan but, he wouldn't let her. I heard a few girls mocking Piper and I refused the urge to smack each and every one of them and 'cause Jason had a hold of my hand, but it looked like he wanted to help as well.

Leo caught Jason's arm. "Be cool. Piper doesn't like us fighting her battles. Besides, if those girls found out the truth about her dad, they'd be all bowing down to her and screaming, 'We're not worthy!'"

"Why? What about her dad?" I asked.

Leo laughed in disbelief. "You're not kidding? You really don't remember---"

"Look, I wish we did, but we don't remember her , much less her dad."

"Leo. I'm curious," I said, "why did you run away six times?" Leo acted as if he didn't hear me. Or maybe he couldn't because we reached the far end of the exhibit hall, where some big glass doors led out onto a terrace and everyone was talking really loud. The wind was only a breeze but it was still cold out.

"All right, cupcakes," Coach Hedge announced. "You are about to see the Grand Canyon. Try not to break it. The skywalk can hold the weight of seventy jumbo jets, so you featherweights should be safe out there. If possible, try to avoid pushing each other over the edge, as that would cause me extra paperwork." He opened the doors and we all stepped outside. The Grand Canyon spread out before us, live and in person. Looking down I saw the the floor was glass and I could see a ravine way down below us. I started to feel dread as I saw how far we were from the ground. I hugged my sides and shut my eyes tight. It felt like I was gonna barf. But behind all of that I had a feeling that we were in danger.

"Hey, you guys alright?" Leo asked. "You're not going to throw up over the side, are you? 'Cause I should've brought my camera."

Jason and I grabbed the railing. Jason wasn't afraid of heights but I was. I was shivering and sweaty. "I'm fine. Just a headache." Jason said just as I said, "I'm going to pass out." Thunder rolled overhead and a cold wind knocked me sideways into Jason. The wind and I nearly knocked him down but he caught his balance and held me close.

"This can't be safe." Leo said. "Storm's right over us, but it's clear all the way around. Weird, huh?" Me and Jason looked up and saw that he was right. The sky was clear all the way around the skywalk, but directly above us was a spinning mass of dark clouds over us. I didn't like this one bit.

"All right, cupcakes!" Coach Hedge yelled. He frowned at the clouds like it bothered him too. "We may have to cut this short, so get to work! Remember, complete sentences!" The storm rumbled, and my head started to hurt like it had on the bus. I reached for my neck and gripped my necklace. It was gold with something etched in the metal.

"Dang, are those gold?" Leo asked, looking at me and Jason. "You guy's have been holding out on me!" Jason put the coin away and I slipped my necklace back under my dress. I wondered how I had gotten it and knew the Jason was thinking the same thing. But we both knew that we were going to need them soon. Really soon.