Our Crazy Messed Up Lives

Boat Rides

Rebekah

                What he is saying doesn’t make any sense.

Makes perfect sense to me!

But does it really? Is this really what you want? To spend the rest of the year this these almost complete strangers?

They’re not strangers. They’re my friends, and yes, I wouldn’t mind spending the rest of the year with them, even though I don’t know Jack all that well.

Why do you always make these stupid decisions? One of these days, you’re going to die because of one of them.

If you say so Fred.

“Do any of you know when we will get to the school?” Jack looked at the watch on his wrist.

“Um, we should be there right about-” the train’s brakes started screeching loudly. “Now.”

“Look at this!” Sun exclaimed, craning her neck to look out the window. The rest of us gathered around her. Noises of general exclamation were made at the sight of a really big and grand castle sitting on the top of a hill.

As the train came to complete stop at the platform, we all joined the rush to get off as quickly as possible. All the other kids our age looked lost, trying to figure out where they were supposed to do now.  All of a sudden, a very high pitched voice cuts through the general hubbub.

“First years!” it called. “First years get over here! ASTER! STOP THAT!”

“That’s us,” Jack said. “Come on, follow me!”

We followed him through the crowd, and came to an amazing sight. The person calling for all the first years to gather wasn’t really a person at all. It was like w woman crossed over with a peacock crossed over with a hummingbird.

“Sun!” Lu said, staring up in shock. “Why does that look like one of us?”

“I-I don’t know,” sunbeam turned to me. “This isn’t normal, is it? Please tell me this isn’t normal.”

“Hey,” I replied. “Don’t forget that I just got here too.”

“Is everyone here?” the hummingbird lady asked. She looked around and nodded. “I am the Magical Creatures professor, Tatiana. If you would please follow me, we can get right to the boats, and be on time for the feast.”

She led us down to the shore of a large lake that surrounded the castle. There were many boats, and Sun and her family took one, and Jack, Onceler, and I took another, along with a student I didn’t know. The boats all seemed to be controlled by magic, because they seemed to follow the professor’s boat without any signs of being steered.

I peeked over the edge of the boat and was only half surprised to see a large pink tentacle sliding by underwater.

Hello human.

Shut up Fred! An eye the size of a dinner plate peeked up at me.

That wasn’t me!

Sure it wasn’t. I waved at the squid, and it slid back into the depths of the lake.

“Bekah?” Onceler poked my shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“Of course I am!” I said, sitting up and pushing my hair back. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You were just staring over the side for a long time.”

“Oh. Well, I’m fine. Do you think it will take much longer to get to the castle?”

“Nah,” Onceler replied. “But it is pretty nice out here.”

I looked up at the night sky, to see that it was full of stars, more than I had ever seen in the city. “Yeah, it is, isn’t it?”