Forlot - Books 10-12

Chapter Nine

WENDY'S P.O.V.

Oh my stars. They had just eaten a live spider. Who knows what type of spider that could have been? And it was a pretty good size. I felt a bit of sympathy for the poor spider.

Tris' bottom jaw dropped, and she pressed her hands against her cheeks. "Oh my gosh," she said. "You ate a black widow."

"Wait. How do you know that was a black widow spider?" I asked her.

She turned her head towards me and moved her hands away from her cheeks. She narrowed her eyebrows at me, scowling. "Well, perhaps if you did some research based on the real world, you would have plenty of knowledge. I mean, come on. Just about everybody knows about the female black widow. They are black and have a red-shaped mark - very interesting - on their backs."

"So why are they a big deal? Besides the fact that you should not be eating spiders or any other bugs."

She slapped her palm against her forehead. "The female black widows are one of the most poisonous spiders in the world. Their poison can kill you if you do not receive treatment quick."

I wrapped my arms around me, giving myself a warm and reassuring hug. "See? This is exactly why I stay far away from real world things and stick with fictional."

As I stated that, a grin slowly spread across Tris' face. It was as if she were up to something totally not good, and she was. Remember that she did not like me, and I did not like her.

"I am not finished, Wendy. There is more."

"Gosh, no. I already heard enough torture."

Despite my pleas, she told me what she desired to say anyway. "There is a poisonous spider worse than the black widow, and that goes to the brown recluse."

I covered my ears with my hands, but it was no use. I could still hear her.

"Brown recluses are common here in the United States. They love to hide in dark places. Dark corners of your room. Dark closets. Dark spaces in your garage. That is why you need to watch out."

"Stop it!" I cried. "I did not need to know any of that information. And for the record, I know that you are giving me the scares on purpose."

Tris pretended like that she did not understand. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Do not play dumb with me."

"She is not playing dumb," Triso jumped in. "She is saying that she had no idea what you are talking about. Duh."

I glared at Triso. "She is lying."

"Lying?" Wendow said. "What is that? Is that when a person lies down too much? Wait. Has she been lying in your bed for too long? 'Cause if that is the case, I totally understand."

"A lie is a fake. False information. It is the opposite of the truth."

Triso tilted her head to the side. "What does fish have anything to do with it?"

"That is trout! Not truth!"

Wendow stood back up and ran a hand through her hair. "Okay. I will play the humans' game. So...what are your names?"

"Wendy."

"Tris."

"Whoa. That is so rad! Your names are similar to our names."

"Rad? I have not heard that word in years," Tris confessed.

"What? You humans do not use that word anymore?" Triso questioned.

"That word has not been said for over twenty years."

"Wow. Just...wow. You humans are an interesting and weird species," Wendow commented.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

"It is quite strange how you operate. Bad words are called bad words for a reason. For example, son of a...oh, you get what I mean. Yet you use them anyway. Our writer has seen them in books and heard them on shows and movies. But they are bad words. So why use them?" I opened my mouth to respond, but she quickly continued. "What did rad ever do to you? Rad is not a bad word. Yet you hardly use that word anymore." She teared up. "Poor rad."

Triso pushed herself off the swing and raised her head to the sky. She gave a salute. "Let us honor rad for the sacrifice that it gave us. We love you!"

"Guys, it is just a word," Tris said.

Wendow wiped away a tear with her fingers. "That was what rad was to you. To us, it was a hero."

It became silent, and the only sounds that were heard were the floorboards that creaked beneath our feet. Wendow and Triso turned back to us, and Triso broke the silence.

"Back to you two. So why would Tris lie?"

"She hates me," I admitted. "And I hate her."

"Why do you hate each other?" Wendow said. "I thought that you two were friends."

"Not even close," Tris explained in a low tone. "We do not like each other because we were friends with the same person."

Triso fiddled with her fingers. "And what is wrong with that?"

"She was my best friend," Tris and I said in unison. "And then...she took herself."

"Took herself where?"

I put my hands on my waist. "You know where."

Wendow rubbed the back of her neck. "No, really. We do not. But we can guess."

Her sister began guessing. "Wyoming? Missouri? Ooh! How about Maine?"

"The two of you have a lot to learn on this tough subject," Tris informed them. "Why do you not go back to your home planet and study some more until you get it all down?"

Wendow and Triso glanced at each other, and then fell onto their knees. They began pleading with us.

"Please do not make us go back! Please!"

"Huh?" Tris and I looked at each other, and then back at them.

"We hate it there," Wendow confessed. "It is a prison."

"Yeah," Triso agreed. "We came to your planet to learn how to behave like humans."