Wild Thornberry Adventure

chapter 5

Cherry slept soundly quite alright, but then she felt roughness and dryness inside her mouth as she dreamt peacefully. She sat up in her bed and let out some hasty coughs. "I'm thirsty..." she said in a raspy, quiet voice. She slipped on her slippers and went to the other side of the room and opened the door. She creaked the door open, which woke Arlene up.

"Cherry?" Arlene sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"I'm getting a glass of water, Arlene, you can go back to sleep." Cherry told her, gently.

"Okay, carry on." Arlene adjusted herself back in her bed and continued to sleep.

Cherry closed the door gently behind herself and scampered down the long hallways and went in one of the bathrooms. She took out a glass, filled it with rushing cold water and drank it gently down her now fresh throat. She smiled, then put the glass down and walked out of the fancy bathroom and accidentally bumped into Eliza.

"Oops, sorry!" Eliza said in a hushed tone.

"Eliza?" Cherry rubbed her eyes and slid on her own glasses. She noticed Eliza was dressed like she was about to go out into the dangerous world. "Where are you going?"

"I need to save Tally before it's too late." Eliza replied. "This is important and secret, please don't tell anyone?"

"Maybe I can help?" Cherry asked, hopefully.

"I don't know, Cherry..." Eliza bit her lip.

"Please Eliza?" Cherry put her hands together.

"Well... Okay," Eliza gave in. "But you have to promise not to tell anyone."

"I promise." Cherry put her right hand up.

Just then a door opened and out came Sarah with her sleep mask over her head, looking angered, tired and worn out. She didn't look like she was up for any fun and games.

"What are you two doing?" Sarah demanded.

"We have to go." Eliza replied.

"I'm calling Mrs. Fairgood." Sarah snatched the room phone.

"No! Please!" Eliza slammed her hands away from the phone.

"You have to keep this a secret." Cherry added.

"Do you have a credit card?" Eliza asked, knowing Sarah's from a wealthy family and probably does have a card at her age. "I need three tickets to Africa."

"Africa!?" Sarah reacted with disgust. "I'm not taking part in this."

"My parents will pay you back, I promise." Eliza begged. "And no one will know you helped us."

"I won't tell anyone Sarah, not even Arlene." Cherry added. "Until it's all over."

"Until what's all over?" Sarah growled. "You're both acting so odd. I'm reporting you two at once."

"Sarah, please!" Eliza pleaded. "It's a matter of life and death. We have to go now and we really need your help. Please!"

"Just think," Cherry walked over to the snobby girl. "You'll get the room all to yourself again."

Sarah smirked at that and dialed a different number. "Would you prefer aisle or window?"

After a bit of talking, Sarah got Eliza and Cherry their plane tickets and didn't ask anymore questions. Cherry quickly went in her room to pack up and get dressed up for traveling. While there, Eliza would be at the horse stables to collect Darwin who was now with the prized horse, Thunder. Cherry felt guilty as she saw Arlene stir in her sleep. She then wrote a note and put it on Arlene's side of the night stand and quickly left with her bags together. She smiled at Arlene and mostly wrote in the note to thank her for being such a good friend.

"You don't have to do this, Cherry." Eliza said after she collected Darwin.

"We're friends, we help each other." Cherry told her.

"You deserve a lot of friends with your optimism and helpfulness." Darwin smiled.

"Thanks guys." Cherry smiled as they quickly ran from Lady Beatrice's School.

They went further into town and passed a lot of late night walking people. They made it to a trolley in time as it was about to leave. Cherry and Darwin spotted a man with a silver nose piercing and pink Mohawk and were creeped out by him. They looked away as Darwin grabbed him and pulled him away. When they got to the station they had to give their passports.

The man behind the desk looked at Eliza's and Cherry's and they were clear to go. Darwin then pressed his nose up and exposed his front teeth as the man took Sarah's passport. The man shrugged it off and let them go ahead anyway. Poor Darwin was fidgeting though since there was hay in the skirt he was wearing from the stable. They all then got on a plane, Eliza and Darwin were seated next to each other and there was a Moroccan man beside them. Cherry wasn't having such an easy time on the flight.

She was stuck in a middle seat, even though she asked for a window one. Next to her was an overweight woman with a fussy baby which cried and messed up her face a lot with stray baby food. And there was an older man leaning over Cherry and sleeping as drool hung from his mouth and made Cherry feel the most uncomfortable and claustrophobic she had ever felt. To make matters worse, the person sitting in front of her kept leaning back over her and there was a kid about six years old behind Cherry's seat who kept kicking it. In short, Eliza and Darwin slept okay on the plane and Cherry was having the most miserable flight of her life.