Gen Three- Chapter Eleven

My feet ached slightly from the walk I was not used to. Gilly, Merlot, and I were going to have to talk to mom and dad about a better way to get us all home after school. The start of a new year of education meant something big for us older ones. Seventh grade had us finally departing from elementary school and journeying on to the adventure that was junior high. Merlot was left all by his lonesome then at the elementary, and mom and dad weren't too keen on their first-grader walking home alone. They'd asked us to meet up with him and walk home together, but there was no way this could go on all year. It was such a massive inconvenience for us, and Merlot had to sit there and wait so long that pretty much everyone else had left. Him sitting there alone didn't seem any better than him walking by himself.

     "The best part was when it went dead quiet and that random guy started jumping around in the background." Apple recounted merrily.

The walk had at least been somewhat interesting though. Apple was coming over, as usual, and Timber had been nice enough to tag along as well. We'd met up with Merlot, and in the small break we were taking before the trek restarted my cousin and my friend told us about the funny video one of the teachers in their class let them watch at the end of third period as there was time for nothing else.

     "I liked the part where that one person yelled about the cheeseburger." Timber laughed.

Unfortunately, almost out of nowhere, the sky began to darken. Long accustomed to this kind of behavior, the five of us hurried under the overhanging roof nearby. The rain started hardly another minute later, and there were no signs it would be a small and short drizzle. The winds picked up, the drops fell harder, and we all sighed.

     "I thought it was supposed to at least hold off until after dinner." Gilly whined.
     "I guess we can't be that lucky." I replied dismally.
     "What are we going to do now?" Merlot wondered, "I don't want to walk home in this."
     "Maybe Papa Al is home? He might be able to come get us since everyone else is out or at work." Gilly suggested.
     "I guess we'll have to brave to run to the front door to ask to use the phone in the main office." Timber rationalized.
     "Let's go then." Apple prompted, being the first to step out into the freezing rain.

The run wasn't bad though considering the front entrance was there around the corner. Papa Al picked up right away as well, although we had to stuff ourselves inside his car that didn't have enough space for everyone. I sat on Gilly's lap constricted by the seat belt while Papa Al made sure to drive slower just to be extra careful. He bequeathed us with several of Aunt Mimi's brownies when we reached home before heading on to take Timber to his place. Those brownies barely made it past the door we devoured them with such fervor. The house greeted us with a gentle silence as Blaze probably was still in the middle of his afternoon nap, and Ember would be spending the evening at Melrose's house. Gilly, Apple, and I contemplated doing the little bit of homework we'd gotten that night, but as most of it consisted of paperwork we needed our parents to sign we ignored it for the time being.

     "I'd really hoped we might get to swim for a little bit today," Apple mumbled as we stared longingly out the window, "It's ridiculous that it can seriously rain this much. I'm surprised we're not under water at this point."
     "We might be soon enough. Dia and I heard dad talking this morning about how the rivers are about to break past their limit. The one behind the bookstore is really threatening to creep up onto the property. I heard one of my teachers talking about how some hurricane down south is steadily heading in our direction too, which obviously wouldn't be good if it doesn't fizzle out by the time it gets here." Gilly added with light dread.
     "It better not come up here. We haven't gone to the summer festival once, and it's only in town for a few more days." I stated desperately.

I'd been looking forward to the summer festival more than normal this year. It had already been so long, but in some ways it felt as if it'd only been a little while since I'd met Timber. It was if the craziness that we'd gone through with his mother had happened yesterday. Sadly, it was also as if I could still go visit Aunt Deny and expect to have Uncle Eden greet me. The anniversary of his death being tomorrow had me desiring to find something positive to thrust my energy towards. The plan had been to do something exciting at the festival, but I sighed as I gave in on that happening. Thankfully, my mind didn't remain focused on the defeat for long.

     "Hey, what do you guys say about throwing a party for Timber?" I asked the other two as ideas started whirring.
     "A party for Timber? Why? It's not his birthday or anything." Apple wondered.
     "Well, I want to do something fun, and things seem to go better when you have an excuse to do them," I began lightheartedly, "Also, I think it'd be nice to celebrate us now knowing Timber for a full year. A party could be a kind of rejoicing that he's truly one of us now while it also gives us an opportunity to clear up our boredom caused by the rain."
     "I like it," Gilly agreed with instant eagerness, "We barely got to enjoy our vacation at all. This is the perfect time to do it too, before the school year really gets rolling."

Apple nodded along with a smile.

     "Okay, I can get behind this. How should we throw the party though? It obviously shouldn't be held outside."
     "We could do it at one of our houses, but I think only ours is really big enough to have any sort of super nice party. The point is to get out of here though." I contemplated.
     "So not a house party. We'll have to probably get our parents' permission then if we want to hold it out in the town somewhere, since it'll cost money."
     "How about the arcade at the city park? Most of us still have time remaining on our summer passes." Gilly suggested.
     "I dunno. That's also where we've spent a lot of time, and playing those games is only entertaining for so long. I'd rather have it be at a place where there's a variety of things to do." I pointed that out.
     "Well, there is the one obvious place for that then. The activity center." Apple came to the best conclusion.

Gilly and I couldn't disagree. The activity center was the best place for the kind of party I had in mind. The thought to suggest it had been in the back of my mind, but I'd been hoping one of the others had an idea of some other place I hadn't heard of to offer up. Paying to host a party at the center could be expensive, and I wasn't sure if mom and dad would go for it for the reason of mostly just wanting to have fun. They'd probably end up saying they wouldn't mind paying for us, but if friends wanted to come their parents would have to take on that expense.

     "And how much do you have, Gilly?"
     "I've been trying not to spend too much more than fifteen dollars a month, so about one-hundred and seventy five."
     "And you, Dia?"
     "I've got a little over two hundred."
     "What the...why in the world are you guys saving your allowances so badly?" Apple spoke in amazement as she scribbled down our numbers into her notebook.
     "We're hoping to save up a lot so we can get another pet, either another dog or perhaps a cat," Gilly explained, "The more money we're willing to put forth for one, the more likely we think mom and dad will be towards agreeing."

Apple frowned and scratched at her head.

     "And I thought it was impressive that I'd saved fifty dollars. Well, okay. How much of that money are you willing to put towards helping to pay for the party then?"
     "It follows the same kind of logic, doesn't it?" Gilly mused, "The more we offer to pay, the more likely mom and dad are willing to help with the rest of it. How about...fifty dollars from me?"
     "I'll put it fifty too, that way we have one-hundred." I decided.
     "I can put in twenty-five."
     "Apple, you don't have to g-"
     "I want to help, so I'm going to help," my cousin interrupted me determinedly, "Velvet owes me more than twenty-five dollars, so I'll have to simply be more forceful about getting the money I've lent her back. I'll be fine."
     "Thanks."
     "Of course. So, we have one-hundred and twenty-five dollars. I don't know how much it costs to have a party at the center, but that has to take a sizable chunk out of the payment."

I certainly hoped it would. Over one-hundred dollars was a lot for eleven-year-olds, but I knew it was a lot for anyone in general. I could buy an older version of the game system I'd been wanting for that much money. Apple circled our magic number in her notebook before flipping to the next page as we began planning out the finer details of the party such as who we wanted to invite, what food we wanted, the general itinerary, and so on. Halfway through the planning, Blaze woke up from his nap and found us downstairs.

     "Huh, you three are being surprisingly diligent working on your homework with such gusto." he said.
     "We're not doing homework. We're planning a party we want to have at the activity center." Gilly revealed.
     "That makes much more sense," Blaze laughed, "Why do you want to have a party? Just for fun?"
     "For fun, and for a sort of celebration for Timber. To really welcome him now that he's been here for a year." I explained.
     "This is what we've planned so far- how much we're willing to give from our allowances, the people we're inviting, the games we're scheduling, and whatnot." Apple spoke excitedly, showing Blaze her notes.
     "I see. Hmm. Hey, you know what? Don't you worry about the cost. I'll pay for it."

The room plunged into total silence. Gilly, Apple, and I stared at each other in complete disbelief, and I turned to my sister in slight horror.

     "I think he's starting to slip." I whispered.
     "Come on now," Blaze laughed again, "My mind is working as it always has. I understand I am getting older, and with how much money the kid has to his name he won't even let me pay anything for rent. I can barely get him to let me to pay for this one's veterinarian bills. There's no real reason for me to save so stringently anymore, so I might as well put the cash towards good use."

Giving Blaze a good stare did nothing but produce an expression of utter determination from him, so I shrugged and forced myself to accept the surprising offer of generosity.

     "Thanks, Blaze," I spoke with relief, knowing the party really could happen now, "How is Doodle doing, by the way? He had his appointment this morning, right?"
     "Yeah. The vet said he's doing his best, but this poor old boy is tired. She doesn't see his problems with walking getting any better, so we're going to have to be more diligent getting him around since he can't really do it himself anymore."
     "Oh, I see." I replied with a small pout as I'd been expecting better news.
     "Poor Doodle." Apple gushed, reaching up to scratch his back.

Doodle managed enough energy to turn to lick her hand before cuddling up against Blaze as he snuggled him closer.

     "The vet gave him some new medicine though, so that should go a long way towards making him feel better." he spoke optimistically.

Two days later, Doodle seemed slightly better. The same two days later, the party was set. With Blaze paying for it, mom and dad had no problem giving permission for it to happen. They, honestly, seemed just as excited for a chance to get out of the house. I carried the good news in my chest that Wednesday until it bubbled around waiting to burst out. The opportunity to reveal it all to Timber came when we met at the library after school. Having a legitimate school project to work on this time around, a book report, he and I barely started searching the shelves before I blurted out his invitation.

     "You're really throwing this party partly for me?" he questioned in heartfelt surprise.
     "Yeah. We never did end up going back to the summer festival last year because of Uncle Eden's death, and I just felt like we had to do something to celebrate this year. Last year was a little crazy too with everything we tried to make happen, so this year I want to make good things happen."
     "I'd love a party just for a party's sake, but I appreciate a bunch Dia that you're doing this for me too. It was kind of hard for me with mom doing what she did, as you're aware, and how it ended up hurting you, so it does make me feel relieved in a way that I do have people like you caring." Timber admitted with a small, timid smile.
     "You're welcome, buddy." I grinned widely, giving him a quick but sturdy hug.

Timber patted me on the back before giving me a different kind of smile of his own. In a way, it appeared apologetic. I soon found out why.

     "You said the party is this Saturday?" he asked.
     "Uh-huh." I nodded.
     "Is there a certain start time for it?"
     "We scheduled with the center for it to start at eleven and go until four."
     "That should be fine then."
     "Did you have something else planned?" I wondered, not even having thought of that possibility.
     "Yeah, but, like I said, there shouldn't be too much of a problem. Dad actually wanted to celebrate our general one-year anniversary of us moving as well. He's taking us to this fancy out of town restaurant he's been wanting to try for breakfast on Saturday. I won't be able to make it to the party right at eleven, but I can probably get there around noon."
     "Oh, okay. That is totally fine. People came come and go whenever. Just as long as you're able to come for a little bit."
     "I'll definitely be coming. There's no way I'm passing a party like this up, especially when I'm somewhat the person of honor." Timber laughed.

Timber and I discussed the party a smidge more, and then the chime of a nearby clock signaled the start of the new hour. We only had an hour left before our parents came to get us, so we figured we should get what work done that we could. Some of our homework got done. A lot of our project didn't. We chose a seat near a window, and with the absolute cacophony of heavy rain, screaming winds, leaves dancing off their branches like it was fall, and a never ending light show of lightning it proved difficult to concentrate.

     "They're projecting that hurricane to get all the way to a category five." Timber remarked in casual dread as he glanced outside for the thousandth time.
     "And it's still heading in our direction?" I asked reluctantly.
     "They're expecting it to make landfall further south, but we're going to get the terrible leftovers."
     "Great," I said dismally, "I was hoping it would fizzle out more or land somewhere else. Dad brought us to the bookstore yesterday. The water's seriously almost on top of the place. He's freaking out, and he told me the city's really started to go into a panic."

Timber reached over to pat my hand.

     "If you'd like, we can research ceremonies to banish the rain. I'm sure there's some interesting ones out there." he proposed to lighten my mood.
     "Because the one to banish bad luck worked out so well?" I couldn't help but to give him a look of amusement.
     "That was Ember just messing around with us and making it up right there and then."
     "I'm still impressed she came up with that rhyme on the spot like it was nothing," I giggled, "Well, as long as there's no way doing the ceremony will get me in trouble, I'll be down for it."
     "Should I go get permission to use a computer then?" Timber offered, mostly teasing.
     "Maybe tomorrow. Mom and dad are going to be checking to make sure I'm actually doing my work. We'd better get some more done lest we arouse their suspicions again."
     "I suppose." Timber nodded with a gentle, entertained sigh.

He came to school the next morning with a handful of papers his dad let him print off at home. In those papers were ceremonies of old from ancient civilizations and random ideas other people made up who swore they affected the weather. Ideas ranged from sprinkling ginger all over the yard to wearing yellow and orange while pouring blue dyed water down the sink. One of the suggestions was to wear a yellow wristband all day, which Timber kindly provided. That afternoon wasn't so bleak, although rain still dripped on our heads. My friend came over, we did the rest of the suggestions that were reasonably possible for us, and in the end we had fun with it more than we believed any of them would work.

     "We're pretty lucky, huh Doodle?" I spoke to dad's dog as I'd brought him up to my room with me after Timber left, "Minus the rain, this year is going pretty well. We've got good friends all around, and I even got Mrs. Sprinkle for math while Gil, Apple, and Timber got stuck with Mr. Valley."

Doodle raised his head for a brief second when I lovingly pet the top of his head, but he quickly laid it back down with an expression I thought looked rather miserable.

     "Poor puppy. Hopefully we can get you feeling better soon. Mom and dad might actually say yes to us getting you a companion as well this time around. I'm sure you'd love to have a furry friend for once instead of just us boring, human ones." I cooed, gently stroking his back.

When Saturday finally came, I felt as if I'd spoke a little soon in regards to certain things. I still felt lucky, but perhaps not quite as lucky as before. I woke up in the morning with a slight ache in my temples and a tickle in my throat. A nice cup of tea combated the majority of those sensations for a bit, but upon stepping out the front door and into the screaming winds and drenching rain on the journey to the activity center I might as well have not have bothered. The headache and sore throat stayed even when entering the warm building, and a cold chill danced up and down my body.

     "The path changed again. They say it's going to land right on top of us now." Rain spoke with mild drama as he, Confetti, and I sat at a table nearby while most everyone else skated in the rink.

Neither he nor Confetti were interested in skating, and I wasn't feeling too steady on my feet.

     "Maybe you should leave town. You've probably cursed the whole city." Confetti joked.
     "Haha," Rain rolled his eyes, "Way to be the dozenth person to make that sort of joke about my name."
     "Hey guys, could we talk about something other than the weather or the hurricane?" I requested gently, "I'm kind of done hearing about it at this point."
     "It is all everyone's been talking about. I get why, but, yeah, it's getting on my nerves too." Rain agreed.
     "Ooh, did you guys see the new episode of Power Fighters last night?" Confetti jumped right on changing the topic.

A worker soon brought over the food and drink that we'd ordered, and the hot chocolate I'd gotten did a bit more towards giving me another boost. Unfortunately, it's effects were only temporary as well. All the bright lights of the activity center stung my eyes while the loud noises banged against my skull. Too focused on that, it took me until 12:30 to realize I hadn't seen anything of Timber.

     "Hey, grandpa?" I asked him when I searched around until I found him up with dad and Ember on the second floor.
     "Hmm?"
     "You have Mr. Mountain's number in your phone, right? Do you think you could call him? Timber said he would be here around noon, but it's been half an hour and I haven't seen him."
     "Oh, sure."

I tried to hide how I rubbed at my freezing hands while the call grandpa made rung and rung. Thankfully, grandpa was too busy waiting for the call to be picked up while dad and Ember probably hadn't noticed me to begin with given how intense their game of ping pong was. It felt an eternity passed, and my heart sunk when the way grandpa spoke to the phone made it clear he'd gotten Mr. Mountain's voicemail.

     "Hello, Russet. This is Amaranth. Dia and I are just calling to see how things are faring with you and when you might be arriving. She's eager to hear when Timber will be around. Obviously, you don't need my number, but it's loud here so whenever you can call me back try at least twice so..."

Grandpa paused, his expression changed, and my hope picked back up.

     "Oh, hey, Russet," he said, and this time I could just about hear his familiar voice on the other end, "Yeah, I as just in the middle of leaving a message. Dia's curious about when you and Timber will be arriving at the party."

There was long pause, and dad's expressions turned mildly grim.

     "It's that bad? I see. Well, that's really unfortunate. No no, don't worry about it. She'll understand. You two just be safe. Yeah. No problem. Uh-huh. Bye."

Grandpa hung up before meeting my downcast expression with as much of a smile as he could muster.

     "Russet and Timber haven't even been able to get onto the highway yet. There's a large, multi car crash blocking off all lanes. Everything's backed up for miles, and to top it off there's a smaller accident further up the highway that's making it even worse. Russet said it's so bad he and Timber are probably just going to turn around, get a hotel for the night, and come back tomorrow."
     "Oh, okay," I spoke, knowing I'd done a poor job at failing to hide my immense disappointment, "I'm glad they're okay."
     "I'm sorry, Dia. Want to go play a round of laser tag?" grandpa offered to cheer me up.
     "No, it's okay. Thanks though. I was going to go see what Gilly wanted to do now." I lied.

I needed a moment by myself, but I remembered how things had been last year with all the lying. I dutifully sought my sister out in order to keep my word. However, I couldn't approach her. She, Pyre, and Confetti had moved up to the arcade room where the three of them had their own intense game going on. Trying for the highest score in however many rounds of skeeball they played, it didn't appear as if Gilly was having much luck. Still, she joked around and laughed so fully with her companions that for the brief moment I watched them from my mildly hidden position my chest filled with jealousy. Was it because my sister was having fun while I felt relatively miserable? Was it because she had Pyre and Confetti around while the main reason I wanted to throw this party wouldn't be showing up? Whatever the case, I shuffled off soundlessly.

The quietest place I could find was the bowling alley. Our session in there wouldn't be starting for another half hour, so no one was around. In there I parked myself on the couch farthest from the entrance, and yet I only got a moment to lay down and rest my head before someone called my name.

     "Dia?" dad spoke kindly, both openly and with an expected amount of concern, "What's up? Not having a good time?"
     "No." I mumbled miserably.
     "Upset about Timber not being able to come?" he guessed as he sat down nearby so he was near my eye level.
     "Yeah," I went ahead and admitted, "I'm not feeling very good either."
     "Oh?"

When I properly opened my eyes and tried to sit up, my vision swirled. My eyes went slightly glassy with sick tears, and my every limb quivered. Dad's hand found its way to my forehead right away. Several seconds passed, and he softly held my hand.

     "Your forehead is warm and your hand is cold. Look like you do have a decent fever coming on. It would be best if I took you home so you can get some rest."
     "Mmhmm." I agreed without resistance, liking that option as opposed to staying at the center a moment longer.

Dad took me home in a taxi, and he could barely get medicine in me before I conked out. I fell asleep in the spare bedroom, in order to not spread my cold to Gilly, and I basically didn't wake up until the next morning. Mom and dad woke me up when it was time to have more medicine and a little food and water, but that was it. I arose feeling considerably better on Sunday, and when Monday rolled around I was, unfortunately, back to full health. That meant I could go to school. There was no time before the first class Timber and I had together to talk, so that had to come after fifth period.

     "I'm really sorry, Dia." Timber apologized right away.
     "It's fine. Really, don't worry about it. Honestly, even if you had come, I would have ended up going home because of my cold anyway. I felt awful." I shook my head.
     "Sorry to hear that, but I'm glad you're better," Timber smiled, "Make sure you stay better too. In order to make up for last Saturday, I'm making plans for this Saturday."
     "What kind of plans?" I wondered eagerly.
     "Secret plans," Timber hinted with amused mischievousness, "I mean, my dad knows because he's going to help me with them, but otherwise very hush-hush."
     "Should I be inviting anyone else to join us for these secret plans?"
     "Nah, everyone else got to enjoy the party. This is just for you and me." Timber beamed.
     "Well, I can't wait then." I grinned widely.

Unfortunately, that chance for whatever fun thing Timber had in mind to make up for the party wouldn't happen for a long time. Not for years. That Monday proceeded the way most Mondays at school do. Things changed from the norm when during seventh period it was announced school would be getting out early that day because of the exceptionally heavy rainfall. Given how terrible some of the rain had been recently, that meant the storm raged with a fervor I think almost none of us had seen. Something else none of my siblings had seen- moving trucks in front of our house. The buses normally didn't drop off us kids who lived so close, but an exception was made on that day given the weather and the change in schedule. The orange and white truck sitting on the road took off right as the bus pulled up, and Gilly, Merlot, and I gave each other quizzical glances. Those quizzical glances became full blown expressions of utter confusion when we stepped inside.

     "What's going on? Everything's so empty." Gilly remarked, dumbfounded.

Almost none of the bookshelves, which had always been full, had any books left. Not only that, but the pictures on the walls, the chess set, the vast majority of chairs and couches...none of them were anywhere to be seen.

Mom appeared from the sun room at the sound of our voices, and we all rushed over. I rushed over slightly slower than my siblings as I took the chance to glance past her to see nothing remained in that room either. Grandma's piano, those couches, the drum set no one really used- they were gone.

     "Mom, what's happening?" Gilly hurriedly demanded to know.

Mom gave us a stressed smile as her expression was apologetic.

     "I'm sorry this is happening suddenly, but your father, grandfather, and I got together this morning after you left for school to decided this was the best way to handle the situation. That hurricane is heading right for Berrybrook, but it's barely begun to effect the area yet. That should be an indication of how terrible things are going to be when it gets here. That's why we came to the conclusion that, for the moment, we're going to have to move."