Rhett Finkleberry
It's dead boring when you're asleep and you don't get any interesting dreams that make you want to remain asleep. I slept early after the party that afternoon after McAllister won the treasure hunt. Ughh! It sucks trying to force yourself to sleep. If I was at Wolfgang, I and Tommie would have gone down to the first graders' floor and put booby traps all over.
Tommie has a certain proclivity to gratify himself by looking at first graders trip themselves over cello tape taped across the doorways.
Tom was fast asleep (being his twin, I can tell that he is sleeping by his snoring). He always tells me that he doesn't snore when he sleeps. So his lack of knowledge that he snores helps me in identifying (when I need to) if he's sleeping or if he's pretending to sleep.
With Tom asleep, I can't pull a prank properly.
So to entertain myself, I pulled out my phone and scrolled through the last chat we had on the night before the day we left America for Bolivia.
Timothy McAllister: Guys have you started packing?
Alice Boe: Yup, just got to put my toothbrush and self-care kit in my bag
Jean Pierre Gagnon: Haha, I have to start. Procrastinated obviously 🤷♂️.
Kirt Heinrich: Guys Ms. Berkley says that all boys must come down to the Boys' Residency's Common Room ASAP.
Timothy McAllister: Thanks, Kirt. Excuse me folks gotta go.
Jean Pierre Gagnon: Me too
Kirt Heinrich: No problem guys.
Me: Oh boy! Announcements. I wish I just can't go.
Kirt Heinrich: Rhett she said, "all grade 10 boys must come down to the common room".
Me: Bruh… you actually think I give a shit about what that witch says? 😂
Kirt Heinrich: Excuse me, Rhett. This is Miss Berkley now. You've said enough already. COME DOWN TO THE COMMON ROOM!😤😤
Tommie: 🤣🤣🤣
Kirt Heinrich: YOU TOO MR. TOM FINKLEBERRY!
Alice Boe: This is hilarious 10/10 👌👌😂👏👏
Me: Ummm I'm sorry Miss. Berkeley.. was talkin of…
Me: Hernanda Wilkinson
HernandaWilkinson: Wot? 0.0
Alice Boe: 🤣🤣
AnnSophia Fabron: 😂 Rhett, I often feel like you should just drop out of school. You'd make a good comedian.
Me: Can I say something, me lady.
AnnSophia Fabron: Yes? 😂
Me: Fill in the blanks A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H, _, J, K, L
AnnSophia Fabron: I
Me: Name a word that starts with an L, has a V in the middle and E at the end 🤔
AnnSophia Fabron: Love? 😂😂
Me: P,Q,R,S,T, _, what comes next? 😎
AnnSophia Fabron: U?
Alice Boe: 🤦♀️😊😂😂
AnnSophia Fabron: Awwww. Me too 💕💕
Me: My bounty is as boundless as the sea. Farewell me lady for I shall depart from thee into the starry night.
AnnSophia Fabron: Farewell, my sweet knight. May my love be with thee as thou travelest into the stary night. 💕💕😘😂😂
Alice Boe: 😂 Didn't expect that. 👌👏👏
Catherine Newcastle: 😂😂
Catherine Newcastle: Hey guys. Just finished packing, and saw 10+ notifications on WhatsApp.
AnnSophia Fabron: Hi Cat.
Hernanda Wilkinson: Ummm girls. I ran out of toothpaste. I don't have any spares that I can take with me. If there's no toothpaste in the hotels we travel, can I borrow an extra toothpaste tube from anyone?
Michaela Smith: Wth Hernanda. Ewww. that's gross
Fiona Buckingham: Yea wth Hernanda. Like sharing toilet paper after wipin your stinkin shit with it.
Alice Boe: Don't worry Hernanda, I'll really love to share my toothpaste with you.
Fiona Buckingham: No wonder ☝☝
Michaela Smith: 😂😂😂
———-
Boy, I am the king of romance.
That one was fast that night. I liked AnnSophia Fabron. Sweet girl. Very pretty. She's the most beautiful girl in our grade. I truly am a knight. I conquered that which many fought to possess. I fell asleep as I was thinking about AnnSophia and laughing at myself.
Alice Boe
Kirt and Timothy almost got me in trouble by talking loudly that night. Now until that night, Mr. Gallagher and Ms. Seagle were pretty chill about us sleeping late. But that afternoon an incident happened. Ever since that incident Seagale and Gallagher decided that no one should be awake after bed-time.
Luckily, Sergio didn't hear about this, so he still was ready to take us to where he had promised to take us to. Sergio told me to come down when everyone was asleep, along with Timothy. He often reminded me of Hagrid from Harry Potter. He was really friendly and nice to us.
When I saw everyone had left the campfire and returned to their capsules (including Gallagher and Seagale), I came downstairs. Suddenly I heard Miss Seagale come downstairs as well. To escape being caught, I rushed and hid in Kirt's capsule (which was empty). Since all the capsules had tinted glass, Kirt couldn't discern that someone was inside his capsule, when he looked my way. I heard Miss Seagale and Mr. Gallagher discussing something about a passport and talking about immigration.
I couldn't piece together what I overheard.
After a long time, Gallagher went to the campfire while Seagale went upstairs. I saw Kirt Heinrich coming to the bus. In fear of being noticed by Kirt, I tried leaving the capsule as soon as possible. I flipped, hoping to land on my legs.
But, I was wrong. I slid from the capsule and fell face-flat on the dusty floor.
If Rhett and Tom Finkleberry were awake, they'd extract two weeks worth of laughter from that fall.
Since I could hear Tom Finkleberry snore, I was assured that I didn't have to fear that.
I got up and saw that Kirt was standing on the first stair, and was thinking about something.
I didn't know what to do. I certainly couldn't use his capsule and all other capsules which were a dash away were occupied, so I rushed to the boys' bathroom and shut myself in.
Boy! it stank. I smelled urine all over that place. I was scared of standing on the wet floor because I had this weird thought that I might have not been standing on water but on the stinking urine of some boy who didn't know how to aim properly into the bowl, or of someone who was too sleepy that he lost aim while urinating. There were even wet strips of toilet paper lying on the floor. I wondered how the boys' shower room (which was the room opposite the toilet) was. I pressed my nose tight so that I wouldn't be able to smell the hideous smell of the urine that overpowered the smell of the which I wore that night. Victor's Secret certainly overpowered Victoria's Secret (my perfume) that night, in the bathroom. I am glad I didn't puke.
I heard someone go downstairs using the spiral staircase, and I guessed correctly that it was Ms. Seagale. After spending about more than two hours in those repulsive confines of the bathroom, I was relieved when I heard Mr. Gallagher walk to his capsule, and when I heard Ms. Seagale go upstairs. I waited for twenty-one minutes and then broke free from the disgusting boys' bathroom.
I walked carefully when suddenly Heinrich came out of his capsule and stood in my way. I froze. If I dashed for the bathroom, he'd notice. If I dashed upstairs, who knew if Seagle would have been awake. So I just stood there, rock-solid like a frozen piece of butchered meat until he forced me to reveal myself by accidentally stepping on my feet.
After we three reached Sergio's cabin, he took us three into the forest. Before that, h first took a look at us, to check if we were well dressed for the purpose.
After mentally confirming that we three were ready, he took with him a hunting lamp and gave us three each a pistol. He charged us with keeping the guns safely and told us that once we returned, we had to return the pistols to him. We nodded our heads in agreement and left the camp.
Sergio led us, being the first person to push a branch out of his way, as he headed into the thick forest, which Heinrich, being a Potterhead, described as the 'Forbidden Forest'. McAllister, being another Potterhead, shared the same excitement Heinrich had.
I, on the other hand, was thrilled about the adventurous idea of stealing myself away from civilization and getting lost. This brief entry to the thick forest was the closest I had thus far to that experience.
The forest was so dense. We had to push our way through the branches which occasionally scraped at us. Some leaves crumbled as we placed our feet on the forest floor. Even the slightest sound of twigs breaking, as we placed our foot over them, reverberated throughout the forest. I took a deep breath.
After a few minutes inside the thick forest, I heard a buzz. I loaded the pistol Sergio handed me with great difficulty; for, I was not accustomed to guns.
Timothy and Kirt were though. I'd say they're true Americans. More American than I am. Every Saturday, we all are allowed to go to Herculeville, a little town, which is an enclave, surrounded by the vast lands of Wolfgang Estate. Herculeville used to be called Wolfgangtown, but three decades ago the town was renamed so that it wouldn't appear like as if the town was run by the owners of the Wolfgang Estate. In Herculeville, the first place both Kirt and Timothy go to when we all are allowed to visit the town is the town's shooting range. Minors weren't allowed, but since Kirt and Timothy were close friends with the old man running the place, he lets them fire away at the targets. If Timothy and Kirt weren't nice people, I'd probably freak out seeing them be my classmates; for, they have tried almost all major guns including assault rifles. They were masters in using guns.
After loading my pistol, I pointed it towards where I heard the buzzing noise. The noise moved behind a few trees. After two minutes, the noise stopped. I heaved a sigh of relief and moved back.
I bumped into something but didn't shriek because I looked behind me and realized that I had bumped into Kirt.
I heard a buzz once again, which came close to my ear and then stopped. At that moment, something with creepy, tiny legs ran on my neck.
I then felt a tingling sensation and the feeling of something running down my neck into my shirt. I screamed, yelled, and threw my pistol away. I tried dusting the insect out. Then, it came out of my sleeve and jumped into the mouth of Kirt, who was laughing loudly at me.
Now it was my turn to laugh.
Kirt coughed multiple times like he was dying.
After three coughs, an insect emerged from his mouth.
After another cough, it fell.
It was a large, brown cockroach.
Kirt stamped it and twirled its body with the tip of his shoe. He then stood at ease, looking at the corpse of the cockroach, upside down.
He heaved a sigh of relief and bent down to grab my pistol for me.
That's when something creepy happened: the cockroach (which he thought was dead) flipped back and flew into the air, buzzing. He dropped the pistol and stood up.
Kirt's face turned red, and his heart was beating fast. He had a very strong aversion to cockroaches, like me. I could tell he was glad that the cockroach didn't return.
Sergio and McAllister came towards us.
"Hurry, we don't have much time," said Sergio.
"And take your pistol, Alice. Don't lose it. We don't have an infinite stock of guns in camp," he told me, sternly.
McAllister picked my pistol up for me and gave it to me. I smiled at him in gratitude. He smiled back and told me, "Come on Alice, let's go." I went with him, following Sergio.
After he had recovered from his shock, Kirt joined us.
We walked for fifty minutes straight, through the jungle. After those fifty minutes, we climbed a little hill and there was a beautiful sight for us to behold.
Kirt came carrying himself, after having a fall, "What is it?"
I and McAllister laughed at him.
"Not funny Timmie!", he shouted.
I offered him my hand and pulled him up.
From the top of the hill, we saw a dark blue river meandering through the forest, burbling as she flowed along her bed. Seeping, and snaking through obstacles, she carried on her surface twirling twigs which she brought right from her source.
The sweet aroma of the trees and the forest drifted through the air, into my nostrils as I stood there on the hill, observing nature. I moved closer, running down the hill towards the banks of the river.
The waters had a symphony of their own, and I listened to it keenly. Little waves from the river, gently dribbled onto the edges of her banks. Occasionally the waves deposited a twig or two, which the waters carried from afar, on the banks of the stream.
"Enjoying it?" asked Sergio, with a smile.
"Yeah," I said. I turned back for a brief moment, to look at Heinrich and McAllister enjoy the scenery too.
"What is she called Sergio?" asked Kirt.
"Who?" asked a puzzled Sergio.
"The river," said Kirt.
"Well, she is called La Muchachita. She looks peaceful now, but at times she can be violent," said Sergio
"She's beautiful", Kirt said. "More beautiful than you Alice", Kirt added to tease me, trying to pull my leg. Timothy chuckled, shook his head and smiled.
I smiled at Kirt's words.
We four just sat by the banks, admiring the beauty of La Muchachita, listening to the symphony of her waters.
We just sat there for a long time. Just listening. Just listening to the sound of the trees dancing to the movement of the wind. Just listening to the sound of the running water. Just listening to the gentle flutter of the wings of birds which flew from one tree to another, chirping.
After hours had passed, Sergio rose.
"We've got to go now guys," he said. I wish I could have stayed there for long, but judging from Sergio's facial expressions, I knew that he couldn't allow us to linger here a little longer.