Chapter Twelve: Land of the D
"Look, Phoenix and Ben are on our bus," Elise said. The girls walked towards the boys and sat across from them. “Hey guys."
"Hi," Phoenix said to the both of them.
"ANASTASIA. MY MOM. HI," Ben said.
"Haha, hello my beautiful son. Nice pillow pet," Anastasia said with laughter. Ben put his unicorn pillow pet on the table.
"I know, Milena has the same one. We’re twinsies." Anastasia smiled then looked at Phoenix.
"Is Celeste coming?" Anastasia asked him.
"She told our dad to go on without her. So I don’t think she is. I tried convincing her but she never said anything," Phoenix said.
"Well we should get her something. Show that we were thinking about her on the trip," Anastasia suggested.
Phoenix nodded, “I’d like that."
Slumping in his chair, Kyle began to grow more and more depressed by the second. While his friends were loading busses to Disneyland, he was at home, doing nothing. He thought a lot about what was happening, wondering if anyone else felt lonely like him. Then he remembered, Lydia. Kyle remembered how Jeremy talked about how she wasn’t able to go because of the money issue. A sudden idea hit him and he yelled for his mom to drive him to Lydia’s house.
In just a few minutes, he was on his way to the house. Once he arrived, he and his mom rushed to the door and knocked repeatedly until it opened. The woman looked strangely familiar. “Nicole?" the woman asked.
"Winnie!" Kyle’s mom replied excitedly.
"What are you doing here?"
"Kyle said one of his friends lived here."
"Oh! Hi Kyle, remember me?" Winnie asked.
Kyle shrugged and his mom said, “She’s the lady who gave you the leather jacket for Christmas."
"Oh, I remember now," he said, now remembering who she was. Winnie had been a friend of his mom’s for a while. They met in college and hung out every now and then. “You’re Lydia’s mom?"
"Yes! You must be looking for her. Lydia! There’s someone at the door for you!" Winnie called out. She excused herself for a second and went to get Lydia. She returned with Lydia, who was in a polka dotted bath robe.
"Oh hey," she said to Kyle quietly.
"Hey. Can I talk to you for a sec?" Lydia looked to her mom.
"Go ahead," Winnie said. “Come on in Nicole."
The door to the house closed and Kyle looked to Lydia with a smile. “I got an idea."
Jeremy began boarding the charter bus with his partner Dallas behind him. He looked around and took the seats on the right side of the bus, in front of Charlotte and his friend from band, Cathy. “Oh wow, this is just great," Charlotte said as Jeremy got comfortable in his seat.
"What?" Jeremy asked, looking back at her.
"You guys would be sitting in front of us," Charlotte said.
Dallas laughed while Jeremy said, “Oh I know you love us, no need to hide it."
"Please," Cathy said, rolling her eyes. “You’re so cocky Jeremy."
"Not cocky, just confident," he said with a smirk. Taking a seat in front of them were Dallas’s friends Tobi and Thomas. Tobi turned around and leaned in between their seats.
"Dallas, I broke up with my ex girl…here’s her number," Tobi said, handing Dallas a paper. “PSYCH! That’s the wrong number!"
"Oohh!" Thomas and Jeremy said in unison. The four boys started laughing hysterically while Charlotte and Cathy exchanged confused looks.
"What was that?" Charlotte asked.
"Rap Battle Parody," Jeremy told her.
"But I’m not a rapper!" Tobi interjected. The boys laughed again and the teacher chaperoning the bus told them to quiet down.
Cathy shook her head, “You guys are so weird."
"Come on bus, move!" Elise complained.
Anastasia laughed, “Right, because the bus follows your orders."
Elise smiled and then heard an interesting conversation going on behind her.
"Stop Ben, that’s gay," Phoenix complained.
"I’m not. You’re not sleeping on my lap."
"It’s okay, Zahra isn’t watching."
"Ben stop! You have a freaking unicorn pillow pet to rest on!"
"But he wants your D, Phoenix." Ben put the pillow pet on Phoenix’s lap, making the head rest on Phoenix’s crotch. Anastasia and Elise turned around in their seats to face them, then began laughing.
"He’s trying to make his pillow pet give me a blow job," Phoenix said.
"Because he likes you!" Ben yelled.
Phoenix grabbed the pillow pet and yanked it away from Ben.
"This is mine for tonight," Phoenix said.
"I knew you’d give into him," Ben smiled.
"Oh god." Phoenix began to ignore Ben and turned his attention toward Anastasia and Elise.
"Who are you guys hanging out with?" Anastasia asked.
"Ben is probably hanging out with his Asian friends," Phoenix took a moment to see his reaction then looked back towards Anastasia, “And I’ll probably be with Cyril, Mason, and Andrew."
"We might be with you guys because Elise loves Andrew, I mean loves hanging out with him," Anastasia joked.
"Friendship," Phoenix said. "It’s cold."
"You should’ve brought a blanket," Elise told him.
"Shh, I got this," he said. He took a sweater out of his backpack and slipped it on. It was the sweater Zahra bought him for Valentine’s Day. “We both promised to wear our sweaters the whole trip."
"Cute," Anastasia said with a smile. She turned to her right and noticed Imogen and Jennifer Rowlings sitting across the walkway with Donovan and Michael behind them. Imogen had her head against the window, her face blank from any kind of expression.
"Imogen, you don’t look happy," Elise said. “Then again, I wouldn’t be either if I knew Donnie was sitting behind me." Donovan put on an offended face, which made Imogen smile.
"It’s not that," Imogen said with a sigh. Phoenix bit on his lower lip and did a small nod, knowing what she was talking about. Anastasia was usually the one to find the bright side of situations, but she knew whatever she said to Imogen wouldn’t help much. Just then, Jennifer Rowlings began tapping against Imogen’s leg repeatedly.
"Guys! Look!" Jennifer said, pointing out the window. Anastasia’s eyes met what she was pointing at and her eyes grew wide.
Phoenix got out of his seat to look outside, then raised his eyebrows, "Unbelievable."
The sun shining brightly through the window was what woke him up. He looked around and took in his surroundings. His friends were probably at Bubba Gumps, eating their breakfast together and talking about what they were going to do at Disneyland. He sighed as his mom opened the door and took the seat in front of him. “You’re awake early. Want breakfast from McDonalds?" she asked.
Kyle nodded with a slight grin, “Sounds good to me."
Jeremy and his friends exited the bus then followed his lead towards the tram lines.
"How do you know where to go?" Thomas asked.
"I’ve been here a bunch of times. I could find my way through this place with my eyes closed," Jeremy said.
"You’re cool," Dallas commented.
Jeremy chuckled as they began boarding the tram.
The tram to the parks took a few minutes and the boys found themselves entering California Adventure not too long after. Jeremy had grabbed a map from the entrance and opened it up, his friends checking it out from behind him. “What do you guys wanna do first?" Jeremy asked.
"We could go in a circle and just ride the rides while we go," Dallas suggested.
"That sounds like a good idea," Tobi agreed. Jeremy folded the map and put it in his back pocket and started walking in the circle counter clockwise. They passed by Soarin’ Over California and got Fast Passes for it so they could ride it later on. After getting the passes, Jeremy lead the way to the Grizzly. Just then, the boys heard running coming up from behind them. They turned around to see Milena and Charlotte coming towards them.
"Uh, do we know you people?" Jeremy said.
"Oh my gosh, be quiet," Charlotte said.
"Hi Tobi…hi Dallas," Milena said, her tone changing when she greeted Dallas, who gave her a shy wave. Jeremy and Thomas looked between the two of them and then exchanged looks.
"Okay well we’re gonna go ride the Grizzly now," Jeremy announced.
"We have to meet up with Zahra anyway so we’re going too," Milena said. Suddenly, a ringing came from Milena’s phone and she quickly answered it. “Hey…I’m in California Adventure, I just got off of Soarin’ Over California," she said.
"Who is it?" Jeremy asked.
"Shh!" Milena said. “Turn around, what?" She turned around and then froze in place. Jeremy leaned to the side to see what she was looking at. His jaw dropped slightly at the person standing only a few hundred feet away.
"Is that Lydia?" Charlotte asked. In response, Milena started running towards her as fast as she could, arms open wide. Jeremy smiled, his heart beat now beginning to quicken at the beautiful surprise.
Jeremy nodded, “Yes it is."
"It’s actually cute, oh my gosh," Ashley said, pointing at the picture on Jennifer Valley’s phone.
"Definitely going in the yearbook," Jennifer Valley said.
"I look stupid," Mason complained.
"What’s new?" Andrew teased. The group laughed and Ashley leaned toward Anastasia.
"What’s his name again?" Ashley whispered, pointing to Mason.
Anastasia sighed, “Again Ashley, his name is Mason."
They all thanked the guy in the Sully costume and the photographer before heading off to the Tower of Terror.
"I actually need to go to the bathroom, save me a spot?" Dalia asked.
"Oh okay, we’ll wait for you," Jennifer Valley said.
"Hey I’ll come with you," Anastasia said.
"Wait, we need riding buddies!" Ashley said.
"Dalia will be mine, okay?" Anastasia said as she started walking away with Dalia.
"So Ashley and Jenny, Cyril and Mason, Dal and Anna, and me and Andrew. It all works out!" Elise said happily.
"Everyone already knew you two were riding buddies," Cyril smirked, pointing his fingers at Elise and Andrew. Everyone laughed but then Phoenix looked at Elise.
"Wait, who’s my riding buddy?" Phoenix asked.
"Me, duh," Beatrice said, hooking her elbow with Phoenix’s.
Phoenix shrugged nonchalantly, “Sweet."
Kyle got a text from Lydia, telling him that Jeremy’s group was in California Adventure. He exited Disneyland and made his way into the park as fast as he could. He went to the entrance of The Grizzly and looked around for his friends. Then, from the corner of his eye, he spotted his best friend looking right at him. “Well look who changed their mind," Jeremy said with a big smile. Kyle laughed and walked up to Jeremy, who spread his arms open for a hug. “Come on, you know you want to." Kyle shook his head and then gave Jeremy a quick “man" hug.
"Aww, you kids are so cute," Dallas said with a mocking chuckle.
"Hello to you to Dallas," Kyle said.
"You know Tobi and Thomas, right?" Jeremy asked.
"Yeah, and Tobi’s in my science and PE class."
"Great, we’re all friends. Now the ride?" Dallas said impatiently.
"Okay okay, we’re getting in line," Jeremy said, pushing Kyle in front of him towards the entrance of the ride.
The boys didn’t get as soaked as they wanted, which disappointed them a bit, and they dried off quickly as they made their way to Paradise Pier. They passed by a few kiddy rides then soon got in line for Toy Story Mania. The wait was 45 minutes so the guys tried passing time by telling corny pick up lines.
"Do you have a bandaid? Because I just scraped my knee falling for you," Dallas said.
"You must be tired, cause you know, you’ve been running through my mind all day," Thomas said.
"You’re a finger, I’m a light switch, and you’re turning me on," Jeremy said.
Tobi smiled then said, “Are you a beaver? Cause DAM!"
"Oh oh, my love for you is like diarrhea, I can’t hold it in!" Jeremy said, louder than intended. The lady behind them looked at Jeremy and gave him a disgusted look. He turned away as they inched forward in line.
"I got one," Kyle said. “If I could rate you on a scale from 1-10, you’d be an 11 because you’re sodium hot," Kyle said chuckling. The boys grew quiet.
"What?" Dallas asked with a confused expression.
"Eleven, the atomic number of sodium. Sodium hot. Like so damn hot. Get it?"
The boys looked at each other and then began laughing. Jeremy nodded, “Nice."
"Look at your face!" Dalia said to Phoenix, nearly crying from laughing so hard.
"I look like I’m in pain, probably because Bea was holding me hand so tight. I felt like she was gonna break my wrist," Phoenix said. The girls laughed and Beatrice pointed to a building with a wide opening.
"This is it. The cool animation place I was talking about. Come on," she said, leading the three inside.
"Alright, I just hope our group isn’t mad at us for ditching them," Phoenix said.
"Nah, that group is big enough anyway," she assured him. Anastasia was on Beatrice’s heels when they entered the building. The first thing they noticed were the projections on the floor. It was the Incredible’s logo. She lifted her head and turned her body in a full circle, viewing her surroundings. Different colors and images on giant screens were everywhere.
"Oh my gosh, this is amazing," Anastasia said in awe.
"I told you," Beatrice said with a smile. She motioned the group to follow her, leading them down a passageway under one of the giant screens. At the end of the path was an opening at the left, leading to a room. The room had stone floor and walls with fascinating lights hanging from the ceiling. Interactive things filled the room, including stuff that animated as you spun it around. Phoenix walked to one of the cylinder shaped objects and started spinning it, causing tiny Mickey pictures to animate in the central mirrors.
"Cool," Anastasia said. He nodded and then joined Beatrice at another station, where she was drawing her own animation. Just then, a loud sound, like a flame igniting, filled the room and a greenish face appeared in a mirror at the back of the room.
"HOLY CRAP!" Phoenix exclaimed.
"Oh god, Phoenix. It’s just the Magic Mirror," Dalia said. Anastasia and Beatrice tried holding back their laughter after seeing Phoenix’s reaction.
"That mirror is creepy okay," he said, straightening himself out.
"Wait, he’s saying something about books," Anastasia said.
"Oh yeah! The Beast’s Library! Come one," Beatrice directed. They made their way to the back of the room and to an entrance at the left. There was a small stone hallway, giving the place a castle-like setting. The hallway lead to another room, The Beast’s Library. There were a bunch of large chairs with a book in front of them.
"What is this?" Dalia asked.
"The Beast’s Library. See the wilting rose in the back?" Beatrice pointed out. She then gestured toward the large chairs,"These books do a personality quiz thing to see what Disney character is most like you," Beatrice explained.
"That’s cool," Phoenix said. “I wanna go first!" Anastasia followed him to one of the open chairs while Beatrice followed Dalia to another chair. Phoenix began by taking a picture with the camera above, which then appeared in the frame in the book. After the picture came the questions and then the result. The voice of Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast said that Phoenix’s loyalty, sense of adventure, and his willingness to take risks for the ones he loves made him most like…
"Aladdin! I love Aladdin!" Anastasia said happily.
"Oh wow, cool beans," Phoenix said.
"Cool beans?" She gave him a strange look.
"Just go with it. It’s your turn anyway," he said, switching places with Anastasia.
She went through the same process Phoenix did and was asked the same questions, her answers being slightly different from his. The voice then said Anastasia was very passionate and hard working, and that her dedication to achieving her dreams made her most like,
"Cinderella," the voice said. Anastasia clapped with a big smile on her face. “Bea! Dal!" she called out. She quickly got out of her seat and joined the two girls with Phoenix right behind. Beatrice was sitting in the chair answering the last questions when Anastasia came. "Who’d you get?" Anastasia asked Dalia.
"Tiana from Princess and the Frog. What about you?" she replied.
"Cinderella," Anastasia said proudly.
"And I got Aladdin because I’m awesome," Phoenix said.
"Yeah, I think something must’ve been a glitch or something with that one," Dalia joked.
"Sh! It’s doing the thing!" Beatrice said, quieting them down. They watched as Beatrice’s picture slowly morphed into her character’s.
"Aw, Belle," Anastasia said happily.
"Of course you’d be Belle," Dalia added. Then suddenly, the dim room brightened, a magaical noise sounded, and the rose at the back of the room came back to life.
"That was way too coincidental," Phoenix said.
"Freaky almost…" Beatrice said. She shrugged and then took Phoenix’s hand and began leading him to Ursula’s grotto. “Off to the next place!"
As the boys exited Tower of Terror, they ran into Milena and Charlotte’s group, yet again. “What was that? The fourth time we saw them?" Tobi asked.
"I think they’re stalking us," Thomas said.
"Or Dallas. Milena is probably doing this on purpose, or even Charlotte," Jeremy said.
"Yeah? Maybe it’s that girl Lydia stalking you," Dallas retorted.
Jeremy almost blushed at the comment, “Nah, she’s not."
"Ooo, Jeremy’s got a girlfriend," Kyle said.
"She’s not my girlfriend," Jeremy said as he looked at his watch. “And it’s 2:30. Let’s start heading to Disneyland already."
"Changing the subject?" Dallas asked with a smug grin.
Jeremy shook his head, “No, being responsible. Come on."
Dallas raised his hands, facing his palms toward Jeremy as a joking sign of relinquishment. The boys laughed as they found their way to the first ride. Their way of getting around the park was the same as the other, in a counter clockwise formation. The first ride they passed was Space Mountain. Luckily, the wait was only 30 minutes, relatively short compared to the hour long wait times at Cars Land. During their wait, they ran into a Disney star named Jason Earles.
"No freaking way," Jeremy said.
"Who is that?" Tobi asked.
"That’s Jason Earles from Kickin’ It!" he said in awe.
"He’s Jackson from Hannah Montana," Jeremy said.
"Ahh," the guys said in unison.
"Come on then, let’s get a picture," Thomas said. The boys then began calling Jason’s name and waved to get his attention. Soon enough, the actor turned around and greeted the boys. They talked for a few minutes about the their trip and asked Jason questions about his experience filming Hannah Montana and Kickin’ It. They even got a video of Jason giving a shout out to their school, which Kyle would work out to put in the morning announcements.
About twenty minutes later, the boys were strapped into their seats and about to take off. Dallas, Tobi, and Thomas were in a group of three while Jeremy and Kyle rode behind them. As soon as the coaster started moving forward, Kyle gripped onto the handles tightly while Jeremy was raising his hands in the air. The ride began with a tunnel flashing lights all around them, leading to a dark place. Once in the dark, the ride escalated and they were going upwards. “Whoa whoa whoa, is there a big drop? Please tell me there isn’t a drop," Kyle said with a worried tone.
"STOP WORRYING AND ENJOY THE RIDE!" Jeremy yelled. After the coaster reached it’s peak, it suddenly became level and started speeding up. It was pitch black, with specks of twinkling lights everywhere. The ride was now going at it’s full speed and there were many sharp turns around every corner. A rush of adrenaline was going through all the boys, causing their hearts to race.
Towards the end of the ride, a bright light flashed and Kyle yelled at the top of his lungs, "THAT WAS AWESOME!"
"Jeez Kyle, calm down!" Jeremy said loudly. The two boys chuckled and followed Dallas, Tobi, and Thomas off the ride. They all walked toward the exit and saw the picture that had been taken of them at the end of the ride. Jeremy smiled at it and took a picture of it with his phone. When they made their way to the Matterhorn, they passed by Donovan and his group of friends. While this happened, Donovan bumped into Kyle and snickered as he walked away. This made Jeremy turn around and shake his head. “What a douche," Jeremy said. He pushed Kyle in front of him, making sure that he could keep an eye on him.
"He’s only a big dick because he’s got a small one," Tobi said. This made Kyle smile while the guys laughed around him. They got in line for the ride and waited to get on the ride. The wait time was an hour, but Jeremy and Thomas assured the guys that the wait was worth it.
"What time is it?" Dallas asked.
"3:05," Kyle answered, looking at his watch.
"Hey look, it’s Natalia," Tobi said, nudging Dallas and Thomas.
"Let’s get her attention," Jeremy said.
"Let’s not," Dallas said back.
"NATALIA!" Jeremy shouted.
"NATALIA RAMIREZ!" Thomas said loudly.
"Guys, shut up!" Dallas said loudly. Just then, the girl turned around and searched for people calling her name.
"OVER HERE!" Jeremy yelled, waving a hand in the air. Natalia spotted Jeremy and the rest of the group, a giant smile growing on her face.
"HEY JEREMY!" she yelled back.
"DALLAS SAYS HI!" That’s when Dallas’s eyes went wide, he glared at Jeremy. Natalia went on her toes and found Dallas behind Tobi and Thomas.
"HI DALLAS!" she said with a bright smile before being dragged away by her group.
"Hey," Dallas said under his breath.
Kyle looked at Dallas with a puzzled look, “Am I sensing some tension between you two?" Dallas gave Kyle a look. “Just kidding," he added nervously.
The Matterhorn was another fast ride, except it was a little creepier than Space Mountain. A yeti popped in at random places, almost making Kyle scream. As soon as it was over, the boys planned out where to go next and began making their way towards Frontierland.
"My feet are killing me," Beatrice said.
"That’s what happens when we stand in a forty five minute line for Indiana Jones. I knew we should’ve gotten fast passes," Phoenix said.
"Haha, we have like five more hours, Bea. You think you can pull it together for that long?" Anastasia asked.
"I’m pretty sure. Can we sit down somewhere though?" she asked. Dalia looked around and found a bunch of open tables at a restaurant nearby.
"We can sit there for a while," Dalia said, pointing to the Stage Door Cafe. The group walked to the far left of the restaurant and took a table in a corner. They all sat down and Beatrice rested her feet on Phoenix’s lap as they all rested for a while.
"I’m exhausted," Beatrice told the group.
"Well I’m wide awake," Phoenix said. “Are we joining up with the others any time soon?" he asked Dalia.
"Jenny texted me and said she’d meet up with us whenever. We could tell them to meet us here," she said.
"Sounds good to me," he said. Anastasia nodded in agreement and looked around, looking at the people walking by. For a few minutes, she didn’t recognize anyone from their school. But soon two familiar faces caught her eye.
"Look, it’s Cyril and Mason!" Anastasia said aloud. “CYRIL!" she shouted, trying to get his attention. The boy must’ve spotted her too because he was already running towards them.
"Guys, we met a model," Cyril said, his eyes opened wide.
"Sure you guys did," Dalia said sarcastically.
"No, we really did. And I think she liked Mason. Like a lot," he said, taking a seat next to Anastasia. Anastasia looked at Mason, who looked lost.
He blinked his eyes and looked at Anastasia, “Huh?"
"What is this stuff about a model?" she asked.
He sighed, “We ran into her after I went to the bathroom."
Anastasia scrunched her nose, “I did not need to know that, but go on."
"And she just smiled at me and actually acknowledged my existence. Pretty girls never do that," Mason said.
"I acknowledge your existence," Anastasia said.
"Besides you," he said quickly.
"I see how it is," Dalia said.
"You too Dalia. And Beatrice. Okay, the girls I LIKE never find me attractive," he said.
"And by that, you mean Ashley?" Dalia asked.
"CONTINUE THE STORY!" Beatrice finally yelled.
"OKAY!" Mason yelled back. “So me and Cyril-"
"Cyril and I," Dalia interrupted.
"JESUS CHRIST, YOU FINISH IT CYRIL," Mason said, giving up. Everyone laughed except Mason and Cyril continued the story.
"So we separated from the rest of our group and then we found her and she was hot so we were like ‘why not?’ And she seemed to like Mason a lot because she kept holding his hand and cuddling next to him during rides. I was third wheeling but you know, it was all cool," Cyril said.
"Story of my life," Dalia said.
"But then we were walking by this really loud parade and that’s when her manager found us. And by the time they took her away, we realized we didn’t get her name and we’ll basically never see her again."
"Wait, you didn’t get her name? How?" Phoenix asked.
"She didn’t want to talk about herself. She was way more interested in us and our lives, which was weird," Cyril said.
"She was probably sick of being controlled or something," Anastasia said.
"Which explains why she ran away from her manager. IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW." Dalia rolled her eyes, showing that she didn’t really believe the story.
After hearing what happened to Cyril and Mason, Anastasia chose to tell the boys what happened to them after they wandered away from the group. Not long after, they were all joined by the other four, Jennifer, Ashley, Elise, and Andrew. “Hey ditchers," Andrew said, pulling up a chair next to the group.
"Hello friends," Phoenix said with a smile.
"Stop smiling, we looked for you guys everywhere," Elise said.
"Well we’re together now so calm your mammaries," he told her. She gave him a weird look and then focused her attention on Beatrice.
Poking her face, she said, “Hello? Beatrice. Wake up."
"I’m awake," Beatrice said, leaving her eyes shut.
"You look dead," Jennifer said.
"Oh whatever." Beatrice sat up and looked at the group. “So what’s the plan now?"
"I don’t know," Jennifer shrugged.
"Have you guys rode Pirates of the Caribbean yet?" Anastasia asked. Everyone shook their heads and responded with “no" or "nope". “Looks like we’re riding that."
"Alright then, let’s go,"
"Sounds like a plan," Cyril said.
"Hey, how much battery does everyone’s phone have?" Anastasia asked curiously.
"Mine’s dead," Jennifer said.
"Because you guys kept taking selfies," Andrew said. “Mine is at two bars."
"Four bars," Phoenix said.
"Three bars," Cyril said.
"Ha, you guys have bars. Mine is at 40%," Elise laughed.
"We should be good," Dalia said. She got up from her seat and saw someone from afar. “Wait, is that Lydia over there?" Everyone turned around and found Milena with her friends on the other side of the restaurant.
"I thought she couldn’t go," Andrew said.
"Let’s go say hi," Cyril said happily, getting up from his seat. Phoenix got up and looked for Zahra in the group, trying to identify her by their matching sweaters.
"Is Zahra there?" Phoenix asked.
"Yeah, right there in the dark gray jacket," Anastasia pointed out. He recognized it and realized it was Finn’s. A sudden feeling of jealousy hitting him right in the chest. As the group started walking towards them, Phoenix stopped in place.
"Oh, I have to go to the store real quick. I think I forgot my wallet in there," he said.
"What store?" Dalia asked.
"The one over by that one place."
"Just go on without me." He looked at the group and made eye contact with Beatrice. “You wanna come help?" he asked her.
"Uh…okay," she said in an unsure tone. Phoenix nodded and took her hand, leading her away.
"What was that about?" Jennifer asked.
Dalia shook her head, “No idea."
"Well that was fun," Kyle said. The group began walking back towards New Orleans Square, which they had only passed by earlier.
"The singing animals were annoying as hell," Tobi said.
"At least it wasn’t scary like Snow White," Thomas said with a small laugh.
"On the subject of scary, you guys wanna ride Haunted Mansion?" Jeremy asked as the neared the entrance for the ride. Just then, a big group of familiar faces began walking toward them. “We meet again," Jeremy said with a smile.
"Haha, yes," Milena said. Behind her was her original group combined with Anastasia’s group. “Do you guys wanna ride Haunted Mansion with us?" Her eyes were hopeful, almost desperate, and Jeremy knew the reason. He looked at Dallas and raised his eyebrows.
"You want to?" Jeremy asked him. Dallas looked at Jeremy and then he looked at the entrance.
"Sure," he answered. Milena looked Charlotte and the two smiled at each other. While the boys went in first, Zahra looked behind her with a concerned expression.
"You sure Phoenix doesn’t care if we go on without him?" she asked.
"He said to go on without him," Dalia said as she continued to walk in line.
"You wanna call him?" Anastasia asked.
"Alright," Zahra said, taking her phone out and dialing his number. She waited for a few seconds, then closed the phone. “It went straight to voicemail."
"Maybe his phone died," Finn said.
"Yeah, that has to be it," Zahra agreed. Anastasia and Dalia looked at each other, faces full of confusion.
"Guys, could you scoot up?" Jennifer asked them politely. Anastasia looked ahead and realized that there was a big gap in the line, the other half of their group were far in front of them.
"Oh gosh," Anastasia said as she walked quickly to join the rest of the group.
They all entered the Mansion in a matter of a few minutes. Time flew by quickly since there was so much to catch up on about the trip so far. The group was lead to a dimly lit room with antique ceiling lights. After everyone was in, the creepy deep voice began talking.
"When hinges creak in doorless chambers, and strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls. Whenever candlelights flicker, where the air is deathly still. That is the time when ghosts are present, practicing their terror with ghoulish delight," the voice said. Jennifer and Ashley were clinging to each other as the doors to the second room opened. It was a circular-ish shaped room with pictures on the top walls.
Then the voice continued to talk, "Welcome foolish mortals, to the Haunted Mansion! I am your host, your ghost host. Hmm hmm hmm hmm. Kindly step all the way in please and make room for everyone. There’s no turning back now. Our tour begins here in this gallery where you see paintings of some of our guests as they appeared in their corruptable mortal state. Your condavorous pallor, betrays an ora of forborden. Almost as though you sense a disquieting metamorphasis."
As he said this, the room began lowering, the pictures extending and revealing what was really happening in the pictures. "Is this haunted room actually stretching? Or is it your imagination hmm? And considering this dismaying observation, this chamber has no windows and no doors. Which offers you this chilling challenge, to find a way out! A ha ha ha! Of course, there’s always my way."
At that moment, the lights came off and some people even screamed. Anastasia grabbed Cyril and Mason and clung to them tightly. Then a flickering light showed a skeletal corpse hanging himself. When the lights came back on, Jeremy looked around to see everyone’s expressions. Half of the group looked creeped out and scared while the other half had smiles on their faces because of how scared everyone else was. He even found Milena burying her face in Dallas’s sweater, then quickly realizing who it was and blushing.
"Oh, I didn’t mean to frighten you prematurely. The real chills come later, now as they say, look alive and we’ll continue our little tour and let’s all stay together please."
Another door opened, leading to a dark hallway with changing pictures on the wall. At the right end of the hall was where the carriages were moving along. Jeremy lead the way into the first carriage, with Kyle and Lydia behind him. “I’m sitting in the middle," Kyle said.
"What? Come on Kyle, be a gentleman let Lydia sit in the middle," Jeremy said.
"I’m good. I don’t really care," Lydia said.
"Excuse me sir, but you must take your seats now," one of the workers said.
"Yeah, sir," Kyle said. Jeremy sighed and got in the carriage, followed by Kyle then Lydia. Behind them was Milena, Charlotte, and Dallas.
"Wow Milena," Jeremy said loudly.
"Shut up. Go stare at Lydia or something," Milena said back.
Jeremy looked at Lydia, who seemed to be staying quiet about anything. They made eye contact for a second before Kyle came into view.
"I feel so safe in the middle. If there were monsters, they’d get you guys first and I’d be just…safe," Kyle said with a smile. Jeremy and Lydia gave him and look, causing confusion to appear on Kyle’s face. “What?"
Anastasia sat in between Cyril and Mason and made them promise not to leave her side ever since they left the second room. The carriage began moving forward and the safety bar lowered by itself. “Not gonna lie, that’s creepy," Mason admitted. Anastasia giggled and soon they were travelling backwards. They passed by a coffin and old antique decorations covered in spider webs and dust. A minute later, they were all facing the fortune teller in the crystal ball. Anastasia looked at the other carriages and could see everyone sitting together. Finn, Zahra, and Dalia were in one group with Elise and Andrew in their own carriage behind them. “How much you wanna bet that Elise and Andrew are gonna be doing something freaky in their carriage."
"Gosh, Mason. They’re just best friends," Anastasia said.
"Yeah, for now. Right, Cyril?" Cyril simply nodded and looked around as they entered the ballroom part of the ride.
"Cyril, you okay there?" Anastasia asked.
"Yeah," he said, putting on a smile. “Why wouldn’t I be? This is fun," he said.
"I don’t know, you don’t seem happy," she said.
Cyril shook his head and began looking around the attic room they entered, as if he was suddenly interested in the ride. “Everything’s cool," he said with a small laugh. “Look at the box." Anastasia turned her attention to the nearby tombstone and jumped when a scary old face popped out.
"Oh my, that was not funny," she said, nudging Cyril.
He shrugged, “Yeah well, it kinda was.
"This isn’t as scary as I thought it’d be," Kyle said, looking at his surroundings as the carriage continued to move.
"Yeah?" Jeremy said. He wore his mischievous smirk and gave Lydia a look, and right then, he screamed at the top of his lungs.
"AHHHH!" Kyle screamed. Jeremy and Lydia couldn’t hold in their laughter as Kyle gave Jeremy the death glare. “What the hell was that for?"
"The ride wasn’t scary enough for you," Jeremy said. “So I made it scary."
"Well congratulations and you suck," Kyle said.
"Haha, sure," he laughed. They slowly began to reach the cemetery part of the ride and got to the first tombstone before the ride stopped.
"What’s happening?" Jeremy asked. Kyle shrugged and Lydia remained silent.
"Please excuse the interruption, but we are experiencing some technical difficulties. Our staff is working on the problem and the ride shall continue shortly," the creepy voice said.
"Wow, the ride broke down," Jeremy said.
"What are we supposed to do?" Lydia asked.
"Well I could certainly bore the two of you with a bunch of trivial crap I’ve picked up from the internet," Kyle said.
"Yeah, we’re good," Lydia said quickly after with a forced smile.
"Well okay then…what else then?"
"I don’t know," Jeremy said. “Truth or dare?"
"With only three people?" Lydia asked.
"You’re right…let’s ask Milena’s group behind us." Jeremy went to the edge of the carriage and turn around to look at the people behind them.
"You guys up for truth or dare?"
"What?!" Charlotte said in disbelief.
"You look so tiny in between those two," he randomly commented. Jeremy saw Milena and Dallas laughing as Charlotte shook her head at him. “Seriously though, you guys wanna play?"
"While we’re on the ride?" Milena asked.
"Yeah," Jeremy repiled, as if he just answered the easiest question in the world.
Milena sighed and then nodded, “Sure." Charlotte gave in as well, leaving Dallas to answer. Jeremy put his hands together and pretended to beg. Eventually he gave in.
"Yes!" Jeremy cheered. “Okay, Charlotte, you first."
"Ugh, why me? Gosh." She exchanged looks with Milena and Dallas and eventually decided. “Dallas, truth or dare?"
"Oh of course, okay. What’s a good truth?" she asked Milena. She had something in mind but didn’t want to say it aloud so she decided no to tell Charlotte. “Um, do you really like boneless chicken?"
"Oh my god," Milena said. The two laughed at the question, which left everyone else left confused.
Dallas chuckled and nodded, “Yeah, I do."
"That’s just great. Okay, it’s your turn."
Dallas looked at Milena and then switched his attention from her to Jeremy. “Ah…Jeremy, truth or dare?"
"Come on, Jeremy. It’s obvious who it is, just admit to it," Dallas said. Jeremy sighed and then mouth the name. “What was that? I couldn’t hear you."
"LYDIA," he yelled. “I’m pretty sure you heard it that time."
Dallas smiled, “Nice and clear. Your turn." Jeremy slumped back in his seat and sighed, looking at Lydia. She was staring back at him, not sure what to say. He looked forward and kept his eyes glued to the carriage in front of them.
"…dare," he replied quietly.
"Wait, really?" Jeremy looked confused; he thought his friend would be the “truth" type.
"Yeah, shoot." Jeremy thought for a moment and then smiled.
"I dare you to sneak onto Jenny and Ashley’s carriage."
"Aw come on Jeremy, can’t you pick something safer? I mean, what if the carriages start moving when I’m out?"
"That’s what makes the dare interesting," he said, a smug grin remaining on his face. Raising his eyebrows, Kyle looked at Lydia, waiting for a response.
"I don’t know," Kyle said.
Jeremy interrupted, “You could’ve been in the other carriage by now if you hadn’t been stalling. Just go now."
"Yeah, hurry up before they fix the ride," Lydia said. Looking at the two beside him once more, Kyle sighed and got up from his seat. He squeezed past Jeremy and went to the edge of the carriage, hesitating.
Without looking back, Kyle said, “I hate you for this."
"Yeah okay, now go," Jeremy said. Taking in a deep breath, Kyle stepped off the carriage and began running. Jeremy quickly went to the edge of the carriage to see Kyle running and then returned back to his original place. He turned to face Lydia and just smiled. She gave him a confused face, which soon turned into a smile.
"You sent him away on purpose?" she asked.
"Yeah, now it’s just us," he said. He looked down and took her hand in his.
Kyle ran as fast as he could, looking at each carriage as he passed by them. Milena, Charlotte, and Dallas looked at him with a surprised face as he ran by, clearly unsure of what was happening. Tobi and Thomad were behind them, and Finn, Zahra, and Dalia behind Tobi and Thomas. Kyle could feel their gazes following him as he ran. “What?" “The fu-" "Run Forest, run!" were a few things he heard as he ran by. When he got to Elise and Andrew’s carriage, the ride began moving again.
"NO!" Kyle yelled. Cyril, Anastasia, and Mason were the carriage after, which made Kyle realize that Jennifer and Ashley’s carriage was the last one. “What the heck?" Anastasia asked. Kyle ignored her and moved as quickly as he could to get into the moving carriage.
"Kyle? What are you doing?" Jennifer asked in a disgusted tone.
"Jeremy dared me," he barely said.
"Oh gosh, that’s so Jeremy," she replied. Ashley was on the other side of Jennifer, who was wedged in between them. Kyle awkwardly waved to Ashley and then rested back in his seat.
"I can’t believe I pulled that off," Kyle said. The two girls didn’t say anything in response, which was how it stayed. The rest of the ride was silent for Kyle, since he wasn’t exactly close with the girls. It seemed longer than it should’ve been, then again, all he did was sit and do nothing. They passed by the cemetery section and then ended at the mirror section, where they’d see themselves with the hitch hiking ghosts. The three of them exited their carriages last and joined with the rest of the group as they went up a flat escalator. When Kyle caught up with Anastasia, there was a few laughs going on in the group. “What’s so funny?"
"Dallas just scared Milena, her face was priceless," she said. “What was the running all about?"
"Jeremy dared me to switch carriages," he explained.
"Oh wow, you guys are unbelievable." After exiting the mansion, Anastasia asked if the group still wanted to ride Pirates of the Caribbean, which they did. Jeremy and his group already rode the ride, but they agreed to ride mostly because Jeremy wanted to spend more time with Lydia. Holding her hand, Jeremy lead the way to the entrance and they took their places in line. The two people in front of them looked awfully familiar, one brunette and the other blonde. He tapped on the brunette’s soldier and she turned around quickly.
"Imogen!" he said surprised.
"Jeremy! Hey!" Imogen said. Jeremy looked to Imogen’s right and saw the blonde turn around.
"Celeste!" Lydia said. “I thought you couldn’t come!"
"Same here! How’d you get here?" Celeste asked.
"Kyle’s mom took us," Lydia said happily.
"Oh," Celeste said in an awkward tone. Lydia suddenly forgot what had happened between them and tried to brush off the subject.
"Guys, Celeste is here," Jeremy told the group. A few of them already knew since they saw her come on the bus last minute, but the rest were shocked. When Kyle saw her, he stayed towards the back of the group so they wouldn’t have to make contact with each other. As for Zahra and Dalia, they rushed to the front of the line and began talking to Celeste as if they hadn’t seen her in years.
"So where’s Phoenix?" Celeste asked.
"He lost his wallet at a store. He went to look for it," Dalia explained. Zahra stayed silent while Celeste and Imogen started talking again.
"We were with Jennifer but she wanted to go shopping and the rest of our group went with her so it’s just us," Imogen said.
"At least you’re with us now… How many of us are there now?" Dalia asked.
Out of nowhere, Jeremy said, “Twenty."
"That’s like a full elementary class," Celeste stated.
"We’re probably gonna take up an entire boat," Jeremy said. And soon enough, he was right. When they began boarding the boats, he realized he was still holding onto Lydia’s hand. He let go so that Finn, Milena, and Lydia could load the boat easier but then put an arm around her when they were inside.
"Jeremy’s gettin in," Tobi said behind him.
"Ooo," a voice called out. Everyone laughed a little while Jeremy turned his head to look at who said it. It was Kyle, who was two rows back with Anastasia, Jennifer, and Ashley. Jeremy gave him a look and did the same to Tobi.
Their boat began moving a few seconds later and it was peaceful for a while. To Jeremy and Lydia’s, right, Milena and Finn were casually having a conversation with Zahra and Dalia, who were right in front of them. Behind Jeremy was Charlotte and Dallas, with Tobi and Thomas to their right and Kyle’s row following them. And in the very back was Elise’s row, consisting of her, Andrew, Cyril and Mason. How the whole group seemed to fit perfectly on the boat surprised him. The boat passed by people dining at the restaurant, which Milena swears is a fake restaurant with fake wax people. The boat passed the old man on the porch before going into a dark tunnel, leading to the first drop. Shortly after the first drop came the second and last drop of the ride. As the boat passed what looked like a deserted island, Lydia rested her head on Jeremy’s shoulder, nestling in on his neck.
Milena tapped on Finn’s shoulder and gestured towards Jeremy and Lydia. Finn then tapped on Dalia and Zahra and gestured toward the two. Zahra looked at them and couldn’t help but smile. Seeing how happy the looked reminded her of herself and Phoenix. She wished he could’ve been there with her. Celeste saw how Zahra’s expression changed and nudged her. “Are you okay?" Celeste asked.
"Yeah," Zahra said, not sure if she was lying to herself or not.
"Look at him," Kyle said, pointing to the big man getting drowned in the well.
"Poor guy," Anastasia said. The jolly pirate music continued to play on as the boat floated through the small town. Jack Sparrow was hidden in a few places that K occasionally pointed out. “Too bad Beatrice couldn’t ride this with us. She would’ve loved it," she said to Dalia aloud. “Sitting down for a long amount of time, just relaxing."
"Where is Beatrice anyway?" Kyle asked.
"She went to go help Phoenix find his wallet," she told him.
"Why’d he take Beatrice?" Zahra asked curiously. She turned around and looked toward Anastasia and Kyle.
"They were riding partners," Anastasia said.
"Yeah, I thought I told you that," Dalia added. Zahra turned around and shook her head.
"Guess I forgot," she shrugged.
Anastasia could sense something was wrong, ever since Phoenix said to go on without him, but she didn’t know what. As the ride started to come to an end, her mind was all over the place.
Everyone had a few more hours till it was deporting time so the three groups parted ways. They all said goodbye to each other and Anastasia walked off with her group to Frontierland. Jennifer and Ashley insisted that everyone rode Big Thunder Railroad so the girls lead the group to the ride. When Anastasia came to the entrance of the ride, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She quickly looked behind her and saw Phoenix casually walking behind her. “Hey! Where have you been, stranger?" Anastasia asked.
"Well me and Beatrice got caught up in some parade and then we went for ice cream," Phoenix said, looking at Beatrice, who was now in the front of the group, talking to Jennifer and Ashley.
"That sounds fun. But you guys missed it. We had a group of like twenty people riding Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. After running into Zahra’s group, we saw Jeremy’s group too and just combined," she said. “Zahra wanted to wait and tried to call you."
"Oh, yeah. Beatrice wanted to go into that, you know, Tiki Room place so I had to turn my phone off. Yeah." Anastasia became suspicious after hearing the tone of his voice but knew he wouldn’t be in the mood to talk about it, at least at this time. So she just gave him a reassuring smile as they moved closer in line.
As soon as the ride was over, Beatrice mentioned that they hadn’t been to Fantasyland yet. “Me and my family always go their first, but I wanted to save if for last because it looks so much prettier at night," she said. And she was right. The cottage looking buildings and giant carousel were shining with brilliant lights and the lanterns above the spinning tea cups were beautiful.
The first ride Beatrice spotted was the Peter Pan ride.The line was fairly short, and Anastasia knew why. Aside from how nice and pretty the ride began, the ride was kind of boring. But she still smiled the whole way through because the ride still gave off a really happy vibe. When the group got off, they looked at the time and saw it was almost eight o’clock. “I think we have time for only one more ride," Dalia said.
"What about that one?" Andrew said, pointing to one of the darker looking rides.
Beatrice laughed a little and then looked to the group, “Snow White’s Scary Adventure. You guys wanna ride it?"
"Not sure Snow White and scary fit in the same sentence, but sure," Mason said.
"Oh it’s scarier than you think," Beatrice assured him.
Phoenix walked to her side and looked her in the eyes, “How scary?"
Separating from Milena’s group was not the easiest thing to do for Jeremy, but he knew he had other things planned with his friends so he didn’t argue when Dallas said they had to go.
The boys chose to ride Indiana Jones and the Jungle Cruise, which were the last rides they rode that night. Indiana Jones was Jeremy’s favorite ride at Disneyland, and it was so different riding it with his friends instead of with his family. The Jungle Cruise was only fun because of the tour guide and her awfully corny, yet funny, jokes.
Once they got finished on the rides, they saw that it was already eight o’clock. “We still gotta go do the shopping and stuff," Dallas said to his group.
"Oh yeah. We only have like thirty minutes left. Let’s go," Jeremy said. They went into the store in Adventureland, where Tobi bought a t-shirt and Thomas and Jeremy got simple Disneyland hoodies. But when Jeremy took the last one, Dallas didn’t know what to get anymore.
"Well where’s the nearest store besides this one?" Dallas asked.
"There’s one in Frontierland," Jeremy said. “Let’s hurry up." He lead the boys to the store and there was a wide variety of things to buy.
"I should’ve bought something from here," Tobi said. The guys followed Dallas as he looked for something to buy, and eventually came across a grey crewneck Mickey Mouse on it and the word Disneyland in white letters. He looked for the smallest size and took it off the rack.
"That’s the one?" Thomas asked.
"This is the one," Dallas said with a smile. He then looked at the tag and frowned. “Well shit."
"I don’t have enough money," Dallas said. “Could you guys spare me a few dollars?"
"I need ten," he responded, looking at his friends.
"I have a few coins," Thomas said.
"I have three dollars," Jeremy said.
"I only have one," Tobi said.
"And I forgot to bring money, sorry," Kyle said.
Dallas sighed and looked around. “Well what am I supposed to do?"
The guys all shrugged, not knowing what else to say to their friend. “Hold on, Jeremy. Isn’t that Milena?" Tobi asked. They looked in the direction Tobi was pointed and then realized it was her.
"Hey Jeremy, ask her for ten dollars for me," Dallas asked.
"Your cousin," Dallas said.
"Your sweater," Jeremy countered. Dallas looked at Milena, who hadn’t seemed to notice him yet, then back at Jeremy.
"That is not the first time I heard that today," Jeremy said with a smile. Jeremy and the guys stayed in place and watched as Dallas slowly walked up to Milena. Charlotte tapped on her shoulder and told her to turn around. As soon as she did, her eyes widened and she smiled nervously.
"She so likes him," Thomas said with a chuckle.
"Obviously," Jeremy said as they watched the two talk. Milena reached in her pocket, pulled out a ten dollar bill, and gave it to Dallas without hesitation. He thanked her and then gave her a quick side hug before walking back to the guys. Jeremy saw Milena freeze in place, and then quickly run out of the store. Charlotte and Zahra quickly followed her and Lydia waved to Jeremy before following them.
"We saw that," Tobi said to Dallas.
"We saw all of it," Kyle added with a smirk.
"Shut up, I asked her for ten bucks. That’s it," Dallas said.
"And you hugged her," Jeremy said. Dallas turned around to see that Milena was no longer there and then looked back to his friends.
Dallas shook his head at his friends, “Yeah whatever, let’s pay for this thing and get out of here."
"Four times. The old hag popped up four times," Phoenix said with wide eyes.
"I THOUGHT IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A KIDS’ RIDE!" Mason yelled.
"You’re such a dork, Mason," Ashley laughed. Everyone suddenly gasped. “What? What happened?" she asked.
"You remembered my name," Mason said.
"It’s a miracle," Andrew said. The group laughed as they exited Fantasyland an started walking towards the Disneyland exit.
"Uh, guys, I kinda need to go to the bathroom," Cyril said.
"Hurry up!" Phoenix said. Cyril started running towards the nearest bathroom as fast as he could. “Mason, go with him."
"Oh, right. Just go without us," Mason said, then ran after him. The group continued to walk down Main Street USA and then exited the park. There was little conversation going on since everyone so exhausted, but that never stopped Jennifer Valley.
"I had no idea Jeremy and Lydia were a thing. I mean like, who knew? right?" Jennifer said.
"Guess that only leaves you with Donnie now," Elise joked. When they got to the trams, the fireworks began to go off in the sky.
"Wow," Anastasia said in awe. “What a perfect way to end the day?"
The trams took them to the parking lot, where the five buses awaited them. The group separated into their different buses, Anastasia leading Elise and Phoenix to their bus. Anastasia sluggishly made her way to her spot and slumped in her seat.
"Geez Anna, you look dead," Imogen said.
Anastasia snapped her head to the right and saw Imogen with a big smile on her face. “I am. I’m in zombie mode at the moment," she said. And before she knew it, she was off to sleep.
Anastasia didn’t wake up till the bus was a few minutes away from the school. She knew her parents would be there waiting for her, knowing how worried they’d be since she was gone for one full day, but she called them anyway to reassure them that she was safe.
When the bus got to the school, hundreds of parents and cars filled the parking lot. “Oh my gosh," Anastasia said. She followed Elise off the bus and saw crowds of people surrounding her. Half the kids were on their phones while the other half were being reunited with their parents. Anastasia texted her parents and they told her they’d come to her. She waited with Elise until she had to go with her mom. Though she wasn’t alone, since she was soon joined by Jeremy and Milena.
"Hey Anastasia," Milena said happily.
"Haha hey, sleep well?" Anastasia asked.
"Oh yes. On the ride there I couldn’t sleep but on the ride back I slept like a baby," she said.
"God, sleeping in a bus is so uncomfortable," Jeremy said. Anastasia and Milena laughed while Jeremy started stretching. With a sudden jerk, he stretched his arms out. This caused his fist to hit a guy behind him, knocking the guy to the floor.
"Oh my gosh! That was Phoenix!" Anastasia yelled. She quickly ran to him and checked to see if he was okay.
"Oh god, Phoenix. I didn’t see you. I’m so sorry," Jeremy said, kneeling down beside him.
"Are you alright?" Milena asked him.
Phoenix rubbed the back of his head and blinked his eyes. "My head hurts like hell," he said.
"He’s fine," Anastasia said with relief.
"Wait…" Phoenix said, sitting up and looking at the three. They all looked at him with raised eyebrows, waiting for him to continue. “Who are you people?" Anastasia’s eyes grew wide as she looked at Jeremy and Milena, their expressions just as surprised.
Milena looked into the distance and could see Phoenix’s dad walking towards them. All she managed to say was, “Holy shit."
