Somehow They're Alive (part 11)

Welcome to part 11 of "Somehow They're Alive". This part isn't as surprising and life changing as the last couple, but more are coming up. However, ...

this one is still important. Without reading this one the other quizzes might not make sense. I'll try to include Landon in some future parts too. Enjoy the quiz!

Created by: Topaz
  1. ***Jaslina's Point of View***In a state of shock Ryan and I walk down the stairs. While we near the bottom it suddenly occurs to me that the others would be fuming at us for not calling the police on Landon. Why didn’t we call the police? It’s only now that he’s long gone that I regret our lack of action. It might have been a trap of some kind. Then again, maybe it’s not. Get on a plane and get out of here? Sapphire’s going to kill you if you don’t? She’s running scared and has a secret? What kind of trap could that possibly be? “Hey, are you coming?” asks Ryan with soft eyes. I realize that I’ve stopped walking and have been standing here for several seconds. “Sorry. I was lost in thought.” “Landon?” “Yes. I can’t help but wonder if we should’ve called the police.” “I know what you mean. I’m thinking the same thing! The others are going to kill us once they’ve realized what we’ve done!” “Exactly my point. I also can’t help but wonder why he’d warn us. At first I was thinking that it could be a trick, but now I’m starting to change my mind. Be that it may, I still don’t trust him.” “Don’t call me naïve, but I think that he’s being completely truthful. I know my sister; she’s had a lot of boyfriends. Unsurprisingly it goes the same way every time. The boy sees her in all her glory and thinks that she’s an angel fallen from heaven. Sapphire notices, starts to flirt, and the boys buy her ploy hook, line, and sinker. Half of the time she doesn’t even like these boys. The only reason the girl goes after them is to use them to her advantage. “For a while, usually a short while, the boys enjoy having her as a girlfriend because of her charming beauty and her flirtatious nature. That is, until her true nature comes out and they see that the innocent, little, charming, beauty that they thought she was wasn’t ever there. They end up seeing her as a psycho maniac with a heart made of ice, and end up going to people they’d never think to go to for advice. Or they just ditch her.”
  2. I arch my brow and look up at him. “How do you know all of this?” “First of all Sapphire’s my sister. Second, because seventy-five percent of her ex- boyfriends come to me for advice. Almost every time I hear the same two lines. ‘You’re sister ain’t nothin’ like I thought she’d be’ and ‘She’s a psycho path. Get me away from her!’” “So you think that Landon was being sincere?” “Yes. Frankly, he’s just another love struck victim of Sapphire’s. Really, I don’t think he loves her. I think that my sister is the one in love this time, and that Landon is much too afraid to leave her.” “What you’re saying makes sense. I just hope that it makes sense to everyone else.” “Huh?” “Hey, we already skipped telling them about letter number one and we regretted it. This is much more major. We have no choice but to tell them about this encounter.” “Agreed. Let’s tell them the first chance we get.” Once we get to the bottom of the endless stairs there’s the maze of tables and customers to get through. With the front door in sight we’re about ready to leave when we see Jay at the counter talking to a middle aged waitress; he’s holding an old tin washtub. Why does this not surprised me? Instead of walking out the door to go find Tammy, Rayla and Audrey we approach Jay at the counter.
  3. Attempting to hide my amusement, I say, “Jay, why are you holding that thing? What could we possibly need that for?” “Don’t mock me. This could come in handy. Who knows what we could use this for?” “How much money did you pay for that thing?” demands Ryan. “He paid nothing,” says the woman behind the counter. The woman has long red hair, a button nose, and a friendly smile. She’s wearing a blue waitress dress with a white, frilly, apron. Her name tag reads “Nora”. “You gave it to him for free?” I ask her. “I sure did. I would’ve asked for money, but it’d be highway robbery to make him pay for that stupid thing.” “Well, thank you very much.” “No need to thank me. Now I suggest you leave before my sister gets out here. If she realizes that I gave away our grandmother’s washtub she’ll be furious.” Ryan and I head for the door followed by Jay with the washtub in his hand. Maybe it could come in handy. I highly doubt it, but it could. We spot Rayla, Tammy, and Audrey by our van off in the distance. They’re laughing and talking about something. It only takes a second for them to see us. “Jay, what is that thing?” asks Audrey hiding a smile. “It’s a washtub all the way back from eighteen ninety-five. Cool, right?” “Yeah, it’s awesome. I feel stronger just from being in its presence,” Rayla teases. “Ha ha ha. That’s very funny,” Jay replies to Rayla teasing flirtatiously. To the rest of us he says, “You know what? I think you’re all just jealous that I found this washtub and you didn’t!” “Yeah, that’s it. Were completely jealous,” Tammy cynically remarks. They go on like this for five more minutes before Ryan, Audrey, and I finally convince them that we should go. I’m not sure why Audrey is in such a hurry to leave. She’s probably just tired of listening to them argue about a washtub. (Really, it shouldn’t even be called arguing in this case. Tammy’s the only one who’s actually arguing with Jay about it. It seems to me that Rayla is only flirting.) As the last of us gets into the car we’re about ready to pull out. Then, as if the whole universe is against us, we’re stopped.
  4. “Hey, you kids! You’d better not go anywhere, or I’ll call the police!” I look out the passenger side window to see a different middle aged waitress running toward us. She looks similar to the woman Jay was talking to. The only difference is that she’s taller, her cheekbones are higher, and her hair is curly. Well, those things coupled with her facial expression being much less friendly. Ryan pulls over and rolls down the window. “Is there a problem, ma’am?” “Yes there’s a problem! Did a woman named Nora tell you that you could have a washtub?” “Yes she did. My friend asked if he could have it and she gave it to him without hesitation. Does she want it back for some reason?” “She absolutely wants it back, and so do I. If you don’t want me to call the police I suggest you hand it over now.” “Dourine!” shouts another voice from off in the distance. “Dourine, you leave those kids alone, and let them go on their way! All you’re doing is wasting everyone’s time!” As the woman comes into view I recognize her as the woman behind the counter who gave Jay the washtub. “I’m not wasting anyone’s time. Particularly not the time of our deceased grandmother! How do you think she’d feel knowing that you’re giving away her washtub?” Nora rolls her eyes. “I think that she’d be happy that we’re not taking up space with useless junk. Especially considering that we have boxes full of grandma’s recipes, knitting, and photo albums!” It seems like the two women go on like that for eternity. If I was Ryan, I would drive off while they’re arguing. It’s too bad I’m Jaslina and not Ryan at the moment. “Excuse me,” I say, “are we going to keep it or must we return it? It really doesn’t matter to me so long as we can make a decision and be on our way.”
  5. For the slightest moment neither or them says a word. However, the silence is short lived. Glaring at her sister, Nora says, “So what will it be Dourine? They can keep it, right?” Looking pained, she replies, “Yes, but under one condition.” Nora’s glare turns to a look of irritation. “What might that be?” “If they stay and help out around our bed and breakfast for one day without pay. After that they’re free to go.” “You can’t possibly be serious! You want to make a bunch of underage tourists’ work their behinds’ off without pay just so they can keep that stupid thing?” “That’s my deal. And remember, Nora, that daddy passed this place down to me. Technically I’m your boss and you have to do what I say or I can fire you.” Nora gives an aggravated sigh. “Do you kids really want to stay here and work just to keep a stupid old washtub?” We give a long chorus of no’s. “Okay then. If you don’t really want to keep it then why don’t you give it back?” “Because we don’t want to,” says Jay. Tammy flicks him in the back of the head. “Jay, it’s a piece of garbage. Give it back!” Audrey backs Tammy up. “Please, Jay. Be reasonable. You’re wasting all of our time is what you’re doing.” “No I’m not. I know that I’ve wasted your time before, but this time I’m not. Please just trust me this one time.” “No,” says Tammy. “I wouldn’t trust you with my pet ferret!” “Why? Because I like to laugh and have fun? Because I’m not a stick-in-the-mud like you?”
  6. Tammy is about ready to punch him in the face. The only thing that stops her is Rayla grabbing her by the elbow. “Don’t talk mean to Jay, and don’t punch him! If anything, I think that we should give him a chance.” Tammy rolls her eyes. “Rayla, please not you too!” “I’m being serious, Tammy. We need to give Jay’s idea a try. He might have a reason for wanting the washtub.” “I do, but nobody trusts me! Except for Rayla, of course.” I decide to tune out their bickering. I hate to say it, but Jay is right. Tammy can be a stick-in-the-mud. The sisters stand there for a moment or two listen to Tammy and Jay’s arguing. Dourine looks amused while Nora impatiently looks at her watch. “Look,” says Nora, “you must make a decision now. Are you going or staying?” Their quarrelling ceases. “Please, Tammy?” Jay and Rayla ask in unison. “Sure, as long as it keeps everyone happy.” You can hear the sarcasm dripping off of her words, but they still decide to take it as literal. “Thanks, Tammy.” “So, what’s your answer?” asks Dourine. Looking scared and disappointed, Ryan replies, “I guess we’ll be staying.” A satisfied expression comes across her face. “Good. Get your car parked, and let’s get to it. If it pleases you, we’ll even let you stay another night. ” Now we’re stuck here longer all because of a worthless piece of scrap metal. Fantastic. I just hope that Landon isn’t planning any more visits today. Ryan and I will have enough trouble explaining our first meeting. It’ll be especially hard telling them why we never called the police.
  7. ***Ryan's Point of View*** "Are you sure about this, Jay?" Dourine and Nora just left us. Apparently we're supposed to clean out the attic. Instead of cleaning, however, Jay has something else in mind. Grinning, he says, "I'm positive. I told you that I had a valid reason for wanting to stay. Was I right?" "Yes, I admit it. You were right. Just don't get yourself in trouble, okay?" "Ryan, my friend, you show no faith in me. If anybody should know for sure that I won't get caught, it should be you." He leads me down a dark hallway. At the ninth door down he stops. "This is where we must split up. If any of the girls want to know what I'm up to don't be afraid to let them know." "Why should I tell them what you're up to?" "Because they're all furious at me. This might give them a reason to not be furious at me." Slowly turning the knob, Jay steps inside. "Now go before people start getting suspicious." I listen and saunter back to the attic. Only Jay could make a discovery like this one.
  8. ***Jaslina's Point of View***“This is exhausting,” says Audrey. “It feels like I’ve been at this all day!” I respond while rubbing my back. “I know. I feel the exact same way. The worst part is that we’ve only been at this for a couple hours.” “I guess it could be worse. At least we aren’t cleaning the bedrooms and bathrooms like Tammy and Rayla.” “Or rearranging the attic like Ryan and Jay,” I add. “Well, we’d better get back to work before Dourine finds out that we’re taking a break.” Audrey picks up a tray filled with salads and reluctantly walks out the swinging door into the dining hall. Dourine assigned us jobs in pairs of twos, and I was paired with Audrey as a waitress. I’ve always thought that being a waitress would be the easiest job you could ask for, but I stand corrected. It’s awful! If there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that I’m going to college. All afternoon it’s been ‘My coffee’s too hot!’ I wait for a second to let it cool and then take it to the next customer. That person complains, ‘This coffee is way too cold! I didn’t order ice coffee!’ Once you graduate from serving beverages to serving food it only gets worse. One person wanted me to get them a whole new salad because there was an olive on it. Not twenty olives. Not two olives. One olive! I asked her if she could just pick it off and the lady started yelling at me. I think she called me a stupid American who knows nothing about serving customers. Grumbling to myself I pick up the tray with fries and grilled chicken and walk out the swinging door shortly behind Audrey. In case the manager is around, I glue a brightly glowing smile to my face. Honestly, I think that Dourine was only giving me and Audrey the bad customers because she thought it would be funny! Luckily the person I have to serve this time is an elderly gentleman. When I gave him his ice water I didn’t get a single glare or complaint out of him.
  9. I set the tray down in front of him with practiced grace. “Will there be anything else today, sir?” “No thank you. This will be all. You have quite a charming accent by the way, Lassie.” “Oh. Why thank you.” “Is that an American accent?” “Yes it is.” “I’ve been to the United States before. It’s a very beautiful country indeed.” The kindly old man is about to say something else to me, but Nora calls my name followed by Audrey’s. We immediately drop what we were doing and walk over to her. “Can you girls do me a favor?” “It depends. What kind of favor are you asking?” “Oh, it isn’t a big one. I just wanted you to deliver Ryan and Jay’s lunches to them. You’re free to take your own food with you as well; after working so hard you deserve a little break.” She shoves trays of hamburgers and fries in our hands. “This is very kind of you, Nora, but we don’t have money to pay for this.” “Money won’t be a problem. It’s on the house.” Nora prances off into the brake room to get a couple of serving girls to take our places. With a shrug, we wander up the stairs. Feeling kind of bored I look at the simple yet sophisticated décor. The wood floors are polished to the point where they glow. Tammy and Rayla did an excellent job. The towering pearl gray walls have a mixture of black and white photographs and paintings of nature scenes. Most of them are lakes and forests. None of them except for the mountain painting catches my eye. Past the seemingly endless rows of stairs is a large wooden door labeled attic. Finding the attic wasn’t as hard as I thought. Seeing as I’m carrying more than her, Audrey taps on the door. Following the knock is a strange crash and then hurried footsteps.
  10. “Hi, Dour— oh, it’s you! Thank goodness!” Ryan looks slightly flustered. “Good afternoon, Ryan. Is everything okay?” asks Audrey. “Okay? Yes. Everything is just fine! Well, see you soon.” He shuts the door in our faces. “Open the door, Ryan! Unless you want to starve, that is.” Slowly, he cracks open the door. “Nobody’s with you, right?” “Yes, no one is with us. Now can you tell us what’s going on?” He pulls us in by the elbows, shuts the door, and locks it. I look around and notice Tammy and Rayla stacking boxes; the very thing that Jay should’ve been helping Ryan with. I’m about to snap at Jay for being lazy, but notice that he’s nowhere to be seen. I set the food down on a recently dusted table, and turn to stare at Ryan. “Ryan, please explain what’s going on because I’m very confused,” says Audrey. “I want to know where Jay is, too. He’s supposed to be helping you with this. This was his idea!” I say feeling aggravated. A smile plays at the edge of his lips. “Exactly. This was his idea, and he’s a genius!” “I never should’ve doubted him!” says Tammy with her back turned to us. “Why is Jay such a genius all of the sudden? He isn’t even here! Aren’t you upset with him for not helping you?” I ask. Rayla sets down the box she was lifting and skips over to us. “Normally we would be. However, what he’s doing now is much more important.” “What’s he doing?” Ryan chews on his bottom lip for a moment. “Tammy, Rayla, do you think it’s safe to show them?” “Go ahead. Just make sure that you stay quiet and unseen.” “Alright, thanks.” To us he says, “Come with me. You’re gonna like this. I hope.”

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