Summer Love | TLOS

Ch.35

15/2/3

I have started therapy. I'm in a group of teenage kids who are all depressed, which is exactly the opposite of what I am. I think Grandma read the pamphlet wrong or something. But at my first class, I met four girls named Mindy, Cindy, Lindy, and Wendy. They were all there because they believed that the magical world Conner discovered had been there before he discovered it. I know. Crazy.

Alex was utterly lost. She gazed around in confusion, blinking up at the vibrant sun. "Um, you guys?" Alex called to her friends.

"Alex, what's up?" Conner said, moving forwards to walk beside her. "You seem worried."

"I am worried," Alex replied, kicking rocks on the path they had taken. "We're lost, something that I thought would never happen to us, since I'm the Master of Wonderland after all."

Conner shrugged half-heartedly. "No need to beat yourself up about this, Alex. So what, you don't know where we're going? Neither do I. The Cheshire Cat told us to pick the path that seemed right to us, so we took left. That seems right." he said, trying to make his sister feel better about herself.

Alex threw her hands up in the air, exasperated. "That's not a good thing, Conner! Wonderland is wondrous, it is never what it seems. Ah! We should've taken the right path."

Conner pursed his lips. "No, I think we're still correct. If most people would have taken the right path, then that would be what it seems to be like. But we took the left path. So we're fine."

She stared at her brother for a moment before sighing. "Okay, I guess you're right. I'm being foolish."

Conner didn't respond as they walked through the forest, getting farther and farther away from the Cheshire Cat. In the distance, he could make out an outline of a house, and his hopes soared.

"Oh, my gosh," Bree cried from behind them. "It's the hare's house! I can't believe we made it here! We're halfway to The Queen of Hearts, Alex, you got us through the right way!"

Alex blushed when everybody cheered, and Conner winked at her. "Well," Alex started, "Let's just hope they'll help us find The Queen of Hearts and how to get past her Card Soldiers."

Once the group arrived at the house, Alex knocked on the door twice-it's just polite. She waited patiently, rocking back and forth on the balls of her heels. "Excuse me?" she said and knocked on the door again.

Slowly, the door cracked open and the Mad Hatter peeked his way through the door. "Hmm! Who are you, my love?" He grabbed at something in his pocket. "Care for some tea?" he asked, holding up a steaming pot and a small teacup.

"Oh, my name is Alex Bailey-"

"Yes, yes, good, good. Who is your entourage? It's quite a big group for traveling through Wonderland, don't you think?"

Alex frowned slightly, but cleared her throat, preparing to speak. "Well, no, actually-we're trying to find The Queen of Hearts-"

The Mad Hatter dropped his teacup and it smashed, leaving bits of yummy smelling tea on the ground. "The Queen of Hearts?" he exclaimed in surprise. "Have you gone mad?" he giggled to himself and whispered, "You're already mad if you're in Wonderland."

He swiftly reached into his hat and when he didn't find whatever he was looking for, turned the hat into a mop and quickly mopped the tea up.

Conner and Alex exchanged glances. They didn't know what to say to him, he kept changing the subject and interrupting everything they said.

Bree stepped forwards and tried to say something. "Do you have any idea how to get past the Queen's Card Soldiers, Mad Hatter?" she said, as politely as she could.

Arthur nodded. "It would be very useful, Hatter," he tipped his head in agreement.

The Mad Hatter shrugged. "I assume you could try to-ooh! I forgot! I was just singing in the unbirthday song to Harey. Or maybe his name is Hare." a wild look in his eyes, the Mad Hatter ushered everybody inside and closed the door.

Around a big table was the hare, the dormouse, and the Mad Hatter. He filled his hat with tea and biscuits before sitting down and chewing imaginary food.

Everybody stared, bewildered.

"Mad Hatter, you were saying something before you got distracted," Alex prodded. "Do you remember what that was?"

The Mad Hatter bit his lip, continuing to chew with his mouth open. "Uh...oh yes! You could always just-hey! Stop distracting me from finishing the Unbirthday song. It's a tradition, you know."

He ran over to a piano in the corner of the room and began bellowing a melodramatic tune. "Sing it with me!" he yelled over the racket and started mumbling words that nobody could understand, except for the Wonderlandians.

Alex sighed and decided to try one more time. "Excuse me, Mad Hatter-please listen to me. You said you knew how to get past the Queen's card soldiers, could you care to explain how?"

Mad Hatter rolled his eyes. "My goodness me, Bailey. I'm sure you could just-hmm. I think I've forgotten. An unfortunate response, I know, my dear."

Alex screamed, scaring everybody in a 20-mile radius. "Oh my gosh! I thought I understood Wonderland, but I don't! YOU'RE MAD, I TELL YOU, MAD!"

The Mad Hatter and the other Wonderlandians smiled. "Why thank you,"

Alex stomped her feet and rushed out of the house, completely oblivious that she was no longer in the forest anymore. She sobbed, tears running down her cheeks in heavy streams. Alex heard footsteps and turned to see all her friends.

"I'm sorry," Alex said quietly. "I'm just so overwhelmed...I want the world to be okay...everybody to live...no, I just want to go home and see Grandma."

Everybody started talking at once.

Conner whistled, getting everybody's attention. "Has anybody else noticed that we're no longer in the forest?" he asked, glancing around. "Where are we?"

And that's when everybody realized they had bigger problems than an emotional teenage girl.

A/N Hello guys! I am so so sorry I haven't updated in a long time! But guess what, here's a chapter for you tonight!!! Alice in Wonderland is my favorite fairy tale world, but I have been pretty busy lately and didn't have much time to catch up, so sorry if some characters don't see really Wonderlandian.

-Amanda