BLACKOUT; JR [1]

9.1

Sam stumbled out of the doorway slowly, like he was still half asleep. Getting up for school has never been the easiest thing in the world, and I doubted that would ever change. I gave his back a small nudge toward the door, wanting to get some fresh air. He walked out but didn't get very far before tripping over a rock on the ground. I laughed at the sight, but he didn't turn to growl at me.

"Stupid rock!" He groaned, steadying himself as the stone rolled over to its other side. Andy and Jake were sitting down on a log and looked as if they were having a serious conversation. Sam jumped in, completely oblivious to the mood around him, like always. "No breakfast. Again." I sighed at his words and went to sit down next to the hungry boy. "Starving." He mumbled, as if exaggerating my previous evaluation. He childishly kicked at the dirt beneath his shoes.

"Mostly blue skies." I heard Andy say under his breath as he watched the sky. Nobody said anything. He was right, though. Mostly blue skies. "The excursion should go ahead this time."

"The excursion went ahead last time." I replied, resting my chin in the palm of my hand and sighing again. We weren't the happiest bunch of teenagers today.

"What's the plan?" Sam asked, stretching his back to rid his body of fatigue.

"Retrace our steps." Andy said, but it sounded more like a question than a solid suggestion.

"And get lost again?" Sam questioned, his lips set in a small frown.

Andy shook his head while he stared straight ahead. "No. We find the valley and the wormhole." He said, more sure of himself.

Felix scoffed, making me jump slightly. I hadn't even realised he was outside, let alone standing right next to me. He looked unimpressed. "And how exactly does this work?" He asked, both hands shoved deep into his pockets. He looked like his old self again, old Felix from the old world.

"In this universe the excursion was delayed." Andy stated. "What if the wormhole was delayed as well?" I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to make sense of his words.

"Sorry, Andy." I started, shaking my head and keeping my eyes tight. "But the more you talk, the less I understand. Even when you try to dumb it down."

"We could find it again." He kept going, dismissing my words with only a raise of his left brow.

"And you have trouble believing in magic?" Felix countered, his head cocked to the side in question.

"It's worth a shot, dude." Sam said, siding with Andy.

"We're supposed to be at Phoebe's this morning, remember?" Felix replied, the annoyance clear in his voice.

"Where we have to magically locate a missing person?" Andy said, obviously against the idea. "And you think my plan has problems."

"Come on, Sam." Felix mumbled, ignoring Andy's protests. Sam looked at Felix with guilty eyes, and he knew that was as good as saying no. "I thought you believed in magic." He didn't give Sam the time to respond before he moved onto the next person. "And, Jake! You saw what happened with the dogs."

"Andy's right." Jake said, gesturing to him with a nod of his head. "I mean, it's a bit of a long shot." Andy stood up then, still staring up at the clouds. He went to stand beside Felix.

"Magic or science. Which path do we take?" I didn't like where this was going.

"Okay, let's vote." Felix said, shrugging his shoulders. "Andy's solution?" Jake lifted his arm above his head, showing his support. Felix looked disappointed, but tried to cover it up by moving on. Andy also had his hand up, and we all watched Sam as he was the next in line. He hesitantly raised his hand. "Sam." Felix moaned, not bothering to hide his disappointment.

"Sorry, dude. It kinda makes sense." Sam apologised, the frown returning.

"Alright, let's go wormhole hunting."

"Edith hasn't taken her vote yet, Jake." Felix said, almost desperately. Jake shot me an apologetic look, but I didn't see why.

"The votes are in, Felix." I said, standing up to face him properly. "If I vote, we're still going to be outnumbered." He looked hopeful and a little surprised by my words. I was with him. "If we go wormhole hunting now, and it doesn't work-" Andy looked like he wanted to refute my proposal before I had even said it. "If it doesn't work, we have to try Felix's plan. That's only fair." The boys all nodded at me but looked reluctant.

"So, you're not with science?" Andy asked me, his eyebrows raised in disbelief. I shook my head.

"Not today."