Chapter 9
We finished eating then talked until Jace came and got us. By then I wasn’t really excited about the ball I
was really tired and just wanted to get this mission over with. We walked into another long hallway and came to a green entry way. The greeter greeted us all and asked our names. Once he checked the list he led us all in. The ballroom was fabulous! It was full of big colorful chandlers and bright colorful flowers. People were everywhere; the whole city of Soarana must have been there.
“Get with your partners.” Jace commanded us “Remember you represent me and the King so do not mess anything up. Act graceful and be polite. Also have fun.” He walked away leaving us by ourselves.
“What are we supposed to do?” Holly asked. I had a feeling she wasn’t very happy about this.
“Jace said earlier all we have to do in make an appearance and we can leave. I suppose we should dance.” I said. I was never much of a dancer and this was way out of my comfort zone. Karmen and Brantley on the other hand were gone as soon as I mentioned it. I spotted them dancing with a large group of people.
“Sounds fun!” Ryder announced. He pulled Holly along, despite her protests.
“Do we have to dance?” Luke asked me.
“I don’t think so. As long as we are having fun. We can do other things in order to have fun without dancing.”
“May I escort you to the food table?” Luke asked holding out his arm.
“Of course!” I grabbed his arm and we walked over. I was still hungry even if we had just eaten. There was a ton of food. Pastries and cakes and jelly filled doughnuts. It was all amazing! Soon enough I was full. When we were done stuffing our faces we decided to sit down. Towards the sides all around the dance floor was seating for the dancers when they got tired, or for two lazy teens. We watched the dancers glide gracefully by. I spotted Holly and Ryder. They were both smiling and having a blast! I also saw Jace who was dancing with a woman in a bright yellow dress. I looked over at Luke who was sitting next to me. He was smiling as he watched the dancers go by. As I watched the peaceful expression in his face I realized he wanted to dance. He had acted like he didn’t want to just for my sake. I felt really bad and looked over at him again. He did so much for me the least I could do was dance with him.
“Do you want to dance?” I asked
“What?” his expression looked confused. He tilted his head to the side “Are you serious? I mean, sure why not.” He got up and escorted me to the dance floor.
“I have never done this before so you will have to help me.” I whispered to him
“Don’t worry it’s easy. Put your hand here.” He placed my hand on his shoulder and grabbed my other. The music started and off we went. He walked me through the steps. It was really easy; all I really had to do was follow his feet. Soon enough I was able to look up. It was amazing everything seemed to fly by; everything was a blur except Luke. Our eyes met and he smiled. Everything seemed perfect for awhile then the song stopped.
“Did you have fun?” he asked catching his breath
“Yes! It was amazing. How do you know how to dance?” I asked
“My Aunt and Uncle were ballroom instructors I used to help them teach.”
“You are a great teacher.” As soon as I said this the King was on the stage.
“Hello everyone. Queen Jessa and I would like to thank each and every one of you for coming. It has meant a lot. Now the reason for all of you coming.” He spent the next few minutes telling the story of how Soarana came to be and how we were sent out in order to rescue the Princess. “I now introduce the team. Holly Riddle and Ryder Jenson, Brantley Davis and Karmen Gomez, and Addilyn Cooper and Luke Anderson” We each walked up as we were called out and stood in front of everyone. The people “ooed” and “awed” then cheered like crazy. It was like a football stadium.
“I feel like we should be bowing.” I whispered to Luke
“Let’s do it.” He answered back
Luke and I bowed together and they cheered even more. We all laughed as we stood on the stage being cheered on as if we were movie stars. Soon enough our fame came to an end when the King came back up.
“This group will be sent out tonight. Wish them luck Soarana; they are one of our last hopes.” More cheers erupted and flowers were thrown up on the stage.
Luke handed me a pink rose “Here it matches your dress.” He said with a wink.
The rest of the night was a blur. We danced some more, people cheered us on, and we ate as much as we could. Soon enough Jace came and found us.
“Come on guys it is time to go.” We walked down the long hallway, past the bright yellow sitting room, and into the colorful front room.
“Sit.” He ordered us. Once we had all sat down he started giving us instructions. “You will use the team car to get to Earth. Once on Earth you become regular teenagers, which means you are to attend schools and try to fit in. You are all orphans who live under the care of Phillip and Jada White.”
“Who is that?” I asked.
“No one; It is the King and Queen’s alias. By using that name all expenses and questions are directed toward them. If anything is needed you can use these pagers to contact me, but remember only use these in emergencies you need to figure things out on your own. Luke, Holly, Ryder do you have your licenses on you?” They all nodded their heads “Good, the garage is right next door. Use the dressing rooms to change and then you can head off. Before you go take these.” He placed credit cards in each of our hands. “Use these wisely. To buy food and clothes that are needed. I have to go now. I trust you guys; we have all put our faith in you please don’t fail us.” With that he was gone.
“I am going to miss that guy. He has really grown on me.” Ryder said. We were all quiet as we changed into our clothes. I simply wore a t-shirt and some yoga pants. I figured if I needed to wear something nicer I could buy it later.
“Ready?” I asked everyone. After receiving five nods we all walked out. The garage was only about a block away and we all walked in silence.
“Do you want me to drive? Luke asked me once inside.
“Sure. Is there enough room for all of us?” as far as I remembered there were only two seats.
“Yeah it expands to the number of seats needed.” Luke was right. There were exactly 6 seats. Two in the front, two in the middle, and two in the back. Ryder and Brantley climbed in the back followed by Karmen and Holly in the middle, and Luke and I in the front.
“Bye-bye Soarana!” I said as Luke started up the car and we flew. Just like before we arrived in a matter of seconds.
“Are we in San Francisco?” I asked him when we landed
“I put in the coordinates to go there so we should be. But I’ll get out and check.” He stepped out and stepped right back in. “Yep, we are right in front of a motel.”
“Perfect. Okay so we will spend the night here and in the morning we will enroll in a high school and cross our fingers that the rest will come to us.” We all walked in and I went to the front desk.
“May I help you?” The little old lady, whose name tag read “June”, asked.
“Yes I would like a room please.”
“Are your parents with you?”
“Umm No, but my big brother is.” I pushed Luke forward. He could easily pass as someone in their twenties; I hoped it would work.
“Oh okay well as long as there is an adult with you. Credit or Debit?” I silently cheered as Luke handed her his card and she passed us the room key. Walking down the hall I let out I sigh of relief. We’ve made it so far. The room was fairly big with a couch and two queen size beds.
“I call one of the beds!” Ryder shouted as he ran and jumped on it
“I call the other.” Karmen jumped on the other.
I looked over at Holly “You sleep in the bed with her; I’ll take the floor.”
“No, you take the couch I am fine on the floor. We used to go camping for the whole summer when I was little. I am more than used to sleeping on the floor.” Luke smiled as he went on “Besides I don’t think you were to keen on it.”
He was right I was just offering to be leader like, but of course I wasn’t going to admit that. “Really I can sleep on the floor.” I argued
“It’s fine.” He went to the closet and grabbed a couple of extra blankets and pillows. “Here” he said handing me a blanket and pillow.
“Thanks. Okay guys we need to hit the sack. After all it is a school night.” This produced groans and sighs from everyone; including me.
“I thought I had escaped school.” Ryder grumbled as he crawled into bed.
“Me too” I thought “Me too” Soon enough everyone’s breathing became heavy, except mine. My mind was wandering all over the place. Trying to come up with a plan of action. I worried I wouldn’t be a sufficient leader for the team. Luke shifted on his pallet.
“Luke you awake?” I whispered to him.
“Yeah what’s up?” he asked sitting up.
“You really think I am good leader? Because I am having doubts.”
“Already?” He asked now coming to sit up with me on the couch “I think you are a great leader, even though you have only been leading us for like two hours.”
I blushed “Oh yeah. I am just really nervous I shouldn’t have woken you up I am sorry.”
“Nah. I wasn’t asleep anyway. You think I could sleep my first night before school?”
“That is the least of my worries. Do you think we will have to do some fighting tomorrow?”
“I don’t think so but we should all be on guard. You need to sleep; especially if you are going to be a great leader. Great leaders especially need their sleep.” He smiled, patted my hand then climbed back on his pallet. I sat up for another 30 minutes going over the next day in my head. After I went over the plan at least six times I was finally able to go to sleep. I sighed as I drifted off. Our adventure begins tomorrow; starting with one of the things I hate the most, school.