by Victory Thru Tears and Star

Part 4 ~ Maya’s POV
by Victory Thru Tears

     Trust my girlfriend to end up being something other than human. Although, as the crazy old guy tells us, she’s not the only one. Either way, this is really creeping me out.

     First of all, it’s magic. Real, true, scary magic. The stuff that Dumblebee, or whatever, did with the chairs and the making us freeze was definitely real. Unless, of course, I’m lying passed out in the attic of Adam’s house right now, and this is all a dream.

     Second of all, he’s insisting that we’re also capable of this magic stuff. He says that if we weren’t, we wouldn’t have ended up at Hogwarts, as this place is called.

     I don’t care. It’s too weird, and I want to go home. However, Dimblebum tells us that we can’t go home right away, because Portkeys have to ‘recharge’ or some crap like that. I say, they’re magic, they can just fly us back on a carpet or something…right?

     But noooooo, instead we have to stay here for the night. I don’t to sleep in this place. I’m too scared that they’ll try and get us involved in some strange magical ritual or something. Sacrifice us to their gods.

     I cling to Terri’s arm as we trudge up yet another flight of stairs. She shakes me off a little bit.

     “Your nails are digging into my arm.” She notifies me. “And I thought I was supposed to be the wimpy one?”

     I shake my head. “You’re the wimpy one, but I’m the girly one.”

     She shrugs. “Fair enough.”

     I notice that even Fulton and Portman are holding hands as if their life depends on it. And who knows, it just might…

     Adam and Charlie, however, are walking a good ten feet apart. Even through this very strange dilemma, I find myself sighing with exasperation. Can’t they get pull their heads out of their asses and admit it to each other that they’re still in love? We all know it, and I refuse to believe that they don’t.

     We follow an oldish woman with her hair in a tight bun all the way to a suit of armor. We stare dumbly at it, and I brace myself for a demon to pop out or something.

     Instead, the old woman smiles at it, and says “Knickerbocker Glory.”

     The suit of armor bows, and moves aside as the stone wall opens.

     I gasp, and nearly knock Terri over as I throw my arms around her. Charlie jumps and grabs Adam around the waist. For a second Adam clings back, but then looks down at Charlie and gets a pissed off look on his face. He shakes Charlie off in irritation, and crosses his arms over his chest. Charlie does the same, trying to cover his hurt look with one of anger.

     The tight-lipped woman steps aside, motioning for us to enter the tower. I blink at her. There’s no way I’m going in there.

     But with an “Ummph” I’m dragged in by a bouncing Terri. Lucky me, I get the lunatic for a girlfriend.

     The tower is small, with only two doors. Terri peeks into both of them, pulling me with her. In one there are two beds, and in the other four. It’s not hard to guess that we’ll be sleeping here.

     “Well, as it is late, I suggest that you try to get some rest. Tomorrow will probably be an interesting day for you. Breakfast is in the Great Hall, served at seven am. Good night.” With that, she turns to leave the six of us standing in the hallway on our own.

     I hear the stone door slide shut, and I look at my friends. This is the first time we’ve been alone since we got to this creepy place. I open my mouth to speak, but Terri cuts me off.

     “Get some rest?” She whines. “I’m not tired!”

     I roll my eyes. What a Terri-like statement. That’s right, sweetie, don’t focus on the fact that we’re in a strange country in a magical castle, whine about not being tired.

     “Well, it is midnight.” Fulton remarks, looking at the clock.

     “But only six back in Minnesota.” Adam interjects. “Remember the time difference.”

     My eyes bug out. I can’t believe we are having this conversation. I glance at Charlie, he seems to be thinking the same thing.

     “You guys!” I say loudly. “Need I remind you exactly where we are??”

     “England.” Terri answers. “We know that.”

     I stare at her, and she grins back. I sigh and throw my hands in the air.

     “So what the hell are we going to do?” Charlie asks, voicing the thought in my head.

     “What is there to do?” Portman sighs.

     “I know!” Terri bounces. “Explore!”

     The others agree excitedly, but Charlie and I stare at her in shock. It seems like we’re the only ones who haven’t lost our minds around here!

     “Explore?” He repeats skeptically.

     Our four friends nod. I exchange a glance with Charlie, and he sighs resignedly.

     “Fine.”

     I still feel unsure, but go along as they lead me out of the tower.

     The castle is silent as we step into the hallway. Huddled in a small mass that somehow reminds me of the Gang from Scooby-Doo, we walk down, towards the stairs. I have no idea where we’re going, and I know that the others don’t either.

     “Ow!” Adam says loudly, glaring at Charlie, who had just stepped on his foot. “Watch where you’re going!”

     “Sorry.” Charlie answers in a mocking tone, muttering under his breath.

     “Yeah, you never quite have the nerve to say anything to my face, do you?” Adam snarls, moving away from his ex-boyfriend.

     “Save it, Banks.” Charlie answers, also moving in the opposite direction.

     “Oh yeah, I - “ Adam cuts off as he hits the floor with a thud.

     We all stare at him, and then at Charlie.

     Charlie holds his hands in the air in a defensive gesture. “I didn’t touch him.”

     Adam looks around wildly, he knows that he wasn’t pushed by Charlie. And we all know that Adam’s more coordinated than to just fall flat on his ass out of the blue.

     Portman lets out an audible squeak as three heads suddenly appear in front of us. Adam scrambles off the floor and flies into the protective embrace of the Bash Brothers. Charlie starts to inch behind them as well.

     This really feels like we’re stuck in some kind of weird cartoon.

     I try to resist the urge to jump into Terri’s arms and yell ‘Zoinks’.