Surfing the Web: Missing Portal (Chapter 5)
Uh oh, maybe that girl who warned Kelsey was right.
"Aaahh!" I couldn't tell if it was Valerie or me screaming. It could have been both of us. But we landed soon and the screaming stopped. It took a few seconds for our eyes to adjust but when I opened them something looked different. I just couldn't place exactly what that was. I ignored it and helped Valerie up on her feet.
"Follow me. We'll stop by the diner first. Hopefully Brent will be there." I pull her up the trail of bricks to where the diner was. I saw everyone including Brent, Clara, Matt, and that crazy Shelley. When we entered everyone was smiling except Shelley. She looked stern and pulled me aside.
"How could you? Why'd you come here again?! I told you not to. And you brought someone with you; now you'll both be trapped." she whisper-yelled at me. I released my arm from her grip. I came here to escape my problems, not get more added on. I walked away, ignoring everything she said. I joined Clara and Matt who were staring at Valerie. I introduced them.
"Hey, I just saw Brent, where did he go?" I asked Clara. She didn't have to answer because right at that moment Brent came out from behind the counter.
"Who is this?" he asked, smiling greatly at Valerie who was blushing. I hate to admit it but I thought I just saw that little green monster. I forgot about that and remembered the reason I was here in the first place. I was about to ask when Brent interrupted my thought.
"Well, it looks like you brought someone with you. Fantastic!" There was that monster again.
"Hey," I wave my hand to get his attention on me. "Brent, meet Valerie. We weren't planning on staying long. I just wanted to ask you something."
Brent put his finely-tanned arm around my shoulder and led me away from the crowd. "What's up?"
"Well, you see, there's this boy back at home that I really like but the most popular girl in my grade likes him too. I was just wondering if maybe you could come back with us to make him jealous." I looked up at him with the biggest puppy dog face I could make.
"Kelsey, don't you know I'm part of a computer program. Actually both of us
are -" A loud "what" rang throughout the diner. It was Valerie. I turned around and looked at her. Her yell, however, didn't distract me from what Brent just said.
"What do you mean by 'both of us are'? I'm not staying here!" Valerie joined me by my side. She whispered to me how Shelley just told her that they're trapped and can't go home. That reminded me of her warning on the first day. I should have listened to her. I stare at Brent until he answered.
"Don't get so mad! It's just a bug in the system. If you come here more than once, then the portal to your home disappears for good. That's how all of us got here in the first place. Only one person has gotten out but none of us knew how she did it. She was kind of a loner." I stopped listening and grabbed Valerie by the arm. I ran out of the diner towards the tree where the portal sat. That's when I realized what was missing when I first arrived.
The stairs up to the branch were gone. I ran the trunk and glanced up. The portal was gone too. Now how am I going to get home?
"Follow me. We'll stop by the diner first. Hopefully Brent will be there." I pull her up the trail of bricks to where the diner was. I saw everyone including Brent, Clara, Matt, and that crazy Shelley. When we entered everyone was smiling except Shelley. She looked stern and pulled me aside.
"How could you? Why'd you come here again?! I told you not to. And you brought someone with you; now you'll both be trapped." she whisper-yelled at me. I released my arm from her grip. I came here to escape my problems, not get more added on. I walked away, ignoring everything she said. I joined Clara and Matt who were staring at Valerie. I introduced them.
"Hey, I just saw Brent, where did he go?" I asked Clara. She didn't have to answer because right at that moment Brent came out from behind the counter.
"Who is this?" he asked, smiling greatly at Valerie who was blushing. I hate to admit it but I thought I just saw that little green monster. I forgot about that and remembered the reason I was here in the first place. I was about to ask when Brent interrupted my thought.
"Well, it looks like you brought someone with you. Fantastic!" There was that monster again.
"Hey," I wave my hand to get his attention on me. "Brent, meet Valerie. We weren't planning on staying long. I just wanted to ask you something."
Brent put his finely-tanned arm around my shoulder and led me away from the crowd. "What's up?"
"Well, you see, there's this boy back at home that I really like but the most popular girl in my grade likes him too. I was just wondering if maybe you could come back with us to make him jealous." I looked up at him with the biggest puppy dog face I could make.
"Kelsey, don't you know I'm part of a computer program. Actually both of us
are -" A loud "what" rang throughout the diner. It was Valerie. I turned around and looked at her. Her yell, however, didn't distract me from what Brent just said.
"What do you mean by 'both of us are'? I'm not staying here!" Valerie joined me by my side. She whispered to me how Shelley just told her that they're trapped and can't go home. That reminded me of her warning on the first day. I should have listened to her. I stare at Brent until he answered.
"Don't get so mad! It's just a bug in the system. If you come here more than once, then the portal to your home disappears for good. That's how all of us got here in the first place. Only one person has gotten out but none of us knew how she did it. She was kind of a loner." I stopped listening and grabbed Valerie by the arm. I ran out of the diner towards the tree where the portal sat. That's when I realized what was missing when I first arrived.
The stairs up to the branch were gone. I ran the trunk and glanced up. The portal was gone too. Now how am I going to get home?
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