An Unexpected Adventure
Page 1
An Unexpected Adventure
Kandi J. Wyatt
United States, 2018
COPYRIGHT 2018 KANDI J WYATT
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.
Attribution — You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).
Noncommercial — You may not use this work for commercial purposes.
No Derivative Works — You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to similarly named places or to persons living or deceased is unintentional.
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Acknowledgments
The making of a book is never done in a vacuum. This book is no exception. From inspiration to final production many have helped make this the best it can be. Thanks to Hunter Jordan, Mason MacFarlane, Chante Combs, and Tyler Mendell for giving me an idea to write this trilogy. Another inspiration for the story is Mr. Betz, my own kids’ junior high math and science teacher who challenged students to do their best and loved teaching. Since I knew the kids who I based my characters on, I wanted to try something different for the cover. A fun photoshoot with Eric Wyatt Photography was the result. From that, Amalia Chitulescu worked her magic and created the fantasy feel.
Ally Morcom put her heart and soul into An Unexpected Adventure, and it was her suggestion that adjusted the name for both the trilogy and the individual books. My beta readers: Anne Riener, Laura Dickey, Jennifer Lapachian and Cheryll McMahon, did an awesome job and validated several points Ally made later. Sheri Williams has stuck with me through six books now. I couldn’t do it without her final touch as proofreader.
Last but not least, thank you, my readers, for sticking with me and encouraging me to continue writing.
To my junior high Spanish classes in Spring 2015,
and all rural American students.
May you always realize that you are just perfect
the way you are. You’ve got the best of
America at your fingertips.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: A Friday Night
Chapter 2: A Saturday Find
Chapter 3: A Lunchtime Meeting
Chapter 4: A Mysterious Egg
Chapter 5: An Egg Hatches
Chapter 6: A Science Project
Chapter 7: A Secret Discovered
Chapter 8: A Hair-Raising Experience
Chapter 9: A Field Trip
Chapter 10: A Hard Day’s Work
Chapter 11: A Tense Moment
Chapter 12: A Terrifying Dream
Chapter 13: A Great Dad
Chapter 14: An Independence Day Celebration
Chapter 15: An Afternoon Upriver
Chapter 16: A Music Festival
Chapter 17: A Relaxing Afternoon
Chapter 18: A Worrisome Problem
Chapter 19: An Explanation of Sorts
Chapter 20: A Morning Run
Chapter 21: A Boat Ride
Chapter 22: An Island Paradise
Chapter 23: A Solemn Warning
An Unexpected Escapade: Chapter 1
Chapter 1: A Friday Night
“Psst, Harley.” Cherise’s voice, although quiet for her, was loud enough to get us into trouble with Miss Smith. “Harley!”
I looked up with an internal sigh, but what else was I supposed to do? Cherise was one of four girls in my eighth-grade class, and my best friend, Chace, had a crush on her. I couldn’t make her mad.
“What?” I whispered back, making sure Miss Smith wasn’t watching us yet.
Cherise placed both hands on the back of her desk and leaned her pixie face over mine, her big eyes eager.
“Whatcha doin’ after school today? Can you come over?”
“I don’t know. I’ve got track practice, and then I have to help Mom and Dad with the B&B.”
“Ooh!” Her brown eyes got even bigger, which should have been impossible. She leaned even further onto my desk. “Anyone famous staying there?”
I shook my head. My parents ran, Aidan’s Keep, one of the two bed and breakfasts in our little town, and Cherise always expected someone famous to come through. We got our tourists for sure—they came to fish in the ocean or up Myrtle River, windsurf in the lake north of town, or bike the Pacific Coast Trail. Why would anyone famous want to come to little ol’ Myrtle Beach, Oregon? Sure, it was rumored that Brad Pitt (or his mom, depending on who you talked with) had a house in the town south of us, but that wasn’t Myrtle Beach where the sheep, cattle, and cranberries outnumbered the people.
Cherise’s face fell at my answer, then lit up again, and, in a logic all her own, she said, “Then you can come over tonight!”
I was saved a comment by Miss Smith.
“Cherise and Harley, stop talking. And Cherise, please sit correctly. In your own desk.”
“Yes, Miss Smith,” we said in unison.
No one messed with Miss Smith, not even Tanner and Peter, the duo that gave every teacher a headache. She used to teach first grade, but due to budget cuts she was moved to the junior high Language Arts class. She still had a no-nonsense way about her that made us all pay attention.
Cherise gave me a wink as she turned around, and I almost laughed out loud at her expression. I rolled my eyes instead and focused back on the class.
***
You’d think that Cherise would have been satisfied and not bothered me again, but no—not her. Later, on the bus to the high school where we had PE, Spanish, and our elective, I was sitting chatting with my two friends, Will and Chace. We were interrupted by Cherise’s head popping up and over the seat in front of Chace and me. Across the aisle, Will laughed. Cherise and Chace glared at him, while I just shook my head.
“What?” Will protested. “You should have seen the two of you jump.”
Cherise just tossed her head, her hair bouncing around her chin. “Hey, guys, want to come over tonight? I’ve got Cabela’s Hunt for Wii.”
I could tell Chace was tempted. He loved hunting, probably more than any of us.
“I’d need a ride home,” he said.
I groaned. Since he lived twelve miles up Myrtle River on a windy, narrow road, that meant I’d have to ask someone from my family to give him a lift. Mom and Dad would be busy with Aidan’s Keep B&B, and my older sister, Karis, wasn’t a fan of playing chauffeur. “Oh, all right,” I said to spare his dignity. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Cherise’s big brown eyes beamed at me. “Thanks, Harley. You won’t regret it.”
Oh, maybe not because of anything she or my buddies would do, but I’d have to do extra chores tomorrow to make it up to my family. I didn’t have time to answer, though, because the bus pulled into the high school, announced by the speed bump and the groans as our classmates were tossed about. Our driver had hit the pot hole right after the speed bump.
“Sure wish someone’d fix that.” Chace rubbed his chin where it had bumped against Cherise’s seat.
“You know what they say about the school not having money.” Will shrugged.
“They’re going to have less when they have to replace my tooth,” Chace grumbled.
***
“Harley Maegher, get in here right now!”
That didn’t bode well. When anyone used my last name, I knew I’d done something wrong. When my mom used it, I’d usually left something in the way of guests.
“What is it, Mom?” I asked, all innocence, as I rounded the kitchen door.
I was greeted not by a smiley, happy figure welcoming me home from school, but by one with a frown on her face and hands on her hips.
“How many times do I have to tell you to put your breakfast bowl in the dishwasher before you leave for school?”
“But, Mom—“
“No ‘But Mom’s.’ Professor Raleigh was greeted by a messy breakfast table when he came down today. He’s a long-term guest. You can’t keep doing that.”
“Yes, Mom.” I knew the opportune times to argue with her, and this wasn’t one of them, especially if I was going to try to get Chace permission to spend the night and go over to Cherise’s house, too.
“I’ll put the dishes away for you.” The open dishwasher had inspired me.
Mom looked at me with a question on her face, but didn’t say anything. She was busy getting dinner ready.
About halfway through the job, I asked Mom about our family plans for the evening.
“What’s up your sleeve, Harley?” she replied.
I looked up my t-shirt sleeve exaggeratedly. “An arm?”
“Very funny. What do you want to do?”
I told her about Chace wanting to come over and Cherise’s invite to play games. She eyed me, a spatula in one hand and her other on the counter.
“What kind of games, Harley?”
“She said she’d gotten the newest Cabela’s Hunt.”
“You know our rules; nothing over E10+ ratings.”
“But, Mom, it’s hunting! It’s going to have a T rating for the shooting.”
Mom nodded, turned, and stirred the meat frying in the skillet. When she was done, she turned back to me.
“I know I can’t control your friends in their own homes.” She stirred the meat again and then clicked off the stove. “You can play the Cabela’s game, but not anything else above E10+. How’s Chace getting here?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Uh-huh. I thought so,” she said knowingly as she poured sauce over the freshly cooked meat. “You’ll have to see if Karis will take you to pick him up.”
I nodded. “Thanks, Mom.”
***
We had a great night. The game was fun, but Cherise’s parents kicked us out by eight o’clock. It was still light out, so we walked down to the docks where Will spent most of his waking hours when he wasn’t in school or hanging out with us. The Crab Shack was closed, though, so we didn’t stay for long.
Once the twilight started to deepen, we walked Will home. Sometimes I felt sorry for him. His parents both worked to make ends meet, but it didn’t give them any energy left over to parent him. His house had the feel of a morgue—not that I‘d ever been in one—and we made a pretty quick exit once we’d seen him safely to the door
When we got back home, we tried to come in quietly, but were met on the porch by Professor Raleigh.
“Hi, Professor,” I greeted our wiry guest. “How was your day?”
“Quite fine, Harley; quite fine,” he said as he pushed up his glasses. He paused at the door and turned. “You have a friend with you.”
I nodded. “Chace, this is Professor Raleigh.”
The professor nodded and stuck out his hand.
“Nice to meet you, Chace. I’m Dr. Winston P. Raleigh, Professor of Geology at UC Berkley.”
Chace was thoroughly impressed. “Whatcha doin’ here in Oregon, Professor?”
“Looking for thundereggs, young man. Looking for thundereggs. Rather magnificent creatures if you ask me.”
I looked at Chace and raised an eyebrow. I’d never heard rocks being called creatures before.
“They tell us so much about the area when we cut them open,” he clarified. “Say!” His face brightened, lightening his dark eyes and skin. “I could use help searching for them. They’re quite rare, but I’ve been told there are some in the area. Would you boys want to help me look? If you found one, I would pay you for it.”
Chace and I looked at each other dumbfounded. We really didn’t have anything else planned in the morning other than helping clean the bed and breakfast. If I told Mom I was going with a guest, I could probably get out of chores.
“Sure, I’d be interested.”
Chace nodded. “I could look upriver on the ranch. Dad might know of some places to look, too.”
“Good. Then I will see you in the morning and we’ll talk. I’ll have to give you some instructions on what to search for.”
Chapter 2: A Saturday Find
“Come on, Chace,” I called. “Hurry up!”
Chace groaned. “Harley, you’re not going to find one by rushing around.”
We’d been out on the beach for the past hour. I’d roamed ahead of Chace, but Will was even farther up the shore. It was a gorgeous May day on the coast. The surf fell lightly against the rocks, and the wind barely moved Chace’s hair, though I knew that’d change by the afternoon.
A shout from Will sent us both running. Chace arrived behind me, out of breath. Track had kept me in shape, but even so, I was slightly winded.
“Whatcha... got?” Chace leaned on his thighs to catch his breath.
“I think I found one.” Will smoothed sand away from an oblong area as big as a backpack.
The object blended in with the cream of the sand and rocks. Whatever it was, it didn’t look like a rock. It was too smooth.
“That looks like an egg.,” Chace bent down to examine it closer.
I nodded. It did.
“But that’s why they’re called thundereggs.” Will didn’t even pause as he continued to excavate the item in question.
I shrugged, and Chace shook his head while pushing up his glasses.
“We might as well help him.” I bent down and began gently uncovering the stone.
Professor Raleigh had been very particular about the condition in which he wanted his thundereggs delivered. In my opinion they were just large rocks. Sure, they’re the state stone, but you really couldn’t harm them. The point was to crack them open and find the geode inside. But since the professor was the one paying us for the rock, we followed his orders to dig carefully and not damage the rock.
After a few more minutes of digging, the stone came free. Will wriggled it until we could get a grip underneath and lift it out. I really had my doubts we could pick it up; I was sure it’d weigh close to a hundred pounds or more. However, to my surprise, it came free and up without a hitch, absurdly light for its size.
“Should it be this light?” I squinted at the rock in our hands.
“I don’t know.” Will shrugged his shoulder.
Chace shifted his grip. “I’ve never seen a single rock this big before. But it should weigh more than this. I still say it’s an egg.”
I was beginning to believe him, but there were some good reasons to doubt it, too. “What bird’s this big, and how did it get here? We’re a long way from the game park.”
The game park was the closest thing to a zoo we had. They had wild animals and some pet deer, sheep, donkeys, geese, goats, and peacocks to feed. They even had an emu and an ostrich, but I still couldn’t imagine either one having an egg quite this size.
Chace shook his head. “I don’t know, but listen.” He took a free hand and tapped ever so gently on the surface.
It echoed hollowly. Before anyone could say anything, a second fainter tap came as if in reply.
“What in the world?” I exclaimed, jumping and almost dropping the thing.
“It’s an egg,” Chace said with firm conviction. “I don’t know what kind yet, but it’s an egg.”
“Wh-what do we do with it?” Will looked like he wanted to toss it in the ocean.
“We keep it.”
Both Will and Chace looked at me as if I had just turned down a shot at a five-point deer during hunting season. I don’t know what I was thinking, but suddenly a fierce desire to protect the creature inside came over me
“We what?” At that moment, Will’s eyes were as big as Cherise’s.
“Where?” Chace was more reasonable. “Your mom won’t let you.”
“It’s not staying at my house!” Will’s voice quavered ever so slightly.
We stood holding the strange egg, each of us with a hand on the shell, and when Chace and Will started looking first at me, then at each other, I knew they felt it, too. Wherever our palms rested, there was a pulse of warmth. Chace looked away first, his green eyes focusing on the mystery we held. I couldn’t see them behind his glasses, but his face softened. He nodded his head.
“I’ll take it.” Will and I looked at him with expressions somewhere between relief and uncertainty. “I’ll do it. There’s the barn that old man Thompson hasn’t used in years. No one ever goes in there. There’s old hay for a nest, and I can check on it every day.”
“Are you sure?” I asked. “I can always try it for a few days.”
“Yeah, and what happens if it hatches while we’re at school, huh? What then?”
He had me, and he knew it, but I didn’t want to give up. Just as I had wanted to protect it, now I found that I didn’t want to let it leave my sight.
“What if I keep it for the weekend, bring it to school, and let you take it home?”
Chace eyed me. It was the same calculating look he gave me over a game of soccer. He wondered how serious I was. I began to wonder if he had experienced the same surge of protectiveness for the creature. He nodded.
It was a lot harder to do than to say. The egg was probably a couple of feet long and more than two hands wide. Its surface was smooth as the handlebars on my bike. Only Will’s backpack was big enough for it, but he didn’t want anything to do with carrying it and made that known in no uncertain terms. In the end, we switched packs. I let him have mine for the weekend.
At home, I took it upstairs to my room where I hid it in a pile of blankets in my closet.
Later that night, Professor Raleigh greeted me on his way to his room. “Any luck today, Harley?”
I shook my head. “No, sir. We didn’t find any thundereggs. What about you?”
“Not yet, son. Well, keep looking. I know there’s one out there.”