Two Halfs, One Heart

Chapter 35- Under Wraps

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We were now at a campsite by a beautiful lake. Gwen and I were reading. I was finishing Midnight Sun and Gwen was reading a spell book. "You know, Gwen. You don't have to read Charmcaster's spell book, I can teach you magic," I said to my friend. "Yeah. You're right, Paige. Besides, I want to learn light magic; not dark magic." She said, smiling.

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"You've got to love summer vacation, princess. Nothing to do all day long but sit around and... Hey! Grandpa, what gives?" Ben asked. "What gives is that I ran out of water in the shower... again. It's your job to keep the tank full, Ben," Max said. "I will, just later." "Sure. The same way you're going to make your bed or take out the trash?" She said.

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"Well, you're a fine one to talk, young lady. You think those dirty dishes are just going to wash themselves?" Max asked Gwen. "But it's summer vacation, Grandpa. What about Paige? How come she's not involved in this?" Gwen said. "Because she did her chores." "Yeah. If we wanted to do chores, we could've just stayed at home," Ben said.

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Then we heard something over the radio. "Y'all ready for a little fresh air? Want a chance to commune with the animals? You know someone who needs to learn the value of some good, old-fashioned hard work? Then sign your whole clan up for a week at Dairyville's Family Fun Farm Camp and experience life on a real working farm." My eyes lit up because before I moved to the city, I grew up in the country and lived on a farm.

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I don't regret leaving because leaving the country and the farm led me to Ben. "Max! Can we please go? I miss the country and my farm so much. Please? Pretty please?!" I begged. He chuckled, "OK, sweetheart. Anything for you," Max said. "Yes!" "Princess, why'd you do that?" Ben asked. "Yeah, Paige. Farm work sounds so boring," Gwen replied.

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"You know, you guys don't get it. I miss the country so much! I miss the peace and quiet. I miss working on the farm and taking care of the animals. Especially my baby cow Olivia. It was some of the happiest times of my life. Now will you please stop acting like spoiled brats?!" I yelled. Then I went to sit in the passenger seat next to Max. I crossed my arms over my chest and I could feel tears in my eyes. Rather than fight them, I let them fall.

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Max could tell that I was upset. He put his hand on mine and gave it a squeeze while sending me a comforting smile. I smiled back and wiped away my tears. We arrived at the farm and I got out of the Rust Bucket. Ben, Gwen and Max stayed in the RV so he could talk to his grandkids for a second. I could faintly hear what was said. "Now listen you two, what you said really hurt Paige. This trip is really important to her. She misses her home in the country. She doesn't regret leaving because she has us. But she wishes that she could experience that again. She has a chance here. Now, I want you two to smile and apologize to Paige. Understand?"

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Then I heard them exit the Rust Bucket. Ben came up to me and put arms around my waist and kissed my cheek. "I'm so sorry about how I acted. Please forgive me, princess," He said. "I'm sorry too, Paige. We shouldn't have acted the way we did. Just because we weren't raised on a farm doesn't mean we can't give it a chance," Gwen said. I smiled and gave her a hug. "Thank you so much. I accept your apologies. Now come on, we don't want to keep Max waiting."