Beyond the Veil

06

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:

Valerie began to walk to the atrium, completely drained, to meet Dex and Sophie.

"Well, that was brutal," he whined, slamming his locker shut. "How'd it go for you?"

Sophie slumped against the wall and said, "I did the best I could."

"I think it was okay," Valerie tried to lighten the mood even though she was unsure.

"I guess you can't ask for anything more than that. Are you two staying home tonight?" Dex asked.

"No. Grady and Edaline are taking us to Atlantis to shop." Sophie replied.

"Whoa. That'll be the first time they've gone out in public together since... you know."

"Are you going shopping tonight?" Val asked, her voice tinged with curiosity.

"Nope, my parents think it's too much hassle to take all four of us, and they can never find babysitters for the triplets."

Sophie had only been to Atlantis once, with Alden and Fitz, while Valerie had never been. She was extremely nervous to jump into a whirlpool, but everyone reassured her that nothing bad would happen. Except she did embarrass herself. As she was preparing herself to jump in, she not so gracefully tripped and dove headfirst into the whirlpool.

She flailed going down, her cheeks burning with embarrassment, Sophie and the others rushed to her side, helping her off the giant sponge with sympathetic smiles and gentle laughter.

Even after her little incident, Valerie couldn't help but marvel at Atlantis. It was beautiful, she was in awe at the buildings and architecture, it was just so impressive. She couldn't believe humans once walked down the streets.

The four walked down the streets of Atlantis and the two girls began to stress about their midterms. Valerie was confident she made at least eight spelling mistakes in her essay about gnomes and she couldn't quite remember if her whirlwind bottle cracked.

"Stop stressing. We're here to have fun, not worry about grades." Grady reminded the girls.

Grady was right, but Valerie's mind wouldn't stop pointing out potential mistakes she might have made and didn't notice. She tried to enjoy herself for Grady and Edaline's sake; they were making a huge sacrifice for her and she wanted to show her appreciation, for everything.

It took seven stores for Val and Sophie to find gifts for all their friends. With each passing second Valerie could tell Grady and Edaline were growing more anxious and uncomfortable.

Sophie took Grady's hand, and Val took Edaline's. Sophie and Valerie then joined together.

Edaline jumped, but then her eyes welled with tears as she squeezed Val's hand tighter, not letting go. They walked that way for the rest of the night.

When they got home, Grady told the girls, "I'm glad you two came to live with us." His mouth formed a word, then changed to a different one. "It's nice."

Valerie teared up, "I love living here with you and Edaline."

"Yeah, I'm glad I live here too," Sophie whispered.

He cleared his throat, "Big day tomorrow, get some sleep."

"Good night, Grady, and thank you for everything," Val responded.

Foxfire was unrecognizable. There were silver streamers everywhere, on trees, shrubs, towers, anywhere you could think of. Confetti and flowers littered the floor, and giant bubbles, containing prizes inside, floated down hallways.