Over the Garden Wall Again

Part 6

We walked down the sidewalk, Beatrice filled with wonder. She looked at everything, taking in all of the brand new sights as if she had a few seconds to memorize them. I kept my head low as cars passed, giving us strange looks and odd glances. I wasn't surprised. I mean, what would any normal person do when they saw a trio of kids- and a frog- walking down the sidewalk on a Sunday in weird old fashioned clothes and a briefcase on ones back. Exactly that.

Beatrice didn't seem to notice the strange looks we got, she was too busy being amazed. Her bright red hair was falling out of its bun and the bottom of her skirt was damp. Her shoes clicked as they hit the cream colored pavement.

We finally made it to my house without being seen, (for the most part) and quickly pulled Beatrice inside before she could do or say anything reckless to the neighbors, who were outside. The older couple just stared at us as I waved, practically forcing the red haired girl inside.

I shut the door, taking a deep breath and leaning against the wall, sliding down it into a sitting position.

"OhmigodWirt that was Spectacular!" she yelled, her voice echoing through the house. I stood up and clasped my hand over her mouth, not knowing if my mom or Gregs dad was home. I didn't think this through properly. At all.

"Be quiet for now Beatrice, I don't know if my mom is home."

"Or my dad!" Greg said happily, kicking his shoes off and running upstairs with Jason Funderberker. "I'll be back, I just have to put this silly ol' frog away." Greg said, disappearing behind the wall as he ran to his room.

By now Beatrice had calmed down, in awe of our house. "It's so clean Wirt!" she said, slowly making her way around the hallway towards our TV room. "And shiny! And ohhhhhh, whats this?!" she ran into our downstairs bathroom, her shoes clacking on the dark wooden floor. I followed her in, only to see her examining the lamp on the corner of the counter. That's right. She hadn't seen lights on yet.

I walked over and clicked on the light, making her eyes widen for the hundredth time today. "How did you do that without wood? And how is it so bright?" she said, wincing as I turned the light onto its highest setting.

"It's called a lamp," I stated, glad to finally teach her something "and it's our version of a candle."

"So everyone has these?" she looked up at me as I turned the light off and gestured back to the hallway.

"Yeah, just think of them as candles. You'll get used to them."

I led her back to the front door and we both took our shoes off, relaxing our exhausted feet. No one was home, obviously we would've known at this point, so I showed Beatrice around a little more. I told her what a Television was, how to use Phones, and even a little on food.

"A pop tart?" she said, giving me an unamused look.

"Yeah, I'm serious!" I laughed, fishing through the pantry. "Look for yourself!"

She grabbed the box out of my hand, smirking when she read the package.

"Why would they call it pop tart? Why not something less stupid?" She asked, flipping the crate over and reading the back.

"I dunno." I shrugged, taking the box from her. "It's just the way it is."

I took her upstairs, where we found Greg playing with Jason Funderberker in his room. Beatrice and I exchanged glances and snuck past him, not wanting be bothersome. He probably needed some 'Greg time' after the trip.

I took Beatrice to my room, trying to straighten it up a little while she was in there. She picked up my stuff, turning them in her delicate hands and examining them curiously. Finally, she sat down on my bed next to me.

"What are you going to do when your mom gets home? And when you go to school?" Beatrice asked, breaking the peace.

I hadn't exactly thought it through that far yet, but I figured I could make something work.

"Well, I'm going to have to introduce you to my mom at some point," I said, still thinking about how I would introduce her. We couldn't stick with the Maine idea when we talked to her. It was too random. "so why don't we tell her you're a new student at my school?" I decided on, thinking that would be the best solution.

"Yeah, but what about when you go to school? It's not like I can stay here and still have your mom believe I'm a student."

"Why don't you go then?" I blurted out, not thinking of the consequences. She would need to be enrolled beforehand, she needed decent school clothes, and she didn't know anything about this world. Plus, I had Sara to worry about. Everyone knew about 'Beatrice', the talking bluebird, and now that I had her with me.. well, it complicated things. Good going Wirt. Great plan.

Beatrice stared at me like I was insane, and started to talk. "Wirt, you know that's impossible. Unless-" she cut herself off, standing up. She had a plan, I knew it. She ran over the the briefcase I'd sat down on my desk and unlatched it, throwing Greg and my costumes aside. She took out a brown burlap sack, plopping it in my lap. I looked at her, confused. She continued, "a few months after you left, this washed downriver. I wasn't sure what it was at the time, but it looked valuable, so I kept it hidden in my room." she shrugged, motioning for me to open it, "I thought maybe it might come in handy here."

I untied the hay string tying the bag closed and pulled out a bundle of cash, crisp from being in water. Obviously Beatrice saw my excitement and asked, "so, it's good right?"

"Beatrice, do you know what this is?!" I exclaimed, falling back into my bed, dropping the wad of twentys next to me, "it's cash! Currency!"

"What?"

"We can exchange this for stuff!"

"Oh, we have money in the unknown, just not this paper stuff." She sighed, relieved it was of use. She sat down next to me as I sat back up, thinking of our next move.

"It's only two, right?" I asked, a new plan hatching in my mind.

"Yeah, why?" she asked, looking at the clock on my bedside table. I grinned.

"Then why don't we go shopping?"

"For what?"

"Well, to start," I looked at her, smiling, "you need clothes." I stood up, pacing back and forth, thinking. "With this much, we can get you some school supplies too." I stopped right in front of her, bending down so that our faces were only a few inches apart. I smirked. "and maybe we can get you enrolled in school."