Penny Wise and the League of St. Claire

Chapter 14

The next day, they met at breakfast. George cooked up some sausage and corn muffins.

“I trust that you slept well,” George said.

“Yes, grandfather,” Jordan replied after glancing at the others.

 “When are we going back?” Milo asked with anxiety showing in his eyes and his voice.

“Not until I detect the presence of the Beast,” Penny said.

“What are we going to do in the meantime?” Harriett asked, tapping a finger to her lips.

“We could spend time in communion with nature,” Penny said. “Or, we could make ourselves proper costumes.”

“Costumes?” Milo said in a sarcastic manner. “Are we going to a costume ball?”

“No, Milo. We need something a bit more durable.” She poked a finger through a hole in her pants to illustrate her statement.

“What are we going to use for material?” Jordan asked.

“We could procure some synthetic micro-polymeric outfits from our time,” Geoffrey said, causing everyone to look at him.

Penny smiled. “Please do. In the meantime, we girls will go and practice our swimming skills in the lake.”

“We don’t have bathing suits,” Harriett reminded her.

“We have no need of them,” Penny said.

“You’re going to skinny dip?” Milo said with surprise raising his right eyebrow.

“This location is remote. No one will see us.”

“What about us?” Jordan asked with even more surprise showing in his eyes.

“You will remain here and relax,” Penny said. “Once Geoffrey and his friends return, you may come to the lake.”

Jordan wasn’t sure what she was implying by that statement, but he decided not to put his foot in his mouth. “Yes, ma’am.”

The girls left and Geoffrey, Angel and Holly transported to the future.

Milo relaxed in one of George’s easy chairs. “I could get used to this.”

“Yes, it is rather pleasant out here,” Jordan said.

“Are those . . . those demons going to return?” George asked, his face twisted with concern.

“I don’t know, grandfather. I don’t have clairvoyant abilities. That’s one of Penny’s powers.”

Jordan could see that George was under stress. He had seen things that were beyond his life experiences. “I doubt that they’ll come here again. This is not their time or place.”

George sighed.

The girls arrived at the small dock and quickly stripped, dropping their clothes on the dock. They dived off of the dock and began swimming around. Penny descended beneath the surface and Carmen and Harriett followed her. The three girls swam underwater for almost a half hour without coming up for air. They swam like dolphins by undulating their bodies to propel through the depths, following schools of trout as the fish searched for food.

They surfaced near the center of the lake and treaded water so that only their heads remained above the surface.

“Do you think the guys will come here to watch us?” Harriett asked, her lips twisted with an ornery smirk.

“We’re not that interesting,” Penny said with a stoic expression.

“I don’t know about that,” Carmen said. “We see how you are around Jordan.”