Arabella Academy: Perfectly Imperfect

46. La Luz Del Sol

Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.

~Anonymous

***

"I can't believe you'd risk your life to give us a ride," Jeff remarked from the back of the car. They were in a rental car which Calvin had booked for the day. Calvin was on the driver's seat, with Luis beside him giving directions. Michelle, Jeff and Marcus placed themselves on the backseat, with Jeff in the middle; not that he had wanted it. Michelle had already booked the window and the other two, being gentlemen, had to respect her decision and battle for the only remaining seat by playing Rock-Paper-Scissors. Jeff obviously lost and was forced to sit his loss in the middle, but that only made things worse because he kept talking all the way.

"Speaking of life, did you all watch the latest episode of—"

"Shut up Jeff!" everyone in the car roared unanimously. They had heard quite enough of Jeff for almost the whole journey and if they heard his voice any more, they were sure their ears would pop out and strangle Jeff themselves.

"Take the first left turn you see next," Luis pointed out to Calvin. Calvin nodded and slowed down the car, his eyes searching for the feeder road. They had been driving for the past thirty minutes; their journey taking them to the outskirts of Middlewood. They had all opened their windows, breathing in the fresh air which wasn't polluted by the ever-busy town centre. Middlewood was a hilly place, and therefore the place offered spectacular views of neighbouring places.

"This here?" Calvin asked as a left turn approached. Luis nodded and Calvin took a turn, the car entering a murram road. It was a bumpy ride the car moved across the uneven road; its balance unsteady. They were grateful when the car passed across a gate and the ranch finally came into view.

"Wow! It's even more beautiful than I imagined," Jeff remarked at the sight of the place.

Indeed, the ranch was a beautiful one. Fields of corn on either side of the road extended farther away than the human eyes could see. There was a combined harvester just beside the field, looking ready to harvest the ready wheat. Just beside the road on the right was a barn as huge as Solomon's Temple, and the kids guessed that it was where all the harvest was stored. There were some workers carrying sacks from the barn and placing them on a track that was outside, with a man who looked like the farm manager shouting undiscernible words in Spanish. He took notice of Luis in the car and waved vigorously at him. Luis was about to respond when one of the farmhands dropped a sack, diverting the farm manager's attention back to his Job. They sped past him and continued with their journey. On the left-hand side of the road, there was a huge paddock spanning over three acres. A huge herd of fat Friesian cattle was grazing on the thick grass.

"These cows are making me rethink my lactose intolerance," Calvin commented as they passed the paddock.

Their journey came to a halt in front of the ranch's main house. It was a grand mansion, with a blend of ancient and modern architecture. The exterior was built of fine wood, with Wisteria plants hanging their beautiful purple leaves from the walls. There were two large picture windows on the front side of the house which were doing a perfect job of allowing sunlight into the house. Two Border Collies lay on the front porch, sleeping their furs off. They, however, woke up at the sight of the car and started barking from where they were. The five alighted from the car, gaping at the view.

"Milo! Coco! Stop disturbing my niños, or you won't be getting milk today," Luis' grandmother appeared, shooing away the dogs which had been disturbing the teenagers. They ran from the five at the woman's appearance and went to sit back at the porch, their ears still high and alert.