LA Story Part 2

This is part of the middle of my LA story. It should be the second of 4 parts.


Three days later, we were ready to go. All three of us had packed backpacks, stuffed with food, water, and clothes, hidden in our closets. That night, Reagan and I climbed into our bunk beds earlier than normal. Even so, I could barely sleep because of excitement.

At midnight, a soft alarm woke me. Always-energetic Reagan handed me my backpack and tennis shoes with a smile on her face. After putting them on, I silently climbed out of our first-floor window, with Reagan following. We had left a note on the bottom bunk to explain our disappearance to our parents, but I still was sure that we would get in trouble when we got back, probably by being grounded for life. Still, we were traveling!

The message in the bottle had told us to set off from Riverside Park, about 2 blocks from our house. As we neared the park, I saw the play equipment, where I had found the message. It seemed to be sleeping, getting ready for another day of young visitors. Elsie was already waiting, her dark hair dancing in the light breeze. True to his word, the prince had arranged for a boat to be left at the dock; it was a sleek silver canoe with paddles already inside. After climbing inside, we were off! I started in the front, with Elsie behind me, and Reagan in the back. We had agreed to switch spots every two hours, because the person in the back has the hardest job since they are in charge of steering.

As the sun began to light the sky, we traveled on, but slower than before. Even super-athlete Reagan was looking tired."My arms hurt," she groaned.

Elsie agreed, "My back aches."

They were right. One hour of canoeing may not seem that bad, but eight hours is very exhausting. "Why can't we just go home, Summer? We don't even know if there is a real prince. What if this is all for nothing?" asked Reagan. Elsie agreed.

"Why would we do that?" I asked. "We're almost there, and what do we have to lose by continuing? Today would just be the same old day if we stayed home. Even if this doesn't turn out, we'll have memories to last us for a long time. Don't you want adventure?"

"When you put it that way, I guess you're right," said Reagan reluctantly.

"If only I wasn't so sore, I'd be having the time of my life," admitted Elsie.

"Let's keep going, then," I said, happily.

Twenty minutes later, we tied the canoe to a rickety dock and jumped out, happy to be on land again. The prince had sent us another letter that night via a Gatorade bottle, telling us where to land, but even without the help, I think that we could have found it. The Gatorade factory loomed like a giant grey concrete monster up ahead. We decided to have a quick breakfast break, eating some snacks we had packed, before continuing. Ten minutes later, we began the walk to the factory. But right as we approached it, the factory disappeared into thin air, as if it were a mirage.

"How can a factory just disappear?" asked Reagan.

We just stood there for a minute, wondering what to do. Was this whole plan a trick? Elsie looked ready to turn back.