THE INGRESS

After the competition, Charles decided we celebrated our victory at the most popular restaurant. I was against it, but they begged me.

"You are very different from us,I respect that. You should at least hang out. We had a victory today, you..... don't you ever celebrate?" Bunny asked.

"Yes I do celebrate....alone."

"Well, now you got us." Charles said, with a smile on. The others also nodded their heads with a smile on their faces. Seeing that, I felt my heart flutter, and I couldn't stop a smile from escaping.

The restaurant was buzzing with people and workers .We sat by the window, when a worker came.

"What'd you like to have?"

"I'd love to have hot yoghurt," said Francis.

"We'd like to have coffee." Charles and Camilla said.

"We'd like to have orange juice, if you don't mind." Bunny said, after making an eye gesture with Henry.

"Okay. What would you like ,miss?"the worker asked me .

" Black tea, less sugar, less milk." The worker looked pale, after hearing my order.

Seeing his reaction, I gritted my teeth, and changed my order.

"Lemon tea is better."

The worker left and brought the orders.

"I heard you guys won the Greek competition. Courtoisie." he said and left (Congratulations).

Well… Galvadon was a small town to be precise. News flew very fast.

"I have a riddle for you all, it is so simple that you don't have to think." I said, after we had our drinks. Actually….it was because of the stifling silence. I couldn't stand the way they were all looking at me like, a treasure!

"Go on." They all chorused.

"I am something, I love heat, but hate water. What am I?" I asked.

There was silence . They were all thinking hard about the riddle. This actually made me breathe properly, since their attention was now somewhere else . Camilla suddenly broke the silence,

" Um….salt."

"Correct."

"People say that money is the key to happiness, but I always figured out if you have enough money, you can have a key made." Francis said, staring at his hot yogurt.

"You really like money, don't you?" Charles asked.

"No, I don't!" He refused immediately,but everyone knew, ' The heart and the mouth don't agree with each other.'

"What helps an ancient royal Emperor dine and his dishes aren't cleared up, yet they are." Camilla asked.

"House flies...definitely house flies." I answered.

She shakes her head in disagreement.

"It has to be. Why not?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"May your coffee be strong and your Monday be short." Bunny said acerbically.

"How dare you? " Camilla asked red with anger.

"Catch me if you can, you are always the optimist."

"Why me? Why do I get these rude compliments."

"You meant to say try me." Henry asked solemnly.

"Oh, hell, don't bother. I wanna beat the shit out of him!!"

**************

We went through turns and turns of riddles and quarrels. Turns out Camilla was just trying to test my intelligence, and I actually got the answer. Truthfully, I said it without thinking.

After five minutes of quarrels I lost it.

" That's it. I've had enough. Can't you behave like an adult for once ?! You ain't even related by blood. Try to be mature , okay?!!! You are in the public!!"

I said after taking the last gulp of my lemon tea. When they saw my cup was empty they all put their half filled cups in front of me.

"Alright, reticence, finally." Henry said with relief after seeing my slightly annoyed face change to confusion.

"Why did you all put your cups in front of me ?" I asked, staring at the cups.

Camilla tried to change the subject,

"Does anyone have a funny quote?" She asked.

"I do!" Bunny said excitedly.

We gestured for him to go on and he started by saying," out of all the lies I've told in my life ,just kidding! is my favorite."

" Oh I have one," Francis said. " People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing everyday."

" Do you know what E.T.C means?"Camilla asked.

"Etcetera." Charles said.

"Nope. It means "End of Thinking Capacity."

" I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's a good one." Bunny said

"If your life is all about screwing things up and getting hammered, then congratulations, you're a tool." Henry said.

"Rachael, give us one. Please~" Camilla pleaded.

I was still hung up on the fact that they had offered me their drinks as compensation, and still haven't told me why ?! But seeing how hard they were all trying to avoid it, I relented.

"Alright, my life is all Math. I am trying to add to my income, subtract from my weight, divide my time, and avoid multiplying." They all applauded me loudly, attracting the attention of the other diners. But they just ignored us, since we had a big event today.

On our way home, I asked a riddle

" Hold it steady in your hand,

Then you'll see another land,

Where right is left, and left is right,

And no sound stirs by day or night,

When you look in yourself, you see,

Yet in that place you cannot be."

" I don't think I have heard that riddle before." Henry said morosely.

"You have heard it. You just can't recollect." Camilla said cheerfully.

" Do you wanna start hassling...you are adults." Charles said considerably.

"They are just outdated children." I said almost in a whisper.

What Henry said was true, and Camilla was just trying to pull his legs. It was a riddle my grandaunt told me to uncover, and this was the first time I said it out loud.

Suddenly , an ingress unlocked above us .

"Oh my God, what is that?!" Francis said with a chill in his voice.

"What is what?" Bunny asked, but gaped when he looked up.

" Oh, dear, oh,dear." Henry said elated.

" We are going to another world where the left is right, and right is left." Camilla said excitedly.

It was a space, so many planets between galaxies, so many galaxies in milky ways and so many milky ways there. But it gave off a mysterious feeling that made me want to go in. It was like a calling.