The Adventure at Hancock by TINA V (manga ereader txt) 📕

Copyright ©2011 by Tina V


All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced, used or transmitted in any forms or manner, electronic, graphic, recording, or mechanical such as printing, photocopying, or stored in any systems, except for brief quotations for personal use, without prior written permission from the author.


This e-book is entirely fiction. The characters, places and events used are fictitious. Any resemblance to real people or life is coincidental and not intended by the author.

She could feel the dawn of the winter is beginning to rise. Shaina just recovered from her recent accident. She inadvertently slipped at the forest hill when her family had a vacation at Yosemite Mountain. She stayed home for the past four months. She was quite frustrated during those times, but her mom often told her, “Shaina, just remember that everything will be back to normal soon.”

As she opened her bedroom window, she could now feel the holiday breeze; she could also see the mist from afar. She knew that there will be snow coming soon. But for now, it was time for her to visit some of her old friends from school. She got dressed hurriedly and went downstairs for breakfast.

It was already eight o’ clock when her mother arrived from the farmers market. Shaina took her jacket, smiled and said, “Mom, I’ll be meeting my friends Nathan and Tricia at the train station. We’ll be going to visit Tricia’s grandma. I’ll be home tomorrow for dinner.” She then kissed and hugged her mom. It seems like it was the happiest moment in her life.

Nathan and Tricia were already at the station when she arrived; both were giggling as they waved at her in a distance. They were so excited to see her again. All three of them hopped inside the train as it will be leaving in less than five minutes. As usual, they had a wonderful chat all throughout their ride.

It was almost a three hour train ride. Shaina texted her mom and her friends grabbed their things when they arrived at the Hancock Ville station. As soon as they got off, they went straight to their favorite nearby coffee shop. They sat at the corner table, dropped their backpacks and called the server for the menu. They ordered a large plate of fettuccine, large hawaiian supreme pizza and 3 diet coke for lunch.

They hardly stopped chatting with each other. Nathan and Tricia told her some juicy rumors about the group of girls they hated at school.

Nathan, with a mischievous look, said, “You should have seen how Tiffany’s face turned red when Brit shouted in front of the class that he didn’t like her.”

Tricia butted in, grinned and said, “Everybody knew that Tiffany had a big crush on Brit. She made her flirty moves, but Brit surely hit her hard.”

“Yeah, she did this and that.” Nathan added as he imitated the actions of Tiffany.

Shaina laughed out loud while she watched him. Funny, she wasn’t there.

Nathan continued, “Claire and Tiarra, her so-called best of friends, didn’t even bother to defend her. They just watched as Brit made fun of Tiffany. Huh! Good for her.”

Nathan sat down with a smile on his face showing his cute dimples at his right cheek. He slouched back as he extended his long legs that hid his broad shoulders. If he wasn’t gay, I bet many girls in our school would have a crush on him.

“That should teach her a lesson. Next time, she shouldn’t brag about how sexy and pretty she is. She loves to make fun of others, too.” Tricia said, laughing as she takes her first bite of the pizza.

I took another sip of my coke and shook my head. “Hey guys, let’s stop it. I guess Tiffany learned it the hard way. Okay?” I said it with a smile.

“Yes Mom!” Nathan and Tricia said in chorus. We all laughed together as we enjoy eating our lunch.

**********

After they had eaten their lunch, they took a 15 minute tricycle ride going to Grandmother’s house. It was already 1:00pm when they arrived there.

While they were walking toward the front door, Shaina remembered suddenly the last time they visited her. It was a small town and people almost knew each other. It was almost the end of spring when they went to their Annual Carnival Fair. There were food booths, toys and balloon. The children were all over the place. She could hear the whistle of the vendors that called their attention. When they went up for a hike in the mountainside, she saw a beautiful swan at a lake; and she also couldn’t forget the good looking guy riding a horse. It seemed like it was love at first sight. Happiness filled the air of her dreams.

Suddenly, Nathan shoved her shoulders and said, “Hey, you’re daydreaming again. Let’s get going.”

Oh well, Nathan just stirred her up from her wonderful daydreams. Shaina thought, “Will I ever see him again?” Perhaps, it will all depend as she just started her day in the world of adventure at Hancock.

“Grandma! It’s me, Tricia.” She shouted as she knocked at the front door. “Oh my, she must have slept and got tired waiting for us.” She continued to knock hoping her grandma would hear it.

It was five minutes later when a charming old lady wearing a light yellow long dress opened the door. “Hi there kids!” she said as she smiled at them.

Grandma didn’t change a bit; I thought, giving her a quick glance from head to toe. Her high built didn’t show her age. At 70, she still was slim, physically fit and an attractive woman. She always had been good with people, too.

Tricia in excitement gave her grandma a big hug and said, “I miss you Grandma!”

“You kids must have been tired from your trip. C’mon, let’s get inside.” She said as she led us into her living room.

“Know what Grandma? I’ve been dreaming of your old time favorite, chicken pot pie for dinner.” Tricia said.

Turning to Tricia, Grandma curiously stared at her and said, “Wow! Look at you; you’re all grown up now. You look lovely dear.” She then kissed her cheeks.
“Oh, you must be Shaina; and he must be Nathan. Am I right?” She asked, making an eye contact with us.

I shyly answered, “Yes Grandma, I’m Shaina.”

“Grandma, remember she was with me when we visited you two years ago?” Tricia asked while placing her things next to the side table.

Her grandmother lowered her head and adjusted her glasses as she looked towards Shaina. “Yeah, I remember. Oh my goodness, you look taller and prettier, too.”

Shaina’s face turned red as she said, “Thanks Grandma.” She timidly scratched her forehead and tried to get a glimpse of Tricia and Nathan’s reaction.

Tricia nodded and smiled at her; then she slowly tapped her grandma’s shoulder and moved towards Nathan. She said, “Grandma, this is Nathan. Nathan, this is Grandma Meryll.”

“You’re a good looking guy, Nathan.” Grandma exclaimed; she turned to Tricia and said, “You’re lucky you’ve got beautiful and nice friends Tricia.” Nathan didn’t have the chance to answer her. “Hey wait, just leave your things here and let’s go to the kitchen.” She prepared and offered them a choice of snacks: sandwiches, pudding, and an assortment of cookies and pastries.

Unfortunately, they were too stuffed to eat another bite. “These all look delicious, but we’re still full.” Tricia said, carefully trying not to offend her grandmother. “I’d like to take them out for a short hike at the Hancock Hillside. This is the first time Nathan was able to come with us. Can we take some of these?” She asked enthusiastically, holding on to some of the pastries.

“Well of course dear, you can. Take as many as you want.” Grandma replied pleasantly, offering her a pastry plastic bag. “By the way, here’s the key; you can take the old Chevy at the garage. Be sure to come back at eight tonight.” She instructed them. “We’ll have chicken pot pie for dinner.” She told them.

Tricia jumped out from her seat, hugged her grandma and said, “That’s great! I hardly can wait for dinner. We’ll be back soon, promise.” She said, gleefully snatching some of the goodies on the table.
We headed towards the living room, got some of our things and placed it in a smaller backpack as we left the house for a short hike.

**********

Hancock Hillside was only 10 miles away from the house; and Tricia drove the old Chevy we borrowed from her grandma. Nathan seated in front at the passenger side, while I took the back seat.

Along the way, I called my mom at home and left a message in the answering machine. She might have gone to our next door neighbor, Mrs. Jane. She’s an old family friend; and Mom has visited her usually every weekend.

It was 2:30pm by the time we arrived at the hillside. Just then, we can feel the soft breeze of the wind and the smell of the falling leaves. Aaaahhh! It feels wonderful to be away from the city life, I thought, closing my eyes.

“What a lovely view you have here!” Nathan exclaimed. He was playfully moving his hands, skipping onto his feet, and swaying his body slowly as if he was dancing to a lovely music.

Tricia and I were exchanging naughty glances with each other, planning to run on the higher side and leaving Nathan behind. I signaled her while counting my fingers: one, two, three, and we ran as fast as we could; then we laughed and shouted at Nathan, “Catch us if you can!”

I felt like we were kids again as Nathan ran after us. He made some comical actions acting like Shrek, roaring hard with his arms up and showing his hands as eagle claw. When he caught us, all three of us tumbled down the hillside. Good thing the hill wasn’t steep and wet. We all burst into sharp laughter.

Just then, the rotisserie inducing scent of garlic, lemon, butter, and chicken crashed into us like a cargo plane. It smelled insanely good. We saw several people gathered together in groups. Some were talking and laughing, others were cooking and children were playing around.

We looked at each other, showing uncertainty in our face, for a few seconds without a word. But at the back of my mind, I asked, will I ever see again the good looking guy who was riding a horse? Please let it be true, I thought.

Tricia broke the silence