• Chapter 8: Charm of the Gates

    Kari’s Saturday was empty. She had nothing to do all day, since she agreed with her father that she would clean every corner of the house as long as she was allowed to go to work, since grounding her obviously didn’t work. It was a great compromise for her, except now that she had neither work nor school; she had nothing to do since the house was completely clean. All she could think about was her “close encounter” with Lance. Do I really feel that way? Does he really feel that way about me? Just then he called her.
    “Hey Kari. I was just wondering if you wanted to hangout somewhere? I’m completely bored,” he asked.
    “Me too! Yea, I would love to go somewhere to hang out. Where do you want to go?”
    “How about my house? We’re going to be grilling, since a bunch of family is coming. I don’t like my family; so don’t feel bad about coming. They’re all old, and don’t talk to me any ways. Be here in a half hour?” Lance invited.
    “Ok, I’ll see you then! Bye,” Kari said before they both hung up. She proceeded by going to her room and choosing her favorite outfit that also looked nice, she didn’t want to look bad in front of his parents, let alone his entire family. She did her makeup, fixed her hair, hopped in her big blue Chevy truck, and drove to his house. As soon as she stepped out of the truck, she could smell BBQ chicken. Lance walked out to greet her.
    “Hey, I… can’t stand it here. Can we go somewhere else?”
    “Where?”
    “I don’t know. For all I care, we could just drive around in circles. I’m so sorry for dragging you out here, just to leave immediately, but… they’re being… awful.”
    “Ok, hop in my truck.”
    “Thank you so much!”
    They got in the truck and began to drive around town. Suddenly, something shiny caught the corner of Lance’s eye. He looked over to see Kari wearing a bracelet with a single charm on it.
    “Wow, that’s a pretty bracelet. Where did you get it?” he asked.
    “It used to be my mothers’. I asked my aunt what the charm was supposed to mean, and she had no idea. All she knew was that it was made of solid gold. Strange enough, this bracelet was given to me through her will. Isn’t that only for major stuff, instead of small things like jewelry?”
    “Maybe it was really special to her. Was it your grandmothers’?
    “Yea, my aunt said it was very, very old. It’s been passed down for a countless number of generations. No one really knows why, or how it lasted so long. It’s kind of like, a family mystery. If you could help me find out about it, that would be great. I want to Google it, but I don’t know what to type in, or even own a computer.” Kari said, telling him all she knows.
    “Yea, I’ll help you,” Lance said, knowing exactly what it was. He didn’t want to tell her because then she would know exactly what GIAOC wanted from her. If he told her now, she might figure out that he was part of GIAOC.