Kojolica's Story Part Two: Meeting Caleb

We were last with K when she had found her parents and learned to adventure. K loved being a farmer and also an adventurer at the same time, but it got a lot more difficult once she was called on her first adventure. K was sleeping and it was 5:00 in the morning when she was shaken awake by her mom.

"ALRIGHT MOTHER I AM AWAKE!" K insisted in a weak voice."DON'T YOU KNOW THAT IT'S FIVE IN THE MORNING?!?"

"I'm sorry. I forgot you were not used to getting up this early. I'll let you sleep for a while." said K's mother kindly. But K didn't get much sleep after that because her older brother, Caleb, came in and woke her up about two minutes afterwards.

"GET UP!" Caleb yelled in K's ear. "You act like you've never lived on a farm before! You're like a whole different species!" He yelled with a combination of anger and jealousy.

"Caleb," K started to explain in a calm voice, quite like her mother's when she was taken off guard like this. "I have lived with BEARS for most of my life, NOT ON A FARM!" she screamed suddenly. "The earliest I have ever woken up was at 4:00...P.M.! Let me get some sleep."

"I hope you can sleep air-borne!" Caleb muttered under his breath so K couldn't hear. He walked to her bedside not daring to yell at her again (remembering that her father bear had thought her self-defense), and the next thing K knew she was flying at her journaling desk with her mattress flipping hopelessy after her.

"I AM GONNA DO SUCH ILLEGAL THINGS TO YOU, YOU BOXHEAD," K yelled at her brother in the loudest bear roar she could make.

"IT'S BLOCKHEAD, KOJOLICA!" Caleb shouted as he ran for the harvesting field. Caleb felt proud of himself for thinking of that, when he saw K's disgusted face. She HATED her full name.

Kojolica made a bound at Caleb and he realized that she was a faster runner than he thought. Caleb did the first thing that popped into his mind: he ran for the stables down the faraway street and didn't stop to look back.

He remembered the creek that the road followed and ran for the bridge that goes over it. When he finally stopped he didn't stop for long. He jumped into the creek and let all of his power AND the current take him down to the stables.

When he saw the log that had fallen over the creek once by the stables, he climbed out and ran to the stables that he could now see. He ran to his where his stallion, Lighting Bolt, was standing in his stall, opened it and got on bareback. He went out to the road to see if his sister had caught on where he had gone with his escape plan; she had. By now she was on all fours like a bear and was running faster than ever!

Cold and dripping, Caleb jabbed his heals into the sides of Lightning and galloped down the street into the city. Dodging everybody in his way, he ran down the streets of the farmers market taking every street that goes the deepest into town.

His plan backfired on him when he saw his FATHER there picking out groceries near their pick up truck. He wanted to turn around and just go the other way but he remembered his sister coming around the corner. So he took a chance. He ran past his dad in such a blur that even HE didn't know what he was!

Soon he was REALLY in a sticky situation. He had ran up a steep slope and ran across the bridges to the mayor's house, but there were no bridges except the one he had taken to get to the mayor's house.

The pressure was getting complicated and Caleb knew these were going to be the last moments of his life if his horse didn't push him into the water. It was only maybe three feet higher than he was. He could swim across! When he got to the other side, he looked over at the island, and K was hesitating to jump, but she did.

Soon Caleb was climbing up the mountain to his gang's clubhouse--the only place he knew that was safe. When he got there he waited for a while. When he didn't hear anything he felt a little concerned. But when he looked down from the mountain peek everything was fine. And K wasn't there.

After taking a COMPLETE look over everything he decided it was safe to come down. He went over to his horse, looked him over thoroughly, and slowly crept down to the farm. He was happy to see nobody was in the harvesting fields, but when he walked into his kitchen, he thought he rather would have.

When he was jealous of K not having to wake up early, he had forgotten to take his dog out to get his energy out in the cow field. EVERYTHING was broken. And worse yet his PARENTS were in the room.

"Caleb, I am very disappointed in you--not only for not letting the dog out but for throwing your sister across her bedroom as well," said Caleb's mother.

Snap, I'm caught, thought Caleb. What could be worse than my little SISTER tattling?

"Oh and by the way, are you missing something of Lightning's?" asked Caleb's Father, holdng up a stirrup from his saddle.

Snap again... it just got worse.

Suddenly Caleb saw a mischevious smile rip across K's face."Ya see? This is why he is not in a totally life-changing school. So what, West high. *yawn* I mean if he went to a school like mine he would be totally mature in his second month," said K.

"Oh no, this is terrible," thought Caleb. "I'm a total nerd in my present High school, let alone an adventuring school. I'm terrible at adventuring!"

"You know, I think we should transfer Caleb over to the Adventure School. I mean look at our favorite little girl," said Caleb's mother. K's smile got even bigger by the second.

"I think you're right. I mean after only one year at the Talented Adventurers School, K is experienced enough to let two hens live in her room," said Caleb's father. "So it's settled. When school opens next week we'll be transfering Caleb to the Talented Adventurers School."

Caleb's stomach lurched. "Are you alright Sweetie?" asked Caleb's mother "You look like you're gonna throw up." "YEAH," said Caleb right when his mother stopped talking.

The next week K and Caleb were back at school. And Caleb was really nervous. "Okay Caleb, you can do this. It's just like last year." Caleb stopped in the middle of his own encouragement to see a little kid who looked to be a freshmen wearing a sweater vest, glasses, and neatly tied shoes. He couldn't see what he looked like because his head was down. He was being teased by the seniors. "Yep. Excactly like last year, Caleb," said K who had heard his self-encourgement and had walked over to help him find his locker.

"Okay. You know I would never do this in real life, but since I'm the school president I have to help ALLthe students..." K looked Caleb up and down. "Even pests like you. So just follow me," said K in her normal "I hate you" voice.

"Uh, K? We just passed the locker," said Caleb. "No, we didn't," said K."Uh, yeah actually, we did," he replied, looking at his locker card. "It says 16." K took the card and turned it over. "Yeah, it's 16 if your name is Belac. You got your card flipped over, Einstein."

Suddenly they heard the loudspeaker. "Caleb and Kojolica Gratter please report to the prinicpal's office immediately." Caleb's first instinct kicked in. "I DIDN'T DO IT!" K rolled her eyes and headed for the main office. Caleb followed.

When K and Caleb got to the office, Samantha, the prinicpal was waiting there. K and the prinicpal were friends so K had no worry. She knew Samantha's "mad" face.

"Hey Sam, what's up?" Said K, not worried that it would annoy her. On the other hand Caleb stepped in and said, "Hello, my name is Anthony what a pleasure to meet you." K was REALLY annoyed at this point."OH, GIVE IT UP CALEB WE AREN'T IN TROUBLE!"

"Well I wouldn't exactly say that," Sam said. "But it's the first day of school what could we have done?" Caleb thought out loud.

"K graduated from school last year," K and Caleb suddenly heard in thier fathers voice. K's parents had now entered the room. "I called your parents in to keep you calm and relaxed when we tell you where you have to go. You two know that once you graduate from freshmen year you have to go on an adventure," Sam revealed.

Caleb started to feel queasy. He had to save himself from going on an adventure

"But I didn't go to this school last year! I don't even know what to do first when you TRY to go on an adventure like this," Caleb said. "Yes I know that," Sam explained. "But my boss thinks that best way to learn how to adventure is to GO on an adventure yourself."

"Ok, well I'm not going," Caleb told everyone.

"Suck it up. You'll have to go to math class if you don't go," K said to encourage her brother. "I'm in," Caleb said when he heard K's news.

Caleb and K were excused from school that day to go home and pack, eat, say goodbye to their friends, and get a good amount of sleep. When they got off the bus at school the next day they had their suitcases and a bad lane of traffic of other leaving sophmores.

When they got to the front of the line they were told the rules of beginner adventuring. "All new adventurers must be with a 'buddy' at all times, you must be equipped with 20 pairs of pants, shirts, and whatever else you need to be dressed with,"the man at the desk said. Caleb shuddered at the thought. At leased HE knew what he meant!

"You must also have your adventuring manuals at all times. Please show me your adventuring manuals," the man said. Caleb was confused. He had never gotten an adventuring manual before! K, on the other hand. was holding hers up to the man. "And you, sir," he said to Caleb. "Uh, I don't have one." K then explained to the man that he didn't go to freshman year here. Then she told Caleb, "You get these on the first day of freshmen year, and you didn't go here then. It's an honest mistake!"

Then Caleb turned back to the desk to see that the short stumpy old man was holding a book to his face. When Caleb took it he studied the cover there were two stick figures each with a walking stick in their hands and a back pack on their backs. It read "Exploring Manual Level One Volume One" on it.

"Now if you would be so kind as to turn to page 48 you will see that the only food you will have is nature and river water," the man said to them. Caleb didn't think that that was very safe. What if the water was poisonous? Or what if the plants they ate gave them some type of disease?

"Now if you would step into Ms. Samantha's office she will tell you what bus to get on and where you will be going for the rest of the school year," the man said to Caleb and K.

When they got in, they saw Sam fighting with someone who looked to be her boss. When the man left Sam shouted out the door, "THEY'RE JUST KIDS THEY CAN'T GO TO A BIG DANGEROUS PLACE LIKE THAT!"

When Sam calmed down a little she invited Caleb and K into her office. They sat down at her desk and Sam started telling them what to do. "You guys, I have some REALLY bad news. My boss is always on the growing-up-fast and advanced adventuring, and he has been wanting to put everybody in really dangerous places that he says will 'build self-esteem'," Sam explained to Caleb and K. "But the main thing you really have to know is that your going to Black Spore."

Oh no! Caleb thought to himself. I've never been on adventures this hard.... In fact I've never really been on ANY adventure before!

"Now I know you kids may not be ready for something like this, but if I try to talk my boss out of it one more time, I could get fired. I mean I care about your safety MUCH more than my job but, it's BECAUSE I care about you that I need to keep my job! If I get fired or quit than the only person who will want to be your principal is Principal Ryan, that evil man from the begining of last year. The only reason he was fired from his job was because he couldn't control you kids but he would be able to NOW since he's out of the hospital," Sam told Caleb and K.

"So here are your walkie-talkies. How about you kids go and get something to eat before your bus leaves," Sam continued.

When Caleb came out of the lunch line area and sat down next to K, he could see that she was scared. "Are you scared too?" Caleb asked K "Yeah, are you OK?" K asked when she saw the twisted look on his face. "No. I mean, I haven't been this scared since my first day of middle school," Caleb said. "I haven't been this scared since the day I had my first gallop on a horse," K said fighting back. "Well, I haven't been this scared since the day I found out how I was supposed to get my cast off," Caleb said in a bit of a shout. "Well, I haven't been this scared since I found out our cat ran away," K yelled back. "WELL I HAVEN'T BEEN THIS SCARED SINCE I GOT BUCKED OFF THE BULL AT MY 5 BIRTHDAY PARTY," Caleb screamed back. "WELL I HAVEN'T BEEN THIS SCARED SINCE THE DAY I FOUND OUT I WAS A HUMAN!!!!!!" K screamed.

Then the whole lunch room went silent. Nobody ever spoke of K's bear-or-girl story. It made K more homesick than ever. Once K missed home so much that she tried to sneak out of school to go visit them during freshmen year.

"Well... I guess I can't fight with that," Caleb said to K.

Soon Caleb and K were on the bus and on their way to the crossroads where everybody went the ways of adventures. Soon when all the kids got off the bus it was time to go to Black Spore.

Soon K started telling Caleb what she knew about Black Spore."There is this wall that was broken down by old age and floods. Oh, and there's a rumor that when ever somebody aproaches Black Spore all the happy thoughts evaporate from the mind and darkness falls over the person. But I don't think that's real! Haha" But K was wrong--for once they set their eyes against the entrance to Black Spore, they were consumed by complete darkness.