Morgana grinned. “I haven’t driven myself in years. I forgot how much fun this can be, Gwenny.”
“It’s Gwen!” I said, curling my hand into a fist. I reached into my backpack for my staff, which I had magically disguised as a pencil.
Morgana waved her hand at me. “No need for violence, I am just here to talk. Your dad is fine. He is getting a massage now from my girl, Cindi. Trust me, he is happy!”
“What do you want?” I demanded.
Morgana kept her hands on the steering wheel but turned towards me. We drove through a red light. The cars on each side of us froze as Morgana passed through the intersection. “Lights are for mortals,” she laughed.
“I repeat, what do you want, Morgana?”
“Gwenny, I’ve always liked you. I always thought we were both too good for Arthur. The man has his good points for sure, but you were always the strength behind him.”
“Your point?”
“That was then, this is now. Things are different. You can lead now. Well, not lead-lead, because, well, you are not me. But still, you are good, even better than you think. I want to offer you a job. You would be my intern. It’s the modern world’s version of being a page.”
“Why would I work for you?”
Morgana laughed. “Money, power, prestige. You will be helping me shape the world for the better.”
Before I could respond, Morgana pointed at me and my mouth sealed shut. “Listen, I know you think I am an evil maniac out to influence the world. And I’ll tell you this. I am. I want to lead this world, but only because I see so much potential here. These mortals can do so much if they have the right leadership and vision. And Gweny girl, I am that person!” She looked at me, “I think you could be that person too. Trust me, honey, there are way worse people who want to rule the world than me.”
I took in her words. I really didn’t have much choice. Could Morgana really think she was doing good? Okay, so far she hadn’t done anything terrible, she had collected a lot of wealth and influence but as far as I knew she hadn’t really harmed anyone. But this was Morgana! The most chaotic person I’d ever encountered. No way she could be doing this for the good of all people.
“Why should I believe you?” I asked her.
Morgana grinned. “Why should I lie to you? I could snap my fingers and you’d be my pet poodle licking the toe jam off my toes. You cannot harm me, so I want to give you a chance. I want you to be alongside me! Together we can do amazing things for this world. The vision I have for this world is marvelous!” she boasted.
“What if people don’t agree with your vision?” I asked, spitting out the last words.
Morgana shrugged. “I will make them agree. For their own good of course.” She looked me in the eyes. I fought back the urge to shudder. Morgana smiled. “See, nobody else can lock eyes with me without beginning to whimper like a scared, little puppy. You are special.” Morgana pointed to my school that was now in view. “We’re almost there. I’ll give you time to consider.”
Dad replaced Morgana in the driver's seat.
“Dad, are you okay?” I asked.
“Honey, you called me 'Dad', not 'Claude',” he grinned.
“Well, you are my dad!” I said leaning in and hugging him.
“Honey, what happened? It’s funny...I feel great, but I think something feels out of whack.”
“Morgana was just here in this car, driving. She offered me a deal. She wants me to be her intern. Learn under her. Become like her.”
Dad pulled the car up to the school. “It may not be a bad deal. You might be able to do some good from inside her operation.”
“Trust me, Dad. Morgana only cares about what’s good for her.”
Dad grinned and shrugged. “Honey, she’s had hundreds of years to grow and change. I’m not saying she’s a saint, but maybe in her own weird way she does want to do good.”
I pondered over his words.
“No matter what, the fact that’s she’s shown up means you are onto something…that this Camelot town is special.”
Well, if nothing else, I knew Dad was right. This was the place where I would find Arthur and our knights.
My notes
Morgana was the one to send my knights and me into this future world and wipe out our memories. She wanted to get rid of us so she could rule without opposition. But now…now she claims to have changed. I know people can change. But that doesn’t mean the change will necessarily be for the good of others.
Chapter 4
Dad pulled the car up to the Camelot Middle School drop off spot. He glanced over and noticed me looking nervously at the school. “You want me to walk you in?” he asked meekly, knowing I really didn’t want that, but thinking I might need that.
I shook my head. “That’s the last thing the new girl in school needs…to be walked in by her dad….” I took a deep breath. “Nope, this is a quest I must undertake alone.”
Dad smiled. “Very dramatic.”
I turned to him and grinned. “Yeah, sorry, sometimes the old queen in me slips out.” I leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Love ya, Dad.”
“Love you too, honey,” he said.
I dropped back in my seat and took a couple more breaths, then I popped the door open and headed toward the school. I felt like every eye in the courtyard, I mean school yard, locked on me. I felt the sweat collecting on my palms. I told myself to stay calm. Don’t let them see you sweat. Certainly, don’t let them smell your sweat. That would not be the way to start my time at a new school. I have battled knights, evil wizards, and strange magical creatures, yet nothing got to me like the first day at a new school.
My body wanted to quiver, but I refused to allow it. I thought of a pleasant calming moment. Arthur and I were on a boat in the middle of a pond just outside the castle grounds. Gawain and Kay, two of our braver knights, stood on the shore standing guard. Kay was Arthur’s foster brother and could be a little over-protective. Arthur, though, insisted that they weren’t guarding us as much as they were protecting his sword, Excalibur. After all, they knew if that sword fell into the wrong hands, their land could be doomed. But Arthur also asserted a sword does not belong on a boat. There we sat, back-to-back, holding our fishing rods over the water.
“I bet I will catch the first fish,” Arthur said.
“I will take that bet. Being King does not make you a great fisherman!” I told him.
“I love fishing!” he said. “It’s so relaxing and peaceful, yet also functional.”
I turned and smiled at him. We kissed.
“Gwen, Gwen Smith?” A voice said, bringing me back to the present. I snapped to attention. I saw a tall, slim, muscular man with dark black hair, bright blue eyes and a mustache that seemed to have a life of its own. He wore a green jacket and a light red shirt, it worked for him. He walked over to me.
“Ah, yes,” I said to the man.
The man held out a hand. “Hi, I’m Vice Principal and Coach Robert Locke. I’m here to greet the new students.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said, shaking his hand. His grip was firm.
He pointed down the hallway. “Principal King wants to meet with you and the other new students before classes begin. This way please.”
We started walking down the hall. I noticed for the first time that the entire school seemed to be built with red bricks.
Mr. Locke noticed me noticing the bricks. “You have a keen eye. Yes, this school is totally built out of bricks. Kind of a nice look, don’t you think?”
I nodded. “Yeah, it is different from my last schools.”
Mr. Locke nodded. “Speaking of which, I looked at your records. Your grades are great.”
“Thanks,” I said, as we drew closer to the door of the principal’s office.
“I also noticed you were on the fencing, archery, and karate teams,” he said.
I smiled. “I like to stay active.”
He nodded. “Well, I happen to coach all those tea
ms. I hope you will consider being a part of the Knights’ teams.”
“Oh, I so will,” I said.
We entered the Principal’s office. There, sitting behind the desk, was a short, gray haired man, in a nice suit. Sitting in front of the desk was an olive-skinned girl wearing a jean skirt and a brown haired boy with nice green eyes. I noticed a third open seat in front of the desk.
Principal King saw me enter and pointed to the open spot. “Ms. Smith, nice of you to join us. Please sit.” He looked up at his vice principal, “You can go now, Rob,” he said.
“I’ll see you all on the field,” VP Locke said.
Principal King sat back in his big fancy leather chair. He put his hands behind his head. This was a power move; he wanted to let us know that he was in charge. “I just like to meet my new students. And I also like for my new students to meet each other. After all, you do share the common bond of being new to this fine school. Introduce yourselves now.”
I held out my hand towards the boy and girl. “Hi, I’m Gwen Smith.”
The boy shook my hand. “I’m Sebastian Michaels, nice to meet you, Gwen.” He pointed over his shoulder. “That’s my sister, Mika.”
Mika pushed Sebastian to the side and leaned over him, offering me her hand. “Nice to meet you, Gwen.” She looked at Sebastian. “Bro, I can talk for myself.”
Sebastian smiled. I loved his smile. “Oh boy, can she talk,” he said to me. “I just figured I’d save us all some time.”
She gave him a friendly shove. I smiled.
Principal King cleared his throat. “Ahem.”
I knew he was the type of man who didn’t like being ignored. I turned my attention toward him. The other two followed my lead. “Yes, sir,” I said.
“While this is certainly a fine school, I do realize it can be a little hard to navigate and find your way around at first. That’s why I like to assign new students an experienced student to be their guide during their first week here.”
“Oh, that’s nice,” Mika said.
“Agreed,” Sebastian smiled.
Principal King pushed a button on his phone. “Ms. Wind, please tell Gail to come in.”
Not even a second later, a girl with long brown hair and sparkling eyes bounded into the room. She had to be the tallest girl I had even seen.
“Hi, I’m Gail!” she said bouncing up and down with excitement. “I’m your guide to the school. I’ll take you to your lockers, and then we’ll check out the homeroom. I’ll be in the same classes with you! I’ll even sit with you at lunch.”
She ran up to me and shook my hand. Her grip was VERY firm. “You must be Gwen Smith! So happy to meet you! I’ve read all about you. You’re so pretty and yet so smart and good at sports!”
“Ah, thanks,” I said. “You’re very strong.”
Gail grinned. “I’m on the weight lifting team.”
“You look like you could be the weight lifting team,” Sebastian said.
Gail jumped over to Sebastian. “You are Sebastian Michaels. Man, you’re cute.” She shook his hand. “Ah, good grip. You should join the weight lifting team.”
“I’d like that,” Sebastian said.
Gail released Sebastian’s hand and shot over to Mika. “Wow, Mika, you are stunning!” Gail gushed. “And so smart. I heard you’ve never gotten a grade below an A plus.”
Mika looked away. “Not quite, I’ve had a few A minuses when I was younger,” she said modestly.
Gail put her arms around us. “I can tell you three are going to help make CMS even greater!”
Principal King sat his desk just looking at us. “Gail is a hugger,” he said.
“Yeah, got that,” I said.
“Figured it out,” Sebastian said.
“I did the math,” Mika said.
The principal pointed to the door. “Alright now, Gail, take the new kids to their locker and homeroom!”
“Right!” Gail said, snapping to attention. She led us out of the room.
My notes
I have only been in this school for less than an hour, but somehow I feel at home. Sebastian and Mika seem really nice. I feel a connection with them. Maybe it’s a ‘new kids in school’ connection or maybe it’s more. Gail is so bubbly and so pure of heart. I feel certain she has to be a knight. Of course, that might be wishful thinking. Whatever, I know that finally, I am on the right track.
Chapter 5
Gail led us down the hallways of CMS literally singing the praises of the school. Okay, maybe not singing, but her voice flowed so softly, yet quickly, and with such rhyme and melody it seemed like she was singing.
“The food here is great! Sure, not what your Grandma makes, but still really good.”
“You’ll love the teachers! Okay, maybe not all the teachers. After all, they are underpaid and overworked. Still, most of them do a great job.”
She pointed to the walls. “Don't you just love the red in the bricks! It has such heart. I think it gives the school such warmth.”
We walked by a poster that read: CHARGE KNIGHTS.
Gail tapped the poster. “Our teams are called the Knights. We’re good at most sports. Except, for some reason, swimming. We are terrible at swimming, except for Nina Waters.”
She pointed to four brown lockers on the wall. Three of them shined. “I shined your lockers for you!” she said. “I like new kids to have nice lockers next to mine.” She scratched her head. “At least I think I do. Come to think of it, you three are the only new kids we’ve had in a while.” She smiled. “I think that’s a great thing.”
Gail showed us our lockers like we had just won them on a game show. “I already put your books in your lockers for you. After all, I know it’s hard enough being new to the school,” she smiled.
I opened up the locker with my name on it. My books sat on the top shelf.
Gail pointed at the book on top. “We have homeroom and English first period with Mr. Tipps. He’s cool.”
I heard a commotion behind me like somebody was falling down. I turned to see two tall kids pushing around a shorter boy with short brown hair. I knew this boy from the webpage. He was Art.
Gail sighed, “Oh, those two are Bart and Brett Hamm, they are on the football team. Good players, but they can be twits.”
Sebastian pointed at Art and frowned. “Why are they giving that kid a hard time.” He made a fist.
Mika also made a fist.
Gail shook her head. “That’s Art Pendelton. He’s captain of the fencing team. Bart and Brett are trying to get him to join the football team.”
“By roughing him up?” Mika asked.
Gail sighed. “They tell him they’ll stop if he joins…”
I stormed over towards Bart and Brett who were now lording over Art.
“Hey, leave him alone!” I shouted.
I heard Mika, Sebastian, and Gwen following behind me. All the other kids in the hallway stopped whatever they were doing and turned towards us.
“Who are you?” One of the boys asked.
“Bart, her name is Gwen,” Gail told him. “She’s new here.”
Bart turned towards me and got in my face. “Yeah, I can tell she’s new. She doesn't know who runs the school.”
“That’s right,” Brett said. He pointed at himself. “We’re football stars! We led this school to the conference championship.”
I pointed to Art. “So, why are you picking on him?”
“We’re recruiting him!” Bart said. “He’s a good player who's wasting his time on the fencing team!”
“Football is bad for the brain,” I noted.
“She might have a point there, Brett,” Bart told him.
Brett stood there scratching his head. “Look, girl…”
“My name is Gwen.”
“Look, Gwen. We don’t want to mess with you.”
I nodded and grinned. “Smart. I’m not someone to mess with,” I told him.
He took a menacing step towards me, his chest puffed out. H
e wanted to scare me down. Instead, he forced me into action. I pressed on the side of his neck right under his ear. There’s a pressure point there that will stop a person in their tracks.
Brett dropped to his knees holding his neck.
Sebastian and Mika moved up in case Bart got any ideas. Gail pulled them back, “Let’s see how this plays out,” she said.
Bart dropped back and smiled. “Wow, that was awesome!” he said to me.
Brett looked up at me and grinned. “Dang, that hurt!” he looked a bit shaky. He shook his head. “Gwen, you’re tough! I respect that,” he said.
He turned to his friend. The two walked away.
I walked over to Art who was now leaning on the wall. I extended my hand. “Hi, I’m Gwen. My friends Mika, Sebastian and I are new here.”
Art reluctantly took my hand. I felt a spark. His face stayed steady like a rock. “Hi, Gwen, Mika, and Sebastian. You too, Gail,” he said softly.
Gail gave him a little wave.
“I could have handled those two,” Art told me.
He glanced up at the clock. “Now, if you don’t mind I don’t wish to be late for cooking class.” He turned and walked away quickly.
“Wow, some thanks,” Mika said.
“Is that guy always so sociable?” Sebastian asked.
Gail stood there. “That wasn’t…” she grinned. “Oh, that was a joke! Ha!” Gail put her arms around us. “Art is a good guy. He’s smart. He volunteers his time. He’s just different. Takes a while to get used to.”
I turned. Before I could say anything I felt my head spin. I stood in an ornate room surrounded by pieces of armor and fine paintings. At first, I thought I was in a museum. But then I saw Morgana sitting in the middle of the room. She sipped on a drink as a slight blonde lady massaged her feet.
“I hope my feet aren’t too stinky for you, Cindi,” Morgana told her.
Cindi gasped a bit. “Ma’am, it’s an honor to rub your feet. Please forgive me when I pass out.”
Girl to the Rescue! Page 2
