|
Post by saerphe on Aug 2, 2009 12:54:51 GMT -5
Okay, some of you might remember this one from the old Stories forum before it was changed. I decided to get an account here so I can post them again. Here's chapter one! Enjoy! ^___^ ~*~ Chapter One “Take a look at this one.”
“’Greetings from Canada, eh?’ At least we know where it’s from.”
Damian McGinty was sitting at his kitchen table in his home in Derry. It had been a week since he had returned from his spring tour with Celtic Thunder and his mother had finally convinced him to read through the ever-growing pile of fan mail that had been accumulating since he had left.
He searched for the letter-opener in the pile of opened envelopes and pried open the latest message. Sucking on one of many paper cuts (Sharon had never told him how hazardous this job was!) he tipped the envelope upside-down. Several sheets of paper and, oddly enough, a brochure for a campground slid out.
Raising an eyebrow at the pamphlet, he read through the letter and stared at the last page. It was a picture depicting a cartoony version of himself performing onstage. Yet another one of his loyal damsels was admiring him from the bottom right-hand corner of the page. A small, blue Dragon stood on her head, waving a paw in front of the girl’s face. Giving the drawing another once-over, Damian had to admit that this particular damsel was pretty talented.
He looked up from the letter to search for the pamphlet. He found it in the hands of his mother. She was staring at the front, apparently admiring the Canadian scenery. She opened it up and started to skim through it. Damian raised an eyebrow; he knew that look.
“You can’t seriously be thinking about going, are you?” He asked incredulously, “I just get back from Canada and you want to ship me back out there again?” Mrs. McGinty absentmindedly turned to the recreation schedule on the inside.
“Wow, they even have indoor accommodations!” Damian gave his mother a look. She sighed and continued, “It’s been a while since we’ve been camping. It might be nice to get away for a while, don’t you think? Just you and your dad and I while your brother and sister are at college? Spend some quality time together, hmm?” Damian just stared. Mrs. McGinty rolled her eyes at her youngest son, “Whatever, I’m still keeping it. I’ll show it to your father; perhaps he’ll agree with me.” Tucking the pamphlet under her arm, she strode purposefully out of the kitchen.
“And I thought I was the crazy one.” Damian muttered when he was sure his mother was out of earshot. Casting one more glance at the letter, he tossed the pages into a bin marked ‘To Answer’, and grabbed another fan letter from the slowly diminishing pile. He sighed, wondering just how many paper cuts he’d have to suffer before his task was done.~*~ Hope you all enjoyed! Please comment and tell me what you liked!
|
|
|
Post by saerphe on Aug 2, 2009 21:44:45 GMT -5
Thanks for all the wonderful comments, everyone! I really appreciate it. ^___^ Since you're all so eager, here's chapter two! Enjoy! ~*~ Chapter Two
Four weeks later…
“Hey Cassandra!” The girl in question looked up as her mother’s voice came over the intercom. She sighed and marked the page of her book. Of course she would get interrupted just when it was getting good.
“Yeah? What is it?” Her deep blue eyes slid over to the where the intercom’s speaker was located in the corner of the room.
“You might want to come see who’s in the store right now.” Cassandra’s eyebrows jumped into a surprised arc and her heart skipped a beat. It couldn’t be… could it?
“Coming!” Cassandra leapt off the couch, thoroughly startling her dog from where he was sleeping on the armrest. His owner took no notice; she bounded down the stairs to the store, her slight limp not hindering her speed at all. She emerged behind the counter and stopped dead, her jaw dropping slightly.
Damian McGinty himself was standing on the other side of the counter, not ten feet away from her. The fan-girlish part of her brain couldn’t help but notice how much more attractive he was up close. Another part of her said she was dreaming or hallucinating. Or perhaps that her glasses were in desperate need of a cleaning.
She whipped the square frames off of her face and pulled the little blue cloth out of her pocket. Hurriedly giving the lenses a quick polish, she put them back on her face, pushed them up the bridge of her nose and blinked a few times to make her eyes focus. Damian was still standing in the same spot, exchanging a bemused glance with his parents. Cassandra’s face split into a wide grin.
“Well, paint me pink and call me a lizard!” she exclaimed, “It really is you! I never actually expected you to come!” She trotted around the counter to greet the McGintys. She shook hands with Damian’s parents and turned to the vocalist himself.
“Can I give you a hug? Is that okay?” Damian chuckled slightly and held his arms out; it wasn’t the first time he had had a fan ask that question. Cassandra squeaked with delight and threw her arms around his neck. Damian had to bend over slightly for her to reach; he towered over her diminutive height of five-foot-three.
“Wow, this the most amazing thing ever! Just… wow…” Cassandra murmured as she pulled away. She jumped slightly, forgetting herself for a moment. She cleared her throat and hurriedly continued, “It’s really an honour to meet you all. Welcome to the camp.” She cast them another bright smile. Damian’s father clapped him on the shoulder.
“Your mother and I just have to get us all checked in. Why don’t you and your new friend run along and you can meet up with us later?” Cassandra visibly brightened even further, if that were possible, at the prospect of spending some time with one of her favourite musicians.
“I would love to give you a tour of the place…” She trailed off as a commotion from outside met her ears. The terrified shrieks were just barely audible through the slightly open door.
“SNAKE!!!”
“Kill it, kill it!” Cassandra gasped in horror and sprinted out the back door as fast as her weak knees would allow. Her own alarmed cries sounded from somewhere outside as well.
“No! Don’t hurt it!!” Cassandra’s mother, Sally exchanged an apologetic look with the McGinty family. Within two minutes, Cassandra had reappeared at the back door. Their caretaker, Lucky, opened it and held it for her. Cassandra stepped in slightly with a murmured thank-you.
“Sorry about that. Duty calls!” She held up her hands. The girl was holding a striped, green snake, with one hand gently gripping the base of its head and the other supporting its body. The McGintys stared at the animal, slightly shocked. Sally rolled her eyes at her daughter’s behaviour.
“Don’t bring it in here!” She called.
“Don’t worry, Mom, I won’t,” Cassandra replied. She turned to Damian, “Want to come with me to let it go?” Damian eyed the snake uneasily. His mother nudged him slightly and nodded encouragingly.
“Er… sure, I guess.” He followed Cassandra outside, casting another look at his parents before the door closed. Mrs. McGinty looked from her husband to Sally.
“She seems like such a nice girl.” Sally smiled and rolled her eyes while Mr. McGinty tried to keep himself from dissolving into a laughing fit.
“That’s Cassandra for you.” Sally replied.
~*~ There you have it! I'll update again soon, don't worry!
|
|
|
Post by saerphe on Aug 5, 2009 5:48:48 GMT -5
New post! Thanks again for all the wonderful comments; they're much appreciated! Enjoy everyone! ~*~ Chapter Three
“Want to pet it?” Damian jumped slightly at the inquiry. He turned to his companion.
“Excuse me?” Cassandra held up the snake.
“Would you like to pet it? He won’t hurt you.” She smiled encouragingly. Damian bit his lip; he didn’t like snakes very much. They were huge, and legless, and scaly and… legless… He realized that Cassandra was speaking again and snapped back to reality.
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” she replied, looking slightly disappointed. Damian sighed and reached out a hand. Cassandra nodded, coaxing her new friend to make contact with the reptile. Damian hesitantly stroked the snake’s scaly back. Its skin was warm from the sun and slightly dusty. It stared at him through beady, apprehensive eyes as the boy petted him.
“Very good! See, garter snakes are totally harmless.” Cassandra explained. Damian ran his hand down the snake’s back one more time and pulled away with a small smile. Cassandra chuckled as the snake wriggled a bit. It pulled its head free from her grasp and watched the myriad trailers go past as its rescuer continued to walk. Cassandra adjusted her grip on the snake so that it was more comfortable and continued.
“Most snakes are totally harmless actually; they only bite if someone’s harassing them. You hear things like ‘Save the Pandas’, and ‘Save the Tigers’, and even ‘Save the Sharks’ these days, but what people don’t realize is that animals like snakes need saving too. Nobody stands up for snakes, you know?” She sighed and looked at Damian for a moment. He couldn’t help noticing how sad this seemed to make her.
They stopped at the edge of the woods. Cassandra knelt down and let the snake go under the trees. A flick of its scaly green tail and the animal was gone. The girl smiled and brushed her blue-streaked-brown hair back behind her ears. She looked at Damian from the corner of her blue eye.
“How long are you all staying for?” She asked at length. Damian shrugged.
“Mum’s got the Beaver Lodge booked for the month,” He replied, referring to the largest set of rooms among the Beach House accommodations, “but she’s thinking about coming back sometime if we enjoy it enough.” Cassandra turned and waited for him to follow. They started down another gravel path back to the store.
“I know the whole fan-girl-idol thing must make you feel awkward,” Cassandra noted, “so if you like, we can just start out as acquaintances and work our way towards being friends.” Damian smiled at her.
“That sounds good to me. If I’m going to stay here for a month, I might as well have someone my age to talk to, right?” Cassandra laughed, a slight spring entering her step.
“Cool. Then let’s start over shall we?” She stopped abruptly and turned towards her Irish companion, holding out her hand, “My name’s Cassandra, what’s yours?” Damian grinned and shook her hand.
“I’m Damian. I’m on vacation here from Ireland.” He replied, playing along. Cassandra shook his hand one last time before letting go.
“Lovely to meet you, Damian.” Cassandra concluded. They continued on their way back to the store, “Just make sure you wash your hands after touching that snake, eh?” She looked back at him and half skipped, half limped back to the campground convenience store.
Damian followed after, thinking that he could get to like this odd Canadian girl. And maybe he’d even give snakes a chance too.
~*~ That's right, people! Save the snakes! If you see one, leave it alone! If you catch someone harassing one, PLEASE make them stop! If you see one on the road, chase it off (but not with your car)! Snakes are NOT out to get you and they have as much right to be here as we do! Rant over, thanks for listening.
|
|
|
Post by saerphe on Aug 9, 2009 8:09:13 GMT -5
Update! Thanks again for the comments! ~*~ Chapter Four
The two teenagers re-entered the store (after giving their hands a thorough washing in the outside sink) to find Damian’s parents just finishing up with the check-in process. Cassandra’s mother was just handing them the keys to the Beaver Lodge when they walked in.
“Hey, there! How’d the snake make out?” Mr. McGinty greeted them cheerfully.
“He’s safe and sound now.” Cassandra replied, “I think he’s learned his lesson now and knows to avoid populated areas.” She leaned against the counter. Mrs. McGinty turned to Damian.
“So, what would you like for supper tonight? We could always cook out over a campfire. Or just order something from the snack-bar here.” Damian opened his mouth to reply, but Cassandra cut him off.
“Would you like to join us for dinner tonight?” She blurted out abruptly and immediately looked mortified.
“Well…” Damian looked at his mother and father. Cassandra sidled a bit closer.
“We’re having chilli tonight. Grandma’s special recipe.” She examined the ends of her fingers as though they were the most fascinating thing in the world. Damian raised an eyebrow.
“What are you, a stalker?” He joked. Cassandra held up her index finger to point at him.
“I swear I have a legitimate reason. I’ll show it to you later.” She smiled wryly. Damian sighed and scratched the back of his head.
“Well, if it’s alright…” He looked at his parents. His father shrugged and his mother beamed.
“Dinner with our hosts sounds lovely. About what time should we come?” Mrs. McGinty looked from Cassandra to Sally inquiringly.
“Around six-thirty is fine.” Sally replied. Mrs. McGinty smiled warmly at the pair before her.
“Excellent. Six-thirty it is, then. We will see you then.” With that, the McGintys left the store to get settled into their accommodations. Sally turned to her daughter, hands on her hips, staring at her pointedly.
“What?” Cassandra asked innocently, “You’re the one who says I need to be more social.” Sally rolled her eyes at her girl and turned back to the cash register.
“I know, but that was a little bit much, don’t you think? I know how much you like that boy.” It was Cassandra’s turn to roll her eyes now.
“Don’t worry, Mom, things’ll work out fine. Every woman knows that the way to a guy’s heart is through his stomach.” She winked at her mother, “Especially if the guy in question is still in his teens.” Sally chuckled as she printed the receipt and stapled it into the record book.
“You inherited my brains, all right.” Cassandra trotted past her mother towards the stairs.
“That I did.” She paused for a moment before returning to her house up above the store, “Mom, could I ask you a favour?”
“Yes, honey?”
“Could you call Grandma for me and ask her to make chilli tonight?”~*~ Hurr...
|
|
|
Post by discatangel on Aug 9, 2009 13:54:56 GMT -5
That's so funny! "Oh we're having chili!" "mom can you ask gramma to make chili?" I love it!
|
|
|
Post by saerphe on Aug 13, 2009 9:48:58 GMT -5
Quick Update. Enjoy. ~*~ Chapter Five
“That was delicious.” Mr. McGinty announced that evening, nibbling on a freshly baked white chocolate chip cookie. Damian couldn’t hold back a smile; Cassandra was really pulling out all the stops on this. She was obviously bent on making a good first impression. The chilli was rich and flavourful, and the cookies were still warm and gooey from the oven. He selected one more from the plate and took a bite. Cassandra beamed and started to gather up the plates. She looked around.
“Oh, bother. Of course Gavin decides to slip out on his night to wash the dishes.” Cassandra sighed. She cast another quick look around the dining room for her younger brother. Damian stood and picked up a few plates as well.
“I’ll help, if you like.” He offered. Cassandra cast him a grateful smile.
“That’s very sweet of you.” She replied. She filled the dishwasher with as many dirty plates as it could hold and piled the remaining dishes by the sink. “I’ll wash if you rinse and dry.” Cassandra tossed him a clean dish-towel and filled the sink with soap and water. She reached into the cupboard under the sink and withdrew the drying rack. Behind them, the talk turned to fishing licenses and Conservation Officers as Cassandra’s father, Bret, passed around a bottle of Irish crème.
“Is this just another typical evening for you?” Damian asked, plucking a spoon out of the empty sink and setting it on the drying rack.
“Yup,” Cassandra replied with a soft sigh, “Dad’s grown partial to an Irish crème float and a good, long rant at the end of the day. Last summer it was chocolate liqueur. He’s no alcoholic, but I guess it helps ease the tension, you know? Besides, too much alcohol would be bad for his sugar levels.” She rolled her eyes and scrubbed at a stubborn spot of grease in the pot she was washing. Damian nodded understandingly.
By the time the dishes had been washed and put away, Cassandra’s dad was getting very into a discussion about the dog across the road. Cassandra caught Damian’s eye, rolled hers and tilted her head in a way that said, ‘want to get out of here?’ Damian nodded and followed Cassandra down the hall towards her room. By the time they got to her door, Bret noticed that they were missing.
“You two better behave!” He called a warning down the hall. Cassandra sighed and rolled her eyes in annoyance.
“Relax Dad, the door’s open!” Cassandra called back. She opened the door and led Damian into the room.
|
|
|
Post by saerphe on Aug 17, 2009 5:29:07 GMT -5
Okay, well I'm going away for a week and won't be on much, so here's TWO chapters to keep you guys occupied. Enjoy!
~*~
Chapter Six
“Welcome to my lair!” Cassandra exclaimed with a wink, spreading her arms to display her living space. Damian raised an eyebrow at the sight. It looked like he was about to step into a wizard’s workshop from some fairy tale.
The north and south walls were painted bright purple, while the east and west walls were a sapphire blue. A desk was fitted into one corner and a bookshelf was snugly wedged between the north wall and her bed, which was slightly obscured by a light blue canopy.
A brightly coloured hammock chair hung from the ceiling and a fountain bubbled in the corner behind it. A dusty keyboard rested against another wall, and a folded up easel leaned against the desk. A guitar stood untouched beside the easel.
A globe, an alarm clock, a miniature Zen rock garden, a desktop calendar and several jars of paint-brushes, clay tools and pencils were among the items on the desk. A tarnished brass pennywhistle was lying across the closed laptop. A wooden Irish flute lay beside it.
A stereo system was set up on a collapsible table near the desk. A house-shaped CD holder stood on one of the speakers. Damian grinned to see that the Celtic Thunder CDs were among them. The others included Celtic Woman, Great Big Sea, an album from the local Ceili band, and several other artists he wasn’t familiar with. Cassandra clearly had a love of Celtic music.
But the most striking feature of all was that the room was filled with Dragons. There were two paintings of Dragons hanging up on either side of the room. Dragons kept watch with Faeries and Unicorns from the shelves mounted on the walls and yet more Dragons were curled up asleep on her desk. Dragon books filled the bookshelf and Dragon Plushies snuggled on the bed.
Many had similar features; brightly coloured scales, chunky limbs, a broad muzzle and large, round eyes. Damian approached the computer desk to examine a blue and white, copper-eyed specimen next to a miniature of Stonehenge.
“You certainly seem to like Dragons, don’t you?” Damian chuckled, running a hand down the raised scales of a black, white and gold Dragon reclining behind the laptop. Cassandra beamed and walked over to join him. For the first time, Damian noticed the silver pendant around her neck; it was shaped like a Dragon in flight.
“I do,” she replied, “They have a certain significance to me.” She smiled softly and stroked the large round ears of a black- and-white polka-dotted female with green eyes.
“I made quite a few of them myself. That red one way up there,” she continued, pointing to the Dragon on the shelf above her closet, “Was the first one I ever made, followed by that green one there,” she pointed to the sculpture in question on the shelf above her desk, “and later on these ones.” She directed Damian’s attention to the round-eared creatures behind her closed laptop. The two teens stood together in silence for a while.
“So, do you want to see why I said I had a reason for knowing basically everything about you?” Cassandra asked, her eyes twinkling.
“Sure.” Damian replied taking a seat on the bed. Cassandra started rooting around in her closet and pulled out a few sheets of brightly coloured Bristol board. She turned them around for Damian to see.
“School project, for my Anthropology class,” Cassandra explained, “we had to pick a celebrity and analyze them according to a set of theories. Some of it’s there for my own amusement, but I think it actually helped to boost my mark a bit.” She winked.
Damian picked up the first part and examined it. It contained several passages of text entitled things like: ‘Biography’, ‘Interesting Facts’, ‘Damian McGinty According to Jung’s Theory of Introverts and Extroverts’ and several others.
There were many pictures of him, particularly under the heading of ‘The Many Faces of Damian’ which had photos of all of his different expressions (“For the communication theories.” Cassandra had explained). There were also a set of silly pictures of the other members of Celtic Thunder, and some of their funnier quotes under the title of, ‘The Craic was Mighty!’ He suspected that this was for Cassandra’s own amusement. He shook his head incredulously as he read over it all again. Finally, he turned to Cassandra.
“What mark did you get on this?” He asked. Cassandra smirked.
“Ninety percent. Not bad at all, if I do say so myself.” She brushed some stray crumbs off of her shirt and sat down in the computer chair. Damian set the project aside with another shake of his head. The guitar leaning against the wall caught his eye.
“Do you play?” He asked. Cassandra shook her head.
“No. Dad used to when I was really little. Mom got that for him for Christmas in the hopes that he would pick it up again. I mess around with it, and my keyboard, but I don’t actually know how to play.” She shrugged wistfully. Damian motioned towards it enquiringly. Cassandra smiled and gave a small nod. He got up, retrieved it from its spot by the wall and strummed it once or twice. He reached up to the head of the fret-board and tuned it slightly.
“Keith’s been teaching me how to play. It’s hard on the fingers at first, but it’s great fun.” He smiled and began plucking the familiar chords to ‘Mountains of Mourne’. Cassandra smiled at the sound.
“That’s my favourite Keith song,” She said, “’Mountains of Mourne’ was a song I used to love when I was very little. A lot of my favourite nursery rhymes were classic Celtic songs.” She smiled at the memory.
“Yeah, like what?” Damian asked, still picking out the gentle notes of the tune.
“’Scarborough Fair’ was one of my favourites. And ‘In Dublin’s Fair City’. There’s not many that I remember though.” She shrugged and started searching through a binder filled with whistle notations. She pulled out the set for ‘Mountains of Mourne’ and examined it closely, “I should really work on reading sheet music. Numbers aren’t always going to be there for me, you know?” She picked up her whistle and started trying to figure out the song. Damian paused to look at her.
“You don’t learn with sheet music?” He asked in surprise. Cassandra scratched her head, still trying to puzzle out the numbers on the sheet in front of her.
“Nope. My whistle teacher always teaches me new songs by ear. Sheet music is hard for me to process, but I’ve been told that I play by ear very well.”
She started to play through the song and stopped, murmuring to herself, “No… that doesn’t sound right…” She sighed, “Whatever, I’ll puzzle it out later. My notations are different from what Keith sings, so that doesn’t help much.” She shrugged and watched Damian’s fingers move over the fret-board as he started playing something else. After a moment or two, he began to sing softly. Cassandra’s heart leapt into her throat as she recognized a familiar Gaelic verse:
“Buachaill ón Éirne me 's bhréagfainn cailín deas óg Ní iarrfainn bó spré léI tá mé fhéin saibhir go leor 'S liom Corcaigh da mhéid é, dhá thaobh a' ghleanna 's Tír Eoghain 'S mura n-athraí mé béasaí 's me n' t-oidhr' ar Chontae Mhaigh Eo…”
As Damian moved into the English part of the song, Cassandra joined in, but not on her whistle.
Sally and Mrs. McGinty were listening to the two teens singing together while the men discussed the politics in Ireland. Mrs. McGinty smiled warmly at Sally over a steaming cup of raspberry tea.
“I’m so glad those two have hit it off so well.” Sally smiled back and took another sip of her tea.
When the song was over, Damian looked at Cassandra.
“You sing very well.” He told her. She smiled, her ocean-blue eyes meeting his sky-blue ones.
“Thank you. So do you.”
*~*
Chapter Seven
The next day it rained.
And rained.
And RAINED.
Cassandra had been walking her dog by the beach house when the downpour started. Mrs. McGinty saw her getting drenched while she waited for Bruno to stop sniffing a fence-post. She insisted that they both come inside to wait it out. After it had been pouring for over an hour, Mr. McGinty had dug out a few board games from one of the cupboards. Cassandra and Damian were currently locked in a not-so-rousing game of chess, which neither were very good at.
Bruno clambered into Damian’s lap and tried to lick his face. Cassandra rolled her eyes at the little rat terrier’s behaviour and glanced back at the board. “Furry little traitor.” She muttered as she moved her rook two spaces to the left. Mr. McGinty walked into the living room and watched as Damian moved his queen and claimed Cassandra’s rook. The two sighed simultaneously.
“Very exciting game you two have got going there.” Mr. McGinty remarked sarcastically, a hint of humour showing through his eyes. Cassandra picked up her bishop and removed Damian’s queen from the game.
“It was either this or Candy Land.” She replied.
“I’m starting to think Candy Land was the better choice.” Damian muttered under his breath. He moved his pawn one square to the end row on Cassandra’s side. “King me.”
“That’s checkers, Damian.”
“Right... I knew that.”
Mr. McGinty chuckled and sat down to watch. By the time the game ended in a stalemate, Mrs. McGinty had entered to watch the spectacle as well. Cassandra set up the Candy Land board and they all joined in for a round.
Damian flew past them all at first, but got stuck in the Molasses Swamp for three whole turns. Cassandra got a boost from the Ice Cream Queen, but despite the tough competition, it was Mrs. McGinty who became the ‘Candy Land Champion of the World’.
“You’re a natural, Mrs. McGinty,” Cassandra laughed. “That was fun; I haven’t played this game for years.” They sat back in companionable silence for a while. Mrs. McGinty went out into the kitchen and made hot chocolate. She returned with several mugs full of it, topped off with at least three marshmallows in each. Sitting back down on the well-worn couch, she turned to Cassandra.
“So, Cassandra, when it comes to sight-seeing in Kingston what would you recommend?” She asked. Cassandra blew on her hot chocolate to cool it before taking a tentative sip. The sweet drink warmed her inside and out.
“Well,” she began, “if it interests you, the Celtic Cross at Skeleton Park is always good to see. My whistle teacher, Tony O’Lochlan had it put up to commemorate the Irish and the Kingstonians who died in an epidemic many years ago.
“The Haunted Walk is always worth doing, and if you take the down-town one, they’ll take you right to Skeleton Park. It’s basically a guided tour that takes you around the supposedly haunted sites of Kingston. There’s also the one that goes down by the lake and the one that goes through Fort Henry.” She paused to take another sip, “oh right, Fort Henry is interesting too. It was built over two hundred years ago for an invasion that never came. The Sunset Ceremonies are pretty neat.
“And then there’s Wolfe Island. There’s plenty of stuff there too. I think that pretty well sums it up.” She thought for a moment and nodded.
“Kingston seems to have quite a bit of Irish heritage, doesn’t it?” Mr. McGinty asked, stirring the mass of melted marshmallows in his drink.
“Yup. Actually, I think there’s a Ceili sometime this week too. I could always find out if you’re interested. My other teacher, Anne Archer is the flutist and whistler for the Kingston Ceili Band.” She smiled proudly.
“You have two teachers?” Damian asked. Cassandra nodded and lifted a half-melted marshmallow out of her mug with her spoon.
“Yeah. Anne’s been teaching me for several years now; she got me started on the whistle. I recently joined up with Tony and the Kingston Irish Folk Club. He gets me a chance to perform around Kingston every now and again.” She popped the marshmallow in her mouth, “You make a mean hot chocolate, Mrs. McGinty.” She complemented.
“Thank-you,” Mrs. McGinty replied, “We’ll be sure to take a look around Kingston sometime then. Sounds like there’s a lot to see.”
|
|
|
Post by damianmcgintylover on Sept 19, 2009 23:42:22 GMT -5
"king me...thats checkers damian...oh right i knew that." hahahhahahaha that part was hilarious!! great story you should deff right more!!!
|
|
|
Post by saerphe on Oct 9, 2009 15:29:04 GMT -5
Urgh, sorry it's been so long since I last updated! Thanks everyone for your patience and comments; I love hearing what y'all have to say. ^___^
~*~
Chapter Eight
The next day was sunny and bright, a complete contrast to the day before. Damian and his parents wandered into the store after a heated game of soccer in the field. Cassandra was working at the time, and greeted them cheerfully.
“Hey there, what can I get for y’all?” She smiled. Mr. McGinty eyed the menu.
“Something cold would be great,” he replied, “what do you recommend for ice cream?” Cassandra turned to look at the menu, brushing a stray piece of cheese from a poutine she had made earlier off of her work shirt.
“The Desert Storms are a mix of stirred ice cream and candy pieces. They’re always refreshing,” she mused, “and I make a pretty mean milkshake if I do say so myself.” She winked, “of course, just a plain soft-serve ice cream cone is lovely too. Everything’s good here.” Cassandra laughed and turned back to them, her fingers hovering over the cash register. Mrs. McGinty ordered a plain cone, Damian an Oreo Desert Storm and Mr. McGinty a chocolate milkshake.
Cassandra rang up the prices, collected the money and returned the change. Quick as a flash, she was at the ice cream station. She handed Mrs. McGinty a generously sized ice cream cone and made Damian’s Desert Storm. She even left a chunk of Oreo cookie in the top. Mr. McGinty watched as Cassandra mixed the chocolate milkshake without spilling a drop.
“Poetry in motion!” He laughed as Cassandra handed him the milkshake. He took a sip and rolled his eyes appreciatively, “you really do make an excellent milkshake!”
“Thank-you!” She grinned, “So what’s on the agenda today?” She straightened her name tag and leaned on the counter. Mr. McGinty shrugged, taking another slurp of his milkshake.
“We haven’t quite decided yet,” He replied, “perhaps go swimming or cast a line out or something to that effect.” Cassandra smiled and glanced at the clock.
“Ah, look at that! Time to clock out.” She grabbed a clipboard from the nail on the wall and signed herself out, “I’ll be back in a few minutes; just gotta change out of this shirt.” She whipped upstairs without another word. A few minutes later she returned in jeans and a sapphire-blue tank top with wrinkles at the waist. Her silver Dragon pendant glittered at her throat.
“I’m back!” She exclaimed with a flourish. She hurried around the counter, pushing her wayward glasses back up the bridge of her nose. Damian grinned and shook his head; Cassandra was just so spontaneous sometimes.
The foursome left the store together and headed into a bright, warm day. A light breeze played across their faces, pulling some of Cassandra’s blue-streaked hair out of her pony-tail. She rolled her eyes and tucked it back behind her ears. She spread her arms out happily.
“What a lovely day! So good to get out of the store!” She skip-limped along the gravel trail, the McGintys following along behind her, chuckling at her antics. Cassandra spun around abruptly, “Hey, you wanna go see the beaver pond? It’s lovely up there this time of year.”
“Sure, why not? Sounds nice.” Damian replied. Mrs. McGinty took her husband’s hand.
“You two go ahead, Damian. Your dad and I are going swimming.” Damian shrugged and turned to Cassandra, who was waiting for him. Mrs. McGinty and Mr. McGinty looked at each other with a smile.
Cassandra led her Irish companion up the gravel trail, past the spot where they released the snake a few days before and up a fairly steep hill. Cassandra paused halfway to the top to look over the camp. She sighed contentedly.
“I should probably enjoy the peace while it lasts; the long weekend is coming up soon.” She wrinkled her nose. Damian breathed in the fresh air, heavy with the scent of summer flowers, campfires and hamburgers grilling on the barbecues.
“Gets busy, does it?” He inquired watching as two swallows weaved to and fro above their heads. Cassandra rolled her eyes and nodded.
“You have no idea. As long as I don’t have to supervise another jumping castle I’ll survive; I have nightmares about those things.” She shuddered and continued towards the pond. She led Damian to the end of the camp at the very top of the hill, where a small dirt trail branched off into the woods. Cassandra paused at the entrance, “Coming?” She asked, waiting for her friend. Damian smiled and followed.
It was fresh, cool and green under the canopy of leaves. A multitude of dragonflies buzzed this way and that, catching as many mosquitoes as they could eat. A red squirrel bounded across the path and up a cedar tree, chattering as it went. Cassandra led Damian down to the edge of the pond and they stood looking over it. The water was perfectly still, reflecting the scenery on the other side. Cassandra suddenly grasped Damian’s arm and pointed out across the pond.
“Look!” She breathed. Damian followed her finger to see a large, blue-grey bird that looked rather like a stork standing perfectly still on one leg on the other side of the pond. Catching sight of the two teenagers standing on the bank, the bird lifted off and winged its way westward. Cassandra watched, enthralled.
“Great Blue Heron,” She explained, “There are a lot around here, but you don’t see them at close-quarters too often. We’ll have to take you to see the rookery on the lake sometime. The babies poke their heads out of the nests and you can see them very well.” She smiled and headed back along another path, swatting at a stray mosquito. A bright blue dragonfly whizzed by and snapped it up.
As they walked along, Cassandra would point to various plants and identify them for Damian. She showed him how to tell the difference between a white pine and a red pine, and told him the names of various birds and small animals that crossed their path.
They soon came to the beaver dam and paused for a moment, watching several large frogs jump into the water and swim away. Cassandra pointed to a pile of sticks at the far end of the pond.
“That’s the beaver lodge. It doesn’t look like much, but it’s very cozy in the winter for the beavers and their families. The entrance is under the water so they can get to it, and they store their food underwater too.”
“What do they eat?” Damian asked, tilting his head at the mud-and-wood structure, “Frogs?” Cassandra chuckled.
“Nope. Otters do for sure, but beavers are herbivores. They have special enzymes in their digestive tract that help them digest cellulose.”
“Cellu-what?”
“Cellulose. Fibre, basically. Wood is practically pure cellulose, and that’s what beavers eat. They store saplings under the water to keep ‘em crisp and crunchy, see?”
“Like the way we keep carrot sticks in a container of water in the fridge?”
“Exactly.” Cassandra replied. They stepped out onto the dam to get a better look at the pond.
“You sure seem to know a lot about nature.” Damian remarked. Cassandra cast him a grin.
“It comes with having biologists for parents. It’s kind of ironic, really. Mom and Dad get their university degrees in biology and end up owning a campground twenty years later.” She shook her head incredulously. Damian smiled.
“I’m not complaining.” He replied. His hand brushed Cassandra’s slightly and she felt her face flush bright red.
“M-me neither,” she stuttered. She cleared her throat slightly. “Shall we continue?” Damian nodded.
“We shall.” He agreed. Cassandra led him across the dam, warning him to watch his step. They walked uphill through a grove of cedar trees and downhill over a precariously tricky set of four-wheeler tracks, dodging rocks and the trunks of fallen trees as they went. They headed deeper into the woods, farther away from the pond where they saw white and silver birch trees, huge oaks, and strange looking fungi of all kinds.
Damian looked at Cassandra, who was guiding him confidently through the trees. The path grew ever harder to follow until he couldn’t see it anymore.
“Are you sure you know where you’re going?” He asked, slightly nervous. The sun was beginning to get lower in the sky and he was sure his parents would wonder where he was. Cassandra glanced at him over her shoulder.
“What’s the matter, don’t you trust me?” She asked teasingly, “Don’t worry; we’re almost back to the road now.” She smiled reassuringly. Damian raised an eyebrow, but said nothing more on the subject.
They continued walking for a few more minutes before Cassandra suddenly turned and led Damian through the foliage. They emerged onto a gravel pathway, not unlike those that ran through the campground. Cassandra paused, waiting for her friend to catch up.
“What’d I tell you?” She winked and started following the road through the woods, “This’ll take us right back to the camp.” They walked in relative silence for a while, a smattering of conversation between the two and the songs of birds keeping the woods from being totally soundless.
They soon emerged back out at the camp; Damian could see the path they took in initially. They had looped all the way around to where they started.
“I told you we weren’t lost.” Cassandra remarked smugly. Damian smirked.
“I dunno; you had me worried for a second there. I thought we’d be stuck in that forest forever.” He teased. Cassandra gave him a playful swat on the shoulder for that remark and they laughed as they continued back to the camp.
|
|
|
Post by oceangirl1 on Nov 24, 2009 16:21:02 GMT -5
Updates soon please!!!!
|
|
|
Post by swimgurl96 on Jan 7, 2010 10:22:50 GMT -5
more please!
|
|
|
Post by damianrocks on Jan 7, 2010 14:52:52 GMT -5
Oh this is lovely! Update please!!!
|
|
|
Post by angelenia100 on May 3, 2010 14:52:10 GMT -5
I love it!!! More soon please.
|
|
|
Post by DaughterofOphelia on May 4, 2011 13:38:54 GMT -5
Update please!
|
|
|
Post by celticthunder1510 on May 4, 2011 17:45:05 GMT -5
This is so free and easy! I love it!
|
|