hiatus

 Whaat. Was- Was Connie wrong?? Had she been taught false things by her teachers? Her readings, have they LIED to her? 

Oh, years of educational journey, all for a SHAM.

“Um… I thought that America’s dairyland was Texas? I mean, it’s got more imports of cheese than any other states!”

                                           ❝      uhhh  ,    no  ---    you’re  thinking  of  wisconsin  .      ❞    tulip  lets  out  a  laugh  .    she  didn’t  know  too  much  about  the  states  ,    mostly  because  she  didn’t  care  to  pay  attention  in  any  history  classes  ,     but  THIS  she  was  sure  of  .    ❝      texas  is  like  . . .    “    yeehaw    “    cowboy  state  i  think  ?    y’know  ,    lots  of  guns  ,    people  saying    “    y’all    “    .      ❞

“A… Spa?”  Hm. At this point, she really shouldn’t be surprised. She HAD come across a car where it was just a ball pit. Connie couldn’t even cut her way through it.

“Well, that’s OKAY. We can probably? Fine some leaves, branches and some fibers to make a makeshift tent. Trust me on this, I’ve read the ‘Survive in the Wild’ book front to back at least forty times now.” And she’s also read other variations of that book twice, at least.

Alright then… A lean-to? Or a debris hut? Or do they just find some sort of cave? Hmm… She really had trained for the end of the world, or the wilderness, not a train, so the options were hard to choose from-

“Mm?” Her tent thoughts interrupted, as she’s asked where’s she’s from. “Oh! I’m from Delmarva, Beach City! It’s kind of a quiet city, not a lot of people know about it. And Wisconsin! It’s very well known for it’s coffee, right?”

                                           ❝      coffee  ?      ❞    tulip  blinks  ,    she’d  never  heard  THAT  before  .    she  guessed  maybe  ?    though  ,    it’d  certainly  be  news  to  her  .    ❝      i  mean  ,    i  always  thought  we  were  known  for  like  . . .    cheese  .      ❞    she’ll  chuckle  .    ❝      it’s  america’s  dairyland  ,    afterall  .      ❞

“Oh- that’s really good to know-” Honestly, Connie’s survival knowledge wasn’t really useful when the place she had trained herself for was the wild, instead of. You know. A metal train. No leaf to crunch, to snow to munch on, well, as far as Connie was concerned. With how weird this train was, maybe Connie will stumble upon a pine needles to brew. She shuddered at the bitter memory.

Connie was just starting to feel better when the news is dropped on her like an anvil.

… 

“WAIT- WHAT!?!?” MONTHS??? MONTHS! OKAY. Survival ASIDE, she’s gonna be disappearing for MONTHS. WHAT about her mom and dad? And STEVEN? AND the CRYSTAL GEMS? They’re all going to think she disappeared!! Well, actually, Connie did disappear, but AAAH! She’ll be fine, but they won’t know that!

And everything she’s going to miss! School! Homework! Episodes of shows! NEWS BOOKS!! She deflates like a balloon. Closes her eyes.

Get a grip, Connie. This is EXACTLY what you prepared for! Well, no, not exactly, it wasn’t the end of the world, but being in a rather hostile environment in a foreign place is KIND of like the apocalypse? Kind of?

Alright. YOU CAN DO THIS, Connie Maheswaran!

“Okay. Okay! Is there anywhere where we can set up a shelter?”

                                           ❝      well  ,    since  i’m  headed  backwards  i’m  pretty  familiar  with  the  cars  coming  up  .      ❞    tulip  takes  out  her  notebook  ,    flipping  through  to  where  she  kept  track  of  the  cars  she’d  gone  through  .    it  was  handy  ,    but  she  was  afraid  she’d  be  reaching  unfamiliar  territory  by before  she  found  her  exit  .    more  notes  to  take  ,    she  supposed  .

                                           ❝      there’s  a  spa  about  five  cars  away  ---    i’m  sure  they  won’t  mind  if  you  want  to  rest  in  their  quiet  room  .      ❞    it’s  been  a  while  since  tulip  set  up  a  proper  shelter  ,    but  if  that  made  this  girl  more  comfortable  she’d  be  willing  to  settle  down  for  a  day  .    she  wanted  to  help  ,    but  moving  forward  was  still  a  priority  .   her  friends  and  family  must  miss  her  .

                                           ❝      well  ,    your  number  is  PRETTY  high  .    way  higher  than  mine  was  when  i  first  got  here  .    and  it  took  me  MONTHS  to  get  to  zero  .     so  ,    yeah  i’d  say  that’s  a  pretty  safe  assessment  .      ❞    tulip  sits  down  next  to  the  boy  ,    offering  a  bit  of  a  smile  .    she  tries  to  sound  lighthearted  ,    but  she  knew  how  real  the  situation  was  .    if  she  was  still  struggling  with  earning  her  exit  ,    she’d  be  much  different  .    she’s  grown  accustomed  to  the  train  ,    and  accepted  her  issues  .    now  she  had  a  clear  goal  .

                                            find  where  her  exit  went  .