The Guadeloupe Squadeloupe

Chapter XIV: Perry

"How did it get so late so soon? It's night before it's afternoon. December is here before its June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?" ~Theodor Geisel

Diana won't listen to me. She just sits silent in the tent, ignoring me.

"Diana, please," I whine as if I'm a child. "Can you stop ignoring me?"

"No," she says in monotone.

"But you just talked to me!"

She mumbles something under her breath, but I decide to let her be. She clearly doesn't want my help.

This is such a huge waste of time, I think, rolling my eyes. Yes, I understand why she would be sad; I was sad, too. But we don't have a lot of time. Actually, scratch that; we can sit here as long as we want, but we won't be getting anywhere.

"Just go, I'll be fine by myself," a whisper comes from the tent.

I laugh. "What kind of 'body guard' would I be if I left you here by yourself?"

"Shut up, Perry."

"Diana, I serious. I'm not leaving you alone-"

"Go! I know you'd rather hang out with everyone else!"

I'm done arguing with her; there's no way to survive a diatribe with a girl. I refuse to let her win, though. She need someone to stay with her, and who's job is that? Mine, of course.

I decide to just sit by the tent and wait for her return. How long can a girl take?

• • •

I was very wrong; girls take forever. I had to wait 2 hours before my sister would cooperate and let us keep moving.

We walk mostly in silence; the scuffing of our shoes against the ground reminds me where I'm going. The weight of the camp supplies on my shoulders slows me down slightly, but the walk is a very short distance.

A few buildings seem to sprout up, which means we've entered Puno.

The town is pretty big, so the squad couldn't have gone very far into it.

A sound of laughter comes from the left of me: some teenagers sitting outside what looks like a coffee shop. Oh wait, those are our teenagers.

Bob and the twins are acting as if they've known each other for years, and Guad sits quietly, listening to their conversation.

Diana takes a seat between Guad and the last empty chair; I sit between my sister and Janis.

"Hey guys," Alice says cheerily, passing a cup to each of us. At first, I expect it to be coffee, but then I remember we don't have the money.

"So the..." I pause to read the name of the shop. "'Cafe Bar de la Casa del Corregidor' doesn't charge for water?"

Janis giggles. "You just murdered the name of the cafe."

"So I was thinking," Bob says, abruptly changing the topic. "If we want to get to California anytime this century, I suggest we don't go on foot. We've made very little progress so far."

"The nearest airport is in Lima, but that's both expensive and on the opposite side of the country," Janis points out.

"We could drive," Diana says optimistically (I'm guessing the change of subject is good for her). "Perry and I have our licenses, but I would bet that Bob and the twins do, too."

Alice sighs. "I like that idea, but we don't have the money for gas, let alone a car to put it in."

"We could get a ride with someone," Guad utters so quietly that it's almost a whisper.