Closed Crossing the Creek

[Susie Lagowski]

Susie tried to help Eoghan onto the bank. Sheesh. He was gonna be super cold. She looked at Lili, chewing her lip. They could go home, probably should go home, but the diner was just as close in the other direction, and he'd probably still dry off there. It was like Luke said - the hot chocolate would warm him up. "Yeah," she said. She was the oldest person here who knew the way through the woods, so that probably made her the leader, and she'd made her decision. "The diner's, like, five minutes that way." She pointed up the hill. "We'll get there real fast. Luke, give him your coat."​

 

[Luke Lagowski]

Luke immediately turned round and headed in the direction Susie had pointed, pretending he hadn't heard his sister.

 

[Eoghan Blyth]

Eoghan appreciated that Lilith gave him her scarf, although he was nervous she was going to get cold too since she'd also dipped into the water on his behalf. "I..it's.. o..kay," he got out through stuttering breaths, although he was too cold to try and hand it back. As Luke and Susie mentioned they needed to get to the diner, Eoghan could only trust that it really was that close. He didn't really feel like retracing their steps back the way they'd come, it felt like it would be so far away now and besides, he didn't want to ruin the trip for anyone else.

 

[Freddie Lagowski]

Five minutes? The diner wasn't five minutes away. That was a lie. Susie just didn't wanna go home 'cause she wouldn't get her hot chocolate. Like that was super important. Freddie stood on the opposite bank, quiet for a moment. They were all bigger than him. They wouldn't listen to him. But he didn't wanna go. Eoghan couldn't even breathe properly. "It's twenty minutes," he said. A bit louder. "It's twenty minutes. And then twenty plus twenty - forty - to come back again. That's an hour of walking."​

 

[Susie Lagowski]

Susie rolled her eyes. Yeah, it was an hour of walking in total. But Eoghan would dry off at the diner after the first twenty. If they went home now, it'd be twenty plus twenty plus twenty plus twenty plus twenty. That's if they even bothered to come out again after. She really, really wanted to show Lili and Eoghan the mall. "Freddie, it's ten at the most," she said. "Come on. It'll be fine - look, Luke's gonna give him his-" She turned around, but her other little brother had wandered off. Ugh! Why were they so annoying? They were gonna embarrass her in front of her friends. She looked at Freddie. It was tempting to just leave him behind, but Aunt Thalia would kill her. "Everyone else is ready to go. Come on."​