The Walk

Hi! This is Fibbi. Actually, Fibbi is the name of the cat beside me, but just consider it my pen name. If you did not know, I don't own L and W, or anything else worth a rat's behind for that matter. End my disclaimer. Put up with my spelling errors. Read the story.

        The day started normally for Linka, the sun rising in its colors of crimson and gold, long before the alarms went off, waking the other Planeteers. She loved getting up early to watch the beautiful island sunrise; it was something she had done almost since she got to Hope Island. The peace was always so undisturbed....
        "Linka?" She heard a voice behind her and was startled. This was her time, and few people were ever up to see the sun rise. She spun around, and to her surprise she found Wheeler standing there. He did not look like he had recently gotten out of bed, for he was dressed and ready for his day.
        "I thought you always slept in!" she said, her accent almost as heavy as the clouds that were moving in from the west. The clouds were slowly winning a battle with the sunrise, coving up the reds with their grays and blues. It looked and felt like a morning storm was coming.
        Without explaining his unusual rising, Wheeler sat down on a rock and watched the occurring scene in the sky. Linka sat behind him, watching it also.
        "There's a storm coming," said Linka, stating the obvious for the sake of breaking the awkward silence between them.
        "Let's go inside," said Wheeler, rising. Linka also got up and walked through the door to where the other Planeteers' alarms were just beginning to go off.

        "Where have you been, you two?" obnoxiously asked Ma-Ti, smiling as if he knew a secret.
        "We were just watching the clouds," said Linka.
        "There's a storm coming," added Wheeler.
        Sad that they had an excuse - not a good one yet a true one - Ma-Ti continued along with his morning procession.
        Rain started to pour down outside, and the other Planeteers shuffled over to the breakfast table. The image of Gaia appeared before them. "Planeteers, it seems that the recycling convention has limited space; only three of you can go. I hate to split you up like this, but they said, 'no more than three people per group may attend'."
        Linka and Wheeler knew who they were going to leave at home. Ma-Ti had been working a campaign to get them together for at least three months.

        The three who were going to the convention boarded the Geo-Cruiser, and were on their way in a flash. Gaia went along as their supervisor, so they had the whole place to themselves.
        "So..." said Wheeler, getting a light jacket off the coat hanger. "Care to go for a walk in the rain with me?"
        Linka smiled. Getting a coat off of the same rack, she said, "Sure." He took her hand and they walked out the door. It was pouring like the dickens outside, and Wheeler held up an umbrella for the two of them.
        "It's too bad I have to tell you this," said Linka, "but I have been waiting for you to ask me on a walk like this for some time."
        "You should have asked me!" said Wheeler, closing the umbrella and throwing it to the doorstep.
        "We don't need that, now do we?" he said, and the soaked couple disappeared down the path in the rain.