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Journey To The Silver Leopard | Shook Chapter 4 Part 2
Dyan and Maya are off to find Maya's Dad at The Silver leopard, but they'll have to journey to him, and it all starts on the side of the highway...
The book store soon emptied and the last store worker to leave locked the door.
No turning back, Dyan thought as she stared at the dark windows of the now quiet book store. She looked ahead and saw the back of the fuzzy blue-headed girl that was leading her out of the parking lot, a girl she had just met but felt like she had known long before this.
Dyan was almost completely sure that somehow, some way, when she was writing out ideas for how Spirit would look and act, she magically conjured up Spirit and her story in real life. Maya was Spirit. Okay, so their names were different. Still, all traits between Maya and Spirit seemed to be the same. The blue hair. The overalls. The longing for adventure in their lives.
But how was this possible!?
The two walked out of the plaza, past the huge sign covered with store names that was now glowing for the evening. Maya crossed the grass onto the sidewalk, the low hanging sun putting the whole left side of her in a golden glow. Cars whizzed by on the busy road beside her.
Dyan jogged until she caught up with Maya. She needed answers to be 100% positive that Maya was Spirit. “So, what’s your full name?”
“I’ve told you already. Maya Blue.”
Dyan scribbled this answer down in her notebook as fast as she could. Blue was a pretty cool last name. Maybe she should change Spirit’s last name to Blue.”
“How old are you?”
“Eleven.”
Older than me by just a year, Dyan thought as she copied this into her notebook. Just like Spirit.
“Do you have a hobby?”
“Um, I like to draw,” answered Maya.
Hmm. Dyan was puzzled. Dyan had never written that Spirit liked drawing. Maybe, if Spirit came to life, she would like drawing. Dyan scribbled this fact down.
Maya grabbed Dyan’s arm and pulled her forward. “You’re starting to walk slower.”
That’s when Dyan looked around and noticed where they were. To her left there were four lanes of rushing cars, split in the middle by a patch of yellowing grass. Cars skated by Dyan, making her hair blow to the sides of her face and causing a loud yet smooth roar noise that got sharper depending on how close they were.
A bus roared by, casting the girls in a cold shadow for a moment. A cold shiver went up Dyan’s spine as she thought about how she had no idea where Maya was taking her. Maybe I should go to the police station after all, Dyan thought. But then again, who knows what would happen to her if she decided to walk back all alone, especially as it got dark?
The sun was getting lower and lower in the sky and all the clouds seemed to be chasing after it. Cars had their lights on zoomed along the road that seemed to go on forever.
Dyan noticed the white line on the side of the road split into two lines, and the road nearest to them began to curve off to the side while the other few lanes merged onto the highway, big green signs looming over the road ahead. .
“Here’s our exit! See, I told you it would only take us five minutes to get here!” said Maya.
Right off the highway was a small two-way road. The girls crossed it to get to a brick building with the sign 'Silver Leopard Burgers and Fries’ written on the top, complete with a gray leopard winking right next to it. A gas station sat next to the restaurant.
“Ooooh, so this was the silver leopard you were talking about,” Dyan said.
“Yeah. a restaurant. This is also a place for truck drivers to get gas or park at. They call these places truck-stops,” Maya kicked a rock out of her way. “What did you think I was talking about?”
“Nothing,” Dyan said quickly. No need to tell Maya that she actually believed they were going to see a Silver leopard of some sort.
As they walked in the grass around the place, Maya took a deep breath out. “Whoo! We’ve made it! My dad should be right behind the restaurant.”
A man with a blue cap and apron came out of Silver Leopard , looked in the girls’ direction and lifted a hand up. “Hey, Maya!”
“Hey Mr. Davidson! Can’t talk now! I’m running late and Dad’s gonna worry if I don’t get to the truck soon!”
They know you here? Dyan wanted to ask, but then she used common sense. If Maya comes here after school everyday, of course the people who work here would know her. Duh!
Dyan followed Maya to the back of the restaurant. It was there where she gasped. Behind the restaurant was a huge parking lot, with lines and lines of parking spaces. Trucks were parked on either side, with huge boxy-trailers attached to them. They were longer than a school bus and taller than two cars stacked on top of each other. Dyan involuntarily backed up.
“Woah,” said Dyan.
Maya pointed to one shiny deep blue truck just at the edge of the lot. “That’s my dad’s truck. Let’s hurry!”
Dyan’s eyes widened. “Wait, you didn’t tell me your dad owned an actual truck.”
“I did, actually. A BAJILLION TIMES!” Maya lost her cool at the end of this statement, making Dyan jump.
Maya ran up to the blue truck and yelled “Daaaad!”
Dyan kept glancing at all the trucks as she passed by them. Once they got to the blue truck, Dyan gulped. Up close was even worse. Dyan was barely at head-level with the door handle.
This truck didn’t have a cargo box connected to the back. Behind this truck was a small flatbed with lots of wheels on each side.
The door opened. If Dyan was shocked by Maya’s hair, she couldn’t believe her dad’s hair color. His hair was a dark, glossy blue. He smiled down at his daughter.
“Maya! Took you long enough! I was beginning to wonder what happened to you! Ready to go home!?”
“Yep!” Maya's cheeks were as plump as cherries how wide her smile was.
Her dad looked at Dyan. “Who's that?” he asked.
Maya turned and her eyes widened. Her body became as straight as a stick, her hands flat against her sides. “Her!? Well, Dad, this is Dyan, my friend from school! I told her she could come over to my house for a sleepover!”
Dyan leaned over to Maya and whispered. “That’s not what-”
She was quickly nudged in the arm. “Just go with it!” Maya whispered back.
Maya’s dad looked at Maya confused. “You told your friend she could come over without consulting me or your mom?”
“Uh, yeah, sorry.”
Maya’s dad looked at Maya sternly for a second before he huffed. “Alright then. She can stay for a sleepover. But Maya, you better start asking us before just telling anyone they can have a sleepover.”
“I know, Dad.” Maya was already slinging her backpack into the passenger seat and lunging up the tall metal steps. She then disappeared into the back of the truck. After a moment she poked her head out from the back “C’mon Dyan!”
“I have to get in that?” Dyan pointed to the door.
This made Maya’s dad laugh.
Maya rolled her eyes. “Yes! We have to drive home! What, you’re scared of trucks?”
“Yes,” Dyan said quietly.
“It’s just some steps! Count to five, and then get on the truck. Act like you just can’t stop yourself from doing what’s scary.”
“And that’ll work?” Dyan asked skeptically.
“Yeah, if you make it. Whenever I’m scared to do something, I just count to five in my head, and do it anyway at the end. I rush into it, giving my brain no time to talk me out of it.”
There was a moment of silence as Dyan thought.
No Turning Back.
Dyan closed her eyes and began to quietly count. “One, two, three, four, FIVE!”
Find out what happens next in the next part!
New to Shook? You can find the chapter archive in this post.
Hey there! I’m Shila! I’ve loved books since I could read, and decided I would write books I wanted to see written for others! Check my children’s book Imagination on Amazon!
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