Thread: I AM IN UR HEDGEMAZE, EATINGZ UR GRANOLAZ. Who: Layla Miller, orphans, nuns, and then later OTA When: June 17-18, 2010 Where: St. Mary's Orphanage → New York City, NY then The Academy → Westchester, NY What: Layla's vision comes true! And then she runs away!
"Did you know a chameleon's tongue is longer than its body?" Layla asked the pet store clerk, as they both shared in looking at the tank that housed the verdant reptiles.
"And that the tongue extends faster than the human eye can follow. At around 26 body lengths per second," she said with a nod. "Usually it hits the prey in about 30 thousandths of a second. The tongue's tip is a bulbous ball of muscle, and as it hits its prey, it rapidly forms a small suction cup. Once the tongue sticks to the prey, it is drawn quickly back into the chameleon’s mouth.
"Even a small chameleon is capable of eating a large locust or mantis. That's pretty impressive don't you think?" Layla was stooped over intently observing the the several chameleons gathered, baking and lounging in the lamp-light. "But I just think they're cute."
The store clerked eyed her skeptically. What did he care? He just sold the damn things. "Aren't you a little bit young to be in here?" He asked, remarking on her short stature.
Layla's expression flatted. "I was unaware that there was a law that prevented a minor from purchases crickets," she said a bit more precociously than she cared to admit. Here, she reached into her pocket and produced a rumpled mess of dollar bills.
"Sixty dollars worth of crickets, please."
Typically when one made a cricket purchase, they gave you a brown paper back and there was usually fifteen to twenty crickets in there. But when you bought sixty dollars worth? They came in a bucket. It was enough crickets, really, to feed a chameleon for a month. It was a shame that the class pet wouldn't be eating very many of these though. No, these crickets had a higher calling, she thought, as she tried to see through the semi-translucent sides of the bin at all the bugs skittering around.
These crickets were going to save lives.
The Lord often worked in mysterious ways. And so did Layla Miller.
To say today was trying, Sister Ann thought, was the understatement of the century. She just knew that evil, reptilian thing was bad business. All those crickets, someone had dumped the bucket and they were now everywhere. Everywhere.
The only thing that could be done, short of letting them expire naturally and who knew how long that would take, was to fumigate. A process that would require the children, the nuns, the whole lot of them to evacuate St. Mary's for three days at least, while exterminators took care of the sudden and totally unexpected cricket infestation. Sister Ann was floored. Three days! They would just have to stay in a hotel, she supposed, in the interim - an idea she obviously wasn't too keen on as she tried to heard her flock out of the orphanage and into their mini-van.
The kids, on the other hand, were rambunctious at the thought of staying in a hotel and some of them considered this to be a mini-vacation. There were murmurs that there might even be a swimming pool involved! Layla didn't pay the much mind, where they were going she wasn't meant to follow and took great care to slip away during a few chaotic moments that took place between fleeing the building and clamoring into the van. It'd be too late before they even realized she was gone. She just hoped they wouldn't miss her too much. Right.
Two trains and four buses later, Layla finally arrived at The Xavier Academy, Westchester, NY.
She was doing relatively well for a stowaway - she hadn't been caught yet and she remained successful at smuggling food out of the kitchen. She had already explore most of the grounds, being mindful to, so far, avoid the school's residence. Her favorite place, after stuffing her pockets with granola bars, was the hedge maze. She could spend hours navigating its twists and turns, pushing her mind to see if she'd be able to determine a clear path out. It wasn't the destination, as much as the journey. Besides, she needed something to occupy her time.
But all in all things were going as well as could be expected at least. Layla knew it was just a matter of time before things caught up with her. In fact, she was almost positive that they knew already and was just letting her fumble around as some kind of prank.
She took a moment to sit down on the grass, looking up into the mid-afternoon sky. It was a beautiful day outside, wasn't it? She couldn't help but think of the circumstances that lead her to this very moment. She was going to need to check the news in a few days to see how everything unfolded - Layla, unfortunately, always had a vague idea of how future events would play out. She could see the end insight, but just not everything in between.
The rumbling in her belly reminded her she was hungry and was soon unwrapping another granola bar and enjoying the moment.