Elijah skimmed over the page stopping at the points he found interesting. He mumbled to himself, "Second deadliest mountain, Himalayas, Reinhold Messner, heat wave in 2005..." he continued to mumble random statements from the page as he skimmed, "storm-prone, avalanches, more death, more injuries, more people climbing mountains."
He looked away from the computer screen and at the paper in his hand. "What if one of us does end up being chosen?" he asked himself, "Is it worth risking our lives to climb some stupid mountain on the other side of the world?" Elijah paused. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter until tomorrow."
He looked over at the calendar on the wall. People are chosen to climb mountain, was written under the next day's date.
The beep of the phone interrupted his thoughts. It was Peter once again.
ok! i think im gettin better. havent puked in like an hour!
~Peter~
Elijah sighed as he picked up the phone and replied.
Congrats.
So, whatcha wanna takl bout
You spelled talk wrong.
ur worse than the teachers at school. whatcha been up 2
I've been doing research on that mountain. Did you know it is the second deadliest mountain in the world?
o! if we r goin 2 talk bout the expedition ill have to call u so we can talk faster
~Peter~
fine. you call me though.
As soon as he sent the message, the phone began to ring. "Ma, I'll get it! It's Peter!" Elijah shouted as he answered the phone. "Hey Peter."
"Hey!" Peter's hoarse voice cracked in Elijah's ear, "So, how's a mountain deadly? Is it poisonous or somethin'?"
"Lots of people have died or been killed on Nanga Parbat." Elijah held the phone between his shoulder and head as he finished picking up the papers on the floor.
"Wow."
"And it's supposed to be really cold there. Plus, the mountain's storm-prone and has avalanches frequently."
"Well, I guess we don't have to worry unless we get picked, right?"
"Right. I guess."
"Eli, do you think we have a chance to be picked?"
"Well, I guess we do, but it's very slight."
"I still think it'd be cool. Even if it's risky, the experience would be awesome."
"Yeah, but it'd only be awesome if you lived to tell other people about it."
"It's awesome dead or alive. Other people could care less if you have done something awesome. They would only care if it happened to them. It's one of those things you can think back to by yourself and not have to have other people around in order to enjoy it."
Though Peter wasn't as educated as most others his age, he did have his moments of glory, and that was one of them.
"Peter, I've gotta go eat lunch with my mom. I'll talk to you later."
"Okay." Peter turned to cough. "Keep me posted on who gets chosen tomorrow, okay?"
"You got it."
"Bye!"
"Bye."
The next day, after being dropped off by his mother, Elijah walked into the building he and Peter had been to countless times before. Inside, many chairs were set up in front of a small podium. He sat in an open chair in the third row.
He sat there quiet and alone while others discussed random topics. A round man, with glasses placed at the end of his nose, stepped up to the podium.
"Thank you all for coming to this last meeting. Now, please settle down so we can get on the names of the people that were chosen for this expedition. Here's how it's going to work. I have a list of all ten of the men chosen. I'm not even sure if anyone from Georgia made it, but I'm required to read off the names. Oh, and we are live on the local news channel, so don't do anything to embarrass yourself or anyone else. If any of your names are called, I would like for you to come up here and stand with me."
"Just get it over with fatso," Elijah said under his breath as he slouched in his chair.
"The leader of the expedition is Henry McDuff from Pennsylvania. Now, for the rest of the men in order from oldest to youngest: Lucas O'Gowan from Arizona, Bertram Patterson from Louisiana, Nicholas Danson from Alaska, Ralph Babineaux," the man sneezed causing the microphone to squeak. "Oh, sorry 'bout that everyone. Anyway, where was I? Ah yes," he paused, "Ralph Babineaux from California, Christopher Ouseley from Wisconsin, Samson Ramirez from New Mexico, Archibald Westerveldt from New York, and oh! The two youngest ones are from Georgia! Congratulations to Elijah Telford and Peter Auchinleck!"
Everyone began to clap as Elijah, nervously, stood from his chair and walked up on stage. He had a stunned- almost depressing- facial expression.
"Which boy are you?" the guy on stage whispered back to Elijah.
"Elijah. Peter's home sick," Elijah said as he stood on the side of the stage.
"Okay! Well, Elijah's up here, but, sadly, Peter's sick. We hope he gets better soon. Congratulations to you, young man!" He shook Elijah's hand vigorously, causing Elijah to lose some circulation in his wrist.
"Uh," Elijah started as he pulled his hand from the big man's grip, "thanks.
"Now, Elijah would like to say a few words," the guy smiled widely as he motioned Elijah up to the microphone.
"Uh," he said nervously, "for the record, I didn't even want to get up here." The room was silent as Elijah spoke. The many eyes staring at him made him nervous. Sweat droplets could be seen dripping down the side of his forehead.
"Say something else, Elijah."
"Uh, I guess it is a great honor to be chosen, but the truth is, I didn't even want to do this. Peter made me, and I feel bad being up here without him. So, I'm gonna go call him. If anyone thinks they can sing or tell jokes or something, the microphone is open, and you're welcome to it." Elijah jumped down from the podium and walked out of the building. He sat on the first step, pulled out his phone, and called Peter.
"Hello?" Peter's hoarse voice rang out again.
"Hey, Peter."
"Oh hey, Eli! Aren't you supposed to be at the meeting thing?"
"Yeah. I am. They just announced the winners."
"Did anyone from Georgia get chosen?"
"Yeah. Two people, actually."
"Cool. Do we know any of 'em?"
"Yeah."
"Who are they?"
Elijah could hear Peter yawn. "Wow. He doesn't talk when he's sleepy," Elijah thought to himself.
"Well, come on Eli. Who are they?"
"Us, man! We got chosen! We're goin' to Pakistan!" Elijah exclaimed trying to sound happier than he actually was.
"Are you serious? We, both, were chosen?"
"Yup."
"That's awesome!"
"You're real happy, aren't you?"
"Yes! I'm just really tired."
"Peter, what if something bad happens on the mountain?"
"Ain't nothin' gonna happen to us!"
"You don't know that."
"Still the same pessimist, I see. Anyway, Eli, I would love to celebrate with you, but I am extremely tired. My mom gave me some medicine that makes you drowsy. Good night!" Peter hung up.
Elijah, then, called his mother to come pick him up. About ten minutes later, his mother pulled up in front of the building. He hopped in the passenger seat, and they drove off.
"I can't believe you two made it!" she exclaimed as they stopped at a red light.
"How do you know?"
"I was listening to the news on the radio when it was announced! Elijah, I'm so proud of you! If only your father were here. He would've loved this. You know, when your father loved mountain climbing. He did it all of the time when he was about your age."
"Really?"
"Yeah. His grandparents lived up in the mountains and he would go hiking with them almost every weekend. I can't tell you how many dates we had on mountains."
Elijah smiled.
"Poor Peter wasn't there. You should go over to his house and see how he's doing."
"Yeah. I guess I'll go and visit."
"I wonder what the other children at school are going to say when you two get back. I bet ya'll are going to become very popular within the next week!"
"I would much rather not be noticed than become popular. Peter might like the attention, but I don't."
"You should try to be more outgoing like Peter."
"Why do you say that?"
"He goes out and does things, and you don't unless forced."
Elijah ignored her and looked out the window at the passing cars on the highway. The soothing vibrations of the car and the quiet music playing on the radio caused Elijah to doze, and eventually, fall asleep.
Oh, and if you have anything you would like for me to read and comment on, feel free to PM me or something!