The Return

The past five days, there was a lot of panic in Nonubi because of reports of the disappearance of two participants from Cher. It made the headlines and was the topic of discussion among participants and locals alike. The most affected were the participants and authorities from Huckleberry and Pinewood. So, the return of Faith and Banji brought a lot of relief to them but also anger.

The air in the room was cold and tense. The overseeing world representative and authorities from all travel dormitories in Cher who were present in Nonubi had gathered for a meeting. They summoned Faith and Banji for a disciplinary meeting. They listened to Faith and Banji narrate what happened to them.

"You left without notifying any of the authorities or even your colleagues. You made everyone worry about you during the most celebratory season in the travel world. You must be punished for that. Step outside so we can discuss what to do. We will call for you when we are ready." The overseeing world representative dismissed the two.

After some discussions, the two friends were summoned again. Faith and Banji were banned from going out on their own for the rest of their time in Nonubi. They could only be in the hotel or the sports complex unless they were going for an activity as part of a group led by authorities. Further retribution was given by the respective dormitory authorities.

" I had a phone call with those at Huckleberry. Faith was already on probation for breaking the rules in Cher so she will be grounded for the rest of the summer holidays when she is back in Cher. She cannot leave the Huckleberry dorm until she has to go to school in September." A representative spoke for Huckleberry.

"Pinewood has decided to handle this differently. Since this was Olabanji's first time and it is in the nature of the youth to be adventurous, there would be no consequences for his actions." A representative of Pinewood said and the meeting was closed.

The last week of the games were more exciting than the first as the panic caused by the disappearance of Faith and Banji was gone with their return. A lot of the teams from Cher were disqualified in the first round of games and the only teams still competing were, the Huckleberry spelling bee team, the Mulberry archery team and the Pinewood girls football team.

On Monday, Faith was sad because Keisha had checked out of her hotel room and couldn't be found anywhere. Banji was busy because he had a match that day and the Huckleberry girls' basketball team were mad at Faith because they blamed her for their loss. Faith went to watch the spelling bee competition to support Namjoon and the rest of the spelling bee team from Huckleberry. The spelling bee competition was one relatively easy to win because less countries participated. Only seven out of the twelve participating countries took part because the other five spoke different languages. English was the most spoken language on the Zelia continent so the spelling bee was held for English-speaking countries only . On Monday, there were four teams competing. The Huckleberry team was disqualified that day. Namjoon hanged out with Faith after competing.

"It's alright Namjoon, you did your best. Even though, Huckleberry did not win any games, hopefully the other dormitories and Jiri would win something for the Salem continent." Faith consoled him as they stood at one of the food stalls.

"Yeah I don't feel bad. I am proud of the team especially myself since English is not my first language." Namjoon replied.

"Oh yea! I heard from Peter that you were from Goryeo in your previous life. I am curious about what made you decide to move to Cher when you travelled." Faith asked as Namjoon paid for their sodas and popcorn.

"Let's check out that meat stall, I want one stick. My story is simple. When I got a chance to live another life in a different time and in a country of my choice, I wanted to experience a totally different world.I came from 1950 and 5 years before my death, my country was split in to two separate countries due to war. That was how the current North Goryeo and South Goryeo were formed. I was curious about the world in the future but I didn't want to live in one part of a divided country. So I asked to be taken to the future in a different city very far from Goryeo. That is how I ended up in Cher." When Namjoon finished talking, he ordered two beef kebab sticks and handed one to Faith.

"I see. That is a sad story. I came from a period and place that is relatively peaceful so I cannot relate to the likes of you and Peter. But how did you learn English? How did you get good enough to compete in a spelling bee competition?" Faith asked as they walked over to a seat in front of the stalls.

"I taught myself English. When I was young, I loved the language so I tutored myself. My mom was helpful by getting me things I requested like books. My sister used to tease me saying I had an obsession but I am benefitting from it today. Oh by the way, I spoke to Sarah on the phone when you were missing. She was very devastated, you should..." Before Namjoon finished his sentence, Faith was already up and running, looking for a phone booth.

Sarah was happy to hear Faith's voice again. On hearing Faith was on the line, a lot of people from room 5 rushed to phone with Sarah.

"What happened Faith? We were all worried. I couldn't even eat or sleep. Where were you?" Sarah asked. Faith told the story about the forest and the punishments she received.

"Well I am glad you're good now. Since you're grounded for the rest of the summer, I will be with you every moment of it." Sarah promised.

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Faith met Banji in the hotel lobby that evening and asked if he had seen Keisha. Banji said he thinks she went back to Cher and was feeling too guilty to say bye.

Faith wasn't mad at Keisha before but now she was. She didn't blame Keisha for what happened the previous week. She believed they took decisions as a group. She was disappointed that Keisha decided to leave without a proper goodbye. Faith made up her mind. She was going to confront Keisha when she got back to Birchmount in September. The rest of the week went by uneventfully for Faith because of the freedom she lost as a consequence of her actions. She spoke to Banji less. For some reason, they both felt awkward around each other. It was probably because they were both advised to stay away from the other. At the end of the games, only the Pinewood girls' football team brought glory to Cher. The archery team from Jiri also won bringing two trophies to the Salem continent. One for Cher and one for Jiri.

With the end of the games, Nonubi got less crowded. All the travellers who had travelled in from all over the globe were returning. So were those from Cher. Soon they were all in their golden plane back to Cher. Faith reflected on the past two weeks. She was excited for the games but in the end nothing went according to plan. She practiced so much but didn't even get to play one game. She just ended up getting herself in trouble.