"Psyche, the bus's stopped," Aubrey whispered in her ear, which tickled and sent a pleasing tingle down her spine as she came out of her trance. Outside were rows of identical grey boxes, a brownish sky, and a black lake. The air was acrid, and no vegetation was to be seen.
     "Not much here to see… Ah don't want to have anything to do with this place. How 'bout pressin' another button? Ianthe? Your turn."
     She went up front and looked at the bank of buttons. 'Which one?' thought she. She would have been there for a long time deciding, but she saw one like a yellow submarine… She pressed it. Myki took more candied ginger, and the phantasmagoric colours spun and danced once more.
     Ianthe resumed her place at Aubrey's side. "That was fast!" teased Aubrey.
     "I know. But I found one that I had to press. I'll explain why. I know you noticed how I went into that trance. Well, I saw a vision. Wahoo! Finally a happy one. The last one I had was that dream that you would leave, an' in a way, you did. Well, I'll tell you all about this one. We of the Applebus found this groovy ten-bedroom house. It had everything we needed! Food, clothes, showers, real beds… a home. Even a garage for the Applebus. Well, I figure that this will come true, too, seein' as I usually don't fall into trances, an' the others come true, but in a cryptic sense. So when Maik said to pick a button, I saw one that looked like a yellow submarine. 'We all live in a yellow submarine'? We might be on our way there even now!"
     "You're too much," he smiled. He pulled her closer to him. The bus stopped moving.
     "We're home," said Ianthe, loud enough for everyone to hear her. They had stopped before a huge house. It was painted like a rainbow. Next to it was a rainbow garage the size of a VW microbus.
     "What?!" asked Naomi.
     "Would you believe me if I said I knew we were coming here… That this would be a place for us to stay… We haven't showered in how long? Not that we stink, it just feels good to be clean. And real beds. Not just the five blankets and the floor and seats of the Applebus, not that I have anything to complain about there." She slyly looked at Aubrey. "A place to stay for a while."
     "But I like the Applebus," Naomi argued.
     "We don't have to retire the buttons. We don't even have to stay here all the time," Aubrey explained. "Doesn't it feel nice to have a place of your own, for a little time apart, so we don't kill each other… Or to have a place to return to after a long journey or adventure? We don't have to come back… if you guys don't want to. But while we're here, we might as well see what there is."
     "An' that's what we'll do, if y'all'd lahke," Maik suggested. In the end, they all agreed to at least check it out. They parked the Applebus in the garage and went into the house. The room they entered was a round living room with many doors coming off of it. There was a huge, round skylight in the ceiling. Also was there all sorts of groovy furniture, and even a fireplace at one spot on the curved wall. "Let's check out all the doors," spoke Maik. The door closest on the left was green. In sky blue was the word, or rather name, "Maik."

     "Maik's room?" suggested Daphne. Inside was a room of country/Western/psychedelic style. The shades were drawn, and the room was dimly lit by strands of Christmas tree lights, and there were black light posters. The walls were lined with tinfoil , and one had safety pins stuck in it. There was a shelf with model cars and stacks of Car and Driver magazines. There was furniture that you would expect to be in most bedrooms. A guitar, a 12-string, and a harmonica case sat along one wall, and on the dresser was a hat stand. The closet door was tightly closed.
     "Well, Ah guess y'all know what mah room looks lahke," Maik said, breaking the silence that had held while everyone examined the room from its doorway.
     They went to the next door. It was blue and in red it said "Myki." Myki opened the door. Extra thick shag carpet covered the floor and walls, which looked funny with the windows peering between the turf of the rug. Again was there the customary furniture. An unlit candle stood on a table. A drum kit was tucked in one corner, and a guitar sat nearby. The closet door was slightly ajar, which too looked odd, because the door was covered in the furry carpet. Paisley pillows were piled randomly in the room.
     "Hey! It's a lot cleaner than it will be when I actually live in it!" Myki exclaimed.
     They moved on. The next door was sky blue with a black-lettered "Daivi" written on it. The room itself had a very Hollywood or Broadway feel. On one wall was a large mirror with light bulbs surrounding it. Along with the regular, if slightly smaller and more British, furniture was a filing cabinet with cards on Girl #1 to Girl #3752… all the girls he'd ever dated. Red maracas, a tambourine, and a nail care kit were resting on the dressing table. A ¾-size bass guitar was tucked in the closet. And the walls were decoupaged with photographs of Daivi. "Well, that's my room," Daivi said, hastily closing the door.
     The next door was orange with "Piyteur" written in blue. The room was filed with musical paraphernalia… instruments, sheet music, microphones, amps, and tape recorders. There were vague impressions of trails between them all, and one could almost glimpse furniture… maybe. The orange walls had more instruments hanging from them. Amidst all of this was one corner with candles, incense, and a few pillows. Piyteur's face broke wide with rapture-but fell. "Where's the keyboards?"
     "Ah'm sure there's got to be some someplace," reassured Maik. This heartened Piyteur a bit.
     A blue door was next. It read "Blake" in grey. The walls were blue, the carpet grey. There was a sense of normality--society's normal. But who's to say what's normal? There was a terrarium with peas in it. "Where's the computer?!" Blake asked, a bit paranoid. [Paragraph subject to change when I get feedback.]
     "Blake, you can live without a computer! You've been doin' it for the past few days!" Naomi chided.
     "But that was different."
     "How so?"
     "I don't know!" Blake turned red with embarrassment.
     Next came a set of double-doors, plain oak with no words upon them. They opened into a hall paneled with oak. They walked down the hall, which ended in a second set of doors that opened into a dining area. Food was laid out at the ten places at the round dining table, hot dishes still steaming, cold dishes still cold. "I just realized how hungry I am!" Myki exclaimed. He ran for the food. "Hey! It's my favorite! Chili dogs and Twinkies!" He sat down and started stuffing his face.
     "Where did this food come from?" wondered Maik, a bit worried as to its origins.
     "I'm sure it's mmf perfectly safe. There's no mmmf reason for it aammfff not to be. An' it ummmaam sure tastes great!" said Myki around his food.
     "Please, don't talk with your mouth full! It's disgusting!" Daivi whined. He abruptly found a fluff of Twinkie cream on his nose, placed there deftly by Myki. Very funny."
     Everyone found their favorite dishes at their seats. They ate and left the wondering of where it came from for later. When they were done they went to explore more. From the dining room were more doors. One opened to a kitchen. The refrigerator was stocked, as well as the larder, but no cook was to be seen. Another opened to a very extensive library, with shelf upon shelf of books, as well as a bank of computers, a TV, and a collection of videos. They had to drag Blake away from the computers. There was a greenhouse filled with plants. And there was a room with all sorts of music, recording equipment, and keyboards. Piyteur ran happily to the Fender Rhodes and played a "Bach Three-Part Invention," as Myki would call it. Then he rejoined the others, happy now that he knew there were keyboards.
     They went back to the living room and the rest of the bedrooms. The next door was emerald green, and in yellow was "Aubrey." There were also runes in gold on different spots on the door. In Aubrey's room, the carpet was red and the walls emerald green. Mounted on each wall was a sword and a shield. One wall had a Celtic tapestry hanging from it. There was one window facing west and one east, large enough to "view the majesty of the sunset and rise," according to Aubrey. The furniture was Celtic in design, with Celtic knots etched in the wood. There was a banjo, a trombone, a fife, a set of bagpipes, and another feadóg stáin in the room. By one window was a potted shamrock plant, as well as some mint. A fireplace warmly glowed. There were various green articles distributed about the room. "Groovadelic! It's the room o' me dreams!" Aubrey smiled.
     A yellow-and-green tie-dyed door was next to greet them. It had "Ianthe" and runes written in forest green upon it. A shag carpet that was a funky shade of green covered the floor. The walls were painted with different designs, like a yellow submarine and a flying saucer, and the ceiling was painted tie-dye. A unicorn, a gryphon, and a dragon regarded each other regally from a tapestry hanging on one wall. Again were there two windows facing east and west, and on the sill of one was a daffodil in a pot, and from the other a tree was visible off to one side. The tree window had a large window seat, perfect to sit at and gaze at nature. Each window had mini-blinds, for at night, and beaded curtains went in front of them, on the outside of the window seat alcove and directly in front of the other window. From a support beam in the painted ceiling was a post, painted with Celtic designs and runes. A bookshelf nestled against one wall, filled with books, an English and an Irish dictionary, music, and notebooks with stories started in them. A globe and a lava lamp rested on top with an antique horse bank. The large bed lie on the floor without a frame and only a head board, similar to Japanese beds. A wicker chaise lounge sat by the tree window. A tie-dye couch faced a crackling fireplace. On a low table sat candles and incense, ready to be burned, and throughout the room were pillows in tie-dye, paisley, and Celtic print. A bass guitar, a sitar, a guitar, three sizes of saxophone, a lute, a harp, a lyre, another feadóg stáin, and an electric keyboard (for the easy figuring out to the notes of a song formulating in her brain) were dispersed about the room. Ianthe smiled and said, "C'est parfait! Psychojello! All I ever wanted in a room… well, nearly all…"
     They left Ianthe's haven and moved to the next door. It was yellow with orange letters saying "Elisay". The walls had paisley wall paper, and there was a yellow rug. It had a traditional feel, although there were candles and pillows. "Ah… home," Elisay sighed.
     The next door was brown and in ocean blue it said "Naomi". Inside was a room that looked like it belonged in the upper story of a house. The walls sloped upward to a kind of flat point. On this slope were many pictures of her favorite bands and actors. The walls were paneled with wood. An orange shag carpet covered the floor. Ivy grew around the single window. It was large and had a window seat. Part of one wall was covered in shelves with paraphernalia on them. An extensive music collection was displayed. A beaded curtain went in front of the tall bed. Incense and candles were strewn about the room. "My room at home, only better!" exclaimed Naomi.
     The next door was lavender and in teal it read "Daphne". Inside, the walls were purple, and the carpet was teal. A hammock was pinned in one corner, the bed. A blue pillow with ducks on it and a thin blanket lay in it. A calendar adorned the wall, and a digital clock sat on a desk. Sunlight poured from the two windows. A regular dresser sat between them. "Wow…" Daphne breathed. [And that's not as boring as it sounds, nor is that all that's in there...I'd have books, too, and music, and...I don't know, just general cool stuff! Comics taped to the back of the door, ticket stubs from cool stuff I've been to, maybe some tropical fish...I just wasn't that good at describing it to Ianthe.]
     Thus the tour concluded. "Wahl, guys, watcha say? We gonna stay?" queried Maik. It was unanimous. Everyone was pleased with the house, which they later dubbed the House, 'cos that's what it was. But for now everyone dispersed to explore individually.
     And now begins a sequence which is very difficult to describe in story form, because it's usually used on TV. Through the next few paragraphs of mental images in scenes is playing the mental-music version of the Monkees' "As We Go Along." Bare with the attempts to stimulate visual and audio effects within the mind of the reader.
     I can tell by your face that you're lookin' to find a place to settle your mind and reveal who you are… Daphne sat warily on Maik's desk chair, asking him about his room. As he explained why it was the way it was, her face eased… It wasn't as scary as she'd thought… Maik said, "Wahl, Ah'm from Texas, an' that's whah it's kahnda country-westernish. The tinfoil on the wall gives it a weird texture, an' looks cool. The safety pins looked funky an' someone was just gonna get rid of 'em, an' Ah didn't have any other ahdeas… If ya hadn't guessed this is almost exactly lahke mah room at home. Ah lahke messin' with different kahnds of lahght, an' that's whah it's dark an' there's the black lahght posters an' the Christmas tree lahghts. An' Ah really love cars. That put aside any inquiries?"
     Daphne smiled. "Yes. It was kind of scary looking at first and I wondered if this really wasn't your room!"
     And you shouldn't be shy for I'm not gonna try to hurt you or heal you or steal your star… Naomi and Blake walked through the greenhouse. The last rays of the sun were disappearing, and little white Christmas tree lights were turning on to give a little light. They walked along in silence mostly, holding hands. Spontaneity… thought Blake. He spontaneously pulled Naomi close and kissed her.
     Open your eyes. Get up off your chair. There's so much to do in the sunlight. Give up your secrets an' let down your hair, an' sit with me here by the firelight… Elisay and Piyteur lay star gazing on two couches in the living room. The only light was coming from the fireplace, in front of which Ianthe and Aubrey were cuddled. The stars were very visible through the skylight, a veritable sea of tiny lights. There were many more visible than where either of the stargazers had come from, since there were no lights from civilizations to brighten the sky, seeing as the Pad was in the middle of nowhere.
     "You know," started Piyteur, "the guys an' I met last year when we tried out for a band. None of us made the band, 'cos they didn't like our hair, but we hit it off and decided to start our own band together. We rented a beach house and split the rent. The original name for our band was the Long-Haired Weirdos, to protest the rejection of our hair and the prejudice others had against it. The name didn't last. We went through lots of other names. It was kinda hard to find gigs, 'cos it seemed that everyone was against our hair. Well, Myki somehow got his hands on a VW bus and started messin' with it. Before you know it we got the Applebus running. We hopped in and tried a button, and it zapped us to your school, an' you guys were magically inside. It was freaky. But now I'm glad it all happened."
     Elisay grinned. "Naomi an' Blake have known each other since preschool, an' she was in my kindergarten class, but Naomi moved away an' then back years later. I stayed back in third grade, an' that's how I met Ianthe. Ianthe an' me really got to know each other in fourth grade. Ianthe met Daphne in fifth grade when she went to a different elementary school in the district for advanced classes. I met Daphne later. When Naomi moved back she moved in next door to Ianthe, an' over the summer Ianthe changed into a hippie! I was shocked when I saw her at school. But we've always stuck together. I met Naomi again in eighth grade through Ianthe, 'cos Ianthe spent a lot of time with Naomi, an' Naomi spent a lot of time with Blake. Not until this past year have we really been a four-some, us girls. Aubrey came into the picture in eighth grade. We started to get to know him, kinda, but Ianthe was closest with him. He's more open with her. The rest of us don't know half as much about him as Ianthe does. They were very shy, though, an' didn't know how to tell each other that they liked each other. Then the Applebus came. I was actually at home. Some of us were at school, in the halls or whatever. Then we were in the bus, an' you know most of everything else."
     "The stars are so bright!" marveled Piyteur. Just then the sound of two feadóg stáin harmonizing came from the fireplace, where Ianthe and Aubrey sat together. The sounds blended, almost as if it were one player in two bodies, or was it two players in one? Whichever it was, the parts fit together like the pair's hearts.
     Why think about who's gonna win out? We'll make up our story as we go along. There's so little time for us to try an' rhyme, an' so many highways to travel upon… Myki and Daivi sat in a recording booth in the instrumental room. They were ad-libbing a song called “I’m Gonna Buy Me A Dog.” They reached the end of the song. Daivi sighed.
     “What’s the matter, man?” asked Myki.
     Daivi sighed again. “Ah, man, it’s just that everyone’s fallin’ in love around us… First Ianthe and Aubrey, then Naomi an’ Blake, an’ Elisay an’ Piyteur, an’ now Daphne an’ Maik, I suspect. An’ who have we got? No one. I’m used to goin’ out every night. I just need someone to love. An’ no offense, Myk, but you aren’t gonna do. I need a girl. Some cuddly little thing…”
     Myki sighed. “I know exactly wot you mean. Wot good is our slogan ‘We’ll make a couple outta you,’ if we can’t make a couple outta us? I mean a couple outta each of us, with two cute girls to snuggle with?” They looked at each other and started bawling into each other’s shoulders.
     Open your eyes. Get up off your chair. There’s so much to do in the sunlight. Give up your secrets an’ let down your hair, an’ sit with me here by the firelight. Everyone was finally stumbling off to bed, to sleep in real beds in real rooms in a real house. They yelled goodnights and closed their doors. Ianthe and Aubrey got up from the fireside. They stood close for a final embrace. Their lips met and they kissed a steamy goodnight. [Steamy, Daf?!]“Oíche mhaith duit,” (EE-hah who wich) Aubrey whispered when their lips had parted, meaning goodnight in Irish.
     “Codladh slán,” (KUL-a slawn) Ianthe returned, meaning sleep well. They turned towards their respective doors, throwing many glances back at each other, not at all sure that they could manage. They were leaving each other for the first time in a while (the castle doesn’t count because they weren’t goin’ to be near… They’re only a room apart this time… not a castle). [Bear with me. I’ve been planning this for a long time.]
     Ianthe lit some incense and changed into her pyjamas, an over-sized tie-dyed tee-shirt and a pair of baggy green striped pants. She blew out the candles that lit her room and crawled under the covers. Cuddling down, she turned over. She was cold, and thoughts of Aubrey filled her mind. She tossed and turned. Ianthe lay flat on her back. I canna sleep here all alone, by mesel’. Have I grown so accustomed to sleeping close to Aubrey, entwined about him? I give up.[So do we...]
     Ianthe got up and lit a few candles. I’ll look around my room, observing each detail. Maybe I’ll wear mesel’ out an’ I’ll fall asleep then. She looked in her closet and found all her hippyish clothes… a lot of them seemed to be green. She thought of Aubrey… green was his favorite colour, and besides, it looked good on Ianthe. She was getting desperate. She’d looked everywhere and was no sleepier. She looked behind the tapestry, looking to see what was painted behind it. That’s odd. I’d almost say that it looks like someone’s painted a door there… Why would they paint a door? No, wait, that’s a real door! Where does it go? Ianthe looked back to see if her candles an’ the fire in the fireplace were okay and wouldn’t start a house fire if she left for a while. That settled, she opened the door.
     Beyond the door was a hallway. Oak paneled the lower part of the walls. The upper was papered with green and yellow paper with the Anglo-Saxon rune for the letters “ng” in a gold and silver. Candles flickered in sconces. She looked at the door she’d come through. It was the same colour as her outer door, but it was covered in runes. Her name was written in runes upon it.
     Further along the hall was a tall black door that said “The Black Box” in flickering runes. She went inside. The room was dark except for the single candle. Pillows were strewn about at a safe distance from the candle. Just then the door opened behind her. She turned about, frightened. She was supposed to be the only one here… It was Aubrey. He stood in a green robe, which covered his green pyjamas.
     “You couldn’t sleep either?” asked Ianthe.
     Aubrey relaxed. Obviously he had been startled to see her there, thinking that his room was the only entrance. “’Bout as well as you, it seems. How’d you get in here?”
     “A door behind my tapestry. You?”
     “Same way. This is funky! I wonder if the others have rooms like this…” he mused. “So why couldn’t you sleep?”
     Ianthe smiled a bit awkwardly. “Well… I suppose that I’ve gotten used to things being a certain way… The crowded bus, the blanket shortage… In short, I couldna sleep ‘cos I wasna with you. I was cold an’ uncomfortable… an’ lonely…” She shrugged.
     Aubrey smiled. “You too then?” Ianthe brightened. “Why don’t you come back with me. I have my fireplace running an’ it should be toasty.” (Don’t worry… it’s G-rated! Well, maybe PG, but still… I’m not a letch!)(Anyone else gonna contest that along with me? *g*)[I will--you've virtually admitted it already, Daf!]
     They walked from the Black Box to a door at the other end of the hall. It was green and said “Aubrey” in yellow runes, as well as other things in runes.
     Aubrey was right. The soft glow of the fireplace had made the room toasty. Aubrey hung up the robe and crawled into bed. He beckoned to Ianthe. (Don’t worry. Just when you thought I’d changed this from PG to PG13, things prove it not to be.) Ianthe snuggled down beside him. She just wanted to snuggle, not anything else. (See. Told you.)(I think yer lyin'.) They fell asleep, at ease at last.

     The next morning, Ianthe came humming into the dining room, eyes bright, her widest smile on full display, with a fresh set of clothes (actually, a green tie-dyed dress. *gasp* Ianthe in a dress!). She sat down at her seat and ate a bowl of Apple-Cinnamon Toasty-O’s with soy drink instead of milk.
     The others, those who were awake (NOT Myki or Naomi, resident sleepyheads), stared. There they were, sleep in their eyes, pyjamas on, hair tousled, when Ianthe comes in, ray of sunshine, fresh as dew, humming "Tear The Top Right Off My Head", wearing a dress! They had barely gotten over this when Aubrey walked in. He wore a black turtleneck with his jeans, and a single strand of beads that looked suspiciously like an original Ianthe work. He too hummed, a song called "Sunny Girlfriend", and his dimples were turned on full intensity by a wide grin. He sat down beside Ianthe and began eating his breakfast.
     It was too much for everyone. They stopped what they’d been doing and stared. It was too early for anyone to be this cheery and happy! And Ianthe in a dress?! Had they gone to sleep and woken to find a world controlled by people like Ianthe and Aubrey, where the most unlikely things were possible?[Oh, good gosh, I hope not.] Finally Maik found his voice.
     “You two certainly are brahght-eyed an’ bushy-tailed this mornin’,” was all he managed.
     “The sunrise was beautiful. You guys shoulda seen it!” Ianthe grinned.
     “The showers are nice an’ hot. The towels are warm like they’re just outta the dryer!” Aubrey smiled.
     Just then Myki and Naomi managed to stumble in, their eyes barely open. “Ack! I’ve just entered the Twilight Zone!” Naomi shrieked as she backed against the wall. Myki did much the same.
     Ianthe looked up. “Dia duit ar maidin!” (JEE-ah ghwich er may-jin) she beamed. “Sorry, this isn’t the Twilight Zone. The Twilight Zone’s the next door over.”
     Myki semi-recovered. He guessed the situation, sort-of, and said quietly to Naomi, “I myself am deeply jealous.”

     Later that morning Daphne was checking out the library. She pulled a book off of a shelf and a paper fluttered to the ground. After placing the book back, she picked it up and read it.
     So, you’re wondering about this house. How is everything just right for everyone? Where’s the food come from? Who’s behind it all? Well, friends, this house is not just any house. It’s special. Have you noticed that two rooms tight next to each other can have windows facing each other and not see each other? Or how it seems bigger inside than out? The house defies the laws of physics. There aren’t any secret fairies hiding in the walls, making your food. No one else lives here except you. It’s magic, just like the Applebus.
     This house holds more secrets than anyone of you can possibly know. Some secrets will be known to only a few, and others well known.
     Good luck on your adventures.
     Mysteriously yours,
     Ananda Daydream and Sandra Moonbeam
     P.S. Myki and Daivi are cute!

Chapter Notes

     The next adventure... (Ananda grins evilly in anticipation...)