Story Fourteen - Part Two

Continued from:
Monkey June and the Raiders of Monkey Island - Part One

When Monkey June got home from school that day, her mother told her that everything she might possibly need for her trip was packed and ready to go.

She still couldn’t believe that she would be taking an unexpected trip to Mango Beach Island (not its real name) when it wasn’t even summer yet! She was excited about seeing Mango Monkey and his family, but she was more than a little worried about them, too.

She ran to her room to change clothes and get her big stuffed walrus. His name was ‘Tusks’.

You may think it strange that Monkey June—a girl who was obsessed with all things monkey—would have a stuffed animal in her room that was not a monkey at all. I agree with you that it does seem strange, but I happen to know that Tusks was a gift from her grandfather—who honestly thought it was monkey-related when he picked it out for her. He must not have looked at it too closely, because it was definitely not a monkey of any kind, but a walrus.

Tusks made Monkey June think of her grandfather and smile whenever she saw him, so she always kept him in her room along with all of her monkey things.

A few minutes later she was back in the living room with Tusks. She had changed into the clothes her mother had left out for traveling. Her mother was in the living room moving luggage to the front door, but her father was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s dad?” Monkey June asked.

“Last-minute errands,” her mother said. “He said you should be ready to go in about thirty minutes. Mr. James will be sending a car at that time.”

“Okay,” Monkey June said. “I hope there’s still room in my suitcase for Tusks.”

“You might just have to carry him,” her mother said. “Are you sure you want to bring that big walrus on such a long trip? Grandpa would be sad if you lost him.”

“I’m sure,” Monkey June said. “I’ll keep up with him. Since dad’s not back yet, I’m going to visit my Thinking Tree for a few minutes while I wait.”

“Don’t get your travel clothes dirty!”

She went outside and ran straight to her favorite climbing tree, which was also her favorite thinking tree (which was why she had named it her ‘Thinking Tree’). She left Tusks at the base of the trunk (along with her shoes) and climbed up to her favorite branch.

She loved to sit on that branch for long stretches of time when she needed to think—or when she just needed to relax in the peaceful shade surrounded by the rustle of a gentle breeze moving through thousands of leaves.

She thought about the trip, about how she’d miss her friends and her mother and Corey, and about how strange it would be to fly to Mango Beach Island (not its real name) on Mr. James' personal plane instead of on one of the regular sorts of planes they usually flew on. It seemed like she was moments away from the biggest adventure of her life. She couldn’t decide whether she should be excited about that, or worried about how dangerous that adventure might be.

Sitting in her Thinking Tree settled her mind, though, and after taking a few deep breaths to calm herself even more, she did the most important thing that she often did in her Thinking Tree: she prayed. She thought about Philippians 4:5-7 which says:

The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:5b-7 (ESV)

Those verses were kind of long, so the parts she mainly remembered in anxious times were the parts that said, “The Lord is near; don’t be anxious about anything. Talk to God about everything and be thankful. And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

As she talked to God, she told Him everything she was anxious about, and she asked Him for some of that ‘peace that surpasses all understanding’.

When she heard a large vehicle arriving at her house, she jumped down from her Thinking Tree feeling much more confident and ready for anything.

Her father still wasn’t back from running ‘last-minute errands’.

Monkey June ran to the car to ask Mr. James if he’d like to come into the house to wait for her father to get back.

The car was so fancy that it had windows on it that were very shiny on the outside, so she couldn’t see inside of the car. She knocked on the window of the car and it slid down a bit. A man was sitting behind the wheel. He wasn’t Mr. James.

“I’m the driver,” the man said with a friendly smile. “I think the window you want is the next one back.”

“Oh,” Monkey June said. “Sorry.”

When she knocked on the next window back, the window didn’t slide down. The door popped open. Mr. James leaned out.

“Ready to go?” he asked.

“Not yet,” Monkey June said, “my dad is—”

“You’re dad’s in here,” her father said from inside the car. “Why don’t you hop in and join us. I see your mother is bringing out our luggage.”

“Aren’t you going to help her?” Monkey June asked.

“Not yet,” her father said. “I want to be in the car to see the look on your face when you see my ‘last-minute errands’.”

Monkey June had no idea what that meant, but she climbed into the car. It was huge in there! There were two rows of seats behind the driver, and the rows in the back faced each other. Her father and Mr. James sat on one side, and it looked like there were other people sitting—

Her friends Marilyn and Carolyn were sitting on the other side!

“What are you two doing here?” Monkey June shouted as they jumped up and hugged her and pulled her over to sit down between them. “Did you come to say goodbye?”

“No,” Marilyn said. “We came to say ‘Hello!’ We’re coming with you!”

“Hello!” said Carolyn with a little wave and a big grin.

“That’s amazing!” Monkey June said. “How did you—”

“It’s a long story,” Carolyn said, “but basically it involves us cooking up a plan to ask our parents to ask your dad if he thought you could use any best friends with you on this trip, and him talking to Mr. James and finding out that of course there’s enough room on his plane, and then us promising our parents to be polite and helpful and always listen to your dad, and of course to stay safe, and us also agreeing to bring some homework with us, which of course we did, and—”

“You’re right,” Monkey June said, “it’s definitely a long story. I’m just glad you’re going!”

“Nice walrus,” Marilyn said, looking a little confused at seeing her friend with something that wasn’t monkey-related.

“He’s ‘Tusks’,” Monkey June said. “I was just thinking about how much I was going to miss you two—but now you’re coming too! What an adventure!”

Monkey June’s father and Mr. James got out and helped her mother load the last of the luggage into the back of the vehicle while the girls chatted. In no time at all they were all ready to head to the airport.

Monkey June hugged and kissed her mom and Corey and promised to bring them something nice from Mango Beach Island (not its real name). Monkey June’s mother told her she’d be quite happy if they just brought her daughter and husband (and her daughter’s friends) home safe and sound. Corey insisted that she bring him a ‘whale’ for some reason. She had no idea if he meant a real whale or a stuffed whale, or why he was suddenly into whales, but she didn’t have time to ask questions about any of that. It was time to go.

As the car backed out onto the street, the three girls talked about whether they should try to sleep on the plane or stay awake all night.

“When we arrive at the island it will be morning,” Mr. James said. “I recommend we all get some sleep on the way. We’ll want to try to get you over to see Mango Monkey as soon as possible. It won’t do to have all of you groggy and exhausted when we arrive.”

“Good idea,” Monkey June agreed.

The driver stopped at the end of Monkey June’s road and the car spent a long time not moving.

“Bit of a problem, sir,” the driver said. “Vehicle blocking the street. Should I go and see if they have a flat tire or some other kind of car trouble?”

Before Mr. James could answer, there was a loud knocking at the car windows. Mr. James pressed a switch and the window slid down.

“Open up!” someone shouted into the vehicle.

“Is that Ryan?” Marilyn asked.

It was Ryan! Carolyn opened the door.

“I made it!” Ryan shouted joyfully. “Just in time! I’m going with you!”

“That’s great!” Monkey June said. “Climb aboard!”

Ryan’s dad popped his head into the car and said, “Behave yourself, Ryan. Have fun. Don’t do anything dangerous.”

“You know me, dad!” Ryan said.

“I do know you,” Ryan’s dad said. “That’s why I said it.”

Ryan’s dad looked at Monkey June’s dad and Mr. James. “You sure you can handle five kids on this trip? I’m counting Ryan as two kids.”

“We’ll be fine,” Monkey June’s dad said. “Thanks for letting him come. I’ll keep an eye on him.”

“You might want to make that two eyes,” Ryan’s dad said.

After a short delay to add one more suitcase to the back, they were on their way to the airport.

“Are you excited about finally getting to meet Mango Monkey, Ryan?” Carolyn asked. “I know I am!”

“Yes,” Ryan said. “And I’ve always wanted to visit a cursed monkey island!”

“It’s not—oh, never mind.” Marilyn said with a sigh.

Continued in:
Monkey June and the Raiders of Monkey Island - Part Three