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Friends

BY Robbie H. Lawton

FICTION WRITER'S SHOWCASE

The entires flooded in from all over the country, swamping our panel of judges with hundreds of short stories. We enjoyed reading all of them, and a few really caught our imaginations. The winning entry came from Robbie Lawton of Abbeville, South Carolina, and is printed below. Second place went to Jeffrey Paris of Cromwell, Connecticut, and our third place entry was written by Niem Tram of San Jose, California. Congratulations, Power Writers.

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"Jason, lunch is ready." Jason heard his mother's voice. She sounded like she was in another world. Actually, to him she was. He was inside the TV with Link being shot at by the Moblins and his mother was in the safe, cozy kitchen. Jason pulled his way out of the TV and stood for a moment watching Link fight the Moblins alone. Jason sighed, put Zelda on save, and went to the kitchen.

Another peanut butter and jelly sandwich, he groaned. Why did parents assume all kids loved peanut butter and jelly?

"How's the game coming?" Mom asked as she sat the ever present sandwich in front of him.

"OK, I guess. Me and Link..."

"Link and I," corrected his mother.

"Link and I can't seem to find the entrance to Labyrinth Seven," said Jason, biting into the sandwich.

"What was the clue for Level Seven?" asked Mom.

"The old man said something about where fairies don't live. But Mom, that could be anywhere. There are lots of places where fairies don't live. Link can't figure it out either. We have thought and thought about it but we just can't come up with the answer."

Jason stuffed half the sandwich into his mouth and started to get up from the table with his milk in his hand.

"Drink your milk at the table."

"Ahh, Mom, can't I drink it in my room?" groaned Jason.

"No ahh's, drink it at the table." Jason sat back down and finished his milk.

"Can I go now? Link's waiting for me."

"Jason, Link is only an imaginary character. Sometimes the way you talk about him makes me think he's the boy next door. <i>It's just a game, Jason. You shouldn't take this so seriously</i>."

"Yeah, I know, Mom." Jason got up from the table and returned to his room.

Well, mothers don't know everything. Of course, Link was real. Jason talked to him every day. He turned Zelda on and after a few seconds he climbed inside with Link.

"Hi Jace, what did we have for lunch? No, never mind. Let me guess. Was it peanut butter and jelly?" Link asked.

"How did you guess?" Jason handed the remaining half of his sandwich to Link.

"Sorry, no milk today. Mom made me drink it at the table."

"That's all right," said link, swallowing a mothful of peanut butter and

jelly. "We can go to the lake and I'll get some water."

As they walked, they talked about how hard it was to find the Seventh

Labyrinth. More intent on the conversation than where they were going, they took a wrong turn and ended up in the Lost Woods. They walked for over an hour without finding their way out.

"Jason, if I don't find some water soon, your Mom's peanut butter is going to choke me," Link said.

"Let's go this way, Link. I don't think we've been through here." As they came out on the other side of the trees, they saw the Moblins. Further up they discovered a path.

"That looks like where the fairy lives. She has water. Come on, Jace. Let's make a run for it."

They started to run towards the path. One of the Moblins shot an arrow that wizzed by Jason's head. It came so close he felt to make sure the hair was still connected to his head.

"You OK, Jason?" asked Link.

"Yeah," he replied, "but that was close. Too close!"

They stepped inot the path entrance and found the lake. But instead of finding the Fairy, a Moblin stood ready to strink. Link quickly pulled out a knife and threw it at the Moblin. Stumbling back, the Moblin recovered and started coming towards them again. Jason pulled his knife and threw it. This time it did the trick and the creature was history.

"Look, a blue jewel! Get it, Link."

Link went over and picked it up. He pulled his bag off his back and put the jewel inside. Setting the bag on the ground, he went to the lake to get some much needed water.

Jason, exhausted from all the walking, dropped down on the ground beside the backpack. After Link quenched his thirst, he came back and fell down next to him.

They both lay there resting without speaking for a while. Each was lost in his own thoughts, trying desperately to figure out the riddle of the Seventh Labyrinth. They had six pieces of the Triforce. Only two more and they could find Princess Zelda and Ganon. But first they had to have the completed Triforce and they couldn't do that without finding Level Seven.

Frustrated, Link turned to Jason, "I just can't figure it out, Jace. We have looked everywhere. I don't know what else to do. My mind is turning into jelly just thinking about it."

"You know, Link," Jason said sitting up, "sometimes when I have a test at school that I have to study real hard for, my mind starts getting crazy with all the answers running around inside. So I listen to music and it helps me to think more clearly. My mom says I'm crazy, but it really does work. It sortof relaxes you. We don't have my stereo out here with us, but we could hum, or whistle, or something."

"Hey Jace, we do have a whistle, you know. We could use it," Link said. "But we would have to watch out for the whirlwind every time we played it. What do you say, let's try it." Link reached inside the backpack, pulling out the shiny whistle they had obtained in Level Five.

"Link, since the whirlwind comes to the sound of the whistle, why don't I go to the other side of the lake and play the whistle for you, so you can try to concentrate on finding the labyrinth instead of having to constantly step out of the whirlwind's way," Jason said.

"Okay. I'll try it first and then you can have a go at it if I come up blank."

Link handed the whistle to Jason. He took it and walked to the other side of the lake.

"Ready, Link?" Jason blew the whistle, then stepped back out of the

whirlwind's path. AS the whirlwind roared by, an amazing thing happened. The water in the lake slowly disappeared, right before their eyes. Neither Link nor Jason could take their eyes off the magnificent sight. When all the water had vanished, they found steps where the lake once settled. At first both Jason and Link were too stunned to speak. Then they both raised their eyes at the same moment, and stared at each other. Could this possible be Level Seven? After all they had been through, the days of searching, could this be the Seven Labyrinth after all? They both yelled at the same moment. Running towards each other, they hugged, they jumped, and hollered louder and louder.

"Well, Jason, shall we go and find out if this is what we're looking for?" asked Link.

From far off they heard a voice calling: "Jason, it's time for supper, wash your hands and come eat." Jason listened to his mother's words and moaned.

He turned to Link, started to say something, but the look on Link's face

stopped him.

Link was grinning. "What are you smiling at?" Jason demanded.

Link shrugged and said, "I was just wondering if we are going to have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for supper too."

"Ahh Link, be serious. We just found Level Seven, and now I have to go. How can you think about sandwiches?" Jason yelled.

"Because, Jason, whenever you come back, I'll be here waiting for you. We will discover the Seventh Level together. Without you, and your idea about the music, I might never have found this labyrinth. I need you here with me to help me save Princess Zelda. And both of us need your Mom's peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to keep us going." Link grinned at Jason. Then he slapped him on the back. "Go eat and then we will discover this place together. Who knows what's waiting for us down there. We need all the strength we can get. I think I'll take a nap until you get back."

Jason looked at Link and sighed. "I'll be back in a flash, so don't get too comfortable."

"Jason," he heard his mother calling again. He yelled over his shoulder, "I'm coming, Mom!" He turned back to Link and grinned, "See ya Link." He pulled his way out of the TV and back to his own room. Once he was out, he turned back to look at his friend. Link winked his eye at him, then sat on the ground to wait. Jason put the game on pause and went to see what awaited him at the dinner table.