This is Why No One Has Labyrinths Anymore
William Kirkland Jones honestly didn’t understand how an innocent excursion had taken such a horrible turn. Then again, following his twin sister into his grandparents' giant labyrinth probably wasn’t the best idea.
“Uhhm, Will? I don’t know how to tell you this, but I think we’re lost,” the aforementioned twin sister declared, breaking his chain of thought.
He passed a hand over his face in frustration. “Wow, Amy, really? I thought we were just wandering around aimlessly for the fun of it.”
Amy crossed her arms. “Okay, okay. I admit, maybe I didn’t really think about all this as well as I should’ve. You don’t have to be all sarcastic about it, you know.”
“I think I have the right to be, seeing as you are the reason I am now stuck in the middle of a giant maze of hedges with no way of getting out.”
“Hey, you can’t blame me for all of this,” she argued. “If you were on your own and you found this place, you would’ve gone in and done the same thing.”
“No, I would’ve ignored it and gone back to grandma and grandpa’s mansion for lunch like mom and dad told us to.”
“Well, that’s because you’re abnormally boring, Will. Now, if you really want to make it back for lunch, you should stop getting so mad and start helping me get us out of here.”
Will couldn’t help but groan. Despite being twins, he and Amy (like the many cliché twins on television) were dissimilar in many ways. While his sister had the sense of adventure and lack of self-control to get herself into situations like this on a daily basis, he usually had the common sense and restraint to stay out of such things. Unexplainably, though, Amy somehow managed to drag him into one problematic circumstance to another anyway.
Since they were already in this mess, Will decided that he might as well try to get them out of it. “Alright, Amy, so I think what we should do first is-”
“Wait!” Amy exclaimed, suddenly reaching into her pocket. “I forgot. I brought my phone with me. I’ll call mom or dad, they’ll find some way to get to us, and we’ll be out of here.”
“You had your phone with you all this time?”
His sister stuck her tongue out at him. “Face it, you’re just upset because you didn’t think of it first.”
“Fine, whatever. Just call them already!”
Amy smirked at him before turning to her phone. Her expression quickly fell and Will watched as his sister shook her phone vigorously and pressed the phone's power button over and over again.
“Amy, what exactly are you trying to do?”
“Uh...”
“Your phone ran out of battery, didn’t it?”
His sister nodded, shrugging sheepishly. “I-it’s not really a big deal.”
Will glared daggers at her direction. “Not a big deal? You’re kidding me, right?”
“Hey, I don’t see you coming up with any good ideas,” she replied.
“Before you interrupted me with your brilliant phone idea, I was going to suggest we go back the way we came.”
“Oh, yeah, like no one in the movies has ever thought of that before and failed.”
He rolled his eyes. “Okay, then, let’s just stand here until you come up with a better idea. Or maybe even find a phone that we can actually use.”
“Okay, okay! Let’s turn back and get out the same way we came, as the great William Jones suggests!”
He glared at her one more time before they both turned around to face the path that brought them there. Their jaws both dropped in shock when they realized they were facing two almost identical paths leading to two different directions.
“Er, Will? Do you remember which way we came from?”
He shook his head. “I’m not sure…but I think it’s this one,” he said, pointing to the path at their left.
“Funny,” Amy replied with a nervous chuckle, “I could’ve sworn we came from this one.” She pointed to the path at their right.
They looked at each other simultaneously.
“I say, we go left, Amy.”
“No, we’re going right.”
“Left.”
“Right!”
“Left!”
“Will, we both know I have the better sense of direction.”
“Ha! This coming from the person who got us lost in the maze in the first place," he countered.
“Like you can do any better!”
“Since, we can’t agree on anything, I guess we should just split up,” he replied, already stomping angrily towards the left path.
“Wait!” Amy yelled. Suddenly, Will felt her grab his arm and pull him back sharply.
“Amy, what the-?”
“We can’t split up!” his sister interrupted. “You know what happens in the horror movies! Whenever people split up, someone dies!”
He sighed. “First of all,” he said pulling his arm away from her grip, “it’s the middle of the morning. Second, we’re not in some horror movie, we’re at our grandparents’ garden. Lastly, if we keep going at this pace, we’re never going to get anywhere!”
“Alright, I’m sorry, okay?” Amy said, sitting down on the grass in defeat. “It’s not like I wanted to get stuck here.” Knowing how stubborn his sister was about being right, Will knew that the apology was sincere.
Will sat down beside her. “I know that,” he answered grudgingly. Being just as proud as his sister, he wasn’t exactly the best at reconciliation either. “I just wish you listened to me when I told you not to go here in the first place.”
“Fine,” Amy conceded, with a small smile. “Next time we find a random labyrinth somewhere, I promise not to go in without your full approval.”
“Good,” Will said with a nod.
“So, I guess we’ll just have to stay here until someone comes for us, then?”
“I guess.”
“If we ever get back, remind me to tell grandma and grandpa to take this place down. I mean, how builds a giant maze in the middle of their yard anymore, anyway? It’s so 1800’s.”
Will chuckled. “Like they’d just get a giant bulldozer and tear it all down.”
“Hey, who knows,” she said with a smile. “We are their favorite grandchildren.”
Will grinned back. As insane as his twin sister was, Will had to admit that she was the only person in the world he’d want be stuck in a giant maze with. At least, with her, he wouldn’t die of boredom.
“I think they’re over here,” they suddenly heard a voice say nearby.
Amy stood up and turned around. “Hey, Will, did you hear that?”
He got up and turned around as well. “Yeah,” he said. “It sounded like…”
“Mom! Dad!” Amy suddenly exclaimed. Sure enough, Will saw their parents rushing towards them from the path they were facing.
Before either of them could say anything, they were both swept up into tight hugs.
“Will! Amy!” their mother . “We were both so worried.” Suddenly, she pulled away from Will and glared at both of them. “What in the world were you two thinking, wandering off like that? Imagine what you and your father thought happened to you two when you were thirty minutes late for lunch.”
“Ask Amy,” Will murmured.
“He followed me in!” his sister replied accusingly.
“Hey,” their dad said. “It doesn’t matter whose fault it is. What’s important is that you’re both safe and that we can go back and still have time to eat lunch.”
“Dad!” Will and Amy said simultaneously.
Their mom rolled her eyes. “Very mature, dear.”
Their dad laughed. “Seriously, though. Which way do we go to get out of here?”
Will looked at him. “You mean you and mom aren’t sure?”
They all looked at each other and at the paths in front of them in unsure silence.
“So…” Amy said, breaking the silence. “Does anyone have a working phone?”
“Uhhm, Will? I don’t know how to tell you this, but I think we’re lost,” the aforementioned twin sister declared, breaking his chain of thought.
He passed a hand over his face in frustration. “Wow, Amy, really? I thought we were just wandering around aimlessly for the fun of it.”
Amy crossed her arms. “Okay, okay. I admit, maybe I didn’t really think about all this as well as I should’ve. You don’t have to be all sarcastic about it, you know.”
“I think I have the right to be, seeing as you are the reason I am now stuck in the middle of a giant maze of hedges with no way of getting out.”
“Hey, you can’t blame me for all of this,” she argued. “If you were on your own and you found this place, you would’ve gone in and done the same thing.”
“No, I would’ve ignored it and gone back to grandma and grandpa’s mansion for lunch like mom and dad told us to.”
“Well, that’s because you’re abnormally boring, Will. Now, if you really want to make it back for lunch, you should stop getting so mad and start helping me get us out of here.”
Will couldn’t help but groan. Despite being twins, he and Amy (like the many cliché twins on television) were dissimilar in many ways. While his sister had the sense of adventure and lack of self-control to get herself into situations like this on a daily basis, he usually had the common sense and restraint to stay out of such things. Unexplainably, though, Amy somehow managed to drag him into one problematic circumstance to another anyway.
Since they were already in this mess, Will decided that he might as well try to get them out of it. “Alright, Amy, so I think what we should do first is-”
“Wait!” Amy exclaimed, suddenly reaching into her pocket. “I forgot. I brought my phone with me. I’ll call mom or dad, they’ll find some way to get to us, and we’ll be out of here.”
“You had your phone with you all this time?”
His sister stuck her tongue out at him. “Face it, you’re just upset because you didn’t think of it first.”
“Fine, whatever. Just call them already!”
Amy smirked at him before turning to her phone. Her expression quickly fell and Will watched as his sister shook her phone vigorously and pressed the phone's power button over and over again.
“Amy, what exactly are you trying to do?”
“Uh...”
“Your phone ran out of battery, didn’t it?”
His sister nodded, shrugging sheepishly. “I-it’s not really a big deal.”
Will glared daggers at her direction. “Not a big deal? You’re kidding me, right?”
“Hey, I don’t see you coming up with any good ideas,” she replied.
“Before you interrupted me with your brilliant phone idea, I was going to suggest we go back the way we came.”
“Oh, yeah, like no one in the movies has ever thought of that before and failed.”
He rolled his eyes. “Okay, then, let’s just stand here until you come up with a better idea. Or maybe even find a phone that we can actually use.”
“Okay, okay! Let’s turn back and get out the same way we came, as the great William Jones suggests!”
He glared at her one more time before they both turned around to face the path that brought them there. Their jaws both dropped in shock when they realized they were facing two almost identical paths leading to two different directions.
“Er, Will? Do you remember which way we came from?”
He shook his head. “I’m not sure…but I think it’s this one,” he said, pointing to the path at their left.
“Funny,” Amy replied with a nervous chuckle, “I could’ve sworn we came from this one.” She pointed to the path at their right.
They looked at each other simultaneously.
“I say, we go left, Amy.”
“No, we’re going right.”
“Left.”
“Right!”
“Left!”
“Will, we both know I have the better sense of direction.”
“Ha! This coming from the person who got us lost in the maze in the first place," he countered.
“Like you can do any better!”
“Since, we can’t agree on anything, I guess we should just split up,” he replied, already stomping angrily towards the left path.
“Wait!” Amy yelled. Suddenly, Will felt her grab his arm and pull him back sharply.
“Amy, what the-?”
“We can’t split up!” his sister interrupted. “You know what happens in the horror movies! Whenever people split up, someone dies!”
He sighed. “First of all,” he said pulling his arm away from her grip, “it’s the middle of the morning. Second, we’re not in some horror movie, we’re at our grandparents’ garden. Lastly, if we keep going at this pace, we’re never going to get anywhere!”
“Alright, I’m sorry, okay?” Amy said, sitting down on the grass in defeat. “It’s not like I wanted to get stuck here.” Knowing how stubborn his sister was about being right, Will knew that the apology was sincere.
Will sat down beside her. “I know that,” he answered grudgingly. Being just as proud as his sister, he wasn’t exactly the best at reconciliation either. “I just wish you listened to me when I told you not to go here in the first place.”
“Fine,” Amy conceded, with a small smile. “Next time we find a random labyrinth somewhere, I promise not to go in without your full approval.”
“Good,” Will said with a nod.
“So, I guess we’ll just have to stay here until someone comes for us, then?”
“I guess.”
“If we ever get back, remind me to tell grandma and grandpa to take this place down. I mean, how builds a giant maze in the middle of their yard anymore, anyway? It’s so 1800’s.”
Will chuckled. “Like they’d just get a giant bulldozer and tear it all down.”
“Hey, who knows,” she said with a smile. “We are their favorite grandchildren.”
Will grinned back. As insane as his twin sister was, Will had to admit that she was the only person in the world he’d want be stuck in a giant maze with. At least, with her, he wouldn’t die of boredom.
“I think they’re over here,” they suddenly heard a voice say nearby.
Amy stood up and turned around. “Hey, Will, did you hear that?”
He got up and turned around as well. “Yeah,” he said. “It sounded like…”
“Mom! Dad!” Amy suddenly exclaimed. Sure enough, Will saw their parents rushing towards them from the path they were facing.
Before either of them could say anything, they were both swept up into tight hugs.
“Will! Amy!” their mother . “We were both so worried.” Suddenly, she pulled away from Will and glared at both of them. “What in the world were you two thinking, wandering off like that? Imagine what you and your father thought happened to you two when you were thirty minutes late for lunch.”
“Ask Amy,” Will murmured.
“He followed me in!” his sister replied accusingly.
“Hey,” their dad said. “It doesn’t matter whose fault it is. What’s important is that you’re both safe and that we can go back and still have time to eat lunch.”
“Dad!” Will and Amy said simultaneously.
Their mom rolled her eyes. “Very mature, dear.”
Their dad laughed. “Seriously, though. Which way do we go to get out of here?”
Will looked at him. “You mean you and mom aren’t sure?”
They all looked at each other and at the paths in front of them in unsure silence.
“So…” Amy said, breaking the silence. “Does anyone have a working phone?”