Part I: Six Packages, Six Journeys, One Big Wooden Door

66 67 The Chosen: Battle with a Cerberosian Prince The Summit “Aarrgh.” Ethan and TJ laughed. “Thor is Chris Hemsworth. Loki is someone else, I don’t know who plays him, and I don’t care. Liam Hemsworth is Chris Hemsworth’s brother in real life. He played Gale Hawthorne in the Hunger Games. Him and Katniss grew up in the same city. They were friends.” “Oh, that guy.” “Yes. He also recently played one of the lead characters in the sequel of Independence Day. So hot.” “Wow, could that have taken any longer,” Ethan said. “That should not have been that complicated,” Tumi added. Pippa proved to be very passionate about this topic. Her excitement was not to be deterred by the boys and their jokes, or any of their seemingly absurd remarks. “Okay, so that’s Liam. Zayn… Oh, Zayn, he used to be in One Direction. He left the band, which was devastating, but as a solo artist he has just been amazing.” “Amazing? He’s been OK,” Ethan said. “You know this Zayn guy?” TJ asked. “Yeah, unfortunately. My little sister is a huge fan, too.” “Thanks, Pippa. That was great,” said Ana. “I know so much more about you now, just from that answer. See, this is fun.” “This is fun,” Pippa replied. Ana put up her hand. “Can I go next?” “Sure.” “My celebrity crushes are Justin Bieber and Tom Holland. They are both so cute, and so talented.” “Good choice, Ana,” Pippa said. “Do I need to explain who Justin Bieber is?” “Nah, we all know who that is. Right?” TJ said. “Even I know who Justin Bieber is,” Fang responded. “Tom Holland is Spiderman. He’s just amazing.” “Nice one, Ana. I’m not gonna lie, I’m often jealous of Zendaya,” Pippa said. “This is so much fun. Who’s next?” “OK, I’ll go.” Tumi thought about it for a moment. “Let’s see. I’d probably go with Diggy Simons, and Jessie Usher. Diggy is a singer, and known for being Rev Run’s son. Rev Run is from the ol’ school hip-hop group Run DMC. And then Jessie, well, he’s not like that famous, but he starred in this show on Cartoon Network called ‘Level Up.’ And he’s in the Shaft movie. He’s too fine.” “Short and sweet, good job, Tumi,” TJ said. “I’ll go next. Staying with the Marvel theme, the girl Pippa doesn’t like, Zendaya, and Zoe Kravitz from the Divergent series—oh, and she’s the daughter of Lenny Kravitz.” Dorjee came up to them mid-conversation and reminded them of their long journey ahead. They would need to rest well in order to make it through the tough climbs they would be making. In their brief moment of laughter and relaxation, they had actually forgotten about what lay waiting for them in the next week. Spending a little over a month in the Nepalese mountain had made them forget how much of a feat they would be attempting—one that only a few had successfully accomplished. As they made their way to their tents, TJ called out to Ana, “Great game, young Ana. I had a lil’ fun taking part.”