Khaat had had a tough morning. She was up again, though, and that said something. She had remembered her father saying. "Don't go far." And then she had merely tried to apparate home. That's all.
But it had taken her 10 minutes to get there. She had apparated numerous times to the wrong spot.She found that out after the first time she tried to apparate. But then the problem remained, she still had to get home. That might take forever at this rate. She only knew she had to keep trying. She had had a stop in china, where she had accidently apparated onto a chinese fishing boat, She had scared the daylights out of the fisherman, with her dark cloak on, pulled up over her head so it hid her face. She figured he probably thought she was the spectre of death He jumped off the boat into the water, and while he was doing that, she was apparating back out again.
She had next ended up on some beach someplace, in a pile of seaweed that had washed up on the shore. She had no idea where she was.
Her next attempt had ended her up on her buttt in the middle of a meadow somewhere else out the in the middle of nowhere.
Her fourth attempt had dumped her in a snowbank.
Her fifth attempt, she figured must had landed her in the Sahara, because she saw a turban wearing nomad driving a herd of camels off in the distance, while she stood halfway up to her knees in the burning sands. Then her apparation powers seemed to quit working altogether for several moments.
Her last attempt had landed her in the kitchen of Sparks. It wasn't home, but it was closer than she had gotten so far. IT still was, for Sparks, early enough in the morning that they weren't open. They wouldn't be yet for hours. Rob and Lizzie were still doing baking and prep for the day. It had surely seemed longer than that to her. She felt like she had been all over the world this morning. She was exhausted, hot, and thirsty. She figured she was quite a sight by now. And she was ticked. She had never had so much trouble apparating in her life. She expected the ministry to catch up with her at any moment for showiing herself to that chinese muggle, but, oh well, she'd take her consequences.
Worse yet, she hadn't been able to feel Abbey at all since yesterday. She didn't know what that was all about, but her father had assured her that Abbey was just fine. She sat down at the desk, feeling angry and overwhelmed, and not liking the sand in her shoes. She took them off and dumped a pile of sand out of her shoes onto the floor and then put her shoes back on. "And just where have you been, Miss Khaat, that you have such a sunburn on your face in March?" Lizzie asked. Khaat turned to see Lizzie watching her. "Could I have a glass of water, please?" Khaat asked with a heavy sigh. She watched Lizzie go off, shaking her head, to fetch the water.
"Rob," she said quietly, "It seems I can't apparate. Well, I can, but if I did, I'd end up in either Saigon or Siberia. Might have already been there this morning, actually. When you get a break, would you please take me home? I'd appreciate it."
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