The Exploress

An Up fanfic

Disclaimer: I don`t own the characters. I only own my Own Character Erika.

Russell looked at the "to do" list.

"Wow, the Senior Wilderness Explorers have about fifty badges to get? That`s great! Hmmm… I wonder which one I`ll start with…"

The kid was walking around while reading the list, not noticing what was happening around him.

Further, in the same room, a girl dressed exactly like a Senior Wilderness Explorer was getting the exact same list and was reading it too. She began walking all while reading.

"So, there is the tree-planting badge… the park-cleaning badge… the voluntary work badge… which one will I do first?"

And, all of a sudden, she smashed into a boy, who turned out to be Russell.

"Sorry…" the girl said.

"No, my bad," Russell said. Russell went to pick up his list, and his hand met the girl`s hand over the list. Russell looked at the girl. She looked back at him.

"Whoa… it`s like in movies…" the boy said. "Are you a Wilderness Exploress?"

"Yes, how did you guess?" the girl asked.

"Well, you are wearing the same scout outfit than me."

"Yes, that`s right…" the girl said, with shyness. "Well, I have to pick up my list and go."

"Yes, me too…"

Russell left with a list. The girl left with the other list of badges.

Some time later, on the way back, Russell looked at the list.

"Knitting a scarf… Helping the scoutmasters... Bring a smile to elders in retirement homes… Wait, that`s not my list!" Too late, Russell… because the girl left with your list, and she left with yours. Russell noticed that too late, however, since he was already at his apartment.

"I must find that girl`s house, give her list back, and recover mine. Her address is on the list, there is no problem."

Russell turned back, left the apartment block and followed the streets until he found the girl`s address. He walked up the small stairs, and rung to the door. The girl`s mother answered.

"Yes?"

"At the Senior Wilderness Explorers meeting, your daughter and I exchanged our lists, so I brought it back and I would like to have mine back too."

The girl, who was in the kitchen behind, looked and saw it was that boy she had bumped into. She ran to see him. With shyness, she said:

"Hello."

Russell hadn`t seen her that well back there. They were too near of each other. Now he could see she was a bit taller than him. She had a ponytail of red hair, and she was cute. It was almost love at first sight.

"Erika?"

"That`s my name… I heard you got my list and I got yours. Then that`s why you know my name, I always put my name on my stuff."

"Yes, well, I have the same habit. Here`s your list. Can I have mine, now, please?"

Erika left for a minute or so and came back with Russell`s list. She read the name.

"So you`re Russell, that`s right?"

"Yes."

Erika looked at Russell. He looked slightly overweight, but that just made him cuter. His cap was nice, and he was still wearing the scout outfit. He was Asian, she could tell by the paler skin. On her side as well, it was love at first sight.

"Maybe you two would meet up soon," Erika`s mother said.

"That`s a good idea, mom," Erika said.

"Yes. Well, see you soon, Erika," Russell said.

"Bye Russell," Erika said, remembering the name on the boy`s list.

When the door closed, Russell was looking nowhere, totally in love. He went down the stairs and almost tripped; he walked in the grass instead of following the route of ceramic, and finally reached the sidewalk. He was walking like someone drunk. He sure was in love now.

The next day, Russell saw Charles` blimp (now owned by Carl) up in the air, and blew in a special whistle.

***

FLASHBACK

Once back at home, Carl gave Russell a whistle.

"I remember having seen Charles using that kind of thing so that his dogs know where he is, no matter the distance. Since I am now living in this blimp, I guess you might as well have one of these. Like this, if we`re flying near you, just whistle and the dogs will hear you and we`ll embark you."

"Thanks, Mr. Fredricksen!"

"That`s nothing, Russell. You`re like a grandson to me."

"What, you don`t have any?" the kid asked.

"Um…I`ll explain it to you some other time."

END OF FLASHBACK

***

Soon the blimp landed in a rough field. The door opened, revealing Carl. Dug first, the pack of dogs went out of the blimp and ran around, freeing their energy from the trip.

"Hi Russell. What`s up?"

"Well, your blimp was up five minutes ago and… nah, I`m joking. I`ve met a girl!"

Carl felt really happy about that. He felt Russell was like him, meeting love early in his life. Carl really wanted to know more about that.

"When did you meet the girl?"

"At the Senior Wilderness Explorer meeting, she is in the girl division of the organization."

Carl knew it looked more and more like his Ellie; he also learned he and Ellie had the same likes, back in the time.

"So, what`s her name?"

"Erika."

Now, there was no doubt; the first letter was the same. Maybe it was just chance, but Carl suddenly felt the need of telling him about Ellie.

"Russell, I must tell you something. You`re in love, eh?"

"For sure! She`s so cute!"

"Then, I must tell you about my deceased wife Ellie."

Russell took a few seconds to think logically and then remembered something.

"Wait a second! When we were in South America, you were calling your house Ellie, if I remember well."

"Yes…"

"And I also noticed a picture frame with a picture of an old woman, about your age."

"Yes…"

"And you just said she died so…"

"Ah! Say what you want to say!" Carl nearly shouted.

"Then, when you were talking to Ellie during our trip, you weren`t talking to your house but to the woman in the picture, just as if she was still alive!"

"You understood everything, Russell!" Carl said with a smile. "I loved Ellie, I really loved her. I met her when I was a bit younger than you. And that love lasted all my life long."

"Wow, you were lucky!" Russell exclaimed.

"Yes we were. That trip to South America was one we had always dreamt of. She died before we could achieve it. So I wanted to do it in her memory."

"Well, we did it! But…"

"What, Russell?"

"When we landed back here after that, you said you never had kids. What happened?"

Carl wondered about how to explain that to a kid without using the real explanation (since Russell was about nine years old, he was too young to learn about that). So Carl simply said:

"None of the storks had our house address, so none delivered any baby."

"Ah, okay… That`s really sad for you. But you two had a good life anyway?"

"Oh, sure. We lived happily ever after. Well, almost. See, I was in love with her as soon as I met her. I spent all my adolescence with her, and adults we got married. She died one or two years ago."

"Why do you tell me that, by the way?" Russell asked.

"Your situation now reminds me of my youth with Ellie. I kind of see myself through what you live now. And I wish your love will last until you get to my age. That would be great."

"Well, I hope it does! By the way, when will we travel somewhere else?"

"I don`t know. When you`ll have enough time for that. Maybe you`ll bring your girlfriend with you."

"She`s not my girlfriend! Um, we just met. It`s, um… love at first sight, you know. But I`m sure it will work."

"Well, I hope too. Bye, Russell."

"Bye, Mr. Fredricksen!"

Carl called his dogs with the whistle, and they all ran in the blimp. Russell looked at the blimp lifting off, and said:

"I really hope it will be as great as what you told me, Mr. Fredricksen."

***

Russell arrived at Erika`s house, dressed not in his scout clothes, but rather in normal clothes; a shirt showing a red-and-yellow robotic superhero, shorts and running shoes. He was still wearing his cap. Erika went out, wearing a summer dress and sandals.

"So, where are we going, Russell?"

"I thought about cinema, there`s a good movie these days, but I don`t remember the title… Well, I got something better."

"What is it?"

"You`ll see…"

Russell brought Erika to a baseball field.

"Baseball? I don`t really like baseball," the girl said.

Russell looked in the skies, saw the blimp, and blew in the whistle (which he held on to his neck with a small rope, some kind of necklace).

"Um… why are you whistling now?" Erika asked. She did not quite understand Russell now.

Until he told her:

"Look in the sky."

Erika lifted her face to look at the sky, saw clouds, flocks of birds, and then she saw a blimp approaching the ground.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

Some sand from the baseball field flew off as the blimp landed. Russell approached it. Erika also approached it, but Russell told her not to approach yet. When the blimp landed, the door opened, revealing the pack of dogs, which ran all around just like the other time. Finally Carl went out.

"Hi Russell. What`s up?"

"Not that pun again!" Russell exclaimed before laughing.

"Is this young girl Erika?"

"Um…hello, mister…" Erika began.

"I am Carl Fredricksen. I`m not a relative of Russell, but I consider him like my grandson since what happened a few weeks ago."

Erika was really puzzled now. What was that thing Mr. Carl was talking about?

"Here`s my suggestion, Erika: a short trip on Mr. Fredricksen`s blimp, and looking at the world down under. Followed by the story of what happened a few weeks ago."

"That would be fun… why not?"

Carl called in all the dogs, and Russell and his girlfriend-to-be entered the blimp. The liftoff surprised Erika, who fell on the floor. Russell didn`t prevent it, but he held her hand and helped her stand back up.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes… it`s the first time I`m aboard a blimp. Well, aboard a flying machine anyway."

Carl, while maneuvering the blimp, asked the dogs to bring lemonade for the two kids. Gamma arrived with a plate on which there were two glasses, and Beta arrived with the jug of lemonade. Beta poured the lemonade in the glasses, but poured a bit on the plate.

"So, the dogs really can do that?" Erika asked. "I just hope their saliva didn`t fell in the glass…"

"What, are you disgusted by dogs helping people?" Beta asked. Erika was REALLY puzzled now. She was even wondering how she ended up with all these crazy people. Oh yeah, right, Russell seemed nice.

"The dogs can talk?"

"No, it`s their collars, I think it translates their thoughts into English."

"That great…" Erika said finally. She was really feeling like if everything on this blimp was weird.

"Wait," Carl said. "Don`t you want to know about what happened some weeks ago?"

"Finally… no, thanks."

"Ah, come on, you`ll like the story!"

"Um… I`d rather prefer to get back down…"

Russell ignored the girl`s complaint and began telling the story. When he was missing two or three details, Carl corrected the story. After only five minutes, Erika was listening to the story, not believing it at all but still thinking "This would become a great novel or even a movie!" When the story was finished, Erika didn`t believe it at all.

"Listen Erika, I know it makes no sense, but the facts are there: Mr. Fredricksen kept the blimp and all the dogs, the dogs talk with their collars, Dug is here…"

"Yes, but what about the balloon-lifted house, the giant bird and the Alpha male?"

"If we could go back to South America with you, we sure would show you all that. I`m not sure yet if we could however, since it`s a three day trip…"

While saying that, Carl`s blimp had landed. Erika went out with Russell.

"No matter how weird it was, that was a nice trip. Thanks, Russell!"

She kissed Russell on the cheek, and the kid nearly fainted. Russell then remembered.

"So, why don`t we go see that movie? I got enough money to pay our two seats."

"What are we going to see then? There`s A Day at the Museum 2, Never Imagined That, Soon, Hand of the Lost, Hop…"

"Hop seems good," Russell answered, "but it depends on your choice."

And as the two kids left for the theater, Carl, in the blimp, whispered:

"I wish a stork will have your address."

Author`s note: My first romance story, how do you like it?