"I told you. You don't love someone because of their looks or their clothes or their car. You love them because they sing a song only your heart can understand." ― L.J. Smith
~oOo~
"April, the bus will be here! Hurry up!" A middle aged woman called up to the steps of a small middle income house that sat in a somewhat good neighborhood. Upstairs there was a thumping before a nineteen-year-old with curly black hair and blue eyes rushed down the steps. Quickly as she could she tied her hair into a sloppy bun, rushed into a kitchen to grab a single piece of toast with jam, then kissed her mother good-bye. April Brooks slammed the door behind her, hearing her mother warn her once more about the door before catching up to her younger sister May who was already walking towards the bus stop.
"I'm surprised you got up at all. Let me guess; you went to bed at three in the morning again." Summer said as they walked down the street. April shoved the piece of toast down her throat as fast as she could as the metro bus rounded the corner.
"I was working on my paper. The contest due date is this morning and I had to rush to finish it." May said as they boarded the bus, sitting somewhere in the middle. "I just hope I at least get second place."
"I thought weren't allowed on field trips their first two years?" May asked as she pulled her homework out. She just needed to answer a few more questions and then she would be finished.
"They're not but surprisingly the college is allowing both freshmen and sophomores to enter into the contest!" April said excitingly. "I'll bring you back something if I win." April nudged her sister, causing her to glare for jerking her arm while she was writing. "Come on May don't tell me you're not excited that I'm going to New York! We always wanted to go there!"
"You're not going yet. I'll get excited when you actually win." May said and rolled her eyes.
"What no faith in me?" April asked and the two of them laughed. A couple of minutes pass and May got up to get off at her stop at the high school, saying good bye to her sister. April remained on the bus for another half hour before she got off at the university she is attending. It was a fairly large school in the community they lived in and April was just lucky enough to squeeze in. She went straight to her first English class of the day followed by a study in literature. Once she had some time to spare she made her way towards the old library where the instructions to hand in her contest paper said to go.
"Excuse me, is this where I turn in the contest paper?" April asked as she approached an old lady, hunched back with typical old lady clothing. She was muttering to herself before she noticed the young woman behind her.
"sorry dear, what was that?" the old lady asked.
"Is this the place to drop off the contest papers? I have it right here and I wanted to make sure I handed it in." April said, presenting the ten-page paper to the woman. The woman took the stack of papers, looked it over before handing it back with a smile.
"You would want that box over there child. You just made it in time. I'm about to collect the box to deliver to the dean." The old woman said with the smile still on her face as she pointed to the box. April smiled back before walking over to drop the packet into it. Just as she was about to say thank you a man in a business suit stormed into the dimly dusty room they were standing in. April just noticed that there were boxes and books stacked all over the place and it was only the three of them in the room. If this was the library, then shouldn't there be more people here? Where were they all? The man standing before the woman looked angry judging by the look on his face.
"How many times have I told you Mrs. Plotter that I needed all these books moved into the new library! The opening is tomorrow and the dean wants it all ready by then." The man practically yelled at the old woman who didn't even seemed phased.
"And it will get done Mr. Price. Rome wasn't built in a day." The woman, Mrs. Plotter, replied to the man in a cool voice.
"Well, Rome wasn't paying an arm and a leg for tuition jut so they can sit in a moldy basement to finish their course work. You have until the end of the day to finish Mrs. Plotter or else you're fired!" Mr. Price fumed as he marched over to the contest box to pick it up. "I will deliver this to the dean since you are too busy finishing up the assignment I had given you. Maybe after this you will find a more suitable job for one at your age." Mrs. Plotter stood firm, never blinking as the man stared her down.
"I have been here since the beginning Mr. Price." The woman who has kept her cool for this long looked up at the man with a cold stare. The air around the three seemed to be getting colder, their breath almost becoming visible. The shadows cast by the dim light seemed to grow and stretch towards them as if the shadows were eating the light itself. The old woman continued to stare at the man as they continued their silent argument. "And I will remain here at this school until the end. Take the box Mr. Price and have a very good day." Just like that the man turned on his heel and left the room without a word like he was in a trance. The shadows retreated back to where they sat before, the air getting warmer as Mrs. Plotter sat down at the nearest chair. "I'm sorry about that dear."
"Who was that man?" April asked.
"Mr. Price is in charge of the new library that just was currently built." Mrs. Plotter looked about the room they were in. "I've seen many young adults come and go from this place. Many have graduated and have families of their own. And many of those lost their way and have been forgotten about." She turned towards April. "And what about you Miss Brooks? Do you long for adventure like so many others? The thrill of the wind and the call of the wild? Or are you like those stuffed shirt fools who believe a creative mind is a dangerous one? But my most important question is that do you believe in magic like so few your age do?" April looked at the woman before she smiled softly.
"My dad used to tell me and my sister stories about magic. He used to say that if you look closely you could see it. My sister and I used to go around the house screaming we could see it but I guess we all have to grow up. I believe adventure waits for everyone but some are just frightened to take that risk." April chuckled. "It's kind of like how I entered this contest with no hope of winning but I did it anyways because I believe I could win it."
"You think you won't win?"
"My dad died a year ago and I hardly see my mom any more. Not to mention that only reason why I go to this school is because people felt sorry for me. Student aid and scholarships is the only luck I've ever gotten." April explained.
"Ah, I see."
"Do you need any help moving these books Mrs. Plotter? I don't have class for another hour so I can help you until I go back." April offered to the woman.
"Thank you dear, that's very kind of you. I would love the help." Mrs. Plotter said with her kind smile still in place. Together, over the next hour the two pushed cart after cart full of books to the new library. They were almost done when it was time for April to return to class. Mrs. Plotter thanked the young woman, saying that those with kind hearts will always be rewarded. April chuckled before saying that nothing sort of magic could grant the wish she would want. "Well then, if you had three wishes what would they be?" Mrs. Plotter said.
The bell rung at the clock tower in the middle of the college, signaling that the time was noon and that April would be late for class if she didn't get moving. Mrs. Plotter said that her teacher could call her should she had any problems with April being late so she handed her a pen and paper. "Here, write them down." April thought about it for a minute before she wrote them down. She bid the old woman good-bye as she left. The old woman looked down at the list and chuckled before she returned to carting books to the new library.
"This…this I can do." She shook her head as she disappeared into the shadows. "The last wish however is up to you my dear. Love happens…it just doesn't appear like magic."
~oOo~
Later that evening when April returned home and she was eating with her family at the table did she get a phone call from the school about her contest papers. Her face lit up like fireworks and she started to bounce around the house like she was a kid in a candy store.
"What's going on?" April's mom asked once she had enough of her daughter jumping up and down enough to shake the house.
"I won. Ha! I won!" April said with a large smile on her face.
"You won?" May asked in disbelieve. "You won?!" May jumped up to embrace her sister. The two continued to jump up and down until their mother asked what was going on. "She won!"
"Won what exactly?"
"The contest! I entered to win a two month all expensed paid trip to New York to attend the Written Word conference there." April said with a wavering smile.
"And how come I'm just knowing about this now?" Their mother asked.
"Because you've been really busy and I didn't want to bother you with this." April said and the sisters sat back down at the table. "I never really thought I would win anyways." April's mother was quiet for a while before she turned towards her daughter.
"All expenses paid?"
"The only money I'll need is to show with and I already have been saving since I started college." April said and there was a pregnant silence before her mother smiled at her.
"Well I guess we have to go shopping then." Her mother said and the girls squealed.
"Thank you, thank you!" April said and her mother chuckled.
"Don't be thanking me, you were the one who won. I can't be more proud of you." Her mother said and gave her daughter a hug. "When will you be leaving?"
"In a week. All our meals will be paid for and so will our hotel room. I'll be attending lectures by Dr. Stephen Wolf whose made many lectures about his best sellers and he's also a researcher in mutations so that's where he gets such great ideas for his books."
"I'm buying you a Taser before you go."
"Mom, I'll be fine. But if it makes you feel better I'll take it with me." April said and the girl continued to chat about the trip that would be taking place in a week.
~oOo~
The week until the New York trip flew by like lightening for April. Her mother took her out shopping for clothes and of course a Taser for safety. The three of them woke up early in the morning to drive to the college where students were boarding the two buses that would take the children to New York. April explained that the girls would be in the first one and the boys would be in the second so there wouldn't be…. sexual interactions on the ride to the city. April's mother gripped her daughter tightly saying good-bye before April moved to her sister.
"Here." May handed April her ninja turtle Michelangelo doll April had won from a crane game when the movie first came out two years ago. May and April are secret fans ever since their father introduced it to them at a young age. Ever since then the two have always bonded over TV shows, cartoons, movies, and they even have build-a-bears of their favorite turtles. "Just in case you miss home."
"Won't you miss him?" April asked.
"I will but hey, if you meet any of them get their autograph for me." May said and April gave her sister a hug.
"Don't get into too much trouble."
"I won't. Bring me back something nice." May told her sister and said their last good-bye. April got on the bus and found a window seat in the middle, setting up her little nest she'll be sitting in for the next eleven hours.
"Is this seat taken?" April looked up to see a girl her age with violet hair stand in the isle besides her. "You seem to be somewhat normal than all the other girls here."
"Name the TV show with a blue box."
"Doctor Who, duh. Hello fellow nerd." The violet girl said with a smile and roll of her eyes.
"Welcome to the dark side. Sadly, I only have sugar cookies." April held up the bag of cookies and the violet girl sat down next to her.
"Sadly, I have chocolate chip." The girl held up her own bag and the girls started to laugh. "I'm Samantha but everyone calls me Sammy."
"I'm April. Don't ask when my birthday is." The girls laughed again. "Aren't you in my Intro to Modern Lit class?" April asked.
"Wait a minute, you're that girl with the hoodie with the cat ears right?"
"Yeah!"
"Oh my gosh I keep looking at it because I'm trying to find one!" Sammy said with a bright smile.
"It's from Emily Strange. I don't know if you can find one now, it's like ten years old." April explained.
"Damnit." Sammy said and April laughed.
The two girls hit it off right away. The kept talking for a couple of hours before they fell into a comfortable silence before Sammy fell asleep. April took out her laptop and started typing down ideas she had for her book. She already has two chapters down but for some reason she hasn't been able to finish it. She seems to be at a point where writers block is the worst. After a while she gave up and put her music in her ears until she fell asleep as well.
The buses stopped a couple of times but they didn't reach New York until four in the afternoon. Everyone on the bus was already antsy being kept on it for so long that the girls began to cheer once they reached the Lincoln tunnel. Sammy and April jumped for joy from where they sat as they entered the tunnel but something was off. The dim lights of the tunnel started to flicker but no one but April seemed to notice. The air around her got cold just like it did and the library when she turned towards Sammy she seemed like she was in a trance, watching the air like it was the most fascinating thing to do. Just then, something flashed and it caused April to shut her eyes tight. Her hands gripped May's doll as tightly that she thought she would tear the arms off.
"Kind hearts will always be rewarded…" A voice echoed and the bright light seemed to on forever until April got so light headed for some reason that the darkness of sleep took over her. "Your last wish…is up to you my dear."
~oOo~
