Author's Note: I wrote this for my creative writing class. It's not really a Peter Pan fanfiction. Our prompt was to take a favorite story and weave another personal account into it. So this is what I came up with... Reviews and suggestions would be greatly appreciated because I have to read this to the entire class on Tuesday! Thanks.
Summertime Adventure
A dog-eared book slipped out of the sleeping girl's hand and landed on the bedroom floor with a soft thud. He always came to her window at night. The playful wind blew back the curtains as he stepped inside the room. His shadow, cast by the eyes the mother leaves behind, danced across the wall.
I pack the last box into my car closing the trunk with a snap. My dad hugs me and asks me to call when I get there. As I slide in the front seat, I mutter, "Sure, sure." My dad stands on the carport smiling at me. I look straight ahead into my old bedroom window. My patterned curtains frame the glass from the inside. I could see my bookshelf off to the side, still crammed full with books. Slumped forward and worn thin, an old stuffed bear sat at the foot of my bed.
As he moved farther into the room, he brushed by the bookshelf that was crammed with books. He must have bumped the shelf or maybe the book just needed to breathe so it leapt on its own accord, but either way, a book fell from the top shelf and the sharp corner of it caught him on the side of the head. He clutched the side of his head tying to keep from yelling into the darkness. He could feel his eyes start to tear up slightly. "Boy, why are you crying?"
I wipe the anxious tears from my eyes as I finally pull into the dorm parking lot. I look up at the stark grey building and out at the sprawling campus with its intimidating brick buildings. This will be my home for four years. I lug all my boxes down the hall to my tiny room. On the upside I have a great view of the parking lot, but how am I supposed to fit everything in here?
"I'm not crying. Why do you have so many books? It's dangerous." She rolled her eyes at his question as she slipped out of her bed knocking a worn teddy bear to the floor. She picked up the book and looked at the shelf trying to find an inch of bare space. Amused, he watched her for a minute before slipping the book out of her hand. "Do you want to go on an adventure?"
I abandon my unpacked boxes when my rumbling stomach becomes too much of a distraction. I exit the dorm and begin wandering around campus trying to find the cafeteria. I know that it is near the student life center, but I don't know how to get there either.
"Where are we going?" The branches of the dense forest grabbed at her clothes. She always hated when she lagged behind him. He floated around all the grabbing fingers, his excitement carrying him forward. At her question, he slowed his pace enough to glance back at her and grin. The moonlight lit his face casting a youthful glow. He grinned but didn't answer her question. He loved to tease. She would just have to wait see.
After a lonely dinner in the cafeteria, I go back to my dorm. I pull out my favorite dog eared book. I run my fingers over the cover, the picture of a pirate ship, Indians, fairies, and a smirking boy. I sit down on my tiny bed and lean against the wall. My window with the parking lot view is across from me. I stare at the dark square for a moment then I glance down at my book. My eyelids drop shut. This is going to be a long year. A small tap pulls me out of my thoughts. I look back toward the dark square and a glowing, smiling face greets me. I jump off the bed and open the window.
She whipped her head around. A small buzzing light floated through the air and disappeared into the darkness. "What was that?" He stopped walking turned back to her and with a twinkle in his eye answered, "Do you believe in fairies?" He reached his hand out to her and pulled her through the last bit of thick forest and into a clearing. The trees circled the clearing. In the center, a huge tree's branches stretched to the sky, and its roots extended lazily across the ground. He stood motionless looking at the tree. She glanced around the clearing, puzzled. He leaned slightly toward her and whispered in her ear. "Just wait. They'll come."
He looks past me into my dorm room. He sees the open book on my bead and looks amused. He doesn't read much. His imagination is big enough without filling it with extra stories. He doesn't need fairy tales to escape. How much I read always puzzles him. He thinks it is an odd hobby. "Do you start class tomorrow?" he asks. I nod. He grins at me and raises an eyebrow. "So you still have one night of childhood left, right?"
A small buzzing light broke the darkness. The light swam through the darkness toward the tree. She gasped as three more lights emerged from the darkness. She felt him smile beside her as more and more tiny lights streamed toward the tree. It wasn't long before the whole clearing was lit by these tiny moving lights. The tree hummed with the synchronized buzzing. She tore her eyes from the magnificent, glowing tree and looked to the boy beside her. Although the clearing was well lit from the dancing stars, he seemed to emit his own light.
I glance around my dorm. My alarm clock blinks. It is set to ring at 7:00am. My backpack is already packed. My schedule is lying on the desk. My newly purchased textbooks are lined up like tine soldiers ready to serve. I turn back to the boy at my window. "One more adventure."
Review please!