The sun breaks through my eyelids before I am even half awake.
Opening my eyes, I stretch and walk over to the window curtains. The red velvet is heavy in my still weak hands as I draw them open, letting the sun shine in even more.
"C'mon, Eve!" I say, playfully throwing a pillow at her.
Eve wakes up and yawns. Her red hair is already perfectly in place, no tangles or anything. How I envy her. She looks exactly like the girls in my favorite fashion magazines.
"Is today Saturday?" She asks, and stands up.
I check the calendar hanging up on our wall.
"Yeah. The 21st."
"Good." She laughs. "That means we can explore a little bit."
Eve and I have been at MIT for a week now, and it is absolutely fabulous. I am trying for a degree in computer technology, and Eve is taking all kinds of animation classes. She is an incredible artist.
I run into the bathroom with my outfit for the day: A purple blouse with skinny jeans and heels. Tons of accessories.
"Mm Hmm." I yell through the door. "I hear there's a bunch of shopping malls and cool stores in Boston."
"Let's go."
***
We are walking down Newberry Street. There are a bunch of awesome vintage shops. I love all of it. The sun is beating down on our heads, and it feels fantastic. Eve's already red hair looks like it's about to light itself on fire. Her eyes are glowing as we walk from shop to shop, the autumn sun shining down through the leaves on the trees.
We walk into the Life Is Good store right smack dab in the middle of the block. You have to climb up a flight of stairs to get in. It's so cool.
The store has a bunch of awesome trinkets as soon as you walk in.
"It has a downstairs!" I whisper to Eve.
We run down the wooden stairs to a room that's full of clothes.
Hats.
Coats.
Shirts.
My personal paradise.
We approach a friendly-looking man holding a logoed mug.
"Hi! Do you work here?" I ask.
The man's face turns into a sneer. It starts to morph into the hideous head of a dog.
Oh, no.
"Aw, man!" I scream.
"Eraser! Eve, run!"
The Eraser charged at me at full speed. I ran behind a rack of shirts, pulling Eve into safety with me.
Shoving aside the rack of shirts to reveal the Eraser's face.
"I thought all of you loser's died!" I yell, and take a swipe at his face, dislocating his lower left jaw.
Eve came up from behind him while he was distracted and hit him over the head with another mug. He fell to the ground with a thud.
I felt a sickening crack on the back of my knee and fell slightly forward. Getting up, I turned around to see another Eraser.
The few people in the store started to stare.
I snap out my wings with barely enough room to spare and jump off of the stone stairs outside. Eve closely follows, and, sadly, so does the Eraser.
A Flying Eraser? Really?!
I sigh and fly higher.
Eve, being a new bird-kid, has difficulty fighting in the air. She tries to kick him, but misses and somersaults backwards.
Quietly flying behind the Eraser, I cup my hands and smack them over his ears. His eardrums pop and he falls to the ground, moaning in pain.
"C'mon. While we still have time!" I yell behind to Eve and lead her back to our boarding room.
Even college can't be normal for me. I'm so bummed out.
You can't just give me one boring, nothing-to-do Saturday?
I guess not.
