Somewhere in the middle of nowhere…
Why would anyone use this weird contraption in the past?
I keep trying to rotate the rotary dial of the telephone, it clicks each time it passes through a number, but me being the millennial that I am, I keep fumbling and making mistakes as I try to use this archaic device.
"god dammit! Missed a number!".
Failing for the fourth time in a row, I retry once again, entering the numbers I've been trying to reach for minutes. However, the telephone, having aged considerably and perhaps terribly maintained judging from it's rusted and peeled colours, and from it's terribly flimsy mechanical parts and loose gears, easily slides off of my intended number.
"god dammit wrong again!".
Come on Jericho, don't let an inanimate object best you! Remember you're inside a telephone booth, and they're for public use. What kind of self-respecting Wizard has no respect for their environment?
Breathing deeply, I try to collect myself like the gentleman that I am. Once I'm sure I won't throw a fit of rage if I fail once again, I retry, carefully this time.
"zero… zero… eight….".
Pausing before entering the last numbers, I attempt to rotate the dial much more slowly this time, knowing it's gears are loose according to my failed attempts. Sliding the dial carefully, I hear the beautiful click of the gears as they land on my intended numbers.
"seven two, yes!".
Now comes the boring and excruciating part, waiting. Tapping my foot, I wait patiently for the familiar sound of the dial tone to appear, hoping my tiring effort will finally pay off.
And right there, a click on the other side of the phone later, I know my call has been picked up. Unable to contain my excitement and relief, I'm basically shouting to the telephone. "Hello hello?! Rahjaesh! My man! I'm so glad you picked up! I need your help buddy I need to go to the town, can you pick me up?".
Finishing my request, I wait for his answer. I tap my foot once again, this time out of excitement rather than suspense. Thankfully, a voice soon comes, answering my request. "The number you've been trying to reach is unavailable, please try again in—".
"Son of a gun!".
I quickly try to redial, fearing that that failed call won't give me a refund and making me out of coins. But my fears are confirmed, the machine swallowed it. I came here with one coin for one call only, and I'm all out of coins!
Slamming the handle back to it's place, my rage got the better of me and I kick the phone booth's door wide open. Stomping outside the phone booth, I feel the cold night breeze isn't enough to cool my heated head. Outside, I'm reminded of how far away I am from both the town and the school. A long dirt road leads to the town, and from the other side, I remember arriving here from that direction. A lone lamppost lights beside the telephone booth, providing the only light in the vicinity, though it's light doesn't penetrate the thick forest behind the telephone booth, keeping it in the dark. In short, I'm close to nowhere.
Why am I out in the middle of nowhere? Well that's because a day ago Akko came to me and invited me to hang out with her and her team at the town out of the blue, literally, at that time the girl got covered in blue goo from a failed alchemy class project. It was quite the plan, with many places already set in mind by the excited girl. But my silly brain decided to forget about our promise, and I'm now late to the established meeting hour.
Unable to use a broom, my only choice of transportation is of course Rahjaesh. So I tried to call him, but found that my wand was unable to charge any magic. Seeking answers, I return to the school to find out why I can't seem to use magic, turns out the school was running maintenance on the tower holding the Sorcerer's Stone. Apparently someone broke something important which causes some disturbance in the flow of Ley Line magic onto the stone, so the goblins had to seal off it's magic temporarily for the rest of the evening while they fix whatever's broken. So there I was, with no magic at my disposal, no way to contact my driver, and amazed at how remarkable my luck had been today.
There's only one communication technology that doesn't use magic within kilometres of this school, which is this old rotary telephone booth I've just exited. So I had no other choice but to walk my way to this god forsaken, or rather, government forsaken public facility.
"oh you've done it, Jericho! Now you won't make it to town in time! It's done! They're gone now! They up and left you behind, they're mad at you now for ditching them!".
On this lonely dirt road, I stomp around alone, with nothing else audible save for my own rants.
Stomping around the dirt road, I keep cursing at my ability to easily forget things, I do this for a full minute that my rants grew unintelligible at some point.
"great! This is- this is fantastic! I'm done! My friends are probably angry at me right now! And there's nothing I could do about it!".
More unintelligible words later, I pause for a bit, not because I stopped feeling angry, but rather to try and regain my stamina to continue my ranting.
Trying to catch my breath and conclude my rant. I look to the dark starry sky and let loose a cry of despair and rage.
"aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!".
My scream echoes through the night, sending birds flying in the forest behind me.
With all the rage in my systems thrown into the breeze, I rest my hands on my knees, struggling to catch my breath. Though I've said all those words, I somehow felt more positive after saying those.
Huh, that felt good actually.
Lifting my head up, I spot Blytonbury far on the horizon. Pass a rolling set of hills, the warm town sits peacefully, it's welcoming lights shines through the night, though it's far away, just looking at it feels like it gives one a guiding light for a traveller, like a beacon for the weary soul to follow. Oh how nice it is to be there, instead of this cold, desolate place.
"a taxi, a taxi, my kingdom for a taxi!". I cry.
A ring pulls me out of my play, a ring that can only come from one thing and one thing only. With hope in my heart, I quickly turn myself around towards the phone booth.
Like the voice of a thousand singing angels, the phone seems to be ringing, and I have no idea who it is, but my heart screams it has to be Rahjaesh.
Not wasting another second, I scurry back inside the phone booth, quickly picking it's handle, clear my throat and try to calm myself before answering it.
"hello?". I call out, trying to hide my excitement.
"hello…. mister?" a familiar voice calls back.
Taking the phone from my ears, I clutch it tightly to my heart, saying thanks to whoever sent this gnome to me. Once I'm done thanking whoever to thank, I calm myself and put the phone back to my ear.
"Hello you beautiful gnome ".
"um.. sir? Let's keep it professional".
"No no don't worry, I'm just glad to hear you! Now can you pick me up? I need to be somewhere else!".
"of course mister!".
With that, the gnome ends the call.
Relieved beyond measure, I breath a sigh of relief and lean on the glass windows of the telephone booth. But before I can put the telephone back to it's handle, a familiar sound of screeching tire howls outside.
With a smile on my face, I put the telephone back and open the door to welcome the gnome.
"Rahjaesh, oh am I glad to see you!".
I can hear a muffled response from inside the taxi, t\\it's terribly covered by the window, though I can still pick up the word 'mister' in the end.
Soon the driver seat's window rolls down, revealing Rahjaesh and his pointy hat.
"hellooo mister". Rahjaesh greets me, repeating his previously muffled one.
Without wasting another moment, I round the taxi and open the passenger side door, quickly entering the taxi and closing it's door.
"Blytonbury go!".
"very good mister!".
With his go given, Rahjaesh pushes his foot down to the long wooden block strapped beneath his feet, acting as an extension to his rather tiny feet, the wooden blocks pushes the pedals. With quick hand movements Rahjaesh shifts the gears, a push on the gas pedal later, the engine revs, and the taxi launches forward, leaving a cloud of dust in its trail.
I look back to the telephone booth through the rear window, feeling unimaginable relief to leave that place. Like a US soldier rescued by a helicopter from a Vietnam invested forest, while blazing Fortunate Son through the chopper's speakers.
Immortalizing this moment inside my deepest memory, I look away from the telephone booth, hoping this is the last time I'll ever see it.
See you telephone booth.
Resting myself on the comfy seat, I notice Rahjaesh taking some glances towards me.
"so mister one thing you should know, we can't access the Ley Line from here since I heard your Sorcerer's Stone is in maintenance!".
"yes I'm aware Rahjaesh, but it's all right, this is much better than walking".
The gnome briefly takes his eyes off the road to look to me.
"so mister, if you're in a hurry, we can take a short cut".
"short cut? What kind of short cut?". I ask curiously.
"the one that takes you to the town quicker of course mister!".
—
Rolling in front of the magic items cafe, the taxi skids to a halt. However, I don't exit immediately. My body is planted on the leather seat, my mind still trying to grasp my surroundings. I can't move as shock fills my every being. I still can't believe the taxi is still in one piece after going full speed through the thick woods—or as Rahjaesh called them, shortcuts—and that I'm still alive.
I climb out the taxi with shaky legs, my shuddering hands clutching on the taxi door, as if letting go would make me fall to the depth of the earth. Rahjaesh notices my struggle. He asks, warily, "All good, mister?"
I don't immediately answer. The simple act of turning around takes time in my state. Finally facing Rahjaesh, I give him a confident thumbs up, comically contrasting my body that's practically swaying in the wind.
Finally out of the taxi proper, I shudder a bit before taking a deep breath, allowing them to enter my system and calm me. However, just as one terror exits my system, another comes knocking.
My body shudders again, this time for a different reason: I can't even imagine how Akko will react to me forgetting our plans and being late. I've never faced a disgruntled girl my age before, let alone someone always cheery like Akko—the cheery ones are always the scariest when angry.
"are you all right mister?", Rahjaesh asks again, worried for me as always. Turning around, I spot Rahjaesh peeking from inside the taxi.
"peachy Rahjeash". I manage to word out. "just… peachy".
The gnome pauses for a moment, clearly picking up on my nervousness. He continues to lean back and reach behind his seat, trying to grab something from the back seat.
Seconds of rummaging later, Rahjaesh seems to have something triangular on his hands. Turning back and leaning outside the window, the gnome extends his hand and offers me an item.
"here mister, helps with anxieties".
I study the peculiar object on his hands, a triangular, no, a cone-like pointy red hat. A gnome hat, a red gnome hat. It's identical to what Rahjaesh is wearing, but it's noticeably larger.
"for… me?".
The gnome nods enthusiastically.
Hesitantly taking it, I look the hat over.
It's just that, a pointy red hat, adjusted to fit a human head.
"thanks? I guess?".
Rahjaesh beams, a look of satisfaction and accomplishment on his face.
Returning my attention to the shop, I begin walking towards it. My steps are slow and deliberate, each feels heavy as if my instincts screams at me to stay away from what's inside. The shop's overall decoration doesn't help, it actually worsens my nervousness. Various odd things that I can't even imagine to name are laid behind the glass display at the front of the shop, things like creepy sculptures, odd skeletons, bone crafts, jarred lizards and spiders and pickled cucumbers are proudly displayed at the front of the shop. While other knick-knacks of witch-wizard pop cultures are also displayed, things like posters of popular witch films and TV shows and other merchandises aimed for their demographic.
Though I practice magic and is technically a wizard, I'm not that familiar with their culture, so I often miss things that the general witch or wizard would know. I myself still see myself as a normal person, culture and norm-wise.
There's one poster that catches my attention, it's a picture of four… reanimated corpses, crossing the street. I recognize it as a parody to Abbey Road, though recognizably, this one lacks the zebra cross.
Looks like a show so bad it's good.
Above it, the words 'The Jaywalking Dead' is written.
Yep, definitely a bad-good show.
The owner of this place must love zombies, since there's some fake zombie limbs and whatnots placed somewhere inside the glass display. I was about to study those fake zombie limbs further if it wasn't for Rahjaesh reminding me of my goal.
"stop stalling mister! Just get inside!".
Taking a glance at Rahjaesh, I nod nervously to him. His words are true, I am stalling.
"r-right". I gulp. "here goes nothing".
Putting the pointy hat on my head, I look to Rahjaesh for encouragement. I put a thumbs up for Rahjaesh, and the gnome returns it with his own thumbs up.
Whether it's the pointy hat or the encouragement from Rahjaesh, I feel somewhat braver now.
With a deep breath, I proceed to take a step forward, towards the menacing front door of the shop.
But something stops my tracks, something that catches my attention.
On the door, a warning is written. A warning painted crudely with black paint.
"don't dead, open inside". I read it aloud.
Confused, I look back to Rahjaesh. The confusion overwhelms my nervousness and bravery.
"what the hell does that mean Rahjaesh?".
"I don't know mister!".
Returning my attention to the warning, I dismiss it as nothing but a famous line from a popular show, perhaps from one of those displayed here. Nothing to get worked up on.
Gathering my courage once again, I reach for the door. A bell rings as I swing the door open, signalling my arrival.
The first thing I notice inside is how gloomy it is. Like a true magical items shop, the overall design of the interior looks like something you'd see in a horror film, with dim lightings, dominantly dark coloured furnitures, and lots of odd and disturbing accessories placed around the room. Whether the creepy design is deliberate or not, I'll never know.
"welcome". The shopkeeper, the same one as last I was here, greets me, setting down his newspaper. "what can I help you with?".
Before I answer that question, I scan the room first. Unfortunately, or rather, fortunately, there's no sign of the trio I'm looking for.
"have you… were there any witch customers that came here before me?". I ask.
"lots of customers comes and goes, witches and normal folks, you gotta be a lot more specific".
Thinking for a bit, I try to be as descriptive and as clear as I can when describing my three friends.
"three witches, Luna Nova students, but I'm guessing they weren't wearing any uniforms since it's not a school day. About the same heights, one of them wears glasses, big, glasses".
I move my hands, making a shape of round glasses with my fingers.
"this big. And she has ginger hair, and freckles, don't forget the freckles that's the most important part. Then there's one Japanese girl, I think? Brown hair, extremely loud and incredibly close at times, also a ponytail she has. And last one, she looks like a dead person, actually she acts more like a dead person than she looks like one, but don't tell her I said that!".
"you can tell her that yourself".
I nearly jump when I hear the familiar monotone voice behind me, turning around, I find Sucy right in front of me.
"S-Sucy!". I yelp.
Though her overall expression and tone stays the same, the slight frown of her eyebrows is enough to sent a chill up my spine.
I expect her to say something along the lines of 'you're dead' or 'you're already dead'. but to my unfortunate surprise, she stays silent. Instead, she reaches for her belt.
I feel my soul slipping away as I notice her wand strapped on the belt she's reaching.
"S-Sucy Sucy Sucy! We're- we're fr- friends right? You- you're not going to do anything funny to me r-right?".
Ignoring my pleas, she grabs her wand and frees it from her belt.
"Ssss- Sucy!".
Fumbling over my words, I fail to form words to persuade her to stop. I can't imagine what sort of horrific spells she'll punish me with. I don't know if she's brave enough to hurt another student but I'm not keen on finding out.
As death draws near, I try and negotiate one last time. Bowing to her like a Japanese person would and gathering my nerves to form intelligible words.
"p-please y- you can have anything! My money, my wallet, my house, my goldfish, my body-".
I feel I can no longer come up with any more words as I hear Sucy stepping forward, wand drawn and ready. Closing my eyes and still bowing, I can only wish her punishment won't be severe. I wait and wait, for death's embrace to come. What is seconds feels like an eternity of waiting.
Eventually I open an eye, I find Sucy not in front of me any more. Still bowing, I search the room for her.
"how long does it take?". Sucy asks, handing her wand to the shopkeeper.
"about fifteen minutes… ish, that's pretty quick if you ask me".
Sucy continues to hand the chubby man her wand. Once he acquires it, the man quickly runs to the back of the shop, entering a an off-limit room and closing the door behind him.
I stay still, still in bowing position, completely dumbfounded.
"eh?".
Realizing I'm still in my previous position, Sucy turns towards me.
"keep doing that and maybe you'll get more blood in your head".
"eh?!".
I feel the gnome cap I'm wearing slide off and fall to the floor, along with the rest of my dignity.
"eh?!".
"is that the only word you can say?". Sucy asks, her usually monotone voice has a hint of annoyance now.
Quickly straightening my back, I try to regain my composure, sense, and overall dignity before collecting what just happened.
"S-Sucy?!".
"what". she asks, her tone very much annoyed.
"y-you're not going to kill me?". I stammer, still not believing what she didn't do.
"only because my wand's broken".
"b-but you're good with poisons….". I mumble.
Just as I finish my sentence, I see Sucy's eyes widen a bit as an idea strikes her. She reaches for her satchel, opening it I can spot a few bottles of her potions and poisons.
"okay okay I'll shut my mouth!".
Whether she feels guilty, or just too bothered to kill me. Sucy retracts her hand away from her satchel.
Relieved beyond believe, I take a deep breath, savouring it as if it's my last. Being alive has never felt so good. At least now Sucy's aware I'm here, just need to wait for her two friends to come.
Seemingly indifferent to the emotional roller coaster that just happened, Sucy begins to walk around the room, glancing at the various items in display inside. Looks like she's trying to kill time instead of me.
With just the two of us, two regularly passive people in conversations, silence is quick to grow. Being a good sociable human I am, I try and make small talk with my friend.
"so Sucy, what brings you here?". I ask politely.
"you just heard why I'm here", she answers disinterestedly.
This is going to be antagonizing, I guess she's still mad at what I said earlier. Though it's hard to tell since normally Sucy isn't talkative, so I'm not sure if this is just her normal self or she's mad beyond belief at me.
Well I doubt even her closest friends will know either. Thinking about it, this is the first time I'm actually alone with Sucy, and we've never really had a proper conversation before.
Since there's not much to talk about when I'm with Sucy, I decide to follow her around instead.
Just like a clueless kid following her mother in a furniture store, I cling to Sucy as she wanders around the shop, looking for anything interesting interesting alongside her.
Even as I do this, she doesn't speak a word, and neither do I. she's just looking from one item to the other, and I'm just following her from one point to another.
It's only after 5 minutes of silence that Sucy decides to speak up.
"what do you want?".
"what? I'm just following you around".
And just like that, she says nothing else and neither do I.
We continue this for a good 10 minutes, when she stops and stares at something she finds interesting, I do the same. But when I stop to stare at something I find interesting, she leaves me, as she does, I obediently stop staring and continue to follow her.
I have no idea why I do that.
At some point of our window shopping, Sucy suddenly stops and looks at a seemingly empty wall.
Thinking there's something interesting there, I stop and follow her gaze.
It's a wall.
Just that.
A wall.
Shifting my gaze between Sucy and the empty wall numerous time, my confusion pushes me to ask.
But before I have the chance to ask, Sucy points a finger towards the empty wall. "There used to be a caged broom in there".
"Caged broom? Why would a broom need a cage?", I remark. Not knowing the answer herself, Sucy lightly shrugs.
Regardless of what I said, I think I do remember there being a broom there. But I can't put my finger on when I last saw it and with who…
"I just heard it's a special broom, no one could control it properly", I hear Sucy remark.
"Sounds more like a burden to me", I say.
I expect Sucy to continue her browsing, but unexpectedly, she keeps her gaze at where the caged broom used to lie, seemingly lost in thought. I'd ask her what's wrong, but I expect she'll just wave the question away.
Moments go by, and I'm beginning to wonder why would the missing broom interest her so much. This whole time she's only stopped to look at something creepy, like shrunken heads and jarred lizards and whatnots. But now she seems occupied with what she claimed to be a missing caged broom of all things.
Without taking her eyes off of the empty space, she unexpectedly calls to me.
"Jericho".
"hm? What is it?".
I wait for whatever she needs to say, but after a few seconds pass I'm starting to think that's all she has to say. Turning to Sucy, I find her still occupied with the empty space with no sign of speaking up further. Whether she changed her mind, or just messing with me, I'll never know.
The sound of a door being unlocked emerges from the back of the shop, catching both our attentions. Upon looking towards it we find that the shopkeeper has returned, a familiar wand on his hands.
The chubby man returns behind the counter, as he does, Sucy walks to the front, with me following not far behind her.
"so, apparently you got your wand cracked on the inside. But nothing a good ol' duct tape won't fix".
The chubby man chuckles at his own statement, but he and I soon find that Sucy was not impressed by it at all.
Clearing his throat, the shopkeeper attempts to reiterate his words
"I completely removed and replaced the cracked parts… no duct tapes were involved".
Seeing that humour doesn't work on this one, he decides to just hand Sucy her fixed wand. The witch takes it and begins to inspect it, carefully examining every inch of her wand.
"one big crack you got there, any interesting stories?". the shopkeeper asks.
"someone broke it". Sucy answers, attention undivided to her wand.
With that short answer, the chubby shopkeeper seems to give up in having small talk with the witch. Clearing his throat, he begins to run through a long piece of paper. Putting on a pair of glasses, he begins to carefully read what's written.
"so, the cracked part was pretty big, I had to replace the whole thing".
Sucy takes her attention away from her wand and looks to the shopkeeper.
"you're going to keep the broken part won't you?". she asks.
"if you wish so". the shopkeeper answers. "I'll cut the price if you do".
"how much is it worth?".
The shopkeeper pauses and thinks for awhile, placing a finger to his chubby chin.
"hmm… I don't know". he mumbles.
After a bit more of thinking, the shopkeeper snaps his fingers as he seems to have an idea.
"you know what? I'm not good with wand prices, let me get my friend who's an expert in wands".
He continues to reach for an old rotary telephone and quickly dials through, he seems to have no difficulties whatsoever with the device. Just looking at that sends an uncomfortable shudder up my spine.
After a ring or two his call seems to be answered, and soon the front door rings and enters a stranger.
Without wasting any minute, the stranger enters the counter, an elderly man with greyed beard and a peculiar Texan hat. The chubby one reaches below the counter and procures the broken part of Sucy's wand, showing it to his friend
"what do you think?". he asks his friend.
The bearded man examines the item for a few minutes, inspecting every part of it closely and carefully.
"quite valuable, yes. This here is standard Luna Nova, metal, tempered…".
He taps his finger on the table, deeply considering it's values.
"relatively new, good quality even after cracked, I'm sure there's people out there who can fix this".
After a few moments of consideration, the bearded man places the broken part on the table.
"it's good, yes, it is common made, but acquiring one is quite rare since it's only handed strictly for Luna Nova students. Nonetheless, it is still a rare and sought after material. I think Luna Nova wand parts easily lands around… 20, 30 pounds".
Hearing this, a light, victorious smile forms on Sucy's lips.
Seeing he has finished his verdict, the shopkeeper nods affirmatively at his friend. The shopkeeper continues to take the broken piece, checking it for himself.
"so how much". Sucy asks.
The shopkeeper looks up and places the broken piece back on the table.
"best I can do is 5 Pounds". he concludes.
"wh-what?". I, instead of Sucy, blurts out.
"well, it is valuable, but you've done a great job breaking it kid, fixing it would take a great deal of time, and a bit of fortune". the bearded man explains.
"you don't expect wands can be fixed cheaply no? 5 pounds is quite generous for a broken piece like this". the shopkeeper adds.
"th-that's a mighty drop". I sigh.
Sucy grunts audibly at the news, unsettling me, the shopkeeper, and the bearded man. She clearly seems disgruntled by the price. I expect her to ask for a higher price or something, but to my complete surprise she chooses to just ignore it. Reaching into her pocket, Sucy proceeds to pay the shopkeeper with no further questions asked.
Without saying anything else, Sucy turns around and proceeds to walk out of the shop, not bothering to even wait for me.
I quickly follow her. But before I do I make sure to pick up my gnome cap that I dropped on the floor.
"th-thanks for fixing it". I tell the two. "h-happy shopkeeping… or whatever!".
Exiting the shop, I search right and left for Sucy, finding her already a few buildings away from the magic item's cafe.
Catching up to her, I make sure to wear my gnome cap properly so it wont fall off again.
"thanks for waiting for me". I thank Sucy as I finally walk side by side with her.
"you're welcome". she answers.
She answered with her usual monotone voice again, just seconds ago she seems like she's not satisfied at all with the deal, but just in such a short moment she manages to return to her usual self.
Guessing that talking about the deal wouldn't be the best idea, I try to find something to talk to her about.
"so…. what did happen to your wand?".
"you heard the answer". she answers dismissively.
"yeah but it's Akko, yes?".
Sucy simply nods in reply.
That's not a first. Remembering the events during that one alchemy class we had, I was sure Akko is some kind of trouble magnet. The mention of her name however, reminds me of the most pressing matter at this moment.
"so… are we heading to your friends now?". I ask, trying to hide my growing nervousness.
"friends? Who are you talking about".
"hahah, Sucy you're so funny".
I chuckle openly, though it's more as an effect to light things up rather than me actually finding her statement funny. Disturbingly, she doesn't seem to return the humour, she just stares off to where she's walking, no sign of her joking in her statement.
But there's more pressing issue at hand, I've yet to meet Akko and I fear that me being late would make her upset.
"so where are they? Akko and Lotte I mean".
"back at the school".
"the school? But I thought we were going to-".
"Akko broke something important, so she got some cleaning up to do. Lotte decided to help her. Needless to say, our plan's out the window".
Talk about luck. On one hand I'm worried of what sort of punishment Akko's in for, and on the other I'm glad that I'm not late for anything at all. I feel an unusual form of guilty relief.
It all works out in the end, kinda.
Continuing our walk, I just realize that I've been following her blindly this whole time. We've walked for some time now and I have no idea where she's heading.
"so where are you going?".
"the shopkeeper doesn't allow wands to be used inside his shop".
I wait for her to finish her answer, but now noticing her silence, I realize that is her answer.
"meaning…".
"the park".
"t-that's pretty far away, why not just use it here".
"you're free to go away".
"and waste my taxi money? No ma'am".
Actually I'm also following her so that if she chooses to go home I can just hitch a ride. I don't want to waste money if I can get a free ride.
"why the park anyway?".
Without taking her eyes from her destination, Sucy continues to answer my question. I'd guess that she's annoyed by it, but it's really hard to tell with her overall monotone voice. "there's some rare night time mushrooms at the park".
"edible mushrooms?". I ask, though that's a very optimist guess.
"no", she says, back still turned towards me. Sighing to myself, I follow her, only because she's my ticket for a free ride back.
Author's Notes: nothing fancy here, just clearing up that when Sucy calls him by his name, it was not a typo, he's just that oblivious.
New New Author's Notes: well, isn't this nice, after you waited for an eternity for the 21st chapter, this one came much quicker. College won't be back until 5th of February, so that's that, I'm all yours. Now the chapter, ho how much references in it amirite (it's just three but bear with me), Shakespear, The Walking Dead, The Beatles' Abby Road, Pawn Stars.