Disclaimer: I don't own nothing.
A/N: This is for Raistlin Majere, the anonymous reviewer. If you're reading this, I appreciate it very much. Thank you for the flame, I totally deserved that. Blushing scarlet Spelling never was my strong point. However I must say, I don't think a badly spelled summary (which is not spelled with an e) is a reason not to read a story, as Microsoft Word has spell check. Also, Mr. or Mrs. Perfect, do you honestly think Raistlin would say dude? Sorry, that slipped out. Anyway, I do appreciate you catching my mistake. Hope you've developed a better opinion of my writing. This isn't my best story, if you were wondering. And, Raistlin's mistake later this chapter was written approximately a year ago, so it has nothing to do with you.
American Culture
We left Mrs. Casa's class and gathered our books before heading outside. "Just to warn you," Jess was addressing me. "We'll be a bit squished. My Corvette is a two-seater."
"Um, all right." I had no clue what she was talking about, but decided to go along with it. Soon after we reached the lawn in front of the school, Maegith found out the hard way she'd been carrying one of her folders backwards when it spilled out all over the lawn. She cursed loudly. Jess and I bent down to help her pick everything up, but she waved us away.
"Go show Daniel your Baby, Jess. I'll catch up in a minute." I was confused by her terminology, but went along with Jess. We walked down the block for a while, and Jess stopped when we got to a thing colored deep black. It had red flame markings on the end, and the word 'Corvette' in silver on the back. From what I'd read the night before, I surmised it was some type of a car. What I believe was called the 'license plate' bore the words "beating u." Judging by the other cars around it, it was very high class. Then I realized Maeg hadn't been referring to a real baby, but one in the sense of a knight's prize sword, or a mage's most valuable book. Jess unlocked the car, and was showing me the seats and other features. Then I realized that Maeg seemed to be taking a long time.
"Excuse me a second, I think I dropped something too." Jess nodded, and I started walking back towards the school. After only a few feet, my Elven hearing started to pick up what I couldn't hear from the car. I also saw a heavy young man with curly blond hair approach Maegith.
"Hi Maegith," the boy said, leering at her.
"Oh, bug off Arnold." She started to get up, having re-organized her folder. Sensing trouble, I walked a little closer.
"Wanna come for a ride with me?" Arnold indicated a battered old truck. "I could give you a good ride!" He smiled lecherously.
I could see Maegith start to get flustered. "I said bug off! Anyway, I've told you, I already have a boyfriend." I kept walking towards them.
"Oh, yeah. I remember. George Cooper, in Westchester. What's he going to do from there?" He grabbed Maeg's wrist.
"Let go!" Maeg wrenched he wrist back. "I ... I broke up with George." I could tell she was lying about the whole thing by the way she started to stumble on her words. I started walking faster. "I have a new boyfriend," she said. "Right here at Oak Hill! His name is ... ah..."
I timed my arrival perfectly. "Daniel Silver." I put my arm possessively around Maegith's shoulders and hoped she'd play along. I didn't offer Arnold my hand to shake. I had to nudge Maegith lightly so she'd get the look of shock off of her face. She recovered quickly, and crossed her arms in and 'I told you so' gesture. I addressed the boy. "Now, I'd best not see you touching my girl or bothering her in any way." I hoped Maegith wouldn't take offense at my words or possessive attitude.
Arnold looked angry, then amused. "Or what? Do you really want to fight me?" He looked at my skeptically.
"Are you sure it's you who should be asking that question?" I pointedly stared at his considerable girth. "Anyway, to answer your question, no, I don't particularly want to fight you, or anyone, but I will if I have to. C'mon, Maeg." I lightly steered her away, towards Jess's car. By this time, Jess had started walking our way to see what had happened. I quickly dropped my arm. Maegith looked up at me gratefully.
"Thanks a lot. How'd you know I needed help? You were great!"
"Oh, just call it instinct." I hoped she wouldn't probe about how I'd seen her all of the way from Jess's car. We walked the rest of the way to Jess's car. "Okay. I found the thing I'd dropped. I'm ready."
Jess motioned to the open doors of the car. "Hop in. As I said, it'll be a little squished, because it's a two seater, but we should all fit." I got in on one side and moved over on the seat as much as I could to allow room for Maegith to fit. The other side had an odd wheel thing and a lot of little buttons and dials. I started to get nervous because of the eerie resemblance it bore to things of gnome make. However, Maegith and Jess seemed perfectly comfortable, so I tried to calm myself. As we were about to go, Maeg thought of something.
"Oh, Daniel? Is this your first time in a real car?" I nodded. "Then you'd best sit next to the window so you don't get car sick. It'll be a lot faster than anything you're used to from Africa, and this is a new shirt." She grinned to let me know she was joking about me throwing up on her. We traded places.
"Hold on," said Jess as she turned the key. The car made a rumbling sound and started to move. Jess turned the car out from where it had been parked and started to drive down the street. It felt odd; amazing and nauseating at the same time. Jess opened the window I was seated next to let some fresh air in. When the air hit my face, I immediately felt better. I guess Jess noticed the giddy grin on my face. "You want to go faster?" I shrugged, and she picked up speed. It was an extraordinary feeling, moving so fast that the street started to look a bit blurred if I watched in a certain way. Suddenly, I was thrown back against the seat.
"What happened? Did it break?" I panicked, thinking once again about gnome inventions.
"No silly. We just got to a traffic light." Maegith motioned at a circular, red light suspended above us. "See, red means you have to stop, so people going in different directions can cross safely. Green is go, and yellow means slow down before a red light." She finished her explanation, and the light turned green and we were off again.
After many turns and several more traffic lights that left me totally lost, we turned onto a small, tree-lined street. "This is the block where our houses are," Jess said. She slowed the car down a bit. I looked around. There was a house on the left side of the street with two beautiful willow trees on the lawn and sign that said 'For Sale' that reminded me of something.
Raistlin? I thought. Where am I going to stay over night? I haven't seen any inns or anything.
I guess we'll have to buy a house. Raistlin sounded a bit miffed that he hadn't planned for that. Have you seen any for sale?
Actually, we just passed one! That's what made me think of it.
All right. I'll see what I can do. I just put a cell phone in your book bag. I remembered reading about that amazing form of communication. Later, after I buy it, I'll call you on the cell phone. Act surprised that it's the one on this street.
I mentally nodded and turned my attention back to what Jess was saying. We were just turning into the 'driveway' I believe she called it, of her house. Maeg's house was the one directly to the right. We all got out of the car, and walked into Jess's house. She mentioned that her parents were out at the moment. We went into Jess's room. The first thing you noticed about it was the big bookcase and all of the loose books strewn around the room. There was also a bed and a computer and a dresser and some shelves. On the wooden floor was a very plush looking rug.
For a while, we did our homework, the girls helping me on the math and a few other things, me helping them on the social studies. "Have you ever seen a computer?" Jess suddenly asked when we were done.
"Yes, but I'd be interested in seeing the kinds of things you have here! My father had very few things on his." Jess turned on the computer, and I watched the screen come up with interest. When the main page came up, it had several little boxes, on a background that had a man that seemed strangely familiar. When Maeg saw it, she was stuck by an idea. "Oh yeah! You said you read some of the DragonLance books! That's a great picture of Raistlin, isn't it? Not quite how I imagined him, but close enough!" I looked at the picture again, and saw it did almost, slightly resemble the Shalafi. Not really though.
I couldn't help myself. "That's not how ..." I suddenly remembered my caution. "... I imagined him either." I finished, a bit lamely. The girls then showed me some of the things you can do on the computer, and it was fairly interesting. Then, Maegith had an epiphany. "Daniel said he had a computer in Africa, so this must be kinda boring for him, but I know something I'm sure they didn't have! Movies! Come on! Lets go to the mall. Anyway, there's a new DragonLance book I need from Walden."
Jess grinned. "Yeah! I've finally gotten enough money for Final Fantasy X2! I haven't had a chance to go buy it yet. Why don't we take your car this time, it will be less squished."
I was quite baffled by all of this talk; what was a mall? And a Final Fantasy? That didn't sound too good. Then, my thoughts were broken by a loud ringing song. I was surprised, and then I heard Raistlin. That's your cell phone, idiot. Don't just stand there gawping; it's in the outer pouch of your book bag. Press the little green button, and act surprised. I did as he told me.
"Hello?" I heard Raistlin's voice coming from the phone, and nearly dropped it in shock. I'd read about these things, but having one was quite a different experience.
"Good afternoon, Son!" Raistlin spoke loudly, in case the girls could hear. "I found a house, and the former owners quite generously agreed we could move in tonight!"
"A house? Where?" I hoped I sounded properly surprised.
"A street called Herbert Lane. A one-story ranch with two willow trees in the front. Here... I'll give you directions."
There, I interrupted. "I don't need directions! That is so weird. That's the street where two of my new friends live! I'm at one of their houses right now!"
"Alright then. I'll see you tonight. Bye."
"Bye, Dad." I hung up, and addressed the girls. "This is so awesome! The house my dad got is the one that was for sale down the block."
The girls looked at each other, and as one yelled, "Cool!" Then, they steered me out the door to Maeg's house. She went in what I heard her call the garage and came out with what I could only assume was another car. However, it looked totally different from Jess's. This one was tiny, and more squarish. It was a bright blue and had a license plate reading "bookluvr." Maeg hopped out and opened a door behind hers and motioned for me to get in. I did and fastened on the belt. We drove for a while, and then pulled up to a huge building, the biggest I'd seen yet here. There were a lot of other cars parked around us.
Jess looked thoughtful. "I'm not sure what movies are playing, so let's go to dinner and think about it." All of a sudden, I realized how hungry I was.
"Were do we get dinner?" I couldn't smell anything that seemed edible. Maeg grinned.
"I keep forgetting you've never been to a mall. There's a food court upstairs, where you can get anything you want. Jess and I will probably get pizza." I suppose my face showed my lack of comprehension at the word 'pizza'. "Oh, you've got to get pizza if you've never had it. It is basic American cuisine. Come on." She led the way inside the building. Then, I did start to smell food, though not anything I'd ever eaten. I was led to a little booth with a bunch of circular things in a display case. "Two plain and one pepperoni, please." The man nodded. We walked a little way down and another man asked what we wanted to drink. "Ah ... a coke and two root beers."Maeg turned to me. "I think you'll like root beer. It's great with pizza." The man handed Maeg three of what looked like cups, and three pieces of what I could only guess is pizza. Maeg handed Jess one, me one and took one herself. Then, both girls grabbed for a bottle of red and yellow flakes. Maeg surrendered it to Jess, who poured the flakes on her pizza. Maeg then did the same and took my slice back.
"Wait! What is that?" Maeg smiled mysteriously as Jess contained a laugh.
"You'll see. It's part of the experience." She then proceeded to cover my pizza with the stuff. We then went over to a very odd looking table and sat down. Jess and Maegith both took big bites of their food, gasped in unison and took long drinks from their cups. When done, they looked at me expectantly. "Come on! Try it!" Maeg urged me. I looked at it dubiously. "Don't worry, it won't kill you."
I mustered up my courage and took a tiny bite. As it hit my tongue, my mouth felt like it was exploding. I started to choke, and Maeg pounded me on the back. "Ah. The joys of hot peppers!" Jess sounded quite amused.
I finally got my breath back. "How do you eat that?" I managed to gasp.
Maeg smiled wryly. "Practice. Don't worry. Everyone has that reaction at some point." She brushed off some of the pepper flakes with her napkin. "Now try." I hesitantly brought the slice back to my mouth. I took another bite. There was another explosion, but of a different sort. It was delicious! Sweet, and spicy at the same time! I wolfed down the rest of the slice without further hesitation. Then. It was time to go to the movies.
The girls led me out of the food court, and to one of the oddest things I'd ever seen. It appeared to be a metal staircase, but it was moving! I think Maeg saw my shocked expression because she proceeded to explain. "Don't worry, it's called an escalator. You stand on one of the stairs and it takes you to the lower level automatically. Americans tend to be quite lazy! Come on." We went down the escalator, which I'm very pleased to say did NOT blow up.
Jess and Maeg told me we were going to see a 'science fiction' movie call Star Wars Episode III, A New Evil. They got the tickets and walked over to a booth with a big line. "What's this?" I asked, perplexed.
"Oh, this is the concession stand. We can get snacks here for in the movies. You have to taste popcorn. Don't worry, it's not spicy at all." Maeg added when she saw my wary expression. "We'll also get some more soda, and maybe chocolate."
"Chocolate? You can get that here?" I was very surprised, only people in the highest classes on Krynn could afford it, and only the Silvanesti made it correctly. I'd only recently become acquainted with it in my days as Raistlin's apprentice.
Maeg and Jess looked at each other and grinned; obviously there was some joke between them. Maeg grinned again. "Chocolate is life! Here, I'll get you some snowcaps. I'll get some M&Ms and we can split them." I hadn't the slightest idea what she could mean by 'snowcaps' and 'M&Ms', but then we were at the front of the line. Maeg ordered a bucket of 'popcorn' the previously mentioned sweets, and some 'sour gummy worms' for Jess. Then, we went downstairs into the movie theater. It was amazing! There were about one hundred seats and this huge screen with changing pictures on it.
Then the theater lights dimmed, and there was SOUND too! It was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen! We first saw previews, and then the movie. The movie was very interesting, though a bit predictable. I also didn't understand how all of this amazing technology could have been a long time ago, and said so to the girls. They smiled knowingly and told me that was the question of every person who'd ever seen Star Wars. We left the theater, and then went to Walden Books and Electronics Boutique to pick up the things Jess and Maeg wanted. I enjoyed looking around the stores, and realized how violent this culture was from the selection of 'video games.' Raistlin would have a hard time taking over, if those were indeed his plans.
We left the mall, and I decided that this was definitely one of the best days of my life. It couldn't get better. We drove back to our street, and the girls dropped me off at my new house. I walked up my driveway, and then had a dilemma. How do I get in? Raistlin hadn't passed me any keys.
Go up to the 'garage door', Raistlin instructed me. There you will find a key pad. Push in the numbers 3618. The door will open. You will go through to the door, where you can put in the same code to disable the burglar alarm. Go in, and type the code in again, pushing 'stay' first, so the alarm won't be set off by you. I've stocked you with food, more clothes, some of their money, a bed, and a surprise that you will find in the garage. Good first day! I was surprised at Raistlin's praise, but followed his instructions about getting into the garage to the letter.
When I opened the garage door, my mouth dropped open. I'd found Raistlin's surprise. There was a black, shiny new vehicle I believe was called a motorcycle. It had the word Ducati in silver on the side. Raistlin had even gotten me a vanity plate saying 'blckrobe'. It was beautiful! I guess the day could get better! I decided to ride it to school the next day, so I'd need a bit of practice. I went into the house and set my book bag down, but went right back out.
I got on the motorcycle and turned the key, which Raistlin had thoughtfully left in the vehicle, and promptly fell off. I guess it's a good thing elves don't need much sleep! It was still one of the best things I'd ever seen in my nearly century long life. Thank you SO much!
No problem. By the way, there's a manual on the kitchen table, and leather pants and jacket to protect you when you fall in the bedroom. And don't feel funny about the leather, most 'bikers' where it. I hurried inside to get the manual and protective clothing. I sat down and proceeded to read. I'd finished the whole book within the hour and decided to try again. I spent the rest of the night riding around, occasionally thanking Raistlin again. By morning, I was fairly good.
I caught a few hours of sleep, and then it was time for school. I put on my clothes and my new leather jacket and black helmet, and rode over to Maeg's house, where I'd agreed to meet the girls so they could give me a ride to school. When Maeg and Jess walked out, their mouths fell open in twin expressions of amazement. Jess recovered first.
"Nice bike!" She managed to say.
"Thanks. My dad got it for me last night, as a kind of apology for a hard move. By the way, here's money for my ticket, dinner, and snack last night. My dad hadn't changed our money yet."
"Oh, thanks. Unnecessary, but thanks. By the way," Maeg pulled out a group of thin papers. "I thought you might want to catch up with American news. Here's the paper. There's an interesting article about an amazing theft chain yesterday on page two."
With that, we set off to school. We got there, and there was another ten minutes before school started. I decided to look at the article, and got a big surprise. Steel Thief Robbery Chain Yesterday was the headline. It looked interesting. A chain of robberies hit New York and the surrounding area yesterday. All were executed in broad daylight, though there are no suspects. The items taken were seemingly unrelated, some of no value. A motorcycle, notebooks, loose-leaf paper, writing utensils, and clothes were among the things taken. However, there is one peculiar element linking these strange robberies. At all of the crime scenes, some odd steel coins were left. (See picture above) When asked, all of the storeowners and employees claimed not to have seen anything out of the ordinary. No fingerprints were found at any of the sites. However, the police are still looking. Anyone with information is asked to call either the police hotline (555-HELP) or this newspaper's information line, 555-NEWS. The article continued along the same vein, with some interviews with the different storeowners. However, I had read all that I needed to. The coin they showed only enforced my shock. I hoped Raistlin was awake.
Shalafi? I heard a grunt. I guess he hadn't been awake. Bad move on my part. I winced. Are you awake?
Now I am. What do you want?
Um, sorry for waking you, but it's kind of important. How did you pay for the things you got for me yesterday?
Steel. Why?
I was a bit amused. My Shalafi had actually made a mistake! They don't take steel here! There was an article in a local newspaper today. I focused my gaze on the paper again so Raistlin could read it. I could practically hear his blush.
It never occurred to me; they're such an advanced society in every other aspect! I suppose I should give them some gold for the motorcycle at least... But this still wasn't important enough for you to wake me up about! Don't do it again. With that strict reprimand, Raistlin broke off our mental connection.
The first few periods of the day passed without incident. Then, instead of gym, went with Maeg and Jess to Chorus. They asked me if I could sing, and I smiled slightly. All elves inherently have beautiful voices, and, outcast though I am, mine was no different. "A bit." I answered. We got to the Chorus room and the teacher, Mr. Esposito asked me the samee question. When I told him I could, he asked me to sing a few notes. When I did, he kept his face fairly neutral, though I could tell he was impressed.
"Good. The tenor section is over there," he pointed. "I hope you sign up for chorus when you get your own schedule." Chorus was fun, and I decided I would sign up. It had been too long since I practiced singing. I had nearly forgotten how much I loved it.
After school, we went over to Maeg's house. In her room, like Jess's, the most prominent feature were the bookcases. Hers were much neater than Jess's, possibly because she had two. We worked on our homework and then the girls agreed to teach me some American card games. First, though, there was something I had to look at. With Maeg's permission, I went over to her bookcase and looked for the 'DragonLance' series. They were placed very prominently on the second shelf in a long line. I started reading the backs, which I found contained summaries. I was astonished to discover what looked like accurate accounts of my Shalafi's childhood and young adulthood. As I went to pick up the next book, I stopped myself. It didn't seem wise to read the future. Then, at the end of the row, another title jumped out at me. Dalamar the Dark. I grabbed that one. It didn't say much on the back, except it was about my childhood. I idly wondered if it was accurate. Then, I sat down to a game of 'Go Fish'. Finally, my second day was over.
AN: Well, hope you peoples liked this chapter. I do appreciate criticism, though I will respond with the same tone and manner it was given in. Please review!
Megan: Thankees!
Guan: Thanks! Yeah, I had fun coming up with that one.
Jade Limil: To clear up your question, no. All they caught was the word "Silvanesti." Besides, Dally's statement was based on Tolkien's beautiful works, and never appeared in DL. Thanks for reviewing.
A/N: This is for Raistlin Majere, the anonymous reviewer. If you're reading this, I appreciate it very much. Thank you for the flame, I totally deserved that. Blushing scarlet Spelling never was my strong point. However I must say, I don't think a badly spelled summary (which is not spelled with an e) is a reason not to read a story, as Microsoft Word has spell check. Also, Mr. or Mrs. Perfect, do you honestly think Raistlin would say dude? Sorry, that slipped out. Anyway, I do appreciate you catching my mistake. Hope you've developed a better opinion of my writing. This isn't my best story, if you were wondering. And, Raistlin's mistake later this chapter was written approximately a year ago, so it has nothing to do with you.
American Culture
We left Mrs. Casa's class and gathered our books before heading outside. "Just to warn you," Jess was addressing me. "We'll be a bit squished. My Corvette is a two-seater."
"Um, all right." I had no clue what she was talking about, but decided to go along with it. Soon after we reached the lawn in front of the school, Maegith found out the hard way she'd been carrying one of her folders backwards when it spilled out all over the lawn. She cursed loudly. Jess and I bent down to help her pick everything up, but she waved us away.
"Go show Daniel your Baby, Jess. I'll catch up in a minute." I was confused by her terminology, but went along with Jess. We walked down the block for a while, and Jess stopped when we got to a thing colored deep black. It had red flame markings on the end, and the word 'Corvette' in silver on the back. From what I'd read the night before, I surmised it was some type of a car. What I believe was called the 'license plate' bore the words "beating u." Judging by the other cars around it, it was very high class. Then I realized Maeg hadn't been referring to a real baby, but one in the sense of a knight's prize sword, or a mage's most valuable book. Jess unlocked the car, and was showing me the seats and other features. Then I realized that Maeg seemed to be taking a long time.
"Excuse me a second, I think I dropped something too." Jess nodded, and I started walking back towards the school. After only a few feet, my Elven hearing started to pick up what I couldn't hear from the car. I also saw a heavy young man with curly blond hair approach Maegith.
"Hi Maegith," the boy said, leering at her.
"Oh, bug off Arnold." She started to get up, having re-organized her folder. Sensing trouble, I walked a little closer.
"Wanna come for a ride with me?" Arnold indicated a battered old truck. "I could give you a good ride!" He smiled lecherously.
I could see Maegith start to get flustered. "I said bug off! Anyway, I've told you, I already have a boyfriend." I kept walking towards them.
"Oh, yeah. I remember. George Cooper, in Westchester. What's he going to do from there?" He grabbed Maeg's wrist.
"Let go!" Maeg wrenched he wrist back. "I ... I broke up with George." I could tell she was lying about the whole thing by the way she started to stumble on her words. I started walking faster. "I have a new boyfriend," she said. "Right here at Oak Hill! His name is ... ah..."
I timed my arrival perfectly. "Daniel Silver." I put my arm possessively around Maegith's shoulders and hoped she'd play along. I didn't offer Arnold my hand to shake. I had to nudge Maegith lightly so she'd get the look of shock off of her face. She recovered quickly, and crossed her arms in and 'I told you so' gesture. I addressed the boy. "Now, I'd best not see you touching my girl or bothering her in any way." I hoped Maegith wouldn't take offense at my words or possessive attitude.
Arnold looked angry, then amused. "Or what? Do you really want to fight me?" He looked at my skeptically.
"Are you sure it's you who should be asking that question?" I pointedly stared at his considerable girth. "Anyway, to answer your question, no, I don't particularly want to fight you, or anyone, but I will if I have to. C'mon, Maeg." I lightly steered her away, towards Jess's car. By this time, Jess had started walking our way to see what had happened. I quickly dropped my arm. Maegith looked up at me gratefully.
"Thanks a lot. How'd you know I needed help? You were great!"
"Oh, just call it instinct." I hoped she wouldn't probe about how I'd seen her all of the way from Jess's car. We walked the rest of the way to Jess's car. "Okay. I found the thing I'd dropped. I'm ready."
Jess motioned to the open doors of the car. "Hop in. As I said, it'll be a little squished, because it's a two seater, but we should all fit." I got in on one side and moved over on the seat as much as I could to allow room for Maegith to fit. The other side had an odd wheel thing and a lot of little buttons and dials. I started to get nervous because of the eerie resemblance it bore to things of gnome make. However, Maegith and Jess seemed perfectly comfortable, so I tried to calm myself. As we were about to go, Maeg thought of something.
"Oh, Daniel? Is this your first time in a real car?" I nodded. "Then you'd best sit next to the window so you don't get car sick. It'll be a lot faster than anything you're used to from Africa, and this is a new shirt." She grinned to let me know she was joking about me throwing up on her. We traded places.
"Hold on," said Jess as she turned the key. The car made a rumbling sound and started to move. Jess turned the car out from where it had been parked and started to drive down the street. It felt odd; amazing and nauseating at the same time. Jess opened the window I was seated next to let some fresh air in. When the air hit my face, I immediately felt better. I guess Jess noticed the giddy grin on my face. "You want to go faster?" I shrugged, and she picked up speed. It was an extraordinary feeling, moving so fast that the street started to look a bit blurred if I watched in a certain way. Suddenly, I was thrown back against the seat.
"What happened? Did it break?" I panicked, thinking once again about gnome inventions.
"No silly. We just got to a traffic light." Maegith motioned at a circular, red light suspended above us. "See, red means you have to stop, so people going in different directions can cross safely. Green is go, and yellow means slow down before a red light." She finished her explanation, and the light turned green and we were off again.
After many turns and several more traffic lights that left me totally lost, we turned onto a small, tree-lined street. "This is the block where our houses are," Jess said. She slowed the car down a bit. I looked around. There was a house on the left side of the street with two beautiful willow trees on the lawn and sign that said 'For Sale' that reminded me of something.
Raistlin? I thought. Where am I going to stay over night? I haven't seen any inns or anything.
I guess we'll have to buy a house. Raistlin sounded a bit miffed that he hadn't planned for that. Have you seen any for sale?
Actually, we just passed one! That's what made me think of it.
All right. I'll see what I can do. I just put a cell phone in your book bag. I remembered reading about that amazing form of communication. Later, after I buy it, I'll call you on the cell phone. Act surprised that it's the one on this street.
I mentally nodded and turned my attention back to what Jess was saying. We were just turning into the 'driveway' I believe she called it, of her house. Maeg's house was the one directly to the right. We all got out of the car, and walked into Jess's house. She mentioned that her parents were out at the moment. We went into Jess's room. The first thing you noticed about it was the big bookcase and all of the loose books strewn around the room. There was also a bed and a computer and a dresser and some shelves. On the wooden floor was a very plush looking rug.
For a while, we did our homework, the girls helping me on the math and a few other things, me helping them on the social studies. "Have you ever seen a computer?" Jess suddenly asked when we were done.
"Yes, but I'd be interested in seeing the kinds of things you have here! My father had very few things on his." Jess turned on the computer, and I watched the screen come up with interest. When the main page came up, it had several little boxes, on a background that had a man that seemed strangely familiar. When Maeg saw it, she was stuck by an idea. "Oh yeah! You said you read some of the DragonLance books! That's a great picture of Raistlin, isn't it? Not quite how I imagined him, but close enough!" I looked at the picture again, and saw it did almost, slightly resemble the Shalafi. Not really though.
I couldn't help myself. "That's not how ..." I suddenly remembered my caution. "... I imagined him either." I finished, a bit lamely. The girls then showed me some of the things you can do on the computer, and it was fairly interesting. Then, Maegith had an epiphany. "Daniel said he had a computer in Africa, so this must be kinda boring for him, but I know something I'm sure they didn't have! Movies! Come on! Lets go to the mall. Anyway, there's a new DragonLance book I need from Walden."
Jess grinned. "Yeah! I've finally gotten enough money for Final Fantasy X2! I haven't had a chance to go buy it yet. Why don't we take your car this time, it will be less squished."
I was quite baffled by all of this talk; what was a mall? And a Final Fantasy? That didn't sound too good. Then, my thoughts were broken by a loud ringing song. I was surprised, and then I heard Raistlin. That's your cell phone, idiot. Don't just stand there gawping; it's in the outer pouch of your book bag. Press the little green button, and act surprised. I did as he told me.
"Hello?" I heard Raistlin's voice coming from the phone, and nearly dropped it in shock. I'd read about these things, but having one was quite a different experience.
"Good afternoon, Son!" Raistlin spoke loudly, in case the girls could hear. "I found a house, and the former owners quite generously agreed we could move in tonight!"
"A house? Where?" I hoped I sounded properly surprised.
"A street called Herbert Lane. A one-story ranch with two willow trees in the front. Here... I'll give you directions."
There, I interrupted. "I don't need directions! That is so weird. That's the street where two of my new friends live! I'm at one of their houses right now!"
"Alright then. I'll see you tonight. Bye."
"Bye, Dad." I hung up, and addressed the girls. "This is so awesome! The house my dad got is the one that was for sale down the block."
The girls looked at each other, and as one yelled, "Cool!" Then, they steered me out the door to Maeg's house. She went in what I heard her call the garage and came out with what I could only assume was another car. However, it looked totally different from Jess's. This one was tiny, and more squarish. It was a bright blue and had a license plate reading "bookluvr." Maeg hopped out and opened a door behind hers and motioned for me to get in. I did and fastened on the belt. We drove for a while, and then pulled up to a huge building, the biggest I'd seen yet here. There were a lot of other cars parked around us.
Jess looked thoughtful. "I'm not sure what movies are playing, so let's go to dinner and think about it." All of a sudden, I realized how hungry I was.
"Were do we get dinner?" I couldn't smell anything that seemed edible. Maeg grinned.
"I keep forgetting you've never been to a mall. There's a food court upstairs, where you can get anything you want. Jess and I will probably get pizza." I suppose my face showed my lack of comprehension at the word 'pizza'. "Oh, you've got to get pizza if you've never had it. It is basic American cuisine. Come on." She led the way inside the building. Then, I did start to smell food, though not anything I'd ever eaten. I was led to a little booth with a bunch of circular things in a display case. "Two plain and one pepperoni, please." The man nodded. We walked a little way down and another man asked what we wanted to drink. "Ah ... a coke and two root beers."Maeg turned to me. "I think you'll like root beer. It's great with pizza." The man handed Maeg three of what looked like cups, and three pieces of what I could only guess is pizza. Maeg handed Jess one, me one and took one herself. Then, both girls grabbed for a bottle of red and yellow flakes. Maeg surrendered it to Jess, who poured the flakes on her pizza. Maeg then did the same and took my slice back.
"Wait! What is that?" Maeg smiled mysteriously as Jess contained a laugh.
"You'll see. It's part of the experience." She then proceeded to cover my pizza with the stuff. We then went over to a very odd looking table and sat down. Jess and Maegith both took big bites of their food, gasped in unison and took long drinks from their cups. When done, they looked at me expectantly. "Come on! Try it!" Maeg urged me. I looked at it dubiously. "Don't worry, it won't kill you."
I mustered up my courage and took a tiny bite. As it hit my tongue, my mouth felt like it was exploding. I started to choke, and Maeg pounded me on the back. "Ah. The joys of hot peppers!" Jess sounded quite amused.
I finally got my breath back. "How do you eat that?" I managed to gasp.
Maeg smiled wryly. "Practice. Don't worry. Everyone has that reaction at some point." She brushed off some of the pepper flakes with her napkin. "Now try." I hesitantly brought the slice back to my mouth. I took another bite. There was another explosion, but of a different sort. It was delicious! Sweet, and spicy at the same time! I wolfed down the rest of the slice without further hesitation. Then. It was time to go to the movies.
The girls led me out of the food court, and to one of the oddest things I'd ever seen. It appeared to be a metal staircase, but it was moving! I think Maeg saw my shocked expression because she proceeded to explain. "Don't worry, it's called an escalator. You stand on one of the stairs and it takes you to the lower level automatically. Americans tend to be quite lazy! Come on." We went down the escalator, which I'm very pleased to say did NOT blow up.
Jess and Maeg told me we were going to see a 'science fiction' movie call Star Wars Episode III, A New Evil. They got the tickets and walked over to a booth with a big line. "What's this?" I asked, perplexed.
"Oh, this is the concession stand. We can get snacks here for in the movies. You have to taste popcorn. Don't worry, it's not spicy at all." Maeg added when she saw my wary expression. "We'll also get some more soda, and maybe chocolate."
"Chocolate? You can get that here?" I was very surprised, only people in the highest classes on Krynn could afford it, and only the Silvanesti made it correctly. I'd only recently become acquainted with it in my days as Raistlin's apprentice.
Maeg and Jess looked at each other and grinned; obviously there was some joke between them. Maeg grinned again. "Chocolate is life! Here, I'll get you some snowcaps. I'll get some M&Ms and we can split them." I hadn't the slightest idea what she could mean by 'snowcaps' and 'M&Ms', but then we were at the front of the line. Maeg ordered a bucket of 'popcorn' the previously mentioned sweets, and some 'sour gummy worms' for Jess. Then, we went downstairs into the movie theater. It was amazing! There were about one hundred seats and this huge screen with changing pictures on it.
Then the theater lights dimmed, and there was SOUND too! It was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen! We first saw previews, and then the movie. The movie was very interesting, though a bit predictable. I also didn't understand how all of this amazing technology could have been a long time ago, and said so to the girls. They smiled knowingly and told me that was the question of every person who'd ever seen Star Wars. We left the theater, and then went to Walden Books and Electronics Boutique to pick up the things Jess and Maeg wanted. I enjoyed looking around the stores, and realized how violent this culture was from the selection of 'video games.' Raistlin would have a hard time taking over, if those were indeed his plans.
We left the mall, and I decided that this was definitely one of the best days of my life. It couldn't get better. We drove back to our street, and the girls dropped me off at my new house. I walked up my driveway, and then had a dilemma. How do I get in? Raistlin hadn't passed me any keys.
Go up to the 'garage door', Raistlin instructed me. There you will find a key pad. Push in the numbers 3618. The door will open. You will go through to the door, where you can put in the same code to disable the burglar alarm. Go in, and type the code in again, pushing 'stay' first, so the alarm won't be set off by you. I've stocked you with food, more clothes, some of their money, a bed, and a surprise that you will find in the garage. Good first day! I was surprised at Raistlin's praise, but followed his instructions about getting into the garage to the letter.
When I opened the garage door, my mouth dropped open. I'd found Raistlin's surprise. There was a black, shiny new vehicle I believe was called a motorcycle. It had the word Ducati in silver on the side. Raistlin had even gotten me a vanity plate saying 'blckrobe'. It was beautiful! I guess the day could get better! I decided to ride it to school the next day, so I'd need a bit of practice. I went into the house and set my book bag down, but went right back out.
I got on the motorcycle and turned the key, which Raistlin had thoughtfully left in the vehicle, and promptly fell off. I guess it's a good thing elves don't need much sleep! It was still one of the best things I'd ever seen in my nearly century long life. Thank you SO much!
No problem. By the way, there's a manual on the kitchen table, and leather pants and jacket to protect you when you fall in the bedroom. And don't feel funny about the leather, most 'bikers' where it. I hurried inside to get the manual and protective clothing. I sat down and proceeded to read. I'd finished the whole book within the hour and decided to try again. I spent the rest of the night riding around, occasionally thanking Raistlin again. By morning, I was fairly good.
I caught a few hours of sleep, and then it was time for school. I put on my clothes and my new leather jacket and black helmet, and rode over to Maeg's house, where I'd agreed to meet the girls so they could give me a ride to school. When Maeg and Jess walked out, their mouths fell open in twin expressions of amazement. Jess recovered first.
"Nice bike!" She managed to say.
"Thanks. My dad got it for me last night, as a kind of apology for a hard move. By the way, here's money for my ticket, dinner, and snack last night. My dad hadn't changed our money yet."
"Oh, thanks. Unnecessary, but thanks. By the way," Maeg pulled out a group of thin papers. "I thought you might want to catch up with American news. Here's the paper. There's an interesting article about an amazing theft chain yesterday on page two."
With that, we set off to school. We got there, and there was another ten minutes before school started. I decided to look at the article, and got a big surprise. Steel Thief Robbery Chain Yesterday was the headline. It looked interesting. A chain of robberies hit New York and the surrounding area yesterday. All were executed in broad daylight, though there are no suspects. The items taken were seemingly unrelated, some of no value. A motorcycle, notebooks, loose-leaf paper, writing utensils, and clothes were among the things taken. However, there is one peculiar element linking these strange robberies. At all of the crime scenes, some odd steel coins were left. (See picture above) When asked, all of the storeowners and employees claimed not to have seen anything out of the ordinary. No fingerprints were found at any of the sites. However, the police are still looking. Anyone with information is asked to call either the police hotline (555-HELP) or this newspaper's information line, 555-NEWS. The article continued along the same vein, with some interviews with the different storeowners. However, I had read all that I needed to. The coin they showed only enforced my shock. I hoped Raistlin was awake.
Shalafi? I heard a grunt. I guess he hadn't been awake. Bad move on my part. I winced. Are you awake?
Now I am. What do you want?
Um, sorry for waking you, but it's kind of important. How did you pay for the things you got for me yesterday?
Steel. Why?
I was a bit amused. My Shalafi had actually made a mistake! They don't take steel here! There was an article in a local newspaper today. I focused my gaze on the paper again so Raistlin could read it. I could practically hear his blush.
It never occurred to me; they're such an advanced society in every other aspect! I suppose I should give them some gold for the motorcycle at least... But this still wasn't important enough for you to wake me up about! Don't do it again. With that strict reprimand, Raistlin broke off our mental connection.
The first few periods of the day passed without incident. Then, instead of gym, went with Maeg and Jess to Chorus. They asked me if I could sing, and I smiled slightly. All elves inherently have beautiful voices, and, outcast though I am, mine was no different. "A bit." I answered. We got to the Chorus room and the teacher, Mr. Esposito asked me the samee question. When I told him I could, he asked me to sing a few notes. When I did, he kept his face fairly neutral, though I could tell he was impressed.
"Good. The tenor section is over there," he pointed. "I hope you sign up for chorus when you get your own schedule." Chorus was fun, and I decided I would sign up. It had been too long since I practiced singing. I had nearly forgotten how much I loved it.
After school, we went over to Maeg's house. In her room, like Jess's, the most prominent feature were the bookcases. Hers were much neater than Jess's, possibly because she had two. We worked on our homework and then the girls agreed to teach me some American card games. First, though, there was something I had to look at. With Maeg's permission, I went over to her bookcase and looked for the 'DragonLance' series. They were placed very prominently on the second shelf in a long line. I started reading the backs, which I found contained summaries. I was astonished to discover what looked like accurate accounts of my Shalafi's childhood and young adulthood. As I went to pick up the next book, I stopped myself. It didn't seem wise to read the future. Then, at the end of the row, another title jumped out at me. Dalamar the Dark. I grabbed that one. It didn't say much on the back, except it was about my childhood. I idly wondered if it was accurate. Then, I sat down to a game of 'Go Fish'. Finally, my second day was over.
AN: Well, hope you peoples liked this chapter. I do appreciate criticism, though I will respond with the same tone and manner it was given in. Please review!
Megan: Thankees!
Guan: Thanks! Yeah, I had fun coming up with that one.
Jade Limil: To clear up your question, no. All they caught was the word "Silvanesti." Besides, Dally's statement was based on Tolkien's beautiful works, and never appeared in DL. Thanks for reviewing.