Chapter Six

I opened my eyes the next morning to blinding sunlight. I closed my eyes again, squeezing them shut to protect them from the light that was streaming into my bedroom through my window—I had forgot to draw my curtains shut before I fell asleep last night.

Thinking suddenly about last night made me feel a mix of rushing emotions that I didn't want to feel. I felt confused and angry mostly but there was also fear there and curiosity was present too. You see, Will didn't call me last night like he said that he would. He had promised me that he would call but he had broken his promise. I was shocked too because that was the first time ever that Will had broken a promise with me. He was so reliable, so honest, so perfect, and now he had let me down.

I had waited up for him too, which made me feel worse about everything. How long into the night I had stayed up, I couldn't remember but I felt like I had only slept for a couple of hours. I felt like crap, I wasn't going to lie about that and all I wanted to do was lie there and go back to sleep.

But I had to go to school, as much as I didn't want to because Will would be there and also for the first time ever, I was unsure if I wanted to see him today. I also had to get up and make sure that Alice was up so that she could attend her classes.

I opened my eyes again and fighting against the light, I climbed out of bed and closed the curtains quickly, so quickly that my curtain rod snapped. I groaned, expecting my curtains to fall to the floor but they didn't. The curtains were caught on the rough edge where the rod had snapped. It would hold for a while and I breathed a sigh of relief. I would replace the rod later.

You know how sometimes when you first wake up, you are so out of it that you don't really realize things and when you do realize them, they come as a huge surprise? Well, that was so me that morning. I was so out of it that I didn't realize that my alarm clock was blaring.

I trotted across the room to turn it off. It was so loud that I probably woke up everyone in my apartment building. I didn't even check to see what time it was, assuming that it was around six in the morning, the normal time that I woke up during the school week. Of course, it was later than that—much later than that—but I was so out of it that . . . well, I didn't notice the time quite yet.

I shuffled out of my bedroom and down the dark hallway and into the living room. Alice was snoring lightly from the couch, still fast asleep and just exactly as I had left her last night. Apparently, my alarm clock wasn't as loud as I thought it was because Alice hadn't heard it. Perhaps I had imagined it being super loud. I don't know—I felt so strange.

I walked past Alice, permitting her to sleep for a few more minutes before I woke her up. I had to use the restroom first.

After I handled my business and washed my hands and face—my face especially so that I could wake up completely—I went to wake up my sister.

I tapped Alice on the shoulder and shook her lightly. She woke up instantly and her sleepy eyes found me. Groggily, she croaked, "Anne? Are you home now? How did applying for jobs go?"

I chose not to answer that last question quite yet. We would have more time to talk when we were getting ready for school or perhaps later after classes. The longer I could postpone telling her about yesterday, the better. Besides, I wasn't really in the mood to talk about it right now.

"Wake up, Alice," I told her softly instead. "It's morning already and you need to get up and get ready for class."

"Great," Alice groaned into the sofa cushion. "Gotta get up and face a brand new day," she added sardonically.

I smiled. "I'll make you coffee and waffles."

Alice looked up at me, nodded and stuffed her head back into the cushion. I walked into the kitchen and flipped the light on. Slowly, Alice sat up on the sofa as I started mixing the batter for the waffles. She turned the TV on. The microwave behind me displayed the time but I still didn't see what time it was.

Alice stared blankly at the television. She looked a mess. As I ironed the first batch of waffles in the waffle iron, I started the coffee maker up with fresh ground coffee.

I cooked in silence mostly, occasionally humming to myself, as I was dreading a repeat of the question that Alice had asked me earlier. And then, as I was pouring her a steaming mug of coffee, she asked me. "So, did you find a job yesterday? I am dying to know all about your trip into the city."

I didn't say anything as I walked out of the kitchen, clutching the mug of coffee. I handed Alice the mug and she sipped it slowly. I thought quickly. What was I going to tell her? Should I tell her the truth or should I lie to her? I had a plan on what I was going to say last night, but after staying up late to wait on Will's phone call that never came and after a short, but good night sleep, I had forgotten my plan. I should just tell her the truth and get it over with. Alice would find out mostly what happened anyway eventually, especially when I never went to work.

"Um, yes," I found myself saying before I could stop myself. "Yes, I did find a job."

I nearly slapped myself. Why did I say that? Alice was going to ask me a bunch of questions now that I didn't want to answer. But I didn't feel too bad though because I had told her the truth. I had received a job at the Merchant's Library only I didn't know if I still retained that job because of what happened with the replica of Leah's ring.

I remembered my plan now. I had planned to tell Alice that we would talk all about it later since we would be getting dressed and scarfing down breakfast so that we could go to school. I had hoped that Alice would buy my stalling and not ask me any more questions. Then, I would go to school and afterwards, I had planned to take a trip alone back to the square to apply at the seafood restaurant I did not want to work for but would settle for a job there just so Alice and I could have a much needed extra source of income, especially since Alice had been released from one of her jobs. I planned to also apply at some other places around the square and hoped that I did not run into any strange people since I would be traveling alone. The city could be a dangerous place but it was a risk that I had been willing to take just to find a job so that I wouldn't feel like I was lying to Alice at all.

Well, that had been my plan but now, it was no more. I had blurted out a response to Alice's inquiry and I was left to improvise the rest of the conversation.

I returned to the kitchen. Alice sat her mug down on a coaster that was on the coffee table and she looked at me with sheer excitement. "You did?" she asked me. "Where?"

It was time for the truth. I couldn't lie to Alice. I had to answer the question truthfully. A lump was already rising in my throat, while I dumped the second batch of waffles onto a plate. I was debating if I wanted to scramble some eggs to go along with the waffles.

"The Merchant's Library," I exhaled more so than said to Alice. I tried to ignore her ecstasy but it was just overwhelming. I made an immediate decision to scramble eggs. I cracked the first one open while Alice squealed happily.

I groaned. She had hopped off of the couch and was rushing into the kitchen to embrace me.

"I can't believe it!" Alice cried, wrapping her arms around my neck, choking me in blissful happiness. "My little sister has entered the work force! I'm so happy for you! How did your interview go?"

When Alice had released me and I could breathe properly again, I shrugged while scrambling the eggs in a bowl. "All right, I guess," was all I said. I feared saying too much. I wanted to keep it short and succinct, nothing more.

Alice was beaming at me, showing off her pearly whites. "How was Mr. Antonio? Was he nice?"

I grimaced, moving over to the stove to cook the eggs. Alice missed my facial reaction to her inquiry and I was thankful.

"He was pretty nice, I guess," I told her, chiding myself silently to stop saying, "I guess".

"Did he give you a job right off the bat?" Alice wondered. "I know that he was really desperate for help."

I poured the runny eggs into a skillet of butter and waited, staring down at the liquid mixture of eggs, butter, salt, pepper, and a little cheese.

"Actually, it took a little convincing on my part," I recalled. "He almost didn't want to give me a job because I didn't have any previous work experience. But after a little pleading, he gave me a job. You are now looking at the new cashier of the Merchant's Library." I then forced a very feeble smile.

"When do you start?" Alice was bombarding me with questions and I was running out of good answers.

Then, I thought of something. My mind was formulating a new plan now and I was surprised that my brain was functioning properly despite how terrible I currently felt. I needed an excuse to return to the city square that evening and apply at the seafood restaurant so I knew what I needed to tell Alice. And if I got the job at the seafood restaurant, which I prayed that I did, then I will tell her that I decided to work there instead of the Merchant's Library. I would make up some BS about Antonio and at first, Alice would be disappointed that I was employed at a restaurant, since she had recently lost her job as a waitress, but once my new income started coming in, she wouldn't care anymore where I worked as long as money kept flowing in to our joint account regularly.

"I'm not sure," I responded somewhat truthfully to her question. "I have to return to talk to Antonio some more this evening after school and fill out some paperwork, you know, stuff like that. I'm positive that Antonio will tell me when I start tonight."

"Oh, okay," Alice said. Everything made sense, which was good. It meant that my plan was already beginning to work. "Is Melody going with you? You know I don't like for you to ride the bus into the city by yourself."

I nodded. "She is," I lied and felt horrible instantaneously. I did not like to lie to Alice, just as much as she didn't like for me to ride the bus into the city alone. "I'm not the only one who has a new job." I thought changing the subject was a good idea.

Alice's eyes widened. "Melody got a job too!" she cried, and I couldn't help but to feel sorry for Alice. She had just lost a job when Melody and I—well, at least Melody, but Alice didn't know that—had found a job. "Where is she working?"

I hesitated. Should I really tell Alice where Melody was working? Of course, I should tell her, my mind told me. It would be the truth and I needed to tell Alice as much truth as I could so it would balance out the lies somehow. At least, it sounded like the smart thing to do in my head, even if it wasn't exactly morally right.

"The Boutique," I answered. Alice looked down at the stovetop, staring blankly at the cooking eggs, which were nearly done and then we would be ready to eat breakfast. I stared down at the eggs too when I added, "I know that you don't want to do this—I mean, you have told me the same reasons why for years and they have been drilled into my head over and over again—but I think you really should consider working for the Boutique as well, Alice. You are very talented and we really could use the money right now with you losing one of your jobs. And if you worked for the Boutique, it will be two jobs but it won't feel like two jobs, if you know what I mean. You'll get to work from home and you will have more time to have an actual life. You will have more time to do homework, hang out with your friends, and even date."

Alice looked at me and rolled her eyes, telling me silently and sarcastically, "Date? Me? Yeah, right."

"You're right," Alice admitted and I couldn't believe my ears. "But I won't make any promises just yet. I'll have to really, really, really, think about it."

I smiled. "I expected as much and I understand completely. That is all I ask for: That you will consider it. I mean, you taught Melody everything she knows and I'm not saying that she is bad at designing clothes because she is awesome too, but if Melody was hired, I know that you will be too."

Alice didn't say much after that and I was glad. I didn't have to lie to her if she stayed silent. She was thinking about selling her clothes and designs to the Boutique, her precious clothes and designs, garments and drawings that she didn't wish to part with in that way.

Enjoying the quiet, I dumped the eggs into a clean bowl and I prepared plates for Alice and myself. Then, we started to eat our breakfast in the living room, watching television. Still, I was oblivious to what time it was. Heck, I didn't even notice that the reruns of an old sitcom that I sometimes watched in the mornings right before I went to the bus stop was already on.

"So, I guess Melody just showed off her portfolio to get the job?" Alice asked out of nowhere while we ate, our forks clinking loudly against the surface of our plates.

"Actually, she showed off that new dress that she made," I informed Alice.

"And she got the job just like that?"

I nodded. "Yep. I guess that the Boutique is just as desperate for help as Antonio was."

Brrriiinngg!

The telephone rang suddenly, startling me because I was sitting right beside it. I reached over to grab the phone and checked the caller ID.

"Speaking of Melody . . . ." I said, pressing the talk button on the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, Anne, how's it going?" Melody asked, her voice filled with static, indicating that she was talking to me on her cell phone. Our cordless phone did not like cell phones for some reason.

"Nothing. Just eating breakfast with Alice," I told her. "What's up?"

"You two are just now eating breakfast?" Melody confused me with her question. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

Hmm. I thought for a moment. Come to think of it, I really didn't know what time it was and I realized that for the first time. It was like the whole light bulb, epiphany, mumbo jumbo.

"No, I don't," I admitted. "What time is it?"

I glanced at the only clock in the living room, the moment that Melody told me what time it was. "It's seven-thirty," she said.

I gasped. I couldn't believe it. I had fifteen minutes to get to the bus stop or I was going to miss the bus.

"Uh, Mel, no offense, but I, uh, I gotta go get ready fast," I said, panicking. "I'll meet you at the bus stop in a bit."

"But that's what I was calling you for," Melody said, talking fast so that I could hear what she had to tell me before I hung up the phone. "I am not going to ride the bus today. Mother is taking me to school. I have to make up that quiz in Physics that I missed last week."

"Oh, okay, cool," I said. "See ya at school."

I hung up the phone and threw it on the sofa next to Alice. She looked up and saw my panic-stricken face and she looked concerned.

"What?" Alice wondered.

"We need to hurry up and get dress," I said, speaking so fast that my words were stumbling over each other in a rush to explode out of my mouth. "It's already seven-thirty."

Alice's face mirrored mine for a split-second before she took a final bite of her waffles and hopped up from the sofa. She raced to her bedroom without another word.

I didn't even return to my food. I wouldn't be able to finish now. And what a pity too. For a quick meal, it had tasted really well. I had done a decent job cooking that morning.

I trotted down the hallway and to my room. As fast as I could and trying not to pause every few seconds to glance at my alarm clock to see what time it was, I found an outfit in my closet that didn't need to be ironed at all. It was my black tunic vest and I threw it on over a plain white v-neck t-shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans.

My hair was a mess from pulling the shirt on over my head and I brushed it in two swift strokes. There was no time for makeup. I wouldn't look bad without it but I wouldn't look quite as good either. But I didn't really care. My makeup-free face would just be a reflection of how I felt on the inside today.

I thought about Will again and it slowed me up considerably. I was still dumbstruck by the fact that he didn't call me at all last night when he had promised me that he would. I was hurt, experiencing a type of heartache that I had never felt before. Prior to Will, I had never been in a serious relationship with a guy. I had never had a boyfriend tell me that he would call me and then didn't. I had never felt this way about a boy at all. I was new to the thing called love. I was inexperienced, which made me wonder if love was supposed to hurt like this.

I paused and stared at the wall. I didn't want to be mad at Will but I couldn't help the anger that was present within me. Sure, I was concerned about him as well. Since his behavior last night was unorthodox, I also had plaguing thoughts that told me that perhaps something had happened to Will that prevented him from calling. I just hoped that it wasn't something bad.

I didn't know how long I stood there. It was only a few minutes but it had felt like much more. Alice was calling me though, whisking me away from my thoughts about Will.

I listened.

"Anne?" Alice called again. "You need to leave. Your bus will be here any second."

I moved again and snatched up my backpack, hoping that my homework and all of the schoolbooks that I would need for classes today were inside of it. The way my day was going today, I wouldn't be surprised if I left all of my homework at home.

I ran down the hallway and past Alice, who was already dressed as well. She was picking up the plates of half-eaten food that we had left in the living room. She looked up at me as I dashed into the room.

"You ready, Anne?"

"Not really but it'll have to do for today," I said. "See ya later, Alice."

"Bye, Anne. Have a good day at school."

I left the apartment and ran through the building and down the stairs, praying that the school bus hadn't arrived yet.

I ran outside and behold the bus was there. I paused for a moment, briefly stunned, as the doors closed behind the last person to climb onto the bus. Then, its engine started rumbling as it pulled away from the curb. Seeing this motivated me to move again.

"Wait!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, my voice not nearly as loud as the thunderous engine of the bus. I ran after the bus, which was gaining speed as it flowed back into the morning traffic. I moved as fast as my feet would carry me, but it was no use. I was still too slow and the bus was gone.

I returned to my apartment with my head hung low. Alice, who was about to leave for class herself, saw me return and she knew that I had missed the bus.

"We can ride our mopeds together," Alice suggested at once. "I'll ride with you to school and then, I'll go to class."

I shook my head, feeling crestfallen. Today was off to a very bad start and I was beginning to have thoughts about not wanting to go to school today at all, fearing a disaster.

"That's okay," I told Alice. "I don't want you to be late for class because of me. I think . . . Is it okay if I stayed home from school today? I don't have a test or anything and I really don't feel like going."

"Are you sick?" Alice asked with concern.

"No, I'm just out of it," I told her. "I didn't sleep well last night."

Alice considered it for a moment. She was trying to figure out if she wanted to be a good older sister and allow me to stay home when I wasn't sick or if she wanted to be the mean older sister who was more like a strict mother instead of a sibling who wouldn't let me stay home from school unless I was puking or hacking up my lungs.

Then, Alice nodded. She was being the good older sister and I was appreciative. "You can stay home today, only if you promise to visit the Merchant's Library as soon as possible so you don't have to be out later after dark."

"Okay," I promised her. It was a fair enough deal, I believed. I wondered what Will would think when I wasn't at school today. He would probably think that I was avoiding him, which would serve him right for breaking his promise to me. I had a feeling that I would hold that against him for a while.

"And when I get home tonight, we can have another sister bonding night," Alice suggested with a smile. "We can rent a movie or something. What do you say to that?"

"That will be fun," I told her, smiling.

"All right, then, well I gotta get to class," Alice told me, picking up her schoolbag, which was resting on the floor by the front door. "Don't have too much fun today." She smiled.

"I won't," I assured her. "Bye."

Alice left and I closed the door and locked it behind her. Then, I spun around and faced the empty living room. I was staying home from school, which was a relief and brought some comfort to me in the face of so many problems of adversity. I had the apartment to myself for most of the day and so I would have peace from Alice's beleaguering questions. I had a mission to do—find a job to replace the one that I had won and lost in record-breaking time—but I had plenty of time. There was no rush, as long as I was home before Alice returned so that we could officially begin our sister hangout later that evening.

Later, when I was facing immediate danger, I would regret not giving Alice a better farewell. I had expected to see her when she came home, but now I know that I should not take things like that for granted. You never know what might happen throughout the twenty-four hours of the day. Sometimes, things just refused to go according to plan.

I walked into the kitchen. There were a couple of waffles left over—Alice had placed them in a Rubbermaid plasticware and stuck them in the fridge during that brief amount of time that I was running through the apartment building and after the school bus that I had missed. I ate them slowly but greedily, enjoying the meal that I didn't get the chance to finish earlier. I quickly gulped down a tall glass of milk afterwards and then, I went to take a shower and changeed into fresh and ironed attire—my pewter and burgundy striped colored jersey cardigan and a pair of black skinny jeans.

I took my time in the shower and getting dressed. I tried not to think about Will too much but of course, I thought about him even more. Mostly, I thought about what Will's reaction would be when he saw that I wasn't in class and that my perfect attendance so far this semester was ruined. I imagined that he would be shocked. But how else would he feel? Would he feel hurt like I did or would he be confused? I expected that he would figure out some way or concoct some grand scheme to get out of one of his classes to try and call me at the apartment to make up for the call that he did not make last night. I had to make sure that I was long gone by then, wasting the day away in the city. Lunch would be the perfect opportunity and knowing Will really well—sometimes even better than myself—I assumed that he would seize a part of the thirty minute eating period to call me. But I would make sure that I would be at least on the city bus by then because frankly, I decided that I did not want to talk to him right now.

I knew that I shouldn't act that way—I wanted to not act that way—but I couldn't help the anger. I was so angry that I washed my hair furiously in the shower, unaware for a while of what I was doing. This had been Will's first offense but it had hurt so bad that it felt like it was his twentieth or his fiftieth. I guess being let down for the first time brought tons of pain, especially if it was someone who you never thought would let you down in the first place.

Will had always seemed so perfect, from his physical appearance to his personality, but now I knew that no one is perfect, not even Will. I think that was why I felt so bad, was that I had believed that Will was without flaws and who could blame me for thinking that when he had been so flawless for over a year now? If Will hadn't been perfect for a year then it wouldn't have hurt as much. I hoped that the next time would be better, easier, because frankly, I didn't know what to do next.

I knew that we wouldn't break up or anything like that over this incident. Will and I was too strong for that, too compatible. One bad situation was not grounds for breaking up. When I was ready, we would talk about it. Will will apologize in his lovely voice. We would hug and we would kiss and everything would hopefully go back to being normal and perfect—or I should say as perfect as it should be.

After I showered and was well groomed, I watched some television. It was nearly lunchtime so nothing was on the tube except for talk shows and soap operas. Neither one of them held my attention but luckily I found an old and interesting movie on HBO. I couldn't remember what it was called but it was well done for a movie from the black and white era.

At a quarter to noon, I left the apartment and headed for the nearest public bus stop. It was truly a beautiful day. The sky was clear and an alluring shade of blue that reminded me of the waters around the Bahamas that I had seen online. There were no clouds in the sky, just sky itself and the golden sun that burned so bright, it even had a tint of blue in its center.

I sat at the bus stop alone for only about ten minutes. The bus came and I boarded it, sitting in the very front seat. The bus driver was very friendly and asked me questions about school. At first, he had thought that I was a college student, which I took as a compliment for looking and acting so mature for my age, because I wasn't at school at the moment. I thanked him and told him that I was still in high school and I wasn't at school because I was going in the city to find a job to help my sister and me financially.

The bus driver didn't ask any questions about my financial problems and I was glad because I didn't want anymore awkward questions. I had had enough for one day.

I arrived in the square fifteen minutes later and said goodbye to the nice bus driver. Many people exited the bus behind me, going into the square to eat lunch during his or her break from work. Not wasting anytime, I went straight to the seafood restaurant.

I walked into the restaurant and a young female greeter met me as soon as I stepped into lobby. She smiled at me, gave me the customary greeting and asked how many would be in my party. I told her politely that I wasn't eating lunch and she stopped herself from picking up a stack of menus from the nearby podium.

"Are you guys still hiring?" I questioned her, as she looked at me, wondering what I was doing there if I wasn't going to eat lunch.

The greeter nodded. "Yes, we are." She smiled again and gave me a look over. She was checking to see if I was worthy enough to apply for a job there going by a first impression. She was one of those girls who I probably wouldn't like at school, except she was older than me by at least a few years and wouldn't attend school with me anyway. She looked to be around Alice's age. "Would you like to apply?"

I nodded. "Yes, I would, please."

"All right, follow me."

The greeter girl led me through the lobby and between a couple of occupied tables. The restaurant was packed and seemed to be very popular during lunchtime. I wondered if the restaurant would be as crowded during dinner or on the weekends, hours that I would be able to work. Tips would become my main source of income if I got a job here and I wanted my shifts to be somewhat busy so I could make decent money.

There were two things that I liked about the restaurant as I followed the greeter. Although, the place reeked of fish, the interior was decorated nicely and gave me the impression that I was on the deck of a cruise ship. The floor was hardwood but smoothly polished and glazed to give the effect that there was water on the deck that had splashed up from an imaginary sea below. The walls were decorated with fishnets, pictures of fishermen and their prized catches, as well as those big, round portholes.

The second thing I liked about the restaurant was that it was really colorful. The walls were splashed with a bright pink paint here and orange paint there. Yellow and green were thrown in sometimes, along with a pale blue. The shirts of the waiters and waitresses were colorful as well. They wore island shirts of various colors that were similar to the colors of the walls. The girls' shirts had flowers on them, while the guys' had fish on them.

The greeter led me to a backroom, a break room of sorts, where the manager on duty was enjoying a healthy lunch. I laughed on the inside, careful not to laugh aloud and look like an idiot before I even talked to the shift manager. I was laughing internally because Alice was right—people who worked at restaurants never ate the food that the restaurant served during their lunch breaks. I had always thought of it as an amusing joke and seeing the manager eat the food that she brought from home brought back old memories and made me wanna giggle.

I felt bad about interrupting the manager's lunch but she was overly happy to talk to me about applying for a job after the greeter girl told her the purpose of my visit. The greeter left us alone and the manager talked to me a bit on a personal level, asking me questions about myself and my work experience—I pointed out then that my sister had been a waitress and that I had learned some things from her since I had no work experience—before she had me fill out an application. After I wrote a novel, it seemed—I didn't know that job applications at restaurants could be so complex; I mean, come on, why did they have to ask me questions about how I would handle situations with customers and co-workers when I didn't have the job yet?—the manager told me that she would get my application to her general manager who would contact me in a few days to set up an interview.

A few days? I didn't have a few days. I needed a job now. But of course, I couldn't say that to her but I could still be secretly peeved about it.

The manager walked me back out into the lobby asking me if I had any questions. I told her no because I was quietly fuming. She was supposed to walk me to the door but she was called to speak to an elderly customer who wanted to compliment her server and praise the restaurant. The manager made sure I heard that clearly as though it would affect my decision to work there. Little di she know that I would be willing to there even if the restaurant was the worst place to work ever because I was that desperate.

I was left to find my own way out alone, which wasn't difficult. I could see the exit the moment that we had emerged out of the hallway leading to the break room.

As I was passing between tables, weaving around customers and servers, a strange girl caught my eye and made me pause for a moment.

At first glance, she appeared to be glowing and when I looked at her, I could see that she was really glowing. She simply glowed with a pale light, almost like a ghost or something, and as I stared at her, she looked at me and I quickly looked away.

When I figured it was safe to look again, I did. The girl was now looking at her companion, a tall, regal-looking black man who looked to be around thirty-something years old. I thought that this was strange because the girl looked so young, much younger than the man she was with, and perhaps she was even younger than me.

I stared at her again and I could hear snippets of their conversation, although I wasn't paying much attention to what they were saying. I realized then that it had to be a trick of the light because no one else was staring at the girl like I was gaping at her. She and her companion were sitting at a table near a large porthole window where the sun was shining brightly into the restaurant. That's what it was, a trick of the light.

The girl looked at me again and I quickly looked away a second time. She was probably confused now, wondering why I was still standing in the same spot that I had been standing in a few seconds earlier. I knew that I should have left then but I couldn't move. I wanted to look at her again. My eyes were drawn to her and I wanted to be sure that they weren't deceiving me. I had to be positive that the sunlight was causing her skin to glow like that.

I took a deep breath and looked again. The girl was staring right at me! I turned and walked away. It was perfect timing too because the man's booming voice carried across two tables to me and he said," Antonio will be joining us shortly once he closes the store down for lunch."

I looked back over my shoulder and saw that several people around them were now staring at the girl and the man like I had been staring earlier. One of them even muttered something about those new bluetooth headsets.

I faced forward again and my mind asked myself one question. Antonio? Did these people know Antonio from the Merchant's Library? Surely they were referring to the same person, which meant that I had to get out of there as quickly as I could. I did not want to come face-to-face with Antonio right now. All morning, I had debated whether or not I wanted to visit Antonio and talk to him about yesterday. I wanted to know if I still had a job at the Merchant's Library, but at the same time, I was too scared to see him after what happened yesterday. I planned to give it a few days, especially if I couldn't find another job in that time period, before I would finally buck up the courage to go to him to talk about the job that he had given me but was unsure if he had retracted it.

I stepped out of the seafood restaurant and into the beautiful afternoon. Antonio was nowhere in sight and I moved away from the entrance of the restaurant in case he showed up soon. I still had a few hours ahead of me and no job.

Not wanting to go home quite yet and wanting to make sure that I got my two dollars worth for the bus fare that I paid to get downtown, I headed across the square to apply at other restaurants in the area.

My cell phone started vibrating madly in my pocket. Wondering whom it could be but already starting to guess who it was, I retrieved the phone and looked at the display screen. It was Will, of course. Oh, so now he wanted to call and talk to me but he was just a little too late, over twelve hours and a night of insomnia, too late.

I silenced my phone and stuffed it back into my pocket, ignoring him. It hurt sure but I needed to stay strong.

Besides, he deserved it and if he was lucky, I just might call him back when I knew he would be at work after school.

But that was only if he was lucky.

--

Rosalind couldn't believe it. Despite her initial fear and uncertainty, she had been rendered speechless after Othello had assigned her the first field assignment that she had ever been assigned. She was in awe that she was on a mission without a superior officer of the King's Men with her. This was an historic event, at least to Rosalind herself, because no one else would note it or remember it, but she was the first woman ever to embark on a mission for the King's Men. Rosalind was proud of herself and she was hoping that this was the first step in achieving her goals of having more women join the King's Men and go on missions like the one that she was on.

The current mission wasn't only just perks, however. Rosalind was on a mission with Puck, who had to be the most annoying fairy to ever exist. He talked constantly and was overly excited about everything and by the end of it all, Rosalind had a splitting headache and she wanted to murder Puck with her bare hands. Being on a mission with him was almost not even worth it.

"Ooooh!" Puck cried suddenly and Rosalind would have slapped her own head in frustration if it weren't already pounding like a bass drum.

"What?" Rosalind cried, irritation showing clear in her voice. "What is it now, Puck? Are you going to tell me how pretty you think those human girls are here again because you've already mentioned that about ten times now."

Puck shrugged innocently. "Well, Shakespearean girls, like yourself, are cute, but the girls here are just fascinating. The way they dress, the way they walk . . . Amazing!"

Rosalind rolled her eyes. "You are ridiculous, Puck," she told him. "And a hypocrite. I thought you said that you weren't into human girls at all, even Shakespearean girls? I thought you only had eyes for other fairies?"

Puck was appalled. "I never said anything like that!" he defended himself. "I love all women!"

"Yes, you have!" Rosalind countered.

"When did I say that?" Puck questioned her. "I don't recall ever saying something like that."

"It was implied," Rosalind reminded him. "That night when we went to the palace to tell Prospero about the Royal Beacons. The dark-haired fairy girl had asked you if you had joined the King's Men for "human companionship" and you said that such a thing was revolting."

Puck remembered saying that then and he grinned. "I lied," he admitted. "I lie a lot. You should know that by now, Rosalind."

"Oh believe you me, I do know that," Rosalind said.

They were crouched behind a row of hedges that traced a perimeter around the high school's main parking lot. Based off of Antonio's directions, they had found the local high school easily enough and now they were waiting for school to be dismissed. They had a clear view of the main parking lot and the main entrance into the school. Antonio had told them that when a bell rung—Puck and Rosalind didn't know the significance of a ringing bell but they complied with Antonio's instructions without any comments—all of the students would pour quickly out of the school. They would either head to the left of the parking lot where smaller, compact metal boxes called cars were parked—Antonio had showed them pictures of several cars at this point in their pre-mission briefing and Rosalind had rolled her eyes feeling that Antonio was treating her and Puck like small children who were reading from picture books—or to the right of the parking lot where several larger, yellow boxes, called school buses, were parked. Antonio had also showed them pictures of school buses and Rosalind recalled yawning out of boredom.

When the bell rung, Anne Hathaway would be one of the hundreds of students emerging from the school building. Puck and Rosalind both had very good memories and they knew what Anne looked like from a picture that Othello had conjured with a strange and complicated spell by touching the Shakespearean manuscript that Anne had read from before during her visit to the Merchant's Library. Their job, as stated the night before and as a reminder to them this morning before they left Antonio's place of residence, was to locate Anne and follow her bus or car to her apartment. Puck would be taking to the skies and using a cloaking spell so that he wasn't discovered by human onlookers who happened to be gazing up at the afternoon sky the moment that he flew by overhead. That part of the mission would be a little more difficult for Rosalind but she was up to the task. She would have to figure out a way to board the school bus and ride along with Anne and her schoolmates, while pretending to be a new student if anyone asked her any questions about herself. If Anne drove a car then Rosalind didn't know what she was going to do and Puck would be on his own then. Antonio didn't think that Anne drove a car to school from what she had told him about the financial trouble that her and her sister was in, but still though, Rosalind was not sure of this.

As part of her charade, Rosalind was dressed in an outfit that Antonio had told her that human girls who were high school aged wore. She was dressed in a short skirt, high-heeled shoes that made her stumble a lot while walking, and a very revealing blouse that caused her to feel really uncomfortable, especially around Puck, who was eyeing random female students almost greedily when they had walked outside on campus during the last half an hour or so. But Rosalind wasn't worried about Puck too much. He knew that she would punch his lights out if he even stared at her unbuttoned shirt for more than a millisecond.

They were in position. When the students emerged, they would move closer and become one with the crowd, while splitting up to seek out Anne Hathaway. The moment that one of them had found her, that person would alert the other with some sort of distraction or commotion. Puck had jokingly promised Rosalind a fireworks display if he was the one who found Anne in the throng of students, who would be anxious to get home after a long day of classes.

Now, all they had to do was wait. Puck kept things interesting, at least, by continuing their conversation.

"Rosalind, my friend," he began again and Rosalind held her breath. The silence had been too good to be true after she had called him out about how he felt about human girls. "When I had said 'oooh' earlier, I wasn't talking about girls, I was talking about the buses. They are so huge, far larger than I would have imagined from viewing the photographs that Antonio had shown us."

Rosalind noticed then that several school buses—humongous yellow boxes powered by a motor that thrummed lightly while the bus sat idling in the parking lot—had arrived. There were about a dozen in all so far and Rosalind knew that the time for action was drawing nearer.

"School is about to be dismissed," Rosalind said to Puck. "Are you ready?"

"Always," came his response.

And they continued to wait, both of them a little bit on edge. Time was creeping along slowly, which was something that Rosalind did not like about the human world. In Shakespeare, time seemed to move along very quickly. Rosalind was a very fast-paced person and she hated sitting around and waiting for something to happen. She didn't like the action coming to her. Instead, she liked seeking the action.

A thought occurred to Rosalind, amidst the silence that had surrounded her and Puck suddenly. She remembered the conversation that her and her fellow soldiers had last night after they had first arrived at the Merchant's Library. It was Antonio who had first introduced the thought to her mind when he had asked Othello if Anne could be the descendant of kings, which was all a part of the Sycorax Prophecy that she didn't put much stock in. But what if Anne was connected to the world of Shakespeare in a way that didn't only pertain to the disappearance of the Seven Relics? What if she was connected to someone from the world of Shakespeare? Could that mean then that she was an actual descendant of kings and that the Prophecy of the Sycorax was true?

Rosalind looked over at Puck. "Hey, Puck? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," he said.

"You believe in the Prophecy of the Sycorax, don't you?"

Puck nodded. "Of course, I do. You know that. We've been through this before after the Royal Beacons were lit, remember?"

Rosalind nodded. "Yes, I remember that night well," she said, recalling how annoying Puck had been that night playing his flute and giving her a massive headache. They had talked about the prophecy briefly and Puck had jokingly called Rosalind a skeptic, even though she had sworn up and down that she believed in the Prophecy of the Sycorax, or at least perhaps most of it. The part she was thinking about now was the whole descendant of kings bit and she wanted to hear Puck's opinion about it.

"Why are you thinking about the prophecy when you don't believe in it?" Puck was curious to know.

"I've told you that I do believe in the prophecy," Rosalind corrected him. "At any rate, what Antonio said last night had me thinking. I know that Othello does not think that Anne could possibly be the one that the prophecy speaks of, but what if she is? I mean, she is apparently connected to the Seven Relics, which disappeared the moment that the Royal Beacons were lit and that strange crown thing appeared in the night sky. Don't you feel that might be more than just a coincidence? Could Anne be the descendant of kings?"

To Rosalind's surprise, Puck was shaking his head and she awaited his response, trying to figure out why he thought that she was wrong in her thoughts just like Antonio had been wrong when Othello had corrected him.

"No, she can't be," Puck said knowledgably and Rosalind would accept that for now because he knew more about the prophecy than she did. "It is possible for her to be related somehow to a person of Shakespearean heritage but she cannot be the one that the prophecy speaks of. The prophecy calls for a king and since Anne is not a male, she cannot be the ruler we have been waiting on for centuries."

That settled Rosalind's thoughts then. Puck was right and she knew that much about the Prophecy of the Sycorax to be aware that it spoke of a male and not a female. Rosalind had temporarily forgotten that clause, in her blindness of hoping against hope that a woman could come to power in a society that was dominated by men. But Anne could never be the rightful ruler of Shakespeare. Rosalind would have to settle with the fact that a man would lead Shakespeare to greatness once again. But the Seven Relics were a different story. Anne will play a part in retrieving the Seven Relics and that comforting thought made Rosalind feel good.

Then, the moment of action had finally come. The school bells sounded and Puck was already moving out of their hiding spot.

Rosalind was confused for a moment. When had all of those other school buses arrived? Rosalind hadn't even noticed. She had been busy thinking about Anne and the Relics that time had finally sped up for her. And why was Puck leaving?

"Wait!" Rosalind hissed at her anxious companion. "Wait a second! Puck?!"

But Puck was already out in the opening and was heading across the parking lot towards the entrance. Rosalind stood up completely and pulled her skirt down. Adjusting her shirt as well, she stumbled after Puck, barely able to walk in those bizarre shoes.

Students spilled out of the double doors of the exit not too soon thereafter. Puck moved closer to the buses and yelled back at Rosalind over his shoulder. "I'll take the buses!"

"I guess that leaves me the cars," Rosalind muttered, hobbling towards the smaller vehicles.

Since she couldn't walk too well in the high-heeled shoes, Rosalind was late reaching the left half of the parking lot. Students were already climbing into their cars. Some were alone, while others were with friends. Rosalind peered through the windshield of those vehicles and she couldn't see Anne anywhere among them. She turned away and focused on a cluster of students who were walking towards her.

Looking past the huddle of teenagers, Rosalind had lost sight of Puck already. As a fairy, he was shorter than most of the kids, especially the boys, so he blended in with the crowd perfectly. Rosalind only hoped that he remembered to retract his wings. It would be mass hysteria if any of the kids saw his fairy wings.

Nearby laughter brought Rosalind back to staring at the oncoming students. Rosalind focused on their faces again and she didn't see Anne Hathaway among them. She stumbled slightly as she moved towards them and the group of kids laughed again. Some even pointed. Rosalind realized then that they were laughing at her. That angered her. She wasn't an expert at walking in high-heeled shoes but that gave them no right to mock her.

The girl who had pointed at her continued to laugh as she asked Rosalind, "Are you new here? If you are, then you need to learn how to walk properly or you won't get far."

Rosalind started to say something but she kept her anger in check. The girl wasn't worth cursing or hexing and besides; Rosalind was a trained warrior for the King's Men. She could easily rip off the girl's head without much effort and that gave her a lot of satisfaction, especially when she pictured her hands grabbing the girl's head and tugging at it fiercely . . . .

Rosalind smiled at them and stopped walking, allowing the group of evil teenagers to pass.

"That was harsh, Natalie," another girl told the one who had addressed Rosalind. At first, Rosalind thought that she was reprimanding her friend, but then Rosalind saw that the girl was laughing just as hard as Natalie was, along with the rest of her comrades.

Natalie and her entourage disappeared into their various cars and Rosalind went back to her task at hand, able to concentrate now that the distractions had passed. She stood there for ten or fifteen minutes, observing all of the students that went by. Some of them paid her no attention as they were engaged in their own conversation with friends or on small rectangular shaped devices that they held up to their face. Rosalind didn't know what those talking contraptions were called but she wanted one.

Some of the passing students noticed her staring intently into their faces and it made each of them uncomfortable. Since none of them knew Rosalind, most of them weren't bold enough to comment, and they just fed her looks of disgust. But of course, there were a few of them who said something to Rosalind like Natalie did, disregarding the fact that Rosalind was a stranger to them.

Rosalind ignored the snide remarks, smiling big each time as she had done with Natalie. She continued to seek out Anne's face among the students but Anne was not there. As the crowd of the people heading for cars started to thin considerably, Rosalind was beginning to get worried that they would never find Anne. She was hoping that Puck would have better luck than she was having.

And then, there was an explosion that sounded like a bomb had gone off in the area that surrounded the parked buses. Rosalind was immediately in alert mode and she looked over and up to see a brilliant light show of red and green sparks showering the afternoon sky. Puck hadn't lied when he had said that he was going to set off fireworks to tell Rosalind that he had found Anne.

Excited, Rosalind move as quickly as she could across the paved parking lot. She tripped a few times but it was irrelevant. Puck had found Anne and now Rosalind would have to board the bus she was on, stay close to her during the ride, and learn of her address so that her and the others could tell her about her destiny later.

Rosalind gulped and swallowed. Her throat was suddenly dry as she thought about the impending bus ride. Rosalind had never ridden inside such a vehicle before—coming from Shakespeare, she had only traveled on horseback or by ship. She realized that today would be her first bus ride ever and even though she wasn't scared of many things, she was apprehensive about the ride, nervous about what would occur along the way. Rosalind pictured the bus colliding with a car and the thought terrified her silly.

But Rosalind forced away those images and joined the gathering around the school buses. There was a huge commotion. Students were looking around trying to figure out who had set off the mini exhibit of fireworks, but no one could figure out that it had been Puck, who Rosalind imagined was grinning right about now although she couldn't spot his short stature yet.

The male students were cheering, talking about how fascinating the fireworks had been and that whoever was brave enough to do something like that was the coolest dude at school, while most of the female students were either dashing for their particular bus or commenting on how immature one of the guys were for setting off fireworks at school.

Adults had joined the assembly now and Rosalind assumed that they were the scholars, or teachers as Antonio had called them last night. The teachers shooed the students away and hurried them along to their buses. A couple of them were questioning students asking who was the culprit. Again, no one seemed to know who had done it, which made Rosalind happy. The last thing they needed was for Puck to get into trouble with the humans for a bit of mischief and mayhem.

Rosalind quickly found Puck in front of one of the buses on the far end after ducking around a huddle of students and teachers. He was laughing heartily.

"Rosalind? Did you see that?" he asked her the moment that he saw her. "My spectacle was fabulous and the best thing about it is that the humans don't have a clue that I did it! I could definitely live here. I could get used to causing trouble without being reprimanded for it. This is great!"

But Rosalind didn't care about the stupid fireworks no matter how riled up Puck was about it. All she was concerned with was the reason why Puck had created fireworks out of magic in the first place. He had located Anne and that was what made Rosalind excited.

"Where's Anne?" Rosalind asked in a hurry. "Did you find her? Is she on the bus?"

"Huh, what?" Puck asked.

"Anne?" Rosalind repeated. "Did you find her?"

"No," Puck said and Rosalind's excitement meter went dead instantly.

Rosalind was so furious that she could have strangled Puck right then and there in front of everyone. "Well then, why did you summon me over here with an exploding charm?" she shrieked in outrage.

"No reason," Puck said with a grin. "I promised you fireworks, didn't I?"

Rosalind shook with fury. "You place our mission in jeopardy all because you promised me fireworks? Just wait until I tell Othello what you've done. You'll be finished in the King's Men, I can assure you, for blowing this mission. You better hope that we manage to find Anne now or you're going to be in deep—"

Rosalind stopped talking suddenly because she noticed that Puck was no longer paying her any attention. He was walking towards a girl who Rosalind had to admit was pretty stylish for a girl who wasn't Shakespearean. She wore a royal blue cowl neck pointelle knit dress with black ribbed tights. When Rosalind saw this, she was even more upset with Puck. She couldn't believe that he was going to flirt with a human girl when they had work to do. And their work was cut out for them now because it was almost impossible to find Anne at that point, since most of the students were already gone in their cars or sitting on the buses. Not only that, but a few of the teachers were approaching, forcing the stragglers who remained, Rosalind and Puck included, to get on the buses so that they could depart from the school. Rosalind would have to formulate a quick plan if the teachers reached them before they managed to find Anne. She was already wondering what she was going to exactly tell Othello and the others when they returned to the Merchant's Library empty handed. She felt kind of bad now that she was no longer yelling at Puck about telling Othello what he did. Puck seemed to have that effect on many people and was always able to wheedle his way out of sticky situations with a sort of charm that gave off the impression of naivety although he knew exactly what he was doing and what he had gotten himself into before he was knee deep in hot water.

"Hello, excuse me," Puck was saying to the girl who was dressed in the chic outfit. Rosalind looked at her face and supposed that for a human girl she was pretty as well. She had dark brown hair and green, almost hazel eyes.

"What's up?" The girl halted and asked Puck. She carried a silky bag-like object that matched her shirt and had another bag strapped to her back somehow like a quiver. Rosalind wondered what these items were called.

"The sky," Puck replied. "That's what's up. Or sometimes fairies when we fly . . . ." And his voice trailed off.

The girl stared at him and Rosalind moved towards them to rescue Puck. Surely, the girl thought that he was strange.

"You're funny," she chuckled halfheartedly and Rosalind could sense some sarcasm there. "How can I help you?" The girl rephrased her question. "I've never seen you around here before, so I assume that you may need help finding your bus."

"You can help me by telling me where Anne Hathaway is and which bus she is on," Puck told the girl before Rosalind could get close enough to steal the conversation away from him.

The girl narrowed her eyes. "Anne? You know Anne?"

"Yes, we do," Rosalind stepped into the conversation before Puck had the chance to say something stupid that would ruin everything like she believed that he would. He had done enough damage already on the mission and now it was her turn to do a little damage control. "Do you know her?"

"I'm her best friend," the girl announced proudly, before she was really suspicious. "Why are you trying to find Anne?"

"We're uh, family of hers," Rosalind said the first thing that came to mind. "And it is very important that we find her."

"Well, you won't find her here," the girl informed Rosalind and Puck.

"Why not?" Puck questioned her.

"She didn't come to school today," the girl said. "Do you know what is going on? It is not like Anne to miss school. I think she has had perfect attendance so far this semester or something like that."

"She didn't come to school today?" Rosalind repeated in a choked whisper. "How are we going to find her now?"

"Can you tell me where she stays?" Puck asked the girl desperately. He and Rosalind were running out of other options and he was thinking about how much trouble he would be in later when Rosalind told Othello about the fireworks. But then again, Puck now had a scheme to escape trouble once more. Anne didn't come to school anyways, so Othello couldn't be too upset about him setting off a false alarm because Anne wasn't there anyways. Yeah, that would be his excuse and he hoped that Othello would buy it, especially if the girl told him and Rosalind where Anne stayed as he was praying for a miracle now. He and the others still had a backup plan if this one didn't work but Puck thought it would look better for him, as well as Rosalind, but mostly himself, if they returned successfully on their very first mission without a superior officer like Othello completely running the show.

The girl shook her head much to the dismay of Puck and Rosalind. "I'm sorry but I can't do that," she said. "You guys understand, right? I mean, I have no proof that you are related to Anne and so I can't tell you where she lives. If you were really her family, you would have access to such information anyways."

And she turned to board the bus. Rosalind and Puck let her go, staring after her in disbelief. That was it then. They had failed their mission but it wasn't their fault. Othello would understand that. Anne didn't come to school today, a variable that they hadn't been counting on. If she had come to school then they might would have had a chance to find her if Puck hadn't ruined it with his hi-jinks. The mission had been a failure before it had even began and even though Othello was strict, he wasn't stupid. He would recognize this and Puck and Rosalind would be praised for even trying when all was lost beforehand.

Puck regarded Rosalind. "Well, what are we going to do now?"

Rosalind shrugged. "I have no idea."

"Hey you two!" someone suddenly cried out from behind Rosalind and Puck. The two of them turned to see one of the teachers racing their way. "You two better get on the bus now before you are left behind!"

"Actually," Rosalind said, allowing her instincts to guide her instead of thinking her words through carefully. "I, uh, I forgot something in my last class." She grabbed Puck's hand. "Come on, Robin," she commanded loud enough for the teacher to hear her. Puck squeezed her hand a little too tightly at the mention of his given name. "Let's go and find my uh, book."

They started walking towards the school building and surprisingly and fortunately, the teacher didn't stop them. She did tell them that they would need to go to the office immediately after they had retrieved what Rosalind had left behind so that they could call their parents or guardians to come and pick them up since the buses would be leaving them at the school. Puck chuckled because the teacher actually believed him and Rosalind to be actual students.

As they neared the main entrance, Puck whispered to Rosalind. "What are we doing?" he wondered. "I hope you have some sort of plan."

"I do now," Rosalind admitted, releasing Puck's hand quickly. "And sorry about calling you Robin but I didn't want to call you Puck in front of the teacher. I didn't think it was an appropriate name for a human child."

"An appropriate name?" Puck asked her.

At the same moment, a boy burst through the exit to the school and ran after a group of kids who was walking towards the side of the parking lot where the cars were parked. The kids in the group were all dressed peculiar in pants with legs that were way to big. They wore a lot of black and a lot of facial makeup. The girls even had on black lipstick. A few of the guys had tall, spiky hair that was painted with a hint of green or blue, strange colors for hair. The boy who was running towards the group was one of those boys with the dyed hair that colored only the very tips of each hair strand.

"Hey!" the boy called out to his friends. "Hey Bone! Links! Wait up for me!"

Rosalind looked at Puck. "Did he just call some of his friends Bone and Link?"

Puck nodded and snickered. "And you think my nickname is weird?"

"Oh shut up," Rosalind said, pushing Puck towards the double doors.

Because of the shove that she gave him, Puck reached the doors first. As he pulled them open, behind them, the buses were pulling out of the parking lot. Puck walked into the building first and Rosalind followed closely behind him. They were in a huge atrium-like entrance hall, with several hallways that branched off and twisted away from the main hall like serpentine arms. To the right were a pair of double doors that had a sign above them that read "Theater" and to the left was a glass section of the hall that had several rooms inside and behind the glass. The sign above the door to the glass area said "Main Office". That was the place that the teacher had told them to go to call their parents or guardians. Rosalind didn't know how she would be able to call them without screaming at the top of her lungs—and her parents wouldn't hear her anyways even if she yelled because her mother was in Heaven and her father was back at home in the Republic of France, which was located in the world of Shakespeare on the edge of the magical Forest of Arden, which is believed by many to be the gateway to Fairyland, the magical place where the fairies came from many years ago, the place where magic as the mystics of Shakespeare knew it today, originated from. So, "calling" her parents, as the teacher had put it was out of the question. People of this world were very strange indeed but Rosalind didn't have time to ponder about that. She had a plan and the office was where she wanted to go.

Standing next to her, Puck was jumping up and down madly.

Rosalind regarded him. "What?" she cried. Puck was so immature that it drove her nuts.

"Can we explore the school?" Puck asked her animatedly. "Oh can we, can we? Please? Please? PLEASE?!"

"No!" Rosalind snapped at him fiercely. "No, we will not be exploring the school just for fun. We still have work to do in case you've forgotten."

"I haven't forgotten and it will be fun to take our mind off of the mission for a few minutes," Puck whined. "Come on, let's enjoy ourselves. We will never get this opportunity again. Once we find Anne, then it will be back to our world, possibly for good."

Rosalind pretended to consider it for a moment. She even feigned caring before she said, "No. Anne is our top priority and I think we can find out where she lives in this main office place."

Rosalind started walking towards the office and away from Puck before he could object to her forceful decision. "What's in the office?" Puck questioned Rosalind, as he trailed after her. As much as he wanted to explore the school, he had no choice but to follow Rosalind into the office because he didn't want to explore the school alone. Plus, there was still hope that Rosalind might change her mind with a little coercion on his part as long as he complied with what she wanted to do for a while. Puck knew all about girls and how they operated. If he gave her what she wanted, then it would make it easier for him to get what he wanted later. Rosalind was a little different than most girls he had known, but he assumed that the same rules would apply to her as well.

Rosalind ignored Puck's question and they entered the office together and found two ladies standing behind a large desk to the right that blocked the other clusters of office from access unless a person stepped through a small, swinging door that was to the far left. The two women were talking and laughing merrily, carrying on a gay conversation, but they stopped talking and looked up immediately when Rosalind and Puck entered.

"May I help you?" One of the ladies asked. She was clutching a stack of papers in her hand and looked a little annoyed. Rosalind guessed correctly that the woman was slightly perturbed because two "students" had interrupted her conversation with her friend. Rosalind could tell that this lady had a different occupation at the school than teacher just by her reaction to the appearance of her and Puck alone. Teachers were normally glad to see students, at least that how the scholars were in Shakespeare. Maybe things were a little bit different here, but nonetheless, Rosalind didn't think that this woman was a teacher.

"I'm looking for student Anne Hathaway," Rosalind spoke up in her most diplomatic of voices. "Can you help me find her?"

"Um, school is out," the annoyed woman replied. "All of the students have gone home for today."

The woman didn't seem willing to help and had fed Rosalind an excuse. Other than the voice boxes that some of the students were talking into that she had seen earlier, Rosalind was beginning to dislike the human world. She couldn't wait to return to the world of Shakespeare where people wouldn't make fun of her for walking funny and would be a little more willing to assist her if she needed assistance with something as important as finding someone as important as Anne Hathaway.

"I'm aware," Rosalind got a little snippy with the woman since she had been a little snippy with her. Puck snickered silently at the battle of being as unpleasant as possible between the two women. "I just need for you to tell me her address and then, I shall be on my way." Rosalind forced a smile.

The woman forced a smile too. "I'm afraid that I am not allowed to do that." Then, she added a simpering, "Sorry."

"But this is an office, is it not?" Rosalind asked. "Surely, you would have Anne's records on file."

"We do," the woman answered. "But, like I said, I am not allowed to give out personal information on any of the students. You understand that I will be breaking the law if I did that right?"

"I understand completely," Rosalind told her, not giving up that easily. "But in situations like this, sometimes you—"

But Puck cut her off. "I'll handle this, Rosalind."

Fearing the worse, Rosalind tried to stop him. "Puck, no!"

Puck waved his hand and for a split-second, the woman who had been addressing Rosalind went rigid and starry eyed. Then, she wobbled on the spot for a second, threatening to topple over. Rosalind stared at her, wondering what Puck had done to her. It was obvious that he had performed magic on the woman but she couldn't figure what spell he had cast with such side effects alone. The woman's friend was staring at her as well, trying to access the situation and figure out what was going on.

"Tracy?" the friend called to the dazed woman. "Are you okay?"

At that precise moment, Tracy seemed to have snapped out of her temporary trance. Her eyes refocused and she regarded her friend.

Next to Rosalind, Puck was muttering under his breath and after he had spoken, Tracy spoke immediately thereafter.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Tracy told her. Puck nodded then and Tracy nodded her head afterwards, mimicking his moves perfectly.

Rosalind watched all of this take place and then she finally understood. Puck had placed a mind-controlling charm on the unkind woman named Tracy. He was the puppeteer and she was now his puppet for as long as he willed her to be. Puck was a genius and it was times like this that Rosalind didn't mind having him with her. She was wondering why she hadn't thought of that in the first place. Sometimes she forgot that she was a mystic and could use magic.

"Are you sure?" Tracy's friend asked her, not buying it. "You looked like you were going to faint or something."

"I'm fine," Puck whispered.

"I'm fine," Tracy told her friend.

Rosalind wanted to laugh because it was so hilarious, but she refrained from doing so. It was good though to see Puck controlling Tracy. Rosalind felt that she was getting what she deserved for being short with her and Puck.

Puck faced Rosalind and so did Tracy. Puck whispered out of the side of his mouth, a perfect ventriloquist so that Tracy's friend wasn't even aware that he was speaking at all, "You were saying?"

Tracy echoed his question to Rosalind.

"I was saying that I understand all about breaking laws," Rosalind began, enjoying every moment of this, "but I feel that in situations like this, sometimes breaking laws are okay if it's for the greater good."

"You're right," Tracy agreed, and Rosalind knew that Puck had said those words as well even if she hadn't heard him whisper them.

Tracy's friend's eyes went wide. "What?" she demanded. "You agree with her? Tracy, you know that we are not allowed to do anything like—"

"Silence!" Tracy shrieked suddenly and Rosalind couldn't help but to snickered a bit then. "It is important that these people find Anne Hathaway and I am going to help them achieve their goals."

"But, you can lose your job," her friend tried to reason with her. "Is it worth going to jail just to help out some strangers?"

Tracy nodded. "Yes, it is," she said. Then, she faced Rosalind and Puck. "I'll be right back. I am going to get Anne's address for you."

"Okay," Rosalind said, grinning.

Tracy headed for one of the back offices immediately and her friend followed her, pleading with her the entire time.

When they had disappeared, Rosalind faced Puck. "That was amazing, Puck! Good idea. I never would have thought of something like that."

Puck grinned. "That's what I'm here for," he said.

Rosalind was grinning as well. "I take back what I said earlier," she told him. "I will not tell Othello what you did since you came through so brilliantly."

Puck was relieved. He didn't really want to have to face the wrath of Othello, whose wrath was said to be worse than that of Achilles, and Puck had heard some terrible stories about the supposedly immortal Greek warrior.

Puck looked at Rosalind then and gave her a puppy dog face. She knew at once that he wanted something more for his services other than her not telling Othello about the fireworks display.

"What else do you want?" Rosalind questioned him.

"Can we explore some afterwards? Please?" Puck begged. "I won't be long."

Rosalind really considered it this time. Once they had Anne's address, they would be able to find her in no time and should be well on their way back to Shakespeare soon thereafter. If Rosalind allowed Puck to explore the school and limit his time, she didn't think that Othello or Antonio would notice that they were gone longer than they should have been as long as they had something to show for it, which they would have soon enough.

"Okay, fine, we can explore," she told Puck, who jumped up and down with excitement. "But only for a few minutes, okay? We need to get back to the Merchant's Library so that we can go find Anne."

Puck nodded in concordance.

Rosalind and Puck could hear voices then and that meant that Tracy and her friend were coming back from the office that they had disappeared into a few minutes ago. Tracy's friend was looking livid but Tracy wore a huge grin on her face, looking as though she was extremely proud of herself for helping Rosalind and Puck out. She was holding a slip of paper in her hands.

"Here you go," Tracy said, handing the paper to Rosalind. "That's Anne Hathaway's address."

Rosalind looked it over once to ensure that an actual address had been written there. Then, she said, "Thank you. Thank you very much."

"You're welcome," Tracy said.

Rosalind and Puck prepared to take their leave. Puck looked over at Tracy's friend, who was glowering with her arms folded across her chest. He smiled at her and she turned away from him. Then, Puck and Rosalind left to go exploring. The moment that he stepped outside of the main office, Puck snapped his fingers and the spell had been lifted.

--

Will hurried into his boss's office at the courier business where he worked, anxious and worried. He regretted not calling Anne the night before—Antonio turning him away when he went to visit him at the Merchant's Library had dampened his spirits and he had just gone home and went straight to bed—and knew that she was angry with him, but he hadn't expected this. It was not like her to miss school and it was not like her to answer the phone or return his phone calls whenever he called her. And he had called her at least a dozen times today while at school, sneaking out of classes and pretending to be sick just to call her, and she was nowhere to be found.

Will knew that he had screwed up and now he was trying to make things right. His perfect reputation as being the best boyfriend was ruined now. The only thing he could do was to show Anne that he was perfect again, but Will wasn't perfect. He never was and he never will be. And no relationship was perfect ever either. There were always problems and Will was surprised that he and Anne had gone so long without a major argument.

Things were changing now and things would never go back to being the way that they were exactly before. Will wanted to be with Anne; he wanted to be with her for as long as Heaven willed them to be together, even if that meant forever and ever. But he could never go back to being the perfect boyfriend, not at least until Anne finally learned whom he really was. Will hadn't been completely honest with Anne from the beginning and now with the outbreak of a potential disaster with him not calling her last night after promising, he was beginning to see that keeping secrets hidden from Anne for so long was not a good idea.

But Will had done what he had to do to protect Anne for as long as possible. He never wanted her to know that he was from a different world. She wouldn't have believed him anyways. No human in his or her right mind would believe something like that without proof. Will had proof, of course. All he would have had to do was perform a simple magical spell and that's what he had been afraid of. The spell would have succeeded in proving to Anne that he was from another world, but it more than likely would have scared her away. And Will didn't want that. He had fallen in love with Anne that first day that they had met. He had known then that she was the perfect girl for him and he wouldn't have settled for anyone else, especially if he was the reason for scaring Anne away with the truth about himself.

That was why Will had never told Anne where he had truly come from. He had told her too much already by admitting to her that he and Antonio were old friends. But Anne didn't know the truth about Antonio either so Will's secret was still safe, but for how long? How long would his secret remain now that Anne had read from one of the Shakespearean manuscripts? He had been given instructions before he had left his home a year ago and he had gotten her to read one even though he didn't really want her to. Now what? What will happen now? Now that Anne had read a manuscript, what would happen? Was Will's future with her secured or would she learn the truth and get as far away from him as she could? Whenever he talked to her soon, Will was tempted to go ahead and tell her the truth before she found it out some other way.

Will threw down his backpack and closed the door behind him. If he managed to reach Anne this time, he didn't want his boss or his fellow co-workers eavesdropping. He wasn't planning on telling Anne everything over the phone—he rather do it in person; it would be better that way even if it would be harder—but he still didn't want anyone overhearing what they would be discussing. He was sure that Anne was mad at him, but he just didn't know how mad. There might be some yelling or sobbing; he didn't know. This was Will's first serious relationship. He really didn't have any experience in this department.

Will picked up the store's phone and dialed Anne's home number. He listened and waited. It rung five times before going to the voicemail of Alice greeting all callers happily and telling them to leave a message—the typical voicemail greeting. Furious and disappointed, Will hung up the phone and pulled out his cell phone. He tried Anne's apartment again and was met with the same results. He was tempted to leave a message, anything to get Anne to call him back but he didn't want Alice to hear it first and know that they were fighting. He would be uncomfortable around Alice from that point forward if he knew that he had left a message begging Anne to call him back and Alice had heard it.

Next, Will tried Anne's cell phone, assuming that she might be out somewhere with Alice, or with Melody now that school was out for the day. He knew that Melody had gone to school today because he had seen her and together the two of them had wondered where Anne was. Melody probably managed to reach her during some point in the day since they were more than likely still on speaking terms since Anne wasn't mad at Melody for all Will knew, and Will cursed himself for not telling Melody to have Anne call him as soon as possible when he had seen her in the hallway.

He tried Anne's cell phone with the work phone and his own cell phone and received similar results as trying to reach Anne at home. The only difference was that her cell phone had gone straight to voicemail, meaning that Anne had turned it off. So, she was at home. If she were out and about, she wouldn't have her cell phone off. She always kept it on whenever she went somewhere in case Alice needed to reach her for an emergency and vice versa.

Will sat in his boss's chair and sighed. Anne was ignoring him. How long would she keep up this tirade, he had no clue. All he wanted to do was talk to her for a few seconds, long enough to explain what had happened and ask for her forgiveness. He just wanted her to talk to him again. She could stay mad at him for a while—girls seemed to hold grudges for a long time—but he didn't care. He just wanted his Anne back. He missed her. He truly missed her and he had only gone a day without speaking to her.

Will couldn't imagine what it would be like if Anne ignored him for a few days, or even a few weeks. He was in so much pain after only a day that it felt like his insides had been torn apart like shredded paper. Love hurt and he had found that out the hard way. What was it that the founder of the world of Shakespeare, William Shakespeare himself, had said about true love? Will struggled to remember the quote that Antonio had once told him. What was it? He thought hard, remembering hearing part of the quote from one of the Shakespearean manuscripts about fairies and a potent love potion. What was that quote he had read? It would bug him for the rest of the evening, like not talking to Anne was bugging him, if he didn't remember that quote as soon as he could.

Then, he remembered it as clearly as if it had just been recited to him. "The course of true love never did run smooth."

So true were the words of Shakespeare. So true.

The door to the office opened without warning then and Will thought that it was his boss coming to tell him to get to work although he still had about fifteen more minutes before he was due to clock in. But then, he saw that the man was walking into the office with a slight limp, a familiar gait that Will couldn't place until the man had stepped all the way into the office and Will could see the half-scarred face and the two swords gleaming on either side of the man's waist.

"Caliban!" Will stood up and cried in a shocked voice; Caliban smiled at him. "What are you doing here?"

Caliban limped towards him and Will rephrased his question. "How did you get in here?"

Will noticed the silvery, silky, translucent item that was draped over Caliban's left arm and he knew the answer to his second question before Caliban had even spoken, and he was confused now. What was that thing?

Caliban held up the object proudly and Will noticed that it was a cloak of some kind—a transparent cloak. "A special cloak that was crafted by a tailor from Padua," he explained to Will in his gruff voice. "It allows its wearer to become invisible and to be able to walk through solid barriers. The wearer is also protected from most spells and of course, there is one major drawback—the wearer cannot perform magic while wearing the cloak. However, the cloak is still very useful, especially if I wanted to sneak into a place to see a familiar face."

"What are you doing here?" Will demanded a second time. He didn't seem too happy to see Caliban and had reverted back to his first question. Ever since the last night that he had spent in Shakespeare, Will didn't trust Caliban and thought that he was up to no good. "You came to ask me—" Will started to get riled up but Caliban shoved a crinkled photograph into Will's hand and it served its purpose of silencing him.

"What's this?" Will demanded, proposing a new inquiry.

"Look at it," was all that Caliban said. "Quickly now, we don't have much time."

"We don't have much time for what," Will grumbled, looking down at the picture. "I never agreed to help you—"

Will stopped talking immediately when he saw whom the picture was of and he gasped. He nearly dropped the picture and nearly fell back into the wall. The picture . . . he couldn't believe it. The picture was of Anne. That was impossible. What had Caliban dragged Anne into? Will felt his entire world crumbling to pieces around him.

"How did you get this?" Will asked Caliban.

"It was magic," Caliban replied simply. "Do you know her? Do you know Anne Hathaway? I was hoping that you might know her?"

"Why?" Will half-screamed at Caliban. "What twisted game do you have in store for her?"

Caliban looked offended. "Twisted game?" he echoed. "Come on, Will, you know me better than that."

"I thought I knew you, Caliban," Will shot back. "But I was wrong, wasn't I? Now tell me what you are doing with Anne's picture?"

Caliban took a step back from Will and his face showed mock surprise. "You do know her, don't you?"

Will sighed in frustration. This day was beginning to become too much for him to handle. First, Anne ignored him the entire day, which made him feel really bad on the inside and now, Caliban had paid him a surprise visit in the human world. Just what was Caliban doing here? He had to have a reason to be there. Caliban was no pawn; he didn't just do things without a purpose or without a way to benefit himself some how. Caliban was selfish and he didn't care about anyone except for saving his own skin. Will had realized that too late but never again would he fall for Caliban's lies. He would get to the bottom of everything and he would stop Caliban somehow. He just couldn't believe that Anne was involved. Did she know everything already? If not, what did she know? All Will could do was assume that she knew something because of her avoidance of him. What she knew about Will scared her and she was going to stay away from him for forever. Will's heart ached suddenly and he felt weak.

Grabbing onto the edge of the desk in front of him to maintain his balance, Will told Caliban, "Of course, I know her. She's my girlfriend, okay? Now, what are you doing with a picture of her? What have you told her?"

Even though Caliban could not believe what he had just heard, he didn't show it on his face. This was now deeper than he ever imagined. Will was definitely involved with Anne Hathaway and his relationship with her was greater than Caliban would have ever suspected. Of all the human girls, Will had to choose Anne Hathaway to fall in love with. It was like something out of a fairy tale, although Caliban was not a big fan of such sappy love stories with lessons learned and all that jazz.

"I haven't told her anything," Caliban assured Will calmly.

"Then, why do you have her picture?"

"Calm down," Caliban attempted to soothe Will's burning spirits but his efforts were futile. "I'm trying to explain."

"Well, explain quicker," Will said. "Like you mentioned, we don't have much time, so spill the beans."

"Spill the beans?" Caliban echoed.

Will sighed. "It's a human expression that means get to the point," he clarified. "So stop stalling and tell me just what in the hell you are doing here with a picture of my girlfriend?"

"I am here to find Anne Hathaway and you are going to help me find her," Caliban put it bluntly. After all, Will had told him to "spill the beans" and that what he did. There was no other explanation for it. Caliban wanted and needed to find Anne and Will was going to help him—simple as that. Of course, things were complicated now because Will was very close to Anne but Caliban was going to persuade him one way or another, even if he had to utilize more tools than just his slippery tongue.

Will narrowed his eyes and glared at Caliban. "Now, why would I want to do something like that? Why would I help you find my girlfriend so you can do God knows what with her? No thank you. I have to pass up this opportunity for a mission, my Master."

And with that, Will threw the picture of Anne back at Caliban and stepped around him to escape the office. Will paused at the door and looked back at Caliban. "And oh yeah, you better stay away from me and Anne if you know what is good for you."

"Is that a threat?" Caliban asked Will.

"It's a promise," Will might as well have actually spat on Caliban when he said that.

"Your threats are empty young sentinel and you will help me find Anne."

"No, I won't," Will said defiantly. "Whatever scheme you had in store for her, you can cancel it okay? You can also return to Shakespeare and back to the Dark Lady where you belong. You are not welcomed here."

Caliban grabbed Will suddenly by the shoulder and Will tensed for a fight; however, Caliban was not trying to pick a fight. Instead, he said. "Will, my friend," and at the mention of the word "friend", Will huffed but he listened silently otherwise. "Trust me just this once, please?" Will couldn't believe it. Caliban was pleading and Caliban never did such a thing. The notion was outrageous and outlandish. "I know that I have wronged you before and I'm sorry but you have to take me to Anne. It is imperative that you lead me to Anne because the fate of the world of Shakespeare may depend upon it."