Epilogue
Preview for Giving Fantasia
"The Storyboard"
Fanfiction dimensional travel through a laptop portal.
I don't recommend it. I do it. I just don't recommend it.
First, I'm assuming it's a tight fit because you crumble into this pixilated pixie dust material before screaming through cyberspace. Second, don't eat beforehand because dimensional travel is a rollercoaster without seatbelts. And take it from me, loosing your cookies in the middle of a computer network really screws up your internet connection.
And third, ohhhh and third…..
…was the kid waiting to yell at you on the other side.
"Are you kidding me? Sultal are you freaking kidding me?"
Winded from my crash landing, I could only frown. Although I suspected Micatony had said my name with an uppercase 's' (purposefully no doubt), it was hard to tell. Certainly it was not as obvious as when Headmaster Mickey said my name wrong in Fantasia.
But what could I expect? After all, I was not in a fanfiction anymore. I was in my world. And in my world, your world, this world, the real world, Earth 2015…I was not sultal.
I was me. With a penname.
Still I was a born cynic. And Micatony was a born aggravator. So, I decided to correct him. Just in case.
"Holy crow Mic…" Heavily, I slouched back on my knees. "…lowercase. Lowercase s. Get it right."
Micatony – Mic – said something profane. But I was way too tired to retaliate. Gently rubbing my chest, I tried to sooth my pounding heart
Fanfiction dimensional travel also does a number on your sympathetic nervous system.
Gasp! Science term!
What is the sympathetic nervous system you ask? Well, I'll tell you.
The sympathetic nervous system is your body's "fight or flight" switchboard. It does all sorts of lovely attractive things like elevating your heart rate, increasing your blood pressure, dilating your pupils, and making you sweat like a pig. Basically it's the body's response to emergency – like being shoved from a fanfiction and through cyberspace. It is exhausting.
It's a good thing I was pretty athletic. I recovered fast.
Breathing deep, I glanced over. My laptop looked innocently back. I couldn't strop the grin. There was still Fantasian sand between the keys.
Mic noticed I wasn't paying attention.
"—and give me a bloody break!" Mic raised his voice. "Lowecase s? Can you get any girlier? My name is sultal! Storytellers are omniscient! My eyes are big! Lowercase s please! Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah! Well! That cute-sty stuff might work on Disney rodents – "
My insides spun.
"—but it makes me physically sick! Bloody!" Mic crouched. His man-child eyes seized mine. "You entered a fanfiction! You entered a fanfiction! What if you couldn't get back? What if we couldn't write you out? What if your laptop broke? Quick question: are you mental?"
Several unladylike responses came to mind. But I decided against them. I looked to the left. Two shadows flickered on the other side of a closed door. We were being eavesdropped. And generally I save the profanity for Mic and Mic alone. I've known Mic all my life, so we can get pretty intense. Nothing cruel; it's more like a tennis match. No s*** Sherlock! All men are b*******! What the H***! F*** this! F*** that! F*** all these! F*** this thing in particular!
Yes. Ours is a magical relationship.
"So you read it?" I asked, glancing as the shadows moved under the door. "You read Taking Fantasia? Chapter 126? All of you? Even the girls?"
Mic looked ready to puke. "Especially the girls." he growled. "You think I would have read that crap without force feeding?"
I grinned. "It was cool, yeah?"
"Screw you."
"Oh come on, Mic." Easing into my office chair, I retrieved my laptop. Automatic pilot took over as I clicked The Little Mermaid icon, waited for the white box, and blindly punched the password. The screen folded up. My Taking Fantasia document was still open.
"Aren't you pumped?" I asked, touching the screen. My fingertips tingled as I paused over Headmaster Mickey's dialogue. "I mean come on Mic. You're equation worked! I did it. I did it! I entered a fanfiction!"
Mic grunted. Torn between anger and pride, he turned.
Micatony was a fanfictioner. Sort of. Actually he was an engineering student slash blacksmith hobbyist with an unhealthy obsession for ancient Greek mythology and sarcastic characters. That meant he also had an unhealthy obsession for the Percy Jackson series and the 'wisdom' of Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones. And when you have (1) an unhealthy fandom obsession plus, (2) broadband access, you get…well you do the math. It all equals Fanfiction.
Mic and I joined fanfiction together, collaborating on a Percy Jackson story, but Mic stopped after the first few chapters. Writing was not his "thang." As I said, Mic was an engineer. His fortes were technology, numbers, problem solving, math.
But that's okay. Because even though he stopped writing, Mic married his engineering mind with his fandom obsessions. And he discovered something. Something incredible. Something impossible. Something…
Magic.
Mic discovered how to enter a fanfiction. He discovered an equation that could connect our world to the fanfiction universe via a laptop portal.
More importantly, he discovered how to get back.
Getting back was the tricky part. Scrolling up, I re-read my explanation of fanfiction dimensional travel to Headmaster Mickey. When I entered Fantasia, I was in the fanfiction world, Destination A. To get back to my world, I needed directions to Earth (specifically this room), Destination B.
Three people back on Earth supplied those directions. It's like trying to find a specific point on a box. All you need to find that specific point are three coordinates for length, width, and height. Since Earth is three dimensional, like a box, all I needed were three people on three laptops to "write me out" of the fanfiction.
The sequence goes something like this: I enter a fanfiction, via Mic's equation. I chill and have pow-wows with fictional legends. Then, I'm forced to return home. The three fanfiction writers supply three coordinates. Mic's equation calculates the coordinates. The laptop portal opens. I press ENTER. Then BAM – I get sucked through cyberspace and spit back home.
Make sense? Even if not, you still get the idea. This was a big discovery. And it was cool.
So cool in fact, Mic started a secret "organization" (he didn't like the word club – too Boyscouts, not enough Mafia). With him and I being principal members, Mic invited two additional fanfictioners, LadyAnne23 and HeartOfGold7 to make a total of four members. With four members there would always be three people back on Earth to "write out" a fanfictioner from her story.
I'm not sure if Mic ever planned to trial his equation; mostly we just met to write. Although Mic explained the details, he forbad us from experimenting with his equation until "the math was right."
"No one tries to enter a fanfiction without my say-so!" Mic had said. "The math is still off! Something is still missing! So hands off, wenches! Don't be nosey! Don't be heroic! Don't be stupid!"
Guess who decided to be stupid?
Yup. C'est moi, baby!
Now, I don't want you to get any ideas. I didn't enter the fanfiction because I am a 'dreamer.' And I didn't even enter the fanfiction because I'm a Disney enthusiast either. Please, that's totally not my style.
I entered the fanfiction because – mostly because – I am a scientist.
Yup. Guilty as charged.
Now, I like a sparkly dose of Disney and magical-fairy-rainbow-dust as much as the next guy. But when it comes down to it, I defend science.
Mic and I go to the same college. He's an engineering student. I am a biology major….
…with a minor in chemistry…
…and a concentration in pre-health.
Alert: Science Geek. Sacrilegious, I realize, but it's true.
My world is logic. My world is experimentation. My world is empirical. My world is evidence. My world is science.
As a scientist, I don't have dreams; I have goals. Stars don't twinkle; they twinkled eons ago. I don't get inspired; I research. And fantasy is always better when supported by scientific method.
But as a scientist, I also theorize. And I had a theory. I had a theory that Mic couldn't quite clinch his equations because he was missing one very important variable.
"Magic." I smiled, cursor hovering over Headmaster Mickey's rationalization of dimensional travel. "Magic."
"What?" Mic asked sharply. "What was that?"
"Nothing. Just...I thought you would be more excited I entered Taking Fantasia. That's all."
"I'd be more excited to switch from boxers to briefs."
"Oh come on!" Minimizing Taking Fantasia, I double clicked a second file. Giving Fantasia. My sequel!
Giddy and goosebumpy I started to laugh, hoping he would share my excitement.
"Mic don't you know what this means? You were right. Mic you were right! The fanfiction universe exists! And we can go there safely! Admiral, there be whales here!" I said in a terrible Scottish accent. "There be whales!"
Mic twitched. He hated Star Trek IV. "Say something original."
"At least we figured out the missing variable to your equation." I offered.
"Excuse me? The missing what the freaking frack?"
"The missing variable to your fanfiction equation." I clarified, tapping my screen. "You read what Headmaster Mickey said. Magic. That's the missing variable! The reason you couldn't solve your equation was because you left out magic!"
Okay…
Friendly hint: Never tell an engineer his math is wrong.
Second friendly hint: Never tell an engineer his math is wrong because he left out magic.
"Wench!" Mic stuck up his middle finger. "Put this in your sequel and stick it up that mouse's—"
"Dude!? Holy crow!"
Accusingly, Mic pointed at my laptop. "What are you doing?"
"Storyboarding." I said, backpedaling in my chair. "And I've got a ton of research to do so – hey!"
"Give me that!"
"Mic!"
"Give me that laptop! I'm running a virus check! And by the way – you're grounded!"
"I'm what?"
Laptop shoved under his arm, Mic bulldozed through me. The shadows moved under the door as he seized the handle.
"Grounded! You stole my equation, my genius, my creation, my Nobel-prize idea ALL to enter a – a - " Mic shuddered. " – a Disney fanfiction. This laptop's probably infected with more viruses than the Plague of Athens!"
I was incredulous. "I so want to hurt you right now."
"Miss Congeniality." Mic snapped. "Bloody! Say something original!"
I grabbed for my laptop. "Give it back!"
"No!" Mic lifted the laptop overhead. "Until I scan this baby, you're on fanfiction probation!"
"Mic – you f – "
I stopped. Swallowing a whole big bolus of Irish temper, I lowered my hands. Mic lowered my laptop, and I relaxed.
He was right. At least, Mic was right to be upset. It was his equation. It was his idea. And – although I hated to admit it – it was his ingenious discovery.
But that did not change where I had gone. That did not change what I had done.
Fantasia was real. Somewhere, somehow, across time, space, and imagination…Fantasia was real. Fantasia was a living, breathing cosmos illuminated with characters that felt happiness, sadness, loneliness, and love.
But Fantasia was suspended between stories. And its characters, four in particular, were left in heartbreak. Perhaps forever. Unless…
…unless I wrote their story. Unless I wrote what happened next.
"Mic."
I looked down. Embarrassed, I twisted an orange sneaker against its pair.
"Mic I left them. Peter. Wendy. Ariel. Jim. I left them apart. I left them alone. And…" breathing deep, I remembered the vow I had made to Headmaster Mickey.
"And whether you like it or not…I entered a fanfiction. I entered Taking Fantasia. I am part of that story, inside and out. And…I promised to make everything alright."
Mic was quiet. Just for a second. I thought he sighed. But when I looked up, he hit me with a dark Italian glare.
"You also put us all in danger." Mic said, shoving the door. "Especially yourself. Hey! Wenches!"
Halfway the door stuck. I glimpsed the two girls huddled on the threshold before Mic started barking like a bulldog.
"Lady whatever and Goldilocks—!"
I cringed. Mic was terrible at names.
"—both of you scram! Come on wenches! Move it! Ain't nothing to see! Ain't nothing to hear! Scram! Out, out, out!"
The door slammed.
And I was alone.
For a moment I stood, unsure what to do. I thought about chasing Mic. I thought about kicking the crap out of him. I thought about how much bigger he was than me. I thought I had better not risk it. I thought about going for a run. I thought about my story. I thought about my sequel. I thought about Headmaster Mickey. I thought about my promise.
I thought about what I really wanted to do right now.
"Jokes on you Mic. I don't need a laptop to storyboard."
It was more spite than truth. Storyboarding – planning a story – was an essential first step. I never started writing until I storyboarded first. It made the storytelling process much smoother and…twistable. And I loved doing that. I loved twisting plots.
My storyboarding strategies usually broke into percents: 20% arrow diagrams, 20% acting it out, 50% thinking while running, and 74% research.
Yes I realize that's 164%. Work with me. Here's the point: research accounts for the bulk of my storyboarding. And the Internet is pretty helpful when it comes to research. And…a laptop is pretty helpful when it comes to the Internet.
Sighing, I gazed across the room. There were three other desks, not including my own, each with a laptop. Naturally I considered commandeering the laptops. Ultimately I decided against it. Not my property. Not my personal space. Bad form. Plus…I didn't know the passwords. I would be a waste of time.
Or would it?
Quickly deciding I had zero moral qualms about breaking into Mic's laptop, I sauntered to his desk.
"Oh…come on."
Mic's laptop was chained. Literally. The laptop was wrapped four ways with a linked chain and fastened with a combination lock.
"Typical." I muttered, "Hannibal strikes again."
The chained laptop was frustrating, but not unexpected. Mic's desk was a metal monster, constructed by himself and littered with a billion cans of Mountain Dew. Like me, Mic preferred to write on graph paper. Inching a sheet from under his laptop, I studied his most recent sketch. It was a futuristic lighting system, something we had discussed for my story Aphelion. I tilted my head. It was interesting. Not what I requested, but still interesting.
Marveling at our differences, I looked back at my desk. It was white, flat, and empty as a canvass. But it was surrounded by a hurricane. Paper, books, notebooks, coloring books, pens, pencils, CDs, rulers, crayons, and a little figurine of Edna Mode flanked one side. The opposite side was supported by one mirror, two lamps, three pairs of running sneakers, four tangled headphones, and a portable radio. And directly ahead, right where I could see, was an ancient quote decorated by a crazy Celtic knot.
I smiled. My desk was tranquility in a nest of high energy. It was totally me. Just as Mic's desk – basically a metal scrap pile – was totally him. I could look at our desks and understand the personification.
But when I looked at the other two….
I approached LadyAnne23's and HeartOfGold7's desks. Still a little shy, I studied them several paces away.
The Fanfiction "Organization" was still pretty new. We met in an abandoned shack off- campus, close enough to neighbors with unsecured Internet, but distant enough to remain secret. The shack was waterproof - which was nice - and big enough for a desk in each corner - which was nicer.
Each corner belonged to a fanfictioner. It was their space. It was their territory. It was their world. And for whatever reason, I hadn't paid much attention to LadyAnne23's or HeartOfGold7's desk space. I hadn't known either girl for very long, and I had tried to keep it that way. But people and personalities fascinate me.
I paused between the desks. Shamelessly I searched for clues, trying to deduce who LadyAnne23 and HeartOfGold7 really were.
"Interesting."
HeartOfGold7's desk was simple. Deceivingly simple. Maple frame. Bar stool. Slide extension for her laptop. One corner was neatly set with a mug for pencils and pens. A docking station with speakers sat quietly aside.
At first glance, it seemed very typical. But at second glance, several items stood out like gold. There was a binder of character biographies, placed on the desk almost in a seat of honor. There was also a little bit of chocolate, easily within reach. And above her desk hung two drawings. Both of herself. One was a self portrait.
That warmed me.
"You are confident in yourself, HeartOfGold7." I smiled, turning from the simple, maple desk. "Don't ever lose that. Confidence is rare. Very rare. "
LadyAnne23's desk could not have been more different. Her corner was an island of organized chaos. Every creative utensil known to man sat on her half-moon desk poised for easy access, like the ingredients of a master chef. Inspirational Disney posters and water-color paintings (sporting her signature) filled the negative space. It was so animated, so colorful – just like Rapunzel's tower in Tangled.
I sighed.
It was weird. It was weird interacting with LadyAnne23 and HeartOfGold7, knowing they were different people outside of this fanfiction room.
Mic had one rule when we joined.
Never, ever, ever tell anyone your real name. Your real name anchors you to this world. Your real name binds you to Earth.
Your real name is powerful.
And if someone in the fanfiction world ever discovered your true name…
I shuddered. Who knew what could happen? Who wanted to?
So, none of us knew the other's true identity. None of us knew the other's real name.
Well, Mic and I did, but that's an unfortunate coincidence (we grew up together).
Regardless…when I entered this room, I was sultal, even to Mic. sultal is not my real name. sultal is my penname. sultal is the name I used in fanfictions. And sultal was what LadyAnne23 and HeartOfGold7 would always know me by.
To them, I was just a penname.
And they were just pennames to me.
It was sad. Although I resisted their membership at first, LadyAnne23 and HeartOfGold7 were pretty cool. I enjoyed their company more and more each day.
Smiling, I remembered the first signs of friendship.
HeartOfGold7 is my junior in age and appearance. She could be my twin. When we get excited (it doesn't take much) our eyes burn apple green. HeartOfGold7 is the youngest of the group, but she makes up for it with a magnificent personality and a diesel engine drive.
LadyAnne23 is different. Very. Like her writing, she is meticulous. Everything she does seems dictated by purpose and grace. I smiled. She reminded me of Wendy from my stories. But also like Wendy, LadyAnne23 has a secret dazzle. A sudden snap-crackle-pop. You just have to look.
For example, one day I was humming a 1940s tune. Unconcerned that anyone would recognize it, I softly sang, "It's gonna be a hot time in the town of Berlin…"
Immediately LadyAnne23 picked up the lyric, "…when the yanks go marching in." After that, she finished the song. I was floored. I mean, I didn't even know all the lyrics!
See? They were cool.
Still…
Sighing, I turned. I was sure LadyAnne23, HeartOfGold7 and I would end up friends. But something would always be missing. They would never be quite real. They would always be a little mysterious. A little fictitious – just like characters in a story.
"I wonder if Headmaster Mickey feels that way…about me."
Returning to my desk, I sat.
"Okay sultal…" I opened a notebook. Then I flipped it away. "Okay sultal. Think. Giving Fantasia. Giving Fantasia. Plot A...already got it. Plot B? Plot C? Too complicated...stick with Plot B. Plot B...Plot B would be the guardians. The relationships. Peter. Wendy. Ariel. Jim. The...ugh."
Head in hands, I extended back. "Romance. Ugh. I suck at romance!"
Still lamenting I turned on the radio. Nothing but static. Adjusting the dial, I found the one clear station. Pop. Fine, whatever. Music was music.
"Think." I repeated, tucking thumbs under my jaw and index fingers against the bridge of my nose. "Think sultal, think. The guardians….reunited. First meetings. Romance. Think."
My head was buzzing. Ideas surfaced and resurfaced through my brain like fish. I had to catch them. I had to organize them.
I had to keep my promise.
I had to write Giving Fantasia.
"...think…"
Oh don't you dare look back, Just keep your eyes on me...
The music leapt from the background noise and into my ears. I looked up. I knew that song. I loved that song. Shut up and Dance, by Walk The Moon.
It was...a love song.
Slowly I lowered my hands. I stared at the radio. My foot started to tap.
Oh don't you dare look back,
"A love song…."
Just keep your eyes on me
"Wendy and Peter?"
I said you're holding back
"Ariel and Jim?"
She said shut up and dance with me!
"Shut up. Voiceless. Ariel." I decided.
This woman is my destiny
"Destiny. Future. Jim." I smiled, speaking fast.
She said oh oh oh!
I looked in the mirror. Ariel looked back as I mouthed the words and stood from my chair.
Shut up and dance with me!
The beat hit. Letting myself collapse into Ariel's character, I matched the music with a conservative sway.
"If I were Ariel…"
We were victims of the night
"Back home after three, no SIX years!"
The chemical, physical, kryptonite
"And I heard this song…"
Helpless to the bass and the fading light
"...for the first time..."
Oh we were bound to get together
"What would I do?"
Bound to get together!
I grabbed a pen. "I'd take Attina's hairbrush!"
She took my arm
"Hold it like a microphone!"
I don't know how it happened
"And turn up the volume -"
We took the floor and she said!
"- until I could feel every fucking cord in my throat!"
The chorus attacked.
And I was Ariel Triton.
Crazy, I know. But at that moment I wasn't sultal. I wasn't me.
I was Ariel Triton, guardian of the Seaworld, returned to Fantasia after six silent years. My home was empty. There was only a radio to greet me. I loved this song. And I identified with the lyrics. So, I cranked the volume until it vibrated in my throat. I brought Attina's hairbrush to my lips. And lipsynching each word, I pretended I still had my voice. I pretended Ursula hadn't cursed my vocal cords.
I pretended to sing.
Oh don't you dare look back
Just keep your eyes on me
I said you're holding back
She said shut up and dance with me!
This woman is my destiny
She said oh oh oh
Shut up and dance with me!
The singer stopped, fading into the beat. My throat tingled, impatient for the voice to return.
Swaying as Ariel and speaking as sultal, I continued to storyboard.
"I've been in the ocean…"
A backless dress and some beat up sneaks
"...for five years!"
My disco tec Juliet teenage dream
"The ocean...makes you weightless…"
I felt it in my chest as she looked at me
"So if I heard this song…what else would I want to do..."
I knew we were bound to be together
"...besides sing?"
Bound to be together
The music had my answer.
She took my arm!
I threw my hand. "I'd want to jump!"
I don't know how it happened
I twirled. "I'd want to spin!"
We took the floor and she said!
I laughed, "I'd want to dance!"
And I did. Again, I was Ariel Trition. Spinning, skipping, pirouetting - dancing fluidly was water. Supported by the ocean's buoyancy for five years, I relished the feeling of loosing my balance and stomping my feet. Oh how I missed this! Oh how I loved to dance!
Oh don't you dare look back
Just keep your eyes on me
I said you're holding back
She said shut up and dance with me
This woman is my destiny
She said oh oh oh
Shut up and dance with me
Oh, come on girl!
The instrumentals took over. And I went crazy. Body unbounded as the sea, I danced and danced, pulverized by the beat.
I am happy!
Deep in her eyes
SO happy!
I think I see the future
I leapt, trident slicing the air.
I realize-
I landed.
-this is my last chance
I leapt again.
She took my arm
But...
I don't know how it happened
...something is missing...
We took the floor and she said!
Or is it...someone?
The music softened, leaving only the beat. Automatically I decelerated, but my insides were still sparkling as I turned to the hushed pace.
Then my heart stopped.
There was a boy at the door.
A boy with sunken eyes.
A boy I had not seen for five years.
But a boy I dream about . Every day. Every night.
The boy - the man - filling his eyes with me.
He smiles.
I breath.
Jim.
The music returns. I can almost hear the singer smiling.
Oh don't you dare look back
He crosses the room.
Just keep your eyes on me
I can't look away.
His eyebrows raise. Playfully he speaks the next line, indicating that I have stopped. "I said you're holding back."
Challengingly, I tilt my chin.
Shut up and dance with me.
He surprises me. He takes my waist. Draws me in.
This woman is my destiny
He kisses the words against my head.
She said oh oh oh
He is about to do something he hates. Because he knows it's something I love.
We lace hands.
Smile in each other's eyes.
Shut up and dance!
I let Jim Hawkins lead.
Oh don't you dare look back
Just keep your eyes on me
I said you're holding back
She said shut up and dance with me!
This woman is my destiny
She said oh oh oh
Shut up and dance with me!
Oh oh oh shut up dance with me!
Oh oh oh shut up dance with me!
The song played. And we...they...Ariel and Jim...danced to their second dance.
"Shut up!" I sang, letting Ariel dissolve from my imagination. "Shut up and dance with me!"
Pirouetting from invisible arms I slammed into my office chair. The song ended.
And I was sultal again.
"Jim and Ariel reunion! Storyboarded!" I punched the air. "Bam! That happened!"
Beaming I looked up.
Guess who beamed right back?
Yup. LadyAnne23. HeartOfGold7. Of course.
The radio didn't stand a chance.
I lunged, killing the station. Zzzzzzglip.
"Hi."
I moved the radio. Brilliant sultal. That really hides the dance-dance-revolution-let's-play-make-believe party mix they just saw.
Blushing, I turned to the girls. "I uh – "
"You didn't have to stop."
I blinked at HeartOfGold7. "Uhhh…"
LadyAnne23 agreed. "I love that song." Looking up and slightly to the left, she did a little dance. "Shut up and dance with me."
"So." HeartOfGold7 walked over, bouncing with the skip in her step. She looked excited. "So was that for the sequel?"
"It, uh – "
"You said Jim and Ariel!"
"Well, I mean, I was just – "
"Because that would be SO cute! Like SO cute! I mean words just can't – " she referred to LadyAnne23, "—wouldn't that be so, super cute?!"
LadyAnne23 smiled, almost motherly. "Yes. It's perfect. Did you tell her about the DVDs?"
I glanced at the discs in their hands. "DVDs?"
"Yeah!" Proudly HeartOfGold7 held out three DVDs. She explained as LadyAnne23 gave three more.
"We read your last chapter!" HeartOfGold7 said as I inspected the discs. "And um WOW! You entered a fanfiction!"
"Without us." LadyAnne23 laughed as I started to protest. "Don't worry. We figured you would sooner or later. Despite what Mic said. And by the way, I can't believe you let him win!"
"Win?"
"Mic took your laptop." HeartofGold7 clarified. "You must feel so naked."
"…um."
"You see…" LadyAnne23 held out her hands. "…this is why we need NERF guns."
I shook my head. "Listen, I – "
"Well in any case…" HeartOfGold7 pointed at the DVDs. "We dug these up for you! Since you're all about …" she made air quotes. "…the research..."
I grinned. I knew she was being snarky. She's also big into research.
HeartOfGold7 grinned back. "…and since Mic stole your laptop – "
"—without an extraordinary fight." added LadyAnne23.
"—we thought you could start researching with these tonight!" HeartOfGold7 finished. Again she pointed to the DVDs. "Based on what you wrote in Chapter 126!"
LadyAnne23 smiled. "Have a look."
I did. Carefully, I read each DVD.
"Quest for Camelot….Rise of the Guardians….How To Train Your Dragon….The Swan Princess…Shrek…oh man…"
My insides tingled at the last title. "…Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas."
Disarmed by their kindness, I looked up. "Oh. Guys. Oh holy crow."
"You're welcome!" sang HeartOfGold7.
LadyAnne23 smiled. "So sultal…" she said. "…when can we expect Giving Fantasia to start?"
I thought. Fingering the DVDs I relapsed back into the Fantasian world before giving my answer.
"Wendy's birthday." I finally said, wondering if Headmaster Mickey was still wondering about me.
And my promise.
"The first post will be September twenty first."
sultal's note
song: Shut Up and Dance by Walk the Moon
thank you LadyAnne23, HeartOfGold7...and Micatony. I guess :)
Okay dudes...September 21st.
keep writing.