I referenced the author "Dr. Seuss" in this chapter. Obviously, I do not own "Dr Seuss" at all. I also referenced "The Guardians of Childhood" book series. I don't own "The Guardians of Childhood" book series. I also referenced the movie "Holes". I don't own "Holes".
Reading
Jamie groaned. There they go again, Jack and Bunnymund. Do they ever stop fighting?
The child lightly trotted down a hall of the workshop, Bunny's and Jack's argument fading with every step he took. Jamie gave a long whistle as he passed door after door, wondering how many rooms the factory held. Every now and again he opened a random door; it either contained a broom and supply closet, guest bedroom, or a personal workshop. The next door he opened just so happened to be one of those shops and the sound of something shattering pierced the air as Jamie pushed against the door.
In the shop, Jamie looked to the stone floor to see chunks of ice that once took on the shape of a plane. With a sharp gasp of realization, the boy shot a look towards the Guardian of Wonder who had his back turned to him. North was rubbing his temples in aggravation, muttering under his breath.
"Whoops," Jamie mumbled before calling out a 'Sorry!' and racing away down a corridor.
Okay, Jamie thought during the rest of his trek. Let's knock next time!
The child rounded several corners, passing a lumbering yeti, more workshops, the Globe of Belief, and a couple elves. Just beyond the kitchen's door, tucked in a rather forgotten corner, stood two doors side by side each other.
Jamie hummed in appreciation not for the doors' crescent shape, but the grand scale of them. The entry way almost reached up to the ceiling and this was an almost impossible feat in such a factory. The boy ran his fingertips over the starry patterns carved into the doors' smooth, wooden frame. He brought his hand back and balled it into a fist to lightly rap the door.
Even when no one answered, Jamie continued to listen to the hypnotizing resonance of the knock as it filled every nook and cranny of the building. When the echo faded, Jamie finally reached and turned the transparent, crystal doorknobs. Frowning, he took a step beneath the doorway and pushed a large, gold, moth-bitten curtain from his path. Jamie's jaw hit the floor.
He stared into the openness as stained light from the windows' mosaics flooded the room and his vision. Every beam, every ray of sunshine passed through the windows, bouncing off shelves upon shelves of books and papers.
Books…Books everywhere! All the shelves, all the corners, all the chairs and balconies possessed rows and piles of literature just begging to be sifted through. Each book, even with modern titles Jamie recognized, was leather-bound and appeared in perfect condition, no matter the layers of dust.
Almost mechanically, Jamie found himself steadily scaling one of the many library ladders until he stumbled upon a certain book in a certain section. Literally, he almost fell from the ladder when he saw the leather copy and silver letters that read "They're Out There – Unexplained Phenomena"; one of his favorite books.
Jamie was in paradise!
"How's the weather up there, kiddo?" Jack's voice echoed, causing the child's delirium to make him slip down a single step. He looked down – way down – to see the winter spirit looking up at him from the center of the room.
"Uh," Jamie glanced around and stuck up his index finger. "Little drafty."
Jack chuckled when the boy's finger bounced lightly off the ceiling. "Come on down before you fall," the Guardian waved. "You may as well be on top of the Empire State Building and it's kind of freaking me out."
The child scrunched his nose as he swiped the book from the utmost top shelf. "I'm not that high up."
"In all the centuries," Jack raised a brow. "No one has ever had to use North's infirmary. You are not going to be the first. Not on my watch." Jack waved his hand again and Jamie sighed before shimmying down from his perch.
When Jamie touched the carpeted floor, his book was instantly snatched from his hands. "I never knew you liked reading so much," the Guardian mused.
"Next to playing in the snow," Jamie said as he sat down on a red comforter. "Reading's one of my favorite things to do." The boy paused to watch Jack scroll a pale finger over a page. "I actually have that book at home, so you can borrow mine. These are North's books after all."
"He wouldn't mind us borrowing a few, trust me," Jack said with a laidback grin. "Besides, I'm not the best reader."
"What do you mean?" Jamie cocked his head.
"Well," the spirit scratched his neck. "I can recognize most of the book titles here," his staff swung a gesture around the room. "I understand most street signs and can distinguish words from other languages, but I can't exactly…read what they say."
"Really?" Jamie blinked as Jack paced about the room. "So, if I told you to read a sentence from a book-"
"I can't read sentences," Jack shrugged as if it didn't matter. "Just phrases." Jack plucked a thin book from a stack on a coffee table. "Still, I don't mind looking at books."
"You just can't read them," Jamie said, making Jack shrug again before turning the pages of another book.
"Reading and writing wasn't entirely essential in the time period I was born in."
Jamie's thoughts trailed. He couldn't imagine what it must be like, to flip through the most adventurous, mind-bending, thrilling books but not being able to read them. It didn't have to be novels, not being able to read even the most shortest and simplest of children's books would make him go crazy.
Jamie suddenly sat straighter. He bounced off the chair, ran passed Jack, and snagged a small, brightly colored book from the shelf. The winter spirit just watched bemusedly as his young friend sat the book on an armrest and used all his scrawny might to pull up a chair next to the other. Jamie patted the seat of the one chair as he sat on his own seat.
With an exhale, Jack floated over to the little boy and sat on the backrest. "What does this say?" Jamie asked, poking the cover of the book.
"That's easy," Jack chuckled. "'Dr. Seuss'."
"Okay," Jamie grinned along with him before opening the pages. "What does that say?" Jack opened his mouth…before closing it. Leaning forward, he squinted his eyes as if he needed glasses, mouth articulating around soundless words. He then shook his head. "Do you want me to teach you how to read?"
Jack flexed his jaw. "Sure," he nodded. "If it'll get Bunny off my back."
"That's what you two were fighting about back there?"
"Hey," Jack exclaimed. "I beat him at a snowball fight. He's just a sore loser and needed something to complain about. He won the argument, but I can probably get back at him for proving I can read." Jamie smiled, revealing the gap between his teeth.
Jack leapt onto the armrest of Jamie's chair, reclining and placing a chilly hand on Jamie's shoulder. "Well, go on, Professor," the winter spirit nodded to the book. "Teach me."
Jamie laughed and grabbed a pen and notepad from the coffee table. "Let's start off with regular ABC's."
* I'm still taking one-word requests.