It was a warm and sunny day, their first full day in California. After getting a bite to eat in the H3's continental breakfast, they immediately took to the road, headed toward Disneyland. Dad explained to Evergreen and Seta that he ended up getting a special promotion on his phone, allowing them what was called a "fastpass" which allowed them to, in some cases, skip the long lines for the rides and attractions at the parks. They were lucky that the H3 was owned by Disney, thus allowing them to make use of the special promotion. According to Dad, some of the lines take over an hour to get through. With the fastpasses, one would be on the ride within 15 minutes or less.
Upon entering the park, Evergreen was overcome with all of the color. There were people in costume on every side and "Main Street U.S.A." looked just like that, like the busy city center of a small town. Little kids were sporting Mickey Mouse ears and many families were wearing ugly matching t-shirts commemorating their family trip. He couldn't help but feel a little envious of a group that was a mom, a dad, and two little boys all wearing a purple t-shirt with a white outline of Goofy thereon.
"Look mommy, it's the white rabbit!" said one of the little boys, pointing directly at Seta.
"That's nice honey. We'll take a picture with him later." Replied his mother, not even looking toward Seta. "Jim, where are we starting today?"
Evergreen and Seta just laughed as the little boy continued to look at them with wide eyes. It was true that children are more receptive to magic. Even if the boy's mom did look at Seta, there's no guarantee that she would even see the same thing that the boy was seeing. Oz was a place of magic and all of the inhabitants were magical. While Earth was a place that was predominantly non-magical, there were some magical things and people. Oz was the reverse of that, Everyone born there had a little magic with them, they just either chose to exercise it to mastery, or to let it fizzle out to just little things. That's what Dad had explained to Evergreen that previous Christmas, after he and Seta returned from the Land of the Banished.
"Wow, Dad." Evergreen stopped walking, as they approached the Main Street roundabout. "That castle's super cool."
"Not as big as yours, though E.E." Dad said with a laugh.
The three of them then got another dad to take their picture. Dad had brought a simple camera that took quite clear and bright pictures, so that was what they were to use. Dad also returned the favor and took a picture of the other dad's family with their provided camera. They were a cute family with two teenage girls and a really little boy. They thanked Dad and the groups separated into the park.
First, they headed into Adventureland. Dad said the Indiana Jones ride is the best in the park, so it was an excellent place to start. Evergreen had to agree with that. It was a lot of fun, especially the part where it looked like a giant boulder was passing above their heads. Seta somehow was able to get on the ride himself within Evergreen's seat and he held on for dear life. Training with the Bunnybury guard was quite intense, it seemed. How else could a little rabbit not fly about like a rag doll? They passed through the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, Splash Mountain, and the Matterhorn all in record time. Seta rode with Evergreen every time and somehow didn't get all too jostled. They were all positively saturated from the end splash of Splash Mountain so they went to get some lunch.
They spent the latter half of the day in the newer California Adventure park also owned by Disney. It was a decent day, not going much above 70 and there was just the right amount of cloud cover.
"Dad, did you and Mom ever go to California together?" Evergreen asked over a cheeseburger and fries.
"We did. Not long after we got married, actually. San Diego, way down south is where we went. There was a Mexican magic market there that she took me to. They had some of the wildest snacks there like an animal-shaped gummy that briefly let you use a real animal's voice. They didn't taste too exciting, but you didn't eat them for that reason."
"That's cool. Do you think we'll be able to go on family adventures once we save her?"
Dad's eyes looked equal parts sad and hopeful at the question. "Absolutely. Anywhere you'd like."
The next few days were just like that, getting up quite early, getting a quick bite to eat, and then taking a drive over to the parks. The first few days, they spent at Disney. There was simply so much to do there. Evergreen quite enjoyed the Aladdin Musical Spectacular at the California Adventure. Dad was terrified of the Tower of Terror though, which Evergreen found odd because nothing else had ever frightened Dad in that way. He didn't think much about it, though and he and Seta just made fun of Dad for that reason. To be honest, Evergreen loved the Tower of Terror because there was a moment in the tower where gravity gets cancelled, and anything loose just floats around. It was almost like magic, almost.
When they finally headed over to Universal Studios, Evergreen was overjoyed to see the globe out in front of the park, at the far reaches of City Walk. It was rotating and had the "Universal" insignia on it. He thought it was a lot cooler than it probably was. When they entered there, Evergreen noticed something straight away, there were much fewer younger kids there at that park than at Disney. In fact, he being 13-years-old, may have been one of the youngest, by what he could see. Interesting. Well, it did make sense, most of classic Disney was aimed toward a younger demographic while Universal Studios aimed at a more general audience.
They proceeded to do the same thing they did at the previous parks, that is, make their way from the entrance to the far reaches of the park. Upon entering, there was the Shrek 4-D attraction that was really great fun. There was also the Terminator show that was really quite exciting with the special effects and the dangerous stunts. The Revenge of the Mummy was definitely one of Evergreen's favorites, though, with the fast-paced roller coaster ride in almost complete darkness, the ancient Egyptian-styled caverns and tombs the cart drove into and the special effects complete with artificial beetles, shattering of synthetic glass, and lots of old-looking artifacts therein. Something about ancient things always resonated well with Evergreen, even things that were hopelessly overdramatized, like in this case.
It was later that night that Evergreen had a curious experience. They were walking along the path on the side of the park that had many different sound stages and there was a little bit of a chill in the air as the sun went down. There was a little café nearby and a few attractions that were still under construction. With the imposing wooden walls and echo of power tools coming from within, who knew what those things were to eventually turn into?
Evergreen did notice, however, that the door to one of the sound stages happened to be open. Within, he saw a curious man pacing the floor and he seemed to be counting something.
"Hey, E.E. what are you doing?" Dad asked, as Evergreen approached the soundstage.
"I had a funny feeling. Wait a minute." He replied.
"Be careful. You don't know what's in there, they could cast you in the next Barney movie!"
"Dad, Barney is PBS, not Universal. Plus, I'm just going to stick my head in for a sec."
"Okay. If I see more than a head in there, I'm yanking you out."
"That's fair." Evergreen followed with a smile, as he approached the door and glanced inside.
Within the soundstage, there were a variety of different things. There were backgrounds, set pieces, old fashioned cameras and lights, and racks upon racks of different costumes. It looked like looking into the past. Evergreen had once watched Singin' in the Rain at his grandparents' home and this looked like it would fit right in. It looked to be a little dusty and a few of the costumes were likely discolored, but other than that, it all looked great. Glancing around for the man he had seen enter, he realized that he was the only individual within the massive, hangar-sized building.
The man was tall, white, wearing a smart three piece suit and the jacket was just a little long. He also had a top hat, almost completely covering his jet black hair and a walking stick. Everything was in black except for his white shirt with a tall collar that was kind of tuxedo-style and his royal blue necktie. He had a tie pin in it that had some writing on it possibly, but Evergreen couldn't tell.
"Is there something I could help you with, mate?" He asked with a delightful London English accent.
"N-not really, uh. I was just curious about this place." Evergreen replied, his childhood stutter making a brief reappearance.
"Curious indeed. Well, feel free to look around, but hands off." The man replied, stopping his jaunt mere steps from Evergreen and the door.
"I'm Evergreen Quandary. I came here with my dad to enjoy the studios." Evergreen admitted, trying small talk.
"Tom Ricketts." Replied the man. "I directed the very first film for Universal Pictures!"
Mr. Ricketts wasn't as tall as Dad, Evergreen decided. He was maybe five foot 10 inches but with his shoes, perhaps five foot 11. His clothes truly were impeccable which was odd considering he was in an old, dusty soundstage. Not a speck of dust was upon his sharp lapels. While Evergreen was looking at him, his form shimmered slightly. Like a ghost, perhaps? Wait a sec, he directed the first Universal movie? That was a century ago. Either this man is a ghost, or he is some kind of wizard, looking maybe 40.
"Excuse me sir, but are you a ghost?" Evergreen asked, abandoning all candor with his curiosity.
"A ghost? No. A spirit? Indeed. We are dead, after all, you and I. This is the world of spirits." Mr. Ricketts replied.
"What's the difference?"
"Ghosts are the memory of someone who had died with what we call 'unfinished business'. Spirits have passed on to the next world."
"I'm sorry sir." Evergreen corrected. "You must be mistaken. I am very much alive."
"Impossible. The world of spirits can only be observed by other spirits." Mr. Ricketts stated, as if it were a fact.
"Okay. Let me prove it. What's something you miss about being alive?" Evergreen asked.
Mr. Ricketts looked at Evergreen with a truly amused expression like Evergreen were three instead of 13. The expression changed after a bit into a curious look.
"I miss being able to eat. Spirits can't do that, after all."
At that, Evergreen smiled triumphantly at Mr. Ricketts and pulled a small churro from his back pocket. He unwrapped it and held it up to Mr. Ricketts before taking a large bite out of it and swallowing quickly.
"All due respect sir, but I am very much alive."
"So you are." Mr. Ricketts replied, looking surprised. "I don't know how we are chatting away, but here we are."
"Do you spend much time here at Universal Studios Hollywood park?" Evergreen asked.
"Yes and no. The spirit world is located here, within your world, but it's in a different… dimension if you please. I can see through the veil to the park though, and it's amazing how much the studio has grown and how many pictures have been made!"
"Yessir it is. It was nice talking with you."
"You too, Evergreen Quandary. Enjoy your time amongst the living, but never fear your time with the dead. People are, after all, dead for much longer than they are alive."
"I guess I can understand that. Thank you sir."
With that, Evergreen left the soundstage. He was just a little disturbed though. If he wasn't dead, how could he look into the veil and see into the spirit world? He was talking to Mr. Ricketts man-to-man and he looked as real and as solid as any other person at the park, but the odd feeling he experienced was evidence enough to him that he really did see what he thought he saw. Perhaps he found a place where the veil was thinnest. The Mexicans and the Celtics have a belief that there are times and places where the veil between the living and the dead are quite thin and can be observed by some living individuals. It was probably just something like that and nothing too troubling. Evergreen decided not to think much more about that and rejoined Dad and Seta as they enjoyed the cool, Californian evening.
Upon returning to the H3 later that evening, they found a letter that must have been delivered by owl and simply tossed through the window they must have left open near the dining area. They figured this because the letter had the Ilvermorny gordian knot and said on the front,
Eminent Evergreen Quandary
Hollywood Hites Hotel
Room E7
El Sereno, Los Angeles, CA, USA
The words were written in the familiar and picturesque handwriting of Deputy Headmaster Fontaine. It was no surprise to open up the letter and of course see his list of needed school supplies. It was also not a surprise that the deputy headmaster had personally penned a letter for Evergreen.
Mr. Evergreen Quandary,
We wish to offer congratulations to you for your successful and notable second year at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
As a reminder, the 2008-2009 school year begins Monday, August 25th and you will be expected to board your boxcar of the Ilvermorny Express on Saturday, August 23rd and 10:00 A.M. Also, eighth graders and below are not permitted to officially join any school clubs. Only sixth graders, however, are barred from trying out for any of the sports teams on campus.
We wish once again to thank you for your services performed for the school this previous year. When I had initially written to you asking about trying something new in the coming year, I was not expecting that. You once again have surprised the school's faculty members and for that reason, you, your friends, Link Blackguard, Beatrice Gale-Larson, Aaron Talbot, Valerian Bonus, and Professors Agatha Shadowmend and Tempest Woods will be presented with special awards during the welcoming feast to start this school year.
We do wish as well to impress upon you the seriousness of what has happened and the number of school rules that were broken in order to accomplish this. We would advise against any further rule breaking or unnecessary risk taking. Your safety and your education are, after all, our number one priority.
Attached you will find a list of required texts and materials that you will collect from your nearest wizard market at your earliest convenience.
Thank you for your continued hard work and we look forward to another exciting year!
Agilbert Fontaine,
Deputy Headmaster
ILVERMORNY SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT
AND WIZARDRY
HEADMASTER EDGAR VINCENT ROMULUS
WASHINGTON-FROST
Order of Merlin. First Class
Special Correspondent, Magical Congress of
The United States of America
Evergreen's lips twisted into something of a smile as he read through it. Sure, a lot of it was just cut-and-paste verbatim of the letter he had received the previous summer, but there were the paragraphs asking him to be more careful, but that he was to receive a special award notwithstanding. He handed it to Dad and Seta leaped upon Dad's shoulder so that he could read it too. The two of them had facial expressions to match Evergreen's when they finished reading.
Dad led them over to the dining area, grabbing some snacks from their counter and they all took their seats. He looked toward his son with a suddenly odd look upon his face.
"Do you have any idea how much you're like your mom?" he asked Evergreen, tearing open a bag of chips.