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A high school student finds a grimoire that shows how to make magical disguises. |
Previously: "Dance Hall Daze"  [text by rugal] It's been a while since you've had an array of choices as far as what to do on the weekend that weren't just "hang out with Caleb and/or Keith" or "hang out at home." But very quickly you realize that there's actually no choice at all. To be sure, Patrick and the others you hung out with seem pretty okay but your whole goal was trying to find some girls. And you did find one. And she's pretty and an athlete and sure all that dancing exhausted you but she was fun. Plus she doesn't spend every waking hour dancing... you assume, anyway. So you text back Patrick telling him that you've got some stuff going on today while (he gives you a "maybe next time" in response) while telling Kaelyn that you'd be glad to come out there with her (she responds with some thumbs up emojis). You quickly change out of your church clothes and into your usual ones and make the extra attempt at making sure you're as fresh as possible. You head downstairs and as you pass the living room you tell your mother that you're going out to meet some friends for lunch; she simply tells you to be home in time for dinner. * * * * * 100 Twentieth Street is a newer and ritzy high rise—because six stories is what counts for one around here—near Keyserling, the city's university. On the first floor are a few businesses while the rest of the building is reserved for luxury apartments. Among those businesses on the first floor is The Crystal Cave, one of the handful of weird, supernatural themed places that's taken up residence near the school, and of them the Cave is definitely the weirdest. Adorning the walls are zodiac symbols and on tables in the center are astrological signs. The few times you've been here you've half-expected your coffee to be accompanied by an old gypsy woman using her crystal ball to forecast your future. So you wonder why it is that Kaelyn would pick somewhere like this, of all places, to have lunch instead of somewhere more... normal. You look around and see her sitting at a booth so you go over just to let her know that you're there and that you're going to order real quick; thankfully you still have some money left over from last night. You're also thankful that in spite of the kooky decor and goofy item names, the food itself is actually normal fare. "Fancy running into you," you say as, after getting your sandwich, you sit down across from Kaelyn. "Especially in a place like this. Do you come here a lot or something?" "Oh god, it is tacky isn't it?" she says in a slightly embarrassed tone. "But no I don't particularly like this place, although I guess I don't hate it either. I just picked it out of convenience; it's just a place to eat." "Convenience?" "So, like, I was gonna go over to Arnholm's and I figured it was easier to just get lunch here too, you know? Because it's all in the same building." "Arnholm's," you say, "I was just there a few days ago, actually." "Really? You don't strike me as a guy who likes old books." "Then what do I strike you as?" you ask. Kaelyn studies you for a second. "You're definitely one of those guys likes video games and stuff, right? That's what you're dressed like." Her eyes twinkle mischievously as she smiles. "That's how you usually dress? Not like last night?" "Ah, well, uh, yeah. You got me," you admit. "But what about you? You're not dressed like someone who's into old books either." You don't really know what you mean by that but it's true, maybe, because you'd consider someone like that to look nerdier or plainer. Kaelyn, however, is dressed—while very casually—in a manner consistent with what you'd expect from a high school girl, especially an athletic one. Although it's almost an inverse of how she was dressed last night: a very short-sleeved and tight shirt (and while you see now her breasts aren't particularly large, you appreciate how it hugs them) and loose, almost oversized, sweatpants with a flannel shirt tied around her waist. "So how am I supposed to look?" she asks with a laugh. "Okay, but seriously, I just liked reading fantasy books when I was a kid. Like when I was little I liked all the princesses and unicorns and fairies and all that and then I kept at it." "So you're a geek," you say teasingly. "Damn, you've figured out my terrible secret! Please don't tell anyone, I'll do anything I swear!" she jokingly pleads. "But no, not really. Like I don't play video games or Dungeons & Dragons or do any of that. I just like the books and every so often I'll go to Arnholm's to buy something." "Well I don't play Dungeons & Dragons either," you insist. "Well, okay, I've played once or twice because I know some guys who do. Kind of. Only in passing though. I'm not a regular at their sessions or anything." "Yeah, you are totally not a nerd," she says in a sarcastic but still warm manner. "But that's fine, it's not like I care about that. I do care that you're not bad to look at though," she says. Then she giggles when she realizes that's made you blush. "So what'd you go to Arnholm's for anyway?" "Ah, well, it's dumb," you admit. "One of my classes wants us to place some objects in a time capsule so I went there thinking I'd find an old book or something but," you pause because you're not going to tell her that you bought a book which creeped you out so much you hid it out of sight. So you just shrug. "I couldn't find anything." "So what are you putting in there?" Now you want to smack yourself because until just now you'd actually completely forgotten about it. "I don't know," you tell her. "I haven't thought about it." "Do you want to come over to Arnholm's with me after this then? Maybe I can help you find something." * * * * * You aren't really interested in Arnholm's or the time capsule but you are interested in Kaelyn so of course you graciously take her up on the offer and after lunch you head next door into Arnholm's. In there she heads off into one section but after a moment of looking around, for you're not particularly interested in fantasy books yourself, you tell her that you're going to try and look for something for the time capsule. But you're surprised when you round a corner and see Teagan, Kaelyn's friend from last night, browsing in another section. You couldn't get a good read on her last night and actually, you're small interaction with her was a bit intimidating. But she is, to be sure, a very attractive girl. You can now see that she is definitely tall—makes sense as Kaelyn said she was on the volleyball team—and the short shorts that she's wearing make her seem even taller for they show off her legs. Legs that, while strong, are different from Kaelyn's as they are long with a sort of wiry musculature. Then she seems to notice you for she looks over and her gaze is now fixed. Shit, you think, did she catch me staring at her? "You're the guy Kae was with last night," she says plainly. You freeze up for now you have to respond and you're not really sure about what to say. "Yeah," you answer. "You, uh, interested in this..." you pause as you take a look at the books in this area and it's full of titles you don't understand, like weird eastern philosophy or some such, "uh, stuff?" "Sure, it's interesting. You read it, think about it. Expand your mind a bit through," she smirks a bit and mimes hitting a joint, "or whatever and then really think about it." She seems to notice the face you make. "Look, I'm a Cali girl. I lived in the Bay Area, lived in SoCal. I surfed, hung around the beach, and I've got parents who used to be all counter culture. Some of that rubbed off on me." "No, seriously," you finally say, "what the hell are you doing in a podunk place like Saratoga Falls then?" "Dad's also a tech guy. He can do his work remotely and cost of living is way cheaper here," she says. You're almost disappointed by the banality of that answer. * * * * * "Here," you say as you stand in your driveway and show the book to the girls. Teagan takes it and looks it over, opens it to the cover page with the whole "claim me with blood" thing and tries to open it. But she can't and so she passes it on to Kaelyn who does the same. Kaelyn had found you not long after you'd run into Teagan (and in fact, they had already planned to meet up at Arnholm's) and the two of them helped you find something for the time capsule. But as you'd gone to make your purchase, Ted Arnholm had mentioned that "some guy saying he was a professor at Keyserling" had come in on Friday to ask about the book you'd bought. He told you that it seemed very important to him as he was desperate about it and even offered to pay you money, although Ted wouldn't give him any info about who bought it. But that did stir both your interest and the interest of Kaelyn and Teagan. You'd thought it was just some dumb, kind of creepy, old book. But if someone, a professor even, wants it that badly then it must either be valuable or special. The two of them wanted to see it and so they'd followed you back to your place, waiting by your truck as you dug it out of the stack of crap on your desk. Kaelyn goes to hand the book back to you but you initially wave it off. "You don't want it?" she asks. "I don't know, probably not. It's weird and it's defective." "You said when we were leaving the story that Ted had said that the pages weren't like this when he got it, right?" Teagan asks. "Maybe there's more to this thing then. Some kind of trick." She looks at you, raising an eyebrow. "Are you sure you don't want to try and figure it out. There might be some interesting stuff in here." That's all for now. |
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