Anna gave a little curtsy and giggled. “Thank
you.”
“You are not going to believe what happened
today!” Anna continued, grinning from ear to ear and jumping up and
down so that her skirt flounced and her shoes caught the sunlight
shining through the window. Sparkles danced across the walls of the
kitchen like a disco ball.
Playing along, Keegan bounced up and down and
said, “Let me guess, Xavier finally asked you out?”
“I wish!” For a brief moment, the excited
look vanished from Anna’s face and was replaced with sadness.
Xavier had been her friend since childhood. Anna had recently
realized her feelings for him were more than friendship, but sadly,
he did not return her feelings.
“All right, just tell me what has you so
excited,” Keegan said.
“Well, I was walking to the bus when I saw a
sign for a New Age fair tomorrow!” Anna jumped up and down. “It’s a
sign. We must go!”
Keegan grinned. “Anna, you seriously believe
in all that nonsense?”
Looking shocked Anna replied, “Certainly!
There has to be something more in this world than what the average
eye sees.”
If you only knew Anna, there is so much more to this world
than humans know
, Keegan thought. However, she was not about
to reveal that knowledge.
“Don’t forget to call Lauren and fill her
in,” Keegan told her.
“But of course,” Anna said, pressing a hand
to her chest innocently. “If there were only the two of us we
couldn’t be called the three amigos.”
Keegan rolled her eyes, laughing.
The girls popped some popcorn and chatted in
front of the television for a while, muting the commercials and
blaring the reality show they both loved. When she had to leave,
Anna gave Keegan a hug and headed out.
With a little time to kill before she would
be tired, Keegan decided to look through her photos again. Her
favorite was a photo of a leaf blowing by itself in the wind. It
reminded her of herself. She often felt all alone, just floating
along. As much as she loved hanging out with her human friends,
like the time she had just spent hanging with Anna, she wished she
could tell them what she truly was.
Staring at her photos she realized her
favorite thing to photograph was the beauty of nature. There was
something fascinating about the outdoors. It amazed her that she
could document the seasons as they changed through photographs.
Elves loved nature and that was something she hoped evolution never
changed.
She put the camera and computer away; Keegan
knew she should go to bed. Time always seemed to get away from her
when she found herself caught up in the editing and uploading of
her photos. It was hard enough for her to wake up on time, not to
mention when she stayed up all hours of the night.
Keegan put on her favorite plaid pajamas and
crawled into bed, pulling her purple blanket under her chin. A
faint smile played on her lips as she thought of Anna’s eagerness
for the fair tomorrow. It would probably be fun.
K
eegan woke up late as usual after hitting the
snooze button too many times. The blaring of the alarm had finally
gotten on her nerves. Rolling out of bed and into the bathroom, she
stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her long auburn hair was a
tangled mess. Mascara was smudged under her eyes and all she wanted
to do was crawl back in bed. She could hear her family downstairs
having breakfast, so rather than disappear back under the covers,
she decided to join them.
Her mom was standing at the counter pouring
hot water over a mug of tea leaves. She was wearing a pair of pale
blue jeans and a fitted white button down shirt, her feet bare on
the stones of the kitchen floor. Glancing over her shoulder as
Keegan trudged sleepily into the kitchen, she was surprised to see
her daughter. “What gets you out of bed before noon on a
weekend?”
Keegan plopped down on the stool across from
her father. “I have plans with Anna.” She reached over and grabbed
a slice of toast off her dad’s plate.
“You’re lucky your mother burnt the toast or
you’d be in trouble.” Dad grinned through a mouth full of eggs, his
hazel eyes sparkling merrily at her. He had the local daily
newspaper spread on the table before him and half a glass of her
mom’s freshly squeezed orange juice in one hand.
“The toast isn’t burnt,” Mom said, laughing
as she took a seat next to him and tugged playfully at his full,
orange beard. As usual, she had put a plate of food in front of her
husband and her son, but hadn’t made one of her own. Keegan’s mom
stared at her over the teacup. “I’m sure you guys will have fun.
Don’t stay out too long. Do you need any money?”
“Sure,” Keegan answered, snagging her dad’s
other remaining piece of toast and making a funny face at her baby
brother, Warrick. She loved the sound of his laugh. “I can always
use a little more for Starbucks.”
While her mother ventured across the kitchen
to rifle through her purse, Keegan looked over at her brother. He
was being no more silent than usual, lost in his own thoughts as he
slowly ate his Cocoa Pebbles. “Hey Thaddeus, any plans today or are
you going to do your recluse act and stay in your room?”
“For your information, Sam is coming over.”
He gave her a dirty look across the table. “We’re going to play
paintball.”
“You guys are lame. Get out of the house and
around people instead of in the woods or locked in your room.”
“Whatever Keegan, just because I don’t want
to go shopping all day and act like a fool with my friends.”
Keegan hopped to her feet and plucked Warrick
from his highchair. She sang loudly as she spun around the room,
the baby babbling happily in her arms.
“Mom, make her shut up, she sucks,” Thaddeus
whined.
“She does not.” Her mother managed to tuck a
folded up bill in the pocket of Keegan’s sweatpants as she twirled
by.
“She only does that to get on my nerves.”
Thaddeus slouched in his seat, crossing his arms angrily over her
chest.
“Somebody is grumpy this morning!” Keegan
sang brightly to Warrick, whose laughter was maniacal in
return.
“That’s not true; she sings even when you are
not home,” her mother said, sipping her tea. Her eyes followed her
daughter around the room, sparkling. She smiled. “Be careful,
Keegan, that’s a baby's full of eggs and bacon.”
Once Keegan finished the song, she swept
dramatically across the room and with one last spin she handed
Warrick to her dad. Running up the stairs, she headed back to the
bathroom to jump in the shower.
Wrapped in a towel, she looked through her
closet and couldn’t decide what to wear.
What does one wear when about to find out
the future?
Finally, Keegan decided on a pair of dark skinny
jeans and grey shirt. At the last minute, she grabbed a teal scarf
to bring out her eyes. One last twirl in front of the mirror and
she was satisfied with her choice. She ran down the stairs.
“See you later,” she called as she rushed out
the door.
Keegan jumped on her bike and rode to her
favorite Starbucks. The day was shaping up to be a lot nicer than
the day before as the sun beat its warmth down on her pale skin.
Slightly annoyed with herself, she realized she forgot to put on
sunscreen.
Great
, she thought, now her freckles would come out
more.
When she walked in, she took a deep breath.
She loved the smell of Starbucks, as well as the soothing noises of
the barista’s machines and the way the cafe was always filled with
chattering people.
Keegan delighted in the coffee shop
atmosphere. She loved to sit for hours and take in the wide variety
of people. She liked to amuse herself by trying to figure out if
customers were human or supernatural creatures, and she made up
full scenarios for strangers in her mind. Today, she eyed the tall
shapely brunette behind her in line which Keegan had pegged a
secret agent. And then there was the short pudgy guy with the
horrible comb-over; she suspected he was an electrician who dreaded
going home to his annoying family. Last but not least, the emo girl
who hid in the corner with her face in a book. Something about her
reminded Keegan of a fairy.
Looking around one last time before it was
her turn at the counter, she noticed a sexy guy with dark, shaggy
hair and piercing blue eyes watching her. Smirking to herself, she
thought
vampire or
werewolf
.
With her usual white chocolate mocha in hand,
Keegan strolled over to her friends. Anna and Lauren were already
sitting at the usual table with their drinks. They knew better than
to expect her to be on time. She couldn’t blame them.
Tilting her head, she gave a sly smile to the
dark haired stranger as she passed.
Keegan took in the sight of her two best
friends as they laughed together. She was still amazed that even
with their different personalities they could be such incredible
friends after so much time had passed. She thought for sure when
they moved onto high school they would drift apart, but their
relationship proved too strong for that.
Lauren looked gorgeous as usual with her
long, dark curly hair, pale skin and her caramel colored eyes. She
jumped up and grabbed Keegan in a hug which caused Keegan to spill
her drink.
“I’m so excited to go to the fair! I’ve never
had a psychic reading before.”
“Slow down,” Keegan said. “You just spilled
the coffee all over me.”
“Whatever, you know you can’t make it through
a cup of coffee without spilling it on yourself. You’re worse than
a toddler.
Keegan laughed. "Good point.”
You couldn’t help but be taken in by Lauren’s
positive attitude. She was always quick to smile and was the first
to compliment someone. She purposely came across as not
particularly bright. With her SAT scores, she could get into any
college she wanted. Keegan had no idea why she downplayed her
intelligence. She had once asked and Lauren said she didn't want
people to expect too much, and let them down. Keegan thought that
was a ridiculous reason.
Lauren looked like a typical cheerleader with
long legs and an athletic build, and she had the kind of wardrobe
that made other girls jealous. For the fair, she had worn a knee
length pink floral dress that oozed the runway look, and belted the
gauzy material with a large brown belt that matched her ankle
boots. She belonged in a Hollister ad.
As Keegan slid into her chair, Lauren looked
at them expectantly. “Josh sent me this long love letter. He
actually hand wrote it. Do you guys think he is getting too
clingy?”
“Well, you have been dating over a year. It’s
obviously pretty serious.” Anna rolled her eyes and took a sip of
her drink. She had topped her black, long sleeve tee with a pink
vest, and matching pink leggings under her black skirt. Today, her
purple bangs hung from a lacy black beret.
Keegan was secretly jealous that Lauren had a
steady boyfriend. “I think you should dump him,” she said. “There
are so many hot guys you could date. You’ll be old and married
before you know it. You might as well enjoy it now.”
“Keegan, just because you have dated half the
school doesn’t mean everyone else has to,” Lauren retorted, poking
her friend on the arm pointedly.
Keegan gave them a wicked grin. “There are
just so many boys and so little time.” Anna laughed so hard she
started hiccupping, which caused Lauren to spit her drink out.
Keegan glanced up at Lauren to make sure she wasn't choking. "You
guys need serious help," Keegan laughed, handing Lauren a napkin to
wipe the coffee off her chin.
Keegan could joke with the girls, but what no
one knew was that she only had two years left to date. She would
meet Rourk, her chosen, when she turned eighteen, and she was
convinced he would be perfect for her. If only the rest of the
world believed as elves did, Keegan was sure the divorce rate would
be much lower. A kick under the table brought Keegan back to the
present. "Ow!"
"Shh, you're such an idiot sometimes." Anna
jerked her head towards the door. Keegan glanced casually around to
see what the kick had been for. It didn’t take a genius to figure
out what Anna wanted her to look at. Wow. The guy they ogled was
beyond hot even though he was older. He stood over six feet tall
and his dark black hair looked like he had just got caught in a
windstorm. His eyes were a striking blue and she swore he could see
into her soul as his eyes caught hers. Way too hot to be a human.
Keegan wondered if he was a sorcerer. Everyone seemed to be under
his spell the moment he walked through the door. They all tried not
to stare. Lauren fanned herself, causing them all to laugh.
***
From outside the coffee shop Rourk stood
hidden, watching Keegan through the window as she sat laughing with
her friends. Her fleeting thoughts had summoned him again, and his
pulse quickened as he felt the urge to go inside. He needed to be
close to her.
Pushing a hand agitatedly through his shaggy
hair, Rourk tried to focus on breathing. He leaned against the
brick wall of the store behind him, rubbing his temples with both
hands. The urge to speak to her made his heart ache. It took
everything he had to remain rooted to the sidewalk, hidden in the
shadows of a storefront while she was so close. He was left to
watch from a distance as usual. She laughed at something one of her
friends said and he wondered what her laugh sounded like.
Suddenly, they gathered their things and left
the coffee shop; Rourk made a snap decision to follow them.
***
The girls decided to walk to the fair instead
of taking Laurens car. The weather was perfect, pleasantly cool,
and there wasn’t a rain cloud in sight. The fresh air felt
incredible against her skin. Keegan closed her eyes, tilted her
head towards the sun and spun in a circle. “Fall is my favorite
time of year,” she said wistfully.