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Shook Chapter 3: Maya’s start
While Maya's "heading home" from school, Dyan's just managing to get away from the police when something strange happens.
Dyan’s heart was beating quick and hard. She could still hear the fire truck and police cars’ engines running.
She turned the corner. Mobile homes soon faded into a cluster of trees. Some trees were so thick and long that they hung overhead and placed shadows on the road, but Dyan barely had time to look. She crunched through the old brown leaves on the side of the road as she ran right out of the neighborhood and turned another corner.
Forget it! Spirit’s a runaway! She’s got no parents like me! They died in a house fire! Dyan thought crazy thoughts about her book as she ran. She had no home and nowhere to turn to, so what was holding her back from this wild thinking!? Nothing!
Besides one old church, the sides of the road were covered with forest. Dark brown, spiky trees that were bare, except for a few evergreens that had leaves all year round.
She got to a road junction, and chose to run on the sidewalk going in the opposite direction of her school. From then on the road got wider and busier, and there were street lights hung up.
Dyan’s legs and lungs were beginning to hurt. She kept thinking about stopping, but she pushed those thoughts away. She wanted to run so far, no one she knew would ever find her. Dyan ran until she saw a huge sign with a bunch of store logos on it. A store plaza was nearby.
That’s where I’ll stop, she thought to herself, but ended up collapsing on the patch of grass across the street from the sign. She looked around. Cars were passing by her, turning into the shopping area she had just stopped at. Trailer homes sat in tiny clearings across the street. She was completely lost. Good. She didn’t want to be anywhere near her old life, where happiness was of little supply and everything was temporary.
Dyan read the store names on that big sign and turned to see the buildings themselves. There was a dollar store, a restaurant whose name was in Spanish, an electronic store, and a fast-food joint. Her eyes slid across all those stores and stopped a bookstore at the corner, its name written in yellow curvy letters. Dyan stared at the letters, intrigued. Dyan had never read a brand new book, especially one in top condition. The newest-looking book she had ever laid hands on was from Kayla, who let her borrow a copy of one of her favorite diary book series.
Since Dyan had no guardian supervising her, nothing could stop her from wandering into the bookstore.
Inside was a little glass room that might have been a lobby. It had magazines and a door to the main part of the store next to them. The jingle of a tiny bell over the door marked Dyan’s arrival inside the main part of the store. Immediately she was nearly overwhelmed with the overhead designs and signs and books inside the store.
Directly above her was a hanging picture of a round purple elephant with pink blushing cheeks, sitting down with one huge round foot on a book page. Right below it hung another sign that read, ‘Welcome!’
Dyan walked up to a slanted table that displayed all types of picture books, from colorful and thin to some that were mainly one or two colors, to thick books with covers that sported fur pieces or toys that came with them.
The walls were lined with shelves! Shelves of books for slightly older kids, with reading levels stated at the top.
Dyan walked down all these wonderful aisles and found her favorite type of books. Children’s Novels!
There were twirling racks full of them. Pets trying to solve mysteries, children flying on griffins! Girls with magical powers and rainbow hair! Dyan loved it all! She could pick up any of these stories and read for hours, they sounded so magically fun!
This place was quiet and cozy. A bunch of new ideas were appearing in Dyan’s head, and all she needed was to write them down. No one could stop her from having a seat on the floor and writing her heart out!
Right there in front of the tall rack of children’s novels, Dyan sat down criss-cross-applesauce and pulled out her pen and pencil.
Screw normal! Spirit’s hair should be a wild, crazy color! Dyan brainstormed. Like red! Or pink! Or… blue! Yeah, blue’s totally unpredictable. She should wear something that stands out too… like, a big puffy jacket! Or overalls! Or both!
Dyan was scribbling away. She didn’t know how long she’d been writing when the doorbell dinged again, and in came a girl she had never seen anything like before.
She wore a pink shirt that said something Dyan couldn’t read because of the jean-overalls that covered it. Her skin was the same shade of brown as peanut butter. The thing that stuck out to Dyan most was the girl's vibrant blue hair. Her hair seemed to be the color of a clear blue sky and was curlier than a toy spring. It was stretched into a fuzzy short ponytail.
Dyan tried not to stare, but her eyes kept going back to that girl's blue hair. And just when I was thinking about giving Spirit blue hair and overalls, Dyan thought.
To quit staring, Dyan turned back to her book and began to write out more ideas. She could hear the footsteps of the blue-haired girl getting closer and closer. Dyan startled when the footsteps stopped, and she could just feel the presence of the girl right behind her. She turned and looked up and saw the Blue-haired Girl, who was quick to smile. She pointed and said, “I was just trying to get to the book rack. Fantasy is my favorite type of book.”
“Oh! Sorry, I’m in your way.” Dyan got up and nearly tripped as she tried to quickly leave the book rack.
“Nah, it’s fine,” said the blue-haired girl. “I don’t have anything in particular that I’m looking for.” She slowly turned the book rack, her dark chocolate brown eyes gliding past all the books. “My life’s been pretty boring, but I bet if I got a new book it would spice things up!”
Hm. Her life’s been bland. Just like Spirit, Dyan thought. Then her eyes widened as she realized what she had just thought. Now Dyan couldn't stop staring at the girl. The blue hair, the overalls, and did she just say her life was… boring!? All this matched up to Spirit to an impossibly accurate degree! Could this blue-haired girl be… Spirit in real life!?
“I know why you're staring,” the blue-haired girl turned her attention to Dyan. She pointed to her head. “It’s the blue hair, isn’t it?”
If only it were just the blue hair, Dyan thought. How could Dyan say why she was really staring?
Find out what happens next in the next part!
New to Shook? Read more about it in this post.
Hey there! I’m Shila! I’ve loved books since I could read, and decided I would write books I wanted to see written for others! Check my children’s book Imagination on Amazon!
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