Zack! You about dude? on Library

Stephen Baxter

April 26, 2005 3:50 AM

Zack! You about dude? by Stephen Baxter

Stephen barrelled through the library doors, sliding to a loud, squeaky, unbalanced stop a couple of feet inside. The urge to run out and try it again was strong, but with news like his, with a mission like his, Stephen knew there was no time to waste. Which meant that at once, he turned to the task at hand. It wasn't immediately obvious where to look.

It was all a matter of trying to think like his quarry, he thought. If I were a brain... an Aladren, I mean, where would I go? There were too many possibilities. In a big place like this, lined floor to ceiling with books, a small guy like Zack could be just about anywhere.

Frowning, Stephen trailed through the library, occasionally glancing at the bookshel- hang on... what's this? He reached out and plucked a book from the shelf. Flipping it open a grin started to grow on his face. Oh this was awesome, exactly what he needed. Why hadn't he thought of visiting the Library to find a book before?!! He closed the book, slipped it under his arm, and let his fingers travel along the spines of the books that had flanked it. He grabbed one more before remembered his actual purpose in being there.

Gripping the second book tightly, Stephen glanced at his watch (it was a good thing that his Dad had been able to find one of those old fashioned clockwork ones) puzzled over which hand was which for half a minute and realised that he had two minutes to meet Ash and Sorrel. Eyes widening slightly in alarm, he looked around, still couldn't see Zack, and started to walk, then jog, and finally run around the maze of bookshelves.

This was no good. Spying an unoccupied study table, Stephen put the two books up, safely out of the way then lightly vaulted up after them, hoping that added height would help. It didn't. With time fast running out, there was only one thing to do. He glanced around for spy guy or his shadow cat and when he didn't see them in his immediate vicinity he decided it was time to break the golden rule of libraries everywhere.

"Oi! Zack! Dude, you 'round here?" he shouted.\n\n

39 Stephen Baxter Zack! You about dude? 49 Stephen Baxter 1 5

Zack

May 02, 2005 8:43 PM

Eep! by Zack

Zack was at his favourite table (a spread of muggle science books defending it against invasion of the firstie kind) beside a window overlooking the gardens when the peace and serenity of the library was not just broken, but shattered. With his name.

Zack jumped to his feet, holding a hand over his rapidly beating heart and looked around with abnormally wide eyes, momentarily terrified beyond thought. It wasn't exactly that he was afraid of the library gods, or the librarian either for that matter, but just the sheer unexpectedness of the shout got to him. Libraries were supposed to be quiet.

People weren't supposed to yell your name in them for all and sundry to hear. It made him nervous, like he had done something wrong.

Then it suddenly clicked that he recognized that voice. It belonged to Stephen of the Fido broom. That calmed him a little, though the adrenaline in his system was still making him a little shaky in the knees and hands. That also convinced him that he should probably go seek out the source of the shout, if only to find out why his classmate was invoking the wrath of the library gods. And also so that his name wouldn't be shouted out again like that.

He left the books on his table in the hopes that it would keep anyone from stealing it during whatever amount of time it would take to find out what Stephen wanted. He wasn't sure how long that would be, but it couldn't be too long, right? He did stuff his notebooks into his bag and bring that along though. He had a healthy sense of paranoia about people wanting to steal his notebooks.

Finding Stephen was a little harder than anticipated since there were an awful lot of shelves for the voice to bounce off of, thus disguising the direction of origin. However, Zack was a bright kid, so he used an alternative method. He moved toward the exit on the assumption that Stephen might have just stepped into the library and shouted from there. Zack got lucky and found him entirely by chance as he passed through the mythology section.

"You bellowed?" he asked in a whisper, hitching the second strap of his bookbag over his other shoulder. He spent too much time in here to risk angering the library gods himself.\n\n

0 Zack Eep! 0 Zack 0 5

Stephen

May 03, 2005 1:09 AM

Oh good, you're here. by Stephen

"Oh good, you're here."

Stephen jumped back off the table, and gathered the two books up again before moving over to where Zack was standing. Already they'd wasted too much time, but if they ran, he thought they might be able to get to the garden's right on time.

Zack had his bag, so Stephen assumed he was all ready to go.

"Let's get moving - we're going to be too late otherwise," he said, already having trouble standing still again. This was going to be so cool, and if Zack was even half so smart as Stephen thought he was he was definitely going to be needed. "Come on," he grabbed hold of the strap of Zack's bookbag to help him get moving in the direction of the door, and then, with any luck, the gardens.

It was only a matter of time before one of the girls stumbled across his discovery. They needed to move fast.\n\n

39 Stephen Oh good, you're here. 0 Stephen 0 5

Zack

May 03, 2005 8:02 AM

what the Pecari dragged in... by Zack

Zack wasn't really sure what he had expected. A 'hello' maybe. Perhaps a request to do his homework, or at least help with it. Possibly even an offer to excersize Bones and Fido together. Whatever it was that Zack had expected getting grabbed by his shoulder strap and dragged several steps toward the exit wasn't it.

Feeling vaguely like he had somehow crossed over to the Other Side of the Looking Glass, and Lewis Carrol had misrepresented the white rabbit as a fuzzy long-eared rodent when it should have portrayed by a brown-haired boy. Also, Alice was apparently a very short black-haired boy rather than a blond girl. But then, Carrol was on some sort of hallucengens, so these mistakes could probably be forgiven.

Having grown accustomed to the unpredictable nature of Wonderland during his first year here, Zack mentally shrugged to himself and hurried to keep up with the longer legged Stephen. "Where are we going?" he asked in the probably vain hope that Stephen would be more accomodating with answers than the white rabbit had for Alice. "And for the record, I'm not taking any potions that say 'Drink me'." He figured he ought to put that out there. He could learn from Alice's mistakes even if she couldn't.\n\n

0 Zack what the Pecari dragged in... 0 Zack 0 5

Stephen

May 03, 2005 8:16 AM

no, no, no, you're what the Pecari dragged <i>out</i> by Stephen

Stephen pulled up short, surprised by the question, having completely forgot that no one else knew. Somehow, he'd come to the conclusion that all the people he had thought should know would know. He confronted the issue directly, even as he started moving again.

"Out - to the garden, you know? - I was out there this morning, and it was just there!! And it hadn't been there before. Can't say here though," he looked around a little suspiciously. He might not have been able to see anyone else around, but that didn't mean that they weren't there. "The walls have ears."

"Come on," he pushed the pace faster. "We've got to meet Ash and Sorrel, and we're going to be late."

Stephen wasn't too sure what Zack was going on about with the potion. The only place he could ever remember anything saying "drink me" from was that disney movie, the one about the late rabbit with the watch in his pocket, and the blond girl, and the big queen who was always yelling 'Off with their heads', but he hadn't watched it since he was a little kid - seven or eight - and couldn't quite see why it would be connected to this. He decided that it was probably a comment best left alone.

OOC: I'm going to move this over to the garden's unless you've something else to add here. Welcome back, btw - hope your holiday was good.\n\n

39 Stephen no, no, no, you're what the Pecari dragged <i>out</i> 0 Stephen 0 5