The 13th Cycle

CHAPTER 3 - October 2012

Amara determined the best place to start researching her story was at the school library. After the initial scare from the hackers wore off, she decided she would be true to her journalistic aspirations and continue to work on her story. Fortunately she had a backed up version of her vlog, so she was able to restore it without any problems.

Amara had high hopes walking into the building, and she smiled as she approached the student library assistant at the front desk. He was cute, with dimples and a nametag that read Grant.

            “Hello, be with you in one minute.” A stack of books lay on the desk next to him, and he was busy stamping the inside covers. When he looked up and saw Amara, he stopped. “Can I help you?”

            Amara’s heart fluttered for a second. Then she remembered her mission. “Yes, I’m writing a feature for The Eagle, about the Mayan end of the world predictions. Do you have any books about the Maya?”

            “Cool, you’re a reporter.” Grant frowned as he thought. “Off the top of my head, I don’t think so.”

            “Oh,” Amara said, disappointed.

            “But wait a second.”

            Amara watched as Grant dashed inside a small office behind the desk. After waiting for a few moments, she felt awkward standing alone.

Here you go.” Grant emerged from the office and handed her a book called The Myths of Mexico and Peru. “Flip through this. There’s probably something about the Mayans in there.”

            Amara opened the book to the table of contents. At least two chapters were about the Maya. She turned to the first one and started reading. Then she felt Grant’s stare so she looked up. “I’ll take it.”

            “Great,” Grant said. He gestured for her to follow him to the computer. “I’ll check you out right here.” He blushed. “I mean, the book.”

            Amara nodded, trying to think of something clever to say, but she was also too eager to get back to her book. The first couple pages she had skimmed were about the Popul Vuh, the Mayan Book of the People that contained stories of creation and heroes. She wanted to learn more.

            “Come back anytime,” Grant said.

            “What?” Amara had been lost in her thoughts.

            “Oh just—I’ll check to see if we have more stuff on the Maya. Here, why don’t you give me your email and I can let you know if I find anything else?” He tore off a piece of paper from a notebook sitting on the corner of the desk and handed Amara a pen. “I’m Grant, by the way.”

            Amara was torn. She wanted to collect enough research to get the green light on her story so she could start getting recognition as a journalist, but she also wanted to stick around and talk to Grant some more.

            She took the pen. “I’m Amara. Sometimes it takes me a while to check my email, so here’s my number too, just in case.” Willing herself not to blush, she gave the paper to Grant. “Text me anytime.”

            “Great. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”

“Thanks.” Amara flashed him a smile as she left, happy she could use journalism as an excuse to flirt.

            Once she was home, she decided to go online and do more research. She bought a couple ebooks, The Mayan Code and Maya 2012 Revealed, to read later on her tablet. Then she went to Wolfram Alpha, a fairly new search engine that relied on expert knowledge. Typing “Mayans” in the search box yielded some interesting results, mostly timelines, but nothing particularly useful. So she went back to Google.