Chapter 19: A Birthday Twist
I left Alistair's room and left the boys side of the dormitories. I went back to my side of the dorms. I didn't even know what to do at this point. I didn't have a lot of friends or anyone to talk to. Of course there are my Wonderlandian friends. It's been a minute since speaking to Lizzie. Maybe I should see what she's up to.
Without a second thought, I dragged my finger with a slight flick in the air where a large holographic white chess piece of a pawn appeared. A chant-like riddle sprouted from my lips as I commanded the chess piece to transform into what I needed. A mirror like pawn was made, the hologram turning into a camera. From that, the scene before me changed. I was staring into the mirror, seeing Kitty Cheshire, Maddie, and Lizzie Hearts all grouped together in the dorm room. They're just down the hall. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if I pop in.
Closing the white pawn, I took a deep breath preparing myself mentally. I left my room quickly before making my way down the hall before knocking on Kitty's door. Almost instantly the door opened to a grinning Kitty Cheshire.
"Hey, Izzy! What's up?" she asked me opening the door widely seeing all my friends behind her. I waved at them as they waved back.
"Oh nothing, I haven't seen or spoken to you guys in awhile and I figured I could see my girls." I said as she let me come inside the room waving at all my friends. "What're you guys talking about?"
"Just how cute Alistair and Bunny are together!" Lizzie Hearts said. I scrunched up my face but regained my composure to hide any passive feelings towards that. Why does everyone keep talking about it?
"They do make a cute couple," added Maddie as she took a sip of her cup of tea. She was sitting down at her little tea table enjoying herself. I pushed all my feelings down. I couldn't get upset at them. I wasn't. It was mostly Bunny anyways and how she treated me.
"I heard about you and Dexter," said Kitty Cheshire taking a step closer toward me. She put a gentle hand on my shoulder to comfort me. I smiled at her genuinely.
"I'm alright. It's fine. It happens. Besides, he'll be happier with Raven." I said trying to not make it look as bad as I was feeling.
"They did seem to have that certain spark. It was obvious they liked each other." said Lizzie Hearts. "Then again, I remember seeing that spark somewhere else. It was with Alistair and somebody else before Bunny. What they have is different. It's real and genuine. But from what I've witnessed before this was more. . . wondrous, I suppose you could say. More magical and true. Does that make sense?"
"With who?" asked Maddie. I was curious to know as well. I remember him telling me he liked someone else, but he never mentioned who.
"I cannot say," said Lizzie with a slight blush to her cheeks as she looked away nervously.
"Do you suppose it's one of us?" asked Kitty Cheshire with a raised brow.
"One of. . . yes, that part is correct. But I give no more than I've already mentioned."
"Any who! Who wants some tea?" Madeline said as she poured herself another cup of tea.
"I'll gladly have a cup, Maddie," I said with a smile sitting down across from her. Lizzie Hearts did the same as so did Kitty. She poured us all a cup while I put some sugar in mine.
We continued to talk for a brief while. Mainly about Wonderland, asking me how it was while I was trapped there while they were all here in Ever After.
"It may be a little. . . messy over there. But don't any of you miss it?" I asked them taking a sip of my lady grey.
"Yes, I miss my home. My mother." Lizzie said solemnly.
"I miss my mom too." Kitty agreed with her sadly.
"I miss my old home too." said Maddie. "I'm happy as a hatter that my dad's here with me, but the wackiness just isn't the same, ya know?"
I took a big sigh in relief. So I'm not alone after all. It actually felt kinda nice I wasn't going through this by myself. Even if Alistair and I were on the same page, it felt nice to not be the only ones thinking about Wonderland.
"I'm honestly glad." I said which they all looked at me confused. I giggled at their reactions. "I thought it was just me and Alistair. I felt alone and without anyone to talk to except him about it. We just got here and we're already homesick. I'm just surprised, happy even, that I'm not the only one feeling the same way. It's kinda nice to not be so alone in your thoughts. Sure, it's different and totally new here, especially to me. But I'm just. . . home sick."
"That makes two of us," said Kitty beside me. She reassured me with her famous grin that was honest and sincere. I smiled back at her.
"All of us!" said Lizzie getting out of her seat and giving me a hug from behind. Her hair fell forward into my face as I could smell roses and coconut. She pulled away as she went to go sit back down but then all their phones beeped at the same time. Curiously, they all simultaneously pulled them out to check their notifications. I didn't have a phone. Frankly, I don't think I would want one either.
"Ashlynn Ella is throwing a surprise birthday party for Hunter." Lizzie said aloud reading the text. "And it's tonight?"
"Well, that sure puts the surprise in surprise!" Maddie laughed at her own joke.
"Hmm I know exactly what I'm wearing. It's gonna be the cats meow." Kitty Cheshire said while poofing away back over to her wardrobe to find an outfit.
"What are you going to where?" Lizzie asked me. I bit my lip, looking away nervously.
"Well, I didn't get an invite. And besides, I don't even know them. It would be weird. I don't want to intrude." I said while waving my hands crossing over signifying my answer.
"No, I'm sure they wouldn't mind." Lizzie said. I shook my head.
"It's cool, I'll leave you girls alone to find your outfits the party." I said, handing my cup back to Madeline before scooting out of my seat and walking quietly out of the room. I let out a sigh before resting my head against the door to collect my thoughts.
"She's still the same from Wonderland. Hasn't changed at all." A muffled voice was heard through the door. It belonged to Lizzie.
"Some things never change," I heard Kitty say.
"She always seems so lonely. Maybe I should go talk to her?" Lizzie said.
"Why?" asked Maddie. "She always preferred Alistair over anybody if not herself."
"She still needs her friends," said Kitty. "We're all she's got."
I sighed. I walked away from the door. I didn't bother going back to my room. Mainly in fear of running into Bunny again. I didn't want her to know I talked about it with Alistair. I'll never hear the end of it. Everything is just so stressful. It's never like this. I feel like I'm losing my hair.
I ended up walking outside of the school and plopping myself on a bench to just be alone in my thoughts to gather everything together.
Maybe they're right. Maybe I need to grow up and face it. I can't live like Wonderland is my only home. I have to face it. I'll never be able to go back until that horrible curse is lifted. Maybe they all were right, even Bunny. I should make some friends. But I don't want anybody else. I have all that I needed. I have a great friend who'd bend their back for me and I would do the same. He's the only person that actually cares about me. Alistair understands me more than anyone I've ever known. Maybe I do need friends. . .
I felt someone's presence sit beside me, grumbling to herself with her arms crossed in frustration. I looked over at the girl seeing a frown etched at her lips as she mumbled incoherent words.
"Are you okay?" I asked her who's eyes turned to me in a flash.
"Me? Yeah. Just great." The girl was obviously lying. It seemed she had a lot on her mind. "Everyone is going to this stupid party tonight when it's my birthday too! It isn't fairest. I deserve to have a party."
"Then throw one. It's not like there's anyone to stop you." I said simply.
"You don't get it. Everyone is going to Ashlynn's stupid boyfriend's surprise party. I wasn't even invited. Not like they'd want me there either. No one is coming to mine." The girl glowered, resting her arms on her knees as her chin rested on her hands supporting her weight.
"I'm not going," I said with a shake of my head.
"Gee, thanks for support." The girl rolled her eyes. I giggled at her reaction.
"No, silly, I'm not going to Hunter's. I wasn't invited." I said. "Not like I would go anyways. I don't know any of them."
"Want to celebrate my birthday with me? I mean, you don't have to." The girl said with hope and slight desperation in her voice. "No, sorry. That's stupid. You don't even know me."
"No, I'd love to." I gave the girl a reassuring smile. She blinked, looking at me confused.
"Do you not know who I am?" she asked me. I shook my head. "Let's keep it that way."
The girl took my hand and dragged me away from the school deep into the enchanted forest as she pulled me along. She was a lot faster than I was but it wasn't difficult catching up to her. She took me far into the woods until we suddenly stopped running, our feet planted firmly onto the grass where the girl smiled at me mischievously before pulling back leaves from a willow branch that uncovered a beautiful scenery before me.
It was a wide meadow covered with beautiful flowers and fauna. Butterflies were scattered over the scenery in a pretty arrangement of colors. Looking up at the sky, there was a dark blue emitting where you could see the sun peaking below and the moon shining it's light over the field. It was gorgeous. The girl patted a seat next to her on a large mushroomed chair. It reminded me of Wonderland. Alistair would love it here.
"Like the view?" asked the girl who grinned at me. I gave her a silent nod. "That's not all." She pulled back more vines and leaves to reveal a large boulder that was soft and had an opening that a person could slip into. "I was saving it for the cute boys to come and get to have a nice quiet make out spot, but the inside is full of crystals and other cool stones. It's really cool, actually. You can take a look inside if you want, but I thought of pulling out a movie. Usually I'd go all out for a rave party or something spectacular, but this year I just wanted to relax and watch a movie with some friends and eat popcorn and have a good time, ya know? But everyone would rather go to Hunter's."
"Hey, a movie sounds great," I said giving her a reassuring smile. She smiled genuinely in return as she used the large boulder as a screen where she had a projector adjusted in front of it. She pulled out a few bowls of popcorn from the popcorn machine I hadn't noticed before. She started the movie and sat down on a mushroom while handing me my bowl.
The movie started as we watched the whole film together. I wasn't sure entirely of what it was about but it seemed rather interesting. There was a lot of action going on with a bit of comedy that I enjoyed. There were daring sword fights, magic, a princess in disguise, and weird strange places. It was quite fun to be honest. Once the movie ended we reverted to eating our popcorn and drinking some juice she brought for her party. She really had the whole thing going for her. If only anyone besides me showed up.
"Thanks for keeping me company." The girl said. I felt bad not knowing her name. "It's nice to have someone enjoy being around me that's not holding any grudges or fear towards me. It's refreshing. You seem pretty cool. Want to be friends?"
I was taken aback by her words. Is it really that easy? Does she really want to be my friend? I had doubts. Mainly because no one ever has asked me such a thing before. People either like me or they don't. Even when most people liked me they still never held a conversation with me before. This. . . was different.
"Yeah, I'll be your friend." I said which she grinned about.
"Awesome! So tell me. When you were sitting on the bench all sad what was that all about?" she asked me with keen curiosity.
"I dunno." I said looking away nervously. I didn't know how to tell her. "Its all so conflicting. I think my friends want me to come out of my shell and be more open. My roommate has been exceedingly up my case with her attitude and wants me to stay away from my best friend to pursue her romance with him. And everything is just so hard. This place is weird. I miss my home. My mother is a nightmare that points out everything wrong about me — which is just me entirely! And now everyone is talking about Dexter and Raven and just — ugh. It's too much."
"I can help!" The girl grinned at me with a nod as she leaned in closer toward me. "I'm great with magic. I could totally help you out a spell. Besides, I owe you one anyway."
"You don't have to. I don't want any —"
"Chill out, its cool. I've got this. What are friends for?" She tried to reassure me. I had my doubts.
"Okay. I trust you." I gave her a smile. She smirked. She definitely had a plan brewing in her mind. I wasn't sure if I wanted to know.
"Cool. I'll see you at school tomorrow." The girl left, flying away. Hm, I don't remember her having wings. I still never got her name.
I got up from the mushroom seat and set my bowl of popcorn down on the grass. I'll let the birds and squirrels eat the rest. I began to walk away, only then remembering about the crack in the rock. Before I was even thinking, my feet stepped toward the boulder. I peered through the hole seeing only darkness. Might as well.
I squeezed myself through the hole struggling to fit inside. I don't know what that girl was thinking. I don't think any boy would be able to fit inside here unless he was tiny. Making it all the way through, I looked around seeing it was a lot bigger on the inside. Oh my feathers. . . She was right.
It was absolutely beautiful. It looked like stars were all around me in the darkness. It was the most magical thing I've ever seen. And that's saying something because I live in a magical world that supposedly is my normal. It was as if I was in a cave of stars surrounding me, glistening in the dark. My feet couldn't be seen on the ground, neither were my hands in front of me. Yet, somehow the crystals glistened shinning it's own light in the darkness. It was gorgeous. I know Alistair would love this. He had to witness this. As much as he loves exploring and finding extraordinary new things, I knew he would love it just as much as me.
I squeezed myself out of the cave as I saw a caramelized colored bunny reaching toward the bowl of popcorn on the ground. Instantly, it was transformed into a human as the hand swiped at the treat.
"August?"
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