Lucjusz (Luc)

Weasel Water Lou of the Peace in Carlos

After English next Tuesday, Esse had to sit next to Price on the hour-long bus ride to The Museum of Time and Space. She could hear Mies and We talking happily together. They were the only people on the bus enjoying themselves. Even the bus driver was grumpy. He was constantly telling them to “Be quiet, or you’ll never see those heads of yer’s again!”

When they reached the museum, a tall elderly man led them through the many exhibits, telling them all about Dental Floss. “Dental floss has been going on since prehistory, but in 1815, Dr. Levi Spear Parmly thought of using waxed silk threads to floss teeth!” the museum guide exclaimed with enthusiasm. Too much enthusiasm in Esse’s opinion.

He talked and talked and talked until they got to a pair of double doors with CLOSED FOR RENOVATION written on them. The guide was now bursting with excitement. So were Mies and We. “And here it is students!” the guide said. He threw open the doors. “The history of Dental Floss!” Mies and We oohed and aahed. After about two minutes of walking around, Price announced that he had to use the restroom. And just like that, he was gone.

Mies and We were in a corner, huddled around a photograph of some guy named Dr. Charles Bass. Esse walked into another room. This room contained dental facts, not all of them about flossing. There was a door at the end of the room that also said CLOSED FOR RENOVATION. Esse figured if she was already in an exhibit that was closed for renovation, she might as well go in this one.

The room was lit by a flickering light, coming from a lit chandelier hanging from the ceiling. All was quiet. No one was around. Not even Mies, We, or the guide could be heard from the other room. It seemed that the door Esse had come through was the only way to enter the room. Esse walked farther into the room. Every noise echoed.

There were no exhibits in this room. The floor was carpeted, unlike every other room in the museum, which was covered in hard tile. The walls were lined with wallpaper, instead of painted white. A plastic mat covered some of the floor beneath a tapestry with gold tassels hanging down the sides. Pick axes lay on the plastic mat, as well as hammers and a small bulldozer that fit in the room. The wall around the tapestry was chipped and cracked, as if someone had been trying to excavate around the tapestry. The museum obviously wanted the tapestry gone. Why?

Esse got a closer look. It was very old tapestry, with ancient writing at the top. There was a large multi-colored swirl to the left. To the right was what looked like dogs with waterfalls and lakes on their backs. It was fascinating. In the bottom righthand corner was the artist’s name:

Weasel Water Lou of The Peace in Carlos

It was truly very mysterious. Esse knocked on the wall. Hollow sounds echoed through the room. Was the tapestry a door? Who was Weasel Water Lou? Why was this tapestry in The Museum of Time and Space? Of course, Esse couldn’t spend forever in the little room. But when she walked out of the room, Esse saw something unfortunate.

Difgih was standing across the way from Esse. She was obviously partnerless. Her back was to Esse and she was reading something about dental floss for braces. Esse slowly tiptoed across the room into the one with FLOSS OF THE PRESENT. Hiding behind the biggest dental floss container in the world, Esse got a look at the clock. 4:37. That meant that the bus would come in thirteen minutes to pick them up and drop them off at home.

The bus ride from the museum was possibly less fun than the bus ride to the museum. When Price and Takahiro showed up at the bus late, they got in trouble for abandoning Esse and Difgih. So Price and Takahiro had to sit next to Mr. Oliverst and Esse and Difgih were “lucky” and got to sit in the back of the bus. Together. Esse looked out the window the whole time, and Difgih looked at the ground.

It wasn’t that Esse disliked Difgih, she was just afraid of her. Difgih had this weird telling-the-future thing she was always doing. And maybe Esse just didn’t want to know that she would meet a bear and go on a book worthy adventure. Maybe she just wanted to stay away from Difgih.

Esse got home at 6:43 p.m. Mrs. Iflandoonia was washing the dishes. “How was it?” she asked as Esse came in.

“It was good.” Esse answered. “Price abandoned me to go hang out with his friend. I sort of went around by myself. He had to sit with Mr. Oliverst on the ride back.”

“Aha!” Mr. Iflandoonia exclaimed. “I thought so! Price is no better than his father!”

“Luc!” Mrs. Iflandoonia said with her hands on her hips. “Really?!” Mr. Iflandoonia guiltily slinked away, probably harboring more thoughts on Price’s father. Mrs. Iflandoonia rolled her eyes. “I’ll talk with him later.” she said. “Well, Esse, how was it anyway?”

“I saw this exhibit on Dental Facts, and one of them had the biggest dental floss container in the world.” Esse answered. “But I have English homework, so, bye.”

Esse went up to her room to ponder the questions she had thought of earlier. But who could think with all that racket that Illtyd and Sverre Jon were making? She could hear them fighting over who would be Sidfig. “I’m the one who bought the book first!” Sverre Jon was yelling.

“I know that Esse has The Magical Powers of the Bonnet!” Illtyd yelled back. “That makes me a Verarlium Partosium, and you have nothing to do with it!”

Esse got out of bed and walked out the door. “Where are you going?” Mrs. Iflandoonia asked. She was trimming bushes. Why was she always everywhere she shouldn’t be? “I’m going for a walk.” Esse answered. And so she walked into the forest.

After about 1 ½ miles, Esse rested off the trail. It was so peaceful. Esse usually didn’t like quiet and peaceful. She normally liked things happening. But the forest was her favorite quiet spot. It was meant to only be the sounds of the birds and the deer and rabbits and foxes and… that strange noise from behind her. Esse turned around. There sat a little bear. Well, not little, this was a bear after all. If the bear stood on its hind legs, it would probably be as tall as Esse.

“Oh, hello.” she said. Then thought, Maybe I do hate Difgih. “Hi.” the bear answered back. The bear crawled over to rest next to Esse. “My name is Luc. Short for Lucjusz.” it said.

“My dad’s name is Lucjusz!” Esse said.

“Cool.” said Luc. “Do you want to be friends?”

“I guess.” Esse said. “Just because my dad and you share the same name? But, okay. I think bears are probably better friends than people.”

Luc nodded. “Oh yes, oh yes. We don’t hunt nixies for sport.” Esse smiled. “You’re much better than the kids in my class.” she said. Luc nodded.

“I always thought bears were better than nixies.” he said. Esse tilted her head. “Bears have never actually talked to me.” she commented. “But I think it’s because my brothers are too loud.”

“Oh, it’s not you.” Luc explained. “It’s, an, um, bear thing. We, uh, call it , um, Don’t Speak With Murderers. No offence.”

“Oh, it’s okay.” Esse said. “And you’re an adventurous bear?”

“Oh yes. I am the second bear to talk to a nixie and survive. Nobody knows yet though. The first nixie is you.” Luc answered. “I thought that that’s how I would die, but. . .I guess I die differently.”

“I guess we’re friends then.” Esse said, only a bit weirded out by the last part of Luc’s sentence. Luc nodded. It was decided.

The next day, Esse decided she was going to go see Luc again. If she found him again, she knew she would have made a friend. During school that day, Esse caught Difgih staring at her as if she knew. It was creepy.

Luc told Esse some interesting news. “Esse, you’ll never believe what I heard!” he said. “The Carlosians are closing in on the West Side of Peace, and they just took it over!” “Who are the Carlosians?” Esse asked. “You don’t know?” Luc asked, shocked. “The Carlosians are the people in the country that surrounds us. They are evil, and violent, and deadly, and they’re slowly taking over The Peace in Carlos! Only not so slowly anymore!”

“Wow!” Esse exclaimed. “I can’t believe I didn’t know that!”

“Neither can I.” Luc said. “I wonder who else doesn’t know. The problem is, not everyone has a hiding place, a secret den like my family does, and so they can’t always be safe when they need to be.” He shook his head in disapproval. “They’ll probably all die or something.”

“No!” Esse cried, “We can’t let that happen! What will we do?!”

“You and I can try to find a place for everyone.”

“Oh, yes. That’s a good idea,” Esse agreed, “Do you know any places?” Luc shook his head. Esse started to sigh, then paused, remembering the tapestry. “I might know a place!” she exclaimed with glee, “Yesterday I went to the new Dental Floss exhibit in The Museum of Time and Space, and I found a really mysterious tapestry by someone called Weasel Water Lou. There were pickaxes and bulldozers, and things like that near it. I bumped into the wall, and it was hollow! Also, the room looks like a room in a old house, not a museum room. There’s real carpeting and wallpaper! Maybe they’re making a hiding place for us! I wish I could show you.”

“That sounds nothing like my den, but okay, I’ll take your word for it.” Luc said. “I wish I could get to it.” After a moment, he exclaimed, “Hey! Are there windows near it? Maybe I could get in!” He sounded excited.

“Well…” Esse mused. “There’s a wall of all glass in the Dr. Levi Spear Parmly exhibit. Does that help?”

“Are there any windows that you can open?” Luc asked. “Oh, well, in the recreation of Johnson & Johnson, there’s a window. It might fit you, but I should probably measure it.” Esse answered.

“That would take too long.” Luc said. “Roughly how big was it?” Esse showed him with her hands. Luc just fit. “Good!” Luc said. “Is the Johnson & Johnson recreation on the first or second floor?”

“First floor, but the window is high. I’ll help you.” Esse volunteered.

“Good.” Luc nodded his approval. “See you tomorrow, Esse.”

“You too, Luc.” Esse waved goodbye.

Why intercept?

Why?

Breton Wager - 2

After the Christian’s declaration, Breton lost control of the time and was yanked back to Math class. He hit the chair with an, “Oof!” A girl behind him gave him a look, and then continued punching numbers into her calculator. The bell rang, and it was time to pay attention.

Breton turned to the front of the room to watch the teacher. Mr. Brown crossed to the center of the room with great purpose.

“Today! We shall be learning the equation to time travel! Singular One! Let us begin!” Mr. Brown executed every word with a flourish.

Breton decided he no longer wanted to sit through this and with a wink of his eye, slipped out of time.

Breton began to walk towards 9:08, when free period began. He made it halfway down the hallway when he felt the pain hit his head again. What was he doing in Math class? Well, he would know soon enough. He began making his way to the auditorium.

“I suppose you think you’re too good for Math class, then,” the Christian’s voice floated to Breton’s ears, the Christian floating behind it. “You’re such a special time walker, you don’t need to sit through time travel equations.”

Breton wasn’t sure why, but he found himself waiting for the Christian to catch up with him.

“Well?” the Christian asked, reaching Breton’s shoulder. “Are we feeling special this morning?”

“I already know the equation for time travel,” Breton explained as be continued to progress to 9:08.

The Christian followed him closely. “You know, other people would know it too if they were born with special abilities like you, Breton!” he replied derisively.

“I could tell them if they asked,” Breton offered.

“I could tell them if they asked,” the Christian mocked.

Breton reached 9:08 and snapped back into time. The smack of his return caused him to stumble somewhat down the auditorium stairs.

“Breton!”

Two children Breton’s age, his two friends, were the only people in the otherwise empty auditorium. Nashaadh and Rose waved as Breton made his way towards them.

“There you are!” Rose exclaimed. “We were going to start without you!”

“Rose was going to start without you,” Nashaadh clarified. “I would have waited.”

“What were you going to start without me?” Breton asked.

“We’re making posters with things like, Don’t Touch the Lighting Equipment and stuff like that,” Rose answered.

“Since I’m the Backstage Manager and no one else does anything useful around here,” Nashaadh sighed resignedly, picking up a stack of poster paper.

“Hey! I help!” Rose complained. “Look! I brought markers!”

“I know you help, Rosie. And Breton does, too,” Nashaadh quelled Rose. “Thanks, by the way, both of you. Neither of you are even on stage crew.”

“We were hoping you could do the drawings,” Rose said to Breton. “‘Cause you’re good at that kinda thing.”

Rose handed Breton the markers and placed the poster paper in his hands. Nashaadh headed backstage.

“I only draw with pens and ink,” Breton spoke.

“Oh! Well! Mr. Special over here!” Rose cried out. “Only draws with pens!”

Breton was reminded of something.

“Rose! Calm down!” Nashaadh said orderly, returning from backstage with a box full of costumery. “Breton, I’m sure there are some pens in the Art room I can go find for you.”

“The equation for time travel is ((0 − 273.15) × 95 + 32)K + T over 1s(D) times SE,” Breton declared. Nashaadh and Rose stopped what they were doing and looked at him.

“Um, thank you, Breton, but . . . why, I mean, we already know that . . . I can get you some pens, if you want,” Nashaadh spoke uncertainty, placing the box of costumes on the floor of the stage.

“Yeah, because Nashaadh’s mother invented the equation for time travel,” Rose shared loudly.

“Rose, hush,” Nashaadh muttered, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Why don’t you go get Breton some pens from the Art room.”

“What? Why me?” Rose whined. “It just started getting interesting!”

“Rose, please,” Nashaadh asked of him.

“Fine, fine, I’m going,” Rose gave in, jumping off the stage and making his way up the auditorium stairs. “But you guys better not start without me!”

The auditorium door slammed behind Rose as he exited the room.

Nashaadh took a seat on the edge of stage and gestured for Breton to sit beside her. He did.

“Breton,” she stated. “Are you alright?”

“I’m being haunted by a B- Art project,” Breton shared with his cousin. There was a pause as Nashaadh looked off into the distance.

“Out of time?” she asked.

Breton nodded.

“Do you want to talk to my mother about it?”

There was another pause as Breton looked off into the distance.

“Not yet,” Breton decided.

“Okay,” Nashaadh finished.

There was a silence.

The auditorium door slammed. “I’m back!” Rose announced. “And I brought lots of pens!”

Rose Otterton

Illustration courtesy of Teepi Guest

Poor Margret - 4

“Yikes!” Esse said, following Kennen’s gaze upward to the ceiling. “Kennen, whose eyes are those? They’re humongous!”

“And they talk to me too.” Kennen told her.

“Really? Kennen, are you insane? Maybe we should call your sister, Heavenly Evenly.”

“No, Esse, look at the walls.” Kennen said.

“Yikes!” Esse said, looking around. “Kennen, did you do this?”

“No.” Kennen answered. “Annaig did.” Suddenly, Esse let out a little squeak. Kennen looked up.

Hello, Essy. Are you a friend of Kennen’s? My name is Annaig.

“Um.” Esse said. “it’s E-S-S-E.” Annaig corrected his mistake. Esse nodded approvingly. “He seems nice.” she told Kennen. Annaig drew a large heart around Esse’s name. “I think Annaig likes you too.” Kennen answered her.

Soon, Esse and Kennen had moved all of Esse’s work into Kennen’s Office. “The floor is too slippery.” Esse said. “Besides, I need more company to work happily.” Kennen’s job that day was to was to go through everyone’s files and see who had a criminal record. Esse’s was to go through the files of the people just moving to The Land of Nimm. “Hey,” Esse said, pulling out a file. “Here’s your sister.” Kennen leaned over to read. It said:

The File of:

Heavenly Evenly likes to eat at elevenly LALALALALA Pie. DODODO, NANANA, Tickle some type of fly Mamamel Pastamaker

“What in the world? Is that really her full name?” Esse asked.

“I never told you?” Kennen answered.

“Does she like pie?” Esse asked. Kennen shrugged. “I would think so. Can’t you look in her file?” he asked. Esse opened it. There on the first page it read:

Likes Pie:Yes/No/Limited

Job: NonDominant Animal Psychiatrist

“Huh.” Esse said. “The pie a bit of a strange thing to put in a file.” Kennen shrugged. “Not if you’re Heavenly Evenly.” he said.

Some time later, Kennen found his first criminal record. “Hey, Esse, did you know that Emelea and her children have a criminal record?” he asked. Esse leaned over to see. “Well, I guess Luc never told me the story.” Esse answered. “Then I will.” Kennen began:

The Story of Emela’s Children

Once upon a time, there lived a girl named Emelea Grapis, one of the most criminal masterminds to this day. Emelea’s husband had run away after she threatened to drop 16 bananas on his head, leaving Emela with her two children. Their names were Heteb and Zoeabby. When Heteb was 16 years old, and Zoeabby was 3, Emelea launched the Great Kidnapping Thing. Queen Alissa lived in a beautiful palace on top of the hill, and because Emelea was the evil twin of her sister, Mistress Amelia, she was invited to live with Queen Alissa. Queen Alissa had three children; Aras, Tanyaasha, and Izzy, who were all kidnapped within a week. Here is how Emelea did it: Zoeabby, even though she was only three, could already speak fluently in English, Lithuanian, and German. So every night, Zoeabby would go through the hall outside Queen Alyssa’s part of the castle with her mother’s cloak on, and sing: “Aš miręs nuotaka aš sakau ‘boo!’ jums bus išsigandęs. BOO!” (the spell works better when said in Lithuanian. Besides, everyone there was from New Forkie, and so saying it in a language no one probably understood was a good idea.) Zoeabby would happily knock out anyone who was within three feet of her (this usually got a nosy princess listening at the door). Zoeabby would then grin and run off to get her mother. Emelea would take the cloak from Zoeabby, and go kidnap the nosy princess at the door. After the first three kidnappings, Emelea decided to kidnap all the other children in the building. She started with Queen Eneel’s children; Meuh and Raychell, and then to everyone else's children. Unfortunately, Emelea made the mistake of kidnapping Judge Anna’s granddaughter, and Judge Anna arranged a meeting with Neemzay, the genius of the castle, who was kidnapped soon after that, and working on means of escape. Judge Anna’s daughter, Queen Airuhbelluh, took a wild guess and got Heteb arrested. One of the queens, Queen Avarose, went insane and kidnapped Zoeabby. Emelea knew that she could either give herself up, and help the children, or run away and leave them. Emelea, knowing how a good parent should act, threw square-shaped dogs at anyone who tried to ride an elephant, and ended up escaping with her children as well (the kidnapped children were found two weeks later by Judge Anna and Inspector Ollie).

“Wow.” Esse said. “I had no idea.”

“Neither did I.” Kennen agreed. They continued while talking about Emelea’s children.

But soon after that, Kennen picked up a new file. “Hey Esse, look at this.” he said. Esse leaned over to see. The file read,

File of Lucjusz Bnmq Erty

“Oh.” Esse said. She looked confused and sad. “Luc has a criminal record? What does it say?”

“Yeah. About that. It’s weird because, you know, no one but us a Weasel Water lou are supposed to touch these but, well, I’ll just show you.” Kennen flipped open the first page and handed the file to Esse.

Status: Deceased LIVING!!!

Or else prove that he’s dead!

“Whoa.” Esse said. “So Luc isn’t a criminal. Who would do that?” Kennen shrugged. “Well, he sighed his name at the bottom.” Kennen said, showing her.

Helpful Comments by Ulul Iflandoonia

“WHAT?!” Esse said. “My Great-Uncle Crab wrote this? Uh!” Kennen looked puzzled. Esse explained for him. “My great-Uncle Crabulul is so rude. But somehow he became a critic, and since he’s a quickwolf, he’s made it his business to go everywhere people want him out of.”

“What’s a quickwolf?” Kennen asked.

“Quickwolves can go so fast, that they vibrate through walls and stuff like that.” Esse answered.

“Wow. So he got into our files?” Kennen said, leafing through the others to see if Crabulul had made any other comments. “Hey, um, Kennen, Annaig is talking to you.” Esse said. Kennen looked up.

Are you sure Luc really is dead?

“Well, um, yeah, right Kennen?” Esse answered.

“Well, yes, I saw it happen! Wait, no. I mean, I saw him go all limp but maybe…” Kennen said, thinking hard.

Maybe you should find out. If you go get supplies from Crabulul I can teleport you wherever you want.

“Oh, Annaig! I want to hug you!” Esse said, jumping up and down. “C’mon, Kennen, let’s go to Great-Uncle Crab!”

Weasel Water Lou of the Peace in Carlos

Esse awoke on the lovely morning of November the fifth. Hoping something exciting was going to happen, she stuck her head out the window by the foot of her bed. A breeze was blowing, gently nudging the fluffy white clouds across the sky. The breeze picked up, blowing Esse’s long magenta hair into her face. Esse blew it back out.

A few people walked on the streets below, laughing and talking. Esse pulled her head back into her room. It felt like Spring. That’s how it always felt in The Peace in Carlos. Peaceful weather was always around. Right now it was Autumn, so every day was just the right temperature for a sweater or a light jacket. Esse sighed. November the fifth seemed to be like every other day in November. Nothing exciting.

“Were you hoping for bizarre weather again?” Esse’s older sister asked. As Esse turned around, her sister rolled her eyes. Esse stuck out her tongue. “Stop it, Elian.” Esse said.

They headed down to breakfast. Everyone else was already there. “You two have to work on getting up earlier and faster.” Their mother, Mrs. Iflandoonia said. “It was all Esse’s fault.” Elian said. “It was not!” Esse said back. “You two.” Mrs. Iflandoonia said, shaking her head. “Esse, go put your hair up.” “Mom, I told you, I hate putting my hair up!” Esse complained.

Esse had the longest hair in the school: two feet, three inches. Illtyd said it looked like a chocolate fountain except magenta because of its color. Illtyd liked food, so he described Esse’s eyes as spinach colored. Her skin, he said, was just normal (On Puffolpuddels [The planet Esse lives on] that is bright blue).

“C’mon!” Illtyd called to them. “Mommy is making eggs and roast beef!” Esse sat down next to him. Illtyd smiled. He had always believed that Esse had The Magical Powers of the Bonnet. The Bonnet’s Son was a book that Illtyd was reading right now. Illtyd was six years old, but a very advanced reader for his age.

“Is today a school day?” Ty asked. “Yes, Ty. But it’s Friday, so people can play with you tomorrow.” Mrs. Iflandoonia said. “You’re lucky you’re only three years old.” Demitri, Esse’s ten year old brother, said between mouthfuls. Ty clapped her hands. Mrs. Iflandoonia sighed. Demitri and Sverre Jon (the twins of the family) had taught Ty to do that whenever she heard someone say, “You’re lucky you’re only three years old.”

After they finished breakfast, Mrs. Iflandoonia was moving quickly. “Esse, you and the twins have to be on the bus in twenty minutes. Go pack your stuff. Esse, don’t forget your Science homework. You also have a test today!” Esse rushed upstairs planning to meet her brothers at the door in five minutes. She ended up dropping the contents of her satchel all over the floor, and become late enough that Mrs. Iflandoonia yelled up at her.

Finally, Esse and the twins were out the door. “Bye!” Ty called after them. She was still finishing her eggs.

At school, Esse was mulling over her Science test. She understood the question, but how would she explain it? Oh well. It was just one question anyway. Esse snuck a peek at Price’s paper. Price had written: “The Carriage War started in 809, just after Aliprand Shekhar took power. Esse wrote: “The Wagon War started in 810, just before Aliprandi Sheephair lost power. That should get her at least half credit.

After Lunch, Mr. Oliverst had everyone sit at their desks instead of coming to the large table at the front of the room. “Today, class, I have a special announcement.” he said. “The Museum of Time and Space has selected the top History students to see the first Dental Floss exhibit, featuring dental floss through the years! The special students selected are Miss Winterpegg, Miss Yinyi, Miss Iflandoonia, Miss Sandy, Mr. Herlbemmer and Mr. Lik. You will all be going next Tuesday during English, free time, and the beginning of dismissal. Please note you will have English homework that day. Also, please stay after school. Today.”

Esse groaned, and she heard a few others groan too. Mr. Oliverest ignored them, as he was so used to doing. Esse did well in History because she had to. Mrs. Iflandoonia made her. Not so she could go to a Dental Floss exhibit and miss homework time (not that she liked doing homework, but doing it late was even worse).

After math class, Esse and the others stood around Mr. Oliverst’s desk to hear what he had to tell them. A few people were excited; Mr. Oliverst certainly was. Esse wasn’t. She really didn’t like History.

“You will have partners as you go through the Dental Floss exhibits so you don’t get lost. Here they are: Mr. Herlbemmer and Miss Iflandoonia, Mr. Lik and Miss Sandy, and Miss Winterpegg and Miss Yinyi. Please do not complain, there is no switching partners. Good day.” A few people groaned again. Esse didn’t. She was hoping that her partner, Price, would just ignore her. Price usually did. On the bus ride home, Esse heard Price and Takahiro talking.

“We don’t have to go with our partners. We can just hang out together.” Price was saying. “Yeah, they're just girls. Why would they care?” Takahiro agreed. Esse snorted. Takahiro’s partner, Difgih, was probably one of Esse’s least favorite people. No, Esse was not going to spend two and a half hours with Difgih Sandy even if it meant wandering around by herself. This wouldn’t actually be too hard, because Difgih didn’t like Esse either.

“How was school?” Mrs. Iflandoonia asked Esse at dinner. Elian had just given a long story about how boring and easy the IQ Test for Advanced Students was. “It was good.” Esse said. “I got selected to go to the new Dental Floss through time exhibit before it’s even opened. I’m Price’s partner.” “Which one’s Price?” Mr. Iflandoonia asked. “Her boyfriend.” Demitri said through a mouthful of pizza.

“Price Herlbemmer.” Esse answered. “Remember? You had such a long conversation with Mr. Herlbemmer last PTA Meeting that you had a sore throat for a week. And Price is not my boyfriend.”

“Oh, yeah. Him. Is the kid better than the parent?” Mr. Iflandoonia asked.

“Luc! They are both wonderful people!” Mrs. Iflandoonia scolded.

Poor Margret

At first, Kennen didn’t know where he was. Then he remembered; sleepover with Esse at Nurse Moss’ house. Esse stood up and stretched. There were no need for beds in Nurse Moss’ house because the floor was so soft. Kennen pretended to be asleep. Esse changed and sat back on the floor. Checking the clock, Kennen had seen it was only 8:10. Nurse Moss woke at 9:30 on weekends. Suddenly Kennen realized: today was the day. This was Esse’s 13th birthday, or, her coronation of Assistant Secretary to Master Cameron and Mistress Amelia. Weasel Water Lou would be teaching her “the ways”. Even though work didn’t start until Wednesday, (and it was only saturday) Esse had been promised a private tour of the palace with Kennen. Kennen would be Esse’s assistant, making him the Assistant to the Assistant Secretary to Master Cameron and Mistress Amelia. Esse bounced over to Kennen to see if he was awake (you could bounce on Nurse Moss’ floor). “Kennen,” Esse whispered, poking Kennen’s wing. “Today is the day!”

“Hmm? What?” Kennen mumbled, opening his eyes and pretending to be tired. He honestly did want sleep. “I said today’s the day,” Esse repeated. “Now hop on my shoulder and we’ll go find Nurse Moss.”

“I can fly.” Kennen grumbled. Esse bounced out of the room, Kennen close behind her.

Flying into the kitchen, Kennen saw Nurse Moss preparing waffles. “Yummmmmmmmm.” Esse sighed. “Thanks, Nurse Moss.” Nurse Moss smiled. “Today’s the day!” she replied. “Hey, it’s my day too!” Kennen reminded her. “I know.” Nurse Moss said. “So I made you some seeds and berries. Raspberries, your favorite.” Kennen was awake now. With Kennen at the tabletop bird feeder, and Esse in her favorite cushiony chair, they munched their special breakfast. “Eat up!” Nurse Moss said to Kennen. “You’re too skinny!” Nurse Moss was always complaining about how skinny he was and NOT HOW PLUMP, MISS EVELYN FACE! His pale blue color made him look sort of sick. “You’ll want to hurry.” Nurse Moss said. “The tour starts in- goodness me! The clock stopped!”

“What!?” Esse cried, her fork clattering to the table.

“You have 20 minutes, so no walking.” Nurse Moss told them. “If we ask Doctor Lexie now, maybe we can borrow her MotorHuman360.” Doctor Lexie’s MotorHuman360 was not a human with a motor attached to it, nor a motor car that looked like a human. Doctor Lexie’s MotorHuman360 was simply a really fast guy named Niree who liked to say “vroom vroom.”.

“All right, let’s do it!” Esse said.

“Are you sure?” Kennen asked her. “You hate riding Niree.” Esse grimaced. “You told me that when you ride Niree, you feel too sorry for him, having to carry people around.” Kennen said.

“Well,” Esse considered. “We really should go now.” “Well then,” Nurse Moss said, standing up. “We better hurry before someone else asks.”

Soon, Kennen was flying behind Esse, who was on the back of a very pleased Niree, who loved talking to his riders. “How goes it, Miss If?” Niree said, using Esse’s nickname he gave her.

“Um, okay.” Esse gulped. Despite what Esse had told him, Kennen knew she was terrified. Because of Niree’s fast speed, Esse’s legs were flung out behind her, and she was clinging to Niree’s shoulders for dear life. Niree didn’t seem to notice anything that happened to his passengers. He couldn’t even really hear them. “Ah, yes, my grandmother lives there.” Niree responded. “We call her Grandma Lolch. Funny, isn’t it?”

“I, uh, yeah, um, okay.” Esse agreed. “Oh, yes, you’re right Miss If. That’s a great place to go camping. Grandma Lolch used to take me and R.A. there every winter.” Kennen sighed. Niree was nice, but kind of deaf.

Writing ship-able couples

Here are some tips for writing relationships your readers can get behind:

1. Give them reasons to click

The two characters must have things in common - a hobby, a philosophy, a background. There has to be some element that connects them.

Your readers will root for relationships in which the characters fit together better than they would with others.

Also, make their traits compatible. Have them share some characteristics or have their strengths and weaknesses be complementary. Is the one hotheaded? Maybe the other keeps their cool well in situations of conflict.

There are endless possibilities. Just make sure there’s a reason these two people like/love each other.

2. Have them be vulnerable in front of each other

Personally, this is the best way to get me to love a couple.

Have them share secrets, open up about their feelings and tell each other things they haven’t told anyone. Have them cry in front of each other and comfort each other.

This can be taken to a whole new level by having them understand the other’s emotions even without speaking and already offer comfort. Keep in mind that this will probably only be possible with long-established couples.

And having them open up is also a great way for them to discover all the things they have in common/love about each other.

3. Build up the tension

I cannot emphasise this enough: DO NOT MAKE YOUR COUPLES GET TOGETHER TOO QUICKLY.

One of the best elements of a romantic subplot (or even main plot) is the tension. Your readers want to see the pining! They want the build-up.

And no, I’m not saying that you should introduce endless, petty obstacles. That can become tedious and appear forced.

Just give your characters time to sort through their feelings. Make them fall in love slowly. Have them be unsure. Insert SOME obstacles/conflicts.

Have them almost kiss a few times. Not all the time. Too many almost-kisses can become frustrating. But you should throw a few in there.

And, if you feel comfortable with it, add some sexual tension. Have them notice each other’s bodies and imagine what they’d like to do to each other (that sounds more explicit than I intended :) )

4. Write a healthy relationship

This could just be me and my rejection of unhealthy romances, but I will not root for abusive relationships.

Have your characters be kind to each other, support each other and truly care for each other.

If your characters are constantly putting each other down, physically/emotionally abusing each other or going against the other’s wishes, they’re not in a healthy relationship.

A great way to write a healthy relationship whilst still maintaining the tension, is to have the conflict in the relationship be external. Instead of having the conflict be due to internal struggles between the two characters, have obstacles enter from outside.

Your readers should want them to be together and for that, they should be good for each other.

5. Have their friends/family see their chemistry

I find it beyond adorable when two characters are still figuring out their feelings for each other, but the fact that they’re perfect for each other is crystal clear to everyone around them.

Have their friends tease them about the relationship. Have family members ask after the them. Have their loved ones conspire to get them to admit their feelings.

If your other characters are rooting for them, your readers will probably do so as well.

Plus, this means that the chemistry between the two characters is so strong that it’s obvious, which is always good for an exciting romance.

That’s all I’ve got for now. If you have any further questions about writing OTPs or any other aspect of writing, feel free to message me or pop me an ask.

Reblog if you found any of this useful. Comment with your own tips. Follow me for similar content.

Nashaadh Sonjan

Illustration courtesy of Teepi Guest

Heyy, new writeblr! ^̮^ Pls REBLOG so I can follow you!

(and poetblr.)

—my writeblr and poetblr introduction—

To start off, my name is Ashiya. I am an infp and I am sixteen (and probably bisexual and genderfluid🌈). I like writing as a means to relax…and when I say writing it’s mosty WIP’s. I start but I never finish. Like the water cycle. It never ends. Unless you wield magic powers to control elements(waterbending)- which is kind of how I am hoping this blog will be to me. Break this vicious cylce that is bringing me closer and closer to self destruction…ok so maybe it’s not that dramatic but I hope I’ve gotten my point across?

As I’ve mentioned: I am new here and I’m (obviously) looking for some blogs to follow so I am just going to shamelessly ask if you guys could reblog this so I can know who you are!

Also, just a heads up. My actual writing is definitely not like this ^^^

I’m just super tired at the moment so my grammar is all over the place. And I sometimes use lower case in my poems for aesthetic purposes  😅 😋

Sooo, see ya!