The Demon of Avalon - Ch. 1 (Preview)
Chapter 1 - A Conversation Between Friends
“Hey Yuri!” In a loud whispering kind of way.
“Whaaaaahhhaaat do you want Leroy?” He replied amid a hefty yawn.
“You don’t work this afternoon, right?”
“Nope. I’m probably gonna take a nap though. That paper for Winslet kept me up all night.”
“Told you not to wait till the last minute.”
“Shouldn’t you be focused on something other than my procrastinatory habits?”
“Such as?”
“How about the ‘bubbly blonde’ sitting behind you!” Leroy quickly whipped his head around to see if the “bubbly blonde” was actually behind him.
“That was a dirty trick and you know it.” He scolded, but Yuri was too busy trying not to doze off to care.
“You ever gonna make a move, Leroy?”
“Yes!... No… I mean, what do you say to a girl like her?”
“How about ‘hi’ or ‘hello, you and I have never talked before but due to excessive levels of stalking, I know everything about you’.”
“It’s not excessive!”
“And cue the stalking montage for the humor of the folks at home.”
“Shut up Yuri.” Hoping to change the subject but knowing full and well that was not happening.
“Nah, seriously go up to her and start telling her random facts about herself. Chicks dig that!”
“Don’t patronize me! It’s not like you’re a suave seduction master!” Leroy was interrupted by something hitting his head. The student librarian, Sabrina, growing irritated by Leroy’s slowly rising volume, had thrown a wadded-up paper with the library rules printed on it at him. “Rule number one:” in a very mocking tone, “Be respectful of the library staff. Rule number two: No talking in the library outside of group study rooms. Rule number three: Do not place books randomly on shelves. Please leave books on shelving carts. Rule number four: Don’t throw shit at people.” He loudly whispered in Sabrina’s direction making sure she, and everyone else, heard him.
A calm and confident bird rose over the circulation desk and proceeded to flap its wings in Leroy’s direction while the other hand nudged a pair of glasses back into place. Sabrina was a brash girl with little interest in other people but her and Yuri were childhood friends, so she knew Leroy and got some enjoyment out of messing with him.
“Has she always been like that?”
“Nah…Well, yeah. Wait, are we talking about the throwing things at people or the casual flipping people off thing?”
“Both!” After a few pauses and a couple of attempts to start his sentence, Yuri finally came to a response.
“Yes. Been that way since I met her.”
“You ever gonna ask her out?” Putting a touch of sass behind his words.
“Nope. Besides, I don’t know if she actually swings that way.”
Yuri, realizing that he said that loud enough for Sabrina to hear him, immediately pushed away from the table as a book came flying past his head with no regard for its trajectory. The book came to rest when it hit a wall at the end of the library, about 100 feet from where Yuri was.
“She looks ready to kick to your ass.”
“Yeah. She probably could too.
“Sooo, does she… you know?”
“Know what?”
“Uh, hmm, you know… swing for the opposing team?”
Leroy, who did not know Sabrina’s temperament as well as Yuri, suddenly found a book upside his head. Followed, as one would imagine, by him angrily gargling words under his breath as his best friend laughed uncontrollably. By this point, Sabrina was giggling at Leroy’s hushed but audible out cry of pain.
“Don’t think I have ever seen her giggle before.”
“I hope she is sad for the rest of her life,” while still rubbing the left side of his head, “is she even allowed to do that?”
“Probably not, but I doubt anyone cares. Well, except you suddenly.”
“Why is her hair purple?” Rather abruptly changing the conversation. “Does she dye it like that?”
“Oh yeah, no. She doesn’t dye it.”
“Then why is it like that?” Sabrina’s hair was oddly lined with purple highlights but otherwise was jet black.
“Oh, uhh, it’s because, well, you know.” He rolled his eyes in her direction and tilted his head.
“Wait, seriously? Then why is she here?” Leroy understood the cryptic message.
“Well, she fails the tests every time it comes up.”
“How does she manage that? I mean if she’s prominent enough to show it, doesn’t that mean she’s at least an A-rank.”
“I really don’t know and based on the way she is looking at us we probably need to stop talking about this.”
“Wait, she’s not at the front desk anymo---” realizing that someone was now sitting next to him, Leroy was almost too scared to speak… almost, “for the record, I was joking about the swinging thing!” The cold dead stare on Sabrina’s face would probably have stopped a hunting lioness in its tracks.
“What is rule number one of the library Leroy?”
“Don’t piss off the librarian?”
“And which rule are you breaking Leroy?”
“That one.”
“Good answer.” Sabrina stood up and slid over the table to Yuri’s side and promptly slapped him in the back of his head. “And what have I told you about discussing my personal life with people?”
“Uhmm, don’t.”
“And what are you sitting here doing?”
“That.” Slapping him again to illustrate her annoyance with the pair. “To be fair, it is Leroy. Don’t think he fully counts.”
“So, we’re going to pretend that this conversation about my life didn’t happen rather loudly in a public place. Okay?” At this moment Leroy and Yuri noticed the strangeness of the library. Everything was silent and still. The world was seemingly without motion. The other students in the library were frozen in time. “Okay?” Sabrina repeated.
“Okay.” The boys said in unison, terrified of what would become of a, “no,” answer.
Suddenly, the world was back to normal, and Sabrina was back behind the circulation desk checking in a girl’s books.
“Yuri… what just happened?”
“Not talking about it here.” The intercom kicked on to announce the end of fifth period, which meant school was over and the boys began to pack up and leave.
“We are gonna talk about that, right?”
“Yeah, just not here and now.”
“Or anywhere, ever, is always an option.” Sabrina chimed back into the conversation on the way out of the library.
Leroy, still unsure of his place in the world, wanted to question Sabrina and Yuri about everything that had just happened but something of a more pressing nature came up. Not more than twenty feet ahead of him was her, the “bubbly blonde.” Normally a quick glance was all Leroy needed but he could hardly help but focus on the low-cut floral-patterned dress she was wearing that showed off her remarkably long, soft, and smooth looking legs. Leroy could only speculate on the softness of her legs and the smoothness of her skin, but he would be hard pressed to believe otherwise about such a lovely woman. Much was the same of her long, lush, and curly blonde hair. She was grabbing her books out of her locker as the boys were going to pass her, but Yuri saw an opportunity and bumped Leroy abruptly sideways into her.
“Oh sh---oot, sorry, I uh, tripped.”
“Don’t worry, it is all good.” She responded in the most pleasant and angelic voice Leroy had ever heard. “You dropped your book.”
“I uh, what now?” Momentarily forgetting that anything else in the world existed except her. “Oh yeah my book, uh thank you, Holly.”
“No problem, Leroy.” A jolt of amazement, happiness, shock, and fear went screeching through Leroy as he suavely responded to this burst of stimuli.
“Wait, you know my name?”
“Of course! We’ve had, like, ten classes together.”
“Yeah, but I figured, that… you probably didn’t notice me.”
“You talk a lot. Which is good because I don’t think anyone else ever wants to.” Leroy had never come to the realization that he was so outspoken during class but as she mentioned it, all his time in class came rushing back.
“Huh… I am a nerd!” Holly laughed delightfully in a way that made Leroy’s heart practically fall out of his chest and towards Holly’s feet, which Leroy had noticed were small and delicate, now one of his ten favorite features about her and currently replacing her ears at the number ten spot. “I mean… I like, do other things than being a nerd. I promise.” Frantically hoping not to be seen as a complete dweeb in the eyes of a creature so fair and sweet, but this only furthered Holly’s delightful laughter.
“So, what do you do? You know, other than being a nerd?” Leroy was sort of screwed. Option A: tell the truth that he spent his leisure time playing games and that he worked at an antique shop. Option B: lie and just see what came out. A traditional comedy would veer towards option B, but Leroy figured owning his nature would be better than trying to lie. Plus, he kind of sucks at lying.
“I work at an antique and relic shop and play video games.” He admitted in a defeated tone. Holly laughed even more at this admission, but she also returned to him with a smile, so it was a good kind of laughter.
“I’ve got to go. I don’t want to keep my mom waiting,” still with a slight giggle in her tone, “I’ll see you later, Leroy.”
“Oh, of course, yeah… see you tomorrow! Hopefully,” he had said under his breath and mostly to himself. Although really, he did not care who had heard him. She knew he existed and she knew his name, “and I made her laugh!” He declared out loud to the world, prompting the unmitigated laughter of both Sabrina and Yuri. Perhaps he did care who had heard him.
“That was, truly, something to have witnessed.” Yuri said in that breathless tone due to laughter.
“I thought for a second there your heart might actually pop out of your chest!” Sabrina jested as though she could hear the narrator’s words from a minute ago.
“That was a dirty trick and you know it.” Leroy, currently directing his brunt of emotion at Yuri since he was still casually terrified of Sabrina.
“Hey, it got you talking to her, didn’t it? So, shut up and be happy.”
“And now she knows that you exist. Oh, and you made her laugh.” Sabrina said, still laughing. A hot wash of embarrassment came over Leroy, but he did not care. The bubbly blonde was no longer a legend, she was now just, Holly.
The three of them walked from the school and through the city until they had reached Yuri and Sabrina’s street. The fact that it was the three of them was quite unusual as Sabrina rarely walked with them, but Leroy knew why she was today.
“So… what the hell happened in the library?” Leroy asked hesitantly.
“Will I have to do that again if I tell you?” In a crass and demeaning tone that can only be produced by a woman of true vitriol.
“I doubt it. Leroy nearly pissed himself in fear.”
“Oh, like you were so valiant and in control of your emotion.” Leroy replied, getting annoyed.
“I was actually”
“It’s called sarcasm, Yuri. But no, you won’t have to make that happen again… whatever that was.” Leroy already knew what was about to be said. He had always assumed something strange about Sabrina but could never fully put a finger to it.
“Like Yuri hinted at. I’m a meta.”