Little talks with Gramps
1398 Words
Okay, I’ve had enough some creepiness for today, and thankfully Aria and I were able to leave Wren’s lair after that. And this time, going down the spiral stairs was a lot easier and quicker, though I still wish they could have put in an elevator.
“Now as much as I would like to show you around some more” Aria spoke once we made it to the first floor “I feel like you should be heading home before your parents start to wonder where you are.”
Oh damn, I totally forgot about them. Better hope gramps still has my back.
“Um, you’re right,” I agreed, “Although my parents probably think I’m still in my room studying or something.”
“Are you very serious about your studies?”
“I am, it’s my last year of college, and I’m gonna make sure I graduate.”
“Well-” she smiled, “Good luck with your studies. But you do know that you gotta focus on this now right?”
Sigh, “Of course, now I gotta live a double life, that doesn’t sound hard at all.”
“Talk to your grandfather about it, he’s done it before, maybe he can give you some tips.”
“I will.”
“Alright then,” she smiled once more while holding out her hand “It was nice meeting you, Jesse. I hope to see you tomorrow to begin your training.”
“Oy,” I whined while shaking her hand.
Why me? Why?!
“Hey,” she spoke strongly, “You’re gonna be fine. And I promise you, you’re not going to die.”
“What’s a chance of me actually dying?”
“Um... about 60%”
“Good enough.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure it won’t happen.”
I better not die, if I die in Fantastopia and my parents don’t know, it’s gonna really terrible.
“You know how to get home right?” she asked.
“Just rub the ring 3 times?”
“Correct. Now I recommend you come back here sometime in the morning, try not to be late okay?”
“Um, I’ll try I guess,” I shrugged.
“Good,” she patted my shoulder, “See you tomorrow then.”
“You too,” I felt myself smile as she took a step back to allow me to do my thing.
I held up my hand to see that the ring had turned back to blue, most likely indicating that I was calm because, well, I was at the moment. I rubbed the gem 3 times, and just like before, I felt that gush of wind as I closed my eyes. When I opened them, I found myself back in my room.
Whoa. I cannot believe I was transported to a world that I never even knew existed, and now I’m back in the real world. This is some crazy s**t. Oh wait, that reminds me, I gotta go talk to my grandfather, and make sure my parents never knew I was gone.
________
So, thankfully, my parents weren’t even home while I was gone, they were probably doing their weekend shopping to even know what I was doing, so that’s good. Well, except for the fact that I had to help them bring all of their groceries in which took some time, damn.
“Hey,” my grandfather whispered to me once we were done with the groceries “Did you go?”
I made sure no one was around to hear us as I whispered back, “Yeah.”
“You wanna talk about it?”
“Please.”
We made out way back upstairs and into my room as we closed the door.
“So,” he began while grinning “You decided to go after all eh?”
“No, I did not decide,” I replied while plopping on my bed.
“You rubbed the ring by accident?”
“... Yeah.”
“It happens,” he chuckled while sitting next to me “So, tell me everything from the beginning.”
“Well let’s see here-” I began as I told him everything from the trolls to the king to even Wren, and by the look on his face he seemed very amused.
“You’ve met Wren huh?” he chuckled.
“You’ve met her before, didn’t you? Since she’s immortal and all.”
“Yes,” he nodded, “Now let me tell you, she may be creepy, but she’s a good girl, you can trust her.”
“As long as she doesn’t use any of my body parts for potions, I think I can handle her.”
“As long as you don’t make her mad, then you’ll live.”
Please, like I would make a girl like her mad. From what I’ve known, never make a goth person angry, or better yet, just stay away from them.
“So, what have you learned about the ring?” he asked.
“That it’s also a mood ring.”
“That’s true, so be careful when you’re around others, the color of your ring could expose some secrets.”
Oh damn.
“Does everyone know what each color stands for?” I questioned.
“Not that I know of, but you should be able to understand what each color means.”
I looked down at the ring that was still on my finger, the gem was still blue, but I can’t help but wonder what other colors there are and what they mean.
“Do you know what else your ring can do?” my grandfather continued to ask.
“Oh um- it’s also a tracking device.”
“Correct.”
“Um- apparently it glows when danger is near.”
“That is also correct. Now be careful if you’re in a dark area where there’s danger nearby, the glow will give you away if you don’t hide it. Although it does make a good flashlight.”
Okay, that doesn’t sound good. Why would they make it glow anyway if it’s just going to give me away? Why couldn’t they just make it... I don’t know, vibrate or something?
“And you know the ring is the only weapon that can help you defeat evil right?”
“So I was told. Wren told me that without it, I’m pretty much useless.”
“No, you won’t be useless, but you will be a lot weaker. This ring is basically a power source for you, it can help you defeat evil with any kind of weapon you use. However, this does not mean you will be invincible, it’s just highly recommended that you wear your ring during a fight, basically, just wear it all the time if you can. And remember, never, ever, lose it.”
The gem suddenly turned orange, and I can see why.
“Have you ever lost the ring before?” I asked in a mumble because of my nervousness.
“I have, mostly because it’s been stolen from me multiple times. But I was always able to get it back, and I’ve always made sure to keep my eye out for it.”
“It must have been easy for you, you’re not clumsy like me.”
“Hey, it was not easy for me. Having the ring in your possession is hard work, especially when you’re not wearing it. And just because you’re clumsy doesn’t mean you’re not smart. You’re the smartest and cleverest person I know, and you can use that to your advantage. Being a hero isn’t about knowing how to use a sword, it also involves wit and thinking. I know you can do it, Jesse. Because I trust that brain on yours, it’s one of the things I admire about you.”
“Is that so?” I smirked amusedly.
“Yep, better keep it safe in your thick skull.”
I snickered. He wasn’t wrong, my smarts are one of the things I admire about myself too, and even though sometimes my ideas sound crazy, I can’t help but listen to them.
“Anything else you’d like to tell me?” he asked.
“Um... yeah actually. How do you manage to live a double life while keeping it a secret? Because from what I’ve seen on TV, they all look really hard to do.”
“Ah-” he breathed, “Let me tell you, it was hard work. But since college is a lot different than high school, it should be a bit easier since you’ve got time between classes, and not to mention you can take your courses online if you have to. Since they didn’t have the internet back then, I had to do all my academics during my free time, so that means I’ve never had any free time. But since you have more time, make good use of it. Whether you’re catching up on work or even training, use your time wisely.”
“So, what you’re saying is I can never have any free time?” I muttered.
“Well...” he shrugged.
“I’m taking that as a yes.”
“You’ll figure things out,” he assured while getting up “Until then, I’ll leave you alone.”
The moment he left the room, I stared down at the ring that was still orange. Now that I’m going to be living a double life, I need to find a way to balance it, especially that I now have two goals to fulfill. The first one- graduate from college, and the second one- become the hero Fantastopia needs.
- Writer
