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Jul 25, 2018 15:10:09 GMT -5
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Post by EloiseDrew on Jul 25, 2018 15:10:09 GMT -5
CHAPTER ONE: EVERYTHING IS FINE
I reached into my pocket to check the time on my phone. I was met with a shattered, black screen. I bit my lip. It must have been crushed when the staff knocked me out. My dad was going to kill me. I should have bought that protective case I had seen in the airport. Now I could look forward to an ‘I told you so’ when I got home.
I walked out onto the stage. The amphitheatre was empty and it was pouring outside. I needed to get inside the museum. I pulled my cardigan over my head. I bolted up the steps and across the walkway.
When I pushed open the museum doors Xenia and Thanos looked up at me. Around them was what I guessed was a shipment of more exhibit pieces. I wondered why Melina had told me nothing about this. Seems like a big thing to fail to mention.
Xenia ran up to me, “Nancy! Where have you been?”
Thanos and I made eye contact over Xenia’s shoulder. His cold, brown eyes glared at me, threateningly, implying I would be wise to keep my mouth shut. I turned my attention back to Xenia.
“I was… out and about. Is the performance over already?”
“No,” Xenia groaned. “It got rained out. We have to postpone the premiere until next week.”
“At least it gives you more rehearsal time,” I offered.
“That is true,” Xenia gave a little laugh and shook her head. “Niobe will appreciate that.”
Thanos gave a condescending cough behind us. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of me acknowledging his presence again so I kept talking to Xenia.
“I am sure she will. Hey, can I ask you a favor?”
Xenia nodded.
“My phone broke and I need to make a call. Could I possibly borrow yours?”
“Of course,” she unlocked her cell phone and handed it to me.
I dialed up Melina and walked towards the back of the museum so neither of them could hear me. I held the phone against my shoulder with my cheek while it was ringing so I could pull of my wet cardigan and tie it around my waist.
“Hello, this is Melina Rosi.”
“Hi, Melina, this is Nancy.”
“Whose phone are you calling from?”
“This is Xenia’s phone.”
There was a pause.
“Do you need something?”
“Yes, I had a question. Apparently, there was a shipment of more pieces for the museum that arrived today. Did you know it was coming and forget to tell me?”
“Maybe I did. Nancy, I’ve been very busy and I don’t have time to talk anymore. You can handle this I am sure.”
She hung up before letting me respond. Well, she did hire me to help get the museum ready for the premiere. I walked back over to Xenia and handed her back her phone.
“Thank you. And do you need any help unboxing the…” I looked over to the large boxes Thanos was taking jars and vases out of, “pottery pieces for the exhibit?”
“Yes!” Xenia’s face lit up. “Can you finish cataloguing for us? It shouldn’t take long. All you have to do is write down what the item is, when we received it, and where it is on loan from.”
She picked up a clipboard from one of the crates and handed it to me, “Remember to sign this and put it in Melina’s office when you are done, okay.”
“No problem.”
Clipboard in hand, I got to work and I peered into one of the boxes. It was filled with nothing but vases. Do we really need even more vases on display? I placed the clipboard on the floor momentarily so I could tie my hair up. Nancy “Museum Curator” Drew was on The Case of the Abundance of Mysteriously Shipped Vases and she wasn’t messing around. I reached into the crate and grabbed the closest vase.
When I pulled it out my vision started fading out. All of a sudden, I felt nauseous. I looked around for the closest place to sit down but everything was blurry. My senses started tunneling into a black hole and the vase slid out of my hands. I heard Xenia scream from across the room as it crashed to the ground. The last thing I was conscious of was someone, it seemed to be Thanos, catching me as I slumped over. Then everything shut off.
“What ‘wisdom’ has the gods bestowed on you this time?”
Playing along was the only way to get him to shut up.
"Not wisdom, Frank. Tickets. I won a ticket lottery and now I get to see Persephone in Winter for free!” He sighed and hugged his phone. “My life is complete.”
“Anyway,” I took what would probably be my only chance to change the subject. “We need to find where Nancy is.”
A scream came from the museum. We looked at each other and ran inside. A man I knew to be Thanos, from our prior research, was putting an unconscious Nancy on one of the benches at the center of the exhibit. A woman threw her hands in the air when she saw us in the doorway.
“Thanos! What is going on? Who are these people?”
Joe ran over to Nancy.
I turned to the woman to introduce us, “I’m sorry for running in. I’m Frank Hardy and that’s my brother, Joe. We’re friends of Nancy’s and we wanted to see how her job at the museum was going. We heard a scream when we arrived. What happened? Is she okay?”
“I don’t know,” she said, acting more than a little bit flustered. “When she came in she was fine and then she dropped a vase and fell over. You’re not wet. Did the rain stop?”
“Yeah,” I nodded.
A wall to our left opened up and a disgruntled woman in all black stepped into the museum.
“I heard you scream, Xenia.”
“Don’t worry, Niobe. Nancy passed out, but everything is fine.”
The woman in black’s eyes grew wide when she saw the shattered vase on the floor.
“Don’t worry? She broke a vase! Xenia, everything is not fine! I have to fix the vase! I don’t have time for this!”
Seemingly oblivious to the women having break downs behind him Joe called me over to him, “Hey, Frank, Nancy’s waking up!”
-NANCY-
I opened my eyes and winced when I sat up. Now I had yet another bruise to add to my quickly growing collection. Somehow, I’d been moved from the Underworld to underneath the light board backstage. I stood, making sure not to hit my head this time. I reached for my backpack to find an ice pack but it was gone. Whoever moved me had also taken my backpack. Why? I had no idea. I reached into my pocket to check the time on my phone. I was met with a shattered, black screen. I bit my lip. It must have been crushed when the staff knocked me out. My dad was going to kill me. I should have bought that protective case I had seen in the airport. Now I could look forward to an ‘I told you so’ when I got home.
I walked out onto the stage. The amphitheatre was empty and it was pouring outside. I needed to get inside the museum. I pulled my cardigan over my head. I bolted up the steps and across the walkway.
When I pushed open the museum doors Xenia and Thanos looked up at me. Around them was what I guessed was a shipment of more exhibit pieces. I wondered why Melina had told me nothing about this. Seems like a big thing to fail to mention.
Xenia ran up to me, “Nancy! Where have you been?”
Thanos and I made eye contact over Xenia’s shoulder. His cold, brown eyes glared at me, threateningly, implying I would be wise to keep my mouth shut. I turned my attention back to Xenia.
“I was… out and about. Is the performance over already?”
“No,” Xenia groaned. “It got rained out. We have to postpone the premiere until next week.”
“At least it gives you more rehearsal time,” I offered.
“That is true,” Xenia gave a little laugh and shook her head. “Niobe will appreciate that.”
Thanos gave a condescending cough behind us. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of me acknowledging his presence again so I kept talking to Xenia.
“I am sure she will. Hey, can I ask you a favor?”
Xenia nodded.
“My phone broke and I need to make a call. Could I possibly borrow yours?”
“Of course,” she unlocked her cell phone and handed it to me.
I dialed up Melina and walked towards the back of the museum so neither of them could hear me. I held the phone against my shoulder with my cheek while it was ringing so I could pull of my wet cardigan and tie it around my waist.
“Hello, this is Melina Rosi.”
“Hi, Melina, this is Nancy.”
“Whose phone are you calling from?”
“This is Xenia’s phone.”
There was a pause.
“Do you need something?”
“Yes, I had a question. Apparently, there was a shipment of more pieces for the museum that arrived today. Did you know it was coming and forget to tell me?”
“Maybe I did. Nancy, I’ve been very busy and I don’t have time to talk anymore. You can handle this I am sure.”
She hung up before letting me respond. Well, she did hire me to help get the museum ready for the premiere. I walked back over to Xenia and handed her back her phone.
“Thank you. And do you need any help unboxing the…” I looked over to the large boxes Thanos was taking jars and vases out of, “pottery pieces for the exhibit?”
“Yes!” Xenia’s face lit up. “Can you finish cataloguing for us? It shouldn’t take long. All you have to do is write down what the item is, when we received it, and where it is on loan from.”
She picked up a clipboard from one of the crates and handed it to me, “Remember to sign this and put it in Melina’s office when you are done, okay.”
“No problem.”
Clipboard in hand, I got to work and I peered into one of the boxes. It was filled with nothing but vases. Do we really need even more vases on display? I placed the clipboard on the floor momentarily so I could tie my hair up. Nancy “Museum Curator” Drew was on The Case of the Abundance of Mysteriously Shipped Vases and she wasn’t messing around. I reached into the crate and grabbed the closest vase.
When I pulled it out my vision started fading out. All of a sudden, I felt nauseous. I looked around for the closest place to sit down but everything was blurry. My senses started tunneling into a black hole and the vase slid out of my hands. I heard Xenia scream from across the room as it crashed to the ground. The last thing I was conscious of was someone, it seemed to be Thanos, catching me as I slumped over. Then everything shut off.
-FRANK-
I rolled my eyes. The two-and-a-half-hour flight had felt more like ten hours with him cracking Greek jokes left and right.“By Zeus, I think I’ve got it!” Joe exclaimed, looking up from his phone.
“What ‘wisdom’ has the gods bestowed on you this time?”
Playing along was the only way to get him to shut up.
"Not wisdom, Frank. Tickets. I won a ticket lottery and now I get to see Persephone in Winter for free!” He sighed and hugged his phone. “My life is complete.”
“Anyway,” I took what would probably be my only chance to change the subject. “We need to find where Nancy is.”
A scream came from the museum. We looked at each other and ran inside. A man I knew to be Thanos, from our prior research, was putting an unconscious Nancy on one of the benches at the center of the exhibit. A woman threw her hands in the air when she saw us in the doorway.
“Thanos! What is going on? Who are these people?”
Joe ran over to Nancy.
I turned to the woman to introduce us, “I’m sorry for running in. I’m Frank Hardy and that’s my brother, Joe. We’re friends of Nancy’s and we wanted to see how her job at the museum was going. We heard a scream when we arrived. What happened? Is she okay?”
“I don’t know,” she said, acting more than a little bit flustered. “When she came in she was fine and then she dropped a vase and fell over. You’re not wet. Did the rain stop?”
“Yeah,” I nodded.
A wall to our left opened up and a disgruntled woman in all black stepped into the museum.
“I heard you scream, Xenia.”
“Don’t worry, Niobe. Nancy passed out, but everything is fine.”
The woman in black’s eyes grew wide when she saw the shattered vase on the floor.
“Don’t worry? She broke a vase! Xenia, everything is not fine! I have to fix the vase! I don’t have time for this!”
Seemingly oblivious to the women having break downs behind him Joe called me over to him, “Hey, Frank, Nancy’s waking up!”
-T H E G I F T S H O P-
Hey guys! Writing this AE has been an adventure (a long, tedious, crazy adventure) and I am so excited that I have finally finished it ("finished" it-I still have the last few chapters to write). This is the only chapter that survived in any form really from my original draft (which I wrote from 2015 to 2016). This final draft was really a full on rewrite of the AE and it was all written during Camp NaNoWriMo 2018 (July). Anyway.... I am really proud of it and I wanted to give you guys a preview of it before I start posting it on HeR (at the beginning of August EEEeeeehHHHH!!!). None of this makes any sense so I'll stop talking now XD ENJOY!!!!
