Something I've noticed as I've been writing: in my rewrite, I'm going to have to figure out a way to shorten my exposition and my actionless rising action. After all, most of the settings in this story so far have been at Leslie's house, and according to my word document "The Scroll" is already 36 pages single-spaced. Who wants to read that many pages of talking?
Anyway, in this episode of "The Scroll," Leslie and Gray seek to contact Professor Brown, and Savannah dresses up as... well, that you'll have to read for yourself.
Leslie made the last note on the last Professor Brown in the Bay Area. Groaning, she put her pencil down and turned to Gray. “That’s it.”
Gray’s eyes flitted over the paper. “How many are there?”
“Twenty-five, including professors in small tech colleges.”
Gray leaned over, winced, and put his hand to his side. “What do we do now?”
“Call them, I guess.” Leslie rubbed at a crick in her neck. “But my brain’s too tired right now.”
“Let’s take a break from this,” said Gray, pulling the paper out of Leslie’ hand. “Didn’t your father say there was some homework to be done?”
Leslie moaned. Homework would not help her fried brain. Nonetheless, she followed Gray to the kitchen, where a hefty pile of papers and books were waiting for them.
Homework was just as tedious as searching for Professor Browns. It didn’t help that Leslie had to read and write for Gray, and she wasn’t the fastest reader in the first place.
Eventually, homework was out of the way. Gray and Leslie sat on the couch in the living room. They peered at the names of Browns. Leslie held a phone in one hand. She couldn’t bring herself to dial the first number. What was she supposed to say? “Hi, have you ever heard of a world where people turn into animals? Because I’ve got someone here from that world.” She couldn’t bear the thought of doing that twenty-five times.
The door opened, and Savannah entered. She took off her backpack and plopped it next to the door, where it would remain until the next day. Savannah hardly ever had homework.
“What’s that?” asked Savannah, walking over.
“A list of Professor Browns in the Bay Area,” said Leslie, showing the paper to Savannah. “I was just about to start calling them.”
“Don’t do that,” said Savannah. “Do a mass email. It’ll take less time, you can choose your words carefully, and if a professor thinks you’re crazy he won’t have to tell you to your face—er, ear.”
Leslie felt her face get warm. Why hadn’t she thought of that? She admitted, “That’s a good idea, Savannah.”
Savannah beamed. “I know.” She sauntered up the stairs. Pausing, she said, “Oh, I’m leaving soon. Fantasy Club is tonight.”
“Want me to drive you?” asked Leslie.
“Nah. I’ll ride my bike.” Savannah slipped up the stairs and was gone.
Leslie turned the paper over to the blank side and set it down. “We should plan what we’ll write in the email. It should probably say who you are and some generalizations about what you need, but not everything. We should also ask to meet Professor Brown in person. So, what do you want to say?”
Gray sat back and tapped the side of his head. “Greetings, Professor Brown. I, Gray Azure’s son, have traveled far and seek your help. My village has been struck with an illness, and my father said that if I could only find you then you could help my people.”
Leslie scribbled frantically on the paper as Gray continued.
“I understand that you may not be the Professor Brown I seek. In your reply, please complete the following saying: We are the lifeblood. We are the future, present, and past.”
“That’s all?”
Gray nodded. “If Professor Brown truly communicates with my father, or has communicated with him in the past, he would know this saying.”
At that moment, Savannah came clunking down the stairs. She wore a purple dress over blue jeans and sneakers. The dress looked like a Halloween costume that was desperately trying to belong to a medieval princess. Plastic ear tips covered Savannah’s ears.
“What the—what are you wearing?” sputtered Leslie.
Savannah’s face flushed. “It’s costume night at my Fantasy Club. And…” Her voice trailed off, and her blush deepened.
“Are those your Vulcan ears from last Halloween?” asked Leslie.
Savannah raised her chin. “I was assigned to be an Elven princess, but there weren’t any Elf ears in the store. I asked to go earless, but my friends at the club insisted that Vulcan ears are better than no ears. But they’re entirely different—Elf ears slope back into points, while Vulcan ears curve forward.”
“You’re riding your bike like that?”
“Why not?” asked Savannah sharply. She lifted the skirts of her dress and tied them into a knot at her hip. “I can ride perfectly well like this. Don’t you have an email to send?”
“That’s right.” Leslie turned towards the paper on the coffee table. While her back was turned, Savannah thundered downstairs and out the door, slamming the door shut behind her.
Gray was staring at the closed door. “Does your sister usually act like that?”
Leslie shrugged. “You’ve just seen Savannah’s version of normal.”
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