Being A Fangirl

Five

Tori couldn't do it anymore.

There was just so much homework. She was already through with English, she was done with Physics and Chemistry but her hand had started to ache from all the writing and typing. She still had Algebra to complete. Tori picked up her pen one more time and stared at her journal. She just couldn't do it anymore. Tori looked back at her bed longingly and dropped the pen on the table, beside her journal.

She got up from the chair, walked over and fell onto her bed as if hugging it. She snuggled into her pillow and stared at the map of Hogwarts painted on the ceiling above her bed. Tori's mom had gotten that done for her as a surprise gift for her sixteenth birthday. Tori had went hysterical with happiness that day when she first entered her room, tired after arriving from school.

She stared at the Hogwarts castle and traced the way till the Quidditch goalposts with her finger in the air. She let it back and then moved on towards Hogsmeade. How much she wished she lived in that world. A world full of magic, spells, potions, charms and patronuses.

I would have done much better in Hogwarts, she thought to herself.

Tori remembered how much she had waited for an owl to drop by her Hogwarts letter on her eleventh birthday. She knew it was stupid to think that such a thing would actually happen. But she had went ecstatic when her sister, Ellie, had given her a hand-crafted letter as a surprise gift. There was even the red wax seal on the envelope. And on the address, instead of 'Cupboard Under the Stairs', the letter said 'The Room of Imagination'.

Tori still had that letter. She realized she was smiling at the memory and grinned even further. She continued tracing the ins and outs of Hogwarts with her finger in the air until she heard a soft knock on the door.

"Tori, there is someone here for you." Her mother's voice traveled from the other side of the door.

"What do you mean? On the phone?" Tori sat up, surprised.

"No, uh - actually, it's a boy." Her mother spoke, sounding a bit surprised too. Tori's eyes widened. "He's downstairs, I told him you'll be there in a moment."

By now Tori was standing beside her bed, the Hogwarts map on the ceiling long forgotten. She straightened her shirt and slowly walked towards the door.

Why is there a boy waiting for me downstairs? Tori thought as she reached for the doorknob. For a moment, she felt scared. Was it Tyler?

Wait, he doesn't even know where I live, she thought. Does he?

Tori slowly went down the stairs. Her mother was in the kitchen. She turned her head while standing at the counter to look at her.

"He's in the living room," she told her while looking at her with a raised eyebrow, as if meaning to say 'This is new'.

Tori nodded her head and slowly walked towards the living room, wiping her sweaty hands against her jeans. As she entered, she saw Logan standing up from the couch when his eyes settled on her.

Logan, she thought and sighed in relief. He was smiling.

"Hello there." Logan spoke.

"Hi," Tori said in a raspy voice. She cleared her throat and then spoke again. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to hang out with you. I told you I was going to try until you say yes to us being friends." He still had his smile on.

"Okay," Tori said, unsure of where this was going.

"So, do you want to go out for a slice of pizza?" Logan asked.

"We could just order it."

"How about a movie?"