Never Moon

part 4

"Thus sharply did the terrified three learn the difference between an island of make-believe and the same island come true." 

Peter Pan, "The Flight."

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Char never did her homework, because children quite liked to do the opposite of what they were told. 

It was ritual, almost. She'd come home, eat a few handfuls of chips, sit down at the table, and take out her homework. 

The most notable assignments of today included thirty pages of reading from her history teacher, twenty trig problems from her math teacher and a two-page essay arguing whether Romeo and Juliet experienced true love or teenage lust (with a requirement of five citations from the book and an analysis following each one). 

Charlotte had her history textbook out in front of her, the pages flipped to the beginning of chapter fourteen. Her notebook was open and the pencil ready to be picked up and used to scribble down notes. 

This was all familiar to Char, and she smiled slightly when she slid her chair back and left her homework sitting at the table to be left uncompleted once again. 

Now Char was currently sitting in bed, re-watching Friends. 

As the opening credits for her third episode of the night started, something itched at the back of Char's mind, like she'd forgotten something. 

Charlotte rubbed at her eyes, but the itch only got worse, bothering her to the point where she couldn't concentrate. 

Maybe she was dehydrated, or didn't eat enough for lunch. 

Char got out of her bed and started towards the door, her shadow lagging behind her, not wanting to leave the room. 

Wait...lagging? 

Char spun around quickly and lifted her arms. Her shadow followed her exactly, each movement precise and in-time with Char. But the second she moved to the door, her shadow jumped along the wall, away from her. It seemed to be reaching for the sole window at the back of Char's room, a great, wide window that almost reached the whole length of the wall. 

Char stopped again, blinking hard. She must be exhausted beyond belief, then, if she was seeing things. 

She rubbed her eyes, dark blonde hair falling across her face. 

But she went to the window anyway, pulling back the awful-colored curtains and peering out with a child's curiosity. The sky was bright and clear, some stars just visible over the lights that still peppered the city that lay beyond. 

The glass was cold as Char leaned her forehead against it. She was already disregarding the shadow incident -- but I can tell you in good faith that she shouldn't have. Maybe if she had remembered the strange event with her shadow, then perhaps Char would have also remembered her father's warning about the window, and then maybe those two memories combined would have stopped her from reaching up and idly flipping the lock on the window without a second thought. 

Oh dear! This was going to be a mistake Char would thoroughly regret. 

But maybe she would enjoy it as well, because the boy that waited in the sky, suspended in the darkness like a ghost, was ready to take her away to an adventure she would never, ever forget. 

The sound of the back door screeching open and then closing again dew Char from her reverie. Her mother was home from her date, meaning she brought leftovers -- hopefully enough to last a few days -- because Char did not want to eat another bite of her mother's cooking.