Spellbound

02

Tracy found herself sprung awake a little earlier than she'd have liked by the jingling of her hotel room's phone. She sat up instantly, though the grogginess of sleep swooped in as she reached for the nightstand beside the bed. "Hullo?" she groaned. There was a very chipper voice on the other side. "Good morning, Ms. Hoffman. This is your requested wake-up call!" It was the front desk. Tracy let her shoulders sag, letting go of any sort of preparation she was building up for a conversation. "Thanks," she replied, and hung up.

She threw her legs over the side of the bed, rubbing her eyes with balled fists as she attempted to wake herself up. Tracy had a long day ahead of her; spending the day at the university mall for holiday shopping, followed by her parent's house for the annual Christmas party, and then finding her way downtown to the tree lighting in front of the library. An eventful day, for sure, but she was used to it. Even away from the busy schedule at school, Tracy had a knack for handling full days.
Tracy took a bit longer in the shower than usual, making complete use of her room rental while she had the chance.

She was drying her hair when her phone started to ring. Caller ID gave up her mother, making sure that she wouldn't be forgotten. Of course not, she thought to herself. Or more like, impossible to forget. She answered the phone with overreactive enthusiasm.

"Morning, Mom! Whatcha up to?" A surprised gasp came over the line, followed by a giggle. "My, my, Trace! You sound awfully peppy this morning!" her mother chirped. "Anything good happen last night?" Tracy swallowed hard. "Mom! That's so-" she was cut off by her mothers' hearty laughter. Her face flushing, Tracy let out a long sigh. It's too early for this, she thought. She had her suitcase open in front of her, going through the clothes she has yet to touch on her vacation. She wound up pulling out a crimson cardigan and her most lax pair of jeans. Nothing fancy, but nothing embarrassing either. "I'm going to be out shopping for a part of the morning, mom," she reported. "I'll be at the house around noon, okay?" Her mother chatted her ear off for a good five minutes as she got herself dressed, switching the speaker on and off as things got intense with the jeans.
Tracy was about to hang up when her mother asked for her attention for a bit longer.

"So, Tracy, humor me real quick?" her mother asked. Tracy stopped putting on her jacket. "Uh oh," she whimpered. Her mother let out a mumbling noise before continuing. "Relax, dear, it's just a question," she assured. "You have any plans for the evening?" Tracy sat on the side of her bed in pondering. She had planned to stop by the library on her way back to the hotel to see them light their Christmas tree. It was something she always tried to catch, as this little ceremony wasn't so publicly broadcast, thus bringing in smaller crowds. It wasn't much, but it was something. Still, for her mother to ask her about her agenda was fishy, to say the least. "Um, I was going to go to a tree lighting tonight at the library downtown," she explained. "Why do you ask?" Her mother instantly gave out a cheery attitude. "Well, I was just thinking..." she started, "how about you go with me on a little... outing?" Tracy winced. She detested outings. "Mom, you know I don't really go for those," she tried. Her mother was quick to reprise. "Just hear me out, Trace! Trust me, this isn't what you think it is." Tracy stood up and began putting her coat back on. "You have maybe thirty seconds before I leave my room, so make it snappy," she said. She could hear the fumbling of the phone as her mother struggled with something. Probably a scrap of paper with some address on it, or maybe just out of sheer surprise she made it this far. Whatever it was, she had lost five seconds doing it.

"Alright, well, I'll be quick!" her mother assured. "So listen. You remember the Dursts, right? I've kept in contact with them ever since you and that boy Austin graduated. Anyways, his parents are throwing this little holiday party at their house in South Burlington. I was invited with your father, and was told that just about anybody could tag along. When I mentioned you were in town, Austin's mother was ecstatic! She'd love to see you again, as would her husband and family circle! I've heard even Austin himself is going to be coming back home from SNHU today to be there..." Tracy had stopped in front of the door to let her mother finish. Her mother had gone over her established limit by about four seconds, but she really wasn't worried about it.