Discovering Licapta

7 (pt. i)

WHEN I CLIMB into the backseat of Audrick's idling Mercedes, I'm once again surprised when I find him with his head in a book. But it's not just seeing him in so casual a circumstance that throws me off, but the aspect that his attire is even more casual than the last time I saw him. For our trip downtown he's chosen to wear white shorts paired with a navy t-shirt and a pair of sneakers with small laurels embroidered onto the sides. It's strange seeing Audrick, a man with so much more power and authority than I can even dream of possessing, acting so, for lack of a better word, normal.

The chic blonde looks up as I'm reaching for the buckle of my seatbelt. "Good morning," he says, lips curved into a small but nonetheless friendly smile. "Ready for a productive day of shopping?"

I'm not sure how productive our trip will be considering the wealth that seems to ooze out of every nook and cranny of Licapta and the mediocrity of my savings, most of which I'm determined to keep tucked away for real emergencies. But Audrick's enthusiasm makes me hopeful that the next few hours will, if nothing else, at least be fun.

So, instead of voicing my doubt, I smile and say, "Definitely."

"I was thinking we could start at the supply store here on campus," he suggests, "to find you a laptop first."

"That's fine with me," I agree as the SUV pulls away from the curb.

Tucking a bookmark between the pages of his book—which I only now notice are discolored, most likely from age— Audrick moves to tuck it away in the storage compartment beneath his armrest, but stops before completing the task, turning to face me instead. "Have you ever read The Wizard of Oz?"

I rack my brain for a moment, trying to think of whether or not I came across the title while working for Mr. Wooldridge and his wife. When Audrick tilts the cover in my direction, I see the front is adorned with images of a young girl, a lion, a tin-man, and a scarecrow. "Is that the one about a girl named Dorothy? She gets swept up in a storm and is trying to get home, right?"

Audrick nods, and a small smile graces his appearance as he tucks the book away.

"I have read that one, yes."

A foreign emotion appears in Audrick's blue eyes, but I can't quite put my finger on what he's feeling, although his eyes seem softer. His speech gives me no clue either. "And what did you think?"

"It was—" I pause momentarily, trying to think how I felt after reading the book "—sweet."

"Okay," Audrick chuckles, "Well, I'm biased toward it. My mom would read it to me when I was a child. One chapter every night."

Audrick's gaze drifts out the window, and the distant look in his irises makes it seem as if he's trying to glimpse back into the past, long gone but not forgotten. For him at least.

"That sounds like a nice memory," I offer, my voice quiet as I picture Audrick as a child. I'm not quite sure whether the smile I can feel my lips mould into is due to the sentimentality of the moment or because the only thing I can only picture Little Audrick wearing is a suit.

When his blue eyes snap back to me a moment later, what once resembled nostalgia has been replaced with professional curiosity. "It is," he agrees. "If you don't mind me asking, how did you come across such a book?"

"I worked at a bookstore for about a year," I answer. "Business was pretty slow, so I'd spend a lot of time reading. The Wizard of Oz was one of the first actual novels I read, actually."