Wattpad Block Party - Summer Edition III (August 2017)

evethespy Presents: An Introduction to Sparkler Snapshots

"Psst, wake up!"

"Hm? Is it time already?"

"Yes, it's the fifth of August, you dolt. Today's the big day!"

"The big day for what?"

"Ladies, gentlemen, and everyone in between, we're so glad you could make it to the Wattpad Block Party!"

"Who are you talking to?"

"Don't ask logical questions, we'll lose our jobs."

"We have jobs? We work? Since when?"

"Since Yilei began giving us paychecks for introducing her stories."

"Who's e-lay?"

"The person who wrote those dialogue stories about ice cream, eyes, and snow. Geez, keep up with the times."

"Wait, isn't her name Eve?"

"It's a pseudonym, you insolent lump of coal. Anyway, she's a newbie to the Block Party. I hear she's nervous to be featured alongside such talented writers."

"I don't blame her, they're awesome. Especially that Kelly Anne Blount. What a sweetheart. Never thought she'd select Yilei for this event, but I suppose we all go digging through the trash at some–"

"Yilei would like to introduce Sparkler Snapshots, her new story where she writes about festivities around the world. How exciting!"

"You cut off my sentence!"

"You almost lost us our paychecks!"

"You only suck up to Yilei because she gives you money!"

"I'll give you a fist in the face if you don't shut up! She writes the story in lots of styles, such as prose, dialogue, scripts, letters, and–"

"You're so rude to me."

"Without further ado, here's the Sparkler Snapshots introductory chapter for your viewing pleasure!"

"I still don't know who you're talking to."

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Travel has never been your area of expertise. Not that you have anything against touring the world, munching on exotic foods and soaking in the history each country has to offer. The empty stomach of your piggy bank, however, means you have trouble paying for the roof over your head every month, let alone dipping your toes in waters thousands of miles away. You hardly ever go outside, and your presence in a public area attracts stares. It's a miracle your neighbors know your name. Unbeknownst to you, however, your travel habits are about to change.

A typical morning begins with an alarm shrieking beside your ears, and this one's no different. You greet the morning with a groan, tugging your blanket over your head to block out the sound. The sound fades to a hum, a mosquito which sucks away your sleep. A slap on the snooze button hushes the alarm clock and you sink into your cocoon of blankets, hoping to sleep enough that you won't need coffee. Its aroma does wonders to wake you up, but too many cups mean you're often bouncing off the walls during the night, and humans aren't supposed to be nocturnal.

Once sunlight halos your face in earnest, sleep is no longer an option. You reach out to grab your phone with your eyelids taped shut, and your fingers snatch at thin air before finally closing around a rectangular object. You sigh in relief and trace your thumb down the side to switch it on, but the button isn't there. Apart from your phone, you only keep books on your table, and the object is too thin to be a book, so what did you just grab? You run your fingers down its surface, the texture dry and coarse, and wrench your eyes open to see your hand curled around an envelope.