So Many Books, So Little Time

•Chapter Four•

"Aww, come on, Raylee!" Aleah pleaded after school. "It's so cool! It even has a cool name! Doesn't 'Inkland Adventures' sound cool?"

"Stop staying 'cool,' it's annoying," her twin sister sighed. "Besides, you know I don't like reading as much as you do. I'm okay with it, yeah, but if I do it for too long I get a headache."

"I'm not saying you have to buy a book! I just want you to come with me," she insisted. "The owner's really nice. Plus, his name is Phoenix! Isn't that cool?"

"I'm hanging out with Laura today," Raylee informed her, changing the subject.

"But you always hang out with Laura!" Aleah protested. "Come on, Ray. Look, the bookshop's not gonna be here for long. Phoenix said he's just waiting for someone, and then he's going leave."

"Then why would he even set up a whole business if he's just gonna leave, like, a week later?"

"That's not the point! Raylee, please? You see Laura all the time!"

Raylee paused, thinking, and placed her hands on her hips. Finally, after a few moments of silence, she released a heavy sigh and conceded, "Fine. Whatever. But I swear, if you try to make me buy a book, I'm leaving."

Aleah let out a whoop of joy, grabbed her sister's arm, and started dragging her down the sidewalk.

***

Phoenix was behind the desk this time, looking as if he'd known they'd stop by today.

"Hey, I was wondering when you'd get here!" he greeted with a smile as they walked in. "I told you, people I'm waiting for are always late. Except for yesterday. You were actually early, then."

"Hi." Aleah grinned back, not really knowing what he was saying but amused by it nonetheless. "This is my twin sister, Raylee."

"Hmm. I think I might have something for you," he told Raylee, squinting at her thoughtfully.

"Uh, we've never met," she pointed out, her eyes narrowing as she glanced at Aleah.

"Just go with it," her sister whispered with a shrug. "That's what he told me yesterday, and I got a free book! Technically, if he gives you one, too, you wouldn't have bought it."

"I'll be right back," Phoenix promised, moving toward the staircase. "I'm going up to see if I still have it. I might have given it away to someone else by accident. You guys can look around while you wait."

Aleah's happy grin widened as she pulled Raylee over to the shelves of books. Raylee was less than thrilled, but humored her sister in the hopes that it would speed things up. Aleah eagerly scanned the treasures lining the room, and soon forgot about her twin in the wake of the glories she was beholding. Ten minutes later, Phoenix returned with two books in his grasp. One was thick, old, and a dusty green color, while the other was thin with a shiny silver cover.

"Are those both for me?" Raylee asked, eyeing the big one doubtfully.

"Nah, just the little one. This big guy belongs to Aleah," he replied, handing them to the girls.

"Wow, thanks, Phoenix!" Aleah held her book reverently, gently wiping the dust off. "You're going to let me pay for it this time, right?"

"Not at all," he said cheerfully. "All I want from you is what I told you yesterday. Speaking of, how do you like it so far?"

"It's great!" she said, beaming. "I love it! I mean, I wasn't sure about it at first, but now I think it's awesome. By the way, I didn't see an author. Do you know who they are? And if they're a Christian or not? They were incorporating some Christian stuff, so I was just wondering."

Phoenix smiled mysteriously before answering with, "Oh, it's written by several different authors. Some of them were Christians."

"Cool!"

"Wait, you're seriously not making us pay?" Raylee asked in astonishment.

"Not with money," he reaffirmed. "I conduct my business differently than most people. I ask a few select customers to complete a small favor or task for me, but that's it. Aleah has graciously agreed to my terms. You, on the other hand, don't need to worry about paying me or anything. Your sister's taken care of it."

She narrowed her eyes, suspicion etched across her features. "What did you ask her to do? Was it illegal? Are you a criminal? Do you always ask your 'special customers' to do dangerous stunts?"

"Relax, Ray!" Aleah laughed. "All he wants me to do is write something in the book he gave me yesterday. It's full of, like, diary entries, kind of, and he just told me to add my own at the end."

"Well, all right... Are you sure that's all he asked you to do?"

"Positive."

"And this is the reason why you get a book," Phoenix declared grandly. "You are very good about trying to protect your sister. I don't have anything else for you ladies today, but be sure to stop by tomorrow and tell me how it's going."

"Okay!" Aleah chirped. "See you later!"

"Wait a second!" Raylee demanded. "What do you mean? Why does it matter to you that I'm 'good about trying to protect my sister'?"

The owner of Inkland Adventures winked at her as if to say, That's for me to know, and for you to find out! before disappearing up the stairs.

"We should go get some answers from him," Raylee decided firmly, taking a step in that direction.

"Don't worry about it," Aleah disagreed. "Let's just take these babies home and read them! Or you can go hang out with Laura, I guess."

"No," Raylee sighed, "I'll read with you. Mine actually sounds interesting. The Care and Keeping of Baby Dragons. I don't normally read fantasy, but maybe this will give me some tips on how to win Mom and Dad over. I still want a cat."

"Ooh, yours sounds awesome!" Aleah squealed. "Mine's called Spells to Use With the Dragon's Blessing. I bet it goes along with Magic Ink, somehow. It talks about the Dragon's Blessing."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go read some books!" Raylee laughed.