Hall of Fame [FXF]

☾

I never knew a city could look so big and so crowded and so abnormal until I stood within one.

Only four months ago I was just a girl living on the edge of nowhere in Alaska, with a story to tell and a world to visit.

And now I was that same girl, but with all my dreams just in reach to grab and take and run with. What I was feeling right now was so close to when I was riding on the back of my horse, Aponi, flying across the plains and darting through the forest.

I wondered what Aponi would think of such a big city.

"Ms. Fox? Right this way please."

I turned to my escort. At least that's what I was referring to the short and stout man who had picked me up at the airport. I didn't catch his name, and thought it awkward to ask for it again after an hour drive. I hoped I didn't have to run into a situation where I had to address him. It was so-far-so-good otherwise.

My driver had pulled up to a large and pristine building. Definitely not the tallest in the city, but something close. Bigger than any building I had ever seen or grown up around. The largest was the motel in Anchorage which was only five floors. This had to be triple, quadruple that.

I was meeting with my agent today. My first meeting of many to come.

This was a whole new world to me. One of bustling people, loud noises and conversations from every direction. One of bright lights and weird smells. One of unknown limits.

It was nothing like my quiet and content corner in the woods with my tribe and my animals and open skies within reach.

The skies here seemed so far away.

I followed my driver into the building where he passed me off to a woman. Her dark hair was pulled into a tight and smooth bun to match her tight and smooth pantsuit. This, too, was nothing like my overalls and t-shirt.

There was nothing that could make a young woman more self-conscious than standing next to another woman.

"Right this way, Ms. Fox. She's waiting for you."

I gave this woman a nod and followed after her to the elevators and up up up to the top floor. I continued after her down hallway after hallway until we entered an office. It had be stopping dead in my tracks.

On the opposite side of the room was just open air, a straight shot to the streets below, the sky reaching in the other direction. Everything else in the room was made of some kind of glass and black wood. There was one plant on the desk, opposite from a decorative bowl of red apples. Other than that, there was no other color to the room. Everything was neutral.

It wasn't until the woman who walked me up here cleared her throat, causing me to jump forward a step, did I notice the shiny, smudge free glass covering the other side of the room. I let out an inaudible sigh while simultaneously scolding myself for believing an office would have an open wall so anyone could fall to their demise.

I swallowed hard, finding myself suddenly staring at the woman sitting behind the desk.

She was furiously scribbling something down on a heavy stack of papers. Her blonde hair was pinned neatly behind her head, not a hair out of place Even her blazer, from what I could see, was pressed precisely, no wrinkle in sight.

"Ms. Marbles," the woman beside me started, voice louder than necessary. Said woman looked up from her writing, but her hand was still moving quickly across the papers. I tried not to stare. "This is Ms. Fox, your new client."

Ms. Marbles looked over at me, her green eyes bright, brighter even than her green plant to her side. She blinked once, looking me up and down. I had to clench my legs and arms to stop from fidgeting, fixing my hair, straightening my clothes, anything to better impress this beautiful woman.