Daine~

When I step outside, I nearly fall down.

Wherever I am, this world is completely, absolutely different. Weird metal things on wheels roll by. Odd boxes with different color lights flash. This is all happening on a grey path with a yellow line down it. People rush by, and they all give me really weird looks. I notice thy're not wearing deerskin or have weapons. And the buildings are all weird too. Tall and pointy. As I'm staring at one particularly tall building, I hear footsteps behind me, and the the girl from the room with books comes panting behind me. "Go away," I snapped.

"Listen. I . . . figured . . . out . . . where . . . you're . . . from," she pants. "You're--you're from inside a book. The Immortals series, in fact. I read it a long time ago."

"Well, thank you for telling me something I already know," I snap. "Look, whoever you are, I don't need your help. I can find my way home myself," I hiss. "Who are you, anyway?"

"Allie," she says. "And you're Daine."

"Actually, I kind of already know that. Now if you just leave, I can probably get home." 

"But that's the thing! I don't think you can!" she says. "Look, I know we didn't start out very well, but I have this really weird feeling that you can't get back without my help. In fact, I have a feeling that you're not the only one. If we look around, maybe we can find some other people. People who this would happen to," she says, brushing a strand of blond hair out of her eyes. Can I trust her?

"Fine. You can help me," I say. "But on one condition. You don't talk to me like I'm five, and I won't shoot you. Agreed?"

"Agreed," she says, nodding.

"So, where do we start looking?" I ask, following her down the street.

"Well," she says, "if I was a book character, I would jump out of a place where lots of books are. And where lots of kids wouldn't be as unbelieving as adults are."

"Such as?" I ask.

"The Middle School."