I know it's been a long time since the last part, but I actually haven't forgotten about this; I've just been pretty busy. However, I am going to be doing this as my Camp NaNoWriMo project, so there'll be a lot of parts out in the next month! And thank you so much for your patience. 

Okay. Full confession: I haven't worked on this for a really long time. I have several stories going on (I counted recently, I have like 5 full-length stories plus a couple mini fanfics), and homework, so I sadly don't think I can commit to this as much as I want to. I promise I have not forgotten about it, I just don't really have the time to write for this on a regular basis. Once I've taken care of a few of those other projects (and once summer starts and I have hardly any homework), I'll definetly revisit this and bring it back. It'll just be a while. 

Again, thank you so much for your patience. Y'all are awesome and I LOVE working with your characters! This story is super fun to write, and I hope y'all are enjoying it as much as I am! 

So. Hi.

I know it’s kinda awkward to add to a thread after nearly four months of inactivity, but I seriously love this Solo Write, and I didn’t want to let it die. 

I promise I would’ve revived it sooner, but a broken computer and too-busy summer led to an involuntary, 3 ½ month hiatus. This story is still one of my favorites, and I’d like to try to continue it, if y’all are up for that. I promise, I have not given up!

Thanks for tolerating my inactivity, I promise to keep developing this story, and to keep y’all updated with anything I’ve written.

And so without further ado, Part 4!

~~~

Arya checked her watch, then groaned loudly. It wasn’t like anyone could hear her over the teacher’s droning lecture.

    There was still nearly and hour left of school, and that meant nearly an hour of “The articles of confederation and their effects of post-revolutionary war America”. 

    What Arya had learned so far:

1. The articles of confederation were boring.

2. Their effects were boring.

3. Her teacher had nearly perfected their monotonous drone. The classmate in front of Arya was already asleep, and a kid two or three seats to her left looked about ready to follow. 

    Basically, this class was a Waste. Of. Time. Really, the only thing Arya liked about it was that Gabi, the girl Arya definitely did not have a crush on, thanks for asking, was seated nearby. She was studiously taking notes, one of the grand total of three people that actually seemed to care.

    Arya fiddled absentmindedly with a hole in her (surprisingly, not black, but aqua, her second favorite color) jeans, then checked her watch again. Not even a minute had passed. She sighed, then resigned herself to her boring fate. 

    “After two more years,” the teacher droned on, “George Washington decided to—Oh, hello, Mr. Devinsky.”

    Arya glanced up, a little surprised. Mr. Devinsky, the school secretary, didn’t like to interrupt classes. Something about “keeping the expansion of young minds an undisturbed process”, and he hardly ever had cause to, anyway.

    Mr. Devinsky leaned towards Mx. Clark, and, in a voice clearly trying to be a whisper, but could be heard even at the back of the class, “There’s been an energy failure with the smoke detectors, Alex. We’re going to have to let out school early, I’m afraid.”

    “What?” Mx. Clark looked surprised. “You mean they’re not working? Well, I don’t see that as a reason to end class early.”

    Mr. Devinsky nodded. “I quite agree, Alex, but there’s not much I can do. State safety regulations, and all that.” 

    Mx. Clark nodded, then turned back to the class as the secretary left. “Well, class, you heard him,” they announced. “Let’s pack up our textbooks, tidy our desks, and—“ They added over the rustling of papers and scraping of chairs, “Remember that this lesson will continue tomorrow, so come prepared!”

    But even that couldn’t dampen the grin on Arya’s face as she packed up her books, shouldered her backpack, and left the classroom.

    As she slipped into the hall, dodging the packs of noisy boys and even noiser girls on the way to her locker, she noticed something intresting. Gabi was skirting the edges of the hallway, not talking to anyone on her way out. No one approached her to make plans for the afternoon, groan about their latest class, or even say hi. And then Gabi was out the doors, without so much as a word to anyone.

    Arya frowned. That was odd. She’d thought Gabi had at least one friend, that everyone at her school did. But maybe Gabi was as lonely as she was.

    Then she gave her head a firm shake, as if to dislodge the thought. Arya wasn’t lonely, she was just alone. There was a difference, and she knew it. She looked away, banishing the thought from her mind as she reached her locker. 

    She fiddled with the lock, clicked it open, plopped her books in, and was about to close it when something drew her up short.

    Arya reached in again, and picked up a creamy white enevelope, marked with the number two. It hadn’t been there this morning, or even last class, she was sure of that.

    Frowning now, she slit it open and read the letter inside. She blinked. Stared at it a moment. Then read it again. Was this some kind of joke? She eyed the halls around her, but nobody was laughing. 

    Eyes narrowed, she stuffed the letter in her backpack. Contrary to what most of her teachers thought, Arya wasn’t stupid. It was quite likely that this was a waste of her time, but it was still possible that it wasn’t. And Arya wasn’t throwing away a chance to liven up her monotonus existence, even if it was only a chance.

    Her backpack felt heavier, somehow, as she left the school, but lighter at the same time.

Yay! I'm so glad to see this solo write return!! You have such an engaging and interesting writing style, Snazzycakes. I'm excited to see the story continue :))

    The bookstore’s door let out a muffled tink as Gabi pushed it open. The bookstore was softly lit, shelves teeming with colorful volumes and stretching to the very edge of the shop. The carpet was threadbare, the lights flickered occasionally, the wallpaper was flaky, and it smelled of dust and mildew. 

    It was Gabi’s favorite place in the entire world.

    Mr. Westcott, the proprietor, looked up from his desk and grinned. He jotted something on a scrap of paper and held it out. 

    Gabi crossed the small space to his desk and took it. In neat handwriting, it said, Welcome back, fellow bibliophile. How have you been?

    Gabi responded with one of the few words she knew in sign language: good.

    Mr. Westcott smiled widely and gestured to the books around them. Have at it.

    She thanked him with another hand gesture, then slipped into the shop proper. Gabi wove between the shelves, tracing the books’ spines with her fingertips, until she found what she was looking for.

    The tome made a muffled whoomph as it dropped into her hands. It was large and heavy, and she sank to the floor and propped it up against the shelf.

    Encyclopedia of the world and that which it contains, the glossy cover declared in hilariously old-fashioned font. It was inches thick, and teeming with facts, statistics, stories, experiments, explanations, biographies, and knowledge. Gabi had first encountered it three years ago, and while it had always been too expensive to buy, she visited it often. So often, in fact, that she had read the entire book in a little over a year, and was currently on her third reading.

    She flicked through the pages, trying to find where she left off, but stopped when something fell from between it’s pages. She frowned, picking it up from the floor.

    It was an envelope, creamy white. A large, black 5 was scrawled across the front in jagged black ink. A 5. As in, this was the fifth letter. As in, there were four more, somewhere, maybe even more.

    Immediately, Gabi’s “scientist curiosity”, as her mom had deigned it, clicked into gear. What was the envelope’s purpose? What was it tucked into some book? Who had put it there? Exactly how many others were there? 

    Heart thudding slightly, she unsealed the envelope and drew out the paper inside. And as she read, her face broke into a grin.

    When she emerged from the maze of shelves, Mr. Westcott smiled and handed her a note. Did you find what you came for?

    Yes, Gabi wrote back with a slight smile. And more.