Chapter Text
Boscha Gerard is someone whose name is known across Gravesfield High School. She is one of the nine players on their softball team, and is known for being one of the most all-rounded players. She has a mean fastball and a somewhat high batting average, and she almost never misses a catch in the outfield. This alone, plus the fact that she had a decent GPA and good-looks to boot, should have made her one of the most popular girls in the school.
If it weren’t for the fact that she was obsessed with anime. In fact, the reason she started playing softball was because of it and her desire to be like Yuki Mizuhara, one of the characters from her favorite shows. Her teammates like her only because of her athletic abilities. After winning enough games throughout the year, they managed to make it to the Windham County championship.
“All right, folks, we have a close game this evening, and we’re at the bottom of the seventh. Gravesfield has two outs, with one player on third base. Miss Osterman from Pomfret is not holding back this inning, so Miss Gerard has her work cut out for her. One single will bring us into overtime, but how will she fare?”
Boscha taps her bat against the plate before swinging it back. The pitcher then winds up a throw, then chucks a fast ball. Boscha swings her bat a second too late.
“Strike!”
The umpire throws the ball back to the pitcher, as Boscha swings her bat back. The pitcher then winds up another throw, before slinging a curveball. Boscha attempts to swing at it, but misses.
“Strike!”
“Well, folks, it all comes down to this. One more strike, and Pomfret will take home the trophy.”
The pitcher smirks at Boscha, who Boscha then narrows her eyes. The pitcher then winds up a throw, and sends one more fastball Boscha’s way, who swings the bat full force, with the tip of it connecting with the ball. The Pomfret team watches helplessly as the ball is sent flying, while the Gravesfield team is on the edge of the bench in the dugout.
“Oh, it’s going…going…it’s gone!”
The crowd goes wild as the other girl runs to home plate, and Boscha around the base, albeit with her arms stretched behind her.
“Ugh, why is she doing that?”, one of Gravesfield’s players says.
“I don’t know…it’s probably something one of those anime characters does…”
“Whatever, at least she got us the win…”
Boscha returns to home plate and looks up and smiles at her mom, a light-skinned woman with brown hair and round glasses named Claire, who is in the stands, waving to her.
The Gravesfield softball team coach, who has a trophy in hand, walks out from the stadium alongside her team, save for Boscha, towards her car.
“You put a good effort out there, ladies!”, the coach says, as she gets in the car. “You should go and treat yourselves for it!”
The coach then closes the door and drives off.
“Yeah, we really should!”
“But how?”
“Let’s go to the mall!”
“Yeah, and get new clothing from PCJenney!”
“And get smoothies from Raskin Bobbins!”
Boscha walks out from the stadium. “Hey, girls!”, she says.
“Oh…hey, Boscha…we were just planning to head out to the mall.”
“Can I come with you? They have this cool store there called Daiso.”
“Oh…isn’t that the one that sells the stuff from Japan?”
“That’s the one!”
The girls look at each other, before one of them sighs.
“Look, Boscha, it’s not that we don’t exactly dislike you, but…you’re a little strange…”
Boscha’s face falls. “Strange?”, she says.
“Well, yeah…don’t get me wrong, you’re a heck of a good softball player, but it’s not really an accident that we try to avoid talking with you…”
“You’re…not saying you don’t like me, do you?”
“No, no…it’s just…we find it difficult to have a conversation with you, that’s all. We don’t really have any common interests besides softball…”
“But if you wanna come with us, we won’t mind…just keep the anime references down to a minimum OK? They don’t mean anything to us.”
Boscha looks to the side before shaking her head. “Nah, that’s all right. I just remembered that I have some chores at home to do”, she says.
“Oh, that’s too bad…maybe next time!”
“Yeah, we got the whole summer ahead of us to hang out!”
“Come on, girls!”
The girls head over to their parents’ cars as Claire walks out of the stadium, and pats her on the back.
“You did great, sweetie! You wanna go to Daiso to celebrate? I can get you that new edition of ‘Your Falsehood in July’ as a reward!”
Boscha turns around to her mom. “Nah…I’d rather just go home", she says.
“What’s the matter, dear?”
“I don’t really wanna talk about it…”
“Mmm…well, all right. Would you at least be willing to go to Taro Taro?”
“Yeah…sure…”
Boscha and her mother are sitting at a table in a Boba shop, having tea. Both of them are looking at their phones, with her mom looking at social media posts about Gravesfield’s victory, while Boscha is looking at photos that her teammates have put on Instagram of themselves at the mall, with the caption “me and all my besties!”.
“Look at this, sweetie!”, Claire says, as she shows Boscha her phone. On it is a video of her doing her sprint across the bases, with several dozen likes and a few comments.
Boscha sighs. “Mom, is there something wrong with me?”, she says.
“B-Boscha?!", Claire says, as she pulls her phone back. "Where is this coming from?”
Boscha then shows her mom her phone.
“All my teammates are hanging out at the mall without me...”
“Did they not invite you?”
“Worse…they kinda told me that they didn’t want me to go with them because of my interests…”
“Is this what you’re so bummed about?”
Boscha furrows her brow. “Well, yeah! I thought being good at something would get me friends or respect, at least…but people just seem to…tolerate me, rather than actually like me", she says.
“Aww, sweetie…that’s their loss, not yours…”
“No, it isn’t! I wanted to think I had rotten luck with making friends, but I think today has proven that I’m the problem.”
“Boscha, please don’t say that about yourself”, Claire says, as she pulls out a photo from her purse, and slides it across the table towards her. “Your mother and I used to be like you, too…”
Boscha picks up the photo, and sees both of her mothers, dressed up in costumes alongside some other women from the Fairness Alliance, a fictional team of superheroes.
“We were often picked on in school because we were into superhero movies. But we didn’t really care what they had to say because, well…we had each other.”
Boscha hands the photo back to see her mom smiling. “There isn’t anything wrong with you, sweetie. You might have some interests that are…eh, kinda looked down upon, but those teammates of yours might have a side to them they don’t want the others to know about. But you’re not afraid to show you really are to the world.”
Claire puts the photo back in her wallet. “It’s easy to put on a mask in order to get people to like you. But if you take that off, people might see you differently, and that can be scary. But it’s also a good thing, because you know the people that like you…really do like you, and not just how you want them to see you. And I know they’re out there somewhere, so it’s not a matter of ‘if’ you’ll ever find them, but ‘when’.”
Boscha smiles a little. “Thanks, mom", she says.
“Anything for you, Boscha.”
Boscha finishes the rest of her tea and gets up. “Can we go home?”, she says.
Claire gets up. “Sure! I did have something I wanted to talk about with you on the way there, though", she says.
The two head towards the exit.
“What about?”, Boscha says, as she gets in the front passenger side of the car, closes the door, and puts on her seatbelt.
“While I do want you to have fun this summer, Boscha…”, Claire says as she gets in the driver’s side, closes the door, and buckles herself in. “...I want you to think about your future, too…”
“My future? It’s softball.”
“Boscha, I’m being serious. Softball is a good way to stay in shape, but it’s not a career. Like, my wife was pretty good at badminton when she was your age, and she even stuck with it when she went to college, but you know she’s working as a supply chain manager.”
“But I’m only fourteen…I feel like I shouldn’t be making such a big decision right now…”
Claire chuckles. “Sweetie, I’m not asking you to. I just want you to think of what you might want to do when you’re older. Try seeing what things you’re good at or are interested in… besides softball", she says.
“All right, all right, I’ll give it some thought…”
They pull into the garage and park, then both get out of the car. They walk into the house to see Boscha’s biological mom named Fiona who has long, violet hair, just like her daughter, on a Nyoom call with her coworkers.
“Yeah, no, we won’t be doing business with them again. Almost 5% of the gears they sent us were defective, and we told them we wouldn’t accept any more than 1%.
Boscha heads upstairs and into her room. She then sits at her desk and opens her laptop. She opens up the Internet and goes to the Gugol search engine before staring blankly at the screen.
“There’s so many career choices…like, how do I even figure this out?”, Boscha says, before laying back in her chair. “Hmm…there’s gotta be a guide for this..."
Boscha types on her keyboard and hits enter. She clicks on the top hit.
“Let’s see…before you begin to figure out what industry you want to get into, consider engaging in the following…number one…get some rest…”
Boscha then closes the tab and her laptop, heads to the bathroom, brushes her teeth, flosses, and uses mouthwash before changing into her pajamas, going back to her room, turning off the light, and getting into bed.
“Hopefully something will come to mind tomorrow…”
Boscha wakes up and stretches before swinging her legs over the edge of the bed.
“Mmm…still don’t have any ideas…”, Boscha says, as she plants her feet on the ground, walks over to her desk, and opens her laptop. “...let’s just see what the rest of that guide says…”
Boscha reopens the tab from last night and continues reading.
“Number two…engage in light physical activity, preferably somewhere in nature, and away from technology…”
Boscha then looks out the window, to see the forest that their house is near. She then closes her laptop and changes into her blue jeans and a yellow T-shirt. She grabs her wallet and keys, but purposefully leaves her phone. She ties her hair into a bun before heading downstairs, and seeing Fiona working, while Claire is cleaning dishes.
Claire: “Where are you off to, sweetie?”
Boscha: “I was just gonna take a walk in the woods, that’s all.”
Claire: “For sure! Do you mind taking out the garbage while you’re at it?”
Boscha grabs the trash bag, ties it up, and takes it outside. She puts it in the outside bin, before dusting off her hands and heading towards the woods. She observes the flowers, the chirping birds, and the maple, oak, and pine trees.
“This is nice…being able to focus on the beauty of nature…I guess when you have a clearer head, it becomes easier to see the path forward…”
Boscha eventually comes across a translucent orb on the ground. “Hmm? What is this?”, she asks.
She crouches down and attempts to pick it up, but at the touch of her finger, it emits an unimaginably bright light. She screams as she is enveloped by it.
Boscha is lying on her back on the ground in a forest. Eventually, she groans and puts her hand to her head.
“Ugh…what happened?", Boscha says, as she lifts herself to a sitting position. “Oh, right…I touched that orb, and then everything went white…”
Boscha then stands up. “I don’t know what that was all about…but I guess I’ve gotten enough fresh air. I’ll head home”, she says.
Boscha turns around and heads back the way she came, before she slows to a stop, upon realizing the scenery in the forest is different. The trees have twisted branches, with jagged leaves, and oddly-shaped mushrooms growing near the trunk.
“Okaaay…this is…definitely not the forest that I was in previously…but that’s fine, I can just figure out where I am using my...wait...", Boscha says, before patting her pockets. “...riiight...didn’t bring my phone with me…well, um…guess I’ll have to find someone who knows where we are…”
Boscha heads in a random direction, before hearing voices in the distance. She jogs to what appears to be a market situated in a large, town square, with colorful tents and stalls set up. Everything was seemingly normal about this, besides the fact that some of the vendors and customers didn’t even look remotely human. Some of them were covered in fur, some just had a face with nothing more than a mouth, and some of them had animal-like appendages. Everyone else, however, looked not too different in appearance by Boscha, but one defining characteristic they all had was that their ears were pointed.
Boscha hides behind a tree, closes her eyes, and rubs her temples.
“OK…I don’t really know what’s going on or where I am, but my only hope is to ask…these people or whatever…hopefully they don’t ask me too many questions in return…”
Boscha hears humming from nearby. A dark-brown skinned, gray-eyed girl with deep mauve hair held up in a ponytail, with a small bag of purple fruit, pops out from behind the trees. They freeze upon seeing each other.
“Uh…hi”, Boscha says while waving.
“Uh…hey…wh-what are you doing out here?”
“I, um…well, what are you doing out here?”
The girl holds up her satchel. “I was just taking a shortcut home…m-my mom asked me to pick up some gaspberries for dinner tonight", she says.
“Uh...OK then..."
The girl smiles. “Your turn", she says.
“...huh? Oh…um…”, Boscha says, as she rubs the back of her neck. “...can you keep a secret?”
The girl looks around. “Did you do something you shouldn’t have?”, she says.
“No…it’s just…ugh…”, Boscha says, as she puts her hands on her cheeks and drags them down. “..look, I’m not from around here…”
“Are you from Latissa?”
“No, no…just…take a look at my ears…”
The girl observes Boscha’s ears.
“So…circly..."
“Right, and yours…aren’t. Nor does that seem to be the case for anyone else here…”
“…are you…not from The Boiling Isles…?”
“If that’s the name of this planet, then…no. I’m not.”
The girl gasps. “Oh my gosh, you must be…a hummus!”, she says.
“It’s pronounced ‘human’, but yes…wait…you know about us…?”
“I don’t know a whole lot, but I have a friend who has an appreciation society for them. I heard he saves up his allowance to buys artifacts from your world from Miss Clawthorne.”
“But if that’s the case, then…this Clawthorne person must have some sort of passageway that I can use to get back to Earth!”
“Yeah! W-w-wait…why can’t you just…you know…go back the way you came?”
“Uh…I don’t exactly know how I got here. I was just walking near my house when I touched this strange sphere…next thing I know, I woke up here…”
“Hmm…well, I think the important thing is you have a way back.”
Boscha peeks around the tree to see the square is still bustling with people. “Any chance you can get me to Clawthorne without me being seen?”, she says.
“Ooh, a stealth mission, is it? I know a shortcut! Follow me!”
Boscha follows after the girl as they head deeper into the forest.
“I didn’t get your name, human.”
Boscha grins. “It’s Boscha. Nice to meet ya", she says.
Skara grins back. “My name’s Skara", she says.
“Cool, cool…say, uh…besides our ears, we don’t really look too different…”
“Well, another difference that I heard about is that our hearts are different, too…”
“Th-they are?”
“Mhm. We have special bile sacks attached to them that humans lack.”
“Pfft, bile sacks? Isn’t bile supposed to just aid with digestion?”
“Um…maybe for humans, but for us, they allow the use of spells…”
Boscha stops in her tracks. “Sp-spells?", she says in disbelief.
Skara then stops. She twirls her right index finger in the air, and a dragon-shaped fume appears in her palm. Boscha takes a few steps back in surprise.
“H-how did you do that?!”
“Um…that’s just something we Adepts can do”, Skara says, as the flame fizzles out. “It’s not really any different than walking or standing up.”
Boscha then looks out at the shoppers and vendors in the distance. “And… everyone here can summon fire at will?”, she says.
“Um, Adepts certainly can, yes…we have access to the other three elements, those being earth, water, and air…but fire is the only one I’m decently competent at. Most Adepts on the Boiling Isles tend to stick to whichever element they’re best at…but there are a few cases where someone can use all of them well. Miss Clawthorne’s actually one of those people!”
“Huh…that just makes me want to meet her more!”
Boscha resumes walking with Skara.
“Wow, an entire world where magic is real…and…I’m not able to use any of it because I’m not an Adept…”
The two arrive at the back of a tented booth.
“OK, you wait here, and I’ll go and get Miss Clawthorne to come and talk with you. Be right back!”
Skara heads around to the front of the booth. About a minute goes by before a middle-aged , ivory-skinned woman with messy, orange hair in a maroon dress, with a brown key with an eye on its bow around her neck, pulls up the back of the tent. To her left is Skara, and to her right is a two foot tall, violet mole with a light pink underbelly, and sharp claws. He has a collar around his neck.
Skara: “S-see! Look at her ears!”
The woman looks Boscha up and down, before looking at the mole.
“King! I thought I told you to never open the door without my permission!”
“But I didn’t, Eda!”, the mole, apparently named King, says. “Ruling over humans doesn’t interest me, anyway…”
Boscha: “Wait…you’re a talking mole…and a king…?”
King puffs out his chest. “That’s right! I am King, leader over all moles! Tremble before me!”, she says.
Boscha runs over and picks King up.
Boscha: “Aww, who’s a little guy? It’s you! It’s you!”
King struggles to break free by pressing his claws against Boscha’s left cheek as Eda snickers.
King: “No! This is the incorrect response!”
“Ow!”, Boscha says, as she puts King down. Boscha then puts her hand to her cheek, and notices there’s a small amount of blood on it.
Skara: “Oh, I can fix…uh…”
Boscha: “Do you have healing powers?”
Skara chuckles nervously. “Who, me? Not at all! Fire’s all I know", she says.
“Eh, don’t worry about it…just hold still”, Eda says, as she puts her hand against Boscha’s cheek.
Boscha: “Thanks…it doesn’t sting anymore…”
“No problem…", Eda says, as she pulls her hand back. "...now…mind telling me how you got here?”
Boscha: “I, uh…don’t exactly know…but you have a way to Earth, right?”
“To the Human Realm?”, Eda says, as she holds the key with her left hand. “Yeah, I do…but I’m not letting you use it that easily.”
Boscha: “Ugh, of course you’re not…what do you need me to do?”
Eda: “Just come here.”
Boscha follows Eda, Skara, and King into the tent, as Eda lets the flap down. Boscha walks to the table, where there are various items for sale, although some are either unclean or broken. Eda gestures to them.
Eda: “Welcome to my human treasures shop! I get these fine wares from your world every week, and I sell them to customers!”
Boscha: “So people here can get to learn humans?”
Eda snorts. “No, because I get these for free, and I can sell them for snails. And I’m the only one here who can do this!”, she says.
Skara: “Oh, wow, that’s actually a genius business strategy! You don’t really have any costs, but you still make a profit!”
“Uh huh. I also have a reputation for being an expert on humans”, Eda says, before lowering her voice to a whisper. “Even though I know relatively little about you.”
Eda picks up a pair of nail clippers. “I mean, what is this, even? A torture device?”, she says.
Boscha: “No, those are shortening your fingernails when they get too long!”
“Oh…well, point is, if I get caught, I won’t get as many customers”, Eda says, as smirks and points finger guns at Boscha. “That’s where you come in.”
Boscha: “You mean…you want me to say what these items actually are?”
Eda: “Bingo! Oh, and I also want you to get people to buy them. We can split the snails!”
King: “Hey, that’s no fair! You never give me any snails, even though I work!”
Eda: “Well, yeah, because you said you were going to rule the world if I did give you a cut…”
Boscha: “W-wait…snails are a currency you can only use here, though…and I don’t really wanna stay here longer than I need to…”
Eda: “Why not? This place not interesting enough for you?”
Boscha: “Ugh…I came here by accident. I don’t want to be here, and the only reason I’m even continuing this conversation with you is because you have the only known way of me getting back home. And if I don’t return soon enough, my moms will think I was goofing off instead of figuring out what career I should get into. Then they might send me to summer camp or something…”
Eda rubs her chin. “Career, eh? You ever think about getting into marketing?”, she says.
“Ooh, that’s perfect! Boscha can learn how to sell these wares and tell her moms about what she learned when she gets back, and Eda will get more customers. It’s a win-win!", Skara says, before gasping and running around the counter. “And I can be your first customer!”
Eda: “Yeah, show Skara your ability to get people to buy things they don’t need.”
Boscha sighs. “Welcome to ‘Human Treasures’. Is there anything here that catches your eye?”, she asks.
Skara peruses the items before picking up a pogo stick. “What’s this thing?”, she asks.
Boscha: “That is a pogo stick. Let me show you how it works…”
Skara hands the pogo stick to Boscha. Boscha then heads around the counter, puts it down, gets on it, then begins to hop up and down on it, to Skara’s amazement.
Skara: “I WILL GIVE YOU MY ENTIRE LIFE SAVINGS FOR THAT!”
Boscha hops off the pogo stick. “Woah, calm down…it’s not really that cool", she says.
Skara: “Sorry! It just looks so fun…uh…how much is it?”
Eda: “Only five snails!”
Skara reaches into her pocket and puts five snails on the counter. Boscha then hands the pogo stick to Skara, who then hugs it.
Skara: “Eek! I will cherish this forever…I’m gonna go show my parents!”
Skara runs off as Boscha heads back around the counter.
Eda pats Boscha on the back.
“Keep that up, and we’ll soon be rolling in the dough!”
“...when do we close?”
“Around 6 PM.”
Boscha slams her head against the table. “Great…can’t wait to have to explain all this to my moms", she says.
“I can maybe vouch for you. Who knows, they might even let you stay…”
Boscha picks her head up. “Here? No, no, no, they wouldn’t allow that", she says.
“I mean, they wanted you to explore getting a career, right? You could maybe stick with advertising here, in exchange for…well, maybe not money you could use anywhere other than here, but at least you’d get some experience.”
“I…guess that’s true…”
“And besides, this is the Boiling Isles! You can be anything you want to be here!”
“...Eda…there wouldn’t happen to be sports here on the Boiling Isles, would there?”
“Hmm, an athlete, are we? You’re in luck, because we do have sports here! Eh, but, they kinda involve the use of Psynergy…”
“I don’t care! I want to play anyway!”
“Hmm…well, I guess if it’s that important to ya, I won’t say you can’t. But I do have to ask why. I mean, you seem like you’d be good at sports on Earth…”
“I am…but people don’t wanna be friends with me because of my interests…b-but that doesn’t have to be the case here! I mean, I already made an acquaintance with Skara, and I barely had to do anything. Think of how many people might like me if they saw how skilled I was at sports!”
Eda smirks. “That was a convincing argument for why you should stay…now all you need to do is just say that to your moms", she says.
Boscha taps her fingers against the table. “Yeah…yeah, OK…I can do that", she says.
And so, Boscha spent the next few hours selling the ‘human treasures’ to various customers. At one point, King had started complaining that he wanted to go home. Eda used a magical staff she had with a purple creature, who has something almost like hair that flows past his pointed feet, at the end of it to take him home, before returning.
Few of the customers asked what product they were actually purchasing, and none of them realized that the person who was behind the counter, was, in fact, a human. The time flew by, and towards the end of the day, Boscha was on her last item.
“You’re telling me I shouldn’t eat this Play-Doh?”
“No…not only is it toxic, it probably doesn’t taste very good…”
“Meh…I’ll buy it anyway…”
The customer puts the snails on the counter, which Eda swipes as Boscha waves to the customer.
“Have a good evening!”
“Damn, kid, you’re a natural!”, Eda says, as she puts the snails into a small satchel full of them. “And now mama can buy herself a lot of apple blood!”
“...apple…blood…?”
“It’s my favorite beverage. I can’t get enough of it!”
“Sure, sure…anyways, I held up my end of the deal…”
Eda nods as she takes the key off around her neck. She then hands it to Boscha, with a confused look on her face.
“I don’t really know much about how this key works…but if you can just visualize where you want to go in the Human Realm, it’ll take you there. Just go ahead and press the bow when you have that in mind.”
Boscha takes a look at the key, before thinking of her house. She then pushes the bow with her thumb, and a brown door with a large, yellow eye near the top appears and unfolds out of thin air in the back of the tent. Boscha then hands the key back to Eda, who puts it around her neck once more, before reaching for the handle and pulling it, to see it’s outside her house. Thoughts flood her mind as she thinks of how her moms might react to her telling the truth about her unexplained absence throughout the day. Eda puts her hand on Boscha’s shoulder and smirks.
“Nervous?”
“A little…I don’t really know how well they’ll take all this information…”
“Well…”, Eda says, as she takes her hand back. “...you gotta tell ‘em sooner or later, so it’s best to just get it out of the way…”
Boscha sighs. “Yeah…I know…can you just…stay outside my house until I tell my moms all this?”, she asks.
“Sure, kid.”
The two of them walk through the door, which folds up behind them as they do. Eda hides out in a nearby bush, while Boscha goes to her front door. She brings her fist to the front door before hesitating. She then takes a deep breath before knocking on it. Boscha hears fast footsteps on the other side, before being met with Claire’s concerned look.
Claire: “Boscha, why were you ignoring my phone calls and text messages all day?!”
Boscha: “I…uh…didn’t bring my phone with me…”
Claire: “Don’t do that again! We thought you got kidnapped or something!”
Boscha: “Look, I’m sorry, I’ll tell you everything…”
Claire steps aside to let Boscha in, and she steps inside and sits at the kitchen table. Fiona is watching Metfix on her computer, who then pauses it as Boscha sits down. She then chuckles nervously.
Boscha: “So, uh…funny story! I was walking in the woods, and uh…there was this odd sphere on the ground, that, uh…caught my attention, right? And I tried to pick it up, and then…uh…it knocked me out…and, uh…when I woke up, I was in this place called The Boiling Isles…”
Fiona: “The…Boiling Isles…?”
Boscha: “Yeah, yeah! And then there are people there that just look like us, except they have pointed ears and can cast spells!”
Fiona: “Uh huh…so like an ‘abra cadabra’ type thing?”
Boscha: “Yeah, they can spin circles in the air, and conjure up fire and stuff…and they even have those staffs that allow them to fly, like, like-”
Fiona: “How the students fly on broomsticks in Cynthia Coven?”
Boscha: “Yeah, pretty cool, right?”
Fiona: “Sure, sure…anyways, I like the idea for a fantasy novel, but I don’t see why you had to come up with this out in the middle of the woods.”
Boscha: “...huh? But I-”
Fiona: “I mean, you could have at least told us you were staying out for longer…but you were asked to come up with career ideas. I don’t see you getting a book written about these ideas of yours.”
Boscha: “B-but…all of this really happened!”
Fiona: “Boscha, enough. I don’t know what you were doing in the woods, but unless it’s anything illegal, just please tell us.”
Boscha: “But…I’m telling the truth! And I can prove it!”
Fiona and Claire turn their heads in surprise to the window to see Eda tapping her fingers against it. Eda then waves to them.
Claire: “Wh-why is there some stranger on our property?!”
Boscha: “No, mom, that’s Eda! She can verify everything I said!”
Claire: “...well, she… does have pointed ears…”
Fiona grumpily gets up from the table and opens the window.
Fiona: “My daughter says you can cast spells. If you can somehow manage to do so, I will not call the cops on you.”
Eda snorts. “Bit of a disbeliever, are we? Very well", she says.
Eda twirls her finger in the air, and Claire and Fiona watch as a tiny whirlwind appears in it. Fiona takes a few steps back in shock.
Fiona: “Wh-what are you?!”
Eda: “Pfft, that’s kinda rude. But, uh, to answer your question, I’m an Adept. I live in the Boiling Isles, and I hung out with Boscha today. She seems pretty rad.”
Boscha: “S-see?!”
Fiona stammers a bit. “OK, fine. But why didn’t you come home earlier?”, she asks.
Eda: “She was helping me advertise my business.”
Claire: “...advertising…?”
Eda: “Yep. Boscha’s looking for a career to get into, and I think advertising might be a good fit for her. She was persuading people to buy my products, and they were flying off the shelves like hotcakes!”
Claire: “Oh! Well…that’s good! Did you enjoy it, sweetie?”
Boscha: “Mhm. But, uh…I was wondering if I could…you know…maybe stay the summer there?”
Fiona: “Absolutely not! We barely even know this person!”
Eda: “But think about it. Boscha’s got a silver tongue, but if she’s gonna be able to use it effectively in a business setting, she needs to practice. Plus, I can teach her how to be…I don’t know, more mature…”
Claire: “You would?”
Eda: “Uh…yeah…?”
Claire: “That’s nice of you! We’ve been trying to get her to do that for a while, but she doesn’t listen to us all that much…”
Eda snorts. “That’s because you’re her parents, kids tend to ignore them. But she doesn’t have that problem with me. I can make her into a more mature person over the summer… for free!”, she says.
Fiona: “Now that’s just nonsense…no one would provide a service like that without asking for money.”
Eda: “Eh, well…Boscha would be providing her services to me, so…I guess that covers the cost. So, uh…what do you say?”
Claire and Fiona look at each other. They then head into the other room, and talk amongst each other for a few minutes, before exiting.
Fiona: “All right, Eda, you have yourself a deal. We’ll let Boscha stay at your home and have her give a hand to you with…whatever it is you ask of her…”
Claire: “However , we do ask that you keep us updated with what’s happening. The things you’re learning and the people you’re meeting…”
Boscha: “I already made a friend there!”
Claire smiles. “Then I was correct. It really was just a matter of time", she says.
“One more thing…”, Fiona says, as she turns to Eda “...this isn’t really a condition or anything, but if Boscha wants to come back here before the summer ends, then I’m gonna have to ask you to respect her decision. Personally, I feel she might not know exactly what she’s getting herself into, and might choose to come back here.”
Eda: “You got it.”
Fiona: “Fine…Boscha, you can go and pack your stuff…”
Boscha stands up and runs upstairs with a smile on her face. She grabs her phone off the desk, and her backpack out of the closet, next to a plush crab. She thinks for a few moments before grabbing both of them. She empties the contents of the bag, filling it with her pajamas, the crab plushie, her toiletries, a blanket, mat, a softball bat, and small pillow. She then zips it up, puts it on her back, and heads downstairs, to see Eda standing in the kitchen.
Fiona: “So this mole…he knows how to speak?”
“Sure can…", Eda says, before snorting. "...but he doesn’t know how to be quiet sometimes…”
Boscha walks over to them. Both her moms hug her with a smile, with Claire giving her a kiss on her forehead.
Claire: “Have fun, OK? I’m sure you’ll make lots of friends.”
Fiona: “And become the young adult we want you to be.”
Boscha’s moms let go of her.
Boscha: “Thanks for being cool with all this…you two are the best moms I could have had.”
Fiona smirks. “We try", she says.
Eda: “All right, kid…we should go.”
Boscha nods, and heads towards the front door with Eda as she waves to her moms. They head back out into the woods and Eda pushes the bow of the key, and the door once again unfolds out of thin air. Eda grabs the handle and opens it, to reveal the insides of a house. They walk through into the living room. On one side of the wall is a fireplace, with a mirror above it. On the other end is a couch with wooden coffee table in front of it, two small, circular tables on either side of it, books on one and a candle on the other. On either end of the coffee table are two armchairs. Up against the wall is a dark purple chest, a cauldron and a broom, and on the shelves are glass bottles, a lute, and a crystal ball.
“Welcome to…the Owl House!”, Eda says, as the door folds up again.
Boscha: “The…Owl House? Why is it called that…?”
The front door opens by itself, and Boscha looks at the other side, which has a light beige owl face on it.
“Hoot hoot! “It’s called that because of me ! I’m the Owl House!”, the owl says, before looking at Boscha. “Whooo might you be?”
Boscha: “Uh, hey…I’m Boscha.”
“Hiya, friend! I’m Hooty!”
Eda twirls her finger in the air, and the front door closes. “Anyways, I guess you should go get set up. Guest room’s upstairs", she says.
Boscha nods then heads upstairs. She looks around the hall as she finds an almost empty room with the door open. She puts her backpack on the ground, takes out the mat, then rolls it onto the floor. She then takes the pillow out, puts it near the top, then lays the blanket over the rest of it. Lastly, she takes out the crab plushie and puts it near her pillow, then gets underneath the blanket and looks up at the ceiling, before hearing someone clear their throat. She looks up to see King standing in the doorway, holding a stuffed rat.
“Your, uh…sleep cocoon looks comfy…”
Boscha pats the mat, and King walks over and steps on the bottom of the mat. He notices the crab plushie, and points at it.
“Hey, we both have stuffed animals!”
Boscha picks up her crab plushie and shows it to King.
“Yeah, this is Maya. I’ve had her since I was a little girl."
“What, uh… is Maya, exactly?”
“She’s a crab", Boscha says, before snorting. "I remember the day I got her from the toy store, everyone else was picking out dogs and cats, but…I went with her, because of her pincers. And every night, I had her by my bedside, and she’d keep me safe from the, uh…imaginary monsters while I was sleeping. I don’t really do that anymore, but…I saw her in my closet, so I decided to bring her with me.”
“Maya!”, King says, as she points to the crab plushie. “Are you interested in serving me as my minion?”
Boscha looks at Maya, before smirking.
“She says you’ll have to tell her about the benefits of doing so.”
“Grr! Fine, getting her servitude will be more difficult than I expected…but I’ll think of something…”, King says, before yawning, then laying down. “...tomorrow…”
Boscha then puts Maya near her pillow, then lays back down and closes her eyes.
“I think I’m gonna like it here...”