Chapter 5: Chapter 5
Not a second had gone by.
How was this possible?
Ruby's head raced, swarming with thoughts. Had it all been a dream? It couldn't have, if time had not gone by, she knew she hadn't fallen asleep. It had all seemed so real—but there was no way it could have been. Flipping around the pages, she couldn't find anything that might explain her situation. Not only that, but the story Little Red Riding Hood, was wiped completely off the page! Frantically flipping through the book, she couldn't find it!
From cover to cover she couldn't find the story. The pages where it was supposed to be were just blank. She pulled out her pen, with the idea from Tom Riddle's diary in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, she wondered if she wrote on the page it would just disappear. At first she thought that was completely stupid of her, but then again, what had just happened to her? Normally Ruby would never write in a library book—but, this was for.....research? Sighing, she wrote a small dot.
After a few minutes, nothing happened. Giving up, she tossed the book on the bed and rubbed her eyes. I'm just.....tired, and got the wrong book....but again, it seemed so real. I don't know what to do.
To distract herself from the book, she worked on her math homework. About twenty minutes later she finished, satisfied and slightly distracted, she put the sheet in her folder. Reading the textbooks for science and history and taking notes, reorganizing her binder, writing up her to-do list for the next day, she tried everything to keep herself busy and distracted.
Curiosity got the best of her in the end. Nervously picking up the book, she opened it up to the page. A small beige envelope sat on the page with red sealing wax. Ruby gingerly picked up the envelope, carefully opening it.
It read:
To whomever it may concern,
You have gone into the story of Little Red Riding Hood. Now, since you did not follow the original story line of talking to the wolf ect, the story is no longer in use because there is no point to the story, no moral.
Sincerely,
Melisande
Head fairy in charge of storybooks
The. What.
Huh? There is absolutely no way. It had to be some prank or something that a kid put in the book, right? Right?!
There was no way it could be like that. The envelope wasn't there before. I'm going insane...Ruby thought.
She decided she'd head outside and walk around for a bit to clear her head. As she was walking she spotted Lola walking with Martha. They all locked eyes for a moment and stated walking towards each other.
"Hey Ruby!" Martha greeted cheerily. "Hey guys," Ruby replied. "You look tired, are you feeling alright?" Lola asked worriedly. "I'm fine, don't worry about me,"
They walked around for a bit until it was time for dinner.
Heading to the cafeteria they got their food, and tonight was pasta. It was pretty delicious, much better than the food at Ruby's public school, that's for sure. As the three were eating Ruby was lost in thought, thinking about the book and the envelope. So wouldn't that mean that nobody knows the story anymore? Should I ask them? I won't tell them about the book or anything—they'll think I'm crazy, she thought.
Clearing her throat, she asked, "You guys know the story of Little Red Riding Hood, right?" Martha set down her fork, quickly swallowed her food and said, "Huh?" "Little Red who?" Lola chimed in. "You know the don't talk to strangers and the wolf and the grandmother—"
Ruby explained. "I have no idea what you're talking about," Martha said confused. "The fairy tale!" Ruby exclaimed. "Everyone knows it!"
"Um....Ruby, I've never heard of it."
"Same here,"
"Oh nevermind," she said annoyed.
So I erased the story? How am I supposed to fix it? How?
Ruby kept on thinking of possibilities but she doubted they would work. She avoided a lot of contact with the book, she even checked out a different book, and decided that she'd do the essay on Goldilocks and the three bears instead.
Still, guilt lingered in her. She had completely gotten rid of a classic fairy tale that children loved. Now, no child would hear that at bedtime—nobody knew what it was. Yet she had no way to fix it, and she didn't exactly know what she was dealing with. Apparently there's a fairy, too. She made a promise that she would try and solve it soon. Granted it would be hard, especially with school going on and many things she had to keep up with.
It was English when she was zoning out, Mrs. Jenson was going on and on about sentences and grammar, which was the worst part of English, in Ruby's opinion. Tuning her out, she continued to think about the book. Maybe if I send an envelope to Melisande, the head fairy, maybe she could answer....but would it go through? Does it work like a mailbox or something? I wonder if.....her thoughts were disrupted by Mrs. Jenson, who said, "Miss Nighingale!" Ruby quickly snapped out of it, and said "Yes?" "What kind of sentence is on the board?" Ruby quickly scanned the board and said, "Run-on," "Correct. Please don't daydream in class from now on," She heard a few classmates snicker and in embarrassment her cheeks flushed bright red. Internally groaning, she kept her attention on the board.
At dinner she picked at her food, not really listening to the conversation that Lola and Martha were having. "Ruby what do you think?" Lola asked. "Hmmm?" "Do you think that the science quiz will be hard?" "Not really. I think it'll be easy enough," Ruby said thoughtfully. "Hey are you okay? You just seem out of it lately," Martha said. "I'm fine, just tired, I guess,"
After dinner Ruby went to the library, so she could check out the book for longer since it was about to expire. Nobody had it on hold anyway, as expected. Sitting down at a desk, she took out a piece of paper and started to write.
Dear Melisande,
I am writing this because I feel as if there is no other option for me. I got this book as a refresher for an English paper, I certainly did not mean to get into the story and erase it. Is there anything I can do to perhaps fix it? I have no clue what to do. I could really use some information and help.
Yours truly,
Ruby Nightingale
Folding the paper neatly and sliding it into an envelope, she put it inside the book on the same page, closed it up, and continued with her regular studying. Every five minutes she would look back on the book, but the paper was still there. I was stupid to think that it would actually work, Ruby thought with annoyance. Huffing, she put the book in her bag and headed down to her dorm room.
Two weeks had gone by, and no response. Time for plan B, Ruby thought.
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