@radiant-journeys.
Monday morning. Today was the day. Calem rolled out of bed at 6:20 AM, ten minutes before his alarm was set to go off. Yawning, the boy flipped off the alarm and shot a glance at his mirror, but quickly looked away after catching a glimpse of his out of control hair.
He shuffled into his shoes, continued to neglect his bedhead, and then got dressed. Only when he was about to put on a hat did he pause. “Alright,” he said, “playtime’s over. Come on outta there, you rapscallion, or I’ll tell mom not to give you any pancakes!”
The dark bedroom was silent. So silent, in fact, that when the ghost in Calem’s hair peeked her head out and sneezed, it sounded like a Donphan had walked through the door. Calem snickered and reached up, picking up the small phantom so he could cradle her in his arms.
The second the ghost left his hair, it was no longer unruly, and had returned to normal.
“Good morning.” Calem flashed a smile at the ghost-- a tiny Misdreavus-- and then patted her head. “You offered to walk with me to the professor’s lab last week. That deal’s still on, right, Maggie? You didn’t forget, did you?”
Maggie squealed in excitement. The little ghost wriggled in Calem’s arms, almost as if to say, No way, no how! Let’s go right now! Calem! C’moooon, let’s goooo!
And so they did. The two of them raced down the stairs after Calem had secured his hat, and then they both waved hello to his mom. She was already at the griddle cooking. The pancakes she flipped onto Calem and Maggie’s plates were just as good as they always were, as her son was sure to tell her.
Smiling, the woman ruffled her son’s hair. “Good luck today, kiddo.” She pressed a kiss to his cheek before heading back into the kitchen to wash the dishes. “Tell the professor I said hi.”
Calem nodded. “Sure, ma’am. I’ll do my best.”
After his mother disappeared into the kitchen, he stood, grabbed the backpack he had prepared the night before, and then gestured Maggie toward the front door. He grabbed the handle confidently, but that confidence instantly faded once he opened the door and saw an unfamiliar face waiting behind it.
“O-Oh,” he stammered. “Um, hi...? What are... who...” His voice dipped to a whisper. It was hard to hear just what exactly he was saying. “Will this take long? I’m kind of in a hurry, sorry...”
