Solstice
“I can’t believe I didn’t think of this before!” Biana said as Sophie and Linh followed her down Everglen’s massive halls.“It’s going to be awesome. I went two years ago and it was the most fun I’ve ever had.” Sophie was about to ask her what she was doing, but she was stopped by a crisp, accented voice.
“Where are you guys going?” Fitz’s voice came from the nearest room. The door was open and Fitz and Keefe were sprawled out on the floor, staring at the ceiling. Biana smirked.
“Only the best place ever!”
Fitz rolled his eyes. “Seriously.”
“I want to do something,” Keefe whined.
“We’re going to the Solstice,” She replied. Both boys sat up so quickly it looked nauseating. “Sophie and Linh haven’t gone, and I need to take them,” Biana continued.
“What?! How come we didn’t think of that?” Keefe said.
“Can somebody please explain what Solstice is?” Sophie asked.
“It’s an awesome place where you can do anything that’s deemed fun.” Keefe continued. ”I swear that last Universe test drained my brain. Otherwise I would’ve thought of it.”
“Have you been?” She asked him.
“Eh. My dad says it’s a waste of time, but he wouldn’t know.” He sneaked an evil glance at Fitz, and he grinned back. They stood up and walked toward them.
“Where are you going?” Biana asked.
“Solstice, obviously,” Fitz replied. She sighed and led them farther down the hall to a guest bedroom that Sophie guessed was never used before. Biana walked over to the vanity and felt the underside of it. Her hand stopped and pulled something, and a bright purple crystal tumbled out. She smiled triumphantly and walked over. Everyone held hands for the light leap.
“Solstice, here we come,” Biana said as she held up the crystal to the light.
“Whoa,” Sophie breathed as they appeared in front of a gigantic crystal building built with vibrant colors. Teenagers and families were scattered among them as they walked inside a huge entry room bustling with noise and laughter. A bored security guard held up a scanner in one hand and a magazine in the other.
“Next,” he said. Sophie and her friends moved up as he scanned their registry pendants, not even looking up from his magazine. He handed them cards that had their profile on them, and said that that was their ticket to everything. They moved to a place surrounded by shops and restaurants, and Sophie thought of the little malls the humans had. That seemed like nothing compared to this. Biana pointed to a little stand on the opposite side of where they were standing. It had a picture of what looked like a smoothie on it. She got them all drinks, and they tasted like oranges, despite the greenish hue they were. Biana squealed. “Look how many places there are!” She sighed as she gazed at a sparkly necklace in a shop window.
Keefe sighed. “Are you guys seriously going shopping? I swear shopping is as much fun as watching bangs boy eat celery.” He turned to Fitz. “C’mon, let’s go to the arcade.” Biana rolled her eyes. “No, we’re going to watch the Bramble championships,” she replied. Sophie didn’t know much about bramble, but she knew it was a popular elvin sport that they held a championship for every three years. Everyone had been talking about it for forever, and she couldn’t wait to see how good it actually was. It turned out to be super fun, and Sophie cheered the team Biana, Fitz, and Keefe supported. Linh didn’t know much about it, because when she was in Exillium she focused more about survival than sports. They stayed there, having fun until late at night when everyone started to get heavy-lidded and sleepy. Sophie leaped home and snuggled Ella tight, thinking about the fun she had. Solstice was definitely a place to remember.
