Rain Dreams
Chapter 1
By Tom J. Hyde
Version Beta-3
VB1 Finished: September 27, 2009
VB2 Finished: October 24, 2009
VB3 Finished: December 28, 2009
Word Count: 2573

His eyes followed the raven-haired girl as she scampered across the slick quad. She darted between dripping trees and muddy puddles as the clock continued to creak its way toward the four o'clock. For a moment, he thought she would make it into Building C. But a stretch of wet grass caught her unawares and she skidded then tumbled to the ground.

Theodore winced when she rose. Her thick denim overalls were coated with black mud and bits of green grass. The violet poncho was torn in several places. She turned her blushing face away, stomped her way up the steps and disappeared into Building C a moment after the bell rung. A thick cloud of depression followed in her wake.

The young man stood from his perch on the wet rock and slipped the paperback novel into the inside pocket of his battered leather jacket. He slid down the mossy surface and hit the ground, allowing the rain to once again darken the beaten coat. He crept through the dripping foliage of the quad, enjoying the rain upon his shaggy black locks.

On the outskirts of the quad, he noticed the colorful bulletin board. More out of morbid curiosity than anything else, he wandered over and ran his finger along the listing for the cheerleading squad tryouts. He never heard the footsteps coming up behind him.

"Sorry, Theo, she's not on there." Joe Carson clapped him on the shoulder, his umbrella blocking the rain.

"Yeah, I know." Theodore frowned and gave one of the wooden posts a kick. "Should be, though."

Theodore glanced up at his dusty-skinned friend and just shook his head.

"It's over now," Joe prodded gently. "She needs to move on. I don't really think that's the right path for her anyway. With Caitlyn and the rest already at college, she needs to find some people with similar interests."

"You tell her that," Theodore muttered. He remembered her at the top of the bleachers last Friday, staring wistfully at the cheering girls below.

"She'll probably beat me up again," Joe smirked. "Well, at least she has you."

"Yeah, she has me." Theodore's voice was hollow.

"Theodore, it's your senior year." Joe's hand tightened on his shoulder. "You've been in love with this girl since you were six!"

"Thanks for reminding me."

Joe was silent for a few moments. "You're always moping about Marissa, Theo. Honestly, I'm tired of it. So here's what you're going to do."

Theodore glanced up at him, an impatient eyebrow hovering halfway up his forehead.

"Don't give me that look. You're going to do this. Or else."

"Oh, just tell me what it is."

"There's a party at Alan Fork's house on Friday. Tammy and I are going. So you're going to invite Marissa along for a double date."

"Don't think so," Theodore muttered.

"I'm not asking, Theo." Joe cracked his knuckles. It sounded like he was storing thunder in his knuckles.

"Was that supposed to scare me?" Despite the guy's hulking size, Theodore knew Joe would never lay a finger on him.

"No, but this will. Do it my way and ask her yourself, or I'm going to ask her for you."

"You wouldn't." Theodore shivered in the cool air of the storm.

Joe's eyes had the emotional capacity of ball bearings. "Try me."

"Why now?!" He waved his arms, splattering water across the bulletin board.

"Because if I have to listen to you sigh longingly one more time, I will completely and totally lose it. Friends don't let friends pine."

"Get that out of a fortune cookie?"

"Pocky box, actually." Joe slapped him on the shoulder. "So what's it going to be?"

Joe would do it. He would be thinking he was helping and he would actually ask Marissa out for him. Theodore's mind began to slip down the path, wondering what her reactions might be. Would it be easier working through him?

Yeah, it would be easier, but he would still regret it forever.

"Fine. You win."

"I knew you'd see things my way!" Joe looked like the proverbial cat who swallowed the equally proverbial canary. "Just get her a little something first. A fun little present to get her feeling happy."

Theodore nodded absently, glancing behind him to Building C.

"Now, if you want my advice, I'd try getting some-" Joe's watch suddenly started beeping. He cursed.

"Listen, Theo, I need to get going. Tammy's waiting for me."

Theodore waved him off without a word. Joe gave him one of those dazzling grins before darting away, leaving the teen standing under the narrow awning of the bulletin board. Several minutes passed as his gaze wandered from the water-stained posting to the concrete structure of Building C.

A gift didn't sound like a bad idea. It always worked in those silly romantic comedies his mom watched every Friday night. Immediately his mind went to the classics. Roses, chocolates and plushies were all considered and discarded. Marissa was never one for the trite trappings of romance. She would want something special. Something that mattered to her as a person, instead of just as a girl.

He had four days until the party. At least he had a little bit of time to think about it. His mind wandered to and fro as he left his shelter and walked along the cracked sidewalk toward the parking lot. While he brainstormed for the perfect gift, he amused himself by kicking a rock the size of his fist ahead of him.

By the time he reached the inner edge of the parking lot, he still hadn't come up with a single good idea, though he had plenty of mediocre ones.

With a sudden surge of annoyance, he unleashed all of his frustrations upon the small lump of earth. It was somewhat cathartic.

At least until he heard the crack of stone hitting wood.

His face went red and he slowly lifted his wet head to see the damage.

But he couldn't quite figure out what he was looking at.

An immense orange merchandise cart with a rather sizeable break through the right side stared back at him. It looked like one of those junk carts one would see Asian merchants hauling through bad kung-fu movies. Only this one had enormous day-glo green wheels, a psychedelic paintjob and an enormous floral beach umbrella on the top, covering a bizarre furry lump. An explosion of fuchsia ran along the wide countertops, filled with an assortment of oddly shaped packages and boxes.

Thick yellow awnings protected the cart from the rain, each of them spanning at least three feet. Beads and ribbons hung from them like an assortment of dangling cat toys.

Theodore couldn't figure out what was stranger: the sheer appearance of the cart or the fact it was in the middle of a high school parking lot during a rainstorm.

"Who does this?" a voice muttered sleepily from behind the cart. Theodore made ready to dart behind a nearby car when a turquoise turban popped out. Two brilliant gray eyes stabbed the teenager, freezing him in place.

The teenager shuffled his feet, just realizing how incredibly wet the pavement was beneath him, despite the fact the rain had just let up. He heard the patter of little feet splashing through the puddles as the odd little man walked around to the other side of the cart and saw the damage.

With a wince, he muttered, "I'm sorry, mister. I didn't see your cart."

The man suddenly leapt forward and dipped his head low enough so he could peer into Theodore's eyes. The eyes widened before he cocked his head back and forth like a quizzical chicken. The teenager took a nervous step backwards.

"Lovesick boy didn't see cart?" The enormous gray eyes blinked. Theodore could see every single whisker on his swarthy face.

"No sir, I was…um…distracted…" He shuffled his feet a little more.

"Lovesick boy distracted often in recent moons, yes?"

"What...what do you mean?"

"Lovesick boy knows." His eyes spun like tops and somehow, Theodore found himself a lot closer to the cart. "Hasid never wrong. Always knows."

Theodore took a step back. "Who are you?"

"Hasid may have thing you need!" He giggled. It barely sounded human. "And thing she need too! Not good with boys like girls, but Hasid try!"

"What are you talking about?" Theodore couldn't track the conversation. He wished he was still looking at Building C. Or had continued to walk by without kicking the rock. Or just about anything to prevent him from being here at this precise moment.

"Distraction sad for lovesick boy. Lovesick boy sad because unicorn girl sad."

"Unicorn girl." This time, it wasn't a question. There was a note of real fear in Theodore's voice.

"Yes! Unicorn girl. Girl lovesick boy know. Like to scribble. Dance and prance."

"You can't know that!" His breath shuddered in his chest. "No one knows that!"

"Hasid knows!" He crept a little closer. "Hasid makes happy."

"Are you a stalker?"

"He's not a stalker," a voice from above said. "He's just weird."

He looked up to see shining almond eyes staring down at him. Shining almond eyes framed by golden fur, a black nose, two thick fuzzy ears and a bemused grin.

"W-w-w-what?!" he screamed, scrambling backwards. He overbalanced and fell on his rear. While he landed hard against his backpack, he barely registered the impact. His legs were far too busy kicking at the pavement in a wild attempt to scramble away from the furred alien face.

The creature's eyes rolled and two thick paws became visible over the lip of the awning. But when the gigantic white wings lifted from the being's back, Theodore knew he was losing his mind.

"Don't hurt me!" he squealed in horror, covering his eyes with his hand as if to fend off the very sight of the thing on the cart.

"Be nice to lovesick boy!" Hasid snapped.

"I didn't do anything, you crazy nut!" a husky woman's voice shot back. "I just told him you weren't a stalker! You creep people out when you do that wizard thing."

"Hasid no wizard. Hasid is master of Hasid's art, but no wizard is Hasid."

"Yeah, I know, you clown."

The argument sounded old. But there wasn't any real anger or animosity in the words. It sounded more like a script they had rehearsed so many times it came naturally to them. The sheer calmness of the exchange allowed Theodore to open his eyes and look at the creature atop the cart.

"Y-you're a sphinx!" he cried, pointing his finger at the furred woman.

The two stopped their bickering and glanced back at goggle-eyed teenager.

"Well he's brighter than the last few people to come across us," the creature quipped. The little man called Hasid didn't respond directly to her, but skittered up to Theodore instead.

"Lovesick boy want thing to fix unicorn girl role?" he chittered.

"How do you know about that?" He meant it as a demand. And it was. If he was going for a demand from a terrified mouse.

The sphinx huffed and shook her head. "Because he knows this kind of thing, kid. Just accept it and move on."

For a second, Theodore almost snapped at her. But it seemed wise to listen to a mythical creature that was supposed to eat people. So he pushed aside his questions and just tried to track the crazy little man's speech.

"Okay…" Theodore responded.

"So lovesick boy want?" Hasid jumped up and down a little. "Hasid give lovesick boy special price! Twofer!"

"I don't even know what you're talking about."

The sphinx girl gave another huff.

"Come!" Hasid bounced away like some sort of drunken hyperactive rabbit, going back to the cart. When he arrived, he turned to see Theodore in the exact same spot as before.

"Come here, lovesick boy!" he gibbered, waving at him.

"He won't actually hurt you, kid," the sphinx said.

"Who are you anyway?" he asked as he climbed to his feet.

"I'm…Brooke and that lunatic is Hasid," the sphinx responded.

"And you're…his pet?"

A low growl burned from Brooke's throat and Theodore realized he made a mistake. "I'm sorry!" he yelped. "I didn't mean anything by it."

"It's…okay," she grunted. "Let's just say I'm…forcibly employed at the moment."

Theodore knew better than to risk any further questions on the matter and approached the waiting Hasid, who was hopping around near one of the enormous counters tops. He held up two plastic packages for him to inspect.

"Rainbow Glade," the teen read, looking at the left package. There was a dark forest on the front of the package above the text, the kind of forest filled with magical creatures from the fantasy books he and Marissa passed back and forth.

"Make unicorn girl very happy. Especially in bust and role!"

Theodore stopped for a moment, trying to wrap his mind around the words.

"Do yourself a favor, kid," Brooke piped in from above. "Just don't ask."

"Okay…" he murmured, then turned his attention to the box in Hasid's right hand. "Spirit of the Plains?"

"This special for lovesick boy. Happy work with unicorn girl."

"So it's designed to work with the other one?"

"Yes yes yes yes!" Hasid cackled. "But very important lovesick boy and unicorn girl use separate places to smell."

"Uh, okay," Theodore muttered.

"Lovesick boy buy now. Time is right."

It was everything Theodore could do not to run screaming into the school and demand the police come out here and take them away. Assuming they were actually here and this wasn't some insane hallucination. Which he hadn't entirely discounted. Maybe right now, he was actually in the back of an ambulance, riding to a nice safe asylum where he wouldn't have to deal with crazy turbaned salespeople and furred sphinx-girls.

But never once had he actually felt threatened. Despite Hasid's creepy "I-know-all-your-secrets" vibe and his first glimpse at Brooke, he felt no danger.

There was the possibility this was all some elaborate prank. But then there was the matter of Brooke. His best guess was she was in an elaborate costume. Though even that didn't sound right to him.

And if this was all real and he had the offer to actually buy something magical, he would never forgive himself if he passed it up.

There was a soft thump behind him. He turned and saw the sphinx girl rising from a crouch, her wings slipping behind her back. His eyes widened as he traced her powerful curves, a perfect melding of animal muscle and feminine beauty. Theodore licked his suddenly dry lips and tried not to stare at the straining white tank top or the tight curve of her cargo pants. Whatever she was, this was no costume.

"Listen kid," she said. The husky sound of her voice conjured images he didn't want to think about at the moment. But underneath the sound was a tone of heartfelt meaning. "I know that crazy old goat is weird, but do yourself a favor. Take his offer."

"But you said you were 'forcibly employed,'" he pointed out.

"My story isn't yours," she said.

A few more seconds passed. Theodore turned to Hasid. "How much?"