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volume one / the glimmering path of diss appointment
There was nothing more Ivy Campbell loved more than the day after a thunderstorm. Streets are still flooded with rain puddles, left-over rain dropping from tree leaves on unexpected spirits. People in their raincoats, still anxious that a grey cloud will suddenly break over their heads.
It was a quiet afternoon in the Campbell household. Mother cleaning up around the house and Father in the living room, resting his eyes after a long day.
There Ivy sat with a book in her hand and a hand-knitted quilt covering her bare legs.
"Ivy, honey, what have you got there?" Martha Campbell questioned as she opened the door.
Martha took a seat next to the girl who was skimming through an old book in her nightgown.
"The Beautiful And Damned," Ivy replied, eyes still fixed on the book.
"Scott Fitzgerald." Martha eyed the author's name that pressed along the cover. "Do you want to tell me exactly where you got this? I know it's not from Robert."
Ivy sighed deeply, knowing what her mother was implying. "Mother, don't accuse me of such things! I just happened upon this book."
Martha shot her daughter a doubtful look as she looked around the room.
Ivy's room was a small one with chipped thin walls but Ivy still made it her own.
Her nightstand was filled with stashes of candies and stolen jewelry of all sorts. Her window curtains remained ripped from the time she tried using the cloth as a glove.
"Did you steal it from William's shop?" Martha scolded her daughter, already knowing the answer. There was a signing on the back cover of Ivy's book. Property Of William's Workshop.
Ivy nodded solemnly. She knew William's bookstore was off-limits and dangerous.
However, a few boys in her class had been discussing the book. So, when she just happened to see it fading in the Novel section, she couldn't resist swiping it off the shelves.
"That's far too dangerous. He has connections Ivy, you mustn't do such things! You take that book back." Martha demanded.
Her eyes softened immediately at the look on her daughter's face. "I'm sorry, I love you. But you need to be safe. And remember, don't wander when you're out there. Curiosity killed the cat."
Martha leaned over Ivy and planted a kiss on her forehead.
Ivy knew her mother was right, it was reckless. Her judgment was clouded by her strive to be noticed by somebody, once again.
Ivy gave her mother a silent nod. Martha smiled sincerely before walking out of the room and closing the door with a small click.
