Museum Studies

Star Walker

Soggy leaves and puddle littered the crowded city streets as Roberta made her way to the strange bookshop where that man with the fiery had been sitting on the first day she saw him. It was near the gym and the park, just around the bend, past the traffic lights, and... There it was! It was a wonderfully creaky old shop, with a black and silver sign saying "Silver Magician booksellers- rare copies, antiques, secondhand books." The door was closed, and a little silver bell rang as Roberta opened the door, and she walked through a bead curtain as she entered the dark little room. The interior was wildly cluttered, reminding her of some kind of magical Wizard's shop. The bookcases were stuffed with all kinds of books, from manga to heavy law tomes. All kinds of odd trinkets, such as clocks and globes, lined the top of the shelves. Dusky red curtains covered the windows and the entire place smelt overpoweringly of incense, making it seem like some kind of mysterious library from the Arabian Nights. Oddly, the walls were white, painted with little cartoon knights and birds, like lineart.

"Welcome, stranger." A voice said. Roberta looked towards the back of the shop, where a desk was illuminated by several Turkish glass lamps. The antique till shone in the gloom, and behind it sat that strange man who'd talked about her aura. His prosthetic hands were steepled under his chin, and that familiar aura glowed around him.

"You're the man who talked about me being a "dormant user..." Roberta said, staring at him with curiosity. "And you've got the same kind of fuzzy aura that I got after pricking myself on the arrow."

Avdol's eyes widened at this.

"The Stand Arrow? So you work at Joseph's old museum, the one now run by Noriaki..."

"What's a Stand? And how do you know my boss?" Roberta asked, thoroughly confused.

"You've got a lot to learn, girl. Let's take this upstairs."

Avdol closed the shop's door and put up the "CLOSED" sign, then escorted Roberta through a door. It led to a stairwell with a stair lift along the side, which in turn led up to a flat above the shop.

"Jean Pierre, we've got a guest! She's just developed a Stand, like that lucky girl we got a few years ago."

A man with tall silver hair rolled into the room in a wheelchair, a pink eye patch covering one of his eyes. He had ink on his hands, as if he was a cartoonist or a artist, and he covered the mirrors in the room with cloths.

"We're dealing with spirits here, Avdol, so we've got to cover the mirrors so they don't get in." He said.

"Good thinking, Jean." Avdol replied.

"Not only is it a tradition for me, it's also practical. Remember that bastard with the matching hands?" Polnareff sighed, and glanced over to a black and white photo of a young woman as he covered the last mirror.

"Anyway, I'm Polnareff, this is Avdol. You are..."

"Oh, I'm Roberta. Avdol said something about me being a "dormant user", and a few days ago I developed a... Stand, was it? Anyway, I've got that aura you two have."

Polnareff appeared to have a silvery-black aura, like a tarnished platter. Roberta's was an eerie green, like those glow in the dark plastic toys.

"Another Stand user! I'll make you a hot drink, then we can fill you in on Stands." Polnareff said, wheeling himself over to the kitchen.

"Get her some mint tea!" Avdol called, taking off his robe and sitting down.

"Oh, she'd probably much rather have hot chocolate."

"Tea!"

"Chocolate!"

"Tea!"

"Oh, fine... Chocolate it is."