“Come on, Darko, time to get up!” Uncle Jay calls from the kitchen. I groan at the sunlight entering through my window. “Crepes for breakfast!” Then my eyes snap open. Nutella crepes with strawberries and whipped cream are my favorite. I scramble to get up out of my bed.
“I’m coming! Just a second!” I call, adjusting my messy strawberry-blonde hair into a messy bun. I then open my door and race down the hallway to the kitchen, where I almost ran into someone.
“Whoa, slow down there, Speedy, you’re gonna hurt someone,” I knew that voice. Aaron Goodwin. I was shocked he was here. I froze in place, mouth wide open.
“M-Mr. Goodwin, wh-what are you doing here?” I ask, stuttering in surprise.
“He asked if he could come over for breakfast and meet you,” Aunt Ashley answered. I was absolutely stunned.
“Hey, Donnie Darko, your crepe is ready,” Uncle Jay tells me, snapping me from the shock. I then hurry to put the Nutella, strawberries, and whipped cream on the noodle-smelling and tasting flat pancake-like patty… I really don’t know how to compare things like this.
“It’s nice to finally meet you in person, Mr. Goodwin, I watch the show all the time, reruns of other seasons and such.” I say calmly.
“Please, call me Aaron,” the investigator smiles. “Now, how old are you, Dawn?”
“I’m fifteen years old, and ever since I started to watch the show, I’ve wanted to be in the crew like Aunt Ashley and Uncle Jay,” I explain. “That, my friend, is why I have some of my own equipment.”
“You do?’ Aaron asked. I nodded, taking a bite of my delicious crepe. “I mean like that’s really cool. Aren’t you scared of being attacked or getting sick or hurt, though?”
“No, not really, I have this necklace-” I take it out from under my shirt with my free, right hand and show him- “to keep me safe. It’s my guardian angel.” Aaron looks to my aunt and uncle.
“You know, we don’t see this kind of courage everyday,” he starts, “if it’s alright with you two, I can talk to Zak and see if we can get her to investigate with us.”
“Dawn, don’t you have school though?” Ashley asks me. I shook my head.
“It’s the summer, and I finished early,” I answer, swallowing my bite.
“Then, all you need to do is be ready for what might come,” Aaron tells me. Throughout this part of the conversation, Jay has been silent.
“Alright, I’ll allow it, but if something happens, we stop, okay?” He agrees. I nodded. “Okay, once you finish, pack up your clothes and such, but don’t forget your equipment.” I took the last bite as he said this, and placed my plate in the dishwasher, racing off again to go pack.
I carefully folded my short white T-shirt and leather jacket and pleated black skirt., and set them neatly into a large suitcase along with my heeled combat boots. That’s what I’ll wear investigating. As I fold and place my light, capri jeans and crimson-red Hogwarts crop-top T-shirt, my head starts to hurt and my ears start to ring. I sat there for a moment, hands on my temples until the ringing stopped. It didn’t for almost a whole minute. This has happened before, in the past, and I never told anyone. I don’t want them to freak out. I sigh when it finally stops, and continue to pack my clothes.
We got onto the plane in only a couple of minutes since we’re going first class. I always get the window seat, regardless of it being on my ticket or not. So I waited, watching out the window.
“Hey, Speedy,” Aaron greeted from across the aisle. I turned, with a hopeful expression on my face. “Zak will talk to you once we are at flight level.” I got all jittery then.
“Cool, thanks, Aaron,” I acknowledged, before taking out my sketchbook, and a still picture of my aunt and uncle on my camera to continue the real-life sketch I was working on.
“That’s cool, kid,” another familiar voice commented from behind me. Billy Tolley. I turned around to face him, shocked once again.
“Th-Thanks, Mr. Tolley,” I stuttered. He waved it off.
“Call me Billy, and really, it’s great.” He tells me. I smile and turn back, inwardly going nuts.
The plane finally takes off, and I clutch the arm-rests tightly, feeling like it might fall. Take off and landings cause me to have anxiety, which unfortunately triggered the headache/ear ring. That lasted past the time we got to the flight level, so I excused myself to the bathroom. I sat on the toilet lid with my hands on my temples and eyes squeezed shut. It continued for another thirty seconds before it stopped. I stood again, and splashed some water on my face to snap me out of any more pain. As I walked down the aisle again I saw that my aunt and uncle had moved over a little so I could talk to Zak Bagans. Aaron had moved over as well.
“Hello, Mr. Bagans,” I greet, sitting in the aisle seat.
“Hello, Miss Wasley,” he acknowledges. I wave off the comment.
“Please, call me Dawn, or Darko, or Donnie Darko,” I smile. He chuckles.
“Okay, Donnie Darko, you can call me Zak,” he says. I nodded. “Okay, so Aaron has asked me if I would let you investigate with us. You’re, what, fifteen? I’m not really sure about that. But you said you have a guardian angel looking after you, and that you are not totally afraid of being attacked.”
“That is true, I have some courage when it comes to things I can’t see,” I explained. “I believe in all the paranormal you could think of: Bigfoot; Aliens; you name it. I love the ghost stuff so much, I bought my own equipment.” His brows raise in surprise.
“Have you ever used any of it?” He asked. I shook my head ‘no’.
“I haven’t, but seeing you guys use it so much, I learned quickly, with Uncle Jay’s help.” I smile. “I learned how to prepare myself for what might happen, to protect myself from any negative spirits.”
“That’s great, let me think for a little while longer and I’ll tell you what I think, okay?” He tells me. I nod.
“Right, that’s great, I’m gonna go back to drawing, I’ll be listening to music, so if you need to get my attention, pull my headphones off.” I say back. He nods as I take out my things and continue to sketch the still picture.
A half and hour or so later, I had been listening to the song Bohemian Rhapsody, the Panic! At the Disco version, when I felt someone pull my headphones down. I jumped a little at the sudden action.
“Calm down, Darko, it’s just me,” Zak told me. I sighed in relief.
“Right, Zak, what’s your decision?” I asked. He looked at me seriously. I stared right back, trying to hold back a smile. I could tell he was as well.
“You can go,” he says, my jaw drops as he switches back with Aaron.
“Way to go, Donnie Darko,” he says, high-fiving me. “Billy told me about your drawing, is it done?”
“Um, yeah, of course, wanna see it?” I ask. He nods frantically. I pick up the sketchbook and face it toward him.
“Dang, that’s amazing, Dawn, can you draw me?”
“Of course, just let me get a picture of you first,” I say, taking out my camera again. I face it toward him. I think Zak may have noticed and leaned forward, he put the bunny ears behind Aarons head which made me giggle. I snapped the picture and flipped the page to a clean sheet. “Alright, now sit back and relax while I sketch you.” I pull my headphones back onto my head and hit play on the song Weak by AJR. I nod my head to the beat as I draw the outline.
258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrVfrngYnLd
