Notes

Delaying Perfection
Alexis Morris
Aston sighed dramatically, wishing something unfortunate would happen to the seemingly faultless town of Alcombey. However, no natural disaster or tragedy will ever touch it. He unwillingly got ready for the upcoming ceremony. Aston began to dress himself in his fanciest clothing, a suit and tie, just like everyone else in Alcombey. Each citizen has a wardrobe of the same clothes, tailored to fit each individual perfectly. There are a few tailors who design their own clothing, but the things they sell are too expensive for people who aren’t paid often.
This day marks the end of the year Aston and a few others turned 18. Every person’s duty in the community is revealed to them when they become 18 years old. The process is long, but for some, it is worth the wait. No one knows what happens during this time, but they just know that by the end of it, words appear when you close your eyes. Aston thinks the whole thing is a scam created by the king.
While he was walking toward the centre of the town where the meeting would be held, Aston saw his childhood friend, Sapphire Harland, skipping along on the sidewalk. He waved her over to him so he could return her necklace that she left at the library. “Hey, Sapphire.” he said in his usual quiet voice.
“Hello, Aston! Are you excited to see how you’ll contribute to the community?” she inquired. Sapphire was always curious, sometimes a bit too much. She almost was put in jail for asking the King’s guards too many questions about the King. Aston smiled at the memory, causing Sapphire to interrogate him.
“What are you smiling about? Is it a joke? Can you tell it to me? I love jokes!” she spoke too quickly for Aston to actually answer her questions. He knew that he couldn’t get away with ‘It’s nothing’. He would never hear the end of all her inquiries. So, he replied with, “I was just thinking about the time you almost became a prisoner.” After that, she calmed down a bit.
“Okay. But you never answered my original question,” Sapphire remarked. “Dang it. I tried to avoid answering that. I should’ve known better with a girl like her,” Aston thought. He had to quickly come up with a reply, or else she would just keep repeating what she said.
“Uhh, well, to be honest, I’m a bit nervous,” he replied. Seeing the hue of her azure blue eyes darken, Aston immediately knew that was the wrong answer. “I-I mean I’m nervous because we might not get the same job.” The brightness returned to Sapphire’s eyes. She pulled Aston into a hug, saying, “Don’t worry! Even if we were split up, we can still visit each other!”
“I guess you’re right,” Aston’s sheepish grin returned as he let a small chuckle escape his lips. Just then, a bell rang, signifying the start of the meeting. “We should probably hurry up. You don’t want to be late, do you?”
Sapphire and Aston sprinted as fast as they could, which wasn’t all that fast, so they didn’t delay the service any more than they already have. “Next up is Sapphire Harland. Sapphire? Are you here?” the king, Tristan Bishop, announced. Aston and Sapphire hurriedly climbed the stairs to the stage where the royal family and a wizard were waiting. “Yes, sir. I’m, I mean, we’re here,” he said quietly. The queen scolded them for being late, which caused Aston to apologise two times more than he had to (for himself and for Sapphire. She almost never apologises).
“Miss Sapphire. If you’d stand over here, please,” the wizard, Arden, directed. She complied, and excitedly awaited her position. He placed his hand on her shoulder and they both closed their eyes. Arden gasped loudly and drew back as if he was afraid of what he saw in her. The crowd murmured things including “What happened?”, “Is she evil?”, and even “What is she doing to him?” Aston was furious. They didn't even wait to see what Arden told everyone what her duty was. He looked up to the stage, thinking that she wasn’t taking the crowd’s words seriously. However, she was terrified. He could see her slowly backing up from where she stood. Her eyes were closed shut and tearing up. Aston screamed “What did you do to her?” Arden chuckled, shaking his head. “The question you should be asking is what she did to you? You see, this girl is a witch. Get her out of here.”
“No, that’s not true. Aston! It’s not true!” Sapphire shrieked as she was being dragged away by the guards. Aston clutched her necklace tightly, cursing himself for being so forgetful.
Sapphire wore her necklace almost all the time, since her parents gave it to her. It was a teardrop aquamarine pendant with a bejewelled curlicue accent on its left side. The pendant hung on a thin, silvery chain. Her parents told her it would protect her one day, but neither Sapphire nor Aston understood how a necklace could protect someone.
Arden’s grating voice interrupted Aston’s thoughts. “Alright, moving on. Will Aston Holt come onto the stage?” Of course, this caused the crowd to gossip once again. The main thing he heard from them was “He’s that witch’s friend.” Reluctantly, Aston walked onto the stage. Arden placed his hand on Aston’s shoulder and began to mutter incoherently.