Still sweating from the Inauguration Day Ball, I walk into the secret room eyeing the lines of shelves with leather bound volumes. Some are collecting dust yet others are well worn. The only area of the burgundy walls that aren't covered by the mahogany shelves are a few small alcoves that hold paintings of past presidents.
The earlier presidents stand in front of me. In the center, the 48th president, Felix Torres, holds a book much larger than I would have imagined. His burnt sienna eyes wrinkle at the corners with a welcoming smile. The book is thicker than the height of an apple and has the proportions of your average 3 ring binder. It is a ragged, tawny brown with a sturdy metal strap wrapped around it. The hinged iron meets in the middle …show more content…
“No, you definitely can’t.” Isabella nods towards the book in my hands. “What you’re holding doesn't only know all the secrets of the cosmos, but it also knows all the life changing events that are about to happen. Every day you have to use that book’s instruction to stop catastrophic events.”
“How often does it spit out this information?”
“Every day,” Felix says gravely.
“It’s not always huge information like bombings and hurricanes though. Sometimes it’s just something marginally small,” Isabella answers.
“If it knows all this, why do we still have crime?” I set the book on the edge of the shelf nearest to me and wipe my sweaty hands on the fabric of my pants.
Isabella fidgets. “We can't stop all disasters, and we can’t change the future. We just have to halt stoppable events and minimize the damage.”
“‘We?’ Does that mean you'll help me?”
“Any questions you have about the book or you don't want to ask the book, I’ll try to answer,” Felix says. Isabella nods in agreement. Mack just stares at the door.
I open my mouth but don't know what to say. “Help me” and “don’t leave me alone with this” seem like a good option. “What about all these other books? Are they like
The earlier presidents stand in front of me. In the center, the 48th president, Felix Torres, holds a book much larger than I would have imagined. His burnt sienna eyes wrinkle at the corners with a welcoming smile. The book is thicker than the height of an apple and has the proportions of your average 3 ring binder. It is a ragged, tawny brown with a sturdy metal strap wrapped around it. The hinged iron meets in the middle …show more content…
“No, you definitely can’t.” Isabella nods towards the book in my hands. “What you’re holding doesn't only know all the secrets of the cosmos, but it also knows all the life changing events that are about to happen. Every day you have to use that book’s instruction to stop catastrophic events.”
“How often does it spit out this information?”
“Every day,” Felix says gravely.
“It’s not always huge information like bombings and hurricanes though. Sometimes it’s just something marginally small,” Isabella answers.
“If it knows all this, why do we still have crime?” I set the book on the edge of the shelf nearest to me and wipe my sweaty hands on the fabric of my pants.
Isabella fidgets. “We can't stop all disasters, and we can’t change the future. We just have to halt stoppable events and minimize the damage.”
“‘We?’ Does that mean you'll help me?”
“Any questions you have about the book or you don't want to ask the book, I’ll try to answer,” Felix says. Isabella nods in agreement. Mack just stares at the door.
I open my mouth but don't know what to say. “Help me” and “don’t leave me alone with this” seem like a good option. “What about all these other books? Are they like