Chasing Imagination

Casper

Even though it was long since obvious that Amy didn’t really need any books, we still headed to the storeroom regardless, mostly to get away from Felix’s suspicious eyes. He was my closest friend down here, but he also spent a lot of time with Matt, and I didn’t want to drag him into a silent battle that he didn’t deserve to be part of.

‘We’re here now,’ I muttered, all the enthusiasm of our trip having dissolved. ‘Do you want anything?’

She shrugged. ‘I suppose I could look whilst we’re in here.’

‘Have you finished Harry Potter yet?’ I asked.

‘Nearly,’ she replied. ‘It’s good. Have you read it?’

‘Of course I have,’ I said. ‘Everyone has.’ I wasn’t about to start explaining to her the concept of internationally bestselling books and millionaire authors just yet. She still had barely managed to get her head around the fact that Hogwarts was not a real place; not anywhere in the world. Even the castle in Scotland that the movies had been shot in had been demolished with the turn of the century, having been deemed too closely linked with imagination and creativity because of its fame in the fantasy film industry.

Amy

I sat round a table with Casper, Felix, Wolfie and Kira when we went into the dining room for dinner. It seemed that whoever had been on cooking duty wanted to be a professional chef, because the meal was uncharacteristically good. If there was one thing, aside from my family and friends, that I really missed down here, it was decent food. The beds were comfortable; the furniture was decent quality, though not necessarily all appealing to my tastes; even the underground itself could become quite cosy with a different outlook, but the food was what really lacked. Tonight, however, we enjoyed the well-cooked meal of meat and vegetables and lightly crispy potatoes and even homemade sauce. Apparently, a couple of Dreamers from rather more middle-class Surrey backgrounds had raided a supermarket today, which was most likely the reason for this quality.

Naturally, with Felix, Wolfie and Kira sitting around the table, the conversation was predominantly centred around the proposed raid on the marauders’ base, much to Casper’s obvious annoyance.

I tried to pay attention, mostly so that I could learn as much as I could about everything related to the Dreamers. How long could I remain an outsider for?

‘We’re gonna go kick some Soulless arse!’ Wolfie said enthusiastically. The way he said the word ‘Soulless’ made it sound like it deserved a capital letter.

‘What’s the Soulless?’ I asked. ‘Are they—‘

‘It’s just another name for the Marauders,’ Wolfie explained. ‘I think the Germans came up with it—no, wait, wasn’t it that Lithuanian bitch that started it off? Is she even Lithuanian? I dunno—no, maybe she was Russian. Or somethin’ else. Who cares, they’re all the same! She lives in Berlin now anyway. What’s her name again?’

I was laughing by the time Wolfie’s voiced and very fickle train of thought came to an end—something that didn’t really need to be spoken aloud.

‘I dunno,’ Felix shrugged, answering Wolfie’s question and conveying his distinct lack of enthusiasm for this Lithuanian-stroke-Russian woman. ‘Casper?’

‘Never met her,’ Casper replied shortly.

‘You’ve heard about her though,’ Felix argued.

‘Who hasn’t? I don’t see you remembering her name.’

‘Apparently she’s well fit!’

The conversation went on like this for several minutes and Kira caught my eye with a despairing expression of 'such typical boys' that made me giggle. Eventually, it moved onto something else, still girl related of course, though rather tenuously, and then it was finally back to the raid on the Marauder/Soulless base.

Eventually Casper seemed to simply get bored and, not even bothering to finish his meal, got up and left. I knew he was in a bad mood, but this was unusual all the same. The conversation died down momentarily and we all turned to face him.

‘Be back in a minute,’ he muttered. The remaining three faces turned to me, their expressions confusing, but I interpreted that they were looking to me for answers.

‘I’ll go and see what’s wrong,’ I said meekly, standing up and hurrying off after him.

‘Casper!’ I called quietly as I exited the dining hall almost at a run. I saw him, already far down the corridor, heading left, presumably to the bedrooms. He didn’t answer, but he might not have heard, so I jogged after him.

‘Casper,’ I said again when I was considerably closer. This time, he did look round, and his pale blue eyes really were ice.

‘What?’ he demanded, not shouting, but so cold that it made me recoil backwards.

‘I’m sorry,’ I muttered, shrinking back into the shadows.

He turned and walked away, further into the bedroom area, and I followed still, though this time a little further behind.

When he reached his room he strode in purposefully, knowing that Felix was still in the dining room and he was therefore alone. He didn’t slam the door so, my confidence growing beyond what I could have dreamed of, I peered in. He was gazing up at me.

‘Come in if you want,’ he muttered unenthusiastically. I did so, shuffling in and closing the door softly behind me, my heart thudding irregularly in fear.