Today you have started your journey, and
you have made a new friend…
Now you can begin to search for the
answers you long for…
What will you find?
Will you be able to surmount all the
obstacles that fate has laid before you?
Julian sat up from the sofa where he was sleeping and looked around the small apartment he was in. There were piles of gadgets and electronic equipment everywhere. On the far end there was a small curtain that designated the limit between the rest of the apartment and the girl, Julian’s host’s, room. The kitchen was limited to a microwave, a stove, and a sink; this last one was piled high with dirty dishes. There was one window, which had a lovely view of a brick wall spray-painted with graffiti. Julian was highly amused by a small message towards the bottom that read: “I’m a vulgar message, please read me! –Thank you”.
As he stared out the window, Julian heard his host come out from her ‘room’, head over to the kitchen and pull a couple of bowls for cereal. Wordlessly, the girl poured two bowls of cereal, handed one to Julian, then sat on the couch to eat. The first words out of her mouth were typical questions such as, “How’d you sleep?” or “Hope the couch was comfy.” Spread in between the spaces where her mouth was full of cereal. Julian sat beside the girl and began eating as well. He felt very awkward. “Umm…” he began. “I…thanks for…you know…”
The girl waved her off with her spoon, spraying him with droplets of milk. “It’s no problem. It’s the least I could have done.” She then turned back to her cereal. Julian sighed. “Do you…live here by yourself?” The girl nodded. “Yep. It’s not so bad, you know. You get used to it.” She gulped her last mouthful of cereal, then got up and piled her bowl on the sink. “By the way, I never caught your name.”
Julian gasped. “Oh! I’m sorry. It’s…Julian.” He paused. “And you?” The girl giggled. “I…promise you won’t laugh.” She looked at Julian expectantly. “Ever.” Julian nodded. “It’s a deal.” He watched as the girl breathed in deeply, then focused. “My name…is Peel.”
“I don’t find that funny at all.” Julian cocked his head to the side. “Actually, I like it.” Peel smiled excitedly. “Really?! I can’t believe it! This is the first time anyone’s ever heard my name without laughing! This is great!” Julian’s eyes became wide as saucers as Peel danced around the room in glee. Then, as suddenly as she started, she stopped. She let out a nervous chuckle as she scratched her head with one hand and placed the other on her hip. “Sorry,” she began. “I get excited very easily.”
***
“So that’s why your in Merrysville? To go to Podunk?” Peel interrogated Julian as she cooked, or rather, attempted to cook, lunch for the both of them. Julian, on the other hand, had decided to help clean the apartment up and straiten everything out. “Yep.” He answered. “If I can find this Ninten guy I’ll be able to find out about my powers and the prism- and maybe stop the weird robot attacks.” He paused and scratched his chin, nearly dropping the power drill he held in the process. “Although, come to think of it, I haven’t been attacked since I got here.” Peel stopped cooking and held up her forefinger in a very explicative manner. “Maybe you wooped ‘em so good the last time that they’re afraid of you!” she chirped. Julian shrugged. “Maybe.”
Peel put a plate of sausages in the microwave, then flopped down on the sofa. “Say, I wonder what’s on TV?” she asked, apparently to no one in particular. Julian sat down beside her. “You don’t have a TV.” Peel scoffed and produced a tiny television from under the couch. “Shows what you know.” She stretched the antenna, then flipped the tiny knob on the side to turn it on. The black-and-white television flickered briefly as the image came on.
“Hey, what’s this?” Peel shouted out as Julian got up to take the plate out of the microwave. “Something’s going down over near the train station. Look!” She turned up the volume so Julian could hear, then held up the TV. The image was that of the train station, albeit in flames. A male reporter was standing before it, while the camera trembled. “A strange individual has been wreaking havoc at the Merysville Train Station. The individual, a strange masked fellow, has been using a strange type of weapon to destroy everything…” a shaky shot of the attacker appeared on the tiny screen. Julian gasped and the plate he carried dropped to the floor.
“That…that’s a Starman!”