8:00 PM

Lia wiped her brow of sweat and glanced out the window, the sun was going down. It was finally time. She wiped her hands on her pants and gleefully skipped out of the motel room she had been cleaning. She went back down to the staff room, carefully avoiding contact with anyone else. Once she got into the locker room she quickly changed her clothes, stripping the fatigues the cleaners were forced to wear for her usual streetwear. Once she was done changing she made sure to put her headphones on and her hood up. She didn’t want anyone recognizing her, or trying to speak with her.

Her first stop was an important one, in fact it was most of the plan. A store named United Pyrotechnics was where she was headed. She walked in and heard some alternative rock music playing over the speakers. ”Hi, I have a sort of strange request…” Lia began. She left the store happily, but with a wallet quite a bit lighter. She couldn’t wait for some of the others to see what she had set up.

Secondly she headed to an REI. Once she was there she quickly sought out the gear section, picking out a few lawn chairs and found herself pleasantly surprised. Though there wasn’t much selection at this time in the year she was able to get enough for everyone. They would be able to pick from their favourite Disney princesses. She headed to the cash register and refused to speak, making it as evident as possible that she was listening to music and handing the cashier exact change. She avoided eye contact and seemed to avoid detection. She realized that this surprise was quite dangerous for potentially flopping in general.

But she struck that thought from her mind and decided to keep moving forward. When she eventually made it home she made her last stop, setting the lawn chairs up on the roof of the motel. Getting them up there was the hard part, she ended up having to take them up one by one. Finally content with her situation, she glanced at her watch and realized she only had ten minutes left. She hopped down towards their room and was pleasantly surprised to see that at least by sun down everyone was back in the motel room. ”Thank god you’re all here. I’ve got our surprise ready, you’ve all got five minutes – make sure you grab your sweaters.” She popped back into the room and grabbed her own sweater. And immediately waited by the door. When all of her ducks were in a row she began leading them to the roof where they were able to pick out their favourite Disney princess chair (she herself picked Ariel).

“Ladies and gentlemen, I know recently we’ve had a rough time with everything and I know no one wants to talk about. So instead of talking about our problems, I give you my surprise!” She announced loudly, as if by the will of some god – there they were.



They lit up the sky brilliantly. Without another word, Lia fell back into her Ariel chair, content with the world. They were happening pretty far away from their motel so that was of no cause for concern. Everything was officially fine.

The sun setting in early January couldn't come soon enough to save him from voices that weren't his own. He listened to them as they faded slowly on his mind until there was truly nothing left on his mind, and he was left with his own thoughts once more. He sighed in relief as he slammed the book shut for the first time in several hours and got up from his seat to stretch his neck. It always took a few after to readjust to what his thoughts sounded like, and what new information had ingrained itself into his brain. Malcolm was never the best at memory. His attempts at memorizing Bible verses for Sunday school were evident of that, but these words were stuck like rabbits in a trap.

He knew that there had been a possibility of people leaving, but he as ever thankful that said decision was thrown out the window. He thought. Or maybe they went out without him. He didn't notice much else when he was absorbing information, but he doubted they'd leave him alone. Maybe.

Still, with the small hours of darkness to refresh his thoughts and his mind, now was the time he took to sneak into the shower. The others were probably busy with something, so he slipped in for a precious few moments under cold water. Subtlety: A trait that was practiced despite never being learned. It was something that he tried hard to keep. Even though he was aware that sometimes he looked away a second too late and someone would notice his blatant discontent at specific actions, but maybe it was alright if they noticed this time. Andy looked like someone who could make good use of the information. Even Glo might be a good confidant. There were many responsible people in this room, and there was an equal amount of people that weren't so responsible. He still kept a sizeable distance from Tish and Amelia just because they were so loud and... in all honesty, maybe a little much in large doses.

Then Lia burst through the door like an exploding building with excitement bright on her face, and Malcolm didn't know whether to be worried or excited with her. He heard her throw the bathroom door just as he stepped out of the shower.

"W-what's going on!" he shouted through the door as he barely stopped himself from tripping over the rim of the tub.

He clutched the book tight after pulling on one of the three sweaters he grabbed and the same pair of jeans and followed the trail of red hair up and up several flights of stairs. Cold wind greeted him as it sent his hair in a flurry before he pulled his hood back over his head. The chairs were all set up, but Malcolm was focused on the brightest thing standing there.

Ophelia: the torch that led them away from something that was far worse, and the hope that stood with them to pull them forward. His hands clutched the tome as literal sparks ignited behind her, bringing a soft smile to Malcolm's face as he glanced over the other buildings towards the busy streets below.

He looked around at the group, standing near the exit as always, "Fireworks... They're gorgeous," he muttered before a few other thoughts started coming to him all at once. Fears, doubts, worries; but he bit his tongue. Lia was right. This wasn't the time to make the others worry, and this moment was just too special to give up.

It marked the first time Malcolm tasted the freedom he didn't even know he needed.

"I just hope we can get more moments like these."