unconsciousness would be an undesirable outcome

[self_composed]

On Sunday, Bella drives to the movie theater with Angela in tow, and her car breaks on the way home from Angela's house. She calls a tow truck, and calls her dad, and she goes home in the cop car and her station wagon goes on vacation to the mechanic.

On Monday, Charlie drives Bella to school.

As she's been discharged from the car and Charlie pulls away, a van driven by a panicking teenager screams out of nowhere towards Bella.

Making wishes is easy.

It is not automatic. It is not instantaneous.

The van creams Bella, good and proper.

Comments

[self_composed]

"Oh, or, and I could make the necklace lighter by magic," Bella says, gesturing and looking around for a fork. "Forks're in the drawer by the - oh, you found 'em. Cups're in the cupboard left of the plates." She's clearly in no condition to get up and fetch a beverage; she looks reasonably likely to fall asleep in her pasta. She takes a bite of the pasta instead. "Mm."

[edgeofyourseat]

"You are so cute," says Alice. "I kind of wanna pet you."

He grabs two cups, since she mentioned them.

"Somethin' to drink?"

[self_composed]

"Water," Bella yawns. "You can pet my hair if y'want, 's only fair." Pasta, pasta, pasta.

[edgeofyourseat]

Bella can have water, then! From the tap, since she didn't specify. Alice gets himself the same thing, brings his cup and plate to the table, leans over her, and gently ruffles her hair.

[self_composed]

Bella sighs in tired contentment as she eats and sips at her water.

[edgeofyourseat]

Alice scarfs down his pasta roughly twice as fast as she does.

"You gonna go nap when you're done with that?" he inquires. "Should I clear out?"

[self_composed]

"Probably will nap. Whatever you wanna do, but it's probably boring here," yawns Bella. "This is pretty tasty."

[edgeofyourseat]

"If I get bored I'll just hurt myself some more," he says cheerfully.

[self_composed]

"Don't let Charlie walk in on you doing that. He'll get home at, like... seven."

She finishes her pasta and finishes her water. "I wonder if it'd be dumb to magically teleport upstairs instead of getting off my butt and walking."

[edgeofyourseat]

"I could carry you," Alice offers.

[self_composed]

"Really?" Bella asks, skeptical.

[edgeofyourseat]

"...yeah," he says.

[self_composed]

"Do you like, lift weights while skipping school? 'Cause one time I asked you what you do and I don't remember that one."

[edgeofyourseat]

"No, but I bet I can still pick you up," he says, shrugging.

[self_composed]

"Without dropping me," she says. "On the stairs."

[edgeofyourseat]

"Sure." He shrugs again. "Up to you, though."

[self_composed]

"I think I'll get up," Bella says.

She does! Wobblyish, but upright. She proceeds stairsward.

[edgeofyourseat]

Alice follows.

[self_composed]

Bella flops onto her bed and kicks off her wished-sneakers, which are bright white. "This," she says with a vague one-armed gesture around the room, "is my room." She pulls her blanket over her. "G'night."

[edgeofyourseat]

"G'night," says a very amused Alice, and sits down on the floor at the foot of her bed.

[self_composed]

Bella speaks in her sleep, when she doesn't have her face buried in her arms.

"Marker snake," she says first.

Bella speaks nonsense in her sleep, it should be clarified.

[edgeofyourseat]

...

Alice gets out his notebook.

[self_composed]

Bella utters mostly nouns, some articles, the occasional number, and once, "Run!"

[edgeofyourseat]

Alice dutifully records all of these things, on a page at the top of which he has written Stuff you said in your sleep today.

[self_composed]

Bella sleeps for four hours. At six-thirty in the evening, she sits up and rubs her eyes. She observes Alice sitting at the foot of the bed. "How long was I out?" she asks, looking considerably more awake. "And how long have you been sitting there?"