Sonia stood gazing longingly at the thousands of worlds standing at attention in front her. Each world stood with their spine straight and proud of the stories, emotions, characters and memories they held. Adventure, magic, romance, death, hope, love ... every book guaranteed a thrilling story. Some were wrapped in beautiful fabric, others were hardback or paperback, covered in vibrant colours. It is wrong to judge a book from its front cover, but sometimes it can't be helped.

Novels, Sonia's father stated many times, only offered a temporary escape route from the real world. Sonia disagreed. She had lost count how many times she'd close a book and found the story and characters continue to swirl in her head.

Now, it was time to choose. Sonia reached out and gently pulled down a navy blue hardback.  She flipped the book on its back and read, 'this epic novel brings witches and magic and dragons together in a exciting and...' Sonia placed the book back onto the shelf. She was too old for magic now. She wanted something adventurous, thrilling and perhaps with a little bit of romance. Eyeing the bookcases once again, Sonia stretched onto her tips toes and grabbed another book from the shelf. Firestarter by John Gallagher.

'I wouldn't choose that one if I were you,' spoke a voice behind her. Sonia jumped and spun round.

A boy of about her age stood grinning from ear to ear, obviously proud of himself for frightening her.

'Who are you?' she demanded. The boy smirked and snatched the book out of her hands.

'My name is Eric,' he said and carefully placed the book back onto its shelf, 'and I am about to introduce you to your favourite book in the world.'

Sonia was speechless, who did this over confident boy think he was?  

Eric wordlessly searched the bookstand.  He briefly touched and read the title of each book before moving on swiftly. The boy was tall and skinny but not stocky looking. Sandy blonde hair. He had one of those confident and relaxed personalities with either a hint of cheeky or cockiness Sonia couldn't tell.

'I understand my nose is a little crooked but there's no need to stare,' stated Eric whilst grinning profusely.

Sonia turned as red as a beetroot.

'Ah! Found it!' Eric pulled out a black and red paperback and presented it to Sonia. She looked down at the cover which had flames printed across its spine and front cover. The Underground Palace by Alexandra Ramsay. She looked back up at Eric.

'How do you know I will like it?'

'Because I know,' he simply replied. Sonia took the book from his hands and studied the blurb. 'It's got lots of adventure, cliffhangers at the end of every chapter and plenty of romance cause I know you're into that stuff!' Sonia glared up at Eric. 'Because all girls are...' he added quickly. Sonia grinned a little and looked back down at the book, it did sound like a good book.

'Thank you,' she said.

'You're most welcome,' replied Eric, with a little bow and wide grin. Sonia grinned too. His smile was contagious. 

'Do you I know you? From school or somewhere?' she asked. Eric shook his head, still smiling.

'No.' Sonia didn't know what to say next, so she thanked him again.

'No worries.  A while ago, a friend recommended me that book, and when I saw you, I just knew I had to recommend it to you,' said Eric.

'Your friend sounds like they have a really good taste in books.'

'She sure does.  She has a knack for knowing everything and she's a really good writer too,' he explained.  He spoke about his friend fondly.

"Please tell her thank you," Sonia said.

"I will," grinned Eric and he glanced at the watch on his wrist.

'It's getting late, I better go.'

'Do you live close by?' quickly asked Sonia.  She realised she really liked this boy.

Eric looked away and studied the bookcase with a small smile.

'You could say so. I'll see you around, yeah?' Sonia nodded and smiled back.

'Yeah.'  Eric turned his back and his made his way out of the store.  Just as he reached the exit, he quickly spun back round and shouted.

'Don't miss me too much!'

Sonia burst out laughing and watched Eric disappear from sight.  

She bite down on her lip and couldn't help but smile as she admired the book in her hands again.  She really hoped she'd run into him again.

"Hey Sonia, have you chosen a book yet?" called her father who was making his way downstairs from the non-fiction section.  Sonia looked up and saw him carrying three new books in his arms.  Her dad was a university professor and taught journalism.  Despite owning a mini library at home, he always insisted the house needed more books.  The library had now started to spill out into the hallway.

"Yeah I've found this one.  It looks really good," she said and helped her father by taking one of the books stacked in his arms.  She glanced at the title, The Truths and Myths Behind Folklore.  Sonia snorted.

"Really dad?" she laughed.  

"The Cottingley Fairies took the journalism world through a storm.  I'm hoping to teach my students how to look out for fake news," he explained.  Sonia rolled her eyes.  She could think of a million other fake news stories based upon celebrity break-ups her father could talk about instead.  

Together they approached the store counter, paid for their books and made their way back home.  They lived in a small town in England where nearly everybody knew everybody and the only job opportunities were retail, hospitality, aged care or education.  Sonia's dad had to travel over an hour to Cambridge every day to teach.  A lot of people liked living in the small town but commute over to Cambridge for the jobs.

Sonia and her dad lived in a small apartment on top of the local florist and chinese-takeaway store.  The lounge room always smelled of fried rice and chicken, however Sonia's room always smelled of fresh flowers.  It was quite the combination.  

Tomorrow was a Monday and the thought of going back to school made the insides of Sonia's stomach twist in dread.  Tomorrow was presentation day in her English class and she was going to talk about her dad's career.  A lot of people thought her dad was quite peculiar with his rectangle classes and tweed jackets but she loved him to the moon and back.  At least she had Grace and Katie at school tomorrow to give her support, she couldn't wait to tell them about the strange boy from the bookstore.

Together, Sonia and her father walked through the door to their apartment and was greeted by a rather excitable Border Collie.

"Hey Jasmine, did you miss me?" laughed Sonia.  She also loved Jasmine to the moon and back.  Disappear off to the bathroom and back within a minute Jasmine would act like you had disappeared off to Australia.  She was wagging her tail and excitedly running around in circles around Sonia's legs.  

"Sausage casserole for dinner sound alright?" asked Sonai's dad.  Sonia grinned and so did her dad, he knew that was her favourite meal.

"With creamy mash potato?" she asked.

"Of course, it would be a crime to have it with anything else."

"Thanks dad!" she called out after his back that disappeared off towards the kitchen.  Jasmine was still running in circles so Sonia bent down and calmed her so she could give her a belly rub.  Jasmine instantly flipped into her back and laid still as Sonia rubbed her belly back and forwards.  Sonia sighed, to be a dog tomorrow would be bliss instead of doing her stupid presentation.