Chapter 3: Gift

Maxwell attempted to peer into Penny's window, slightly worried that she was watching him. He saw nobody looking back at him, to his relief, although he could not easily tell. Without further hesitation, he continued to run off until he reached a bush to hide behind.

So I want to give her a gift... What would she like as a gift?...

He tried to think about what girls would like as gifts. He considered things like fruit, pets, and toy trucks, but even then he was doubtful. He then tried to think back, scanning his memory for missions that involved giving gifts to people, but such a task proved to be quite challenging, considering that Maxwell had been given these special missions since a very long time ago, with an entire vault to show for it, brimming with Starites upon shining Starites. How Max loved those Starites...

Suddenly, as though he was previously deaf to the rhythm of a girl's mind, he suddenly began to get the beat, and understand what would make a perfect gift. After all, if Maxwell enjoyed the glow of a beautiful shining star of joy, why would Penny be any different?

And at that epiphany, Maxwell pulled out his notebook, flipped to the first empty page, and pencilled in "STARITE" using legible, upper-case letters. In almost no time at all, a golden object materialized into view, landing in Maxwell's hands. Seeing the lustrous gleam of the object almost drove Maxwell crazy, until he remembered that this was for the one he loved; a human who could love him back rather than a treasure, which could not... It would certainly take a huge amount of willpower to do this, and Maxwell was not usually known for an iron will.

Shining Starite in hand, Maxwell worked hard to appear confident while walking back over to Penny's humble cottage. The door was closed, so Maxwell decided that he should knock this time.

Knock, knock.

No response was given. Maxwell started to worry that Penny got bored of waiting, and went to bed, or she simply didn't want to talk to him... No. Maxwell refused to assume such possibilities. He decided to try once more.

Knock, knock, knock.

Maxwell's mood soared when he heard naive footsteps slowly plodding up to the doorway. The door opened, and Penny appeared before Maxwell bearing a small, friendly smile. That smile make Maxwell smile, as he is usually known to do.

Penny invited Maxwell inside to sit down; while Max preferred the cushy sofa, Penny was content to use the wooden rocking chair. It seemed a little old-fashioned for the red-hatted boy's taste, but he cared not... Love means being able to accept one's imperfections without complaint, and choosing instead to focus on their virtues.

Pouring tea into a china cup and handing it to Maxwell, Penny was rather curious as to what Maxwell's big rush was... Thinking about it made his cheeks redden with embarrassment, so he drank some of the tea to ease his tension. He didn't particularly enjoy tea, but it managed to calm his nerves enough to tell her what he was up to, presenting the Starite as his gift to her.

After finishing the last of her tea, Penny took the star in her clean, smooth-skinned hands. She admired the golden object, its perfectly angular cut, its shining facets, the way it seemed to uncannily produce light. With the way Maxwell sat by and watched Penny, an observer may find it puzzling that Maxwell did not just take the Starite for himself...

But love changes people. Love makes people act differently.

Penny thanked Maxwell for the present, even though she could not understand what the occasion was. Maxwell was delighted to hear that, until he saw what came next. In a coy, almost guilty manner, the apron-clad girl handed back the Starite, saying that she really couldn't take it.

Maxwell could almost feel his heart being broken. As much as he wanted to break into tears, he calmly excused himself and thanked Penny for her time before leaving distraught. Perhaps he secretly knew from the start that Penny would not accept a false Starite, but it did nothing to lessen his pain.

As the sun began to set, the young Scribblenaut apprentice sat by a small coursing stream, drying his tears, feeling sorry for himself. His woe had substantially subsided in time for him to notice something wash up along the stream. He managed to fish it out of the water and pull it out.

It was an old book, looking quite weathered and very soggy. Maxwell figured a good book would help him forget about Penny, so he decided to restore the book. He wrote "HAIR DRYER" in his notebook, creating a hair dryer which he used to dry out the pages. Making the entire book completely dry actually took the better part of a half-hour, but Maxwell decided he had nothing better to do.

He read the story, which depicted the tale of a princess being held prisoner by a bad wizard. Maxwell liked the plot so far.

Sounds like something I would be expected to do.

He read on, coming to the end, where he learned that a brave knight fought the wizard to rescue the princess. He was unsure why, but he saw something of himself in the knight in the story, and the princess... Max could not deny his love for Penny, reciprocated or not.

However, he could not think of who the evil wizard would be... perhaps he would have to make one up by himself...