For the Love of Sage

~ With love, from Madelynn and Joseph ~

Joseph still couldn’t believe he had agreed to this. 

Just minutes earlier he’d been sprawled in the common room, a book balanced on his lap, savouring the rare peace of being alone with his rock friend, Astra, and the steady crackle of the fireplace. Another special moment he wished could drag on for an eternity. 

But then she burst in.

Short and youthful, with blonde, wavy hair tumbling down her shoulders - the girl who had briefly introduced herself as what sounded suspiciously like “Mad Alien”. She had shuffled awkwardly towards him, a determined glint in her eyes as she dropped a small stack of posters and a roll of tape into his hands before he could protest. Insisted that he paste them up on the corridors to show appreciation to a really special someone. Then hurried off leaving Joseph feeling rather dazed like he’d been hit by a flying stack of… well, appreciation posters.

“The design’s amazing though,” Joseph admitted under his breath, raising an eyebrow as he examined the top poster. Mad Alien had somehow managed to piece together a cluster of glittery, squiggly lines in a harmonious pattern visually pleasing to the eye. He made a mental note to beg her to bring him along if she was attending any intergalactic art classes next time. Written in big, bubbly letters was a sweet, simple message:

SAGE ROCKS!

Right beside the words was a small, charming doodle of the girl she’d met on the train back home last summer - just a simple doodle, but unmistakably her, with a tiny heart floating above her head. Joseph felt his brain short-circuit a little.

All this… just for Sage?

What was it that Sage had done for Mad Alien that sparked this whole appreciation thingy? Bought her a broom for her birthday? Saved her entire family from a monstrous dinosaur? Sent her insider news on humans to let her alien invasion plans succeed? Either way… Joseph couldn’t imagine ever putting in so much effort to appreciate someone. Unless a rock counted. But still… a whole stack - at least a dozen - of painstakingly crafted posters to show off to the school how awesome Sage was?

Incredible. This Mad Alien girl truly had a big heart.

“Here goes nothing,” Joseph muttered, tape in hand. “Better not mess this up. I’ve got the easiest job here,”

The first poster went up. Perfectly crooked, of course. But somehow in that crookedness it looked exactly right - like it belonged there, up on the wall. Joseph stepped back to admire his work, a satisfied grin tugging at his lips. Maybe his job wasn’t so easy after all… but it was definitely worth it. Maybe he was glad to be a part of Project Sage Appreciation.

Feeling a warm, tingling sensation rise in his heart, Joseph let his gaze fall to the next poster in the stack. It read:

YOU’RE THE BEST, SAGE!

He couldn’t help the smile plastered across his face.

Well, he’d better get going. His job for the afternoon was far from done.

Mentioning: @Mad Alien @Madelynn Casavero
@Sage Willows
ty for being the awesome person you are, Sage

Permission to godmod Madelynn was granted by the writer for Madelynn Casavero