Chapter Twenty Three

Blueth Mendoza's POV

"What's all of this?" I asked as Ms. Val placed down a mountain-sized pile of books in front of me. I was quietly reading a book and all of a sudden, Ms. Val dropped these books on the table.

"Well, it's been a long time now since I hired you as a proofreader, but you haven't done any proofreading. You're starting to look like a freeloader in my book. So, I figured that it's time to teach you how to proofread, plus I'm starting to get lazy in proofreading all of these books."

"Well then, in that case. How do I start?" I said as I placed down the book I was reading.

"Well, for starters, you need to learn the fundamentals of proofreading. You need to know what to do once you are inside the book."

"Well then, hit me with those fundamentals because I am ready to learn!"

"Okay kiddo, I like your energy. Now, proofreading inside a book can be dangerous, why? Because you are not just reading it, you are proofreading it. Inside the book, you will find these creatures called the Mistakes, mistakes are black smoke like creatures which roams the stories. They are invisible to the characters of the story but they can be easily spotted by those who are proofreading them."

"Okay, okay." I was writing down everything that Ms. Val was saying because I'm afraid that I will forget about them. I'm a very forgetful person.

"Mistakes come in all shapes and sizes, some come in tiny fly size while others can be as big as the size of the house. Their sizes depend on the mistakes of the book one is proofreading."

"Okay."

"Now, what to do with the Mistakes inside the book? You capture them with jars you will find lying around inside the book, and when you successfully capture all of them, a bright shining door will appear in front of you where you will step inside. Once you step inside the door, with the jar filled with mistakes at hand, you will be magically teleported back into the human world. Any questions?"

I raised my hand as Ms. Val started asking if there are any questions. When she saw me raise my hand, she started pointing everywhere, pretending that others are listening to her. I just went along with it even though she looks stupid. Please don't tell her I said that.

"Ah, yes, Blueth. What is your question?"

Since she's pretending that she's being interviewed, I stood up like what the interviewers do in an interview with a famous person, at least that's what I think what interviewers do? I don't know.

"Yes, Ms. Val. I have a question, what happens to the jar filled with these so-called Mistakes once we enter the magical bright shining door you speak of?"

"Ah, very good question. The jar filled with the Mistakes will magically get turned into pieces of paper where it is written on the paper what mistakes are in the book. What to be changed, added, and removed. Basically, the Mistakes in the jar will get turned into a note saying what to do to make the story better than it currently is."

"Thank you, I have another question."

"Go on."

"Who does the changing upon the proofreading is complete? Will the change be done by the proofreader? Or will the change be done by the original author?"

"The changing of the story shall be done by the original author, but if the original author wishes to have his or her work be rewritten by those who proofread it, then they can add a few more to their payment and the proofreaders will renew the things which need to be renewed in their book."

"Got it, the last question before we wrap up this interview."

"Hit me, darling."

"Why are you so gosh darn foxy?"

"That is a Valerie Books secret. Can't have someone else being so foxy."

Both me and Ms. Val let out a giggle as we stopped with our make-believe interview.

"You two are weird." Cathy said as she looked at us. After she said what she wants to say, she went back to grooming herself by licking her fur.

"Ha, look who's talking. You're not so uhh... You're not so not weird yourself cat."

"I don't think that was the right kind of come back Ms. Val."

"Yeah, I don't think that was the right one as well. Oh well, can't help it. Now, are you ready to get proofreading?" Ms. Val said as she stood on top of the table.

"Oh, you bet I am!"

"Then grab a book! Open it up to any page and set it on top of this big book!" Ms. Val said she tapped the big book with her feet. The big book was opened and lying on top of the table. The page on which the book was opened had symbols on it, I'm guessing those symbols are the reason why Ms. Val can enter other books so she can proofread them.

I followed what Ms. Val said. I grabbed a book, opened it to a random page, and placed it on top of the big book. As I set it down, the two books started glowing. "Well kid, are you just going to stand around? Or will you help me proofread this book here?"

"Oh, you bet I'll help you." I smiled and climbed on top of the table. I stood next to Ms. Val and the books started glowing even brighter.

"Proofread!" Ms. Val said as she raised her hand in the air. I don't know why she did that, but I'm guessing that you need to do that for you to enter the book. That's what I am guessing anyway.

"Oh, by the way. Blueth? What book did you choose?"

"Oh, it was something called Lover's Quarrel. It's a romance genre I think."

After saying these words, I saw Ms. Val's expression turn from excitement into disgust mixed in with a little bit of fear. "Say what now?"

Before I could answer Ms. Val, the light grew even brighter. It shined a bright blinding light, the next thing I know, Ms. Val and I are now inside the book.

How do I know that? Well, we are not in the house anymore, plus, the designs of the houses match the description of the houses written in the book, I read the books when I'm bored, and I'm proud to say that I don't usually go to sleep because of that. Every house is covered in hearts and valentine designs.

The book we are proofreading is about a boy who confessed to his loved ones at the time of valentine's day. I read it and I can say that there are lots of errors in the book, but still, it's a great story.

"So, where should we start?" I said as I looked at Ms. Val, who was currently lying on the ground, hugging her legs. "Uhm, you okay Ms. Val?"

"Love stories... Haunt me...."

-End of Chapter-