by Holly Hook
“Do you have a note? You need one if this isn't your normal bus.”
Moanna faced me. I clung onto the railing, trying not to fall off the bottom step of the bus. The apple rolled around again. I couldn’t tell Moanna about that. She’d freak out. I would if I were her.
“She doesn’t,” Moanna said. “We didn’t know we’d need a note.”
“Why are people so paranoid?” I asked. I couldn’t help it. “You think I’m carrying a deadly weapon or something? I just want to get to school. You’re telling me I need to skip?”
There was no one here to laugh at my irony. And the driver sure wasn’t amused. “Fine,” she barked. “Sit down and don’t do this again. But if word of this gets out, it’s my paycheck. Do you understand?”
I nodded as Moanna climbed all the way into the bus and I followed. The aisle was tiny and people were sitting in the back, leaning against windows and half asleep. No one spoke. It seemed like the bus was here for extra sleep.
“Thanks,” I told Moanna, even though she hadn’t really done anything. I had a ride, at least. One that Sara would never find me on. She’d ride in with Eric—if she hadn’t killed him or turned him into a toad. “I guess this is the part where you demand what’s going on.”
“Lucky guess,” Moanna said. She sat down and pointed at the seat next to her. There was some guy snoring in the back and another one on his phone texting, but no one else. The bus was early in its route. "I do want to know what's going on."
I sat across the aisle from her. We leaned close to each other and I told her about the crazy in Wal-Mart and my night, starting with trying to talk to Eric and ending with getting away from those dwarves. I also told her about Alric and his warning that Sara was still looking to have me killed, and finished with the apple. I felt my backpack and the scary lump there. I didn't want to have to use that. That was something Sara would want to plant in my food.
But I might have to.
Sara was some evil witch queen, after all. She'd do the same to me without a thought. She'd already tried with the comb and the lettuce and had barely missed me with the tie tightening spell. Maybe she'd even corrupted the dwarves.
Moanna shrunk back into her seat and remained silent for a long time. At last, she asked, "Are you sure this Alric guy can be trusted? He might totally be pulling something on you."
"I don't know," I said. My gut told me no, even if he had saved my life from the savage dwarves. "I don't think I like him and I don't know why." Then I realized that Moanna actually believed me. How could she not after everything that had happened? She was caught in the crap, too.
"Well, he does seem like he might be plotting something," Moanna said. "If you don't want to carry around the apple, let me do it for you. At least that might help you feel better."
I clutched my backpack and held it between me and the bus seat. The bus turned and the inertia pushed me closer to Moanna. She reached out, unrelenting with her offer.
"I can't," I said.
"I'm not going to hand the apple to Sara. Believe me."
Her tone was dark. Jealous, almost. Then I remembered that Moanna worshipped Eric. And Sara was fawning all over Eric. This could be ugly. "Sorry. You can't have it."
"So you're going to use it?" Moanna's voice was full of morbid curiosity.
"I don't know," I said. "Only if I have to. I might have a dark sense of humor but murder just isn't in me." I needed a shower. My whole personality needed one. I'd never had the chance last night with all the events going on.
Moanna and I didn't speak the rest of the way to school. She kept staring out the window at the passing trees and buildings. If I wouldn't give Sara the apple, Moanna might if I didn't keep it close to me. I'd have to guard my backpack with my life today.
That meant taking it into the shower when I got to school.
I managed to duck into the girls' locker room and take the fastest shower I ever had before the bell rang. I threw on clothes and had to comb my hair with my fingers since my glass comb had shattered on the bathroom floor yesterday. My head pounded with stress and the bruise still hidden under my hair. Sara might be here today.
But I didn't see her in the hallway on the way to my first class.
And I didn't find her at lunch. Instead of sitting next to her, I sat by myself and choked down my food in the corner of the cafeteria. Nobody bothered to stare at me except for Mrs. Hendry, who walked past me and smiled. I waved at her. Alric must have told his Watchers to keep an eye out for me. I guessed her smile meant that I was safe for now.
I couldn't trust her, though.
I trusted nobody.
And worst of all, Eric was nowhere to be seen today, either.
He wasn't in Mr. Rain's class. Mr. Rain just acted like his normal self, picking on everyone in sight. He didn't even give me a second glance. I wondered if he was just grudgingly doing whatever Alric had told him.
I hated that I'd bothered to come to school. It wouldn't matter much longer. I had nowhere to go after today and Moanna sure wouldn't let me stay at her house. I had even left my bike out there, chained to a tree. If I wanted it, I'd have to ride the bus out there.
And then what?
I had to find Sara and make her reverse whatever she had done to Stephanie and the dwarves who were supposed to be helping me.
The final bell of the day rang over an hour later and I stalked to my locker to drop off my books. There wasn't a point behind doing my homework. Not anymore. Moanna hurried past me and towards the buses as if she couldn't wait to get away from me. Not that I blamed her. I carried weirdness with me wherever I went.
I set my backpack down and unzipped it. The apple rested there by my dream journal, red as ever and without any bruises. It was the weirdest apple I had ever seen. In fact, it didn't even look real. I pulled it out and held it while the river of people thinned around me. Everyone was heading home to safety and to families who actually wanted them. I'd never had that.
I held the apple. It still weighed too much. Inside of it was death. Perhaps even my life.
"I'm going. Eric's parties are awesome."
"What's the time?"
"It starts at nine. It might go until two or three in the morning. His parties always do. Have you ever seen Eric's parents?"
"No. I think they're out of town all the time."
I tucked the apple back into my pack and listened. A couple of girls from the cheerleading squad were walking past, deep in conversation.
I stood up and swung my backpack on. Hope rose inside of me.
Eric was still alive.
He had to be, if he was holding a party tonight.
I followed the two girls, a blonde and a dark girl, both with ponytails. I didn't know their names. Alric hadn't given those to me. But with my false memory, I knew they were girls who wouldn't normally associate with me. We were in different tribes or whatever.
They kept talking as I followed like a creepy stalker. "I heard Eric took a girl home with him last night," the dark one said.
"He did? Who?" the blonde asked.
The dark girl whispered something to her and they both stared at each other, then laughed. They were laughing about Sara. Sara was so out of Eric's league. I knew that if I'd had my way, they'd be laughing about me instead.
The two girls left the school and boarded a bus, but I'd heard enough.
The party started at nine tonight.
His gate would probably be open to let the guests in. If not, I could sneak in with someone.
I watched the buses pull away. That gave me six hours to get back out to Eric's place. It would be getting dark by then. I'd have some cover.
But I didn't have any money to buy different clohtes. What little I had was back at Haven House and I didn't want to risk facing those dwarves again. Not after Alric had held them off so I could get away. I wondered if there were any bodies lying in there and what the cops thought of that.
I had to walk past Haven House on the way to Eric's, so I didn't ha
ve a choice but to check it out a little as I passed. The front door had a piece of plywood over it from my breaking it last night. All the curtains were drawn and no fans blew in the windows, funneling in cooler air. I peered into the kitchen window but the place looked dark. Stephanie's car was even gone from the back lot. The place seemed abandoned, but I wasn't going to take the risk. The surviving dwarves could be hunched in there, ready to strike as soon as I broke back in.
As soon as the thought hit me, something moved in the kitchen.
An ugly head reared up, spied me, and ducked down again.
I broke into a run. They were still there. The dwarves had survived Alric's attacks and they were a lot tougher than I thought. They must make up for their lack of brains with strength.
I didn't dare slow down or look back until I was another two streets away. Then I checked. Nothing had followed me. The dwarves must not want to come out unless they were wearing their child disguises or they were shielded by darkness. It was lucky for me.
I hoped they didn't realize I was headed to Eric's house.
It was too late now. I had to get to him. I had to make the story end the way it should. If the story fell, darkness might creep into this world. I didn't know exactly what that meant, but it seemed like it had already started to happen.
My feet felt ready to split open by time I turned the corner to Eric's street. It had taken me forever to walk across town and Eric's street was just as rich as it had been before. His house towered over the others like a castle.
A castle fit for a prince.
Eric just might be one, escaped from Fable's encroaching darkness.
Escaped, just like me.
Dusk had fallen over the street and the air was cooling. Laughter floated down the curvy street and I spotted a couple of girls walking in through the open gate of Eric's house, wearing stupid green party hats. I guessed alcohol was going to be a factor here. Maybe it would distract Sara and I could get Eric out from under her spell. Maybe Sara would even pass out.
The gate slid closed after the two girls had walked in. I had to be sneaky about this. I managed to get behind one of the trees that grew next to the sidewalk and waited. The camera above the gate could only point forward, being embedded in the stone like that. I'd seen it last night. If someone else showed up, I might be able to sneak in if I pretty much hugged the fence.
My wish came soon enough. A red sports car crawled up to the sidewalk and stopped. Loud music thumped, then stopped as the car turned off. Three guys got out, all cool and obnoxious. One of them waved at the camera and the gate slid open. Eric was watching everyone who went in and out tonight. Sara had to make sure I wasn't showing up.
I moved fast. The gate started sliding shut again and I broke into a run, staying as close to the fence as I could. I managed to squeeze in through the narrow opening without the three guys looking back. I stumbled onto the sidewalk that led up to Eric's porch as the gate shut behind me. An alarm would go off any second. I knew it. But nothing happened. Whoever was manning the camera hadn't spotted me. The three guys made some crude jokes about taking girls up to one of the bedrooms later that night as I followed close behind. I studied the windows as I drew closer to the house. No one was peeking out. Even the window in the tower was empty.
I thought of how Eric and Sara might have spent their night and I wanted to kill something.
Preferably them.
The apple got heavier in my backpack as if begging me to use it. For a second, I wanted to. I wanted to shove it down her throat.
I shook my head, casting the thoughts aside. I wouldn't be like Sara, wanting to steal everything I had. Or even Moanna, who would be furious that she didn't get invited to this party. Someone had to be the rational one here. I had to handle this. I could handle this.
The front door opened a bit and one of the guys waved a greeting to a dark figure in the door. I ducked behind a shrub in time.
"Hey!" Eric said. He didn't sound too enthused. "Come on in. I didn't know you'd be coming tonight."
Maybe this wasn't an invitation-only party after all. People might just be showing up and Eric was expected to host all of this because he was the rich guy. I felt sorry for him. At least at Haven House, I was never expected to do such a thing.
I waited until the door had closed and near silence had fallen before I moved out form behind the shrub. Eric might be enchanted. Sara would want him to stay away from me. He might not even let me in the door.
After making sure no more Obnoxious Mobiles were pulling up to the house, I ran up onto the porch and tried the door.
Locked.
Why would someone keep a door locked for a party?
I tugged on the knob, but it seemed like the only way in was to get let in. Eric had secured this pretty well. I wondered if he had a bouncer standing just inside the door. And cameras watching the grounds, too. The yard wasn't very big, mostly full of shrubs, so there might be another way inside.
Like a back door. People stood outside on balconies and back decks during parties all the time. If I swung back there I'd look pretty natural.
I ran around the side of the house just as another car full of loud, booming music pulled up. The shrubs were thicker here. Trimmed into squares and circles. Eric must have hired a groundskeeper.
Chatter floated out from the back yard. I was right. A splash followed. Eric had his own pool. Alric must be right that he really was a prince from Fable. He must have brought his royal fortune with him if he bought all of this.
And Eric was supposed to be with me.
Before Sara had taken him, we had clicked.
Tiki lights hung everywhere in the backyard. People from the school stood everywhere and red plastic cups were in most hands. I guessed that they weren't full of carbonated drinks unless they were mixed with something else. A group of four girls laughed and nearly spilled the contents of their drinks on the grass. A guy from the football team pulled his shirt off and did a horrible flop into the pool. He surfaced and groaned while one of his friends laughed at him. Yeah. People were getting buzzed.
And Eric stood by the grill, arms crossed over his chest. He wasn't drinking. Instead, he looked annoyed at having to play the party host role.
My heart leapt. He was unhurt. The same Eric I had seen in Foods before the disaster. He was even still wearing his class jacket. And Sara was nowhere to be found.
I walked across the grass at him, passing the group of girls. I smelled booze. There was no way I'd be having any of that tonight. I had work to do. "Eric," I said.
He jumped and came to life. His eyes widened and he backed into the grill, which thankfully wasn't working. "Mara," he said. "How did you get in?"
"Did I somehow earn villain status?" I asked. "Did I bite into enough necks to turn you off? Geez, Eric. Did I do something to offend you?"
Eric struggled for words. He searched around the yard at the laughing people who weren't even paying any attention to him.
"You shouldn't be here."
My heart shrunk. He preferred these drunken people he didn't even know to me.
"Listen," I told Eric. "Sara's dangerous. I think she'd been putting you under a spell or something. Have you ever heard of Fable?" I had to be direct here.
Eric's eyes got wide. "You remember."
"No. I don't remember. It's just what I heard from someone." I wasn't sure it was a good idea to bring Alric up here. If Eric was enchanted, Sara might have made him hate the wizard, too. "You're a prince from Fable, right?"
Eric practically leaned backwards over the grill. "I...I'm not a prince," he said. "Mara, you need to leave. This isn't your kind of party."
"What is with you?" I asked. I couldn't help it. I raised my voice so much that the guys by the pool stopped to watch. It was Joey and Nort. The guys from the football team and the same guys who had no idea I'd seen them without their clothes. Alric had erased that memory from them, leaving me with an advantage here.
Eric struggled for
words. "Sara and I have a history," he said. Then he slapped himself on the forehead. "You'd never believe it if we told you. I'm not from around here, Mara. Neither is Sara. You need to leave. Just go!"
I refused to budge. I dropped my backpack on the ground to get the weight off my back. "Sara is making you think some pretty weird things," I said. I grabbed his arm. "Eric, you have to come with me. Get away from her. She's been putting spells on you and keeping her for herself."
"She's been the one doing spells?" Eric asked. He wrenched his arm from my grip and backed towards his deck. "I'm going to have to call the cops."
"With all the underage drinking going on here?" I asked, waving to the yard behind me. "I don't think that's a good idea, Eric."
"Mara, come on!" Eric stopped and slapped his hands to his sides.
I didn't know what else to do than to threaten him. If I got him away from here, I might be able to convince him on what was really going on. Sara might even be extending her influence all over the property, getting all these people drunk so they'd never know what she was doing. I watched the pool again. Joey did a belly flop onto the water and surfaced, crying out in pain. Yeah. They were drunk.
I advanced on Eric. "Eric," I said. "You're not thinking like yourself right now. We were talking just fine before Sara butted in and did whatever she did to you."
"Why are you so jealous?" Eric asked. "That's what you are. Jealous. That's all you are. Do you know what that's going to get you?"
"So now Sara's projecting her faults on me?" I asked. "She tried to kill Moanna. She cursed the cabbage in Foods and made it turn people into donkeys. I think it was meant for me but Joey and Nort just got in the way. She wanted me out of the way so she could have you for herself. And then who knows what she was planning on doing to you?”
Eric frowned. “I think Sara and I are okay,” he told me. “Please just go, Mara. I’m not into you. Not after she told me—never mind.” He turned away.
“Eric!” I shouted. I felt as if my world had been shattered. Like glass. It all rained down to the ground. But Eric was turning away. What had happened to make him view me like some sort of vermin? Had Sara lied to him about me? Told him I liked to murder children? I’d never do such a thing. I followed Eric onto the deck, where a couple more girls were chattering and holding the red plastic cups. “Eric. Wait. Just listen to me for a second.”