Paranormal is Relative

by S.J. Drew

As Leah and Nora discussed costume ideas, Isabella became aware of someone watching them. She focused on the person while trying to appear as though she was not.

  There was a woman standing near the corner of the bar smoking a cigarette and standing next to a man although she was clearly not paying any attention to him. When she threw down her cigarette, she left the man and walked over to the band.

  “I'm just saying, I don't think anyone is going to notice the difference between Gorey and Addams,” Leah was saying to Nora. “I mean, it's all black, right?”

  Nora saw the woman walk up to them. “Can we help you?” she asked.

  She just stared at them.

  They awkwardly stopped what they were doing to stare back. In Leah's case, the staring was genuine. In the light, the woman looked a lot like Maryann. She was about the same age and the same build. Her hair was darker red than Maryann's and she was wearing a short, tight, and shiny satin dress than Maryann would never wear.

  “So, what's your thing?” she asked snidely. She even sounded like Maryann. “Are you some dark fantasy Gothic band?”

  Isabella could somewhat see the woman's aura, which was odd since she normally had to cast a spell for that, but she resisted the urge to use magic to get a better look.

  “No. We play what we like,” Nora said in her most coldly polite tone. “If you're interested, we'll be at the Metroparks Music Festival tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, I know. So will I. I'm the Red Queen, lead singer for Dark Reflections.”

  “Seriously?” Leah blurted.

  “Yeah, seriously,” she returned. “We had a show down the street,” she said, gesturing to another bar. “So what's your thing? Because Dark Reflections is a Gothic dark fantasy band and I don't like competition.”

  “There's no prize for the Festival,” Nora answered. “It's just a gig. And when we're done, we'll roll out of this town and you can play all the dive bars you want.”

  “Gee, thanks,” the Red Queen snapped. She pulled out another cigarette and lit it up. “So which one of you is the leader?”

  “Leader? Like the lead singer?” Maryann asked.

  “Yeah, the lead singer leads the band.”

  “We take turns,” Isabella answered, and resumed working. The rest of the band followed her lead, hoping that the rude Red Queen would get the hint and leave.

  “Well, that defeats the purpose,” she said, taking a drag.

  “What's the purpose?” Nora asked acidly.

  “The purpose of a band is to give the lead singer a platform to start a solo career. Everyone knows that,” she answered condescendingly.

  “But what about your band members?” Maryann asked.

  The Red Queen rolled her eyes. “What about them?”

  “What happens to them when you launch your solo career?”

  “Why should I care what happens to them?”

  “Oh,” she said, and obviously turned her attention to loading up the gear.

  “Are you going to come back next year for the Metroparks Music Festival?” the Red Queen asked.

  “If our agent books it, yes,” Isabella answered. “But I have no idea how likely that is.”

  “If the festival organizers like us tomorrow, they'll ask for us,” Maryann said brightly.

  The other three rolled their eyes.

  “Yes, I suppose they might.” She took a drag from her cigarette. “But if something goes wrong, they probably won't ask. That's a thought,” she said, and just wandered away.

  Isabella watched her rejoin the man at the corner and they both went inside the bar. The band finished loading up and headed to their hotel.

  “That was really weird,” Maryann commented. “She was really rude too.”

  “She's your evil doppelganger,” Leah said.

  “You're not going on about that again?” Nora asked.

  “Seriously, did you not get a good look at her? She looks almost exactly like Maryann.”

  “I'll agree with you on that. Of course, that dress she was wearing exhibited the three main characteristics of trashy fashion - short, tight, and shiny. Even Maryann has the good sense not to wear something like that.”

  “Was that a compliment?” Maryann asked.

  “Her aura was a little odd,” Isabella said. “I didn't use spirit sight to get a good look, and I don't think I was seeing a death aura, but there's something strange about her.”

  “I don't like how she was threatening us,” Nora said. “Like her band is the only one allowed to play here. What's that about? Actually, I'll do a quick search and figure that out.” She immediately pulled out her favorite mobile device and did just that. “Hm. Well, they've got a good webmaster for their site,” she said after a few minutes. “It's all black and red though. I hate that combination. It makes my eyes water.”

  “So what is a Gothic dark fantasy band anyway?” Maryann asked.

  “Well, their costumes involve a lot of black and red, a lot of leather, a lot of lace, a few spikes, and a lot of eyeliner,” Nora replied.

  “Figures,” Isabella sighed.

  “They have a lot of songs about spider queens and drow. What's that about?”

  “Oh ye of little geekiness,” Leah said. “Drow are dark elves. Remember, we wrote a song about it after we met Sharon's weird roommate?”

  “So that's dark fantasy?” Maryann asked.

  “Yes, I guess. Drow also worship a spider goddess.”

  “Ewww.”

  “Spiders aren't that bad,” Isabella said. “Better spiders than mosquitoes as long as they aren't poisonous.”

  “You look up their site. These songs are just dripping with angst and woe,” Nora said sarcastically.

  Leah and Maryann, who were not driving, did so.

  “If this Red Queen is Maryann's doppelganger, do you think she knows magic? I mean, Isabella said her aura was weird,” Leah said.

  “She's not my doppelganger!”

  “Not that I'm agreeing she is,” Nora said, “but when we tried to find any information on Isabella's supposed doppelganger, we found practically nothing.”

  Isabella stopped the van at the hotel. “Madame Crow Jinx was easy to find. Rowan Weber wasn't. But I don't think it'll be too difficult to find more information on the Red Queen. She seems like the type who wants everyone to know about her darkly fantastic musical career. Let's get checked in and unloaded.”

  They did so and while they were tired and needed to sleep, they continued their research over Isabella's protests that they didn’t need to worry about the Red Queen.

  “You were right,” Nora said. She was sharing a room with Isabella, and they had the adjoining door open to the room Leah and Maryann were sharing. “The Red Queen plays hard to get, but not that hard to get. I still don't know what this whole Gothic dark fantasy thing is though.”

  “So what's her name?” Maryann asked.

  “'Emma Selene Lodge.' It's nice she puts up her middle name. Sounds more pretentious that way.”

  “Say what?” Leah asked, although since she was brushing her teeth it was hard to understand her.

  “'Emma Lodge.' Oh, she was president of the Chess Club in high school. I guess she makes a big deal of that so everyone will know how smart she is,” Nora said.

  “She really got on your nerves,” Isabella remarked.

  “I've dealt with enough pretentious people. I don't have any patience for them anymore.”

  Leah finished brushing her teeth. “Okay, either her parents were into pop culture, or she got into pop culture, or that is a wildly improbable coincidence, which totally proves she's Maryann's evil doppelganger.”

  “You're going to have to explain,” Nora replied dryly.

  “I can't think of a show with characters with those names,” Maryann said thoughtfully.

  “Wrong genre. This is much, much nerdier than a Gilligan's Island reference. 'Emma' and 'Selene' were the first names of th
e White Queen and Black Queen of the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club.”

  The others stared at her blankly for a few moments.

  “Yeah, that explanation didn't help at all,” Nora said.

  Leah sighed. “Honestly, have you even heard of the X-men?”

  “Ooo, there were those movies with Hugh Jackman,” Maryann replied.

  “Wasn't he naked in one of those?” Nora said.

  “Ladies,” Leah snapped. “I'll make this simple. The X-men are good mutants, right?”

  “Sure,” Nora replied.

  “And the Inner Circle was evil mutants. And they named themselves after chess pieces. So Emma Selene here is named after the two evil queens...”

  “We don't know that,” Maryann interrupted.

  “So coincidentally Emma Selene here is named after the two evil queens, calls herself the Red Queen, and draws attention to the fact she was president of her high school chess club? She's totally Maryann's evil doppelganger.”

  “If you're right, then her parents weren't very nice,” Maryann replied.

  “I think you're making a big deal out of nothing,” Nora said. “She's clearly pretty full of herself, and I feel sorry for her band, and I intend to put on one hell of a show tomorrow just to make sure we get asked back.” She yawned. “So, it's probably time we get some sleep so we can do just that.”

  “A life well lived is the best revenge?” Isabella asked.

  “Something like that. I don't like being threatened and condescended to.”

  The band broke up for the evening and went to bed.

  The alarm clock went off too early, even though it was late in the morning. Isabella sat up and yawned. Nora also sat up.

  “Good morning,” Isabella said.

  Nora didn't respond. Instead, she stood up and headed directly to