UnEnchanted

by Hahn, Chanda

  “I’m so sorry!” Mina began pulling napkins out of the dented holder and flung them at Brody. She was so distressed that she actually pulled the casing off of the napkin holder and it flew across the floor, spinning to stop by a wide-eyed Mrs. Wong. Brody jumped up as soon as the cold water touched his thigh and calmly took the napkins and started cleaning up the mess. When the table no longer looked like Niagara Falls, Brody excused himself to go clean up in the bathroom, laughing the whole way.

  Mina groaned, leaned forward and pounded her forehead against the table repeatedly.

  Mrs. Wong who was always watching, stormed up to the table as soon as Brody left, to voice her unwanted opinion. “OOOHHH, He a hottie that one. You Meehna, need to keep that one for sure, bring him by for food more often! I will get lots of beeznis.”

  Mina tried to look at Mrs. Wong but a piece of napkin was stuck to Mina’s forehead obscuring her view. “You have got to be kidding me. I doubt he will ever be seen in public with me again. I’m walking talking catastrophe.”

  Mrs. Wong snatched the napkin from Mina’s forehead and started waving it in the air at her while she lectured Mina. “You leesten to me. He nice boy, will forgive reel quick with kissy.” Mrs. Wong raised her eyebrows and bobbed her head at Mina encouragingly.

  Mina groaned and pounded her head against the table again. When Brody came back, they ordered and sat silently while Mrs. Wong kept filling their bowls with all-you-can-eat pot stickers.

  “Your right, these are to die for.” Brody took another bite. “But does she always hover like this?” Brody nodded his head to a smiling Mrs. Wong who kept making smooching faces toward them, whenever he turned his back.

  “Um, no, I think she just changed the dose on her meds,” Mina lied, trying desperately not to look in the restaurant owner's direction. Pretty soon her husband came out in his white apron and hat and joined in the charade of advice. His wife must have told him about Mina’s embarrassing spectacle because he started to shake his head in his wife's direction and mime dropping a napkin on the floor. Both of them were miming different actions in a non-subtle manner.

  Mina kept shaking her head "no" in their direction. Brody saw Mina’s head shake and looked over his shoulder to the couple who dropped their act and began cleaning the counters furiously. As soon as he turned back they went at it again.

  “You ready to get out of here?” Mina asked desperately, looking over Brody’s shoulder.

  Brody threw some money on the table and they escaped into the crisp afternoon air.

  They started walking the different districts with no particular place in mind. Mina felt tense and awkward, she knew they needed to discuss what happened the other night but she really didn’t want too. She found the Grimoire, but she didn’t know how Jared or the man with the wolf tattoo figured into all of this and she was running out of ideas. But she didn’t know if she could trust Brody.

  As if reading her mind Brody spoke up. “You know you can talk to me, right? I’m here for you.”

  Mina kicked a stray piece of rock with her shoe. “How can I, when I barely know you?”

  “I’m trying to amend that,” Brody whispered, he brought his hand down and cupped her small hand in his. Mina tried to pull away but he held on. “I’m sorry that I pressured you into going to the police after the attack, but you have to understand I was scared for you, I wanted to protect you.”

  Mina shook her head, but Brody continued. “You’re right, I don’t know what’s going on, but I want to help you, I want to be there for you.”

  “I can’t talk about it. I’m not ready to talk about it. I’m still trying to figure things out. But when I know more, when I’m ready, I’ll tell you.” It was the most she could promise.

  They headed down the hill to the river walk and bought some bread from a vendor to feed the geese in the river. Mina couldn’t help but glare at the geese angrily and refused to throw them bread. Brody noticed.

  “Got a grudge against geese?”

  “You bet I do. Stupid birds,” Mina snorted. She was boycotting all geese for leading her into danger. She had liked them before the other night, now she could care less. Even though Mina wasn’t the one throwing the bread or holding it all of the geese waddled out of the river and started pecking their way toward her. Mina jumped back and kept walking backward but it was as if they heard her call them stupid, they kept following her until Mina stumbled and landed on her butt in the grass.

  Screaming, Mina held up her hands as the swarm of geese started to crawl over her.

  “Get out of here. Scram!” Brody yelled kicking and pushing the flock away from Mina. Reaching down he grabbed her arm, pulled her up, and out of the reach of the geese. The geese turned direction and kept following Mina. Laughing, Brody physically lifted Mina up out of their reach and over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Mina’s feet swung in the air, her hair hanging over her face upside down. Brody moved away from the river and away from the attacking flock.

  Brody turned around to look at the geese and burst out laughing, the whole gaggle diligently followed them, or more importantly Mina, in a V formation. “I think you underestimate these geese. They are definitely not stupid,” Brody laughed.

  “They are too. Put me down!” Mina cried out, hitting Brody’s back playfully.

  “No way, not until you are out of danger. I won’t abandon you again.” He held on tighter, walking faster.

  Mina rolled her eyes at the geese, which never actually bit her, they just startled her. Mina tried making shooing motions to no avail. Finally she whispered between clenched teeth. “If you don’t get lost now, there won’t be a happy ending to this story. I happen to be friends with a couple who run a restaurant and they would love some fresh goose.”

  The geese immediately turned and headed back to the river. Brody realizing that the threat was over put Mina down. “That was the strangest thing I’ve ever seen.”

  “Not for me.”

  “Are there a lot of strange things that happen around you?”

  “Haven’t you noticed, I’m cursed?” Mina meant the words as a joke but as soon as they left her mouth, she felt a tingle of apprehension through her bones. The words were too close to the truth.

  Brody shook his head. They spent the evening walking the river walk and watching the different street performers and musicians entertain guests. “I’ve never been down here before.”

  “It’s like the wrong side of the tracks for your kind.”

  “What do you mean by my kind?” Brody stopped and looked at Mina carefully.

  “Well you know, your kind.” she shrugged her shoulders.

  “No, I don’t know.”

  “Rich kind.”

  Brody rolled his eyes. “Mina you don’t get it. I don’t care about money or fame or social caste. I would rather have been born without it. My family is hardly ever home because of it. My friends are only my friends because they think that I can do something for them. Everyone is always watching me, judging me, trying to see if I’m going to fit into the box they want me in; whether it’s spoiled rich kid, or reckless heir. In fact being rich is a curse.”

  Mina pondered his words, letting them sink in. They were both the same in many ways. “I’m sorry Brody, you're right.”

  “No, I was that person; I was what money had made me into, but not anymore. I’m trying to change. I’m trying to be worthy of you.”

  Mina blanched in surprise. “Actually I feel like it’s the other way around. I feel like I need to pinch myself, or wake up from whatever dream I’m in because I can’t understand why you want to be my friend.”

  “You really don’t get it do you?” Brody turned Mina toward him, he held tightly onto her shoulders. “I don’t want to be your friend.”

  Chapter 14

  Mina felt her stomach dropped into her shoes. She looked at the ground in dismay. She knew this was too good to be true. Mina tried to turn away from Brody but he gripped her shoulders harder. She heard
Brody whisper her name, Mina looked up in surprise just as Brody kissed her gently on the forehead. “I want to be more.”

  Her knees went weak and she started to shake. Was he declaring his intentions to be more than friends?

  “But I have a feeling, if I pressure you; you are going to run for the hills. So I’m willing to wait until you are ready.” Brody had pulled her into a hug and was whispering into her soft brown hair. “See you are already shaking.” He pulled away from her and she felt an immediate sense of loss. That one brief moment had felt…right.

  Mina sighed wistfully but didn’t feel totally abandoned as Brody continued to hold her hand. He walked her up the stairs to the door of her flat. Mina fumbled for the key and dropped it. Brody picked it up and was about to insert it into the lock when the door opened on its own.

  “That’s strange.” Mina leaned past Brody and pushed the door further open but it stopped when it hit something solid. The little view they had through the opened door was enough to make Mina’s heart quake with fear. Their kitchen was destroyed.

  Panicking, Mina pushed on the door harder and it didn’t budge. Brody, sensing Mina’s fear for her family, got the door open and grabbed Mina’s arm just as she was about to run headlong into danger. A chair had been knocked over in front of the door.

  Brody shook his head and held up one finger to his mouth. He entered first, silently, and moved through each room looking behind curtains, under beds, and in closets. When he was sure it was safe, he motioned for Mina to enter her family’s apartment.

  The sparse furnishings were knocked over, dumped out and looked to have been rummaged through, but nothing actually damaged too badly. When you didn’t own a lot, a thorough search wouldn’t actually take too long. “No one’s here.”

  Mina needed to see for herself. She followed the same steps Brody took and noticed nothing was terribly wrong; she could probably put her home to right before her family got home. She was about to enter her bedroom but Brody stopped her.

  “It doesn’t look to bad except for that room, it’s been destroyed.” Mina peeked into her own bedroom and felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment. It looked exactly same as before except her dresser drawers were left open with clothes hanging out. But Mina wasn’t about to admit that. Mina closed her bedroom door and walked back to the kitchen and began to put kitchen to right.

  Brody went to the living room and helped pick up the potted plants, even sweeping up the dirt. Mina was impressed that he did all of this without making a comment for her to call the police. She knew that whoever tore apart her apartment was looking for the Grimoire and was secretly thankful that she had taken it to school with her, unlike what she told Jared. Wait a minute. Did he do this? Could he have followed her home and trashed her house when she was out with Brody? The thought made her shake and Mina began to lose it. It was easier for her to believe that an unknown person would have done this but it was all too probable that it could have been Jared.

  Brody noticed that Mina had quit straightening and had begun to shake. The shock must have worn off and now she was reacting to having her placed robbed. Brody reached for Mina and was delighted that she came to him willingly and buried her face in his chest. His heart swelled with happiness and ached at the same time for her. “It’s okay. I’ll protect you,” he whispered.

  Mina wished she could believe Brody but was unsure if she could. How could he protect her and her family? Mina was still wrapped up in Brody’s arms when the door opened and Sara walked in carrying brown paper grocery bags. She dropped them on the floor when she saw her daughter in the arms of an unknown boy.

  Mina jumped back guiltily; Brody regretfully let her go but bent down and scooped up the dropped bags.

  “Pardon me, Mrs. Grime.” Brody deposited the bags onto the kitchen table. He turned, scooped the bag Charlie was carrying out of his hands and picked up the cans that had escaped out of the dropped bags, before Sara could recover and close her mouth.

  “And who are you?” Sara asked suspiciously.

  “Brody Carmichael.” He leaned forward and offered Sara his hand in a shake. “I know Mina from school.”

  Sara’s eyes widened when she recognized the name. Brody thought for a minute that it would be because of his family, but what came out of her mouth surprised him.

  “Oh, that’s right. He’s the boy who you lent your notes to for class. Seriously, Brody, you should learn to take your own notes and not live off of the sympathy of others,” Sara lectured.

  Brody’s eyes widened with shock and confusion. He looked over to a white faced Mina before answering. “You are absolutely right Mrs. Grime, but you see if I didn’t ask to borrow your daughter’s notes, I would have no excuse to talk to her and ask her on a date,” he lied.

  Mina could have died right then and been happy. Brody looked over at Mina with a crooked smile and raised eyebrow. He was going to ask her about this conversation later. She knew it.

  “And the boy who ran over Mina’s bike.” Sara didn’t let anything get past her and her eyes glinted angrily.

  “Yes, unfortunately that as well, I am very embarrassed about running over her bike, but I was so surprised to see her on my front porch I wasn’t watching where I was driving. I have been making up for it by giving Mina rides to and from school.”

  “Oh, oh I see.” Sara smiled. “Please call me Sara. Mrs. Grime sounds old.” She began putting away the groceries. “Sorry about the mix-up with the work pamphlets. My boss told me your house and I sent Mina to drop it off. We never did figure out where the mix-up in communication was or who it was supposed to go to, but maybe it was fate?” Sara left it at that and Mina couldn’t make eye contact with Brody.

  Brody stayed for supper of spaghetti and meatballs which turned out to be an awkward event. He would direct questions toward Charlie but when Charlie wouldn’t answer Brody would speak louder as if he was deaf.

  “He can hear you,” Mina answered giving her brother a sisterly kick under the table. “He just doesn’t talk.” Charlie tried to hide his smile but couldn’t. He had enjoyed tormenting Brody.

  Brody would give Mina pointed stares and look around the kitchen in an effort for her to tell her mom what happened. But Mina kept trying to mouth words like "not yet," or "not now."

  But Brody wasn’t going to let it slide. “Do you feel safe here, Sara?” Mina could have kicked him if she had long enough legs.

  “Why yes Brody, what would make you say that?” Sara asked.

  “It’s just that you are here all alone in an older section of town with two kids. I was just wondering if you ever felt like you were endangering them by living down in the international district.”

  “What kind of question is that?” Sara asked heatedly.

  Brody’s jaw tightened in anger. “I’m trying to protect your daughter but she doesn’t seem to think she is in any danger.” He threw it out. He put it all on the table and looked to Mina in challenge. She knew then that if she didn’t tell her mother, Brody would.

  “Mom, you know that family thing that we discovered last week. The one where I would most likely face certain scary obstacles and you agreed to let me try.” Mina tried to hint, she didn’t want to alarm her younger brother.

  “Yes?” Sara spoke warily, her eyes darting between Brody suspiciously and Charlie worriedly.

  “Well, someone was looking for something that I didn’t have. They confronted me outside of a library last week, and two days ago in an alley and it seems they were here in our house just a few hours ago.”

  “WHAT!” Brody and Sara said in unison. Brody didn’t know that Mina had been attacked in an alley.

  Sara looked at Brody? “What! You didn’t know?”

  “Not about all of it. I knew about the library, because I was there, and today, but not about another attack in the alley. It’s why I was asking about your safety.” Brody had started speaking in the vague way Mina did, in an effort to protect Charlie as well.

  “I see.�
�� Sara sat down calmly at the table and tried to compose herself. Charlie watched his mother quietly. Sara leaned over and whispered to Charlie who brightened at her comment, ran to the freezer and took out a gallon of ice cream and went to his room. She was bribing him with ice cream. When Charlie’s door was shut and the sound of cartoons could be heard from behind the door, Sara turned to look at Brody.

  He spoke before she could, “Are you two in some kind of trouble? Are there people after you? What can I do to help you?” Brody stood up and paced the kitchen.

  Sara continued eating her dinner and wiped her mouth daintily with her napkin. “This really is a family matter Brody. But don’t worry, we haven’t done anything illegal and I won’t let anyone harm my daughter again. I’ve moved across country six times to protect Mina from what is after her, and I’m prepared to move continents if I have to.”

  Brody froze at her words. “You know what’s after her and you haven’t gone to the police?” He turned on Sara. “If what you’re saying is true then the police can find the person, they can stop this man.”

  “I told you this is a family matter,” Sara argued.

  Brody looked to Mina in a panic. “I won’t let you run, not if I can help you. If you will just let me help you.”

  Sara contemplated Brody’s actions and words; he really felt something for her daughter. And he seemed determined to help, but wondered if he really would when confronted with a hard challenge or if he would tuck tail and run. He may not even believe her, but she decided to test his measure. “Can you help us run from a curse?”

  “Wha..? I don't understand.” Brody began but Sara cut him off.

  Her face became still, “Brody, you've spent two years at the same school as Mina, hardly talking to her, never even realizing she is alive. Then she goes and does something crazy, and against my wishes. She placed her own life in danger to save yours. Now because of those actions our whole family has to live with the consequences. You now feel obligated to help her, like she did you, I get that, I really do. But what gives you the right to question our actions and lifestyle?”