“Hey, what’s up?”
“I have something really weird to tell you about.”
“This is starting to become a theme. Okay, spill.”
“Remember on the second day of school I told you about that really strange dream I had about the meadow and the cabin and the old lady and the fireplace mantle and the hand tattoo.”
“Yeah.”
“Well, that day in English we had a writing assignment where each person started a story and then had to pass it back, so the next person could keep writing on the story that was passed to them. I started mine and then wrote parts of four others. Anyway, my story started with the first part of the dream where a girl woke up in a meadow and didn’t know where she was.”
“Okay, that doesn’t seem so strange.”
“I’m not finished. Miss Fay then made all of the stories into a booklet we had to read. Well, I just finished reading my story and it was almost like my dream. Of course, there was my part, but the other people wrote about the tree tunnel, the cabin and an old lady and the fireplace and mantle. It wasn’t my dream exactly, but it was close enough that I’m freaking out!”
Alix waited for Shay to say something, “Shay, are you there?”
“Yeah, I’m here, but I don’t really know what to say. That is totally weird, you’re right. I have no idea what to tell you. It’s like we’re watching a movie from the inside or something like that. Does that make sense?”
“Kind of. But I’m getting paranoid. Too many strange things are going on.”
“Are you scared?” Shay asked.
“No, not really.”
“That’s good. Do you think anything bad is going to happen to you?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Are you getting that sense of adventure you’re always talking about?”
“Totally.”
“Then I say let’s see what happens. As long as you feel you’re safe let’s look at this like one of the mysteries you read. We’ll look at the clues, investigate the things we don’t understand, and get to the bottom of this.”
“When did you and I switch personalities? You sound all rational and reasonable like I usually do and I’m the one semi-hysterical for a change.”
“I don’t know but it’s kind of funny.”
“Thanks for listening to Shay. I feel better just getting these things off my chest.”
“That’s what friends are for, gotta take the crazy with the good.”
Alix could hear the smile in her voice. “I should go. Dad and I are walking over to Chow’s to meet mom for dinner.”
“Funny, that’s where we’re going to dinner too.”
“Really?”
“Yup. See you there I guess.”
“Okay, bye.”
They got to the restaurant and found a table. When Shay and her family got there Alix waved them over. A few minutes after they all say down Alix’s mom arrived. The girls giggled with each other as their parents caught up. It was a nice evening out for everyone. Their families parted ways and went home.
Alix had already finished all her homework and was trying to read but had too much on her mind to concentrate. She got out her journal and started writing.
Sept 11
So, I’m sufficiently freaked out. I swear I was being followed today. What’s up with that? I didn’t say anything to anyone but Shay. Should I have? Who or what could have it been? Then Natalie was scared about the coin. Something really strange is happening here and I need to figure out what it is. I think I also need to be on my guard.
On a different note … Ben. Yes, Ben. He makes me feel things that I’ve never felt before and I think I like it. When I held his hands yesterday at Yellowstone I could hardly think. Just being around him sometimes makes me blush. I hate that I so that, but I have no way to stop it.
She was thinking about what she’d written and realized that the coin was still in the jeans she had worn to Ben’s. She didn’t want to lose it, so she put it back in her jewelry box. It was still a bit early to go to bed but now that she’d written down her thoughts she was able to read so she took out her eReader and read until bedtime.
Chapter 13
It was Monday morning, the first official Monday of the school year. Alix had gone to bed early, so she was well rested for the day. She ended up beating Ben to Shay’s by a few minutes. She knew Shay would be at least another ten minutes, so she sat on the step and waited. Ben arrived a few minutes later.
“Good morning Ben,” she said smiling.
“Morning,” he said so quietly she hardly heard him.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just tired.”
Alix was a bit confused. Ben was normally so happy and friendly. He almost always had a smile on his face, but this morning he seemed almost withdrawn. She wanted to ask more but got the feeling she wouldn’t get very far. For the first time since she had met him, she felt uncomfortable around him. Not knowing what to do she just sat and waited for Shay to fly out the door. Thankfully, she didn’t have to wait too long. The three of them walked to school. Ben didn’t say a word the whole way there. Shay also noticed Ben’s silence. She looked at Alix, but all Alix could do was shrug. Shay gave Alix the we’ll-talk-later look. Alix agreed, they definitely were going to talk about this.
The rest of the school day was fairly uneventful. In English, they had a quiz about the stories they read. After that Miss Fay had the class pick a novel to read. In Spanish, she and Shay were able to be partners, but they never had the chance to talk about Ben. Lunch was quiet for her, she read while Ben and Shay talked to their other friends. Biology was just theory and note taking, so in other words, boring. And Culinary Arts wasn’t much better. Alix was very glad that the day was over. She was looking forward to working on her English project with Ben after school. She went to her locker and the three of them left the school.
Ben still wasn’t himself after school. They were almost to Shay’s house when Alix finally asked, “So, do you want to go to my house or yours to work on the project?”
“Um … uh … well … you see I can’t tonight. My mom needs me to do something for her today, so I have to go straight home.”
“Uh, okay. Then I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yeah.” That was all he said before he walked toward his house.
Alix looked at Shay and shrugged. She didn’t have any of the answers either.
“Are you coming over?” Shay asked.
“For sure, I think we need to talk.”
On the way, Alix texted her mom to let her know she was going to Shay’s. In Shay’s room, Alix plopped down on the bean bag chair feeling frustrated. Shay sat on her bed and looked at Alix.
“I know you have questions Shay, but I don’t have any answers for you. I have no idea why Ben is acting like this, maybe he is having an off day.”
“It’s certainly out of character, well from what we know anyway. He seemed fine when we left yesterday. Did you hear from him later?”
“No, but it’s not like we talk all the time.” Alix was thinking about what his problem could be when something popped into her mind. “Hey, remember when I told you that his mom seemed kind of freaked out a little at seeing the coin pictures yesterday.”
“Yeah.”
“Maybe he got in trouble or something. I know that doesn’t make sense, but since we have no idea what that coin is about, anything is possible.”
“Are you sure his mom freaked out?”
“Yes, I saw her face, she looked scared.”
“So, if that’s the case and it’s dangerous or something why didn’t she say anything or tell us to stop looking into it?”
“Think about it Shay, if you tell a bunch of teenagers to not do something what’s the first thing they’re going to do?”
“They’re going to do what they were told not to. Got ya. You’re right.”
“So, she plays it off as no big deal hoping that we drop it. And if I hadn�
�t seen her face I probably would’ve dropped it.”
“So, what do we do?”
“I have no idea.”
They worked on their Spanish homework for a while before Alix decided she should probably head home.
When Alix got home she found her mom in the kitchen preparing something for dinner. “Hi, mom.”
“Oh, hi Alix, I didn’t hear you come in. How was school?” she asked, while continuing to work on whatever was in the bowl.
“Okay, I guess. Long day. Ben was in some kind of strange mood and hardly talked to us all day.”
“That’s nice,” she said, still staring at the bowl.
Alix could tell her mom was completely preoccupied and not listening to her at all. Mom isn’t usually like this she thought. What’s with everyone today?
“I’m going to my room to do my homework,” Alix said, not waiting for a response and going straight to her bedroom. When she got there, she had every intention of doing her homework, but her thoughts kept returning to Ben’s and her mom’s odd behavior. She got out her journal instead.
Sept 12
Dear Diary,
She laughed at herself when she wrote that. It was the first time she has smiled all day. She crossed it out and kept writing.
Sept 12
Dear Diary, No, not dear diary, I just wrote that because I needed a laugh, it’s been a long day. Ben kind of acted like a jerk today. He hardly said two words to me today and to be honest it kind of hurt my feelings. He’s been so nice since we met and today he was almost a different person. No smiles or jokes, maybe he was replaced by a robot in the night. I know that’s not true, but I don’t get it. I hope he’s better tomorrow. And my mom, she wasn’t paying any attention to me at all when I got home and that’s not like her. She just kept staring at the bowl she was mixing. Maybe she had something on her mind, but even still, she’s usually more interested in my day. I guess I’ll see how the rest of the night goes.
Alix finished her homework just before dinner was ready. She’d heard her dad get home but chose to stay in her room. She was having a bad day and just wanted to be by herself.
Dinner was quiet, that’s the best way Alix could describe it. They sat at the table, ate together said the usual things like pass the salt; but that was about it. No chatting about their days as usual. She tried a couple of times to ask her parents how everything was but only got vague answers, so she quit asking and just ate. The whole day seemed to be off. First Ben, then her parents, it’s like the only person willing to talk to her was Shay. She was glad when dinner was over, and she could go back to her room. She’d had enough of the day, so she pulled out her eReader and got lost in her book.
****
The rest of the week went pretty much like Monday did. Ben met them in the morning but didn’t say a lot other than good morning. He was quiet during the day and they didn’t work on their English project all week either. Alix was getting more confused and angry as each day passed. By the end of school on Friday, she was fed up with his behavior. By the time they got to Shay’s, she couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“Look, Ben, I don’t know what your problem has been this week, but I’ve had enough. If you don’t want to be friends or hang around with us anymore that’s fine, but stand up and say so. This whole week you’ve been a jerk and I don’t know why. And if you aren’t going to work on our English project I’ll just finish it by myself.”
With her rant over she turned and started walking home. She heard Ben call her name, but she just kept going. He was the last person she wanted to see or talk to at the moment. She was even more furious by the time she got home. She was glad she was the only one there, she didn’t want to talk to anyone right now. On top of Ben acting like an idiot all week, her parents weren’t much better since dinner on Monday. It was like she had a disease and talking to her would make it spread. Her mom was working tonight and had texted her earlier in the day that her dad would bring home pizza for dinner. That also meant no family movie night which was just fine with her today. She planned to stay in her room all night except for eating pizza.
Alix didn’t get mad often, but everything seemed to be coming down on her at once. The last three weeks she was pretty sure she had felt every emotion on earth. And now anger and frustration were at the top of the list. The only person who was being normal to her was Shay. Again, she was so grateful they were friends. Most of the time she didn’t know what she would do without her. Alix heard her phone go off, it was text from Shay.
Shay: U ok?
Alix: I guess.
Shay: I’m not sure I’ve ever seen an outburst from u like that.
Alix: I was fed up and it all came out at once.
Shay: Is there family movie night tonight?
Alix: No, mom’s working.
Shay: Want to do a girl’s night sleepover?
Alix thought about for a minute before answering. She decided she could use the distraction.
Alix: Ok, sounds good. U coming here?
Shay: Yep and I’ll bring the supplies.
Alix: K, what time?
Shay: I’ll be there about 7.
Alix: K
She texted her mom and dad to tell them that Shay was spending the night. Then she looked around her room and realized it was kind of a disaster. She usually kept everything pretty tidy, but she’d been off her game this week because of Ben and her parents. She put in a load of laundry and started putting everything in her room back in its place. Her laptop was open which was strange because she always closed it after she used it. She emptied her school bag and put her homework on her desk as well. About an hour later she had her room looking much better and her second load of laundry in the dryer. Her dad came home with pizza and she didn’t realize how hungry she was until she smelled the heavenly scent. They ate in the living room and watched the news. Nothing interesting tonight. When they were done she went back to her room to wait for Shay.
Alix decided to read while she waited so she picked up her eReader, but something was nagging at her and she couldn’t focus. She felt like she was forgetting something. She looked around her room and took stock. Laptop, laundry, school bag, homework … wait … homework, where was her English project stuff? She didn’t remember seeing it when she cleaned up. She had it all in a folder. Now all she had to do was find the folder. It was bright yellow, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find. It wasn’t on her desk, or on the chair, or in her school bag; what could she have possibly done with it? She even thought to look under her bed.
“What are you doing?” Shay said, scaring Alix nearly to death.
Alix yelped and hit her head on the bed. “Crap Shay don’t sneak up on me like that,” she said while rubbing her head.
“I hardly snuck up on you. I yelled for you when I came in the house. I talked to your dad in the living room and I wasn’t exactly quiet walking in here. So, I’ll ask you again, what are you doing?”
“I can’t find my English project stuff and it’s driving me crazy.”
“You can’t find schoolwork? You’re so anal when it comes to that I’m surprised you don’t have a file cabinet with everything alphabetized,” Shay said smiling at Alix.
“I’m not THAT bad. But yes, I always know where my stuff is. I had to clean up before you came over because I’ve been having a bad week, but I don’t remember seeing it at all.”
“Since I know you won’t have any fun until you find it I’ll help you look.”
“Thanks, it’s in a bright yellow folder labeled English.”
The girls each took a side of the room and started searching. Her room wasn’t big enough to lose things in.
“Hey, I think I found it,” Shay announced triumphantly.
Alix turned around and saw Shay halfway under her desk. Shay scooted back out with the folder in her hand. As she passed it to Alix a small slip of paper fell out. Shay picked up the paper to put it back in the folder, but stopped dead when she read it.
; “What’s wrong Shay? What is it?”
Shay didn’t say anything, she just handed the piece of paper over to Alix. Alix read it and she stopped too.
Forget you ever saw the coin
If Alix was prone to panicking she would have panicked, then. All she could do was stare at the paper. What did it mean? She suddenly had an awful feeling. She took the folder from Shay and sure enough all of the coin pictures were gone and so were the notes on what they had found out about it, or more precisely what they didn’t find.
“Shay they’re gone. All the pictures and notes about the coin. The coin!” Alix ran over to her dresser and opened her jewelry box. “It’s gone. I put the coin in here on Sunday after we got back from dinner and now it’s not here, I know it was here.”
“I don’t doubt you at all. I know how you are. At least you still have the pictures on your computer.”
They looked at each other and went over to the laptop. Alix turned it on and brought up her pictures file. Gone. Those were gone too.
“What’s going on Shay? I’m getting really freaked out. How did this happen? Who did this? And why and when? The house hasn’t been broken into so how could this stuff have disappeared?”
“I don’t know Alix.”
“And the note, it sounds like a warning. Should I be worried?”
“I don’t think so.” Shay said.
“Why do you think that?”
“Because it looks like they were only after the coin. Maybe it’s dangerous or could put you in danger. Look at the facts. You found it where someone disappeared. We can’t figure out what any part of the coin means, and you said that Ben’s mom looked scared when she saw it. None of that is normal Alix. Do you think that Ben’s parents took it?” Shay asked.
“I think if they wanted it they would have just asked me for it so I don’t think it was them.” Alix decided.
“Maybe it’s for the best that it’s gone. It seemed to be only causing you grief anyway. And besides, what could you tell your parents, that you found some weird coin where a girl disappeared and didn’t turn it over to the park ranger? Oh, and by the way mom, it has writing on it in a language we’ve never heard of and the site of it scared Ben’s mom. How well do you think that would go over?”
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