Fliers

by Laura Mae

  Giovonna ran up to the front door and put her hand in her pocket to get her key.

  ”I’ll be right back. Uh, you can just hang out down here,” she said as she ran up the flight of stairs.

  Sydona looked after her, wanting to say something, but Giovonna was gone. Standing inside the cookie house, she compared it to one of the houses she had seen on the cover of home and garden magazines. It was like a house only made to take pictures of and not to actually live in. She walked around and noticed pictures of Giovonna’s family all over the walls and table tops, fake house plants, an alarm system by the door, and a bowl of artificial fruit on the glass kitchen table.

  “Raoul, check this out!” she whispered to her tote bag.

  He popped out to see Sydona tapping a banana on the counter and making a loud noise.

  “Where in the devil are we?!” he gasped, clasping his hands over his mouth. Sydona found it more amusing than shocking, and she placed the perfect banana back in its pristine spot.

  The house was spotlessly clean and smelled like many different flowers mixed with cleaning chemicals that gave her a slight headache. She walked into the living room and noticed a huge television sitting in the corner, taking up almost the entire wall. There was not a thing out of place. Everything was perfectly symmetrical and straight, completely opposite of how she lived at home. She walked back into the brightly lit kitchen and opened the stainless steel fridge to see if there was anything she could take. She grabbed some cheese, a colored drink, and veggies. Then, she heard someone opening the front door and chatter slipping into the house. She shoved all the food in her bag quickly, forcing Raoul to fly out angrily.

  “Sydona! You do realize I’m in here, right?!” Raoul scolded.

  “Shhh!” she said as she grabbed him from the air and put him back in her bag as fast as possible. She slammed the refrigerator door shut, causing a loud noise and making the chattering stop. Sydona stood in the doorway like a deer in headlights.

  “What’s this? Who are you?” a dark skinned man with angry brown eyes asked Sydona.

  “I uh, I…”

  Giovonna ran downstairs, sounding like a herd of elephants. “Mom, Dad!”

  Her father was a large man with several frown lines creasing his face. Sydona noticed his big hands curling up and turning white as he gazed at her. He then looked at Giovonna for an explanation. “Gia, who is this?! Why is she in our house?”

  “She’s my teacher. She came over to help me grab my homework,” Giovonna quickly fibbed.

  Her mother, a much smaller version of her father but with a face of innocence spoke up. “Your teacher? Why have we never seen her before?”

  Giovonna looked at Sydona and hesitated. “She’s a sub. She has a teaching method to come to her student’s houses on the weekend and then… go to the library!”

  She grabbed Sydona’s hand. “I’m learning a lot!” She hugged her mom with one arm as they headed out the front door. “Bye!”

  She slammed the door shut and left both her parents speechless.

  Chapter Four

  The house faded further and further from their sight, and Sydona couldn’t help but notice Giovonna looking back and smiling like a weight had been lifted. Sydona didn’t blame her if she seemed happy to be out of that house; they were feeding her plastic fruit. A boxy designed car drove by them, and Sydona scoffed. “You would think for being 1996, they would have better looking cars by now. They’re just so ugly.”

  Giovonna looked at her with a perplexed smile. “Don’t you have a car?”

  “I did,” she sighed heavily. “But a lot of good it did me. I would fly everywhere if I could. It’s so much cheaper.”

  “Ha-ha! Right?!”

  Sydona looked over at her. “So, where are we going? The library?”

  “Yerp. I’m there almost every day. Better than being at my house,” Giovonna said.

  “Your parents seemed nice. Frightened and alarmed, but nice,” Sydona said, trying to make small talk; it was something she had never really been good at. It was a strange feeling to find herself wanting to willingly talk to a stranger. She assumed it was because Giovonna was like her, and they had one rare similarity. It was like she found a needle in a haystack and wasn’t about to throw it aside.

  “Yeah, I guess,” Giovonna said.

  Quickly dropping the topic, Sydona walked beside her in silence, but Giovonna was busy waving to folks across the street and greeting everyone. They all seemed to know her name and smiled back at her. After walking down the streets for a while, she found them approaching a decrepit, brick building that looked as if it was around before Sydona’s parents were born. Giovonna led her up a flight of white stairs that were severely chipped and cracked and up to a heavy wooden door that creaked when it opened. The smell of old books and dust rushed past her face as they entered the darkened library that appeared much larger on the inside than the outside. The building seemed empty, much emptier than when she used to visit her library thirty-some years ago. Giovonna’s face lit up as she walked through the familiar place and led Sydona up a flight of stairs in the middle of the building. Wearing sunglasses in such a dark building made her feel as though she was being watched.

  “Where are we going?” Sydona whispered.

  Giovonna shushed her. “Just follow my lead.” She wandered up to a desk where an older woman with bright, gray hair sat.

  “Well hello there, Giovonna,” the woman said and then glanced at Sydona with a confused look. Sydona was used to that reaction though, so she flashed her a quick, fake smile.

  Giovonna leaned over on the desk. “Hi, Ms. Oliver. This is my math tutor, Mrs. Sydona, and I was wondering if you could possibly give us a private room. No disturbances; I need to be in complete concentration,” she said with a stone-cold expression. Sydona was thoroughly impressed and crossed her arms to be witness to this brilliant act. It was almost as if she had done this before.

  Ms. Oliver nodded. “Well of course, hun. Here, I know just the place.” She led them to a door in the back, unlocked it, and even held it open for them.

  Giovonna curtsied. “This is perfect. I appreciate you doing this for us.”

  The woman replied with a slight head bow and walked back over to her tiny desk. The room was set up like a classroom with a few tables and chairs lined up in rows. A couple of outdated computers sat next to the walls with a layer of thick dust covering them. These got Sydona’s attention almost immediately.

  Giovonna sat her backpack down carefully on one of the tables and started taking things out one by one. She dug through her clothes and snacks until she found some little containers labeled ‘B’, ‘Br’, ‘G’, and ‘H’. Sydona got bored with the computers as soon as she found out none of the buttons she pushed worked and wandered back to look at what Giovonna had set out. The girl unscrewed the containers to reveal colored circles in each.

  “Incredible.” Sydona put her finger in the one with the H (Hazel). The contact stuck perfectly to the tip of her finger, and she examined it from every angle, squinting her eyes to get a better look, trying to understand it more. Giovonna smiled giddily and intertwined her fingers like a mad scientist before grabbing a tiny bottle.

  “What’s that?” Sydona asked as she put the contact back in the container.

  “We need to put this in your eyes first. It will make your eyes not freak out when you put them in. Sit, please.” Giovonna pulled a wooden chair over for her.

  Sydona followed her instructions and eyed the bottle intently. “Is it going to hurt?”

  Giovonna unscrewed the cap as she shook her head. ”Just don’t move.”

  “Wait,” Sydona swallowed. “I’ll do it.”

  “What? Are you sure?” Giovonna stepped back.

  Sydona grabbed the bottle from her hand and read the instructions over completely. She didn’t want to admit she didn’t know any of the medical words on it but acted as if she knew what it was already. Testing it out, she squirted some of it
on her hand to see if it did anything. After nothing happened, she held it above her eye. With a shaky hand and her eyes resisting the urge to close, she finally let a drop out, and it hit her naked eyeball.

  Sydona stood up instantly and laughed at the feeling of a thick watery substance on her eye, but it didn’t affect her vision at all.

  “Fascinating,” she whispered with amazement and closed her eyes tightly. Pacing back and forth while shaking her hands, she patiently waited for the feeling to subside. Finally opening her eyes again, she sat back down ready for the next one. Sydona then dropped the solution into the right eye and had the same reaction again.

  “Alright, now we have to wait a little while till we can put the contacts in,” Giovonna informed her as she took the bottle back.

  “How long?”

  “Oh, a few minutes or so,” Giovonna answered while she searched in her bag for something.

  Sydona looked around the room, avoiding any kind of conversation. Taking a closer look at Giovonna’s apparel, she noticed a band name, ACDC, on her t-shirt under the pink jacket. She thought about asking her what the letters meant but just stayed quiet.

  “Time to put your contacts in.” Giovonna said.

  Picking up the hazel colored contact piece, she readied herself to put it in. Giovonna grabbed a mirror so that she would be able to see her eye better. Steadying her hand, her finger came closer and closer to her eye, and just like a suction cup, it was on. Her left eye was now hazel while her other was its usual lavender. Blinking a few times to adjust to the change, she was surprised how little she noticed it. She then placed the second one in and took a good look at herself in the mirror, hardly able to recognize the person staring back.

  “I look just like them …”

  Raoul fluttered out of her bag to see what she looked like with dust trailing behind him. He gazed at Sydona and her new colored eyes with a grin on his face. “Oh wow, Syd! No one could ever tell the difference now!”

  Giovanna’s eyes widened at the sight of Raoul. “Oh my gosh… You-you’re a...”

  Raoul turned to her with a smile. “Fairy.”

  Giovonna squeaked as her eyes rolled back, and she fainted to the floor.

  Sydona heard the thud and quickly turned to see the girl on the floor. “What did you do, Raoul?”

  “Me? I didn’t do anything! Maybe I’m getting better looking with age.” He stroked his hair back.

  Sydona scoffed as she helped Giovonna off the floor and sat her in a nearby chair. She grabbed a piece of paper from the girl’s backpack and fanned her off. Giovonna slowly came to, but as she saw Raoul, her eyes widened again.

  “You okay?” Sydona asked.

  “Are you real?” Giovonna asked with disbelief and reached her hand out to touch him.

  “Of course I’m real!” Raoul bellowed.

  “I don’t think she has seen a fairy before, Raoul. She didn’t mean offence,” Sydona said.

  Giovonna continued staring at him like he was a specimen in a lab. “No. I’ve never seen one of you before. I’m sorry if I offended you.” She released a smile once she took in his presence and knew he was not a dream.

  Sydona went back to looking at herself in the hand-held mirror. She couldn’t get over seeing herself this way; she looked like a human. Her eyes were the one thing she loved about herself because she knew no one had eyes like hers. She set the mirror upside-down on the table, unable to look anymore.

  Raoul focused his attention on Sydona. “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s like I’m human now…” Sydona said only above a whisper.

  Raoul planted himself on her knee. “But that’s good, isn’t it? It’s the best way to hide.”

  Giovonna got over her fascination with the little fairy and chimed in. “You’ll blend right in now. No need to wear sunglasses anymore!”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right. It’ll be the only way to get in,” Sydona said.

  Giovonna cocked her head curiously. “What do you mean? Get in?”

  “Oh, nowhere. Just somewhere I have to go.” Sydona stood up and motioned for Raoul to hide back in her bag. He sighed heavily.

  “Wait, you’re leaving?” Giovonna asked. “Just like that?”

  “Yeah, we need to be somewhere.” Sydona put her bag over her shoulder. “Thank you though, for everything,” Sydona put her hand on Giovonna’s shoulder. “I wish you the best.” Sydona smiled and turned towards the door.

  “Wait!” Giovonna ran back to her backpack and frantically shoved all her things back in. “I’m coming with you!”

  Sydona grabbed the doorknob, hung her head, and sighed. “No, Giovonna. You’re too young. Actually, how old are you? Are you even in high school?” Sydona turned to face her.

  Giovonna threw her backpack over her shoulders. “I’m fourteen, and I am not too young! I’m really sick of people telling me I can’t do things.”

  “Gia… You don’t understand,” Sydona began to explain.

  “Please.” Giovonna gave her a look of such desperation that it gave Sydona a twist in her stomach.

  “We’re going to Eagle Lake, up in Oregon. Do you know why?” Sydona crossed her arms, dreading the fact she had to explain it.

  “No. What’s there?”

  “A camp. They are keeping fliers there… for experiments.”

  “What?”

  Sydona searched through her bag and showed her the article.

  “We think it’s the same thing they were doing back in the 40’s,” Raoul said. “When they took--”

  “Raoul, enough,” Sydona blurted before he could say more.

  The room fell silent, and Giovonna read the article over and over.

  “What do you plan on doing?” Giovonna asked as she handed the paper back.

  “I’m not sure yet. Right now I just want to find it. And I’ll think of something closer to the time.”

  “Okay,” Giovonna nodded.

  “What?”

  “I’m coming with you. Along with my contacts,” Giovonna said.

  Sydona sighed heavily.

  “I have never met anyone like me before. I’m not going to be aware of this... situation... and not try to do anything to stop it. I don’t know what happened fifty years ago, but if you are going all the way to Oregon from here, I’m under the impression it’s pretty serious. Either you take me with you, or I will follow you. You’re not gonna get rid of me that easily.” Giovonna glared at her with determination.

  Sydona scratched her head and looked at Raoul who shrugged his shoulders.

  “What about your parents?”

  “They’ll be fine,” Giovonna said shortly.

  “Gia. This is not something I want you doing without your parents’ knowledge. Especially if I am the last person they saw you with. Where we are going might be dangerous, and I would hate for them to worry,” Sydona said.

  Giovonna rolled her eyes and headed toward a phone in the corner of the room. She sat by it for a few moments with a thoughtful expression. Finally dialing, she waited on the phone until a voice answered.

  “Hi, it’s me,” Giovonna started with a mumble.

  “Gia.”

  “It’s going fine. Can I talk to mom?”

  “Because.”

  Giovonna rolled her eyes, waiting for her mother to get on the phone.

  “Hey, mom. So I ran into Suzanna here, and she had the idea of having a study weekend. You know with the finals coming up, it would be beneficial for both of us.”

  “Yes.”

  “She has clothes I can wear. We’re like the same size.”

  “She has toothbrushes, mom,” she snapped.

  “Come on, please?”

  “No, her parents aren’t out of town. What, we’re not gonna have, like a party, or something.”

  “Come on, you guys never let me stay at friends’ houses anymore!” She stomped her foot.

  “Please, I’ll do twice as many chores when I get home. I promise!”

 
She stood silently, swaying her body back and forth impatiently.

  “Thanks, mom.”

  “Mkay, bye.”

  She slammed the phone down.

  “Problem solved!” Giovonna grinned as she hung up the phone and headed back toward Sydona and Raoul.

  Sydona nodded her head approvingly. “How do you know they won’t call your friend’s house to check up on you?”

  “Because Suzanna’s family hates my parents, so they won’t answer the phone for them anymore. They screwed up their taxes one year, and it’s never been the same. I had to really convince my mom to let me stay.” Giovonna grabbed her backpack. “Are we ready?”

  “Why do you want to come with me so badly? I’m a total stranger. What if I am lying about everything?” Sydona still couldn’t understand why she wanted to tag along so badly.

  “I don’t know. I guess I trust my gut. And I don’t think you’re very good at lying. I lie a lot, so I can tell.” Giovonna winked.

  Sydona nodded. “Alright. Let’s get going then.”

  Giovonna muttered ‘yes’ under her breath, and Sydona smirked. They were stuck with a teenage girl.

  Chapter Five

  The girls left the library at one in the afternoon after checking out a couple books for their travels. Sydona made a point to find something quickly as Raoul had to stay in her bag the whole time. Giovonna could only fit a few since she had school books in her bag, including, chemistry, physics and calculus. Sydona didn’t know much about this girl yet, but the books made her seem intelligent. Mainly because Sydona sneaked a peek of a paper sticking out of the calculus book and saw a red A+ in the corner. Sydona was never really good at math, but in her defense, she hadn’t gone to school since she was nine. Everything she knew was either self-taught, read in books she stole, or learned by trial and error.

  As they walked down the stairs of the library and onto the main street, Sydona felt naked. Without her sunglasses, she felt like her entire body was on display for everyone to see. She hated feeling vulnerable, but this time was different. The few people who did walk past barely noticed her and never looked at her twice. Feeling out of her element, she kept her head low and tried to think of something else to focus on.