When Victoria had made her way back, she didn’t go through with her threat. We stayed well away from any topic that had even a tinge of seriousness about it, spending our time with two rounds of chess, one of the only games I was better at than her and consequentially one we didn’t play too often. Sometime during the second round, the Donovans called and mom told us that they’d be arriving at 8, which still left us with quite a bit of time. Only when the light, peeking through the shutters, turned a soft red, did we stow the board.
“You should shower again,” she told me. “Your hair’s a mess. I’ll choose something for you to wear in the meantime. No buts,” she overrode my protest. “Trust me, I know what I’m doing and if you’re really into the girl, your usual sweater won’t do.”
“Are you trying to get mom to notice,” I asked exasperatedly.
“Not really, but you won’t avoid it anyways,” she shrugged. “No, I’m mainly trying to give you a leg up. I know how much you hate dressing up, but it’s the easiest way to show that you care. She’ll notice, I’ll make sure of it. Now, chop chop, off you pop. It’s a quarter past 7. If you hurry, you’ll still have a chance to talk to mom and prevent an embarrassing evening. I’d seriously recommend it. But ultimately, it’s your call.” I stuck out my tongue at her and waddled into the shower.
My trepidation was rising with every step I took as I made my way back into my room, a towel loosely wrapped around my body. I knew Victoria and with just a touch of bad luck, she would have picked one of my dresses for me to wear. A short one. Which wasn’t going to happen, but I also didn’t want to get into an argument with her, I might easily die of embarrassment if she was really going to try to convince me. I sighed with relief when I finally spotted the clothes she had chosen. Skin tight, light blue jeans and a cropped, black spaghetti top with purple waistbands. It wasn’t something I’d usually wear but it wasn’t half as bad as it might have been. That was, until I spotted the underwear hidden underneath. Black and lacy and with the amount of cleavage I was going to show, at least the edge of the bra would be visible.
I cursed quietly and toyed with the idea of just donning whatever I felt comfortable with, but ultimately, it wasn’t worth it. Vic would harass me until the Donovans arrived and there was no way in hell I was willing to argue my point in front of mom. Besides, after I had dressed and taken a closer look in the mirror, I had to admit, she had known what she was doing. The lack of colour emphasised my glimmering eyes and the cut showed off my figure. I wouldn’t have wanted to go out on the streets like this, but it’d do nicely to impress Katie. Not to sound overly conceited, but I truly looked beautiful, in a fairy sort of way. Even without any makeup. Resigning myself to a rather awkward conversation, involving my mom and a series of bloodcurdling questions, I put my flowing tresses in a tight ponytail and made my way downstairs.
I hesitated briefly before I turned the corner. The dusk hung gloomily over the city, a bank of clouds came rolling in and the speck of ocean I saw, was covered in frothing waves. Nothing new there, but the park was shimmering in its own light, a warm, golden glow that seemingly emanated from the towering oak at the centre. Reflexively, I focused on the ancient tree and what I saw made my jaws drop to the floor.
Swaths of winged creatures rose from the canopy. Like tiny gems they moved in front of a darkening sky, illuminating the approaching night with colourful lights. At first, their outlines were hazy, the distance too great to make out any details, but the longer I watched, the clearer my vision became. Crystalline dots transformed into glass like wings and bodies, covered in jewels. They resembled insects, in a way, but I quickly got over my surprise, since the most remarkable parts were the saddles they wore. Dark leather straps held minuscule, humanoid figures in place. They were slim, almost emaciated, with large eyes, sparkling like the colours of the rainbow and long, wild hair in a corresponding hue. Armour, made from something that resembled bark, covered their bodies and they held dangerous looking bows in their claw like hands. Full quivers were strapped to their backs and while I stared on in amazement, they began to slowly form neat columns in the air, like a fantastical, miniaturised army.
“Fuck me,” I breathed and pressed my nose against the window. “How on earth did I not know?”
“Evee? Are you alright?” Luckily it was my sister who joined me on the stairs.
“I… yes… no, maybe? You’ve no idea…” she gently caressed my cheek and said quietly:
“Not now. Tell me about it tonight. Unless… is it dangerous?”
“How the hell should I know? I don’t think so, it could happen every single evening, I hope, but…” I leaned to the side and whispered in her ear: “I see… creatures, people. There are hundreds. I think they’re making ready to patrol the city, at least it looks that way.” She stared at me, wide eyed. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what she was thinking. “Either my little sister has truly gone mad or I won’t sleep tonight.” I still didn’t believe I was crazy and I definitely wasn’t going to close my eyes any time soon. I was already thinking about how I might seal off my balcony for good. A nice metal wall would be lovely. 10 inches of carbonated steel and maybe bulletproof glass for the rest of our apartment.
“Are they… do they look like, they’re coming here,” she finally dared to ask.
“I… not specifically. Why would… oh, you fear they might know?” She shrugged and put her arm around my shoulder, pulling me into her.
“It wouldn’t be the craziest thing I’ve seen.” She squinted her eyes and peered through the window but shook her head after a few moments. “It looks perfectly normal to me.”
“I wished I could say the same. They’re moving now. No, they aren’t getting closer. They’re headed towards the sea and to the north, I think.” I exhaled deeply, trying to get my muscles to relax, but I didn’t managed until the last of them vanished into the growing shadows between New York’s skyscrapers.
“They’re gone,” I finally breathed and closed my eyes. “Damn it, that’s so much more than I’ve bargained for! God, Vic, what am I supposed to do?” She tightened her embrace and mumbled:
“We’ll figure it out. One step at a time. For now… just try to not think about it. We’re going to have guests to entertain, remember. By the way,” she shoved me away and made me to turn on the spot. “You look absolutely stunning. You should show a bit more skin more often. I don’t know why you always want to look like you’re living in a convent.” Her forced banter still did its job and I felt marginally more at ease. Still on edge, but I appreciated her effort immensely.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Because I don’t like being stared at. I know that’s something you can’t understand but… I’d rather not be the centre of attention. It’ll be bad enough with my new eyes, I don’t feel the need to make it worse.”
“Your choice,” she shrugged. “Come on then. Dad’ll be home any minute now. Have you made up your mind, are you going to talk to mom,” she asked while we made our way to the kitchen.
“I guess. If I don’t, she’ll be all over me… thanks for the inconspicuous clothes, by the way. You didn’t leave me with much of a choice, did you? She’ll…” right on cue, my mom rounded the corner, her mobile pressed to her ear. She waved at us but paused when my getup caught her attention. A sly smile spread across her face before she finished her call:
“… yes, and your Vitello Tonato, twice... that’s it… No, my husband will pick it up in 30 minutes… Paradizo. Right, thanks... Bye.” She clicked her phone off and studied me, her eyes twinkling with amusement.
“Oh my, Evee… it’s been ages since I’ve seen you wear anything but your long sleeves at home. Are you trying to impress someone?” At least I didn’t have to breach the topic… the small things.
“Maybe? If I tell, will you promise to not make my life a living hell for the next hours?”
“I’ll try. But you don’t have that much to offer, do you? Confirmation is nice and all, but… tell you what, answer five questions and I’ll keep my mouth shut tonight. I’ll even do you one better and make sure your father won’t embarrass you. Seems fair?” I nodded hesitantly. She always made these deals with us and most of the time, we didn’t get the better end of the bargain.
“Great. Come on, you both can help me set the table. I assume your sister already knows? Has she picked your wardrobe?”
“Yes and yes,” I immediately blurted out and added: “And that’s two questions down. Careful, mom, you’re slipping.” She laughed softly while we entered the kitchen and began rummaging for plates, cutlery, glasses and napkins. Vic also chose a red wine, which she poured into a decanter to allow it to breath.
“Am not,” my mom denied quickly. “You just came back from the hospital. I wanted to go easy on you. But fine, if that’s how you want to play. Why Katie?”
I took my time, deliberately placing a handful of crostinis in a bowl, before I answered her. “We fought on my first day. That’s why she acted out. She came to apologise after you guys left, yesterday. Every minute I’ve spent around her has been… nerve wracking, one way or the other. I guess, ultimately, we could only start hating or liking each other. I chose the latter.”
“So… do I have to worry?”
“No, I don’t think so. I’m not a child. For all I know she could have a boyfriend. I won’t be heartbroken if it doesn’t work out.”
“She might be, though. I’ve seen the way she looked at you before she left. All right, last question. What have the two of you,” she indicated my sister with a jerk of her head, “been whispering about all day?” Crap. Of course she had realised. Before I could do so much as avert my gaze, Victoria chimed in:
“Pretty much exactly what you’ve been harassing her about, right now. It’s the first time Evee is going to bring someone home. Don’t tell me you expected me to hold my tongue?”
“No, somehow I didn’t,” my mum replied with a smile but her eyes remained on me. “Is that true, Evelyne? Or is there something else?” I hesitated. In a way, Vic had told the truth, but…
“Depends. We’ve been talking for quite a while. But yeah, the most important bits all evolved around what you asked me.” My mom had a knack for knowing when she was lied to. But subtle differences didn’t usually register. And she had asked about my newfound peculiarities, after all.
She studied me in silence for a second before she sighed. “Fine, let’s leave it at that.” More cheerfully she added: “you’ve heard me ordering, didn’t you? Is there something special either of you would like?”
“Did you order desert,” my sister immediately inquired.
“Tartufo Classico and some Tiramisu. No ice cream, though. Your father already bought some.”
“That’ll do. Hey,” she turned to me, “do you know what your girlfriend likes?”
“She’s not my… never mind. No, unbelievable as it seems, we haven’t talked much about the usual subjects. I don’t even know if she likes Italian or what her hobbies are. Except for cheerleading. Oh, and she’s got a scholarship to our school.”
My mom wolf whistled quietly. “That’s not easy to get. She must pretty smart and committed. Is she in trouble?”
“Maybe. I think it’ll all blow over once we’ve talked to the police and informed the dean that it wasn’t her fault. But for now, she’s suspended, pending the official investigation.”
“I see. Do you want me to smooth it out?”
“Not unless she asks us to. You’d do me a favour if you didn’t flaunt your connections tonight, in the first place. I don’t know how well the Donovans will react to your usual anecdotes.”
“Evee, are you embarrassed because we’re successful,” she quietly asked.
“No, but you got to admit, some of you stories can be overwhelming, to say the least. Just stick to the normal stuff, would you?”
“No promises, but I’ll see what I can do. I think we got everything, come on.” We set the table in silence and pretended to not see Victoria snatch the occasional titbit. Only when we had slumped down on the couch and had turned on the TV, did my mom speak up again.
“Say, do you want me to order a new phone for you? I want you to have a new one before you go to school again.” I felt the blood rise in my cheeks again.
“No, but thanks. I think Katie is going to get it for me.”
“But…” she bit her lip, buying time, before she continued: “do you think that’s the best idea? If her family doesn’t have that much, it’ll be…”
“I never said that. Besides, it doesn’t have to be the newest model, does it? You can get a decent mobile for far less than we normally pay. I… I’ll ask her again, but I’m not going to… look, it’s part of the deal we struck. She’ll share her notes with me, in case I can’t return to school next week, and she’ll get me a new phone. It’s sort of her fault mine broke, after all. Then we’re square. I won’t take that away from her without asking. She already did everything she could, I don’t think she’d appreciate it, if I were to suddenly treat what happened like a minor inconvenience.”
“Oh my… you really learned a thing or two. But do ask her. Not everybody sees it the same way. She can make it up to you in another manner, if she truly wants to.”
“But she shouldn’t,” my sister interjected. “I’m with Evee on that one and I’m willing to bet Katie will insist, either way. How about a wager?”
“No,” I exclaimed. “You won’t. You can bet on anything concerning myself, all day long, but you won’t treat her as another source of entertainment.”
“You’re really cute when you try to stick up for her. Puffing out your chest and all! Come here!” Whether I wanted to or not, I was enveloped in another hug, even though this time around, it was more of a contest of strength than an actual form of endearment. The only saving grace was, that my sister didn’t want to mess up my appearance and hence refrained from tussling my hair.
A few minutes later, mom finally came to my rescue. “That’s enough, girls. Victoria, if you don’t let go of her, you’ll have to do the dishes by yourself, tonight.”
“Aw, come on, I’m just starting to have fun,” Vicky complained while I was gasping for air. “Besides, she’s awfully pale. A little colour would do wonders…” I never found out what exactly a red face would do for me, since the concierge called right that moment. Rolling her eyes, my mum headed for the door, accepting the call. She nodded once in our direction, mouthing “they’re here,” before she said: “yes, they’re our guest, send them up. Thanks, Albert.”
By now we had managed to disentangle our limbs and I was starting to feel slightly nervous, even though there wasn’t a rational reason for it. The beauty of human emotions. They made everything so much more complicated, but yet, life would be boring to no end without them. It didn’t help one bit when Vic whispered:
“Pull up your pants, your underwear is showing. Or is it on purpose?” It was my turn to roll my eyes before I fixed the problem and scrambled off the couch to head for the door. Somehow I wanted to greet Katie’s family before they became entangled in the insanity I called home.