“We can still catch the culprit if we go fast enough! They couldn’t have gotten away, not that quickly. Call for a car the surround the perimeter, we’re catching this kidnapper today. And it’ll be a huge relief to all the fairies out there.”
Then, a group of three officers began to jog towards the house, one sprinting ahead. Goldenrod flew over their heads, and the other fairies struggled to keep up against her manic energy.
“Hey! Hey, wait for me!” I cried.
I turned around to pull Marco along with me, as I started to race towards the plundered home. But he wasn’t there, oddly enough, and neither was Elise. They must have ran ahead. Only Annette remained, chewing on a stick of white mint gum, almost silently. She looked the picture of a solemn statue besides her wild hair that stuck up in all directions.
“Come on, Annette,” I called to her, “we’re going to miss everything if we don’t hurry!”
“I don’t know,” she said, “if you think about it, crime scenes are kinda scary. I don’t like them... I don’t get why they have to exist!”
I breathed heavily. There was no time for her to have an existential crisis, right now! We were attempting to catch a criminal, and if I didn’t leave now, I’d miss all the satisfying action. Hopefully, I’d get to see the culprits hauled off in chains, if I was especially lucky. So, I picked up my feet, and hit the sidewalk, leaving Annette to chew her gum. She watched me, quiet as a mouse, stiff as a judge, as if she disapproved of me, now.
I caught up to the officers who had left me in the dust, and attempted to find Marco and Elise before they burst into the house.
“Marco! Marco !” I called, “Elise! Where are you?”
They didn’t show, and the officers had already began to break down the door. It would take a long time to get it open, however, it looked pretty thick compared to the last family’s. They still had loads of time to come before the officers made an arrest-
Clang! Thump.
The door fell over, crashing into a crumbling, softened floor with a huge sound. Dust from the plaster flew everywhere, and I coughed as I breathed it in. and I felt my heart sink. Marco was going to miss everything! I couldn’t believe it- he had taken all the effort to drive here and he was going to miss the action!
The police stormed in, four of them entering the building. Their fairies hovered next to their faces, wearing protective suits. Fairies were delicate. Criminals were not.
“Marco!” I shouted.
I didn’t hear a voice back.
“You need to quiet down, you’ll alert the kidnapper,” one officer snapped.
Then, one of the others, the young one, Walkie Talkie, gestured over to the back door, which was visible from the front entrance. It was open, and the screen was bent, as if a large hand had torn it open, or a blunt scissor had made a wide incision. Someone had gone through it, recently- and I was willing to guess that it wasn’t the rightful inhabitants.
“I don’t think she was the one who alerted him, Davis. They’re gone. And they’ve taken the fairies with them!”
Davis blasphemed the names of the kidnappers, and stormed out in fury.
The others looked out after him, but didn’t follow. Instead, they began to pick up evidence from the scene. They found a hair and a feather. That wasn’t much evidence to go off of. What scarce pickings did they have to find to nab the kidnapper, who was now on a spree?
Then, Davis returned, a few minutes later, his face burning red. His pockets were bulging out with something, and he was breathing heavily, like a winded version of Darth Vader.
“Hey, what’s his problem?” Goldenrod perched on the kitchen counter.
“Hey, fairy, you’re in danger here! This isn’t just a crime scene- you can get kidnapped, and I’m sure that would make Livi very sad,” the officer said, “who doesn’t love their fairies?”
For a moment, I felt a surge of guilt, and a sharp pain in my head. Who
didn’t love their fairies? What kind of human person was deranged enough to have complete apathy when being told her fairy could be kidnapped? And was dismayed when she was perfectly fine? Maybe I was wrong, and I should accept Goldenrod as a permanent part of my family- but I just couldn’t muster the will power to keep myself from despising her with all my soul. She had proved that she was semi- useful, hadn’t she? And she had saved my life twice . That was what was so sick about the whole thing.
I didn’t really expect Goldenrod to vouch for me.
“Yeah, I’m Livi’s best friend!” She cried, “she’s the best person ever!”
Did she have to go and make me feel even worse?
“Well, you kids better get out of here. We don’t think anyone else is going to get kidnapped, but that’s not a chance that we want to take.”
As I left the scene, taking Annette with me to leave, I saw Elise and Marco in the window of the car. I wondered what they were talking about in there. They didn’t even look remotely disappointed about missing out on the raid. I walked up to the car, and stood outside the door for a second. They didn’t even notice me standing there with Annette. It took me rapping on the glass for them to turn in my direction. They shared a few more, hasty words, and unlocked the door. I swung it open, and pulled myself into the seat. I saw that Elise had taken the seat next to Marco.
“Hey, guys!” I said, with a forced grin.
“Hey,” Marco grinned, “I wish I had gotten to see you get the guy!”
“We didn’t get him...they got away. Why didn’t you want to come? It was awesome!” I cried.
“Well, Elise and I just had to go and talk about what she was going to do to get into...her favorite concerts. She was planning to sneak in, and I was going to make sure that nothing happened to her,” he said.
I didn’t doubt that Elise would have snuck into the concert, but yet, I was dubious that he was telling the truth. They seemed far too wrapped up in their intense conversation to be talking about concerts and backstage passes. They were far too distracted by each other to pay attention to me, standing outside.
And the realization struck me, a horrible realization.
What if Marco liked Elise? What if Elise liked him back? And...they could be dating in secret! Maybe they had known each other long before they “met” the other day.
They were probably whispering some too- sweet nothings in each others ears...maybe they had been kissing passionately behind the crime scene while a fairy was being kidnapped. That had to be why they both refused to come to the scene of the kidnapping! They were letting lips do what hands do...holding hands, touching lips, giving each other cute little annoying nicknames. I bet that Marco brought her all over on dates- probably somewhere romantic, like by the sea...
Maybe Elise had met Marco’s parents! Maybe that was why the Chief was so upset at the thought of the two of us hanging out!
They would be the perfect couple, fitting together like Yin and Yang, just like perfection did. They were like magnets, and she was the negative, he the positive. They would be happy together, and I would have a dismal day. Probably a dismal year, too.
And while I sulked alone, they’d be kissing behind the crime scene...
My skin crawled at the thought of it, and I didn’t want to buckle my seat belt as we began to drive away.
That night, as soon as I arrived at my house, I waved goodbye to Annette, and Marco, and rushed into my house.
Immediately after I locked myself in, I raced up to my beautiful room, and threw a purple pillow on the floor in anger. Then, I checked the clock on my wall. It was eight in the morning, on a weekend!
I deserved a nap.
I tucked myself into the soft blankets, covering myself up. I pulled my hair into a short ponytail, and tossed and turned in my bed.
How could I be so exhausted, but still so wide awake?
I trudged down to the kitchen, and poured myself some cold milk, too lazy to warm iit up for myself.
And so, as I downed the lot, to the back of my throat and beyond, I finally was able head up to bed. It was a miracle that I was able to get out of my own head long enough to find a little piece of peace on my own. People rarely did, and I had to confess- I resided in my head far too much for comfort.
And as my head hit the pillows, I drifted off into a deep, disturbed slumber.
I wore a buttercup yellow gown, like they wore in old time. I was walking down the winding road ahead of me, dusty, blue, and inherently lonely. The dust was settling into my dress, and my hair was covered.
Suddenly, I came to a dead end.
Two silhouettes stood ahead of me, one thin and scrawny, the other average height and strong. Maybe they could help me find my way back?
I approached the pair, and realized that it was Marco and Elise. I waved to them, and they returned the favor.
Then, they began to kiss, like they were some twisted form of Romeo and Juliet. Their lips were pressing against each other’s, and I was disgusted. And they came closer to me every second that they kissed, taunting me. It was too bad that this wasn’t Romeo and Juliet, I thought bitterly.
“Isn’t Elise so cool?” Marco said.
Then, her head turned into a head of a bird, white feathers and all. She began to cluck violently. Marco pushed her away, and Elise scampered into the woods.
“I don’t like chickens!” He said, before he began to cluck.
I looked down, involuntarily, and saw a hideous sight...my feet were webbed and I was covered in coarse, itchy feathers... I was the chicken. I began to squawk at the impeding sunrise.
Suddenly, chickens were everywhere, on my clothes, in my hair, a whole army of chickens wearing martial art uniforms-
And I woke up, in my own bed, drenched in sweat. It was all a dream. It had felt so real- okay, now that I thought about it, it didn’t, but I had really believed that everything was turning into a chicken.
I jolted as I realized that someone was next to my bed.
My Mom stood over me, looking on in concern.
“I came in to make sure you were okay,” she said, “and you wouldn’t stop muttering about chickens...”
“Oh... I’m thinking...about how amazing chickens are...and it’s awful that we use them for meat. I think I should try going vegetarian!”
I cursed myself for suggesting that. I loved meat too much to ever consider going vegetarian, even if my brother, Daniel had, years ago.
“Well, not tonight, Livi. Barbie and Clive have invited us over for dinner, and they’re making meat loaf. They said that they want to thank us for trying so hard to find their lost fairies. Isn’t that kind of them?”
Dinner? How long had I been asleep for?
“Yeah,” I said, rubbing my eyes.
“Just make sure to talk to everyone. Oh, and your friends, Annette, Marco, and Elise are coming, too!”
I sighed, and resigned to go back to bed. There was no way I was going to dinner, I thought. But as my Mom pulled me out of my slumber, I realized that it wasn’t a choice she was giving me. It was a command.
“Get out of bed, Livi, you’ve been sleeping for hours. And what’s in your hair?”
Goldenrod.
“Uh, it’s nothing,” I said, pulling my hat over the dried eyeshadow.
Mom gave me a look before leaving my room, and I slumped back onto my cozy bed. I didn’t want to go to dinner! I wasn’t hungry! And I didn’t feel like wearing a dress! Why did Elise have to come?
Suddenly, Goldenrod unlocked the door, and zoomed in.
“Hey,” I scowled, “at least knock before you come into my room!”
“It’s my room, too,” she reminded me, “and I have something to say to you. You owe me . And if you don’t give me what I want, then I’ll tell your secret to everyone in school!”
“I’ve told you! I don’t have any secrets! Why do you think I do? And what could you possibly want?” I groaned.
“Well, I know that you’re lying- you
do have a secret, whether you know it, or not. And I know it. So, it’ll be known by everyone and their brother if you don’t start treating me like a friend! We’re supposed to be having adventures together, remember? That’s what you do with a fairy! You’re my only friend, Livi, come on.”
“Well, you don’t have any friends, if I’m your only one.”
“Fine. But if you treat me like a Troll at dinner, I’m going to say your secret in front of Marco!”
And to prove that she meant, Goldenrod stormed out of my room, taking an entire pillowcase with her, leaving my pillow bare.
But I didn’t have a secret.
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