Christmas Eve Children are outside, playing in the fluffy snow; While the tall tree inside is aglow. The house is alive with the aromas of sugar cookies and a low fire; With sounds of joyous conversation, laughter, and prayer. Is that St. Nick that I hear? For it's the eve of the birth of our Savior. (c)Lena Holdman, all rights reserved 2015 Merry Christmas!
Okay, this silly thought might be due to my doll phobia, lol. I realize that children love Elf on the Shelf (especially my niece and my little cousins). They think that it's magical but I think that it's creepy. The idea of an elf watching children, practically stalking them until Christmas to see to make sure that they're good, seems unsettling to me. The blue elf doll's eyes look ominous and evil too. This is just in my overactive imagination of course, but still, the doll is unnerving.
I'm thankful for my family and friends. They love me no matter what, faults and all. "Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down." — Oprah Winfrey
Happy birthday! Are you celebrating up there? You're probably having White Castles like always. :) I know that you're watching over us still. It's a comforting feeling by the way. We're all good down here even though we still miss you (and we always will). Are you telling some new jokes? :D You're probably having everyone laughing. Here's a joke for you: Q: Why can't a blonde dial 911? A: She can't find the eleven. Lol.Well just wanted to say happy birthday, that I miss you, and love ya Stevie Wevie! Love, Lena
Chatting like an excited child, Shadow was talking nonstop to Anna all the way to the school, asking her question upon question. She wanted to know everything. Anna didn’t know what to think of this strange girl yet but she was grateful for the help with Lynn and Kayla. She also always felt sympathetic for the new people at school. Her classmates were brutal sometimes. It was like the new students were just fed to the wolves of the hallways. She was going to make sure that Shadow at least knew some people who she could trust. She was going to introduce to her circle of friends.
They walked through the double doors of Salem High School. Shadow saw the long, almost never-ending looking hallways with rows and rows of metal cabinets, which she soon learned were called lockers. It felt like she was in a maze, hallways connecting to other hallways. Dozens of teenagers were rushing up and down the hallways, slamming their lockers shut, chattering loudly with each other, and pressing the buttons on their peculiar portable phones and music devices. It was chaotic and confusing but yet Shadow was amazed by it all.
“I think that you have to go in the office to check in and to get your schedule since you‘re new,” Anna told her, breaking her sense of wonder.
“Schedule?” Shadow said with puzzlement.
Anna chuckled and said, “You know, your school schedule.”
“Oh,” replied Shadow, still not understanding but acting like she did, “of course, my schedule. Where is the office?” Anna directed her down the busy hallway.
As Shadow went to the office, her eyes darted vigorously, observing her surrounds.
Anna said to herself and chuckled, thinking that Shadow just had the jiggers from being at a new school, “Her nerves are so rocked that she can’t even think straight.”
Shadow walked into the office, which was more subdued than the hallway. Teachers, students, and some parents were going in and out in a rush but quietly. The walls were black and white and dozens of colorful posters hung randomly throughout the office. The posters advertised such things for school clubs, after school prep rallies, and warnings against drugs and bullying. Shadow didn’t quite understand it all but figured that she would soon enough. At a large desk, a chipper looking lady with gray hair, who seemed to love what she was doing, was greeting people, answering the phones and typing on a machine, which the Veiled Women told Shadow was a computer. The words formed and appeared on the screen as the lady quickly pressed the keys and Shadow couldn’t help but to stare for a moment. It was so intriguing to her.
Finally the lady saw her and said, “Can I help you dear?”
“Yes,” Shadow replied, choosing her words carefully so she wouldn’t sound clueless, “It’s my first day here…Here to check in and to receive my schedule.”
“Are you Shadow Ryannon?” asked the lady.
“Yes, my name is Shadow,” she replied, being taken aback and arching one eyebrow suspiciously.
“Your mother Linda called earlier to make sure you made it,” said the lady, reading Shadow’s perplexed face, “and you’re the first new student in months. Besides your name is so unique.” The lady then chuckled.
Shadow smiled and thought, “Hmm, I guess that humans have more than one name but I guess not magical names. how amusing, I’m also using Ryannon’s name!”
“My name is Mrs. Goldy, the main secretary,” said the lady bubbly, “I treat all of the kids that come in here like they’re my own. If you need help with anything, I’ll try to help. Welcome to Salem High.” She then handed what Shadow figured was her schedule, a list of subjects and times, and some type of a paper book called a manual.
“This manual has all the rules of the school but most students don’t read all the way through, just try to know the basics,” whispered Mrs. Goldy.
Shadow said, “Thank you, Mrs. Goldy” and was about to leave when a big, pump man came in the office.
The man looked quite unpleasant with his mean scowl on his face but as he approached her, she saw a fake smile that was amusing but still somewhat disturbing. Shadow already could tell that no student liked him or rarely took him seriously. It was obvious that he was going to be an enemy.
“So you’re the new punk?” he said with pretend playfulness, holding out a hand for her shake it. She shook it with hidden degust and quickly pulled back.
“Punk?” she exclaimed, bewildered.
“I’m just playing with you kid,” he said, “My name is Mr. Coalings. I’m the principal. I call the shots around here. I make sure that all of the rules in that little manual of yours are followed.”
“Oh, I have to read it all the way? But Mrs. Goldy said…”
“Yes, thoroughly,” Mr. Coalings replied, smirking wickedly, “If you don’t, I’ll know and trust me, I’ll make you sorry that you didn’t. All of the punks here know who’s commander and chief at this school. I‘m always watching!”
Getting annoyed with him, Shadow lied and said, “I better get to class. I don’t want to be late.”
“Yes, very good,” replied Mr. Coalings, chuckling, “You’re a well-trained punk but remember, I’m still watching.”
“He doesn’t mean it Dear,” whispered Mrs. Goldy.
Shadow was at the door now and Mrs. Goldy was waving goodbye. Mr. Coalings, meanwhile, was just standing there with an evil look on his face. She could see the loathing and smugness towards all the students in his eyes and it repulsed her.
“What a vile man,” she thought, “Why is he looking after young people?”
As she waved back at Mrs. Goldy, she cast a spell on him. With a swift rotation of her wrist, his belt became undone and his pants instantly fell to the floor, revealing yellow smile face boxers. Just then, several students and teachers walked in. Some gasped in shock but most just laughed to themselves.
Holding back laughter herself, Mrs. Goldy exclaimed, “Oh my!”
His face being beat red, Mr. Coalings swore underneath his breath and quickly pulled up his pants. He shouted angrily to everyone, “Nothing to see here, move along!”
Walking out, Shadow giggled to herself. Anna was by a locker across the office with two other girls talking to her. Anna waved at her to come by them. “Hello, I’ve got my schedule and my manual,” said Shadow excitedly, walking over.
“Hey…okay,” said Anna, being slightly taken aback by her excitement,
“cool…I guess. Oh, these are my friends Rose and Courtney.”
“Hello,” said Shadow happily.
“Hey.”
Shadow silently studied the girls. Courtney was fair skinned and had light colored freckles on her cheeks. The black eyeliner that she wore heavily made her coal black eyes very noticeable and gorgeous. Her long hair was ebony but there was also a green stripe in her hair on one side and Shadow thought that this stripe was strange. Shadow then noticed that she was holding a large case which held an instrument that they called an electric guitar. She seemed extremely introverted and awkward at first but when Shadow asked her what type of music did she play, her eyes lit up slightly and said, “Punk rock. ” Then, she played some cords to one of her songs. Shadow thought that punk rock was raw, loud, and thrilling. She loved it.
“Awesome song Courtney!” exclaimed Rose.
Rose had brown eyes and beautifully braided, black hair. She wore a purple, round hat that tilted to the right on her head, halfway covering one eye. Her brown skin was stained with ink or paint and that told Shadow that she was some type of an artist. Shadow also noticed that she was a ball of passion, (be it sadness, anger, or joy) in the group by the way how she was engaged in conversation.
“So where are from?” she asked, “You gotta be from another country cause your name sounds so unique and exotic!”
Shadow had to think fast but she could only remember one other country besides America at that moment. “My mother is from…Europe,” she quickly replied.
“What part?”
“United Kingdom,” Shadow replied and hoped that what she said was actually in Europe.
“Cool,” Rose said, confirming that Shadow’s answer was correct.
“What kind of artist are you?“ Shadow asked abruptly.
“How did you know?” Smiling, Rose showed her notepad of her drawings.
There were vivid drawings of dark, gothic creatures and other fearsome monsters. Shadow saw a drawing of what was supposed to be a female ‘evil fairy’ with fiery red eyes, a distorted face, torn wings, and what looked like fangs protruding from her mouth. This depiction was wrong but all of the pictures were amazingly drawn and greatly detailed. It reminded her of home and she smiled.
Just then, a tall, skinny, and pale boy with long, brown hair, black and narrow-framed eyeglasses, and all black clothes ran up to them with a smirk on his face.
“What’s up with the weird face Jeff?” Anna asked the boy.
The boy, who Shadow assumed was named Jeff, then burst into complete laughter. He said, “For the time in my crappy life, a visit to the office gave me something besides an invitation to detention.”
“And what would that be?” she asked.
“A chance to see o’ Coalings make an absolute ass of himself,” he said,
“Dad and I were in the office because he dropped me off. I guess that Coalings’ belt finally gave way after another month of abuse and his pant fell around his ankles…smile face underwear!” They all laughed at this.
“He deserved that humiliation,” laughed Jeff, “after all the crap that he gives us.”
“I agree,” Shadow replied without thinking.
Jeff looked at Shadow, kissed her hand, and flirtatiously said, “Ooo, Hi there. who are you? My name is Jeffrey but friends call me Jeff.” Shadow giggled at this ridiculous boy.
Anna intervened and said, “Her name is Shadow. She’s cool so keep your eyes in her head Jeff!”
“Don’t mind her,” he told Shadow, sounding mischievous and almost arrogant, “She’s just jealous. See, we used to date and I don’t think that she never quite gotten over me.”
Anna rolled her eyes.
“Um, Jeff,” Rose said with amusement, “You two dated in junior high and I don’t think that doesn’t counts, considering your parents went with you on your so-called dates and your voice still squeaked like Mickey Mouse.”
Watching them for a few minutes, Shadow noticed that these four friends were like a family, all having some connection with something. She could sense that this thing might be significant and tragic from their past that tied them together. It seemed like they have been through thick and thin.
“Where did you meet this beauty anyway Anna?” Jeff asked.
“Shadow scared the crap out of Kayla and Lynn in the cemetery,” said Courtney softly with a grin. Jeff looked inquiringly at Shadow and Anna.
Anna then told him the story of how she was visiting her mother and how when Kayla and Lynn came to tease her, Shadow sneaked up on them with a mask. “They ran like dogs with their tails between their legs,” laughed Anna.
“Can we see the mask?” Courtney asked Shadow.
“Yeah, let’s see it,” they all exclaimed.
“If you like.” Not panicking, Shadow reached a hand into her bag, hiding from view, and in her mind’s eye, she envisioned the terrifying and twisted face of the evil fairy in Rose’s notepad and a startling looking mask materialized in her hand. She took it out and showed them. They all jumped back for a second.
“Geeze,” exclaimed Jeff, “if I saw that in a cemetery, I would run for my life too!”
“No doubt,” agreed Courtney.
“Funny,” Rose mused, “That mask looks so familiar.” No one else commented or noticed though.
“Do you think that Kayla and Lynn will tell anyone?” Courtney asked.
“What do you think?” said a voice behind them. They all turned around. It was a muscular boy with forest green eyes and the most alluring smile that Shadow ever seen. She caught herself getting extremely attracted to him and licking her lips with lust for a moment. He wore a blue sports jersey, blue jeans, an old, dirty green baseball cap, and a silver cross that dangled from a chain around his neck. This boy seemed different, out of place from the group of Anna’s other friends. Shadow couldn’t point out the quality that differed from others but it was obvious. She felt that the only strong connection that he had was with Anna.
“Hey Joey,” said Anna welcomingly, her face brightening up.
“Hi Anna,” Joey replied with a warm smile, giving her a tight hug, “By the way that Kayla was talking, I guess that I should be overwhelmed with joy that you’re alive.”
Shadow wasn’t sure but she thought that she had seen Anna blush a bit. Anna then laughed and asked, “What is she saying?”
“That a ghost of the car crash was after them and you,” he replied. Her smile fading, Anna let out a sigh in aggravation.
“What crash?” thought Shadow with great curiosity, “And why do they think that ghosts are bad?”
“Oh come on,” exclaimed Jeff, “I know that we live in Salem and all but aren’t they too old to believe in ghost stories?”
“Who wore the mask?” asked Joey. Anna then introduced Shadow to him. He shook her hand, smiled pleasantly and stared at her with absolute awe. Anna saw his reaction and did not like it.
“Why does he have to look at her like that?” thought Anna with discontent.
“It’s for the best…I guess. He wouldn’t look at me that way even if I had a nice, juicy stake around my neck,” she thought dryly.
“Well it was cool that you helped out our girl Anna,” Joey told Shadow, “Those two are jerks.”
“Thank you.”
Just then, Kayla and Lynn came out of the nurse’s office down the hallway. Kayla held an unopened carton of orange juice, looking very pale. Lynn’s clothes were soaked with sweat and he just looked worn out.
“I guess that I should tell them the truth,” sighed Anna in a melancholy tone.
“Why?” said her friends in unison. Ignoring them, Anna approached them and Shadow followed.
At first, Kayla and Lynn just stared at her silently but as she began explaining and as Shadow showed them the mask, things got ugly and Lynn got in Anna’s face. Seeing this, Joey ran as fast as he could towards them and shoved him away from her. He stood between Lynn, Anna, and Shadow, while Rose, Courtney, and Jeff rushed to Anna’s side. Other students slowly gathered around and watched in shock.
“You witches,” yelled Lynn, “my sister almost fainted and missed before school track practice because of that freaking trick!”
“Maybe you two shouldn’t be so scared of masks then,” smiled Shadow, making Anna giggle in her throat.
“Think that’s funny,” Lynn sneered, “do you emo girl? I’ll show you what‘s hilarious!”
With furious eyes, he raised a hand to hit her and Joey and Jeff lunged at him violently, knocking him over but Shadow already secretly cast a spell, making his arm cramp up and freeze in mid-air. Kayla tried to grab Anna but Shadow cast another spell, causing Kayla to slip and fall onto her back. Every time that she would try to stand back up, Shadow made her fall again. Then, with a teacher finally watching intensely from their classroom door, Anna and Rose stopped the brawling boys before they all got into trouble.
“Calm down guys,” Anna exclaimed, “Get off of him!”
“Just kidding around,” said Rose to the observing teacher, faking a smile. The boys separated, the other students pretended that they didn’t see anything, and even though they got a disapproving look, the teacher didn’t confront them.
“That was close,” whispered Courtney. She tried to talk Anna into walking away but she didn’t move. The two bullies, Anna, and Shadow stared each other down, looking like enemies who about draw their guns. Then, the earsplitting bell to be at class went off.
“We better get to class,” coaxed Courtney.
Kayla and Lynn were walking away but abruptly stopped. “You’re gonna be sorry that you messed with us,” said Kayla, suddenly stepping forward. She then opened her orange juice splashed it on Anna and Shadow.
“Oops,” she said sarcastically, “sorry.” Rose wanted to attack but Anna stopped her. The teacher was watching them again.
“It’s only orange juice,” she told her friends.
“This isn’t over,” threatened Lynn, as he and his sister finally walked away.
As they were departing to class, Shadow blinked, making both of them walk into lockers with a loud bang. Laughter then roared throughout the halls.
“No, you’ll be sorry,” whispered Shadow.
Anna’s friends made sure that both she and Shadow were alright and even offered them shirts to borrow but they both declined.
“Want my jacket?” Joey offered her again.
“No, I’m fine,” smiled Anna warmly, “thanks Joey.” She always secretly adored his protective nature. Then, saying their goodbyes, they rushed to their classes. While walking back to her locker, she took off her t-shirt, now only wearing her gray sweatshirt.
“Are you sure that you don’t need a new sh---?” When she looked at Shadow’s shirt, she almost gasped. It wasn’t stained or even wet.
“How in the…?” asked Anna, pointing at Shadow’s clean shirt.
“She missed me,” lied Shadow. She really used magic to block the juice from hitting her and tried to protect Anna but it was too late.
“Well, I gotta go to class,” she said, grabbing two books from her locker, “Do you know where you’re going?”
“No,” said Shadow, showing her schedule.
Anna quickly looked and said, “You have the same classes as me. Just follow me.”
Their first class was algebra with Mrs. Poppons. Mrs. Poppons was a forty-year-old plain woman with brown hair, dress, and shoes. Her voice was slow, expressionless, and sounded as though it was set at one low tone. When she introduced Shadow to the class, it was brief and without enthusiasm. Then Shadow was given an old textbook and was told to find a seat. The classroom was large and square shaped. There were six straight rows of chairs and desks and Shadow saw Kayla sitting in front of the first row and Lynn sitting behind her in the next row. They glared at her as she walked by.
“I forgot to warn you about them,” whispered Anna, who already took a seat in the fifth row, “sorry.” Shadow just smiled.
“It’s perfect,” she thought devilishly. She took the first seat of the last row and watched Kayla.
When the lesson began, there was a hush over the room. Only the dull sounding teacher was heard but it seemed like she never faced the class, only looking at the board as she was writing problems and talking. “Awful teacher,” thought Shadow.
Some wanted to learn but most students were only halfway listening to her, doodling, daydreaming, or taking a nap. Anna was surprisingly focused on the teacher’s lecture and taking notes but Kayla and Lynn were sleeping. Shadow saw Kayla’s long ponytail swaying back and forth and a pair of scissors sitting in a cup of pencils and markers on the teacher’s desk, giving her idea.
With no one paying attention, she pointed her finger, making the scissors go up out of the cup and go under the teacher’s desk. Staying close to the floor, they hovered to the desks. When they were next to Kayla, they rose up to her ponytail. Moving her two fingers together in a scissoring motion, Shadow made the scissors swiftly cut off her ponytail and it landed on Lynn’s desk. The scissors then dropped into his left palm.
Next, curling her finger in a beckoning gesture, she made a permanent marker (not really knowing that it was permanent) fall onto the floor. Mrs. Poppon heard something fall and turned around but Shadow made it roll away before she could see. Not seeing anything, the teacher just turned back to the board and began talking again. Once she knew that it was safe, Shadow rolled the marker to Kayla and using her mind, it levitated to Kayla’s head. It opened its cap and wrote the word MONSTER in big, cursive letters on her forehead. Then, Shadow let it fall in Lynn’s right hand. Anna looked up just in time to see the state of Kayla and covered up her laughter with a notebook. Shadow giggled with her.
Finally, the loud bell rang again, indicating that class was over. The room became alive but the actual sound of the bell couldn’t be heard over Kayla’s bloodcurdling scream. As she woke up, she had combed her hand through her hair and felt that something was wrong. She frantically dug in her bag and pulling out a mirror, she gazed at herself with horror. Lynn was just confused as to why his sister’s ponytail was on his desk and why scissors and a marker were in his hands.
“What’s wrong with you,” she cried, “How could you?!”
“It wasn’t me,” exclaimed Lynn. The whole class was laughing hysterically and Mrs. Poppon looked baffled.
“Why?!” Kayla screamed again.
“I didn’t do it,” shouted Lynn, “Look, that’s not my handwriting on your head!”
“Kayla, Lynn…office now,” ordered Mrs. Poppon, not knowing what else to do. They ran out of the room while everyone still laughed nonstop.
The morning then went on and Shadow and Anna moved to class to class. They went to English, science, history, health, geography, and music apperception. Shadow thought that these classes were fascinating and that the other teachers were better than the first one. It was now lunchtime and the lunchroom was buzzing about what happened to Kayla this morning. Shadow and Anna was sitting with their friends.
“I wonder why he did that to his own sister,” said Rose. Anna shrugged, stuffing a fork full of salad into her mouth.
“Um, maybe it’s because he’s demented,” said Jeff sardonically.
“And it’s karma baby,” added Joey, “for the both of them.”
“Karma loves torturing them,” smiled Shadow. They laughed at this.
“I haven’t seen them since this morning,” said Anna after swallowing, “Maybe Coalings sent them home.”
Just then, Kayla and Lynn walked in. Kayla was wearing a knitted winter cap and it looked like she tried to roughly scrub the writing off of her forehead but the word was still faintly there.
“You spoke too soon,” remarked Courtney. Kayla and Lynn walked over to Anna with evil looks on their faces.
“We know that you or your new friend did this to me,” Kayla said with a horrible snarl.
“How,” exclaimed Anna, “when Shadow and I were sitting in the back?! You saw us.” In reality, Anna did suspect that Shadow had something to do with it somehow but she didn’t say anything.
“We don’t know,” replied Lynn, “but I would never do to that to my sister!”
“I think that she looks better that way,” mocked Shadow, “It fits her.”
Becoming irate, Kayla swung a punch at her but she used a defensive spell and made Kayla lose her balance. She almost fell on the table and Lynn caught her just in time.
“Come on Sis,” said Lynn, “We’ll get those losers later.”
Getting annoyed with him calling her new friends names, Shadow took a small bowl of noodles from her lunch tray and threw it at him. It hit him in his face. Angrily wiping the noodles away, he then picked up a bowl of pudding from a nearby table and flung it at Shadow. She quickly ducked and it landed on Jeff. Jeff lifted up Anna’s salad and chucked it. Before they all knew it, a food fight broke out. Food was flying every direction. Students were hollering, laughing, running, and hiding behind now tipped over tables. Teachers tried to stop the madness but they only got plastered with food too. Anna, Shadow, and their friends were having a blast. They were running across the tables that weren’t knocked over and using their trays as shields. They were throwing any food that was left. Shadow, of course, made the most hits and didn’t get a drop of food on her.
“She got some guts!” exclaimed Joey.
“Yeah…,” replied Anna, noticing the way that he was looking at Shadow again.
Suddenly, Mr. Coalings burst in the door and screamed, “ENOUGH!” Everyone abruptly stopped. Jeff wanted to throw some peas at him but Courtney stopped him.
“You punks think that you are so cool,” yelled Mr. Coalings, his face looking purple, “but do you know what I see? Wild animals that need to be tamed! All of you will spend the rest of the day cleaning this mess without talking and if I hear anymore stupidity, all of the school will have detention. Understand me? Oh, and if your clothes are all dirty, too bad. You can wallow in your own filth!”
“But it was so worth it,” whispered Rose.
After school, while Christine and her dad were still at work, Anna invited Shadow to her house. Along being kind, she thought that Shadow was cool and fearless but there was also something odd about her. Weird things happened around her today and she was intrigued.
Shadow was so happy that they became friends so fast. She always knew that helping and being companions with humans would feel satisfying. She also liked Anna’s house with the fancy furniture and all of the pictures on the walls. She wondered if Anna’s deceased mother was the woman in one of the pictures but before she could ask, Anna said, “I’m gonna get a snack for us. I don’t know about you but I’m starving.” Then she went into the kitchen.
While Shadow was waiting, she made herself comfortable. Her wings ached so without thinking, she took off her jacket and unfolded her enormous wings. She went to a mirror, gazing at herself. She was cheerily thinking that everything was going as planned and that’s when she saw Anna come back into the room. Shadow quickly turned to face her.
“What…in the hell…are you?” Anna asked fearfully with her eyes bugging out, dropping a bag of chips onto the floor.
“Uh oh.” Shadow knew that she better think of something fast before everything was completely ruined.
I had a blast at Wonderland Camp last weekend! I saw my old
friends: Gianna, Dustin, Melissa, Shelby, Ann, Mark, and Jason. I also made some
new friends: Abbie, Cindy, Aaron, and Kalie. On Friday, before dinner, I got on the zip line. I always love that thing. It feels like I'm flying. Then, we were supposed to do a craft, using popcorn and candy corn but I was too busy eating the candy corn to actually do the craft. :) During crafts, a guy dressed as a pirate walked in. He called himself Captain Scalawag. I think that he was from a restaurant or something. He looked so much like Johnny Depp that I wanted to take a picture with him. After dinner, we had a camp fire. We sang silly camp songs and ate gooey, delicious s'mores in the chilly evening.
On Saturday morning, we painted pumpkins and colored pictures. Then, we played inside hockey in the dining hall, using pool noodles as sticks and a beach ball as the puck. It was funny. I got confused to what team I was on but I got the ball in a goal once.
In the afternoon, we then rode the boat. The wind was freezing cold but everyone bundled up and the boat ride was still relaxing. I just took a shower afterwards to warm up. For a craft, we made ooey gooey (it's like slime that you play with). We then shot BB guns (Dustin helped me). During rest time, I told a scary story to Kalie about a camp demon that knocked on cabin doors at night. Everyone was laughing hysterically.
Later that evening, the real Halloween fun began. I dressed up as Jack Skeleton. We trick-or-treated around camp (more candy, yay). Then, we went through the haunted house. There were fake, stringy spider webs everywhere, spooky music, red and black lights, and people were jumping out at us. It was awesome! Other campers were sort of scared but I thought that it was cool. I only screamed to make campers waiting in line think that it was scarier than it really was. ;) After the haunted house, we took a hayride. Finally, after the hayride, we went to the dance. I was dancing, singing, laughing, and playing around with friends. It was so much fun!
On Sunday, everyone got ready to go home. The weekend was very cool and it was good to see old friends and meeting some new, awesome people. I always have fun at my secondary home. I can't wait until next summer, for more amazing stories.
As they waited
outside of the cabin, Shadow sat beside Moonlight and was looking around at the
others. The others were giggling devilishly, stirring about excitedly, and
chattering about who they think was the lucky one but Shadow saw Donella
smirking and rolling her eyes unenthusiastically. Donella didn’t want the
potion. For reasons that were beyond anyone’s comprehension, she had no desire
to be with humans or be in the light again. She thought that the darkness was
enjoyable to play in and that it was easier to trick humans at night.
“They better not
pick her,” Shadow whispered to Moonlight heatedly, “It’ll be a waste. The
humans wouldn’t even go near her with that ugly smirk of hers!”
Moonlight let out
an half chuckle, half meow and replied, “Don‘t worry, they‘ll do what‘s right.
They‘ll pick an impairy with a personality.”
Most humans
didn’t know it but animals could actually talk. Only magical beings could
understand them though and Shadow always confined in Moonlight. He was a wise,
friendly, humorous, loyal cat.
Finally the
Veiled Women emerged from the cabin, all thirteen women standing in a straight
line and the impairies unusually in a hush. Impairies normally had no problem
expressing their exhilaration even during the most serious of situations, but
when the potion was given, they somehow managed to control themselves.
“This is a great
privilege…a honor,” continued Orrla, “and this honored impairy is Shadow!” They
all gasped with shock then suddenly cheered for her, hollering and hooting
loudly. Even though they thought that she was just a misfit and resented her
because they thought that they deserved it more, a part of them was still happy
for her.
With her heart
pounding, Shadow flew towards Orrla, who was holding out the wooden case of the
three bottles of potion. “Before you can drink the first bottle,” Orrla said to
Shadow, who was barely listening because she was too ecstatic, “you have to
learn some human knowledge. The world had changed and is always changing. Are
you ready to begin?” Shadow just said yes without thinking. All she could think
about was meeting the human girl.
For weeks, the
Veiled Women taught Shadow about literature, geography, history, science, and
mathematics. Shadow loved the literature, geography, science, and the history.
The knowledge made the outside world seem more fascinating to her. She even
learned that they lived in a country called United States, in a place called
Salem Massachusetts but she loathed mathematics. In mathematics, the numbers
were confusing to her and the adding, subtracting, and dividing of them was
just maddening. It was like a puzzle
that couldn’t be solved. When they would ask her a math question, she would
cheat and use magic, making my answers appear in her head. The Veiled Women
always caught her but as long as she was at lease aware of the concepts, they
didn’t care much.
Then, on the
third week of autumn, they finally let her drink the first bottle. The sun was
slowly rising, making the sky have many shades of red and purple. Shadow was in
the darkened cabin and couldn’t look straight into the light-filled sky yet,
but she saw it from the across the room and thought it was beautiful. Moonlight
was there for support and Shadow kept patting his head out of a mixture
nervousness and excitement. With a flick of her wrist, Orrla made the bottle
miniature sized and carefully handed it to Shadow.
“Drink it in the
light,” instructed Orrla softly. Shadow flew towards the window where the
gorgeous sun was now high in the sky. The light was burning her painfully but
she took a deep breath, smiled widely at Moonlight and took a drink. The potion
tasted as sweet and as sticky as maple syrup down her throat. She then begun to
glow brilliantly. “Here we go!” exclaimed Moonlight, arching his back
excitedly, as a huge, blinding flash of colors suddenly exploded from Shadow’s
tiny body.
Meanwhile,
outside of the forest, it was just another Monday morning for a
fifteen-year-old girl named Anna White. The alarm clock was buzzing annoyingly
and the smell of her step mom burning the breakfast was throughout the house.
Just as she turned off her clock, the fire alarm then went off with its earsplitting
shrill. “Oh not again,” she groaned, covering her head with her pillow. She
just laid there on her stomach, hiding from the world, when her step mom yelled
for her to come downstairs. She grumpily got out of bed and slowly stomped to
her bathroom. She was exhausted.
She was reading a book of Robert Frost poems
until midnight and then sneaked out to meet her friends in the park. They walked
to a party, which was boring and she only stayed at for about an hour. She was
walking home by two but she made a stop on her way and didn’t come home until
four AM.
After Anna washed
her face and put on her black eyeliner and brown lipstick, she put on her gray,
long sleeved shirt, her favorite black Hollywood Undead t-shirt, skinny jeans,
and her black Converses. She combed her hair, letting her dark bangs fall
halfway over one side of her face. She then went downstairs with great dread.
She already knew that her step mom would criticize her the moment that she saw
her. Confirming this, her step mom saw her walk in the kitchen and exclaimed, “You’re wearing that shirt again? And why do you wear you’re your hair like
that all the time? You need to expand your horizons.”
Her step mom,
whose name was Christine, acted close-minded and sometimes snobbish. Just
because she was treated like the queen bee all of her life and was always the
family’s fashion police, she tended to expect everyone else to be perfect like
she pretended to be with her bleached blond hair and green eye contacts that
obviously hid her mix-matched colored eyes; one being gray and another being
black. Besides her constant judgment, what made it difficult and a bit awkward
for Anna to call her step mom was that Christine was actually her aunt before
she married her dad. They married six months after Anna’s mother was gone. Anna
knew that they were marrying each other just because they didn’t want to be
alone. They weren’t in love but no one listened to her. She didn’t know whether
to think of it as a heartbreaking tragedy or as the grossest taboo ever.
“I like this
shirt Christine because it has one of my favorite bands on it,” Anna said
flatly but forcing a smile as she sat at the table, “And I think that my hair
looks cool this way. Makes me look mysterious.”
“We should go
shopping,” said Christine, practically ignoring Anna’s answer, “And I can give
you some much needed fashion advice.”
“No thanks.” Due
to lack of sleep, Anna’s patience with her was slowly waning that morning and
she was thinking about storming out when her dad walked into the kitchen, all
dressed in his handsome blue suit. He was a car salesman. He said that looking
business-like made the buyers trust him faster. Her dad Peter, was a tolerant,
calm, understanding, and funny man. It seemed like he always saving her from
Christine. Maybe he knew that his new wife was a pain in the butt.
“Hi Dad,” said
Anna with a more sincere smile.
“Hi Sweethearts,”
he replied, kissing Anna’s forehead then Christine’s “What are my ladies
talking about this morning?”
“I want to take
Anna shopping,” Christine said, “but she’s being stubborn.”
Her dad seeing
her exasperation in her face, he winked at her and said to Christine with a
smile,
“Shopping? I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’ve seen our closet. You
might buy out the stores and then we’ll have to file for bankruptcy. It’ll be
such a headache.”
Anna giggled
underneath her breath, as Christine looked like a pouting child, putting their
burned crisp breakfast on the table.
Anna then picked
up a half black piece of toast from her plate but sneaked a Pop Tart into her
book bag so Christine wouldn’t nag her about eating. She stood up and said,
“Gonna see Mom before school.” She saw Christine glance nervously at her dad.
She didn’t like Anna visiting her mother so much. It made her uncomfortable, which
Anna didn’t understand because it was Christine’s sister after all, but they
never dared to say anything to each other.
“Okay sweetie,
just don’t be late for class,” her dad told her, as he opened the newspaper.
“I won’t.” She
kissed his cheek, grabbed her book bag and jacket that were hanging on a chair,
and headed towards the front door.
"Oh…Anna,” he
called, making her stop mid-step, “Were you sleep walking again last night?”
Her dad would hear her walk out of her room at night and she would tell him
that she was just sleep walking. She was shocked that he bought it for so long.
Sometimes she wondered if he really knew the truth and if he was just waiting
for her to confess before grounding her for life.
“Yes,” she lied, feeling a little guilty.
“We’ll need to
take you to the doctor if it continues like this,” her dad said firmly.
“I agree with
your father,” replied Christine. Anna just walked out the door without a word.
She darted out of
her neighborhood and across the street, swooshing leaves underneath her shoes.
It was very brisk autumn day and she ran to keep get from quivering. She walked
to an iron, rusty gate and carefully unhinged the lock, slowly going in and closing
it behind her. It was the entrance to Salem’s centuries old, spacious cemetery.
Most people thought that cemeteries were spooky, almost evil, but to her, it
was serene. It was the perfect place for loved ones to be remembered. She threw
the burned toast in a crash can and took out the Pop Tart from her bag, eating
and walking up a small hill. She stopped at the newest grave that was
underneath a huge oak tree, which had the most beautiful red, brown, and gold
leaves falling from it, making the whole scenery of the grave look like a water
color painting.
She put down her
book bag, sat on the ground in front of the grave, and with a soft, loving
voice, she said, “Hi Mom, I’m back.”
Just then, back
in the Veiled Women’s cabin, Shadow was standing in front of a mirror, her
nakedness only being covered by her long, jet black hair. In the flash she had
grew instantly and the clothes that she was wearing earlier fell off. She was
now as tall as a human teenage girl and her skin pigment was now peach. The only
thing that gave away that she was a magical being was her massive wings that
still poked out from her back. She was staring at the mirror and giggling,
admiring the change. Moonlight said with a paw covering his eyes, “Shadow, I
think that you need to put some clothes on.”
“Yes you do,”
said Orrla, handing her a plastic bag. The bag had a few clothes that they
thought that Shadow might like. There was a slightly low-cut, white tank top
with a red skull on it with two holes cut out in the back for her wings, even
though they could fold in small if need be. There were also some black leather
boots, some blue jeans, a black leather jacket, and of course some
undergarments.
“You will get
some more clothing later,” she told Shadow, “This is for your first day of
school today.”
“School?” Shadow
exclaimed, puzzled.
“A place of
learning for young people,” Moonlight reminded her.
“Oh yeah,” she
mused, as she was getting dressed. When she was fully dressed, she wanted to
gaze into the mirror some more. She just loved her new clothes but Orrla made
the mirror disappear with a quick snap of her fingers.
“Shadow,” Orrla
said with great seriousness, “Please listen. While with people, you’re going to
be a normal teenager. You won’t use magic in front of a human and won’t tell a
human what you really are unless you can truly trust them.”
“And please not
too much mischief,” added Moonlight.
“Sure,” replied
Shadow with a mischievous grin, clapping her hands and making the mirror
reappear in front of her, “whatever you say.”
“And you will be
provided with food, clothes, and shelter by our new sister,” added Orrla,
pointing to the young woman next to her. Shadow turned around and saw that the
woman was one of new ones in the coven. Her name was Linda and she was
magnificent looking, being very tall and slender. She was so graceful that it
looked like she was floating in the air instead of just walking on the ground.
Also, despite her wearing a red veil and robe, everyone could still see her
curly, brunette hair and her ocean blue eyes that seemed to sparkle.
“I will be
helping you,” said Linda, “but you will never see me. I won’t interfere. You
will just stay at my old house and I will only act as your parental figure so
no suspicions will fall upon you.” Linda was the only one who had lived in the
outside world with an ordinary life before being with the Veiled Women. She
just couldn’t control her magical abilities so the Veiled Women took in to help
her. Since she had been outside of the forest the most, she often assisted the
impairies who drank the potion.
“We better be
leaving now,” Linda said, “I don’t want you late for school.”
“Okay.” Shadow
eagerly headed towards the door but was stopped.
“Wait,” exclaimed
Orrla, handing her a bag with the two bottles of potion that were labeled 2 and
3, "Don’t forget to drink the next bottle on October 31st before
midnight.”
“Don’t worry, I
remind her,” Moonlight said, jumping into Shadow’s arms. Then, looking
affectionately up at her, he said, “I’ll be around and visit if you need me.”
“Thanks
Moonlight,” replied Shadow, stroking him soft once down his back. Moonlight
then hopped down and to save time, Linda snapped her fingers and materialized
her and Shadow out of the cabin, out of the forest.
They were now
standing in the back of cemetery, crouching behind an unknown grave. Shadow
looked around and everything seemed so peaceful. She could feel the sunlight on
her but could also feel the bitter wind and she got a chill down her spine.
“The house that
you will stay in is over there,” whispered Linda, pointing at old, baby blue
house that was right across the street from the cemetery.
“Alright,”
replied Shadow, “But why are we whispering?”
Ignoring her,
Linda continued and said, “And you are going to Salem High School.”
“Where is that
place?”
Shadow didn’t
know this but Linda had immediately saw and heard Anna, the girl that Shadow
was so fascinated with meeting and she thought that this was the perfect time
to do so.
“Somebody will
show you,” smiled Linda slyly.
“Who?” exclaimed
Shadow. Linda just smiled again and she said, “I’ll bring you some food later.”
Then she disappeared silently.
“Wait…!” Even
though Shadow was clueless, she didn’t panic. She actually was just shocked
that Linda was acting so secretive and mischievous. She personally thought that
the Veiled Women followed too many rules to be free-spirited like they said
they were.
“Hmm, who knew,”
She marveled to herself with amusement, “One of them has it in them to act
impish.”
Not knowing what
to do, she walked through the cemetery, trying to find a way out and find
someone to show her where the school was, when she heard some voices by a tree.
As she walked closer, she could see that it was the girl and some strangers.
Shadow didn’t know why but she had the urge to hide from their view so she took
cover behind another grave. Listening to their conversation, she realized that
the strangers were being cruel to the girl and quickly came up with a plan for
revenge.
Anna was sitting
in front of her mother’s grave, carefully eating and quietly talking to her,
telling her everything. She had visited last night but she liked to visit
before school. It somehow made her day less stressful. She was about to leave,
when Kayla Wiching and her older brother Lynn saw her and barged into the gate.
Kayla and Lynn had bullying her since the first grade and she never understood
why. Her mother always told her that they would realize the error of their ways
and be her friends someday but after her mother died, it only got worse. It
seemed like her extreme pain was their greatest pleasure.
Kayla had red
hair, which was always in long ponytail and she was constantly flipping it off
of her shoulder when she talked. Being very athletic, she was stronger and
taller than Anna and she took advantage of that fact, shoving and knocking her
down. Anna didn’t know how many times that Kayla bumped into her in the hallway
on purpose and then blamed her but Lynn was the one that Anna disliked the
most. He looked like an ordinary boy with short, dyed black hair and an acute
sarcastic attitude but she just knew that he was heartless. Her mother’s death became his punch line
every time he saw her.
“Hey emo girl,”
mocked Lynn, “Crying to your dead mommy again?”
“Can I just visit
my mother in peace?” said Anna, glaring at him.
“I bet that you
even want to cuddle with her dead body in the coffin,” added Kayla. Lynn
laughed and agreed with his sister.
“You love her so
much,” Lynn said to Anna sardonically, as he and his sister began to circle
around her slowly like vultures on prey, “but she probably thinks that your
whimpering is so annoying!”
Anna tried
to run away from them but Kayla pushed her back. She felt scared and angry but
she refused to act helpless.
“Lynn, you jerk,”
exclaimed Anna, “I’m just paying respect to my loved one!”
“I’ll show you
respect freak,” shouted Kayla angrily, about to grab Anna.
Shadow crept
towards the tree and stood where only Kayla and Lynn could see her. In a deep,
ghoulish voice, she said in their minds, “Maybe you two are the freaks!” With a
blank expression, she then made her eyes blink red and let herself levitate off
the ground, floating towards them. “Maybe I need to show you what respect
really means!”
Their eyes
bugging out wildly, they both screamed in horror. They wasted no time. Lynn
grabbed his sister’s arm, practically pulling it out of its socket, and they
ran towards the gate. Because their hands were shaking so bad, neither of them
could unlock the gate at first but they finally got it open after a few seconds
and ran out and down the street. Of course they left Anna behind and the gate
open.
Anna was confused but was laughing. “What the…?”
She then heard
someone else laughing behind her and she quickly turned around, almost jumping
out of her skin. Shadow’s face went back to normal and she now stepped closer
so Anna could see her. Anna smiled at herself and let out a sigh of relief, but
asked Shadow, “Who are you?”
“My name is
Shadow.”
“Cool name. I’m
Anna.”
“Thank you,”
Shadow replied, holding out her hand, “It’s nice to meet you.”
Anna shook her
hand awkwardly and asked, “Was it you that scared those two?”
“Yes,” Shadow
giggled.
“How?”
“A mask.” Shadow
knew that she had to lie. “I just was walking by and I saw them being rude to
you so I sneaked up behind and put on a mask that I have in my bag.”
“I usually don’t
like help but that was priceless,” Anna chuckled, “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
“If there’s
anything I can do for you,” said Anna, getting ready to leave, “just let me
know.”
“Actually there
is,” Shadow replied abruptly, “I’m new here and I’m lost. Can you show me where
Salem High School is?”
“Well you’re in
luck,” Anna said, “That’s where I’m heading. We can walk together if you want.”
“Oh Thank you
very much.” Shadow went towards her and they walked side by side. Shadow was
trying to conceal her joy as they exited the cemetery and walked down the
street. Being human was easy so far. She already made a friend. Turning around
and looking from afar, she saw that Anna forgot to close the gate so when Anna
wasn’t looking, with a wave of her hand, she shut and locked it.
Fairy: Little,
beautiful, winged creature with magical powers.
Impairy:
Little, beautiful, magical, winged but a mischievous and troublesome creature.
the Impairy Story: Prologue
Impairies became
to be centuries ago, when a young, rebellious group of fairies sneaked out of the
forest one Halloween night against their queen’s commands to dance underneath
the full moon in a cemetery with a coven of witches called the Veiled Women.
The fairies’ queen, Ryannon was very strict and she didn’t want them to be
influenced by humans. When she found out that these young fairies had danced
with witches, she cursed them and tried to turn them into imps. She expected
them to be ugly, useless, creatures, but she was wrong. Except for the purple
pigment to the skin, their sharp horns on their heads, their yellow, cat-like
eyes, their lust for causing trouble, and their hypersensitivity towards light
and bright colors, they still had the magic and beauty of fairies. Even though
Queen Ryannon was very displeased and they scared the other fairies, the
impairies were still allowed to be in contact with the fairy clan, but they had
to live deeper in the woods, in an underground dwelling. The group of impairies
then reproduced over time and gradually began their own clan.
The impairies’
wings were very dragon-like, pointed, flexible, and large. The outside of their
wings were black and scaly but the inside of them had a gray tint and were so
see through that you could see their pumping veins. They could fly quicker than
fairies and were rarely caught if chased. They weren’t bad but weren’t always
good either. Impairies were known for being deceitful and provocative,
flirting, playing mind games with humans at night. Adding to their alluring
charm, the females also wore low-cut black dresses with their mid-drift showing
and the males didn’t wear any shirts, only wore black pants.
Now, time had
passed and one particular young impairy couldn’t wait to have it and join the
outside world. Her name was Shadow and she was ironically known as the misfit
among outcasts. She enjoyed causing trouble like the others, but unlike the
others, she wanted to find a true companion in a human besides the Veiled Women. The others laughed
and ridiculed her for this hope but she didn’t care. She knew that humans were
forthcoming and elegant, not just naïve beings that fell for the impairies’
pranks. In search of this human comrade, she and her black cat named Moonlight,
began to roam the sleeping town beyond the woods every night.
Finally, after
months of looking, they found someone one night. It was an adolescent girl with
long brunette hair. They observed her for many nights afterwards. They didn’t
know much about her but Shadow was drawn to her for some odd reason. When she
wasn’t sleeping like the other humans, the girl would be reading, becoming
totally absorbed in the words of a book. She also would sneak out to the
cemetery or meet some eccentric, introverted humans that dressed like
impairies, wearing dark clothes, hair, and make-up. The girl looked out of
place among this group. She wore the same clothes and hair but she had a
positive aura about her, a type of light that wouldn’t hurt. Shadow had to meet
her…she just had to!
To be continued…
(c)Lena Holdman, all rights reserved
I'm going to re-visit this story series and finally finish it.
Pinkstylist is one of my favorite Youtubers. He usually makes make-up tutorial videos. For Halloween, he made a video, showing how to make fake, theater blood. It looks like a fun, Halloween craft. It's October, Let the pumpkins grin, The skeletons chatter, The witches soar in the air!
