Proluge:
Madison Holt was walking to her favorite icecream parlor after soccer practice
to celebrate a job well done. She had scored 10 goals and only hurt 3
teammates. Normally Hamilton and Reagon would have been with her, but Reagan
had to stay late at ballet for a dress rehearsal. Madison didn't really like
seeing her twin gracefully twerling around a stage in some glitery costume,
but trash talking the other dancers just to annoy Rayray was pretty fun.
Hamilton was the bad one to her. Right now he was at some nerd's house.
Madison didn't see why he liked computer club, let alone hanging out with the
people in it. It just seemed so Ekat-ish. What had become of her family?
Reagan being all Janus like and dancing, and Hamilton, even worse, behaveing
like an Ekaterina! Had they forgoten the family history? They were suposed to
be trying to win back the approvel of the Tomas branch, not make it hate them
more! She sighed. I'm the only one with any sense left! Oh no! What if I'm
next? What if it's like a disease of some sort! Disaese of some sort? I would
never have talked like that before the hunt! Well I'm not really talking but,
oh who cares! We're changing! We all are! I can't let that happen to the Holt
family! She was so lost in thought she almost walked right past the icecream
place, but she stopped herself at the last minute.
"T-the usual Ms. Holt?" asked the guy at the counter when she walked up. Once
she pounded his face in and he was so scared of her now she didn't even have
to pay for the icecream.
"Yes Tom," she said without intrest.
"French vannila with gummy worms coming right up, and it's Alex," he replied.
Madison liked to call him a different name every time she came here just to
irk him.
She rolled her eyes as he handed her the icecream. She started walking to her
usual table when she saw someone was already siting there. Good, she thought,
I need someone to take my frustrations out on. He was obviously from out of
town because no one from here would ever sit at that table. Well no one sane.
There was always Crazy Jack. Madison couldn't see his face because it was
burried in a book. Nerd. He had auburn hair and was pretty pale, but not in an
attractive way. I saw him drop a bit of chocolate icecream on the table, but
was so emersed in the book to even notice. I rolled my eyes. He must be an
Ekat.
I put on her game face and marched over. Everyone was starting to watch
because they knew what was coming. The last person to sit at the Holt's tabel
(not counting Crazy Jack) had to be hospitalized for two weeks. Some even
snickered. I didn't plan on disappointing.
I took a big breath, and counted to three in my head. Then I smacked my hand
down on the table as hard as I could without breaking it. In the same seconed
I yelled, "AND WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING HERE?"
"Sitting," the person replied normaly, as if I had been asking the time. The
resteraunt took a collective gasp.
I grined evily, "Oops sorry," everyone looked confused as I said this sweetly,
"but incase you haven't heard YOU BETTER MOVE BEFORE I MOVE YOU ONE LIMB AT A
TIME!"
The boy didn't look up from his book as he spoke, "Wow Madison, it seems
you're an even bigger brute then I thought, that's impressive."
I was almost shakeing with rage now, "WHAT! Wait, what?"
I could have fainted as the face of Ted Starling looked up at me. Or was it
Ned? "What are you doing here Starling?"
Ted (or Ned) laughed, "We've been over this Holt, I'm sitting."
"You know what I mean!" I said angrily as I sat across from him. The entire
place seemed to be confused as to why this guy didn't have a bloodly nose or
any broken bones yet.
"If you must know, I'm on vacation. I had no idea you were here, or trust me,
I wouldn't have come."
I could feel everyone stareing, and I didn't like it. I glanced over my
shoulder and gave everyone a look that was normally acompanied by a middle
finger. They all quickly looked away. "And why is that?"
"And why is what?" Ted asked, closing his book.
"Why are you, Sinead, and Ned on vacation? I would think you would rather stay
at home and play with your chemistry set," I really hoped he didn't get that
she had gotten the end of that from Harry Potter.
"First of all, I'm Ned, not Ted. Second, Harry Potter, really? And third," he
paused and took a deep breath. "The reason I'm here is because Sinead and Ted
have been acting strange since the clue hunt and I'm hoping this vacation will
bring them back to normal."
"So your family too. Yeah, my family has been acting pretty odd as well.
Reagan has been takeing ballet, and Hamilton, get this, joined computer club!
I hope there's a way to get them back before it's too late. What's been going
on with Ted and Sinead?"
His frowen deepend, "Well, Sinead has been acting, well, girlier. Don't roll
your eyes, but she started to wear makeup and I actually caught her with a
magizene instead of a text book! It's so strange for her! I thought she was
too smart for that! And the wierdest thing is that I was looking at her notes
for a coumpter desine and I found a little doodle in her note book."
"Oh how strange, a doodle," was my scarcastic comment.
Ned cracked a smile at this but his frown quickly found it's way back. "It's
what the doodle was that was wrong, it was the initials HH with little hearts
around them! I don't know anyone with those initials! She doesn't know anyone
with thoes initials!"
I rolled my eyes, "So she has a crush, big deal!"
"But makeup and magizeans? It's just not like Sinead!" worry was now in his
eyes.
"What about Ted then," I was genuinely curious.
Ned growned audibly, "He's worse, he, well, he-he-he,"
"You're starting to sound like Amy! Now spit it out!" I cut him off.
"He," Ned sighed,"he joined the basketball team."
My mouth droped, "He WHAT?"
"I know. But earlier what did you mean by 'I hope there's a way to get them
back before it's too late'?" his sea green eyes were questioning.
My voice was just a wisper as she answered, "Before I start being different
too."
"That's what I'm worried about," his eyes were honest when I looked into them.
"And that I can't get them back."
This was not looking good for either of us and I could tell, " I wish there
was a way to show them how stupid they're acting. Maybe if they could see it
we could get them back."
"I wish there were too, Madison. I've been trying to come up with a plan but
I'm drawing a blank." there was sadness in his voice.
"It really pains me to say this, but what if we worked together? I can kinda
already tell what that plan woud be," I really didn't want to have to do this,
but I wanted family back more than I didn't want to work with Ned.
Ned looked confused for a second before it dawned on him, "Oh. Us pretend to
be friends. It's a good plan, but that shock wouldn't be big enough."
I sighed, "I know, we would have to scare them bad for it to work. What would
do that?"
"Umm, well, there might be a way, but, no, forget it," Ned started to ramble,
clearly uncomfortable.
"If it might work tell, I'm desperate to get my family back. Tell anyone that,
and I'll beat you to a bloody pulp," I added as an after thought.
Ned looked away from her as he talked, "Well, what if we took it a step
farther than friends?"
"You mean we pretend to date?" I could see him flinch, then relize that there
was no anger in my voice.
"Only pretend. With all do respect I don't like you like that, or at all
really, but it might get them back," said Ned.
I thought for a moment before answering, "Deal."