(I'm so glad that I got some feedback from my readers! Thanks for the encouragement!)
Chapter Two
A Deal to Keep
Morgan slowly walked with Florence to the cafeteria for lunch. Her head was lazily hanging low as Florence talked to her. "Have you thought about what you're gonna do over the summer?" Florence asked. Morgan shook her head. "Well, you better figure it out quick; summer is just a month away."
Morgan lifted her head and wiggled her eyebrows at him mischievously. "I know," she signed to him. "What have you got planned for summer?"
Florence shrugged. "I guess I have no life like you," he joked. Morgan gave him a swat on the shoulder. They entered the cafeteria and waited in line for the school lunch. When it came their turn, Morgan wasn't pleased with what was being served. "Mmmh; fish sticks," Florence said, uneagerly. Morgan turned and looked at him with a wrinkled nose. "Yeah, they're disgusting. They make me sick if I eat them. How come you don't like to eat fish?" he asked as the two of them walked out of the lunch line to find a place to sit.
"My dad's a fisherman; he comes home smelling like fish all the time and it started to become undesirable as a food to me," Morgan signed with her free left hand while holding her lunch tray in her right. Since she was busy signing to Florence, she didn't notice three students walking in the opposite direction. They were too busy chatting to notice Morgan.
Morgan and one of the girls' shoulders rammed into each other, causing Morgan's food to spill onto the girl's shirt. "Aaah!" the girl screamed. Several students turned their heads to look at the commotion. Morgan stared with her mouth wide open, mortified.
The girl was Ursula Black; the school's most popular girl. She dressed in mostly dark colors and had long, black hair that stopped three inches past her shoulders. She was in choir and got all the solos while Morgan had to play the piano for the choir performances. Ursula was one of the people who liked to make things difficult for Morgan.
Ursula Black clenched her fists and gave another scream. "Ugh! Morgan!" Morgan tried to sign, 'sorry' to her but was stopped in mid-motion by Ursula's next words. "The least you could do is say, 'sorry'!"
Morgan froze and felt a lump form in her throat. Florence put an arm around Morgan's shoulders. "Hey, it was an accident. You both didn't see each other coming. Let's leave it at that; okay?" Florence said, uneasily. He was afraid of getting into confrontations. Morgan hated to admit it, but her friend was a bit of a coward.
Ursula sneered at Florence. "Listen Fisher, you're no better than her. So don't think that I'm going to listen… got it, Fish Boy?"
"What's going on here?" a new voice asked. Morgan felt her heart turn summersaults. She recognized that voice. She slowly turned to face the person it belonged to; Aaron Prince. He was the high school dream boy. Tall, dark hair, blue eyes, perfect smile, dimples; he was the picture of every teenage girl's dream.
The moment Ursula realized Aaron was there, her mean girl attitude vanished and was replaced by a smile. "Oh, Aaron. Morgan and I just bumped into each other. No harm done." She turned her violet eyes on Morgan. "Isn't that right, Morgan?" Morgan sighed and walked away, head hanging low.
"Excuse me," Florence said, and hurried after Morgan.
Morgan tossed her ruined lunch into the garbage and plopped down at the nearest empty table. She balanced her chin on her fist and blew loose strands of red hair away from her face. "Ugh! That witch!" she thought grumpily.
Florence sat down in the empty seat in front of Morgan and cringed. "She hit a nerve, didn't she?" he asked.
"Of course she hit a nerve! She always hits a nerve and it's always the same one! My lack of voice. You'd think I'd be used to it by now, but I'm not. It hurts,"Morgan signed language. Florence's cringe deepened.
Aaron Prince walked by their table and Morgan's eyes followed him to where he sat with his group of friends. She didn't realize she had been staring for a while until Florence waved a hand in her face. "Hellooooo," he called, "Earth to Morgan. Ground Control to Major Tom; can ya hear me Major Tom?" Morgan burst into silent laughter at her friend's joke. He turned to look at Aaron and grinned back at Morgan. "Oooooh; I get it now! You like Aaron."
Morgan wrinkled her nose and scoffed. "Please,"she would have said, sarcastically. But really she was thinking, "Dang; am I that obvious?"
"Does your dad know?"
"There's nothing to know,"Morgan signed, haughtily. Florence kept staring her down, smiling like he knew the world's biggest secret. "Stop that!"she signed, slightly grinning despite her efforts not to.
"Have you talked to him?" Florence asked, before thinking. Morgan blinked and gave him a stare that he knew well. He dubbed it the You're An Idiot Stare. Florence smiled at her cheesily. "Heh, heh. Slip of the tongue. I meant, have you tried to contact him in any way?" Morgan dropped her eyes to the floor. "No? Why not?" Again with the stare! "Because you're a mute?" Morgan's eyes trailed to the floor again. "Morgan… I know I'm not the best person to be telling you this, but you've got to take chances."
"I know...How about… I make a move for Aaron when you make a move for that girl you've been ogling at in History class?"
Florence bit his lower lip after Morgan finished signing her challenge. "Well, I-uh, I-uh… I don't think it's such a good idea and-."
"Guppy,"Morgan mouthed and sucked in her cheeks to make a fish face. Florence gritted his teeth. "Iiii… Fine! I'll do it. … But just not today," he added, quickly taking a sip of his chocolate milk.
Before Morgan could come up with a tease, the bell rang for the next class and Florence jumped up from his seat. "See ya after school," he called over his shoulder.
Tyron adjusted the bill of his khaki cap and heaved a sigh. He'd been working for a while and he was beginning to get tired. A pain was developing in his chest and he decided to take a break for a bit. He was about to step out of the store when the little bell on his door jingled. "The break can wait a few more minutes," he thought to himself. He turned to great the customer with a smile. "Welcome to Atlantica, how can I help-…?" Tyron's voice trailed off and the smile fell from his face.
Mr. Gold limped into the store, smiling. "Good afternoon, Mr. Waters," he greeted in his soft Scottish accent.
Tyron swallowed before he spoke. "There's still three more days."
Mr. Gold made a face as if he didn't care. "I know that."
"Then why are you here?"
"I merely stopped by to see how things were holding up; checking in… as it were."
"Checking to see if I could pay you back, right?"
Mr. Gold made a 'tsk' sound with his mouth by sucking in air through his teeth. "Just checking up, Mr. Waters… How's your daughter?" he asked out of the blue.
Tyron stiffened at the question. "She's fine." His tone was a silent warning to Mr. Gold.
"Ah," Mr. Gold replied with a slight nod of his head. "Good to hear, good to hear." He took another look around the store and tipped his head at Tyron. "In three days," he reminded the fisherman. He turned to go.
"Mr. Gold," Tyron called, reluctantly. Mr. Gold twisted back around to face Tyron. The ache in his chest had now spread to his left arm. He flexed his left hand for a second. "I'm having trouble coming up with the rest of the money." Mr. Gold had now turned fully around to look Tyron in the eyes. He had a look on his face that seemed like he had known this fact all along. "I was wondering if it would be at all possible if I could pay you the amount I have now and pay the rest when I get it?"
Mr. Gold 'tsked' again. "I'm afraid not, Mr. Waters. You remember that our deal was very specific? I'm a man of my word… how about you?"
Tyron clamped his jaw shut at the insult. "I just need a little more time; a month at least," he begged.
Mr. Gold inspected the head of his cane with nonchalance and turned toward the door once again. "Three days, Mr. Waters. If you don't have that money paid back to me in full by that time, then Atlantica is mine… along with something far more precious to you." Mr. Gold glanced back at Tyron and smiled, almost smugly. "Have a good day, Mr. Waters." He opened the door and walked out.
Tyron ran a hand over his face and clutched at his chest. "That can't happen…"
Rumplestiltskin sauntered over to the entrance of a cave located at a cove about six miles from the one that Princess Ariel liked to swim at. It had many boulders and large rocks that a person could climb on to keep from getting wet due to the cave's floor to be made up of water. He cupped his hands together near his mouth and called out, "Oh Dark and Lovely!" He waited for a response with a grin.
"Enter," a hiss-like, female voice ordered from within the cavern. Rumplestiltskin giggled and leapt from one rock to another as he entered the cave. He kept going until he came to the very back of the grotto. The only light provided was by the shafts of moonlight that filtered through openings and cracks in the ceiling. "Did you do as I requested?" the voice asked again. The owner of the voice did not reveal themself.
Rumplestiltskin lifted an eyebrow in playful disbelief. "Are we playin' hide and seek? I love games and all, buuut," he steepled his fingers and drummed the tips together, "I would like to see you're loo-ve-ly self again." Rumplestiltskin let out another giggle, but smaller than the last one.
"You cursed imp," replied the voice, but she emerged from the shadows anyway. There was the sound of rippling water and a shadowy figure moved to be underneath a shaft of moonlight. The light illuminated that this was no ordinary young woman. She had pale, purplish skin and startling grey-white hair despite her youth. And the most eye catching feature about her was that instead of legs, she had black tentacles like an octopus.
Rumplestiltskin's grin widened when she showed herself. "Peek-a-boo," he sing-songed.
The woman's face didn't change expression. "Did you do as I requested?" she repeated.
Rumplestiltskin gave an offended huff and waved away her question. "Nobody starts with pleasantries anymore; always gotta get right down to business," he muttered as he folded his leather-clad arms over his chest and leaned against a stone wall.
"Imp, you try my patience! Answer me or suffer!" the sea creature shouted.
Rumplestiltskin threw back his head and giggled madly. He pointed an index finger at the sea woman. "You think you can threaten me? Do you think I'm helping you because I feared for my life?" he asked the last part dramatically. He pushed off the wall and continued to gesture with both index fingers. "Listen here, dearie; You came to me for help. You're the one who said that your magic wasn't strong enough for the spell you wanted to do. You," he pointed one finger at her, "need me," he pointed his other finger at himself.
Rumplestiltskin dropped his hands and began to saunter over to the pool of water that the sea creature was occupying. "I agreed to the deal for a price, and that price was that you grant me whatever I asked for when I succeed on my part. I didn't care about vague threats." The imp stood at the edge of the rock in front of the woman. He bent his knees and placed his hands on them as he stared at her. "So I'd rethink this little leash that you assume you've got around my neck, dearie… You can't even be more than two years older than that mermaid princess," he spat.
The sea woman hissed and bared her teeth at Rumplestiltskin. The man turned on his heel, steepling his fingers once again, and smiling at the cave exit. "Now, are ya gonna play nice so I can be persuaded to part with the juicy bit of news that I've got for ya?" he asked, smoothly. The sea woman grunted and waited for him to speak. "She didn't accept my offer," Rumplestiltskin began. The sea witch let out an angry scream and reached for his leg. Rumplestiltskin nimbly leapt out of her reach and he shook a finger at her. "Nah-ah-ah-aaah!" he giggled.
"What use are you, cursed imp?" the sea witch screamed and attempted to pull herself out of the water and onto the rock.
Rumplestiltskin watched without the least bit of concern, his lips smirking. "My, my, my; someone's got a temper," he trilled, teasingly.
"I want that girl's voice, Rumplestiltskin!"
"Why? You have such a lo-ve-ly one now."
The sea witch conjured a glowing purple and black orb of light and launched it at the imp. He calmly held up his hand and it disappeared before it could hit him. Rumplestiltskin wagged a finger at her and 'tsked'. "Temper, temper," he sung. "You'll never get anything like that."
"I must have her voice!"
Rumplestiltskin rolled his large brown eyes and moved to sit down on a nice-sized rock, letting his legs stretch out before him. He casually examined his surroundings. "Ya know; I can't help but wonder 'why' you want the little mermaid's voice? Jealous, are we?" He pulled out a silver flask from the cuff of his jacket and unscrewed the cap. Rumplestiltskin brought the container to his lips and took a quick swig of its contents, waiting for the sea witch to answer.
"Because she interfered. I have the power to make myself human; I could have pulled it off without your help but then she had to go and interfere."
Rumplestiltskin leaned back on the rock, resting his weight on his elbow and side as he swirled the liquid around in his flask. He made a great show of looking unconcerned. "Interferrrrred," he drawled. He capped the flask and lifted his eyebrows in a bored fashion. "With what?"
"My future with the prince! She had to go and rescue him that night! I could have worked with that, but then she had to sing to him just as he was waking up! He heard her voice and now he's in love with her! He knows her voice by heart and the only way for me to get to the prince is by using her voice!"
Rumplestiltskin sat up and tucked the flask back into the fold of his sleeve. "And so you shall have it… as long as my price is paid."
"I never planned on going back on our deal, Imp. I've heard what happens to those that do."
Rumplestiltskin gave a disturbing giggle while looking at the ground. "Yesss; it's surprising how fast news can travel." He gazed at the ground for a second longer and slapped his knees. "Well, dearie! I know you enjoy my company and all but I must go." He stood to his feet. "Lots of others deals to make and payments to be picked up. Tah!" In the blink of an eye he disappeared, leaving the sea witch in her fury.
Morgan tapped her foot against the floor as she stared at the clock. Ten minutes until the school bell rang to signal the end of the day. Since it was Thursday, she'd have to stay after school and practice with the choir for the end of the year performance. It lasted from four to five-thirty.
It was sometimes torture being in a choir class and not being able to sing. But what she lacked in voice, Morgan had made up for in her ability to play instruments. The piano and guitar were her ways of escape. When she played an instrument, it felt as they she could sing and her soul went into every note she played. Her music teacher, Mr. Crabtree, often bragged about how he couldn't imagine finding anyone else who could make instruments sing.
The bell rang and Morgan hurried to the choir room. The moment she entered the room, Mr. Crabtree ushered her over to the piano. "We're warming up with 'Seasons of Love', Morgan. Page 12," he instructed her.
Morgan sat on the bench and pulled out the piano music book from her bag. She flipped through the pages until she came to the song. Mr. Crabtree struck his conductor stick against the metal podium in front of him and drew the choirs' attention.
"Five hundred, twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes,
Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Moments so dear.
Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
How do you measure, measure a year?"
Morgan's hands danced over the keys as she sang in her heart. She knew the words so well and she found herself mouthing them.
"In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights
In cups of coffee
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.
In five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
How do you measure
A year in the life?
How about love?
How about love?
How about love? Measure in love…
Seasons of love. Seasons of love."
Ursula stepped forward to the microphone set out for her and she proudly sang her part.
"Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes!
Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Journeys to plan.
Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Six hundred minutes
How do you measure the life
Of a woman or a man?"
Ursula finished with a series of wild, high notes. Morgan felt like face palming at the girl's blatant showing off. "If I had her voice, I wouldn't feel the need to show off." It was no doubt that Ursula had an amazing voice but she flaunted it every chance she got and she hated to share the limelight with anyone.
Next was a boy's solo.
"In truths that she learned,
Or in times that he cried.
In bridges he burned,
Or the way that she died."
The whole choir joined back in again.
"It's time now to sing out,
Tho' the story never ends
Let's celebrate
Remember a year in the life of friends
Remember the love!
Remember the love!
Seasons of love!"
Morgan hit the last piano cords and turned to look at the choir, clapping. They were getting better every time! "All right; let's move on to the next song, everyone. 'For Good' from Wicked," Mr. Crabtree announced. Morgan's face split into a grin. Now there was a musical that she loved to play every song from! The song was to be for two girls to sing with the choir to accompany during the chorus. So far, Mr. Crabtree was still holding auditions for the solos and just having everyone work on the chorus. Ursula was sure she'd get the part of Elphaba, the witch. The witch's part required someone with a strong and powerful voice; something she felt she had. Morgan prayed someone would one up her.
At the end of practice, Morgan walked to her father's fish store and saw he at the counter ,busy talking to a customer. She waited until the conversation was done before making her presence known. Tyron's face relaxed when he saw his daughter. "Hey, honey. Practice done already?" he asked. Morgan nodded and pointed at the clock. It was nearly five-fifty. The store closed at six. "Thanks for letting me know. I've completely lost track of time today," Tyron confessed and winced at the slight ache in his chest. He put a hand at the spot of discomfort and rubbed it briefly. "Man, I'm tired today."
"Maybe you should close early today?" Morgan signed.
"No. What's ten minutes?" Tyron chuckled. Morgan noticed he wouldn't meet her gaze. Something was wrong. She tugged on his sleeve to get his attention. "What is it, baby?" he asked.
"What's wrong?" she signed.
Tyron sighed and was about to speak when a customer came to the counter to pay for some trout. Morgan impatiently tapped her index finger on the counter. When the customer left, the store was empty except for Tyron and Morgan. Tyron stroked his chin, trying to think of what to say. "The store's in a bit of a jam, honey. It's not getting enough business." Morgan's blue eyes spoke her concern for her. "I don't want you to worry, honey. I can handle this."
Morgan's eyes traced the grain pattern in the wooden counter as she began to think. How long had her dad been hiding this from her? Probably for a looong time. Her father did everything within his power to make sure she was happy and safe. Ever since her mother had died… Morgan felt a stab in the heart at the memory of how her mom had died and she pushed it aside.
Morgan glanced at the clock and pointed it out to her dad. It was six o'clock. Tyron closed up the store and drove the two of them home.
(Sorry if this seems rushed, but I wanted to get the second chapter posted before I had to go to work. Please forgive the rushed ending. I plan on doing better in the next chapter. Thanks for all the reviews, the one fav, and the alerts; they were very encouraging! Please leave me some more reviews and if you have any suggestions, please feel free to write them. I cannot wait for the next episode on Sunday!)
