Note: Just for clarification, in this chapter & the last one, when these kids are talking about thier boyfriends/girlfriends it's in the "ooo, he/she held my hand!"/a peck on the cheeks (maybe lips) kind of way not the more traditional sense of the word--they're still really young yet; they'll get to the more traditional definition of boyfriend/girlfriend soon enough. You have to remember too that Mary and Cassi aren't exactly your average kids, so some of the things they do may seem strange or far too mature for them, but that's just thier nature--especially Mary (after all, Mary's the one who has to girly-fy Cassi and teach her what 'that tubey thing' is. ;)
Magical Blowups and Other Funness
Ten years after the night she had been left on the Evans' doorstep, the girl then called Cassi Black had not a clue as to who she really was. When Alex Evans had brought her to her new parents, Tracy and Ian Taylor, she had been given a new name: Jacqueline Taylor. She had no clue that she had been born in England, or that the family she had been living with wasn't her real family. As far as she was concerned, she was no different than anyone else in Wisconsin...well, maybe just a little different. But she just figured that was because she had recently (only five and a half years ago) moved there from North Carolina, her childhood home. Besides her little "quirks," her life appeared to be nothing but normal.
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Early in the summer, Jackie and her best friend Joey were camping out in his backyard. Joey's family had moved up to Wisconsin within a week of Jackie's; the two of them had been together for as long as they could remember. He was the only guy that Jackie was allowed to have sleepovers with, and that was only because he was like a second son to Tracy and Ian. It was the last night of the last weekend of their fifth grade school year, so Jackie and Joey were celebrating their "freedom" early.
"I can't believe we actually survived the year," Joey said as he roasted a marshmallow over their small campfire.
"Forget the year, I'm still in utter awe that I actually made it all the way through elementary school without being expelled!" Jackie playfully said before she shoved a s'more in her mouth.
"Or without getting me expelled in the process!" added Joey, teasingly.
"And I still can't believe that we managed to move to the same place at the same time! I mean, come on, really, what are the chances of that?" Jackie said before she shoved another s'more in her mouth.
"I know! Not to mention that we somehow got in the same class every year since then."
"I guess we're just lucky like that," Jackie replied with a small shrug of her shoulders. Suddenly, dramatically, and randomly, Jackie switched topics. "Hey man, Truth or Dare?"
"Oh no, there is no way I'm playing Truth or Dare with you again, Jack!" protested Joey, shaking his head. "Do you know how close we came to getting arrested last time?!"
"Wuss!" challenged Jackie. "C'mon, you honestly think that you can resist playing our favorite game?"
"No, I know I can."
"Please? I promise I won't give you anything bad," begged Jackie, giving her best friend her best puppy dog face.
"You swear?" challenged Joey, crossing his arms and warily raising his eyebrow at her.
"Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye," replied Jackie, crossing her heart as she said so.
"Okay, fine, I'll play...Truth."
Jackie gave an almost maniacal grin. "Did you really tell Sam that he couldn't go out with me?"
Joey suddenly looked around nervously, scared of Jack's reaction. "I don't wanna say; you'll hurt me!"
"Hello? That would be breaking the rules that we made," said Jackie, doing her best to sound offended. "I won't do anything, honest."
"Okay, yeah, I did." Seeing the look that Jackie was giving him, Joey quickly added, "But only because he was talking about you like you were some kind of prize or something."
Once Jackie had calmed down and didn't look like she wanted to murder him in his sleep, Joey decided that it was safe to continue their game. "Your turn, Jack: Truth or Dare?"
Jackie contemplated this for a moment before deciding to surprise the sandy-haired boy. "Truth."
"Since when does Jackie T ever pick Truth?" asked Joey, sincerely shocked at the black haired girl's choice.
"I'm full of surprises," said Jackie, smiling mischievously at him.
"Okay...um...Have you ever kissed anybody?"
"You ask that every time I pick Truth, Joe! And I always give you the same answer: no. And when I do kiss someone, you'll be the first— well, technically second—to know, kay? Truth or Dare?"
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but Dare."
"I dare you to play Fluffy Bunnies with me. Whoever loses has to take the tent down in the morning."
"Okay, but no cheating—"
"Moi?" Jackie said, putting on her most "innocent" face and doing her best to sound affronted.
"Yes you! C'mon, hand over the marshmallows."
The two best friends began the task of stuffing their mouths with marshmallows and trying to say "Fluffy Bunnies" without choking. They only got to five each before they started to laugh so hard that they couldn't have talked even if they hadn't had their mouths full.
As soon as they were able to swallow, they both lay back on the grass. "Okay, Joe, who won there?" Jackie asked through her laughs.
"I dunno," replied Joey, desperately trying to stop so that he could once again breath. "I think it was a tie...ow, my sides hurt! Rematch?"
"Not tonight, I don't think I could say it even with just one in my mouth!"
"You know, I have a feeling someday we'll be too old for this—" said Joey suddenly, rolling over on his side to face the gray-eyed girl lying beside him.
Jackie turned to face her childhood friend. "What, the camping or the Fluffy Bunnies?"
"Both. And the Truth or Dare."
"Well, when that day comes, shoot me," said Jackie, rolling onto her back and gazing up at the stars.
"You don't have to ask twice—" said Joey mischievously.
"HEY!" protested Jackie.
That started one of their famous shoving/ wrestling matches. It was all in good fun, but they had been using it as a way to settle arguments for as long as either of them could remember. And, as usual, Jackie ended up pinning her old friend down. "How do you always do that?" he said once she let him up.
"I'm just good. Plus you always fall for the same tricks. On a completely different and random note, your birthday's coming up soon."
"Uh-huh…" said Joey, raising her eyebrow questionably at her.
"So what do you want?" said Jackie, as if it were the most obvious question in the world (which it kind of was, unless you were incredibly dense like both Joey and Jackie were). "And for that matter, what do you want to do?"
"You know what I'd really like?" said Joey, suddenly serious.
"What's that?" asked Jackie curiously.
"To go back home—to North Carolina," replied Joey.
"I wish we could too...but considering we're only eleven, that isn't going to happen anytime soon—at least not by ourselves."
"I know," sighed Joey, "but that's what I really want for my birthday. Besides, you know you don't have to get me anything."
"How long have we been friends, Joseph Michael Vaughn?" asked Jackie, propping herself up on her elbows and staring incredulously at Joey.
"Longer than either of us can remember..."
"And have I ever once listened when you tell me that?"
"Hey, there's a first time for everything," said Joey with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Whatever, man," said Jackie, rolling her eyes at him. "I'm still going to get you something. Pass the chocolate." Once they finished devouring their snacks and the fire had finally died out, Joey and Jackie finally crawled into their tent and went to sleep.
XXXXXXXX
Jackie's dreams started out good. She was dreaming of the last time that her family and Joey's had gone to the beach. Then suddenly everything went downhill.
She was in a dark cramped room and there were a few people outside of the door that was open just a crack: It was the same nightmare she always had. An angry man's voice could be heard from a distance, what he was saying, she couldn't tell. Then a pretty blonde woman came into sight. She had a toddler boy—also blonde—with her. The angry man quickly came into sight too. He was really pale and had long blonde hair that was left loose and flowing down his back. All Jackie could understand him saying was "Where is the girl?" Then there was an argument between him and the woman. Suddenly there was a flash of green light and a loud crashing sound. After the cruel laugh died away, she was filled with fear and a loneliness that went deeper than anything she ever knew.
Jackie awoke suddenly with a start and jumped up, gasping for breath. "Jackie? What's wrong?" Joey said sleepily.
"I had the dream again, the one with the green light," she said, shaking.
"Come here," he said as he hugged his friend. "Its okay, Jack, it's just a dream."
"But it seems so real..." Jackie whispered as she put her head on his shoulder.
"Listen to me, Jackie; nothing bad is going to happen to you. Not as long as I can help it."
"You promise?" asked Jackie, sounding so small and scared.
"Cross my heart and hope to die," replied Joey, wanting nothing more at that moment than to do everything in his power to protect his best friend/ sister.
"I just wish I knew why I keep having the same nightmare," said Jackie shakily, as she left Joey's shoulder and hastily wiped the tears from her face. "I mean, what do I have to do with these people?"
"Maybe it's from something you saw on TV when we were little," suggested Joey, wishing he could do more to help her.
"Maybe..." said Jackie, thoroughly unconvinced.
"Why don't you try to go back to sleep?" suggested Joey, seeing how tired and shaken up the black haired tomboy was. "I'll hold onto your hand; that usually keeps your nightmares away."
"Okay...thanks, Joey," muttered Jackie as she slowly drifted back to sleep.
XXXXXXXX
About a week later, it was finally Joey's birthday. Both the Taylors and the Vaughns went to the zoo—an old tradition that nobody wanted to break—to celebrate. Apparently both Joey and Jackie's older brothers were getting a little sick of it, though.
"Aren't you two a bit too old to be going to the zoo?" Joey's brother Izzy complained.
"You can never be too old for this!" Jackie and Joey said together, huge grins adorning their faces.
"And we haven't been to this one before. Quit whining, Izzy, we're going," his dad said matter-of-factly.
"Why do I have to go? It's not like he's my brother!" Jackie's brother Shawn grumbled.
"Because I said so," Tracy said sternly, shutting Shawn up almost instantly. That said, they all loaded into the cars and headed off to the zoo.
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The second they got through paying for admission, Joey and Jackie started to take off on their own. "Hold it you two," Ian said while grabbing the backs of their shirts. "What are the rules?"
"Always stick together," Joey and Jackie chorused together.
"And?"
"Don't mess with the animals—"
"Or?"
"The workers—"
"Or?"
"The other people."
"Dad, we've been through this a thousand times! And we didn't even do anything wrong last time! That keeper was so out to get us!" Jackie complained.
"Fine. But don't forget to meet us here at noon for lunch," Tracy said.
Lecture over, the eleven-year-olds finally ran off as fast as they could, with Jackie leading the way. They didn't come to a stop until they were outside of the reptile house. It was one of their favorite places in the zoo and always a first stop, no matter what zoo they went to.
"I wonder if they have a snake like Monty here?" Jackie said as she tried to catch her breath.
"Probably...I wonder if they'll have it out," said Joey, bending down and taking deep gulps of air.
"I hope so, I love pythons!" said Jackie grinning happily.
"You are a very odd girl, Jack."
"What?" said Jackie, grinning. "Don't you ever get the feeling that if you tried hard enough to talk to them, they might talk back?"
"No, Jack, that's only you," said Joey, shaking his head at her strange antics. "But they are cool."
Jackie and Joey were slightly disappointed when they got inside. The zoo did have the big python that Jackie was talking about, along with a few others, but not a single animal was out for the people to hold.
Jack and Joe went around to some of the other exhibits, joking around—but keeping their promise to Jackie's dad—and snapping pictures from time to time. Before they knew it, it was almost time to meet their families.
"Okay, I think we have time for one more exhibit before they send out the search parties," Joey said while looking at his watch.
"Let's go see the grizzlies! I've never seen one before!" Jackie said, pointing excitedly to a sign.
"You read my mind!" said Joey with a grin as he grabbed her hand and ran off down the marked path.
XXXXXXXX
While Joey and Jackie were watching the bear swim around in its little lake...pond...thing…Jackie heard an all too familiar voice behind her: it was her "archenemy" (or so Joey said) Tino Ramirez. He had done everything in his power to make her life miserable ever since she had moved to Wisconsin.
"Joe, let's get out of here," she whispered frantically, tugging on his shirt sleeve.
"Why?" asked Joey, quizzically.
"Because I'm pretty sure that I just heard Tino, and I am so not in the mood to deal with him right now," Jackie hissed back.
"He probably won't even notice you," said Joey, trying not to sound frustrated; this feud of theirs was getting rather old. "C'mon, Jack, how long are you going to hide from him?"
"Until I can fight back—"
"Just fight dirty," he said as Jackie gave him a weird look and Joey shrugged his shoulders. "That's what Izzy and Shawn always tell me when I need to fight someone."
"I'll have to remember that—" Jackie muttered to herself.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Una chiquita muy pequeña," Tino sneered behind her.
Jackie swore under her breath as she turned, "What do you want, Tino?"
"I thought I told you to go back to the hills where you came from, bruja."
"Bugger off, Tino!" Joey said as he half stepped protectively in front of his friend.
"I don't think I will," Tino sneered, stepping closer to Jackie and her protector.
"I can handle this myself, Joey," Jackie hissed.
"Aw, you're not going to have your little novio stick up for you?"
Jackie felt like fire was flowing through her veins. More than anything at that moment, she wished that she could finally stand up to Tino and make him go away. All of the sudden, Tino began to scream like a little girl. It looked as if something had picked him up by the foot and was slowly dragging him over to the grizzly exhibit. People in the crowd began to scream, which made Jackie jump and turn away. At the same moment, Tino fell back to the ground, just inches away from the fence of the bears' cage. He edged around Jackie keeping as far away from her as possible.
"¡Bruja! ¡Bruja!" was all they could understand of the Spanish he was mumbling.
Jackie, still in shock, just stood there until Joey pulled on her arm. Did I really do that?! she thought to herself in a panic. I thought about throwing him over, but I wasn't really going to!
"Jackie! Let's get out of here!" Joey hissed at her.
She nodded automatically, in shock, but he still had to literally drag her away. They both knew that weird stuff happened around Jackie all the time, but this was by far the worst thing that had ever happened…so far.
When Joey and Jackie finally met up with their families, Jackie was still in a daze. She was so out of it that she didn't even notice the look Tracy and Ian gave each other—but Joey did. He decided to keep quiet about it for the time being, though. To avoid any further problems, everyone decided that Jackie should go home. Izzy and Shawn didn't miss a beat when they volunteered to take her back—even though Izzy was the only one of the two who could drive.
XXXXXXXX
That night, Joey stopped by Jackie's house—where he basically lived half the time anyway—before dinner to make sure that she was still okay. Unsurprisingly, he found her sitting on her window seat in her bedroom.
"Everything okay, Jack?" he asked hesitantly, walking over to join her on her window seat.
Jackie sighed. "To be honest Joe, no. I seriously think that I did...whatever it was that happened at the zoo."
"If it makes you feel any better, Tino is terrified of you—" said Joey, trying desperately to lighten the mood and make Jackie feel better.
"Are you?" asked Jackie timidly—she didn't want to lose her best friend just because she was some kind of freak.
Joey shrugged. "Weird stuff happens around you all the time, Jack, I'm used to it. Besides, I could never be afraid of my Jackie!" Joey added, getting a laugh out of his friend.
"Oh!" she said as she jumped up suddenly. "I almost forgot to give you your present! Close your eyes, I couldn't figure out how to wrap it." She dove underneath her bed and, after banging her head a few times—and some minor swearing under her breath—she emerged with the present she had been working on for a week. "Okay, open your eyes!"
Joey's eyes went wide with surprise. "Wow, wh-what is it?"
"It's North Carolina in a bottle for you—or at least Holden Beach," she said smiling nervously—though she didn't know why, seeing as she and Joey had been friends for as long as either of them could remember. "That way you always have a piece of home with you no matter where we live," she said as she watched him nervously. "Do you like it?"
"Like it? I love it! Thanks Jackie!" he said as he pulled her into a big hug.
Nearly ten years had passed since Alex had woken up to find Mary on his front step back in England. Had the Evans been back to Privet Drive, they would have found that not much had changed. At the Evans home in Bellaire, Michigan—a very small town—things were much the same as they had been in England. Taylor and Jordan were almost thirteen now and they still got into plenty of trouble—though they had also gotten better at not getting caught. From an early age, they had taken the now almost-eleven-year-old Mary under their wing and were teaching her how to be a "professional" troublemaker—not that she really needed a whole lot of guidance in that area in the first place, as it seemed to be something she was just born with (much like her fiery red hair).
The Evans home looked like any other—well, at least like any other that had three troublemaking preteen/ teenage girls. The mantle over the fireplace and the walls of most of the rooms were full of pictures. Over the mantle in the living room hung Ana and Alex's wedding picture and the mantle itself was covered with pictures of Taylor, Jordan, and Mary as well as the Evans, the Dursleys, the Wools—Ana's side of the family—and Harry Potter. Right underneath their wedding picture, right in the center, Alex had hung a picture of Lily (Alex's baby sister) and James Potter—it was they only muggle picture he had of the two of them (not that Mary knew about the whole muggle vs. magical thing—Alex hadn't yet gotten around to telling her).
XXXXXXXX
Mary woke up extra early the morning of June 22, 1999, more commonly referred to in the Evans' household as Taylor and Jordan's thirteenth birthday. Today was special too because Alex and Ana were going to take the girls and their "boyfriends" (so much as any teenage or pre-teen girl would count them) to New York City for a few days.
Mary quickly got dressed and ran into her cousin-sisters' bedroom. "Taylor! Jordan! Happy birthday!" Mary said loudly, bouncing into the room.
Taylor and Jordan groaned in unison (they always did that, and truth be told it was sometimes a bit creepy). "You're far too perky this morning," complained Taylor, groggily.
"I'm just so excited!" Mary exclaimed, bouncing around the room, unable to stay still.
"Turn down your perkiness, please; 'snot natural," complained Jordan as groggily as her twin.
"But I've never been to New York City before!" said Mary, pouting playfully.
"Well, neither have we," said Taylor, burying her head back in her pillow.
"And we're not that unnaturally perky," added Jordan, with a yawn.
"Well, hurry up and get dressed," said Mary, not at all bothered by the twins' lack of enthusiasm. "We still have to pick up Blake and Michael and Steve before we leave," said Mary before leaving the twins' bedroom and heading downstairs. "Steve. Leave. Funny," Mary added, laughing, as she headed out the door.
"I suppose we have to get up now," grumbled Jordan, reluctantly pulling the covers off of herself.
"Unfortunately," groaned Taylor, doing the same.
XXXXXXXX
An hour later, a groggy Taylor and Jordan joined Mary, Alex, and Ana in the kitchen. "Happy birthday!" the three non-birthday people chorused.
"We have to get going soon if we're going to make it there by tomorrow afternoon," said Alex, smiling lovingly at his twin daughters.
An hour later, the girls' suitcases were packed and in the van and Alex, Ana, and the girls piled in. They had to stop three times to pick up Taylor and Jordan's "boyfriends"—rising high school freshmen Blake Andrew and Michael Perk—and Mary's "boyfriend"—rising eighth-grader Steve Simons.
They all had a great time in the car, talking and laughing and joking together. That night they stayed at a hotel in Ohio—the boys in one room with Alex and the girls in another with Ana. The girls tried to stay up talking, but Ana yelled at them and told them to go to sleep. Besides, they were really, really tired—more so than normal—from getting up so early and spending the entire day in the van.
XXXXXXXX
By the next afternoon, they had finally arrived in New York City. "Ooooh! Mum! Can we go see a play? Pleeeeeease!" asked Taylor.
"Yeah, pleeeeeeeease! Annie is playing, see?" added Jordan.
"Sure thing, girls," said Ana, smiling. "We can do whatever you like. This is your birthday celebration, after all."
"Girls," interrupted Alex, "can we go to the hotel first? We need to drop off our bags, and we have birthday presents for you!"
"Presents? For us? Yeah!" exclaimed Taylor and Jordan.
Mary was so excited to be in New York; she could barely contain her enthusiasm and thus commented on anything and everything. "Wow! Look Steve! You can see the Statue of Liberty…sort of."
"Yeah, whatever," Steve replied. Mary frowned slightly. She had only been dating Steve since…a month ago. She wasn't sure how long this would last; he seemed kind of insensitive and uninterested in Mary and her feelings—even though he had been the one to ask her out in the first place.
XXXXXXXX
Again the Evans and their charges had two adjoining rooms—one for the boys, one for the girls. Once they had dropped off their bags, they all gathered in the girls' room to watch Taylor and Jordan open their presents. Taylor and Jordan sat on the couch, their respective boyfriends with their arms around them; Mary sat on the chair with Steve standing behind her, paying almost no attention to her at all; and Ana sat on the other chair with Alex behind her, making it very obvious that he was still completely interested and in love with his wife. Just as it should be, thought Mary, frowning slightly at Steve (Mary was a secret romantic at heart). Steve, apparently, didn't even notice.
"Okay, girls," said Alex, handing the twins a small, brown box, "this one is from Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, Dudley, and Harry." The twins let out a collective groan.
"Why do they even bother sending us gifts? It's not like they really like us at all," complained Jordan.
"Yeah," added Taylor. "Besides all they ever send us is pictures of themselves and—if we're lucky— something that looks like it came from a junk shop."
"A really sucky junk shop," added Jordan.
"Language!"
"Sorry Mum."
"Do we even have to open it?" asked Taylor.
"Yes, you do," replied Alex firmly. "Petunia is my younger sister and Dudley and Harry are your cousins. Besides, they spent all that money to ship this overseas. You can at least show them some respect by opening it." Taylor and Jordan grudgingly opened the box together.
"Oh. Joy. Look, more pictures," said Taylor sarcastically, pulling out a family picture of the Dursley's and Harry's school picture.
"And look," added Jordan, just as sarcastically, "junk shop necklaces. Two of them. Oh, double joy."
"Girls…" warned Alex.
"Sorry, Dad, but honestly…" said Taylor.
"…are these bloody people like demented or something?" finished Jordan.
Alex decided that it wasn't worth it to argue with his twin daughters, so he gave up and handed them an envelope. "Oh!" exclaimed Taylor, sounding instantly happier. "It's from Grandma Essie and Grandpa Joseph!"
"You know what that means…" said Jordan, a smile beginning to spread across both her and Taylor's sun-tanned faces. The twins smiled mischievously at each other.
"…MONEY!" they cried. Mary couldn't help herself as she joined the twins as they burst into a fit of laughter; Grandma Essie and Grandpa Joseph always sent the girls money no matter what the occasion.
Alex shook his head, smiling slightly, and handed the girls another package. "This is from your Great-Grandma Franciszka," he said. The girls opened up the box. Inside was a pile of homemade candy, two hand sewn jumpers, and…two checks.
"Cool," the twins said together. "What's next?"
Alex and Ana grinned at each other. "This is for you girls, from your mum and me," he said, handing them another box.
Taylor and Jordan opened it. "Wicked! Cell phones! Thanks Mum! Thanks Dad!"
"You're welcome girls," said Alex. "Oh, and by the way, they have the same number so you can do that thing you like so much—you know, where you're both talking to the same person on the phone at the same time?" The twins grinned sheepishly at this and Mary snickered.
"Anyway," said Mary, impatient to give her gift, "this is from me. Hope you like it." She handed her cousin-sisters a small brightly colored box. Taylor and Jordan opened the box.
"Oh, Mary! Thank you!" exclaimed Jordan, jumping up to hug Mary.
"!" exclaimed Taylor, jumping up to join her twin in hugging their little cousin-sister.
Mary was getting squished. "You very welcome, but if you don't mind, I'd like to be able to breathe, please," she said, gasping for air.
"Oh, sorry," they said, sitting back down, smiling like mad.
"Well," said Ana, raising her eyebrows at her twin daughters, "are you going to let us know what it is?"
"Only our favorite movie ever!" exclaimed the twins.
"Annie?" said Blake and Michael together.
"Our other favorite movie," said Jordan.
"Oh…"
"The new version of The Parent Trap!" said Taylor.
"Ohhh!"
Blake and Michael then proceeded to give their girlfriends their gifts. Taylor got a necklace and the soundtrack to Annie from Blake and Jordan got a necklace and the original Annie movie from Michael. They all celebrated for a little while longer before heading out into the city for some birthday fun.
XXXXXXXX
The first thing they all did—as promised—was go and see Annie on Broadway. After that the Evans and their guests spent the rest of the day shopping along the city streets before stopping at a fancy restaurant for Taylor and Jordan's birthday dinner extravaganza. After dinner they went to see Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. By this time they were all so pooped out that they had to go back to the hotel.
Once back in the hotel, Taylor and Jordan pulled Mary aside to talk with her. "Mary, mate," said Taylor quietly, "we need you to do us a huge favor."
Jordan continued, "Michael and Blake have a nice evening surprise planned for us, but it'll be ruined if Mum and Dad are here."
"So we need you and Steve to get Mum and Dad out of the hotel for a couple of hours."
"Can you do it, Red?"
"No problem," replied Mary. "But you so owe me!"
"You're the best, Red!" they twins said, giving her a quick hug.
XXXXXXXX
True to her word, Mary had convinced her pseudo-parents to take her and Steve for an evening of fun in Central Park. The four of them went down to the park together and started walking around.
"Ohhh! Look! There's the zoo!" cried Mary happily. "Let's go there!"
"The zoo?" said Steve snobbishly, "Isn't that sort of juvenile?"
"Oh shut up, Steve," said Mary, rolling her eyes. "Come on, let's go!"
Mary had to literally drag Steve all the way to the zoo, with her pseudo-parents following them. When they got there, they walked around looking at all the animals. Steve was complaining the entire time and it was really getting on Mary's nerves.
The first weird thing happened when they got to the reptile exhibit. Mary was looking at a python (Monty Python, to be precise) and Steve was sitting on a bench, looking very bored as he waited for Mary. Mary looked right into the snake's eyes. "I bet you're more fun than him," she muttered quietly.
The snake looked right back at her. Yeah, he does seem rather annoying, not to mention completely boring, replied the snake.
"I'm glad that someone agrees with me!" Mary huffed.
It wasn't until after they left the reptile exhibit that Mary actually realized what had taken place. I just talked to a bloody snake! she thought. And worse, it talked back! I think I'm going insane or something!
XXXXXXXX
Mary and Steve had finally gotten to the lion exhibit, the last exhibit they planned to visit, and Ana and Alex were still one exhibit behind them. "This is boring. How long can a person look at a stupid cat?" complained Steve.
That was it. "STEVE, I AM SICK AND TIRED OF YOUR COMPLAINING! IF YOU CAN'T DO ONE BLOODY SIMPLE THING—LIKE GO TO THE FRICKIN' ZOO—WITH ME, THAN WE'RE THROUGH. DO YOU HEAR ME, STEVE? WE'RE THROUGH!" As Mary finished yelling at Steve, something extremely strange happened: Steve suddenly went flying over the bars of the lion's pen and landed on the ground in between two sleeping lions.
"Oh my God!" cried a fat lady in a purple flowered dress. "That kid just went flying into the lion's pen! Somebody call security!"
Mary was in shock. She just stood there, mouth agape. She had thought about pushing Steve into the lion's pen, but she hadn't…she didn't think. Did I do that? thought Mary. No, that's not possible…There's no frickin' way… This wasn't the first odd thing that had ever happened to Mary, but it was definitely the biggest and the worst to date.
Alex, who had seen the whole thing, told Ana to get security before rushing over to Mary. He was pretty sure of what had happened, though he remained silent for the time being. "Come on, Mary. Security will get Steve out," said Alex, pulling his redheaded niece/daughter to him, comforting her. "We're going back to the hotel now, love. Ana will stay and make sure Steve is okay, alright?" Mary—still in shock—could only nod at her uncle-father. Alex, holding Mary firmly by the shoulders, walked her speedily out of the zoo and back to the hotel.
When Alex got Mary back to the hotel, Taylor and Jordan and their boyfriends were all in their own rooms (they had heard Alex coming). Alex made sure that Mary was lying down in her own bed before going down to the lobby to wait for Ana and Steve. After Alex left, Mary drifted slowly off to sleep, still amazed by what had happened.
XXXXXXXX
The next day, they all headed back to Michigan. The night before, Ana had rented a car so that she could take Steve home quickly, so it was just Alex, Mary, Taylor, Jordan, Blake and Michael. Once again, they had to stop at a hotel in Ohio and the room arrangements were the same as before: guys in one room, girls in the other.
That night, Taylor and Jordan wouldn't leave Mary alone until she told them all about what had happened at the zoo; their parents hadn't told them a thing.
"C'mon, Red, tell us what happened!" said Taylor coming over to sit next to Mary on her bed.
"Yeah, don't hold out on us now, mate; you never have before," added Jordan, joining her twin on the bed with Mary.
Taylor and Jordan gave Mary their best puppy-dog faces. Mary sighed and gave in. "I don't know…it's really kinda weird…and way freaksome."
"No secrets, remember?" prodded Taylor.
"We made a pact," added Jordan, crossing her arms as her twin did the same.
"Okay fine," sighed Mary, throwing her hands up in defeat. "Here goes: Uncle Alex and Aunt Ana took me and Steve to the Central Park Zoo last night and Steve was complaining about it and saying how it was so 'juvenile' and all that. Well, this started to get on my last nerve. We walked around and looked at all the animals, then we got to our last stop—which happened to be the lions. Steve made some bloody obnoxious comment that was just the last straw so…I let him have it. And I broke up with him. Then I imagined him getting thrown into the lion pen and, lo and behold, that's just was happened. It was like magic and I-I think…" Mary trailed off. "I-I think somehow I did it. I'm not sure exactly how that's even possibly possible, but I just got this weird feeling like, you know…"
"Wow, Red. Just…wow," said Jordan, in awe.
"We are so totally on your side about the whole thing," added Taylor, supporting her sister wholeheartedly.
"Yeah, Steve was a total arse," said Jordan.
"You were so right to dump the jerk," added Taylor.
"Totally. As to the other thing…"
"...I'm sure there's some sort of logical explanation…"
"...Yeah, it'll all be okay, you'll see."
"Just try not to think about it, yeah?"
"Thanks guys," said Mary, starting to feel a bit better now that she had shared. "That helped; I feel a bit better now. Thanks."
"What are almost-sisters for?" the twins said together, smiling at their favorite (*coughonlycough*) little almost-sister.
"You guys are the best," said Mary, hugging her cousin-sisters.
As they pulled out of the hug, the twins added, "You know Red, when you dump a guy you're not supposed to literally dump him…even if he is a total jackass…" This led to a good old-fashioned shoving match, which ended in a pile of incessantly giggling girls.
XXXXXXXX
When the Evans got home the next day, Mary found out that Steve was okay—except for a broken arm and a broken leg—but the two of them avoided each other from that point on. Mary—for the most part—forgot about Steve after a day or two and she moved on to her next boyfriend: rising seventh-grader Tommy Harding. As for the event itself, well, Mary just pushed it deep down into her subconscious, hoping against hope that there would be no reason to ever bring it up again.
A/N: So the thing with Tay & Jor & their boyfriends--they're just hanging out!!!! That's it!!! They're only 13, for Merlin's sake!!! Get your minds out of the gutter, people!!! ;)
~R & R-- No Flames Please!~
