Zoey was still in a bit of a daze as she drove to school the next morning.
I sure hope Grandma was wrong about some powerful and magical force granting powers like mine...because I'm not so sure I'd trust something that let the Hag from Hell star on Power Hour too...
As she drove down Broken Arrow's main street, she found herself constantly glancing out the window, expecting to see some nightmarish horror movie monster running alongside her car, growling and glaring at her.
"Get a grip, Zo," she sternly told herself. "Whatever Aphrodite saw, it only got to you because you weren't expecting it."
Maybe now that I know, it won't even happen at all. Maybe it was only going to happen because I didn't know it was going to happen, but know that I know it's going to happen, it'll cancel out and...but the thing doesn't KNOW that I know it's going to happen, so maybe it'll happen anyway and...wait, what? ?
Zoey groaned. Things like this always screwed up her head. She could barely watch Back to the Future without feeling like she needed to reach for an aspirin by the end of it, let alone try to deal with this stuff in real life. With a sinking feeling in her stomach, Zoey knew what she had to do.
"I've got to talk to Aphrodite again," she said glumly, suddenly wishing she could just get eaten by the blonde's vision monster and be done with it.
The Bug turned into the school's parking lot and began searching for a place to park.
"I mean, she's got crazy powers like I do, so she must be wanting to talk to someone about them, right?" Zoey asked aloud to no one in particular.
It made sense in her head, before she remembered that she was still dealing with the Wicked Witch of Oklahoma. Zoey quickly resigned herself to the fact that the common bond approach wasn't going to work here, and decided that she was just going to have to harass the information out of Aphrodite until she heard what she needed to (after all, all she had to do was threaten another windstorm and the blonde would be talking in no time).
Zoey chuckled as she realized that she had finally managed to 1-Up Aphrodite for once. The Bug turned into a spot close to the front of the school, and Zoey saw Stevie Rae bopping her way towards the doors; her blonde curls bouncing around like a cherub's. Zoey beeped the horn, and Stevie Rae- -already able to recognize the sound as belonging to Zoey's car- -turned her head around with a smile.
With her backpack over one shoulder Zoey got out of the car, glad to see Stevie Rae and temporarily forgetting her anxiety over Aphrodite's vision.
"Mornin' Zoey!"
"Morning," Zoey greeted with a smile as she met Stevie Rae in front of the school doors. "Are the guys already in the library?"
"I know the Twins are," Stevie Rae answered as they headed inside. "They came early to beat the lines at the coffee shop."
Sure enough, when the pair arrived at the library, the Twins were already in their usual spot; drinks in hand, textbooks open on the table in front of them, and bickering back and forth about something.
"Thank goodness you two are here," Erin said in exasperation as Zoey and Stevie Rae came over. "Did either of you finish the World History homework?"
Zoey's heart froze.
"Homework? There was homework? ?" a look of teenage panic started to spread across her face.
Stevie Rae sat herself down in an armchair and started to dig through her bag, looking for the homework in question that Zoey apparently had no clue about.
"Geez Zoey, where were you? We had to do notes over chapter 4 and then answer the questions at the end. Shaunee and I were going to split the questions and then copy each other's this morning, but Miss America's Next Top Model over here was too busy picking out her outfit to focus on doing the right half," Erin sneered, shooting Shaunee a nasty glare. Shaunee returned the favor.
"Or MAYBE Miss Hilton over here was too busy trying to perfect her stringy white girl hair to double-check that SHE did the right half," the darker Twin retorted.
Erin looked positively insulted that Shaunee had the nerve to comment on her hair, and Stevie Rae glanced up from her backpack mid-search.
"You both did the same questions?" she asked. But the glares that the Twins were exchanging were the only response she needed.
Zoey, meanwhile, was still stuck in shell-shock. Oddly enough, being told that some mystery creature was going to come attack her when she least expected it seemed to make her forget about things like school and homework. With a pathetic groan, she dropped her backpack onto the floor and sunk into the armchair across from Stevie Rae.
"Zoey?" Stevie Rae looked over her in concern.
"Don't mind me, my high school career is just crashing right in front of me, no big deal," she muttered glumly. The Twins stopped their evil staring contest and focused on the brunette too.
"Only the second week of school," Zoey elaborated, "and I'm already forgetting homework and failing Algebra."
"Failing? ?" Stevie Rae's eyes widened like a scared rabbit's. "I thought you were going to ask Damien for help?"
Zoey shrugged.
"I didn't want to bother him, I'm sure he's got his own stuff to do."
"Pfft, are you kidding? That boy will take any chance he can get to be a know-it-all and throw big words around," Erin said.
The conversation reminded Zoey of how Aphrodite had joked about offering homework help on the first day of school, which in turn reminded her that she still had to talk to Aphrodite alone at some point in the day.
I wonder where the popular kids lurk around all day. Maybe I can use the elements again to find out where Aphrodite is...or maybe my powers won't work if I use them to seek out pure evil.
"Zoey? Did you want to see my notes?" Stevie Rae's voice brought Zoey out of her thoughts. She looked over to see the Twins furiously scribbling down answers out of Stevie Rae's green spiral.
"Oh my gosh, thank you," Zoey said, breathing a great sigh of relief. "You saved my life."
Stevie Rae grinned like a little kid.
"Just call me Super Stevie! !"
"Or Stevie Wonder," Shaunee added, causing Erin and herself to break out in laughter. Apparently their little fight was already over.
By the time everyone was sufficiently caught up with homework, the dismissal bell was ringing, signaling everyone to start making their way to 1st period. With Zoey feeling a huge weight lifted thanks to Stevie Rae, she and the girls started the trek to World History.
"Is Damien absent today?" Zoey asked, noting how the resident gay genius never joined them in the library.
"He's almost never absent," Erin waved her off dismissively. "I'm sure he's around here somewhere."
Sure enough, when they arrived at the classroom, Damien was already in his desk, and the girls took their places around him (as it turned out, Mr. Harrond was not one of those jerk teachers that set you up in alphabetical order, so the gang was all able to sit together).
"Boy, where were you at?" Shaunee asked as she opened her bag and took out her last-minute homework like she was a good little student who had it done this whole time.
Damien was absentmindedly twirling his pen around in his fingers.
"I got held up by one of my dad's talks again."
At his words, Stevie Rae and the Twins nodded in understanding, but Zoey was still in the dark.
"Talks?" she inquired. Damien met her eyes with a half-smile.
"You know, one of those 'Are you sure you have to be gay?' kind of talks. They're a bit of a monthly thing in my house," he explained.
A horrid image of the Step-Loser and his Bible-clutching People of Faith drones flashed in Zoey's head, and then she understood.
"Ah, one of those talks. I'm sorry, Damien," she said. Damien gave her a full smile this time.
"Thanks, Zoey, but it's alright. I'm starting to get used to them by now. My parents aren't telling me I'm doomed to go to Hell or that God will smite me down with his mighty destruction. With them it's just like I'm some kind of unexpected new puppy that they don't quite know how to handle."
"Don't worry about your poopy-headed parents, Damien," Stevie Rae said. "You've got us!"
"And we're only semi poopy-headed," Erin teased, flicking her eyes at Shaunee good-naturedly in remembrance of their tussle earlier.
Zoey smiled, happy that with each passing day she felt more and more at home with the group she thought she didn't have a chance to fit into.
As the tardy bell rang, Mr. Harrond came striding into the room carrying a stack of papers probably fresh off the copier.
"Guess what," he said quickly, before the morning announcements had a chance to blare over the P.A. system.
There was a devious, child-like glint in his eyes, and Zoey found herself excitedly anticipating what he was about to say. Mr. Harrond was harsh with grading and demanded a lot of his students when it came to work, but he was still one of the coolest teachers Zoey had ever had.
He dramatically paused for effect as everyone looked expectantly at him, then blurted "Movie night!" just before the intercom buzzed.
The class broke out into excited murmurs as the announcements started to sound. Mr. Harrond went around the room and handed out the sheets, which contained more information about the movie night. The announcements ended by the time he made his way back to the front of the room, and he gave the students a few minutes to read over everything.
"...'Last of the Mohicans?'" Shaunee read aloud, raising an eyebrow. "Like those god awful shoes? Cause I would LOVE to see the last of those fashion disasters, let me tell you."
"Those would be 'moccasins', honey," Damien said quietly.
"But didn't the Mohicans wear moccasins?" Erin mused. "I feel like the Mohicans should've worn moccasins."
"Please. You would not catch me wearing those even if they crowned me their honorary chocolate-colored Mohican princess."
Zoey chuckled.
"They're actually pretty comfortable. Definitely not a fashion statement, but great to kick up your feet and watch a movie in," she said.
Shaunee widened her eyes in mock astonishment.
"Why, Zoey, are YOU the last of the Mohicans? ?" she teased. Zoey laughed along with everyone else.
"Nope, just Cherokee."
Erin narrowed her eyes in concentration, studying Zoey like she was last night's forgotten homework.
"Yeah, I kinda see it," the blonde mused. "You look a little Cherokee-ish."
"Rather Cherokee-ish," Erin's twin added.
Once the class had settled down, Mr. Harrond spoke up.
"So as you can see, the first of this year's many movie nights will be on Monday of next week. It starts at 5:30 and can probably be expected to end around 8, so it's not mandatory that you attend. This is strictly an extra credit thing. Half of your grade will be showing up and watching the movie, and the other half will be the one page essay due by next Thursday at the very latest."
He paused to answer some questions, during which time Stevie Rae looked at her friends excitedly, making plans with her eyes.
"The desks will be moved out of the way so everyone can have room on the floor," Mr. Harrond continued. "Feel free to bring your own food, pillows, blankets, and anything you need to be comfortable. So, if you plan on coming, start clearing your schedules and I'll see you next Monday. Now, homework time. Take it out and pass it up."
Backpacks shuffled as homework was wrenched free from various folders and binders. Stevie Rae, however, turned to look at the gang, positively buzzing with excitement.
"So, is it a date?" she asked simply, hoping to enjoy a fun after school evening with all of her friends.
"It's a date," Damien smiled.
"Count us in!" the Twins said as they passed up their forged homework. Then all four of them turned expectantly to Zoey.
Zoey looked up from her binder to see Stevie Rae giving her a sad smile.
"I mean, I know you're starting to get swamped with homework, so it's okay if you just want to take the day to catch up, but..."
"Are you kidding?" Zoey hastily said. "My first movie night with my friends- -even if it IS a school movie night- -is more important than homework, I can finish that anytime. I'll be there."
Stevie Rae bounced in her seat like a happy Golden Retriever, and Zoey could feel the excitement radiating throughout herself, too. Just chilling with the gang, watching a movie and making jokes about the ridiculously overdramatic scenes like a regular, normal girl...it sounded great to her. Still struggling to get her feet on the ground in a new school, Zoey was ready to jump at the chance to feel like an average teenager and enjoy her high school life.
Then she remembered that she needed to talk to a psychic to learn more about her visions of monsters.
"You know, for someone who always shows up uninvited, you're pretty hard to find when I actually need to see you."
Zoey had managed to spot Aphrodite in the hallway after 2nd period, and she hurriedly weaved through the masses of students to catch the blonde before she left her locker.
Aphrodite turned her head to see who was talking to her, and when she saw it was Zoey she screwed up her face like the smell of something nasty had just come drifting over.
"You know, our little chat yesterday wasn't an invitation for you to keep talking to me," she sneered, stuffing various books into her locker and taking others out.
"Trust me, not even a court order could get me to keep talking to you," Zoey retorted. "But..."
She leaned in closer to Aphrodite, causing Barbie Girl to reflexively back away like Zoey had some kind of disease.
"I need to know more about your vision," Zoey said quietly, lowering her voice. Aphrodite suddenly looked irritated.
"I don't know anything more. What I told you yesterday is all I saw," she slammed her locker shut and then took off down the hall.
Zoey trailed after her, struggling to stay within talking distance but also trying to stay far enough behind that she didn't look like some desperate loser chasing after the popular crowd.
"Okay, okay, I understand," Zoey said hastily, not wanting to piss off Aphrodite until she heard what she needed. "Just tell me this: do your visions always come true?"
"Yes," the blonde answered simply, making no effort to let Zoey catch up to her.
"Isn't there anything someone can do to avoid it?"
"Of course there was, back when things weren't all muddled and confusing. I could tell you to avoid being in a certain place at a certain time, but there WAS no place or time in this vision. You were someplace, monster found you, monster got you, the end. That was all."
Despite Aphrodite's finality on the matter, Zoey still wasn't convinced.
"But if your visions have started to become foggy...maybe that means your power is fading! Maybe your vision was inaccurate!"
"Zoey, I don't know!" Aphrodite stopped and turned around to face the brunette, the irritation in her eyes replaced with exasperation. "If you want to write the whole thing off, be my guest. If you want to keep your guard up, go ahead, I don't care what you do. Now leave me alone," she turned and stormed off. Zoey didn't follow.
If Zoey had any suspicions that Aphrodite was just making up the whole visions and monsters story as an elaborate prank to freak her out, they were gone now. The look on Aphrodite's face told Zoey that she really did have visions of things, and was growing more and more frustrated that she was powerless to do anything about them. Which meant that something really was going to come after Zoey at some point in time.
Well, hell.