DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE LABYRINTH IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM

"I still say you're making a big deal about all of this! If anyone's kid needs to bed concerned about I say it's hers that Phillips Girl!" snapped Ms. Mara. Crystal looked over at the office where the woman was shouting at Ms. Karen so loud even people who were simply walking by the office looked over. The principle had once again called both girls parents to come and see her after school. At lease Carline's mom had shown up though. Crystal wasn't sure where her mom was at the moment. She hoped her mom would show up soon. She looked out the window to see if possibly her mom had shown up. She didn't see the man in a suite and glasses walking past her to the office.


"This girl is a menace and a threat to the safety of this school!" Ms. Mara shouted.

"Ms. Mara, we talked about this the last time something like this happened in case you forgot," said Ms. Karen. She stopped when she heard her door open and saw a strange man with blond hair walking into the office.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"I'm here about one Crystal Philips," said the man.

"I see, and how are you connected to her?" asked Ms. Karen.

"I'm a very close friend to her mother of course. The girl's like a daughter to me," he said.

"Uh I only ever heard of one friend of Ms. Philips called Officer Brain Walton and that's only because he's volunteered to come to the school for safety assemblies and things," said Ms. Karen.

"Oh yes that fool," said the man sounding bitter, "But I assure I am a very close friend of the Philips."

"Well did Ms. Philips call you to come down or something?" asked Ms. Karen.

"You could say that," said the man. He looked over at Ms. Mara. "Now you are accusing my precious little girl of being a freak are you?"

"Your little girl?" asked Ms. Mara.

"I always refer to Crystal as my little girl and I don't appreciate people calling her a freak!" he said.

"Well excuse me, but she's the one that's not normal!" said Ms. Mara.

"And what is normal in your book? "Accidentally" stepping on calculators? Ripping up notebooks? If that's normal then I'd rather not have Crystal not be normal. If anything I think your daughter's too normal and not in anyway original. That can only make me assume you're the bad parent!" he said. Ms. Mara stood there for a moment, her jaw open in shock, not sure what to say about that.

"Sir please, we're trying not to cause more fighting," said Ms. Karen.

"But of course dear lady. Therefore I will make this simple," he said turning to Ms. Mara. "Your daughter had better stop acting normal around Crystal understood or else I think there someone should look into what kind of a normal life you're raising your daughter in!" And with that he turned and left.

Crystal looked away from the window in time to see a man coming out of the office.

"You…," she said. He turned and patted her head.

"I took care of things this time my dear," he whispered with a wink before walking out of the office. Crystal watched him walk off. She was about to follow after him when she noticed her mother getting out of the car in the parking lot outside out of the corner of her eye. She turned and realized the man had disappeared.

"Hi honey I'm here," said Sarah running into the office, "I had a meeting I had to go to sorry I'm late."

"But Mom…," said Crystal before Sarah ran into the principle's office.

"Sorry I'm late," she said.

"Ms. Philips, I thought you weren't coming," said Ms. Karen.

"My friend, you mean Brain?" asked Sarah, "I didn't send Brain. I would have sent my parents before him since he's always so busy."

"But what about that one guy?" asked Ms. Mara.

"What guy?" asked Sarah.

"That one friend calls Crystal his little girl?" said Ms. Mara.

"His little girl?" said Sarah, "Wait, did he have long blond hair?"

Both women nodded.

"Oh-no!" Sarah moaned.

"So then you do know him?" asked Ms. Karen.

"Yes, I don't know why he came here to see you when I was coming, but he is an old friend of mine and he's loves Crystal like a daughter," said Sarah.

"Well uh in either case, he kind of help straighten things up all ready," said Ms. Karen.

"Oh did he?" said Sarah.

"By calling me a bad parent!" said Ms. Mara, "If anything you're the bad parent here, letting your daughter near weird men like that!"

"Excuse me but my daughter wasn't the one that hauled your daughter off to the side of the building and destroyed her things out of spite!" said Sarah.

"No she just burnt my Carline's hand!" said Ms. Mara.

"No your daughter stole something from my daughter who most likely was holding it up and reflecting the sun which caused her to burn her hand!" said Sarah, "We've been over this and I'm not going to sit here and let you keep going on like this about my daughter when it's your daughter that need the lessons in morals!" Ms. Mara was once again at a loss for words.

"Ms Philips please," said Ms. Karen, "We don't want to send a bad example for the girls."

"Yes I'm sorry, but this woman and her daughter have pushed my buttons far too hard!" said Sarah before turning and looking at Ms. Mara, "I am going to give you this one time warning. I hear anything else about your daughter harassing my daughter again in any way shape or form I will see to it that she pays for it! And it's not a treat!" Ms. Mara looked shaken.

"I'm sorry again. I hope we don't have another meeting like this again anytime soon," said Sarah as she stood up and walked out of the office.

"Well then Ms. Mara, do you anything else to say?" asked Ms. Karen.

"Uh, no," said Ms. Mara.

"Have a good day then," said Ms. Karen.


"Come on honey," said Sarah as she led her daughter to the car, "Looks like I'll have to get you a new calculator and notebook huh?"

"Yeah," said Crystal.

"Want to go do that right now?" asked Sarah.

"Sure," said Crystal looking out the window. Sarah looked over at her daughter.

"I'm sorry about all of this honey. You shouldn't have to deal with people like that girl and her mother," she said.

"Hmm," said Crystal.

"How about while we're at the store we get you anything you want?" asked Sarah.

"Sure," said Crystal smiling weakly.

When they got to the store, they barely started to walk in, when a bunch of people ran up to Sarah.

"Ms. Philips, will you sign my book?" they all asked.

"Uh sure," said Sarah as she managed to sign them and make her way through the crowd.

"Mom?" Crystal tried shouting out as the crowd descended on her mother. She was soon pushed away from the group. She stood outside the mob watching, waiting for her mother to get done when suddenly she felt a bright light on her. She turned around and saw clear looking ball reflecting light off it. It almost looked like her crystal. Curiously she wondered over to it.


"That was close, let's go Crystal," said Sarah. She looked around. She couldn't see her daughter anywhere.

"Crystal, Crystal!" Sarah shouted looking around for he daughter.

She ran down the many different aisles looking for her, "Crystal!"


Crystal neared the ball that was on an empty shelf all by itself. She was about to reach over and take it when she felt a breeze.

"Don't do it Crystal," said a voice that once again sounded like her friend's.

"Crystal!" Sarah shouted once she saw her daughter. She ran over and hugged her tight." Don't you ever wonder away like that again! You know that if I get mobbed you're suppose to stay nearby so I can find you! Do you have any idea how scared I was?"

"I'm sorry," said Crystal.

"I'm sorry too honey. Let's get your stuff and go home," said Sarah.

When the family got home, Crystal wondered off to go do her homework while Sarah headed to the kitchen to make dinner. She had barely turned on the kitchen light when she saw an owl outside the window in a tree. Sarah immediately ran over and opened it.

"What the hell did you think you were doing today showing up at Crystal's school like that!" she shouted at it. The bird flapped it wings. "I don't care what excuse you have, you know you're suppose to stay away from her!"

Sarah slammed the window shut.

"He better not get involved with anything with her like that again!" she said.


"Oh Sarah," said Jareth once he got back to his palace, "How foolish do you think I am? I'm Crystal's father, and therefore I will always be involved in her life." Then he thought back to what happened at the store with Crystal and that other ball.

"She almost touched it didn't she? That wouldn't have been good. He's getting boulder and I'm not sure if I can stop him. To do that I'll have to get close to Crystal and Sarah and Sarah's going to do everything in her power to keep that from happening." He was rather disturbed about this.

"Why couldn't he have waited the full 100 years before making a move like this?"