A New Beginning Part 5

Lucas and Laila were in the subbasement for only ten minutes before they returned to the basement.

When Melanie saw them returning, she asked, "Do you need me to go down there and see what I could see with my visions?"

"No, and I'm declaring what is downstairs a crime scene," Lucas informed. "I had already contacted forensics and they will be here shortly. So, I'll need everyone to exit the house."

"So what all did you find down there?" Melanie asked as she followed Nicki and Lizzy to the stairs. Lucas and Laila followed her.

"Sorry, Melanie, I can't tell you anything about what was found downstairs, even if you were the one who inadvertently brought it to my attention," Lucas replied. "However, Ms. Foster, I think you could help with something."

"If I can," Nicki replied as she followed Lizzy up the steps. "What is it?"

"Since you are an antique dealer, I was hoping that you have heard of 'Lewis Vendredi's Antiques.'" Lucas replied.

"Lewis Vendredi is dead, so he couldn't have anything to do with what happened in the subbasement," Melanie replied before Nicki could answer.

"Melanie, let me answer this," Nicki strongly requested.

"I'm just saying," Melanie replied.

"I take it that you both have heard of Lewis Vendredi," Lucas made note of.

"Yes," Nicki replied. "Lewis Vendredi is my mom's uncle. He died thirty-three years ago, and my mom and her cousin Ryan inherited the store, at which they had renamed the store 'Curious Goods.'"

"The same store that you currently own," Lucas supplied.

"Correct," Nicki replied.

"Okay, well, your great-uncle's name is the first name on a list of thirteen names," Lucas replied. "Jane Reece's body was found in the subbasement and her name was on that list as well. You wouldn't by chance know what this list of names was for, would you?"

"I might, but I won't say in front of my daughter," Nicki replied.

"Okay, once we get outside, your daughter can return to the car and then you can tell me what you know," Lucas said.

"That we can do," Nicki replied.

Minutes later, Lizzy continued to the car as everyone else remained near the front door.

Once Lizzy retook the backseat and the door was shut, Lucas asked Nicki, "Okay, Ms. Foster, what can you tell me about your uncle… or great-uncle?"

"My Great-Uncle Lewis was a coven leader to a witch's coven and most likely those other people on that list were coven members," Nicki replied.

"Of course he was," Lucas replied in a dreading tone. "Ten years on the force, I can honestly say that this case is the weirdest one yet."

"I just had a terrible thought," Melanie announced.

"What?" Nicki was the one to ask.

"What if Jane Reece isn't the only witch on that list who is swapping bodies," Melanie replied.

"That is a terrible thought," Nicki agreed.

"Evidence that occult rituals had been practiced here is evident in the subbasement, but I don't believe in the supernatural power of witches or even the occults," Lucas began. "Thus, I don't believe that anyone had been body swapped."

"You need to start, Detective Gilbert; otherwise you won't be able to find the true culprit behind James's death, which is Jane Reece," Melanie replied. "Jane Reece has taken over Alicia Branney's body, and to find her you'll need to switch your focus on learning Jane's past hangouts and haunts instead of Alicia's hangouts and haunts."

"I will consider doing that," Lucas sincerely said. "Anyway, Ms. Foster, you and Melanie… and your daughter should leave before the others get here."

"Take care, Detective Gilbert; Detective Gordon," Nicki told them.

"Take care, Ms. Foster; Melanie," Lucas and Laila replied.

"Take care," Melanie echoed before she and Nicki could move towards the car.

At 'Curious Goods', Jason—while alone in the store—was reading a supernatural story on an E-Reader at the display-case/counter when the door opened and Lloyd (Micki's ex-fiancé) stepped in.

Jason looked up from his reading when he heard the door opening and then watched Lloyd—a man who stood 6' 2"—as he stopped a few steps from the door and looked around.

"Welcome to 'Curious Goods. I'm Jason. How can I help you?"

"For the most part, Jason, this place hasn't changed in thirty-two years," Lloyd said as he continued to the display-case/counter.

"I'm only twenty-two, so I will have to take your word for that," Jason replied. "Anyway, is there anything specific that brought you in?"

"Does Michelle Foster still own the store?" Lloyd asked.

"Michelle?" Jason questioned before it dawned on him. "Oh, you mean Micki."

"Yes; Micki," Lloyd said aloud as if to himself. "I forgot about her nickname. Anyway, is she here? I'm here to see her and I'm an old friend of hers."

"I'm sorry, but Micki was killed in an auto-accident seven years ago," Jason replied.

"Oh, God. How tragic," Lloyd said remorsefully. "So who owns the store now?"

"Micki's daughter—Nicki," Jason replied.

"I guess it's not surprising that Micki got married, settled down and had kids… or at least a daughter anyway."

"The daughter was all she had," Jason replied. "I had been told that Micki had never married and Nicki's father was actually engaged to Micki once upon a time, but Micki and Nicki's father split not too long after Micki took ownership to the store."

Lloyd gave Jason a curious look before asking, "Would Nicki be about thirty-two years old?"

"That's a good guess, but she won't really be thirty-two for another two months," Jason replied.

Lloyd pondered what was said for a moment before asking, "Is Nicki here by chance?"

"She ran an errand and most likely she won't be back for another thirty minutes," Jason replied.

Lloyd looked at his watch while saying, "I would like to meet Micki's daughter, so I'll be back."

"Okay," Jason replied. "Should I tell her to expect you?"

"Let her know that a friend of her mom's will be by," Lloyd replied before turning and walking away.

"Sir, I didn't get your name," Jason told Lloyd as he was walking away.

"I didn't give it and I'm not going to," Lloyd replied.

"Okay," Jason replied before watching Lloyd leave the store. He then turned his attention back to his E-Reader.

Jason was able to read for about thirty-minutes more of his supernatural EBook before Miles (a twenty-three-year-old man) and Lori (a twenty-three-year-old woman) entered the store.

"Welcome to 'Curious Goods. I'm Jason. How can I help you?" he said while putting down his E-Reader.

"Hi, my bride and I are new to Chicago and we saw your store 'Curious Goods' and we got curious to what all you sell here, so we came in," Miles said.

"Is it okay that we look around?" Lori asked.

"Sure, look all you want, and if you see anything you like, just let me know," Jason replied.

"We will," Lori said before she and Miles went to browse.

Ten minutes later, Lori and Miles were respectively walking towards the door with their purchases when Lizzy, Nicki and Melanie were respectively walking in. Miles lightly bumped Melanie as they were walking past one another.

"Sorry," Miles told Melanie, but Melanie was in a trance and didn't appear to have heard. "Miss? Miss? Are you okay?"

Nicki and Lori had heard Miles as he was trying to get Melanie's attention, and as Nicki and Lori were joining Melanie and Miles, Melanie came out of her trance and looked at Miles.

"Miss, are you okay?" Miles asked again when Melanie moved.

"I'm fine," Melanie claimed as Lizzy joined Nicki and Melanie. Jason stepped closer as well. "You, on the other hand, are being confused for someone else—someone with an unworthy reputation for the type of job that you are seeking—and that is why you didn't get the job this morning."

"You didn't get the job?" Lori asked Miles.

"I was told that they were still interviewing others and that she would contact me later with her decision," Miles replied. "But I nailed that interview."

"Until you straighten out the confusion between you and your brother, it won't matter how many job interviews you nail."

"Miles doesn't have a brother," Lori replied.

"Actually, I do," Miles admitted. "I have an identical twin brother and I hadn't told you about him because he and I were five when we last saw each other. In fact, I can't even remember his name, and as far as I knew, he was dead."

"He's not dead, but he is a stripper down at the 'More Chipper than Dale' club," Melanie replied.

"And how do you know this?" Miles asked.

"I'm a psychic and when we bumped into one another, I had a vision of… of Mrs. Keen telling you over the phone that you didn't get the job because of your nighttime activities at the 'More Chipper than Dale' club," Melanie replied. "You will get that phone call sometime this evening, unless you do something to change it since I had forewarned you. Also, if I had not forewarned you, you would have ended up at the 'More Chipper than Dale' club tonight to see what Mrs. Keen was referring to, but since I have forewarned you, I don't know if you will end up there or not."

"Oh, I will be going there, actually; as soon as I figure out where it's at," Miles assured Melanie.

"Anyway, that's all I saw," Melanie replied.

"Do you read Tarot cards?" Lori asked Melanie in a hopeful tone.

"I don't know anything about them," Melanie replied.

"I was hoping that you did," Lori replied. "I mean I don't need my cards read right now. I had a reading done before Miles and I went on our honeymoon, but eventually I will need them read again."

"Can't you go back to the last person who read your cards?" Melanie asked.

"She lives in Freeport," Lori replied. "Freeport is where Miles and I are from, and last weekend, when our honeymoon ended, we moved here."

"Okay, well, welcome to Chicago," Melanie replied as if she didn't know what else to say.

"Yes, welcome," Nicki added. "This is a lovely city with lots to do."

"We've been noticing," Miles sincerely said. "And believe it or not, Sapphire—the woman who Lori had gone to for her Tarot card reading—had advised us to move here."

"Well, she didn't exactly tell us to move here," Lori replied. "She told you that you should literally follow your dreams and this city is what you have been dreaming about."

"You've been dreaming about this city?" Melanie questioned.

"Not every night, but quite often," Miles replied.

"You two do realize that identical twins will on occasion share supernatural connection," Melanie informed.

"In what way?" Lori was the one to ask.

"Well, when one twin burns his or her hand, the other twin—even though miles apart—could also feel the pain of the burn," Melanie said. "So, Miles, those dreams that you have been having about this city could have been coming from your twin brother."

"I never considered that," Miles admitted. "But even if I had considered it, we would have still moved here. Anyway, it was nice chatting with all of you. Happy shopping."

"I'm actually the owner of the store," Nicki shared before introducing herself, Melanie and Lizzy to them.

Once the introductions were over, Miles and Lori said, "Goodbye," and left the store.

As the door was closing behind Miles and Lori, Nicki told Melanie that her workday was done and for her to go home.

Melanie nodded before turning and leaving.

As Nicki, Lizzy and Jason moved deeper into the store, Jason said, "Oh, Nicki, I almost forgot. An old friend of your mom's came by while asking about your mom. I told him that your mom had died seven years ago and that you had inherited the store. When I mentioned you, he became eager to meet you, and said that he will be back later."

"Who was he?" Nicki asked.

"I asked, but he wouldn't tell me his name," Jason replied.

"Hmm, that could be anyone from my mom's past," Nicki replied. "Oh well, I guess I'll find out when he comes back."

"So what happen with Alicia Branney?" Jason asked.

"Lizzy, go watch TV on the couch," Nicki told her while gesturing towards the lounging area.

"Okay," Lizzy said before walking towards the lounging area.

Nicki waited a few seconds before whispering what had happened at Alicia's house.

After Nicki told Jason what she knew, she and Jason fell back into their routine of managing the store.

After Melanie had left the shop, instead of going home, she walked the extra half mile to Andrea (Andi) Voss's two-story house.

Within seconds after Melanie rang the doorbell, Christopher (Chris)—Andi's dad—answered it. Chris stood 5' 10.5".

"Is Andi here, Mr. Voss?" Melanie asked.

"She is; she's working on her sculpture down in the basement," Chris replied before backing up and giving Melanie some room to enter. "And it's fine if you would like to join her in the basement."

"I would," Melanie replied with a slight grin before entering.

Melanie said 'hi' to Wendy (Andi's mom) during the walk to the basement door.

As Melanie was reaching the basement, she called out, "Knock-knock."

"Hey, Mel, I called your house this morning and your mom said that you took a job at 'Curious Goods,'" Andi said as she turned away from her unfinished clay sculpture of a person's bust. The bust had very little facial features, and five computer printouts of a teenage boy at different angles were propped up so they can be easily seen.

Andi had turned sixteen on April 28th, and like her mom, she stood 5' 8".

As Melanie stepped up to Andi and her unfinished sculpture, she replied, "I did take a job there."

"I thought you had something against that store," Andi pointed out.

"I did, but I met the store owner last night," Melanie replied. "We learned a little bit about each other and I learned the history of 'Curious Goods.' So I'm okay with going into the store now."

"Good," Andi replied in a satisfactory tone.

Melanie gestured towards the printouts of the teenager while asking, "Is the boy someone you know?"

Andi took a breath before saying, "The images are of Justin."

"Justin who?" Andi replied.

"My brother Justin," Andi said.

"Andi, your brother died when he was nine," Melanie pointed out.

"I know when my brother died; I was there," Andi quickly snapped.

"Okay, well, these pictures are from someone older than Justin," Melanie continued.

"I ran Justin's image through an aging-progression software and these pictures are what Justin would have looked like today if he wasn't killed," Andi replied.

"And now you are in process of sculpturing a bust of Justin if Justin was thirteen," Melanie verbally took note of.

"Fourteen," Andi corrected. "Today would've been his fourteenth birthday."

"Crap, I forgot," Melanie uttered as if to herself. "You went to the cemetery today and I was supposed to have gone with you."

"My parents and I didn't go today," Andi replied. "My mom couldn't get the day off, and that's why I was calling you this morning—to tell you that the trip to the cemetery was postponed until this Saturday. However, I wanted to do something today to honor my brother, and that is why I'm making a bust of him. Oh and it's fine if you can't go this Saturday with me."

"I might be able to go," Melanie replied. "Nicki—my boss—haven't given me a work schedule yet. Anyway, do your parents know what you are sculpturing down here?"

"No, and it doesn't matter if they did," Andi replied.

"It kind of does," Melanie countered.

"Why would it matter?" Andi quickly asked.

"It's been four years and… and ten days since Justin's accident and you're acting as if it just happened and you're being blame for it," Melanie pointed out.

"Yes, well, he certainly thinks that it's my fault," Andi snapped.

"Who thinks that?" Melanie quickly asked.

"No one," Andi quickly said. "Forget that I said anything."

"No, I won't forget it, Andi," Melanie told her while taking a stand. "Tell me what is going on. Who is blaming you for Justin's death?"

Andi pursed her lips for a moment before saying, "Justin is blaming me, okay. I dream of him a lot—more so for the past few nights. And last night, once I have fallen asleep, I had relived the day when Justin died."

"Andi, Justin isn't here to blame you," Melanie informed.

"His spirit is," Andi replied.

"Andi, I'm fairly certain that you know this, but I'm going to tell you anyway. I'm a psychic." No surprise reaction came across Andi's face as Melanie continued to say, "Not only do I get the occasional visions from time to time, I can also see, hear and feel the presence of earthbound spirits, and you and your family aren't being haunted by your brother or any other spirits."

"But I'm having dreams about Justin," Andi replied.

"I'm not doubting that you're dreaming about your brother, but Justin or another spirit isn't the one who is giving you your dreams," Melanie replied.

"Then what is?" Andi replied.

"Your mom had told me that you actually blame yourself, so most likely your own guilt is causing you to have these dreams," Melanie replied.

"Okay, fine, I do blame myself," Andi replied. "But why am I getting these terrible dreams now after four years?"

"I don't know," Melanie replied with a shrug.

"So much for the supernatural power of dreamcatchers," Andi uttered.

"What do you mean?" Melanie replied.

"What I mean is that the dreamcatcher that that peddler sold me last Sunday isn't working," Andi replied. "In fact, my bad dreams have gotten worse since I bought it."

"Andi, show me your dreamcatcher," Melanie insisted.

"Okay, but it's just a dreamcatcher," Andi replied before putting down her tools.

"It might not be just a dreamcatcher," Melanie said. When Andi walked towards the stairs, she followed. "That dreamcatcher could be cursed."

"What do you mean it could be cursed?" Andi asked before moving up the steps.

"There are ordinary objects that have been cursed by the devil out in the world, among unsuspecting people and your dreamcatcher could be one of them," Melanie informed.

Andi laughed before saying, "You're watching too many horror movies, Melanie."

"I might watch a lot of horror movies, but cursed objects are out there and there's a way to determine if an object is in fact cursed," Melanie informed.

"How?" Andi asked.

"Cursed objects can't be destroyed," Melanie replied as they were reaching the top of the steps.

"So you want me to tear up my dreamcatcher?" Andi questioned as she continued towards the steps that led to the second floor.

"Yes, or try to anyway," Melanie replied. "If it's cursed, I'll take it where it belongs and if it's not cursed, I'll buy you another one… a better one."

"And where does it belong if it's cursed?" Andi asked.

"In hell, but I'll settle with it being locked away with the others," Melanie replied.

"You know where cursed items are kept?" Andi asked.

Melanie considered her answer before saying, "I know the person who tracks down cursed objects, acquires them and places them where they can't do any harm."

"And who's that?" Andi asked.

"I prefer not to say," Melanie said.

"Why not?" Andi asked.

"I only know who the person is because I'm a psychic, and I would be violating this person's secret—a secret that needs to remain a secret—if I tell you who this person is," Melanie replied.

"Okay, okay," Andi replied. "I suppose that's a good thing that you don't spread the knowledge of people's secret. Not that I have any secrets for you to spread around."

"Other than your secret crush on Tyler Dobbs," Melanie playfully said.

"I had a feeling that you knew about that," Andi replied.

"I knew," Melanie said.

"Do you know how he feels about me?" Andi asked.

"Andi, Tyler is in love with Rhonda and Rhonda is in love with him," Melanie shared. "Either of them don't even consider who else that they could date. So as far as I can see, he will only see you… and any other woman solely as a friend."

"I assumed that was the case, but a girl can still dream," Andi replied.

"True," Melanie replied with a grin.

Melanie and Andi were quiet during the remaining time that it took for them to enter Andi's room.

Andi pointed to the dreamcatcher over the head of her bed after entering and said, "There it is. Should I see if I can destroy it?" When Melanie didn't answer, Andi turned towards her and saw that she was in a trance. She then waited the few seconds that it took for Melanie to naturally come out of her vision. "You know in grade school, some of the kids thought that you were epileptic."

"I actually knew that," Melanie replied with a slight grin. "I kept expecting you to ask me about it, but you never did."

"I almost did once, but before I had the chance to ask you, you showed me that you were actually having psychic visions," Andi shared.

"How did I show you?" Melanie asked.

"I thought I had seen you have a seizure in our classroom one day, so I began watching you, in case you would get another seizure and would need help," Andi began. "You became sad after I saw what I did though, and then Mr. Holler came in a short time later and told everyone about Anthony's tragic death. You knew that Anthony had died just before the class was told."

"I did," Melanie admitted. "I had a vision of Mr. Holler coming in and telling us."

"That was when I figured out that you were a psychic," Andi informed. "Anyway, what did you see when you first stepped in?"

"What I saw looked to be more of a dream than a vision," Melanie replied.

"Okay, but what did you see?" Andi asked.

"I saw your spirit leave your body as you slept," Melanie began. "You panicked for being asleep. You dashed out of the room, but then you dashed back in a short time later. You, as a spirit, put on invisible shoes—or at least that was what it looked like to me—and then you dashed out again. That was when I came out of my vision."

"The night Justin had died, I had fallen asleep when I wasn't meaning to," Andi replied. "My eyes were hurting me and—after taking off my shoes—I lay down on Aunt Lucy's bed to rest my eyes and had fallen asleep. When I woke up, Aunt Lucy and Justin were gone from the house. I thought Aunt Lucy had taken Justin to get some ice-cream. Just before I fell asleep, she did say that she would take us to 'Dairy Queen' for some ice-cream. 'Dairy Queen was just a walk away from my aunt's house, so I rushed to get my shoes on again and then I rushed to catch up with them. I got close enough to see them before they could reach 'Dairy Queen.'"

Tears filled Andi's eyes as she continued to say, "They were crossing the street and I yelled out to them. Aunt Lucy didn't hear me yelling, so she had continued to the sidewalk, but Justin heard me. He stopped in the middle of the road and turned to face me…"

When Andi became too emotional to continue, Melanie supplied, "Andi, I heard how the driver of the car was making a quick right turn to beat the oncoming traffic and didn't see your brother in time to even stop."

Andi nodded before saying, "If I had not called out to Justin and Aunt Lucy, Justin would not have been on the crosswalk and he would not have gotten hit by that car."

"The driver is to blame of what happen; not you," Melanie quickly said. "The driver should've made sure that the crosswalk was clear before he made his right turn."

"For the last five nights I've been reliving the day when Justin was hit by the car as soon as I drift off to sleep," Andi began. "So something is blaming me, Mel."

"You're blaming yourself, is who's blaming you," Melanie replied. "There's something in this room; something new that is amplifying your guilt. I can sense it."

"Should I see if I can destroy the dreamcatcher?" Andi asked.

"What I'm sensing isn't coming from the dreamcatcher. So I believe the dreamcatcher is a normal dreamcatcher," Melanie replied before gesturing towards the dresser. "Do you have something new inside your dresser that you had also gotten last Sunday? Around your dresser is where I'm sensing that something is off."

"No, I don't have anything new," Andi replied.

"Okay…" Melanie was only able to get out.

"Oh, wait," Andi replied as if something had dawned on her. "When I purchased the dreamcatcher, the peddler wanted eight dollars for it, but I didn't have anything less than a ten dollar bill. So I gave him a ten dollar bill, but he didn't have any single dollars to give me, so he gave me my change in coins. I took the coins without looking at them and once I got home, I saw that one of the coins he gave me was a token and not a coin, and that token is in my dresser."

"Andi, show me the token," Melanie requested.

"Sure," Andi replied before moving towards the dresser. Melanie watched as Andi went into the dresser and pulled out a coin, and then held it up for Melanie to see. "Here it is."

Melanie slightly hesitated for a moment before forcing herself to hold out her hand and—in an uneasy voice—requesting, "Drop it in my hand."

"You're acting as if you want me to drop a disgusting bug in your hand," Andi pointed out without giving Melanie the coin.

"I can feel that coin from here, and I know already that it's going to cause me to have a vision," Melanie replied as she continued to hold out her hand. "And I'm always a bit wary when I know I'm about to get a vision."

"Fair enough," Andi replied before slowly dropping the coin into Melanie's hand.

Once the coin had touched Melanie's palm, Melanie fell into a trance, and while in the trance, her subconscious was pulled into a market area within an ancient city that time had long erased from history.

As Melanie was in her vision, she saw the movement of a collection of a hundred coins—which included the coin that she was holding—as the collection passed from person to person and then from a person to a demigod.

Once the demigod got his hands on the collection, he imbued each coin with a trait that influenced a person's morals, emotions, personalities and behaviors, and the coin that Melanie was currently holding amplified compunction.

As the vision continued, Melanie saw that the imbued coins circulated among mortals for decades before they were slowly removed from circulation by either one of the Olympians or by one of the Olympians' champions. The coins were then buried within one of the hollows of the Underworld and they had remained buried for more than two millenniums before being dug up recently by an invisible figure.

Melanie's vision lasted for five minutes and Andi was gently calling her name when Melanie came out of her trance. She then looked around as if to get her bearings.

"Mel," Andi began as Melanie was looking around. "You had me worried. I thought you had slipped into some kind of a standing coma. You had been in a trance for at least five minutes." When Melanie tightly squeezed her eyes closed, Andi questioned, "Mel… Melanie, what's wrong?"

"I saw this coin's entire history, Andi," Melanie replied in a small voice as she opened her eyes and looked at her.

"You saw its entire history in only five minutes?" Andi questioned dubiously.

Melanie pursed her lips before sharing, "Today isn't the first time that I have had a vision with the subject of my vision spanning days within seconds, but today is the first time that the subject of my vision spanned years. No; not years, centuries. Andi, I watched ancient cities rise and fall and disappear as if they had never existed, and I watched this without the capability of thought or feeling. I mean I was there, but I was only there as a witness. I couldn't move, I couldn't speak, I couldn't even think."

"You're okay now though, right?" Andi questioned.

Melanie slightly hesitated before nodding and saying, "I believe so. The coin showed me everything that it could show me, so I'd be surprise if I get another vision from this coin."

"Okay," Andi replied with a nod. "Is it the coin that is causing me to dream of the day when Justin died?"

"It is," Melanie replied. "It's what is amplifying your guilt. In fact, throughout its history it had caused fifteen people to commit suicide and it had driven several more people down a dark path."

"Then you need to take that coin to that person you know who handles cursed objects," Andi said quickly.

"I agree," Melanie replied. "And once I take the coin where it belongs, I might need to come back and spend the night with you."

"Why?" Andi asked in a curious tone.

"Because the effects of the coin might take a while for it to go away, so you shouldn't be left alone until the effects are completely gone," Melanie explained.

"Okay, well, I won't exactly be alone," Andi replied. "My parents will be with me."

"Houston's parents were home when he committed suicide, so your parents being home doesn't mean much," Melanie replied.

"Yes, well, I'm not suicidal, Mel. My only desire right now is to finish that bust of Justin." When Melanie pursed her lips and stared at Andi in an uncertain manner, Andi continued to say, "But if it will ease your mind, I will ask my mom if you can stay the night."

"It will ease my mind," Melanie replied.

"Alright," Andi replied in an appeasing tone. "Go take the coin where it won't do any harm and I'll go talk to my parents."

"Okay, I'll be back," Melanie said as she was putting the coin into her right front pocket.

"Shouldn't you talk with your parents too?" Andi asked before Melanie could walk away.

Melanie looked at her watch before saying, "I'll talk to them, but I'm certain that I'll be able to spend the night."

"Alright," Andi replied.

"I'll be back," Melanie said again while turning and walking away.

"I'll see you when you get back," Andi said just before Melanie could leave the room.