Mixed Messages
Chapter 11
Pyramid Scheme
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A dozen wrapped presents zoomed through the Prentice's house. Amanda, Diana, Kelly, Catherine, Jason, Alexander, and Rosalind scampered through the living room and bounced up the stairs, following on the heels of the presents.
Misty ducked for cover when the swarm of presents buzzed back down the stairs past her head, and looped back around through the kitchen. Her eyes nearly popped out when the birthday candles lit themselves with a muffled woosh. She stopped bouncing Rosalee's little Kyle, sat mouth agape, and asked, "Is this normal? You know, life with a Grimm?"
Rosalee snorted tea out her nose, coughed, and said, "Normal!"
Adalind laughed out loud, then said, "Normal? This isn't even 'normal' for Hexenbiests."
Rosalee chuckled and said, "You'll get used to it."
Adalind called out, "Diana! We aren't ready for the candles yet, and please put the presents back on the table."
"Ok, Mom," filtered down the stairs.
The jumble of presents fluttered back down the stairs and settled in the center of the "Happy Birthday" table cloth, spread neatly on the side table. Sandra pursed her lips at the fourteen candles an instant before they extinguished themselves. She stared at Amanda's birthday cake, ready to blow, exhaled and said, "I'm not sure I'll ever get used to that."
Rosalee laughed out loud and said, "You should see Diana fold laundry."
Adalind chimed in, "Or when she helps clean house."
Misty and Sandra stared at each other, wide eyed, and then giggled.
Adalind laid a gentle hand on Sandra's hand, and said, "Amanda's been such a trooper. I'm so sorry Nick couldn't come. He's been on an undercover assignment all week."
Misty and Sandra looked at Rosalee and tilted their heads. Rosalee nodded, smiled, and asked, "Adalind, does Nick know yet?"
Adalind set a pitcher of lemonade on the table, sighed, and said, "I've told him a over dozen times now, but I don't think he pays attention. You know how husbands can be."
Misty quietly chuckled while Rosalee nodded.
Rosalee took Chuck from Sandra and said, "You said Mandy met another Grimm friend?"
Sandra said, "Lauren is out of the country with work. She sells glue, and they do a lot of business overseas."
Rosalee and Adalind quickly glanced at each other with a smirk, then continued helping with birthday preparations.
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A few short months later...
Amanda's middle school cheerleading squad broke formation and jumped up to practice a stunt for next weekend's competition. One of the bases, Miriam, tripped and fell in the wet grass.
She grimaced, wiped brown grass off her face, and grasped her ankle. Amanda ran over beside her at the edge of the pavement, put a hand on her back, and said, "Miriam, rest her for a minute, and we'll get you some ice."
Miriam gritted her teeth, stared off at the lion mural painted on the back of the middle school, rubbed hands on her ankle, and said "No, help me up."
Amanda took her hand and pulled her to her feet. Tears rolled out of Miriam's red eyes, and her skin became yellow and scaly. Short fangs popped out of greenish jaws, and a set of gills appeared. She stared straight into Amanda's eyes, mere inches from her face, and turned to stone. She blurted out, "No! No! No! A Grimm!"
Amanda tried to steady her friend, and said, "It's ok, Miriam, calm down."
Miriam snarled and said, "No! Don't kill me," shoved Amanda off, turned, and fled to the blue and white locker room, hobbling and crying.
Stunned, Amanda said, "No, Miriam, it's just me! Mandy!" She watched her friend run away, crying, and mumbling about a Grimm.
She turned back to the squad, shoulders hunched, to find three other girls standing, hands on hips, staring at her in their blue and white cheer uniforms. They looked, then slowly backed away. Blonde haired Jessica said, "Did she say a Grimm?"
Amanda turned away as Jessica wogued. She said, "Jessica, I think Miriam hurt her ankle. Can you go check on her." She slipped her emergency pair of sunglasses on and turned back around, just in time to see three girls wogued, staring at her. Amanda said, "A Grimm? Are you crazy? Guys, you know I'm a Lowen!"
They stared at her, waiting. She whispered, "Seriously? Right here? In public?" They stood, staring, and nodded. She scowled, then gumbled, "Ok, fine." She twisted her head and transformed, revealing slick black body fur, powerful jaws tipped with sharp fangs, a dark, curly mane, flattened feline facial features, and sunglasses.
They chuckled, the two tawny teenage Lowen and one calico Klaustreich transformed back into Jennifer, Allison, and Haleigh. She transformed back to Amanda, and said, "Come on, let's get Miriam some ice for her ankle."
They ran back to the locker room, but Miriam was already long gone.
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The next day at school, Amanda walked out with her lunch tray and set it next to Miriam. "How is your ankle?"
Miriam pushed away, face white. She mouthed, "no, no, please don't kill me," quickly stood up, and hobbled away.
Amanda watched Miriam hurrying away, and said, "No, Miriam, it's ok. It's just me."
The lunch room fell silent. She felt every eye suddenly stop and stare at her. She hunched her shoulders, set her tray down on the empty white and blue table, slumped onto the bench, stared into her meat loaf, and forced herself to gulp down some lunch.
Jennifer, Haleigh, and Allison strutted over as she pushed away from the half-eaten lunch. Blonde haired Jennifer wrinkled her nose, "Cat got her tongue I see. Why are you trying to be friends with one of those anyway?"
Amanda looked down and said, "Come on, Jennifer, you know Miriam and I have been best friends since 3rd grade."
Strawberry blonde haired Haleigh laughed, wrinkled her nose, and said, "A Skalengek? Seriously? Ugh. Can't you smell her?"
Brown haired Allison flipped her hair at the three of them, and said, "I bet she's half Skalengek. That's why they're such good friends."
Then they turned and walked away, laughing.
Amanda tried to greet and check on Miriam for the next few days. Miriam backed away, scared, every time. She finally gave up and let her have some space.
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A month later, Allison, Haleigh and Jennifer strutted up to her at lunch. They stared down at her, seated at the blue and white lunch table. Jennifer flipped her blonde hair, and said, "They say you killed her."
Amanda looked around, shocked, and whispered, "What? Killed who?"
"Miriam. She went missing three weeks ago. She told her friends that you were a Grimm and you saw her wogue."
"That's crazy. You know she's been my best friend since third grade."
"Well, we've taken two first places without her. We need to keep our pride strong for the competition this weekend. I know you're ready. She was pulling us down. Anyway, what would a Lowen want with a Skalengek? Ugh. Now if she was a Steinadler, mmmmm hmm."
Amanda bristled, but kept her mouth shut.
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Misty was dragging a hamper full of laundry down the hall when she spied Amanda, balled up in bed, knees pulled tightly into her chest, crying.
She set the hamper down, knocked on the door, and said, "Sweetie, are you ok?"
Amanda buried her head in her lion stuffed animal and sniffed, "They say I killed her."
Misty sat down next to her, rubbed a gentle hand on Amanda's shoulder, and asked, "Do you want to talk about it."
Amanda told her mother about the episode at school, her best friend going missing, the rumors, and now even two of her teachers were standoffish and keeping their distance.
Misty rubbed a warm hand on her back and reassured her about the incident.
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Thursday night, at MMA practice, she saw Lauren and told her about the incident. Lauren and Amanda removed blue sparring pads, rinsed off mouthpieces, and changed back out of their white gi robes. Amanda said, "One of my friends went missing about a month ago."
"Are you sure she's missing?"
"Yeah, her parents are looking for her. She hurt her ankle at cheer practice, wogued, and saw my eyes. She freaked out and left. Then maybe a week later she went missing.
"Can you get me a picture. We can start asking around and see if anybody knows anything."
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"Yes, a Grimm." Red tipped fingers cradled the antique Ebony and Brazilian Rosewood phone receiver against ruby red lips. She lifted a picture out of a manilla folder, glanced at it, then picked up the next one.
Steel blue eyes gazed out a window, from her black leather seat behind a Brazilian Rosewood Louis XIV desk, into a crystal clear, blue sky. "Of course we have our own security, but, as you have often chided me, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. We can't afford another episode like last time, we prefer to maintain a low profile, and that means stay out of the headlines."
She stood up, paced past the desk, and said, "Of course this is coming from The King. I'll have him on the phone with you in five minutes if you like. I agree, We would all prefer to avoid that. Thailand. This needs to be in place in a month. Two weeks would be preferable to ensure everything is quiet on his arrival. And we would appreciate you providing the same Grimm as last time, if she's not in the middle of some critical assignment. Of course, we will cover all the expenses, this is for The King. Excellent! Thank you."
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1.6k words 12/9/20 r2