Janessa was still flapping her hands by the time she returned to her hotel room, a huge grin on her face. She didn't even notice her sister, who was staring at her in confusion.
"Where were you?" Selena demanded, staring at the canvas and paints she was carrying. "I thought you had been kidnapped or something."
She actually looked scared, her green eyes wide and panicked, and Janessa felt sorry for her. "I'm fine," she assured. "Uh, you didn't tell Mom and Aunt Sara I was gone, did you?"
"No, they're still asleep," said Selena, to Janessa's relief. "But I was about to, until you came."
"Sorry," said Janessa. "I was just near the Slime-ing Pool."
"What? You actually swam in that disgusting pool?" Selena wrinkled her nose. "You look awfully clean."
"I didn't say I was in it," said Janessa. "I was sitting near it. I was painting there."
Selena burst out laughing. "You were painting there, of all places? That's so weird."
"You're right," Janessa admitted. "I didn't want to paint here. I was worried of waking you up."
"What's the big deal if we did?" asked Selena. "It's not like Mom and Aunt Sara would forbid you from painting."
Janessa looked away. Her sister didn't understand.
"I guess I needed inspiration," said Janessa. "I was drawing the mermaid."
"What?" Selena gasped. She smirked. "You know Aunt Sara'll be jealous, right? She wanted to paint it first."
"I know," said Janessa. "Mine probably wasn't nearly as good as hers."
"So where is it?" asked Selena. "Where did you put it?"
"I, uh… I gave it away," Janessa admitted.
"What?" Selena exclaimed.
Janessa told her about how Sam had come to talk to her, and watched her paint. Selena giggled.
"That sounds so romantic," she sighed. "Watching you paint by the water?"
"It was," admitted Janessa, blushing. "He said I looked cute when I painted."
Selena squealed. "Oh my gosh! That's so sweet."
"And he said the mermaid was almost as pretty as I was," Janessa continued, giggling a little herself now. She knew why her sister liked being called pretty so much now. People hardly ever called her pretty. They were always calling Selena that, and that was when they weren't calling her a model. She was the stunning, glamorous one, and not just because of her looks, but because of the clothes she chose to wore.
"That was so sweet of him," Selena sighed.
"And then, I offered to let him have my painting," said Janessa. "I could tell he wanted it, since he wanted to see the mermaid his parents were watching."
"Because you like him too, don't you?" Selena teased. Janessa blushed. "Oh my gosh! You totally do."
"So what if I do?" said Janessa, her cheeks heating even more. Selena squealed so loudly Janessa worried she was going to wake them up.
"My sister's got a crush! Wow… I don't think you've ever had a crush before," noted Selena.
"Probably because not many people liked me before," Janessa shrugged. "But Sam definitely did."
"Well, what's not to like? You're very pretty in your own… uh… quiet way," said Selena, cracking a smile. Janessa rolled her eyes. Her sister wasn't very good at lifting her self esteem, but she appreciated the attempt, smiling at her.
"Let's hope you meet him again," said Selena.
"I hope so," agreed Janessa.
Selena groaned, smoothing back her long black hair. "That ride really messed up my hair," she complained. "And my clothes." She pulled her short pink skirt down over her black tights.
"Oh, boo hoo." Janessa rolled her eyes. "Stay at Stagger Inn if you can't stand to get your precious hair and clothes messy."
Selena shoved her. "You're such a jerk!"
Janessa laughed, before freezing. "Oh, there's Sam! I see him about to head into Black Lagoon Water Park."
"Go talk to him," Selena urged, giving her a shove, a little harder than necessary to get back at her for her teasing. "Go for it."
"I will," said Janessa, approaching him eagerly.
Selena smirked, before tying her hair back with a pink scrunchie on her wrist. She wished she had a mirror. She hoped her hair still looked good. She knew Janessa, and even her mother, thought that she was vain, but she just wanted to look good all the time. Her mom often told her she was as fussy about her clothes as Aunt Sara used to be about her paintings.
These rides weren't for her. She wished she could sit in a café and have a milkshake to relax, but even the food was less than stellar. She swore under her breath as her scrunchie got stuck in her hair. That ride had really messed it up. It was almost as messy as Janessa's now. She didn't know how her sister could stand to have curly hair, but at least Janessa didn't seem to mind.
"Ow!" Selena hissed under her breath, bending forward. She jumped as she bumped into someone.
"Sorry," she apologized, stepping back.
The girl watched as she continued to fumble with her hair. Selena felt embarrassed, wishing she would go away.
"Here." She offered her a pink plastic hairbrush.
"Thanks," said Selena, taking it hesitantly and tentatively running it through her hair. It was a very good hairbrush, and managed to work out the knots in no time. She managed to get her scrunchie out, albeit covered in black hairs.
"Thanks a lot," Selena told the girl. She quickly recognized her as the girl at Black Lagoon Water Park with the boy in the mask. She was wearing pink like Selena as well. Her dark hair was long, thick, and glossy.
"Bad hair day?" she asked, smirking.
"No," Selena protested. "It was the ride. It totally messed it up."
"I know how you feel," the girl said sympathetically. "It messed up my clothes."
"They look fine now," Selena pointed out. She was wearing a lacy pale pink dress with a large skirt above her knees.
"Because I stopped at a restroom to fix it," she said. "Your clothes look great, too. And I like your earrings."
"Thanks," said Selena, shaking her head to dangle her skull earrings from side to side. She actually thought they were kind of tacky, and didn't fit with the rest of her costume. But she might as well wear something horror-themed, considering the location she was in. She always wanted to dress to fit the occasion. "I got them in Zombie Plaza. I like your hair."
"Oh, really? Thanks." She gripped the sides of it. "I think it's my best physical feature. My mom is always messing it up, though. She's always running her hand over it."
"You're Rosemary, right?" said Selena, suddenly remembering her name. "I heard you were very brave, helping the boy take off his mask."
"Yeah. Are you Selena?" she asked.
"How do you know?" Selena replied, surprised.
"Alyssa told me," said Rosemary, looking down slightly. "While I was talking to her. Along with the name of your sister, Janessa." Her already rosy cheeks were tinged pink now.
Selena smirked, sensing a crush like she had with her sister. She handed Rosemary her hairbrush back, before groaning. "These rides aren't for me. They make me dizzy, and mess up my clothes."
"Well, I'm quite enjoying them," said Rosemary. "I think some of them are a little boring, though. Could stand to be more exhilarating."
"Boring?" Selena repeated incredulously.
"Hey, Rosie!" Selena watched an African-American girl run up to them, before realizing it was Alyssa. She was soaking wet and covered in gunk. "I finished the Bottomless Canoe Ride. Now it's your turn."
"Can we give this competition a rest?" Rosemary griped. "And don't call me Rosie. Only my mom and brother and Ashley can call me that."
Alyssa grinned. "Don't tell me you're getting scared already."
"Not at all," Rosemary denied. "I'm just getting a bit tired."
"Well, if it's too exhausting for you, you could always take a little nap," Alyssa suggested in a mocking tone. "Of course, then I'd win the challenge."
Rosemary punched her shoulder. "You're worse than my brother!" Alyssa grinned at her, but looked slightly flustered at the physical contact. Rosemary looked flustered as well. Selena smiled. She could never resist a romance, no matter what kind it was.
"My cousin threw up after the Bottomless Canoe Ride," said Alyssa. "What a wimp. He got gunk all over my sneakers." They looked down, and saw her sneakers were a faded color. "I washed them in Loch Ness Lake."
"That's even more gross!" Selena pointed out, wrinkling her nose.
Rosemary grinned. "Ooh, inventive."
"My sister's talking to your cousin," said Selena. "They met in the hotel this morning, and hit it off." She giggled. "I think she really likes him."
"Ooh, really?" said Rosemary with a smirk.
"She wouldn't stop going on about how great he is," said Selena, giggling. "She followed him into Black Lagoon Water Park."
"Well, each to their own, I guess," Alyssa muttered. "Though how anyone could think my cousin's great is beyond me."
"I bet he's better than you," teased Rosemary. "He has to be less annoying." Alyssa punched her.
"I hope you didn't upset the mermaid," Selena told Alyssa. "She lives Loch Ness Lake, you know."
"Oh, yeah," said Alyssa. "I didn't even think about her."
"She must be a great actress," said Rosemary. "And she's really pretty, isn't she?"
They stared at her.
"Huh? Actress?" Selena asked.
"Yeah. Isn't she one of the actors playing monsters?" said Rosemary. "That's what Uncle Steve told me. It must be a difficult job. I admire her a lot."
Selena opened her mouth, eager to tell her the truth, but Alyssa elbowed her hard in the ribs.
"Hey!" she cried, rubbing her side. "What was that for?"
Alyssa already knew they thought the mermaid was an actor, after being told by her aunt and uncle, but Selena had momentarily forgotten that it was supposed to be a secret. She nodded knowingly at Alyssa, but glared at her, annoyed at her for elbowing her.
"Don't be mean to Selena," said Rosemary. Then she smirked. "Jealous?"
"No way," said Alyssa. "I want to hang out with someone less cowardly than you."
"Less cowardly?" Rosemary cried. "Well, fine, if that's what you think. Come on, Selena." She took the other girl by the arm and went off with her, leaving Alyssa smirking.
"She was just teasing," Selena pointed out.
"I know, but I just… I hate being called a coward," said Rosemary. "I'm not. Everyone says I'm brave and fearless."
"I know how you feel," said Selena seriously. "I hate being called ugly. If someone called me that, I'd react in the same way."
Rosemary burst out laughing, causing Selena to bristle.
"It's not funny," she insisted, shoving her. "Wouldn't you hate being called ugly?"
"No one's called me that either," said Rosemary. "They say I'm very pretty."
"Well, you are," said Selena.
"Thanks. So are you," replied Rosemary, causing Selena to beam. She loved making new friends, as she had plenty of them.
"Maybe it's good for me and Alyssa to spend some time away from each other," said Rosemary as they headed through the park together. "I like spending time with her, but she's starting to get on my nerves. I guess we're too much alike."
"You really like her, don't you?" Selena teased.
"When she's not being an annoying brat, yeah," said Rosemary. "She's so tough and cool. And pretty."
Selena smirked, but decided to let it drop. "So where should we go next?"
"I don't know," admitted Rosemary. "I've gone on almost all of the rides with Alyssa." She paused. "Actually, I saw something really cool in Zombie Plaza. I'd like to show you."
"Really? What is it?" Selena asked.
"I won't spoil it for you," said Rosemary. "It's really cool, and scary. It's in Chiller House."
"Oh, really? Well, I guess I could check it out," said Selena. "It was the first place I went to here. Zombie Plaza, I mean. I love shopping. But the mall in the plaza is awful. They only had clothes in black and grey — can you believe that? — and gave me a makeover that made me look like some emo goth."
Rosemary giggled. "Alyssa and I took that makeover as well," she said. "It washed off after we went swimming in Black Lagoon Water Park."
The two girls headed to Zombie Plaza, chatting all the way. Selena wrinkled her nose, thinking that it was an insult to actual plazas. "I never found a shopping mall I didn't like before that one," she said, pointing to Gloomingdale's. "It was so dark and depressing. It shouldn't even be called a mall."
"I thought it was kind of cool," said Rosemary. "I have to agree, though, I didn't like the clothes. I felt like I was at a funeral just from looking at them."
"My sister bought one of the dresses," said Selena. "It looked pretty on her, but it wouldn't on me. My complexion wouldn't fit it. Yours probably wouldn't, either."
"My mom and I stopped there that morning," said Rosemary, pointing to a mask shop with dozens of creepy masks staring at them. "We bought one of the masks, but she wouldn't let me try it on. She's a little scared of masks, but I thought it was cool."
They stopped in front of Chiller House. Selena paused, her heart stopping as she gasped. She had completely forgotten about the ugly, evil-looking ventriloquist dummy on display. Her and Janessa had forgotten to ask their mother about it, as well.
"I know, it is pretty ugly, isn't it?" said Rosemary, putting her arm around her friend. "It even made me jump when she saw it. Alyssa wanted to buy it, but she didn't have enough money. She just wanted to buy it to scare her cousin."
"That... that dummy..." Selena kept staring at it. His cold blue eyes seemed to follow her, twinkling in a human-like manner.
"Come on, it's not that scary," insisted Rosemary. "What's the matter with you? You look like my little brother after that time I hid under his bed at night and pretended to be the monster under it that he kept insisting was real."
Selena shook herself. "It's fine," she lied, trying to keep her voice from shaking. She was being silly. She didn't even know if it was the same dummy. "I just don't like dummies much."
"I guess they are kind of creepy," Rosemary admitted, studying the one on display. "But I like them. My dad..." She trailed off momentarily, obviously not liking to remember her father. "He was into ventriloquism, and let me try his dummies. He said I was really good at making them talk. I used them to scare my little brother. Once, I made him believe one of them could actually talk for itself. He had nightmares for weeks afterwards."
"That's mean," said Selena, though she was trying not to laugh.
"I did feel bad about giving him nightmares," admitted Rosemary. "I didn't think it'd scare him that much. Good thing he isn't here. Once, he crawled into my bed after a nightmare. I made fun of him, but let him sleep with me for the rest of the night."
"Aww," said Selena, wanting to change the subject from the ugly ventriloquist dummy on display. "My twin sister and I used to sleep in the same bed sometimes when we were younger. We used to wear the same clothes as well. I'm glad we don't anymore. I have way better fashion sense than her."
"Maybe I should buy the dummy," Rosemary suggested, only half-listening to Selena's rambling. "It'd really scare my brother."
"Come on, that's just mean," said Selena.
"I bet he doesn't even remember about the dummy I scared him with," argued Rosemary. "It was ages ago. Actually, I know he doesn't. I asked him about it, and he just stared at me with a blank look."
"So you want to re-instill his fear now?" Selena held back a laugh.
"Maybe," Rosemary grinned.
Selena grew serious. "I really don't think you should buy it, Rosemary."
"It's not just to scare my brother," insisted Rosemary. "I also want to try ventriloquism again. I wonder if I'm still good at it. We had a great time playing with the dummies..." She trailed off.
Selena decided not to push it. "I just have a bad feeling about that dummy," she insisted.
To her relief, Rosemary sighed and conceded, "You're probably right. Anyway, I already bought one creepy thing today. I don't think Mom would approve of another, especially something so big."
Selena was about to drag her away from Chiller House, when Rosemary entered. "I don't think Mom would mind me buying something smaller, and less creepy," she said. "I could buy something Uncle Noah would like. He asked me to bring back souvenirs."
Selena reluctantly followed her friend into the dimly lit, crowded shop. Selena had already been inside, but Rosemary gaped around at the strange, scary items on display. So did Selena. It was still amazing to see all of them again.
Jonathan Chiller looked up from putting dolls almost as ugly as the dummy on a shelf. "Ah, it's you again, miss," he told Selena.
"You remember me?" said Selena, surprised.
"I never forget a customer." He smiled, his gold tooth flashing. "Did you like your earrings?"
"Yes. They're pretty cool," said Selena, jangling her head.
"I'd like some as well now," said Rosemary, staring at them.
"Take a look around, miss," said Chiller as Rosemary caught sight of a shelf filled with scary-looking jewelry.
Selena looked at the dolls Chiller had been putting up on the shelf, and made a face. They were nothing like the beautiful porcelain dolls she owned at home. Their faces were unnatural and distorted, almost as ugly as the boy wearing the mask, their dresses ugly and tattered, unlike the satin, flowery dresses Selena liked changing them out of, and their hair twisted and scraggly, unlike the soft, golden locks Selena loved brushing and braiding. She only played with her dolls in private, since Janessa teased her about still playing with dolls at that age. One of the dolls caught Selena's eye as being more beautiful than the others. It was a tall, old-fashioned looking doll, a Patsy doll, if Selena had to guess. She had a few of those in her collection. The doll had red hair, a pink face, and a long blue ball gown with a flowing red cape.
"Ow!" Selena turned and saw Rosemary waving her finger, which was reddened at the end. "That ring bit me!"
Chiller grinned. "Ah, yes. Some of the jewelry does have a bite to it."
Rosemary glared at the tiny, grinning skull attached to the ring. "That's a really mean trick."
"It won't bite you if you don't try to poke it," Chiller pointed out. "Would you like it if someone poked you in the head?"
Rosemary stared at him as if he was crazy. Selena had to admit that did sound silly. It sounded like the ludicrous things Janessa said sometimes.
"Some of these rings are pretty, though," said Rosemary, picking up a shiny black one. "This one looks nice." She peered into the glistening black jewel. "Nice and simple. I don't think Mom would mind me buying this."
"Ah, you have good taste," said Chiller. "The black ring. It's a very powerful, beautiful ring indeed. But it's hard to take off."
"No problem," said Rosemary, turning it over in her hand. "I'm an expert at taking things off. I could just put soap on it, like I did the last time a ring got stuck to my finger. That or my little brother will yank it off."
"I wouldn't like it," Selena pointed out. "I like more colorful rings."
"Like the bracelets you're wearing?" Rosemary pointed out. Selena looked down at the pink, heart-shaped bracelet on her left wrist that had been a present at her birthday party, and then the rainbow-colored bracelets on her other wrist. "They're really pretty."
"Thanks," said Selena.
Before she could reply, Chiller said, "Ah, I see you eyeing the dolls."
"I don't like them much," Selena admitted. "I like my dolls at home better." She blushed, knowing that Rosemary had heard. She was going to make fun of her.
Before she could, Chiller interrupted again. "You're a fan of dolls? That's very admirable indeed. They can be wonderful creations, can't they?"
"I guess," said Selena.
"One of the girls who visited my shop is a fan of dolls as well," Chiller continued. She was a pretty, red-haired girl. She had a doll collection as well, and bought one of the dolls in this shop."
"Did she collect ugly dolls like that?" Selena couldn't help asking.
"I wouldn't be sure," said Chiller. "But she seemed to like the doll in the end." What did that mean? Selena wondered.
"Well, I don't like them much, aside from the red-haired doll," said Selena. "The Patsy doll."
Chiller looked impressed. "You know what kind of doll she is?"
"I have a few of those," said Selena. "She's very pretty."
"Her name's Abigail," said Chiller. "She's pretty, but she can be fierce and demanding." Selena definitely wondered what that meant.
"I don't like the others much, sorry," said Selena.
"Understandable," said Chiller. "But if you're interested in dolls, I have a few in the back room you might like to see. They're very realistic, beautiful dolls."
"Really?" Selena tried not to sound excited. She didn't add to her collection much anymore, but she liked seeing new dolls.
Chiller disappeared into the back room. That was when Rosemary took the opportunity to tease her. "You play with dolls? My friend Ashley does, and she's seven."
Selena blushed. "I don't play with them much anymore," she argued. "They're from when I was little. I just keep them. I was just too lazy to throw them away." That was partly true. They were an old collection from when she was little, but the real reason for not throwing it away was because she still liked them. She didn't add to her collection much, but liked playing with them occasionally. "I have a much larger collection of jewelry. I love collecting necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and so on. I don't have any earrings like these, though." She touched the skull ones.
"I bet you don't have a ring like this, either." Rosemary slipped the ring onto her finger. Selena was taken aback. Looking closely at the ring, she saw it shine just as Rosemary slipped it on, but that wasn't the unusual part. The unusual part was the strange, shifting figure she saw inside. She quickly brushed it off. Maybe it was just her imagination.
Just then, Chiller returned, holding a wooden box. "Take a look, miss," he instructed.
Selena peered inside, and gasped. Inside were layers upon layers of tiny, amazingly realistic dolls. Each had distinct, life-like features and expressions painted onto their delicate wooden faces. Their faces were stuck in expressions that looked like they belonged to a real human, some screaming, some gasping, some peaceful and relaxed.
"They're amazing," Selena breathed, picking one up.
"They are," Rosemary admitted, walking over to her. "Hey, this one looks a lot like my brother." She picked up a doll that seemed to be Asian, with a terrified, fearful expression on its face. "That expression really makes it look like him. He always has that look on his face, being the wimp that he is."
"They were created by a very talented dollmaker," explained Chiller. "She has a real talent."
"Hey, what about that doll?" Rosemary turned her attention to a huge plastic doll under the shelf of dolls. Selena did as well. She almost took up the whole shelf. She was even more beautiful than the red-haired doll, with frizzy brown hair at the sides of her rosy face, violet eyes, and a white dress brushing against the floor.
"She's so pretty," said Selena. "She looks like the dolls in my collection."
"Her name is Mary-Ellen," said Chiller. "She and that ventriloquist dummy up front are good friends." A slightly malicious smirk crept onto his face at those words.
Selena's heart jumped at the mention of the ventriloquist dummy. "Friends?"
Chiller didn't answer. "Do you like the dolls the dollmaker made?"
"Yeah. They're great," said Rosemary. "Not enough for me to take home and start changing and brushing their hair, though." She smirked at Selena, who blushed.
"You can't change them or brush their hair," Selena pointed out, picking up one and squeezing it in her hand. "They're completely wooden."
She glanced back at the huge brunette doll, Mary-Ellen. A huge smile was stretched across her face, the red spots on her cheeks seeming to glow as she stared at Selena. Something about it gave Selena the creeps. But she brushed it off. She was being silly.
"I think I'll buy that doll," Selena announced. She was so pretty and nice-looking, not like that ugly dummy up front. Even though she didn't add to her collection much, she had to have that doll.
A smile spread across Chiller's weathered face. "Ah, good choice. A very good choice."
Rosemary was about to tease her again, but stopped. "Hey - I can't get my ring off," she said, tugging at her finger.
"I told you it was difficult to take off," said Chiller.
"No. Really," insisted Rosemary, waving her hand frantically. She looked a bit like Janessa when she flapped her hands. "It feels like it's stuck."
"Try using soap or something when you get home," Selena suggested.
"Good idea," agreed Rosemary. "Sorry, sir, but I can't get it off."
"It's no problem, miss," assured Chiller. "You can pay me while wearing it."
Rosemary's gaze went to the old-fashioned, red-haired doll right above Mary-Ellen. "I think I'll buy that doll as well."
"What? And you say I'm too old for dolls," Selena pointed out, thinking her friend was being very hypocritical.
"It's not for me," Rosemary insisted. "It's for my friend Ashley. I wouldn't buy it for her if I didn't know how much she loved dolls. She can sit in front and play with them for hours. And she even talks to them sometimes. I think more than she talks to people."
"I'm not like that," Selena argued. "I just like dolls sometimes."
The girls handed Chiller their money. Suddenly, Selena felt unsure. "Uh, how am I supposed to carry that huge doll all through the park?" she asked Rosemary.
"You're right," said Rosemary, staring at it. "It's almost as tall as my brother. Then again, I find it easy to carry him. He's so skinny."
Selena walked over to the doll and dragged her out from the shelf. Her head lolled in front of her, her frizzy brown locks bouncing up and down.
"I'll help you," Rosemary offered, walking over and taking the doll by her legs.
"Thanks," said Selena gratefully.
Selena hugged the doll to her chest, while Rosemary picked up Abigail. They exited the shop, Mary-Ellen's legs brushing against the ground and her frizzy hair catching in Selena's face.
"My sister would like her," remarked Selena, ignoring the odd looks she was getting. "She rarely sees dolls with hair like hers."
"Aren't you a little old to play with dolls?" teased Rosemary.
"Aren't you a little old to play with rings?" Selena retorted, even though she knew it was a false equivalence, and hypocritical of her since she liked them as well.
Rosemary smirked. "Touche."
Then she turned serious, fiddling with the ring on her finger. "Seriously, I can't get it off," she insisted. "I want to take it off now. It feels too tight."
"Don't worry about it," assured Selena distractedly. "I can help you get it off, once I put this doll down. I'm great at taking rings off. I have a collection of them, and some felt like they were never going to come off when I put them on. But I managed."
"And you said I was too old to play with rings," Rosemary pointed out, clutching Abigail in her other hand.
"I have lots of jewelry collections," said Selena. "Rings, earrings, bracelets, necklaces... I keep them all very neat and organized. I love wearing them and collecting them."
"Ashley is the same way with dolls," said Rosemary. "She hardly ever talks, but she talks around her dolls. She even scolds them sometimes. It's so cute seeing her giggling while playing with them. She gives all of them names. One is named Rosie, after me." She smiled. "Isn't that cute?"
"Very cute," Selena agreed. Rosemary seemed to have a soft spot for the little girl. "I love little kids, especially little girls. Too bad I don't have a younger sister. Well, I do, but she's my twin."
Rosemary looked surprised. "She's your twin? But you look so different."
"I get that a lot," agreed Selena. "I can't believe we're twins, either. Or even sisters. And we act as different as we look."
"I've always wanted a twin," said Rosemary. "Or a sister. Ashley is kind of like a sister to me. She's so cute, and way nicer than my brother."
"Maybe I can meet her," said Selena, excited to make another friend.
"Maybe," agreed Rosemary. "You know what else she loves? Fairies. Some of her dolls have wings and are fairy dolls. She loves making them fly. And she loves those books, Rainbow Magic. She collects them almost as much. She's read almost every one. Her favorite is the one with a fairy named Ashley."
"I used to like those books!" Selena exclaimed.
"There's a fairy named Rosie. That was her second favorite book," said Rosemary. "And one named Abigail, like this doll."
"Is there a fairy named Selena?" she asked.
"Yes, actually," said Rosemary. "A sleepover fairy."
The girls kept chatting as they headed back to Stagger Inn. Rosemary helped Selena carry Mary-Ellen inside.
"Well, it was nice meeting you, Selena," said Rosemary. "Maybe you can help me get this ring off after you add Mary-Ellen to your collection."
"You remembered her name," Selena teased.
"Only because Ashley has made me remember every doll's name," argued Rosemary.
"And you're playing with Abigail's hair," Selena pointed out.
Rosemary blushed, letting go of the doll's long red hair. "Well, I better show this doll to Ashley," she said, hurrying off to her room.
Selena made her way to her own room. She was surprised to see Sam there, along with Janessa. Janessa was sitting on the floor drawing something in her notepad, while Sam was reading a book out loud.
Selena smirked, happy to see her sister getting along with a boy. She didn't seem annoyed or distracted by his reading, either.
"Maria, please," Sam read out loud. "I can't lose you."
Not wanting to disturb them, Selena gently set Mary-Ellen to the ground and quietly walked over to see what Janessa was drawing. It was a sketch of the ocean, with little fish and bubbles. Her pencil slid over the pages.
Sam noticed Selena and stopped reading abruptly. He had just started reading about the woman in the book dying.
Janessa seemed to notice he had stopped, and glanced up in surprise. Then she noticed her sister.
"Oh, Selena! You're here." She blushed, dropping her pencil and shutting her notepad.
"No, it's okay," Selena assured. "Keep drawing. But what is he doing here? You don't usually invite friends over."
She put emphasis on "friends" in a way that made Janessa blush.
"Well, uh... I guess I wanted to this time," said Janessa. "Mom and Aunt Sara are out. He wanted to watch me draw."
"And you didn't mind letting him?" Selena asked incredulously. She knew how self-conscious her sister was about her paintings.
"Well, actually, I was using the book he was reading as inspiration," explained Selena. "I was drawing a scene from there... or, rather, a scene inspired by the book."
"Oh, I see," said Selena. "So the book is about the ocean?"
"Yeah, kind of," said Sam. "Then she said I could keep reading while she was drawing. She likes having a little background noise." Selena was surprised by that. Usually, Janessa didn't like noise in the background.
"Your voice is so nice and soothing," complimented Janessa. "I could listen to it all day." Then she blushed, realizing what she had said.
"Oh, thanks," said Sam.
Selena was surprised. "Well, that's great, Janessa. I didn't know you liked having people around you while you painted, or noise."
"I usually don't," said Janessa. "But it's nice to hear someone reading in the background."
"It's probably a good thing I stopped reading then," said Sam. "I always get emotional at that part. They were such a happy family before she died."
"I know!" Janessa agreed. "Why did she have to?"
"You were listening?" asked Sam in surprise.
"Yeah, kind of," said Janessa. "I guess I can do both. Draw and listen."
"Wow. That's really impressive," said Sam. "I definitely can't. I drown out everything else while reading, especially my annoying parents. Just kidding."
"He really loved her, didn't he?" said Janessa, talking about the book.
"I know," agreed Sam. "They were such a beautiful couple. God and mortal. Their story is so beautiful and tragic."
Selena rolled her eyes as they launched into a discussion about the book. She took the opportunity to pick up Mary-Ellen and sneak her to her room. She hadn't brought her doll collection with her, obviously. She had brought her jewelry collection, which she was far more interested in. But she kept Mary-Ellen on her bed, before thinking Janessa would make fun of her for thinking she was sleeping with a doll. She placed her on the floor, where she stared at her with her glassy violet eyes. Her gaze seemed human-like, like the dummy's had been. Her smile seemed to widen as her eyes twinkled. Selena quickly brushed her thoughts off. She was being silly. Her mother always said she had a wild imagination.
Female friendship as well as femslash. No reason for the Rainbow Magic reference except that I read a bunch of them last night in a fit of nostalgia. There are so many fairies. If you're female, there's probably a fairy with your name. Seriously, look up "Rainbow Magic [your name] fairy". I know there isn't for my name, though, because it's super rare. What book is Sam reading? I have the same opinion about that part that they do. They really were a beautiful couple.