CHAPTER 7
Frasier Woods. That's where she ended up.
No one would think to look for her here. She sat on
the soil, leaning against a
tee. Even the air around her seemed angry. There were
flashes of lightning,
and thunder crashed around her. The wind was whipping leaves
around in an
angry
primal dance.
*Hope it doesn't rain. At least I'm wearing woodsy
kinda clothes* Maria thought
to herself, looking down at her sweater and jeans.
Hoo! Hoo!
Maria looked up at the tree she was sitting under. It
was the
owl. The same one, or at least it looked the same, that had been in her
attic a week earlier. She was she was sure. It had the same golden
colored feathers with brown spots dotted along the edge of its wings.
And there was no mistaking the eyes.
This time Maria wasn't scared. The bird almost seemed familiar to her.
She took a few steps closer. The owl jumped off its perch, landing on her
shoulder. She jumped a little, and then stood rigidly still.
*Ok, there is an owl on my shoulder what am I supposed to
do? Crap, I should've paid more
attention in Girl Scouts*
Maria turned her head slightly in order to get a better view of the owl.
There was
something tied to its feet. Hesitantly, Maria pulled the leather string
loose
from the owl's ankle, then slowly unfolded it. At first, the thick,
yellowish paper was
just large enough to cover the palm of her hand, and Maria squinted at the tiny
writing,
but then it began expanding until the writing was large enough to read easily.
*Ok weird, just a little weird*
The note was written in calligraphy in an elegant hand. She began reading
it out
loud to herself:
"Salutations Ms. DeLuca,
We are happy to inform you that you have been accepted to
Hogwarts
School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We have included
the lists of books
and supplies that you will need this year. School
begins September 1.
We await your owl no later than July 31.
Sincerely, Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress.
Minerva? Hogwarts? Wizards and witches?
Haha, very funny. Who ever sent this has a sense of humor!"
She
yelled, crumpling up the letter and throwing it at the dirt.
*Oh my god! Hogwarts! That was the name that
was printed on the envelope. Is
this what my mom was keeping from me? Very funny, I bet the whole
gang was
in on this. Tess probably made the illusion of those eyes…*
"Now get off." ordered Maria looking at the bird. "Fly
back to your owner
and tell him that he trained you very well to be able to find me here. Or
maybe everyone is hanging around waiting for me to get all excited that I found
another clue to this great mystery." she said, her voice oozing with
sarcasm.
The golden owl continued to sit on her shoulder.
"Shoo get off."
Hoo, Hoo.
Maria started shaking her shoulders, and finally it took off
into the trees and faded
out of sight. Glancing down at the crumpled paper, Maria
bent down and picked
it up.
"Now back to my wonderful friends"
"Where can she be? She couldn't have gone far" said Liz on the
verge of
tears.
Maria had been gone for hours. They had gone to all
the usual spots; the
park, the fountain at the town square, they'd even tried the
school, though they
knew that was one of
the places Maria hated the most.
"We looked everywhere. We didn't see anyone at
all" said Kyle leaning on
the counter.
Everyone's attention turned to the door as the bells jingled.
"Maria where were you?!" cried Micheal jumping up
from the booth in the
Crashdown Cafe.
"Hmm... I think you all know."
"What?" asked Liz. Maria rolled her eyes.
"Oh pu-lease, like you guys don't know. Haha,
funny joke. Though, I
think April first is still a few months away"
*What is she talking about?* thought
Max meeting Liz's troubled eyes.
Seeing that everyone was silent Maria began speaking again,
"The owl, the
letters. How did you all keep this a secret. I mean you even had my
mother
and Liz's parents in on this?"
"Maria what the hell are you talking about" asked
Tess, her forehead
creased with lines of worry.
Maria reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out
the wrinkled
paper. She handed it to Tess. The blond began reading it. Her
lips curled
into an amused smile.
"I admit this is funny but we didn't send this to
you" she said giving it
to Alex.
Maria looked around the room at her friends expecting them
to suddenly
burst out laughing and yell "Gotcha!" But none of them did.
"It has to be my mom. It has to be" said
Maria turning around.
"Maria! Wait! I'll come with you" said
Liz following her out. They
were going to get to the bottom of this.
