Chapter Two
One Month Later
"Just a few more weeks" I think as Mona and I are separating into our classes for school. How I hate this place! I walk into the room and unpack my things, getting ready for the day. First and second period aren't that bad, but third is Mrs. Shatter for math. I pause and take a deep breath before walking into her room. I take my seat and prepare for the class and it's pains. The strange thing is, they never come, until about the last five minutes of class, where she whacks my hands ten times with her hard, heavy wooden ruler. I am sick and tired of it! Class ends and the rest of school really is uneventful.
And then things change. Mona and I are walking back from school, using the woods. We reach the creek and cross over the trunk that we replaced a few months ago and enter into the clearing that marks the center of the woods, where our favorite tree is. And something strange happens. I here a swoosh and a really strong wind blows right into our faces. It stops. I look at Mona, who looks at me, both of us are obviously confused. Where did that come from? It wasn't windy at all today. Weird. We walk over the tree and climb up, book bags hanging on our backs. I go to about three-fourths of the way up, where I sat a few days ago. We did the same thing on our birthday, which has to have been the worst one ever. That day, a cold front came in, and it has been freezing ever since. I know it's only May, and summer is around the corner, but it's been a month. That day, the garden stopped growing, so now we're saving even more and eating even less food. I am hungry after every meal, but there is nothing, no more " here, have Sally-Joy's leftovers..." no nothing. We might as well be fasting or eating nothing. That day, the letters stopped coming, and we haven't heard anything since. I sigh and take out my math book and flip to page 124, Proportional relationships. I lean back and begin to scan through the lesson.
"You know, the answer to it is to cross-multiply." a familiar voice says from above me. I look up. No way. I scream.
" Fred! You're back but when, how-"
" We get out before you do, got home yesterday."
" He's not alone..." Another says
"George, I knew you were up there somewhere!" Mona says pulling back a branch
" I,- we're so glad your back." I say
" We must be dreaming." Mona says shaking her head
"Really? 'Cause you look and feel pretty real." George says softly kicking her. She giggles. I drop my backpack and book and climb up next to them. Mona follows. This is amazing! I can't believe that its been nearly a year since we've seen them. They look different. They're taller, and have that magical look in their eyes. Of course, we look different too. We've gotten taller and our hair is longer and we're paler. I know we are, I can just tell.
" So, changing the subject, why did you stop writing?" Mona asks
" What? We thought you stopped writing!" George exclaims
" No, we haven't gotten anything since April 5th ." I say
" Then, that means..." Fred stops
" What? Means what?"
" Someone, I think you can guess who, has intercepted your, and our mail."
" Your mom or Percy?" Mona asks. They nod. Oh no. This is not good.
" Sorry you guys." George says
"Why? It isn't your fault." Mona says
"Yeah but, we should have known something fishy was going on."
A strong breeze flows through again. Why does that keep happening? The twins shiver. I look over at them. Oh man, they're in t-shirts and jeans. They don't have a jacket. And we think it's cold out here!
" We're so glad you're back, but you should probably go home and warm up. It's freezing out here!" I say finally
" Yeah right." Fred says
" Bye." George says, hopping down from the tree
" Bye." we say
" Bye." Fred says and they head in the direction of the Burrow. They finally disappear through a bunch of shrubbery. They just got back, but it feels weird. They just came from a school of magic, us a plain middle school, the cheapest one. But, none of that matters. We're still the best friends we were nine months ago. At least, I think we are. I hope we are. Oh well, sitting here and looking at that bush won't get my homework done.
" Come on Mona, let's go home."
"Alright."
We head towards the house and the wind picks up again. Our papers fly everywhere. GREAT. The wind keeps coming, blowing. I look at Mona and gasp. Her long dirty blonde hair has turned almost white. She looks at me and does the same thing. I reach back and grab a handful of my hair. Oh, gosh. My hair is a white-blonde too! What will mother think?
" We have to get home, NOW!"
" OKAY!" We sprint towards the house, grabbing up papers we find, fighting against the hard, bitter-cold wind. Then it starts to rain. Even better. We keep on running. We then reach the patch, and go towards the house. I stop outside the door and look at Mona. Let's see,besides the white-blonde hair, the torn clothing, the leaves and twigs in her wet hair, and a few cuts, we look normal. Oh, great. Now's the hard part. MOM. I run to our window, which we left unlocked this morning. I climb up the tangle of vines and grab the edge of the window sill. I pull up and squat on it. I push the window up and it opens silently. I look down and wave Mona up. I climb into our room and Mona follows. It's dark, there are no lights on. I turn on the lights. We change our clothes and comb through our hair. I look into the mirror. My hair is still a very bright blonde. I sigh and go out the door downstairs, following Mona. We get to the bottom and go into the kitchen. Everyone stares at us. Time for trouble. And then, the shouting and scolds begin.