Amidst the chaos, Anastasia and Nell missed their ride back to the house, so the girls made the three mile trek on foot. Awkward couldn't adequately describe the silence between the sisters, but about fifteen minutes before they reached their back door, Nell cleared her throat.

"Why?" she creaked, her soft voice belying the anger, frustration, confusion, and even betrayal that she must have felt. "Why did you have to embarrass me like that?"

Anastasia sniffled, unable to look her older sister in the eye. "I… I don't know what happened, Nell." Big, heavy teardrops streamed down her cheeks, which flushed scarlet with shame. "I promise the last thing I wanted to do was embarrass you." The last few words were little more than muffled squeaks.

Nell stopped on the side of the street, and put a hand on Anastasia's shoulder. "Look at me, Anastasia," she commanded. Her voice remained soft, but Anastasia was too ashamed and too afraid to look her sister in the eye. The smaller girl reluctantly turned around to meet her sister's gaze. "There is no way a girl your age can create so much mayhem at the drop of a hat. Why are they blaming you of all people? I've never known you to be loud, rambunctious, or rebellious… this isn't making any sense."

Perhaps you don't know me as well you as you think you do, Anastasia thought sullenly to herself. She sighed and lowered her head. "I was sitting in the corner, reading my novel until that brat Moira showed up and began pestering me. I kept telling her to leave me alone, but the idiot wouldn't take a hint. I don't know what came over me… but I began lashing out in anger, and that's when all sorts of weird things started to happen… weird things I can't explain." Hot tears ran down her cheeks, which Nell wiped off with a spare napkin she had in her pocket.

Nell then stood, arms akimbo. "Weird things, huh? What kind of weird things?" Her tone wasn't angry or mocking, but one that had an unusual mixture of concern and curiosity.

Anastasia took a deep breath, and again forced herself to meet Nell's gaze. "Can you… can you keep a secret, Nell?" Her eyes were wide and pleading, waiting for Nell's reaction with bated breath. To her relief, a grin crept up on Nell's face.

"I'm your sister, Anastasia," she replied. "Just because my friends and I tease you from time to time, doesn't mean I don't care about you."

"I want you to promise not to tell a soul," pleaded Anastasia. "I've never told this to anyone before, and I never thought that the first person would be my sister."

Nell's lips curled into a slight frown. "I won't tell anyone," she promised. "Not even Mom and Dad, unless it's absolutely necessary."

Anastasia nodded. "Okay," she murmured. "I… I think I have special powers." Again, her head sagged downward. Her voice became only a faint whisper. "And I'm not sure if I have much control over them."

Nell's face remained impassive. She had never thought of the possibility of her sister having magical powers. She didn't believe in magic, not even as a small child, so the thought of her sister able to manipulate objects telepathically was nothing short of preposterous to her. She gave her sister a quick glance, before continuing on to their house.

"You don't believe me, do you?" Anastasia squeaked, somewhat indignantly.

Nell shook her head. "I don't know what to think about that," she replied. "I'm not saying I don't believe you, but truth be told, that was about the last thing I expected you to say when you asked me if I could keep a secret." She then groaned. "If it means that much to you, I'll keep it to myself… but when Mom and Dad find out about what happened in the morning, you're going to have to think of a much better excuse than that. You'll probably be grounded until Christmas."

"I know," wailed Anastasia. "The manager said that there were witnesses too… they heard the shouting match between Moira and myself."

Nell grinned. "If it's any consolation, I'm sure Moira won't be allowed back at Fuller's anytime soon either."

When the girls got home, Anastasia wasted no time getting changed for bed. She figured that she might as well try and get a good night's sleep as she didn't really want to be jarred awake by her parents and having to explain herself before breakfast.

The expected phone call came a little later than anticipated the next day, perhaps around ten thirty in the morning. Mrs. Harrison picked up the telephone, and her face turned white as the same manager from last night relayed eyewitness accounts of wanton destruction. The common denominators were the argument between Anastasia and Moira, and several strange phenomena that nobody could really explain.

In the end, the manager explained that after speaking with the Fullers, the arcade would have to be temporarily closed for cleanup and repairs, with the estimated damages totaling in excess of $2800 - due in full within sixty days. Although the manager expressed his personal reservations, he deferred to the Fuller's decision of allowing Anastasia back on the premises on probation after ninety days, and as multiple witnesses deemed Moira the instigator of the argument, she had a ninety-day ban of her own.

Mrs. Harrison wasted no time calling the pharmacy that she and her husband managed. "Hello, thank you for calling FastPharm, this is Valerie," greeted one of her techs in an artificially-syrupy voice.

"Valerie, this is Sharon," Mrs. Harrison replied in a somewhat rushed, panicked tone. "I need to speak with Phill right away. It's urgent."

"Oh, I'm afraid he's been on the line with an insurance company regarding a patient's eligibility," replied Valerie in an unconcerned lilt. "It's been thirty minutes already, and it could easily be thirty more."

Mrs. Harrison clapped her palm to her forehead, before groaning. "Just… have him call me back as soon as he gets off. Please, this is important."

"I'll let him know," chirped Valerie. "See you Monday, Shar…" Before she could finish her closing line, Mrs. Harrison had already ended the call.

It was nearly an hour later before she heard the phone ring again. She felt her shoulders slump in relief as she heard her husband's voice from the other end, and she nearly broke down crying as she relayed everything the arcade manager told her about her daughter's escapades from the previous evening.

"We'll discuss this tonight at dinner," promised Mr. Harrison. "But as you can see, it's not exactly a picnic at the pharmacy today either. I had someone come up to the counter and cuss one of my techs out because he was used to paying twenty dollars for his thyroid medications and he nearly blew a gasket because he had to pay sixty this time! The ensuing discussion with his insurance company was not at all pleasant, either…"

Mrs. Harrison sighed. "All right, Phill. We'll go over this at dinner. But I've never seen this behavior from Anastasia before, and saying this worries me is putting it lightly." She shook her head in exasperation. "In the meantime, I'll be having an unpleasant phone call of my own – I'll try and talk to Mrs. Newton and get to the bottom of this. It's no secret that Moira and Anastasia haven't seen eye-to-eye since first grade, but Kathleen is a reasonable woman who has never said anything but kind things about our little Anastasia."

"Kids mock and shun what they don't understand," mused Mr. Harrison. "They don't have the emotional maturity to deal with kids that don't the mold. Anastasia's never been outgoing; she prefers to sit in her little corner and read. And truth be told, she's just a lot smarter than most of her classmates, and I think that fact scares her peers a little bit." He paused for a moment, thinking of something tactful to say about Mrs. Newton. "Just… be careful when you talk to Mrs. Newton," he admonished in a slow, deliberate drawl. "Moira may have started the incident, but in her mother's eyes, she can do no wrong. I have no interest in making enemies, and the Newtons could easily threaten us with a lawsuit if they think we're dragging their name through the mud."

"All I wanted to do was apologize for the incident, and see if Moira has ever brought up Anastasia in conversation – any recent happenings that Anastasia hasn't told us," replied Mrs. Harrison. "My goal is to obtain more understanding, that's all."

"Fair enough, dear," murmured Mr. Harrison. "I'll see you this evening."

The ensuing phone call between Mrs. Harrison and Mrs. Newton was pleasant, if a bit awkward. Mrs. Newton admitted that Moira told her of a couple of other incidents – the one at the dance studio a few days prior, and a mishap whilst playing dodgeball in gym class a few weeks before that. Before ending the call, Mrs. Newton admitted Anastasia's brilliance, but couldn't discount the number of strange phenomena that tended to happen whenever Anastasia got frightened or frustrated. She admitted that while Moira didn't hate or even dislike Anastasia, she did fear the gifted child. Finally, in a hushed tone, she asked Mrs. Harrison, point-blank: "Is it possible… that your daughter might be, erm… possessed?"

Mrs. Harrison initially scoffed at the notion of her daughter being possessed by an evil spirit, but otherwise remained silent. Mrs. Newton then suggested contacting Father Donoghue to get his thoughts on the matter, and if necessary, perform an exorcism. Mrs. Harrison thought that an exorcism was a little extreme, but maybe just talking to the priest might put her mind at ease, she thought. She then thanked Mrs. Newton for her time in as polite a manner as she could muster before hanging up the phone.

Several hours later, Mr. Harrison returned home, exhausted from a long day at work. Unfortunately for him, the day's drama was far from over as the matter of daughter awaited him at the dinner table. Mrs. Harrison called her daughters downstairs for dinner, and a few minutes later, Mr. Harrison brought up the subject of the incident at Fuller's Family Fun.

Although they were stuck with a nearly three thousand dollar bill, Mrs. Harrison assured her daughters that neither she nor their father was angry with them, but they were genuinely concerned about the incident as it was clearly out of Anastasia's character to instigate anything, much less cause absolute chaos. Mrs. Harrison also mentioned that she spoke with Mrs. Newton to get more insight on the matter, and that maybe they should speak with Father Donoghue for some spiritual guidance. She was careful not to actually broach the subject of exorcism, as the very thought shook her to her core; she couldn't even begin to imagine how Anastasia would feel about undergoing such a traumatic ritual.

By the following Monday, news of the incident had spread at Anastasia's school. Most of her classmates gave her even more clearance than usual out of sheer terror – they didn't dare antagonize her as they were afraid she would retaliate supernaturally. She had an entire table to herself at lunch, and nobody came within twenty feet of her on the playground at recess.

That same day, her mother had called up the parish's office to request an appointment to see the priest. The secretary offered an appointment at six thirty a week from Friday, which Mrs. Harrison gratefully accepted.

Mrs. Harrison met with Father Donoghue at St. John's Catholic Church the following Friday evening, and the two discussed the situation concerning Anastasia. Mrs. Harrison was reluctant to bring up anything concerning exorcism, but to her relief, the aging priest did not seem to have anything of the sort in mind. He offered to pray on her family's behalf, and encouraged her to do the same, and if Anastasia's troubles persist, that she could meet with him after Mass in two weeks for a confessional.

Mrs. Harrison thanked Father Donoghue for his time, and returned home feeling like only a slight amount of her burden had been lifted. She was greeted by the rest of her family as she came in through the garage, and the wan smile on her face barely concealed the disappointment she felt after speaking with the priest. She never felt so helpless before… she would do anything for Anastasia, but what if she was truly possessed? She couldn't shake the foreboding feeling from her head, no matter how hard she tried.

But she had never actually seen any of the supernatural feats that other people claimed to have witness, which was why she was reluctant to push an exorcism to begin with. Neither had her husband, nor had Nell, so what basis did they have for an otherworldly presence possessing her younger daughter besides hearsay?

Nevertheless, she vowed to pay closer attention to Anastasia just to see if there was even a kernel of truth to these claims. Was her daughter truly capable of the supernatural, or was this conspiracy the brainchild of a select few who wanted nothing but to play a cruel joke at her expense? Mrs. Harrison was determined to find out.