Chapter 41

Homecoming

"TOUCHDOWN, LLOYD! Narwhals win 21-16! South Hillwood Narwhals are going to state! SOUTH HILLWOOD NARWHALS ARE GOING TO STATE!" the announcer enthusiastically declared. The stands erupted in ecstatic cheering. While Hillwood wasn't Texas, where high school football was practically state religion, there was still plenty of enthusiasm for local academic sports, and lots of folks who could think of no better way to spend their Sunday evening than to watch teenagers collide with each other.

Having been the one to secure victory tonight, team members, students, and faculty alike poured on to the field to congratulate the socialite-turned-athlete. While Rhonda's position as the first girl ever to join the team had at first been seen as a curiosity, a novelty even, her skills had been more than proven at this point. She was now a fully-integrated part of the team, and none could deny that she had earned it.

Almost no one.

Head cheerleader Brandy Bristow gazed balefully at the tableau before her. At this moment, she and the other cheerleaders were chanting a verse extolling Lloyd's skills. For appearance's sake, she cheered and waved her pom-poms with the rest, a fake smile plastered upon her face. Inwardly, however, she seethed. The girl represented everything she despised… she hung out with losers and weirdos, heck, she even dated some nature-loving gamer geek, and yet her popularity never seemed to suffer. Here she was, having to work for her popularity, and that old-money queer somehow managed to surpass her effortlessly. It was so unfair.

She'd thought she'd stymied her by having Daddy buy her the head cheerleader position, just so she could black-ball Lloyd from the squad. And somehow, the bitch had managed to turn that around and achieve even greater popularity by joining the freakin' football team! How was that possible? You would think a skinny tramp like her would get destroyed, but suddenly she's one of the star players! Why was life so unfair?

Now the celebration was winding down, and the crowd was starting to disperse. Her boyfriend, Ludwig, was making his way back to her. "Hey babe!" he shouted. "We did it! We're going to state!"

"Yeah, that's great," Brandy dismissed. "I just have one question. Why is Lloyd getting all the attention?"

Ludwig shrugged. "Well, she scored the touchdown that put us over…"

Idiot, she thought. Your job is to agree with me. Not to explain to me. "I can see that. I mean, why is she still on the team? I thought you were supposed to make sure the team rejected her. I thought you were going to make life a living hell for her. I thought she was going to be so miserable that she'd run off with her tail between her legs. But now she's practically the queen of the school. You had one job, Ludwig! One job!"

"Hey, it's not my fault, babe! How could I know that she was actually gonna be good?"

"That shouldn't matter, 'babe,'" growled Brandy. "You lead these troglodytes. They follow you. YOU should be telling them what they think!"

"I did what I could, okay? But when it comes down to it, we're winning, and she's a big part of that. That's what the team really cares about. It's kinda hard to convince everyone to hate the girl who's taking us to state, especially when someone like Wolfgang was already in her corner from the start." Ludwig shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I think she might be here to stay."

"Great. Just great. I honestly can't even with you." Brandy grumbled.

"Aw come on!" pleaded Ludwig.

"No. I forgave you for making out with Maria, but this is unacceptable. I swear, if it wasn't for the prestige, I'd dump your ass, and apparently even that isn't a big deal anymore. I'd be better off dating her." She shuddered at the thought.

"Hey, hey," Ludwig reminded her reassuringly. "At least there's one thing she can never take away from you."

"Oh? And just what is that?"

"You're pretty much guaranteed to be homecoming queen."

"…that is true," acknowledged Brandy. "Nobody's dared run against me. Dutch Girl isn't even eligible. She's a junior."

"See? Don't let her get you down. She may be popular, but she'll never be queen. Well, not 'til next year anyway. And who cares about then? You'll be gone by then, anyway."

"Yeah." Brandy agreed. "Yeah, who cares? She can't steal my spotlight. Come Homecoming, all eyes will be on me and me alone."

"And me," Ludwig piped up. "I'll be Homecoming King."

"Oh, right. And you too." But mostly me.

Hillwood Hotel Ballroom, Homecoming Night

-RHONDA-

Homecoming traces its origins back to the late 19th Century as an event for former alumni and donors to meet the football team, in service of the ultimate goal of wringing donations from them. Usually, it was held earlier in the fall, but circumstances (a gas leak in the auditorium) had delayed this year's event to mid-November. The official game and parade had taken place the previous day; today was the day of the official dance.

Breaks from tradition were a bit of a theme this year. Case in point, me, the first wide receiver to attend the dance in a floor-length crimson designer Caprini gown. Of course I had to attend, one, it was somewhere to be seen, and two, this was all about the team, and that included me. Which meant a lot of handshaking and polite conversation with old rich people. Luckily, if you're like me and come from an old money family, you probably have a lot of experience doing that.

"You didn't have to come to this, you know," I whispered to Nadine, who stood at my side in her tux. "I would've understood if you opted out. I mean, it's got to be dreadfully boring to you." Because if it's dreadfully boring to me, and I'm used to this stuff, she must be going out of her mind.

"I couldn't leave you to suffer alone, sparks," she replied with a smile.

"The least they could've done is get some decent music. Not this godawful elevator crap."

"I know, right?" Nadine replied. "It couldn't have been that hard to get an actual band… oh, crap, here comes another one." The two of us pasted smiles on our faces as Principal Colby approached with yet another in a seemingly endless line of aging patrons.

"And here, Mr. Francis, is our wide receiver, Rhonda Lloyd," Colby introduced. Predictably, Mr. Francis (I recognized the name as belonging to the owner of a local chain of laundromats) raised an eyebrow, as his Boomer brain processed the fact that the team's wide receiver was *gasp* a girl? I desperately fought the overwhelming urge to roll my eyes.

"Pleased to meet you, Mr Francis," I said, mustering all my charm.

"Ah," he said, still processing. "And this gentleman must be yo-" And here came the realization that my date for the evening was also a girl. My eyes wanted to roll so hard I felt like they would screw themselves out of my skull cartoon-style. "…excuse me, this lady must be your, er…"

"Nadine Robinson," she said. "It's a pleasure to meet one of Hillwood's most prominent businessmen." While fancy parties were not Nadine's milieu, years of being with me, and being my best friend before that, had given her ample practice in faking it.

"Ah, yes, the pleasure is all mine," Francis replied.

"Excellent, now if you come with me this way, I see one of our linebackers, Franz Klein…"

I exhaled. "I don't know how many more of these I can take…"

"Think anyone would notice if we ditched?"

"The only female player? Yeah, I think someone might notice." I looked around the ballroom for a lifeline. Helga wasn't coming; she said she and Brainy had other plans and anyway, this wasn't her scene. Phoebe was still exhausted from her little extradimensional foray, so she'd begged off on attending tonight, even though Gerald would be there. I saw some friends from the team, but they were all occupied with meet-and-greets of their own.

Finally I saw someone I knew coming my way. Wolfgang was approaching; Lila was on his arm, having tonight traded her punk attire for a green gown (probably one she'd made herself), with her spiked, dyed pixie 'do concealed beneath a red wig similar to the one she'd been wearing in her Decibelle guise.

With them was a man who resembled an older version of Wolfgang, wearing an army dress uniform, one eye behind a patch. So… this was the famed Major Caudell. Given how strict Wolfgang had suggested he was, Lila's garb tonight made a lot of sense; no doubt, a punk-rock girlfriend would not fly with the officer, no matter how nice a person she was. I sympathized; having to hide your true self to keep up appearances was the worst.

Meanwhile…

Nepholius Cromp could feel it; the call of profit beckoning. He secretly curated a small subreddit where people discussed the mysterious shop – his shop – where one could acquire one-of-a-kind items that could fulfil their fondest desires. And lately, one user in particular had let slip that he was having a bit of difficulty connecting with his girlfriend and perhaps someone knew where he could acquire a love potion of some sort? Ah, yes, love… something everyone wanted, on some level. Something some were willing to pay a high price for. Nepholius responded with an anonymous post suggesting he'd seen the mysterious shop in a particular vicinity at certain repeating times, and that the customer might want to check then if he was interested. The time had arrived, and he'd moved his shop to the proper location, displacing a check-cashing business. The establishment would reappear when business was concluded, and anyone within would have no memories of ever being anywhere else. The spell truly was elegant in its simplicity; he was quite proud of it.

Sure enough, the door swung open that night. A tall, reedy human teen with a pale blond flattop hairdo and spectacles entered the shop, head swiveling slowly to take in the wares.

"Find something interesting?" Up until this moment, he had been under a glamour in which he could not be perceived unless you were looking for him specifically; appearing mysteriously right behind the customer at just the right time was all part of the mystique, after all.

The teen jumped in surprise. "Where'd you come from?" he asked, startled.

"Oh, you know… here and there…" Vagueness was also part of the mystique. "Is there anything particular you're looking for, young man?"

"Well," he said, self-consciously rubbing his arm. "I've been seeing this girl. She's really great and all, but the problem is she recently got out of a very long relationship with this guy who she's had a crush on since she was three years old. And it feels like that's kind of hanging over everything we have. When this whole thing started, I knew that eventually this guy was going to come back, and that she'd almost definitely go back to him. I kept telling myself that that was fine, that I couldn't stand in the way of her true feelings, and that I could at least cherish this precious time we do have together, but… honestly… that's just not good enough any more. I'm not content with being some kind of… romantic afterthought. I want to be first in her heart."

"Mmm-hmm, mmm-hmm…" Nepholius had very little interest in the human's life story, but being, or at least seeming, attentive was a big part of customer service.

"So, I was wondering if you had something that would make her fall in love with me." Ah, there it was. The selfish desire. Witchling or human, everyone had them, and that made them ripe for profit. There was a magical gewgaw to fulfil every desire, and if some of them had unpredictable side effects, well, who cares? He'd already made his money.

"Oh, yes… well, if you're looking for a love potion, I have a few to choose from." He presented a bottle of cloudy pink liquid. "A few drops of this slipped into her food and she'll only have eyes for you." Well, until she's driven homicidally insane with desire and eventually kills you so she can consume your flesh and wear your skin making the two of you one forever, but caveat emptor!

"Hmm… I'm not much of a potion guy," he said. "Too much work trying to get it into her food behind her back… Do you have anything in a charm or amulet? Something I can pass off as jewelry?"

Hmm, tough customer, this one. "Why yes, I do have something of that nature." He led the boy to a display, proffering a heart-shaped pendant. "This will bind her heart to yours forever." Quite literally, actually; her heart will be torn out of her chest and leap down your throat to fuse itself to yours. Magic can be so literal sometimes.

"I don't know… she already has a heart-shaped locket. What else do you have?"

Nepholius stifled a groan. Customers weren't usually this picky. "Very well… how about this one?" He proffered a yellow teardrop shaped gem. What was the sinister ironic twist for this one? To be honest, he couldn't remember. He probably had it written down somewhere. It was so hard to keep track of these things.

"Hmmm…" the boy said, rubbing his chin. "Does it come in blue?"

What is it with this boy? "You certainly seem to have very specific tastes," he managed to say diplomatically.

"Well, to be perfectly honest, I'm just stalling."

"…what?" Nepholius declared. "W-why?"

"So I could get here," a new voice added.

The shopkeeper whirled to face the newcomer. Oh, right, he thought. These guys.

-HELGA-

Monkeyman had been right. This guy looked exactly like you'd expect a creepy magic shopkeeper to look. "Leave," I advised Brainy. "Things could get pretty nasty." He nodded and hurried out of the store. Smart guy. No half-assed attempt to try to help when he was clearly outclassed. I turned to address the shopkeeper. "Nephy, Nephy, Nephy," I said in the most mock-cordial voice I could muster. "You're a hard man to find."

The shopkeeper began a slow, sarcastic clap. "So… you managed to track me down, did you – what wa your name again? Angry Girl?"

"Close enough."

"Surely there's no problem here?" he asked dismissively. "I'm merely conducting business. There's no law against that, is there?"

"Well, for one thing, I doubt you have a permit for this shop. Especially seeing as it doesn't have a fixed location. And second, your merchandise tends to be cursed. Now, I don't know if there's a specific law against that, but I'm sure the feds can come up with some sort of legal precedent to use against you." I took a step forward, fishing the handcuffs out of my belt. "Now, If you'll just surrender…"

He suddenly traced a glowing circle on the floor with his cane. "Abomination, RISE!" he commanded. From within this luminous ring, a hulking humanoid shape composed of what appeared to be purple slime rose. Three irregularly-placed eyes were set in what passed for its head above a gaping, misshapen maw. The thing ("abomination" certainly seemed like an apt name for it) groaned as if mere existence was a pain; I couldn't blame it, since if I had to be something like that, I'd hate existing too.

"Defend your master!" Cromp commanded the grotesquery. The creature turned its attention to me and lashed out with its mismatched limbs. The thing moved a lot faster than I'd anticipated, and managed to actually tag me. It didn't seem all that strong compared to me, but no doubt the blow would have crippled a regular person. As it was, all it did was leave a light bruise and a gross stain on my costume that I hoped would come out. The thing probably would prove a threat eventually since you probably couldn't just beat up a slime golem, but I had one very useful card to play… slime was gooey, gooey meant moisture and moisture could be frozen. One burst of sub-Arctic temperatures and a few well-placed punches and kicks later, the abomination was a pile of useless frozen rubble, its scattered eyes desperately trying to focus on the one who laid it low.

His first line of defense down, Cromp readied his cane to perform some other magical feat, but I quickly closed the gap and slapped a cuff on him.

"Do you think this puny thing will hold me?" he boasted? "A simple unlocking spell should-" He made a quick circle with his finger, only to be rewarded with nothing. "Wh-what have you done to me?"

"I understand you folks aren't a fan of iron," I remarked. "Well, guess what we've got a ton of here. Now, if you'll just come along with me.." I said, dragging him out of the store.

"No!" he pleaded. "You can't! If I leave the store-"

Whatever he was about to tell me was quickly rendered redundant as the shop began to slowly implode on itself, as if it was being sucked into some kind of cosmic bathtub drain, vanishing entirely and being replaced by Honest Vic's Check Cashing and Payday Loans.

"…let me guess, that happens?"

"Noooo," he whined. "All my stuff was in there!"

"So where'd it wind up?"

"Without me to guide it to where it needs to be, it snaps back in the pocket dimension where it stays when it's not on this plane. You have no idea how much magical energy it takes to warp an entire location to anyplace on Earth and displace whatever's already there. So, thank you very much. You've destroyed my business and stranded me in your putrid world. I hope you're pleased with yourself."

"Very. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to come up with alternate employment ideas. Might I suggest an entry-level position in the license-plate-making business?"

After turning Cromp over and advising that they keep handcuffs on him at all times I located Brainy nearby.

"You know," I said, "I think this has been our best date yet."

"Did I do all right?" he asked.

"You did amazing, brush-head," I said, taking him by the shoulders and hips. "You've definitely earned this." I leaned in, puckering. "Unless you want to take it later when you don't have to deal with my gross reptile to-"

He cut me off with lips and tongue of his own, and it wasn't like Arnold, with the fireworks going off around me, but it was certainly nothing to sneeze at. Not fireworks, but maybe… a parade? A marching band? Some kind of celebratory spectacle at any rate.

"That answer your question?" he replied, smiling, after we separated.

"Seems like it," I said. "You know, you have a knack for this undercover stuff."

"Well, I try," he said. "Did the linkup help you?" Brainy had modified his earbuds to link up with Bridget's private communications frequency.

"Right up until you stepped into the shop," I said, "then it was like you disappeared off the face of the Earth. He must have set up some kind of ward that blocked off human communications signals. Fortunately, I had that amulet Phoebe picked up as a backup. Otherwise…"

"Hey, I volunteered for this," he reminded me. "I knew what I was signing up for."

"So, were you tempted?" I asked.

"Helga, if I was the kind of person who would actually WANT the magical equivalent of roofies, I'd deserve whatever horribly ironic fate I had coming to me. Trust me; I'm happy with what we have now, and I wouldn't trade it for anything else."

"Keep talking like that and I might start to think you like me or something," I teased, swatting him gently with my tail.

"Oh, well, we wouldn't want that, would we?" he joked, leaning in for more lizard tongue action.

Ah, well, what was it that Shakespeare said? "If thou canst find someone who can accept your mutations for what they art, hold on to them"? I think that was him, anyway. Maybe it was Marlowe.

Back at the ballroom

-LILA-

The wig was making my head uncomfortably warm under the ballroom's lighting. I wondered., not for the first time, just why I had agreed to this…

"Look," Wolfgang pleaded, "I wouldn't ask you to do this if it wasn't important."

"But I thought you liked me the way I am," I reminded him. "Why do you want me to look and act like I used to?"

"It's not for me," he explained. "My dad's going to be there too, and well, he's kind of… old-fashioned, okay?"

His dad. The Major. I'd never actually met him, but from what Wolfgang described, the man was a strict, no-nonsense disciplinarian. He was apparently away most of the time, but when he was around, he made his presence known, and I couldn't really be sure, but it seemed like Wolfgang was more scared of him than anything else. I could only speculate what their relationship had been like up to this point, since Wolfgang really didn't like to (or was too embarrassed to) go into details.

"It's just for one night," he added. "After that, you'll probably never see him again." I kind of doubted that, since he was a presence in Wolfgang's life, however intermittent, and if this relationship was going to go anywhere in the long term, I would probably run into him again and again. However, I really didn't want to argue the point.

"All right," I said. "For one night."

So, for tonight, I fished the green gown I'd worn at Rhonda's last formal party out of the closet, pulled on my Decibelle wig, covering up my pixie cut and multiply-pierced ears, and gone with subdued makeup instead of my usual look. And I broke out the old Stepford Lila personality, reverting my voice to its forced-sweet tone and adding "oh-sos" and "ever-toos" to virtually every sentence I said. Oh lord, did I really sound this cloying back then? How could anyone stand me? I wanted to cringe so hard I'd implode.

But, it was for one night. One night where I hung on Wolfgang's arm like some kind of decoration and accompanied him and his father as they made the rounds. As we did so, I decided the phrase "old-fashioned" really didn't fit the Major. "Gross old bigot" was more in line. He was constantly muttering about how everything was going to the dogs and stuff I really don't feel like repeating.

It all started coming to a head when I saw Rhonda and Nadine approaching. Given the Major's rather rigid ideas on gender roles (he'd praised me multiple times for my "demure" qualities, remarks that ate at my resolve to keep to the charade), I could only imagine what he'd have to say about a girl playing a sport for boys while dating another girl who was dressed like a boy. Had they seen us? For a moment, I was sure they hadn't, but then the pair changed direction and were approaching. I knew she and Wolfgang worked at the homeless shelter together; had Wolfgang ever talked about his father with her? Given the few details I'd gotten, my guess was no.

"Rhonda!" Wolfgang spoke up once it was clear that this meeting was inevitable. "Dad, this is Rhonda. She's been working with me at the homeless shelter."

"It's nice to finally meet you, Major Caudell," Rhonda replied cordially.

"Hmmph," the military man grunted. "Wolfgang behaving himself?"

"He's been an exemplary worker, and I'm pleased to say that we've become rather good friends."

"Well, that's good," he remarked. "So, you're here with one of the other players?"

The polite smile remained on Rhonda's face. "Actually, I'm a member of the team."

"The cheerleading team?" Caudell asked uncomprehendingly

"No…" Rhonda replied, smile a bit strained but still firmly in place, "the football team."

"Rhonda's our wide receiver," explained Wolfgang.

Caudell eyed her suspiciously. Oh God, don't let this conversation start going where I think it's going, I begged the creator. "So, you're one of them boys who thinks he's a girl," he said. Well, thanks for nothing, God.

"…no…" Rhonda said, confused, though I suppose if she wasn't she'd be angry. "I'm not sure what that has to do with anything…"

"Look, in my day, men were men and women were women and we didn't have boy-girls and girl-boys…"

"I just don't like wearing dresses," Nadine attempted to explain.

Rhonda, increasingly uncomfortable, began to back away. "You know, I think I saw the coach and his wife over there, we really should go say hi. It was nice meeting you…"

"No it wasn't," I heard Nadine whisper as they hurried away.

"No it wasn't," Rhonda agreed. Well, this guy'd just cheesed off two of my best friends, I could only imagine how much further downhill things could go at this point.

"Girls on the football team," Caudell muttered to himself, shaking his head. "Whole city's going to the dogs."

I bit my lip to stifle my response. The night would be over soon, I told myself. Just have to endure it a little longer…

"She's… actually a pretty good player," Wolfgang attempted to explain.

"That's 'cause this whole generation is getting soft. And cities like this are the worst of it. Back in my day, people looked up to real heroes. MacArthur. Eisenhower. Who do they call heroes here? Monsters."

Oh. That was how much further downhill.

I cast a sideways glance at Wolfgang, searching for his reaction to just who had been insulted at that moment.

"I've seen those things in the news," the major continued, clearly unaware that he had not only just spoken to one of those "monsters" but another had been dating his own son. "The media and the government treat them like people. But they're not. They're just waiting for the right time. When we least suspect it, they're going to come for us. Unless we come for them first."

*crack*

That, my friend, was the sound of the camel's back breaking.

"I'm ever-so-sorry, Major," I spoke up, maintaining my Stepford-Lila tone, "but I'm certain that isn't the case."

"Oh?" he asked. "How am I wrong?"

"Well, it's hardly my place to argue," I replied, smile still pasted firmly on, "but I've lived in this city for some time, and I've never seen anything to suggest that the Sisters have any nefarious intentions. In fact, they've been oh-so-much of a help to the people of this city for years now."

"That's just what they want you to believe," he said. "They've been lulling you all into a false sense of security."

"I'm certain that's not the case," I continued to argue, despite noticing that Wolfgang was looking uncomfortable with my sudden assertiveness. Too bad. I couldn't hold it in any longer. "In fact, I'm oh-too sure that the Sisters are just people, no different from you or me. I'm certain they never asked to look the way they do. They're simply trying to do the best with the hand they were dealt. Why, for all we know, they could easily lead perfectly ordinary civilian lives. In fact, you may have even spoken to one without ever being aware of it." Had that gone too far?

"Are you saying that these monsters could have infiltrated our society without our even noticing it, and we're supposed to think that's a good thing?"

"I'm simply trying to say that I believe your paranoia is unfounded."

"Lila," interrupted Wolfgang, attempting to steer conversation away from the subject, "maybe we should talk about school? She's on the honor roll, you know…"

"Actually," I said, "I think I need to go powder my nose…" I hurried away towards the ladies' room and shut myself in. Once secluded, I pulled off my wig; my head needed an airing out, anyway.

Why had I agreed to this again? Here I was pretending to be this caricature of my former self for his benefit and he didn't even step in to defend me when his dad literally called me a monster! Okay, granted, that would expose my secret identity to a military officer who hated me and my kind, but it still hurt.

There was a knock at the door. "Babe?" Wolfgang asked. "Are you okay in there?"

"Peachy," I replied.

"Oh, okay, well-"

"That was sarcasm, by the way. Contrary to popular belief, I am capable of it." *deep breath* "I happen to be a very reasonable, patient person by nature. It's just how I am. Even with this whole new punk-rock attitude, I'm really just… pleasant. I can't change that and I'm not sure I ever want to, because there's really nothing wrong with it. That's why I went with this whole charade, because I like you and I want to make you happy. But I have to tell you… I already have to hide what I really am every single day. Putting on this fake personality on top of that, well… I hate it, Wolfgang. I hate it."

He was silent for a moment. "I didn't realize that I was doing that to you," he finally said.

"No, you didn't," I emphasized. "It's not entirely your fault; I probably should have made it clear how I felt about that sort of thing. But like I said… deep down I want to please people, so I figured I could tough it out for a night. But I didn't bargain with listening to your father insult my friends while I had to keep that dutiful little smile glued to my face. And then he calls me a monster– oh sure, he didn't know he was insulting me, personally, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen – and you just stood by and didn't say a word. It's only recently that I fully accepted the part of me that's a mutant, and realized how wonderful it really is… and to have to listen to your father tear down all of that, well, I couldn't stay silent anymore. Which is why I'm so disappointed that you did."

There was no response from the other side of the door. Had he walked away or was he just standing out there in shame? I pulled my wig back on and peeked out. He was sitting on the floor on the opposite side of the hall; shame it was, apparently, though the standing part was optional, I guess.

He looked up at the sound of the door opening. "So I guess this is over, huh."

"Oh, no. It's not that easy," I said. "Look… I get that if you stood up for me, it might've exposed me, and that's the last thing I need. I get that on some level, it's unfair of me to hold it over you. But I can't change my feelings, and I'm sick of denying them. I did that for way too long, and I can't be the person who did that anymore."

"Why did you, anyway? If it was so bad for you?"

"I guess… when I lost my mother, my father took it really bad – we both did, really, but he was just a shell of a man for a long time, and I guess I felt like I had to force down every negative feeling I had and be the perfect daughter to pull him out of it, and I guess after a while it became habit. I got a bit better after the whole mutation-slash-possession debacle, but I was still suppressing to some degree."

"What made you finally stop?"

"I think it was a lot of different things over the years… Daddy remarrying, moving on to high school, beating up an alien biker…"

Wolfgang snickered. "I bet that was awesome."

"A bit scary, but… yeah. Very awesome." I'd earned one after tonight.

"Ever-so-awesome?" teased Wolfgang.

"Stop it!" I said, play-slapping him.

"So, um… ready to go back? We could just go if you want… I'll tell the Major you weren't feeling well or something."

I stood up. "No, I kinda heard a rumor something crazy was going to go down tonight and I want to be there to see it."

"Oh, really? I kind heard something like that from Edmund but I figured he was just talking shit."

"Well, shall we find out?"

Brandy Bristow was on top of the world. In mere moments, she would be the center of attention again. Every boy would want her. Every girl would want to be her. If that wasn't heaven, she didn't know what was.

Principal Colby was taking the stage now. "Excuse me," he said. "If I could have everyone's attention, the time has come for the traditional dance of the Homecoming King and Queen. First, I'd like to call up this year's King, Ludwig Van Dyke.

"WOOOO!" Ludwig shouted triumphantly. "Hail to the King, baby! See you soon, hot lips!" he said, as he made his way up to the stage.

"And our Queen…" Colby squinted to make sure he was reading the card correctly. "Rhonda Lloyd…?"

"Thank you, thank you," Brandy gushed, pushing her way past all the confused attendees as she made her way to the stage. "I'm honored, really, that you would pick me, of all people. You must really, really-"

And then the realization struck.

"W-why are you all staring at me like that?" she asked.

Principal Colby looked at her. "Er… Ms. Bristow… You didn't win."

"B-but… how…"

"Apparently, there was a very large write-in vote for Ms. Lloyd…"

"But… but she isn't even a senior!"

The spotlight swerved over to where she was standing, with that geek girlfriend of hers. She looked just as confused as everyone else. "There's got to be a mistake," she said.

"Your name's on the card, Ms. Lloyd," Principal Colby said.

The girl (Brandy had attempted to start rumors to the contrary, but they never took hold; people simply knew Rhonda too long and too well) slowly made her way up to the stage, as the students in the crowd applauded. Brandy stood there, fuming silently.

"Um… thanks… I guess," Rhonda began as she was handed the homecoming crown. "At first I thought this was some kind of prank, but apparently you really did vote for me. And while I am flattered by the attention… *deep breath* I'm afraid I can't accept. One, I'm not a senior. Two, I'd have to dance with the Homecoming King, and there's only one person here I have any interest in dancing with." She smiled in Nadine's direction. "So, as my first and final act as Homecoming Queen, I would like to pass on the crown to the person who wanted it in the first place, Brandy Bristow." She handed it back to the principal. "Thank you all for your support," she added as she left the stage.

"Well… I guess that's that," Colby said, nonplussed. "Ms. Bristow, if you will come up and accept the crown…"

Brandy approached the stage, smiling outwardly, but inside, she was a raging maelstrom of anger. How dare she, she seethed. I was supposed to win. Not… get it handed to me like it was charity.

Nevertheless, she dutifully took the crown, and she danced the dance while anger and shame roiled inside her. And once it was done, she pushed Ludwig aside and stormed off in search of her nemesis.

She found the girl at the punch table, her and her girlfriend chatting with that quarterback with the mullet and his own girlfriend, that redhead farmer girl who thought she could be punk rock.

"Hey, congratulations, Bra-," Mullet began, but Brandy cut him off. "Stow it. I know you were in on this. You and Lloyd are thick as thieves lately."

"In on what?" asked the boy innocently.

"You know. You rigged the homecoming election so Rhonda could humiliate me."

"Where'd you get that?" replied Rhonda. "I had nothing to do with any of this. I was just as shocked as you were."

"Sure you were," Brandy retorted. "Don't think I'm not on to you."

"Believe what you want. None of us did anything. Why are you so mad, anyway? Isn't this what you wanted?"

"I wanted to win. Not get your sloppy seconds. The only person who got what she wanted here is you. You got to make me look like a charity case in front of everyone."

Rhonda then did the one thing that could make Brandy even angrier. She chuckled indulgently. "Oh, I get it," she said. "You thought this was still some kind of rivalry."

"Well… isn't it?" Brandy asked, legitimately confused. She hated the black-haired bitch. Did… Rhonda not hate her back? Was she not aware of how things were supposed to work?

"I admit, I was pretty pissed when you cut me from the cheerleading squad. I'm even ashamed to admit that trying out for the football team was, at first, some really crude way to get back at you, force you to cheer for me, that sort of thing. But then something happened. I realized I liked being part of a team, and I didn't need to get back at you. And after that, well… I don't think I've thought about you at all until tonight. Whatever rivalry you thought there was is all in your mind."

"But… then, why did you win?"

"I'unno, I guess people just don't like you." Rhonda said, shrugging. "Me, I'm pretty much just indifferent."

"No," Brandy said. "I refuse to believe that you just… don't care about this."

"Suit yourself," Rhonda replied nonchalantly. "It all seems kind of meaningless. Rivalry comes from envy, and there's nothing I envy about you, so why bother?" She shrugged again. "I guess I'm growing up. Maybe someday you will too." If she'd been holding a microphone, that would've been the exact point she dropped it.

As the foursome walked off, Brandy stood there, considering her words. Was this really just… envy? Did she want the life Rhonda had? The freedom to just be who she wanted, and still have everyone love her?

No.

No, that couldn't be it. Deep down, Brandy knew this was all just an act on Rhonda's part. She was trying to act like she was above all this. But Brandy knew better. She knew the Lloyd girl had to have some sort of big secret. One that, if it got out, would destroy her.

And she would find out what it was.

A.N.: Wow, this was a long chapter. I was thinking of breaking it up, but I couldn't find the right place to stop, so I just decided to power through and post the whole thing.

I have done only minimal research on what Homecoming is like. I went to a small all-male high school, so we didn't have one. If I got it wrong, well… South Hillwood High does it this way.

Jose: That iron weakness certainly came in handy this chapter. And I figured that the girls' exploits and flashy costumes and powers would naturally garner a certain degree of celebrity, especially from people like Luz with an overactive sense of wonder.

Next: Homecoming… the other kind, this time.

That's right.

He's back.