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Leah has already been doing some slipping into the past in the previous chapter. This chapter starts in the 21st century.
Chapter Two
Leah rushed to pull on her school uniform of monogrammed polo and khaki pants. The good thing about uniforms was there was no time lost deciding what to wear. It also eliminated another potential target for the mean girls. Grabbing a brush, she attempted to coerce her hair into some sort of order. Biting her bottom lip, she tried to clear her mind from her troubling dreams.
Opening her door, she peered down the hallway, checking the possibility of scooting into the bathroom. The closed door wasn’t what she wanted to see. Great. A family of five sharing one bathroom made for early-morning headaches. Only a few months ago, before her older sister, Nora, headed off to college, it had been worse. Ethan’s vocalizing reached her ears. Her bladder was ready to burst, while her baby brother used the bathroom as his own personal sound booth.
Stepping into the hall, she hammered on the bathroom door. “C’mon, other people need to use the bathroom.” Her brother grumbled on the other side of the door but did not open it.
Her mother opened her bedroom door while still buttoning her own white uniform. “Kids, enough, too much noise.”
“Mom.” Leah turned to complain about her brother, who suddenly opened the door.
Ethan flashed a large grin and indicated the bathroom with a swooping flourish, “My lady, your bathroom awaits.”
Her mother fixed a glare on Leah as if she had caused the problem. Pushing past her brother, she slammed the door. Staring into the mirror, she leaned on the sink. Dark circles drew attention to her eyes, making her resemble a silent-movie actress. Today would be a makeup day. Just as well. Wearing makeup often felt like she wore a mask, pretending to be someone she wasn’t. Smoothing on cover-up, she considered the distance makeup put between her and the next person. Most of her life she’d rejected primping, but not so much now.
Curling her eyelashes, she wondered who influenced her behavior more, Dylan or the mean girl trio of Brianna, Alexis, and Lauren. She wanted to look nice for Dylan, but then again she didn’t want to attract the attention, either. The three-headed dog of Hades, Cerberus, was the name she’d given to the girls, never aloud, though. Cerberus paid close attention to the other students’ appearance, especially the girls, looking for something to heckle. The uniforms protected those who couldn’t buy the expensive clothes Cerberus favored out of school. Even a pimple or a wayward booger caught on the tip of someone’s nose made the person a minor celebrity in a very bad way.
She swooped up her lashes with black mascara, exacting a fine line between the right amount of makeup and too much. Once previously, her eyeliner had been a little heavy. Alexis had sidled up to her and asked her if she was going Goth. Lauren and Brianna had told a couple of Goth boys she was crushing on them. While smoothing clear lip-gloss over her lips, she wondered how the girls managed to keep their grades up when they spent so much time taunting others. She wouldn’t have been surprised if they blackmailed other students into doing their homework.
At her mother’s brisk knock, she opened the door. “Hurry, Leah, if you want a ride to school with your father.”
“Yes, Mom,” she answered. Riding the bus would be the ultimate slap to her self-esteem. The recognizable yellow school buses bore the nickname Loser Cruisers. Students who could afford to drive did. There was no extra money in their household for more than the aging sedan her father drove. Her mother rode to work with another nurse’s aide, while her grandmother walked the few blocks to Madame Zelda’s Magick Shoppe. Only Ethan had no issue with riding the school bus.
Her grandmother handed her an apple and lunch as Leah tagged after her father. As she bit into her apple, she heard Nana call after her. “When you come home, Leah, we’ll talk.”
She almost said about what? Since her mouth was full, she chewed instead.
Nana held out her index finger. “You know what I mean. No worries, it can wait until you return.”
Her father opened the garage door for her and asked, “Do you know what she is talking about, Trinka?”
Her father’s use of his pet name both warmed and embarrassed her. It reminded her of a simpler time when she used to beg her father for trinkets when he’d returned from road trips. She had often searched through his pockets filled with plastic jewelry, cat-eyed sunglasses, tiny dolls, and candy. It was never good when he used the pet name in public where people could hear him. Leah usually didn’t want to explain, believing it made her sound greedy. To keep from answering, she bit into her apple again and shrugged her shoulder as if she were clueless.
No good would come of telling her father of her dreams and visions. As a practical man who grudgingly tolerated Nana’s emphatic Pagan ways and accepted his wife’s less showy ways, he persevered to be unremarkable and pragmatic. Her television watching or books would merit blame for her dreams. There might have been some truth in such rationale. Still, it was hard to separate the real feel of her terror last night from some boring documentary with shaky camera action her grandmother always urged her to watch.
Book Update: About one month from coming out in paperback.
Chapter Two
Leah rushed to pull on her school uniform of monogrammed polo and khaki pants. The good thing about uniforms was there was no time lost deciding what to wear. It also eliminated another potential target for the mean girls. Grabbing a brush, she attempted to coerce her hair into some sort of order. Biting her bottom lip, she tried to clear her mind from her troubling dreams.
Opening her door, she peered down the hallway, checking the possibility of scooting into the bathroom. The closed door wasn’t what she wanted to see. Great. A family of five sharing one bathroom made for early-morning headaches. Only a few months ago, before her older sister, Nora, headed off to college, it had been worse. Ethan’s vocalizing reached her ears. Her bladder was ready to burst, while her baby brother used the bathroom as his own personal sound booth.
Stepping into the hall, she hammered on the bathroom door. “C’mon, other people need to use the bathroom.” Her brother grumbled on the other side of the door but did not open it.
Her mother opened her bedroom door while still buttoning her own white uniform. “Kids, enough, too much noise.”
“Mom.” Leah turned to complain about her brother, who suddenly opened the door.
Ethan flashed a large grin and indicated the bathroom with a swooping flourish, “My lady, your bathroom awaits.”
Her mother fixed a glare on Leah as if she had caused the problem. Pushing past her brother, she slammed the door. Staring into the mirror, she leaned on the sink. Dark circles drew attention to her eyes, making her resemble a silent-movie actress. Today would be a makeup day. Just as well. Wearing makeup often felt like she wore a mask, pretending to be someone she wasn’t. Smoothing on cover-up, she considered the distance makeup put between her and the next person. Most of her life she’d rejected primping, but not so much now.
Curling her eyelashes, she wondered who influenced her behavior more, Dylan or the mean girl trio of Brianna, Alexis, and Lauren. She wanted to look nice for Dylan, but then again she didn’t want to attract the attention, either. The three-headed dog of Hades, Cerberus, was the name she’d given to the girls, never aloud, though. Cerberus paid close attention to the other students’ appearance, especially the girls, looking for something to heckle. The uniforms protected those who couldn’t buy the expensive clothes Cerberus favored out of school. Even a pimple or a wayward booger caught on the tip of someone’s nose made the person a minor celebrity in a very bad way.
She swooped up her lashes with black mascara, exacting a fine line between the right amount of makeup and too much. Once previously, her eyeliner had been a little heavy. Alexis had sidled up to her and asked her if she was going Goth. Lauren and Brianna had told a couple of Goth boys she was crushing on them. While smoothing clear lip-gloss over her lips, she wondered how the girls managed to keep their grades up when they spent so much time taunting others. She wouldn’t have been surprised if they blackmailed other students into doing their homework.
At her mother’s brisk knock, she opened the door. “Hurry, Leah, if you want a ride to school with your father.”
“Yes, Mom,” she answered. Riding the bus would be the ultimate slap to her self-esteem. The recognizable yellow school buses bore the nickname Loser Cruisers. Students who could afford to drive did. There was no extra money in their household for more than the aging sedan her father drove. Her mother rode to work with another nurse’s aide, while her grandmother walked the few blocks to Madame Zelda’s Magick Shoppe. Only Ethan had no issue with riding the school bus.
Her grandmother handed her an apple and lunch as Leah tagged after her father. As she bit into her apple, she heard Nana call after her. “When you come home, Leah, we’ll talk.”
She almost said about what? Since her mouth was full, she chewed instead.
Nana held out her index finger. “You know what I mean. No worries, it can wait until you return.”
Her father opened the garage door for her and asked, “Do you know what she is talking about, Trinka?”
Her father’s use of his pet name both warmed and embarrassed her. It reminded her of a simpler time when she used to beg her father for trinkets when he’d returned from road trips. She had often searched through his pockets filled with plastic jewelry, cat-eyed sunglasses, tiny dolls, and candy. It was never good when he used the pet name in public where people could hear him. Leah usually didn’t want to explain, believing it made her sound greedy. To keep from answering, she bit into her apple again and shrugged her shoulder as if she were clueless.
No good would come of telling her father of her dreams and visions. As a practical man who grudgingly tolerated Nana’s emphatic Pagan ways and accepted his wife’s less showy ways, he persevered to be unremarkable and pragmatic. Her television watching or books would merit blame for her dreams. There might have been some truth in such rationale. Still, it was hard to separate the real feel of her terror last night from some boring documentary with shaky camera action her grandmother always urged her to watch.
Book Update: About one month from coming out in paperback.