Greta returned home with the poster board. She leaned it against the wall inside her room. She went to the living room next.
"Dad, I'm home. Here's the change."
"Thanks."
The news was still on. It was covering a court case about a CEO that was under investigation for bribing city officials for favors. Greta's dad was obsessed with keeping track of who was currupt. He put the bills in his wallet, and the coins in a jar on the side of the couch, and he kept watching the news.
Greta peered out the sliding doors that lined one side of the living room. Outside the sliding doors was the veranda, and the veranda overlooked the river. From here, you couldn't tell there was a raging fire happening outside in the parking lot. Her dad was clueless. When the news was on, he didn't stand a chance at noticing anything else that was happening.
Greta went to the bathroom. She ran her right hand under the cold tap water. She wondered if it was going to blister by the morning time. It felt like a first degree burn. Greta wished she had been more careful.
After she had bought the poster board, Greta rushed to get back home. She used the poster board to cast a shadow on her face, though she was pretty sure there wasn't any security cameras in the apartment complex. That had been brought up as a concern in one of the apartment meetings a year ago after someone had their car broken in, and her dad hadn't mentioned any updates on that situation. It was safe to assume nothing had been done about that yet.
On her way in with the poster board, Greta saw that the mound of plant she had thrown on Nicki was smoldering. The hole that was burned away in the middle of the pile wasn't visible to Greta, because the pile was taller than the cars parked around it. Had Greta seen this hole, she would have been more cautious.
Greta felt a tug on her shoulder, and suddenly her tote bag was falling off her shoulder. Greta grabbed her bag with her left hand, and was whirled around counterclockwise. Her poster board frisbeed in the momentum, onto the top of the steps in front of the front entrance that lead into the apartment. She almost made it home.
Greta pulled back at her bag when she saw it was Nicki pulling on the other end. Her outline glowed red, and Greta could feel the heat on her face and arms, eminating from Nicki's direction.
"Nicki. Let go of my bag."
"Absolutely not."
Nicki had burned her way out of the plant pile, something Greta thought she would wait to do for a couple of hours until she had exhausted all other options, such as actually waiting a few days. She reminded herself that Nicki is rash, and she'll sometimes do the first thing that comes to mind.
Greta dipped down to tilt down the bag's opening in her direction. Beans began to spill out. Greta caught a handful and threw them at Nicki. Nicki let go of the bag and took three steps back to avoid the spray. She learned what happens from the last time.
Nicki's hair and clothes were messy from climbing out from under all those plants.
"Go home, Nicki. Stop getting in my way."
"I will when you tell me what you're doing. What are you collecting power for? That's what your seeds do when they grow, right?"
"I thought you wanted to forget everything? You sure remember a lot for someone who wants to forget."
Greta reached into her bag for a handful of beans to toss at Nicki. Nicki took another step backwards just in case. Greta didn't want to expend any more of her power, because she was saving up for the big spell.
"I'm doing exactly what I need to do to ensure we can all choose to forget, me and you."
Nicki lunged at Greta's bag a second time to disarm her. Greta stepped backwards and fell over on her right arm, onto a very hot piece of flat metal from a car. It was so hot that it felt numb. Greta felt her skin burn where it touched the metal. Greta rolled off it in seconds and made Nicki back off by throwing handfuls of beans at her.
This time the beans Greta threw didn't immediately sprout and grow. Nicki saw they were all over the ground, including where she was standing. Nicki tried to run away but it was too late.
The seeds bursted alive into a thick tangle of thorns and vines. Nicki was trapped in a thick wall of plants again. This time in a giant ball of vines. Greta got up and composed herself.
"Good night, Nicki. Don't come near my house."
Greta gripped her bag shut and hurried inside with her poster board. She wished she hadn't expended so many seeds, but she reassured herself that this was unavoidable. And maybe even to her favor. The outside was probably going to be swarming with people to clean up the mess, which meant Nicki won't be able to try anything near Greta's house for a while.
Fortunately Greta never told Nicki which apartment number she lives in, and while Nicki was rash, she knew she made an effort to avoid being seen causing fires.
The elevator dinged at her floor, and Greta dusted herself off lightly before going inside to her calm uneventful home.
