What does Christi want to talk to me about? I mean, I'm not complaining. Spending time with her will be good, considering that I haven't had a best friend for... a while.
My sneakers hit the pavement, as I walk from school to her house. It's a nice day I suppose. But the thought of homework and Zaraho haunt me. Plus, what was the weird text about? It's all just so strange.
I have reached Christi's house. I can feel my pale yellow backpack weighing down on my shoulder, but I can't seem to move forward. Should I really be doing this? I mean, is she going to actually tell me? Forgive me possibly? Who knows. Certainly not me.
I ring the doorbell.
"Why, hello Sabrina! My, it's been ages since you've been here. Come in, come in!" Her mom greets enthusiastically.
"Hi," I mumble, stepping into the house.
"CHRISTI!" She shouts upstairs. "Sabrina's here!"
I plop my backpack down on a chair, and look around the house, waiting for Christi. Their house is very nice I suppose. Their living room coordinates perfectly, with a white and black theme to it. But the thing that most catches my eye, is one of the pictures on their mantle.
It's me and Christi, when we had our first sleepover. Seven years ago. We look so happy, in that picture, just enjoying life. I think about what we are in right now, and I try to hold back the ball of emotion in my stomach. I need to apologize, and fast.
"You came!" Christi's eyes light up like Christmas lights. I swallow back that stupid emotion ball, and smile at my best friend.
"Now, you girls have fun!" Her mom calls from the living room.
"Okay Mom, we'll be upstairs!" Christi calls back, already pulling me up.
I gaze around, drinking in the familiar room. Purple. Lots of it, seeing as it's her favorite color. Her purple bedspread, even the little nick in the wall. From when we were playing with our puzzle magnets, and one flew into the wall. I don't know how the force was enough, but here we are!
"Soooo, what did you want to talk about?" I ask, settling myself on her fuzzy rug.
"Well, quite a lot of things actually," Christi replies, fingering her pillow.
"Okay, like what?" I pry.
"Well, let's start with the... bathroom thing," she says. I shrug.
"Sure!"
"Okay, so, um. I left lunch to go into the bathroom, and I had this vision," she starts.
"About what?" I ask, now getting intrigued. She takes a deep breath.
"About Katy," she informs me sadly.
"Well, give me more details," I say, settling into the rug more. It's a thick rug, but my elbows hurt anyway.
"So, she was lying in a bed. But not just any bed..." she trails off.
"Yes..." I prompt.
"A hospital bed," Christi finishes, tears collecting in her eyes.
"Oh... Christi," I say sympathetically. Seeing that must have just been awful.
"But that's not all, she had a heart monitor, a heart monitor," she articulates sadly.
"I am so sorry," I say, thinking about how I would feel if Jago was there. In the hospital bed. With a heart monitor.
"And then... and then she died," Christi chokes out, dissolving into tears. I scoot over and try to comfort her. That must have been really hard, to see Katy die. Even if it wasn't real, it's still something no one wants to ever see.
"Hey Christi, maybe we can get my parents to take you, you know, to the hospital. Maybe if you see that she is okay, it might help," I suggest after a few moments of silence.
"I dunno, I don't want to see that in real life..." Christi trails off.
"But I think it will help, knowing that she is okay," I encourage. She fingers her blanket.
"Maybe, but not right now. I need to get away from all that stuff," she tells me. I nod, understanding where she is coming from.
"Okay. What else do you wanna talk about?" I ask, settling back down on my rug. Her eyes light up.
"Ooh!" She exclaims.
"What?" I ask, sitting back up.
"I have a story to tell you." She informs me.
"Okay..." I say, situating myself.
"So, I went out on a raft in the ocean, just for a little bit. And I must have fallen asleep there or something, because I, uh, fell off. But that's not the point!" She adds as I try to contain my laughter.
"Anyways, I opened my eyes, and a flashlight was right in my face. Quite bright as well. So, I eventually realized that it was Jace and—" I sit upright, more interested since the beginning was only really funny.
"—And then after I got up again, we walked back to my house." She finishes, not quite looking me in the eye.
"Okay Christi. I can tell something else happened. What?" I pry, just a tad bit more. She sighs, conceding.
" Well, I may have told him, I possibly, maybe liked him. So then we went to my house, and we just talked mostly. Oh, we also exchanged numbers," she finishes.
"Goodness Christi. My life now sounds boring." I say, excited for my best friend.
She beams.
"Hungry?" She asks, getting up from her spot.
"You bet!" I say, getting up as well. "Do you have cheese?"
🎔
"So, uh, Christi." I say, through a mouthful of delicious cheese. Actually, sharp cheddar to be exact.
"What?" She asks, setting down her glass of limeade. I brush some cheese crumbs from the table. (Who knew cheese crumbs were a thing?)
"So, I think we kinda forgot about the necklaces..." I trail off, watching a look of horror come to Christi's face.
"Oh my goodness, we did!" She gasps. I shrug.
"Well, technically you did. I didn't," I correct smuggly. She rolls her eyes, and grabs another cracker.
"Same difference, but anyway, we are positive that Adelaide took them. In fact, I'm sure if we search her, we'll find them."
"I know, but why would she want them?" I inquire. She shrugs.
"I have no clue. But all I know if that we need them back. If we don't get the back, then we can't talk to Skifter and Lupo, and if you haven't noticed, things have kind of fallen apart if you haven't noticed," she points out, obviously a bit stressed out about the situation.
"Okay. So, how should we go about this... OH! We could sneak into her house at night, and then steal them, and pretend it wasn't us!" I suggest excitedly. Christi shakes her head.
"Really, Sabrina? Really? I will give you three reasons. Reason number one! It is literally illegal to do that. Number two! Don't you think that they probably have some weird rich cameras for security, that will most certainly catch us? And reason number three! What if we get caught? Then we will like, go to jail or something! Think about what our parents would say! No, just... no," she lectures. I sigh, defeated.
"Well, that was my only idea. Do you have any, then?" I ask. She pauses to think for a moment.
"Well, we could just walk over to her house, and demand answers." She suggests.
"Come on Christi, that is boring. Think of something, more spy like perhaps? Something more exciting." I say to her.
"But is that really practical? I mean, really. The most logical way to look at it, and go about it, is to just go up and talk to her!" she says, obviously exasperated with my ways. I sigh.
"Fine. But can we at least plan? It makes it feel a little cooler." I plead.
"Okay, but I want to get them back as soon as possible!" She warns. I nod eagerly.
"Let's do this! And, do you have more snacks?"
🎔
We have a solid plan. Of course, it has some little minor holes, but hey, it's the best we've come up with. It is actually pretty simple, but I wanted to do some sample dialogue. Christi said that we can't waste too much time. So we skipped that.
It's still light out, even though we spent a few hours at her house. We try to look extra normal, but then decided that we should just go in our school clothes, after Christi got out slippers. A bit too casual don't you think?
Her house isn't too far from Christi's, thankfully. I'm excited, but also nervous. What if she doesn't have them? What if we are wrong? But, I need to calm down. Plus, it is an adventure right?
"Just over here I believe," Christi informs me, bouncing a little on her feet. I look, and sure enough, there stands her enormous house. Or mansion. Whichever you choose.
I rub my hands on my shorts, and think about Lupo. He is stuck there, and we need to get those necklaces back. I'm sure of it. If we don't we are completely clueless. Except...
"Christi! Do you remember the clue that the Soul Animals gave us?" I ask, excitement building in my voice. She stops in her tracks.
"Uh, I think so...do you think that might help with us getting the necklaces back?"
"Maybe! Uh, what was it..." I stretch my mind, trying to remember.
"Once you finish your education needs, come to the books. With words they feed. Among the hidden, there shall be, a way to the place, where we live and breathe." Christi recites.
"And you just happened to memorize it?" I ask incredulously. She shrugs.
"I guess. Anyway, I think I figured out the first part. Once you finish your education needs, means that once we have finished school... and then come to the books might mean the library!" She finishes joyously. I smile.
"Well then, what are we waiting for!" I say, heading in that direction.
"Wait! But what about Adelaide?" Christi muses. I raise and lower one shoulder.
"I dunno, but I think we should follow the clue," I say.
"Uh, Sabrina. One problem. We haven't finished school yet! We can't follow the clue until we finish school! The clue states that right away. I have no idea what impact it might make, but we have to follow the rules." She points out.
"Rules are stupid. Let's go!" I scoff. Christi shakes her head.
"No, I really think this is one that we should follow. It was given to us by the Soul Animals, Sabrina. They know what they are talking about!" She pushes.
"Fine. But then let's hurry up and get to Adelaide's. I don't wanna wait all day standing here," I say, a bit of anger lacing my voice.
Without saying anything more, we both start walking again. Her house is only about thirty feet away, but it seems like a million miles. Finally, we reach the mansion. I can tell that Christi is mightily opposed to ringing the doorbell herself, so I guess I will.
I step up onto the front step, right in front of that fancy, stained glass door. I take one deep breath and pause.
Wait, why am I pausing? It's not a big deal. I take one more deep breath, and press that button. I know it worked, because of that far too cheerful ringing throughout the mansion.