Chapter One: The Interrogation

A half-fae outcast is given the chance to return to the magical Realm of her birth, only to discover it's anything but the fairy tale she imagined.

A/N:  This is a preview of my published novel, follow the links below to order your own copy!

Despite what everyone said, I didn’t mean to blow up Tanya Mason’s presents. The cake, yes, but the presents? That would’ve been overkill.

But since Officer Davenport�"the towering man with the deep voice and bulging muscles sitting across from me in the interrogation room�"was supposed to think this whole thing was an accident and I was just an innocent bystander, I probably shouldn’t mention that.

“So, Billie,” he said, stumbling over my name. A girl named Billie was a lot for the people of Sandy Brooks.

“Why don’t you tell me,” he lowered my report, “in your own words, what happened?”

I could start by telling him the only true part of the report was my name. Oh wait. I even lied a little about my last name. But unless I wanted to get myself sent to juvie, I probably shouldn’t mention that either.

“I already told you everything,” I said.

He stared at me for a second, not blinking. Even though he wasn’t moving, I leaned back in in my chair, trying to get some distance from his eyes.

“How long have you known Tanya Mason?” he said finally.

“Since birth.” Just like everyone else in this town.

“Are you close?”

About as close as Superman and kryptonite, but as much as I would love to make a superhero reference in an interrogation, I doubt it would go well.

“No,” I said, biting my lip.

My mother kicked my leg from under the table. She’d been so quiet I forgot she was in the room. You would think a mother would be proud of her daughter for telling the truth, but not mine. I didn’t care though. It was not going on record that I was friends with Sandy Brook’s little princess.

“Then why were you at her party?” Mr. Davenport asked.

That question would be better directed at my mother, and based on the way she shifted uncomfortably in her chair, she knew it too.

 

 

 “I’m not leaving until you get out of this car,” My mom said as we sat outside Tanya Mason’s house.

Honestly, I didn’t doubt her, but it only made me more determined to sit here. We were similar in that way, at least.

“You want to be seen sitting in your mother’s car all night long? I’m sure that will impress your friends.”

“They’re not my friends.” She had a point though. Being seen with my mom like this would not help my social standing at school. Except, I was pretty sure I had no social standing to lose, so it was okay.

“They could be, if you would let them.”

“I don’t want to be friends with them."

She sighed. “Billie, why can’t you just …”

She couldn’t even finish the sentence, meaning I had no choice but to feel a twinge of guilt. I guess I could understand her concern. She hoped things would be different when I started High School, since there’d be a new group of kids and everything. But it didn’t matter. They all knew where I came from.

“Look, I already promised Tanya’s mother you would be coming.” I shouldn’t be surprised that was a concern. Tanya’s mother was on the hospital board where my mother was a nurse. That, by the way, was the answer to Officer Davenport’s question. I got invited to the party because my mother wanted to impress her boss. At least I could say it backfired.

“Why don’t you go to Tanya’s party then?” I shot back. Feeling a little guilty wasn’t enough to get me out of the car.

She sighed again, and the guilt grew. I could always tell when she reached her limit because she wouldn’t look at me, but rather stared off in the distance. I’d never told her this, but I always thought she looked so pretty in profile. With her dark hair, Robin’s egg blue eyes, and translucent skin, she was like an angel carved in stone. I must have taken after my father because my green eyes, freckles, limp brown hair, and round cheeks looked nothing like her.

“How about this,” she said after a moment of silence, “Just give it one hour. And if in one hour you still want to come home, I’ll come get you. No questions asked.”

And now it was my turn to sigh, but this was the best deal I’d get.

“Fine.” I hoped out. “I’ll see you in an hour.”

After all, what could happen in an hour?

 

 

“How did you like the party, Billie?” Officer Davenport’s asked.

I shrugged. “It was okay.”

“Were the kids nice to you?”

A humorless smile came to my lips. “They were nice enough, to me.”

Being mean to me wasn’t what had brought on the accident. For the most part, people had ignored me. I mean, Mrs. Mason had been excited to see me. She kept saying it was a shame Tanya had never invited anyone from Mapleton before. She sounded genuine, which was surprising. Even though we were legally from the same town, everyone looked down on those that came from Mapleton, my neighborhood. They thought we were weird.

If they only knew.

Once Mrs. Mason left, though, everyone defaulted to giving me strange looks before going back to making out or pretending to dance to the music that was blaring around every corner of the house.

As quickly as I could, I found my way to the snack table. My plan was to hang out here and steal as much food as I could before I called my mother and told her they were all shunning me, and she needed to pick me up. It seemed like a pretty good plan. Free food and a guarantee that my mother would finally realize I was never going to be a normal high school student.

There was just one thing my plan didn’t consider.

Tanya.

“Billie!” Her voice was right in my ear, causing me to spit out the soda I’d just sipped. The people around us giggled.

“Have you been hiding here all this time?” Her proximity was making me nervous, especially when her silky blond hair fell on my shoulder and her way-too-expensive-for-a-high schooler-to-be-wearing perfume washed over me. A couple of girls stood around her, all of them wearing clothing and makeup that suggested they were going clubbing instead of a Freshman’s birthday party.

 Tanya stared between the table and my loaded plate. “Were you really that hungry? You don’t look hungry.” Her eyes moved from my puffy cheeks to my belly, and I blushed. “But Billie, if you’re not getting enough to eat at home, I could speak to my mom about giving yours a raise.” I think she was trying to look concerned, but she couldn’t stop herself from grinning as she placed a hand on my shoulder.

I shook her hand off so quickly, some of the people around us gasped. “I’m fine, thanks. I was just making sure you weren’t too tempted.” I made a point of looking at her the same way she looked at me. Not that I had cause too, as she was as slim as board, but it made her flush nonetheless. Plus, I got a few people to chuckle. The look on her face was almost priceless.

“I wish I’d thought ahead to invite your friends too, Billie. Doesn’t their family have like, ten kids? I bet they could use some of this food.” She chuckled. “Not that they’re skinny though.”

The people around us laughed, and I clenched my fists. Much as Tanya didn’t like me, I was not her favorite target. I had too many good comebacks, but my friends weren’t even here to defend themselves, so she must have thought they made better prey.

“That’s what they get for taking on that many kids,” one of Tanya’s cronies said, flicking her perky ponytail in disdain. “I mean, I know it’s great to be charitable and all, but that’s just stupid.”

“Shut your mouth,” I said through clenched teeth, but the girl wasn’t even looking at me. She stared hungrily at Tanya, hoping for her approval.

 It was one thing to talk bad about my friends, but it was another to talk bad about their adoptive parents, the most loving people I knew.

“They should probably send one of them back,” said another girl, giggling. “Probably wouldn’t even notice they were gone.”

“They should send back the Asian one, with the freaky-skin,” said the first girl.

“Her name is Ana,” I said, but once again no one listened. Her freaky-skin was a completely harmless birth defect, but I wasn’t going to waste time explaining that to them again.

“Come on, Robyn, don’t be rude,” Tanya said playfully. But her eyes were on me, relishing my anger.

“I’m serious. She looks diseased or something. What if it’s infectious? They’d be doing everyone a favor if they just got rid of her.”

“Shut up!” I screech, and this time she heard me. As did everyone around us. It was that awkward moment where the loud chatter disappeared as everyone turned toward the source of the noise: me.

So much for keeping a low profile.

“We’re just kidding, Billie. Can’t you take a joke?” Tanya said. She acted like she was offended, but that smile showed just how much she was enjoying every moment of this. “Besides, we all know it’s what’s in a girl’s head, not on it, right? I bet if Ana studies real hard, she might even be able to s-s-say her own name one day.”

And with that everyone erupted into laughter, Ana’s stutter being something else they all loved to pick at.

Before I had a chance to respond, Mrs. Mason burst into the room.

“Well, sounds like your all having a great time,” she said as she beamed at all of us. Her eyes rested a moment extra on me before she said, “We’ll get to cake and presents in just a second, but first, I have a surprise for you all! Follow me!” She beckoned us all into the main entryway. Slowly, still chuckling and glancing at me, everyone filed out. But I stayed behind.

“Billie,” Mrs. Mason said, “are you coming?”

  Some part of me knew what I was planning to do next was a bad idea, but the rest of me didn’t care.

“Actually, could I use your bathroom?"

Mrs. Mason smiled sweetly, naively. “Sure, it’s right down there.” And then she closed the door behind her.

For the first time that night, I couldn’t help but smile too, as I turned and headed in the opposite direction, where the cake and presents were kept.

 

 

 “Why didn’t you go with everyone else, Billie?” Officer Davenport asked.

I bit my lip. “I wanted to surprise Tanya by lighting her candles for her.”

He raised his eyebrow, not convinced. When I didn’t say anything else, he said, “Fine. Then what happened?”

I was still trying to figure that out myself.                                 

Even before I had reached the room I had started to rethink my plan. I’d never done magic like this before. Never so purposefully, despite what my mother thought. It always happened in the heat of the moment. I barely even had time to think about it, but this time I had time to think. This might be my only opportunity to get back at Tanya, and I couldn’t pass it up.

It wasn’t hard to find that cake. I smelled it before I saw it. It was like someone had lit a bunch of vanilla-candles and then forgotten about them, filling the room with a rich, almost sickly-sweet aroma. But that was nothing compared to the cake itself. It was almost as a tall as I was, with little reminders of Paris, France dotted all around and a complete Eiffel tower sitting on top. I wasn’t sure how they would cut the thing without knocking over that tower, but I guess no one would ever find out.

After taking a deep breath, I extended my hand. It had always looked so dumb when people did it movies, but now I understood. It gave you a sense of control.

Jeez. I chided myself. You’re blowing up a cake, not a nuclear bomb.

I took another deep breath, closed my eyes, and imagined that Eiffel tower caving in.

And then I let go.

Something rushed through me, like an intense spasm of fire and ice running through my body all at once.  Then I was flying.

Before I had a chance to open my eyes, I was thrown against the back wall. A wave of heat washing over me. It was a few moments before I got my bearings enough to open my eyes.

The first thing I noticed was the smell, the overwhelming stench of burnt sugar. The next thing I noticed was the smoke. I almost closed my eyes as the smoke cleared, not sure I wanted to see what state the cake was in.

I shouldn’t have worried about that though, because the cake had dissapeared, as well as the wall behind it.

I swallowed before glancing up at Officer Davenport. If I said any of this to him … forget Juvie. They’d send me straight to an institution.

  “I�"I saw the lighter on the table. So I just … turned it on, and the next thing I knew, there was an explosion, and that’s it.” I gritted my teeth. You’d think with such a big secret, I’d be a better liar.

Officer Davenport gave me a long look before clearing his throat. “Would you care to explain how this explosion started in the first place? Or how it left you completely unharmed?”

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. Two points for Officer Davenport.

“Surely, incidents such as these are not entirely uncommon.” Mom realized I was hopeless, and had no choice but to intervene. Slowly, she placed her hand on his. He glanced at her hand, then at her. She smiled, not blinking as she stared him down. I guess physical contact and eye contact are helpful when it comes to enchanting someone. Not that I would know. Enchanting was a uniquely Faerie-form of magic, and as a mere Half-Fae, I doubt I could ever possess my mom’s skills.

“No,” Officer Davenport said vaguely, “they're not.” Mom released his hand, but he continued to stare at her, and I resisted the urge to gag. To be fair, even in her nurse scrubs she was a beautiful lady. He’d probably drool over her even if she hadn’t addled his brains with magic.

My mom placed her hand on his again, regaining his attention. He blinked rapidly a few times, then stood up.

“Very well, I have no further questions for you.” We followed him out of the interrogation room into the main lobby. Even though it was late, there were still a lot of people. The clattering sounds of someone typing and the indistinct murmurs of phone conversations were a bit jolting after the quiet of the interrogation room.

  Two officers lead a man in handcuffs through the lobby to the holding cells. He leered at me as he walked past. An image of those officers leading me away in handcuffs flashed across my eyes. But they didn’t send fourteen-year olds to jail, right?

“Ms. Deer,” Officer Davenport said to my mother, “I need to speak with you privately. Billie, wait here.”

“But I�"” The door closed behind them before I could finish.

 

 

 

  The police department emptied as the night dragged on, but my mom still hadn’t come back. It was only me, the secretary at the main desk who glared at me every time I so much as tapped my foot, and the hunched-over maintenance worker who was humming something that sounded scarily like the Barbie song left in the lobby now.

I swear the janitor’s humming was getting louder by the minute. I wish I knew how to use magic to make him shut up. Mom probably knew how, but she never taught me anything about magic.

Finally, the door opened, and out came Mom and Officer Davenport.

Without any fanfare, Officer Davenport turned to me and said, “We’ve decided to let you return home while we review the … circumstances of the incident. We’ll contact you in a few days to let you know what happens next.”

So, I was off the hook, for now. If only I could find that comforting.

My mother didn’t look at me as she walked directly for the front door. After mumbling something that resembled a thank you, I followed her. This was not a good time to keep her waiting.

 

 

 

 

 

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Reviews

[Chryiss]

"My plan was to hang out here and steal as much food as I could before I called my mother and told her they were all shunning me, and she needed to pick me up." This line made me laugh at how relatable it was at a party we don't want to be at. This along with other instances were written well to give us an idea of Billie's character. From this, she's definitely a character readers can connect with. The beginning was somewhat lackluster for a story start, even though blowing up cake and presents does catch the interest. But starts are very difficult, and to be fair, are weighed too much in importance as any real reader should weigh the first chapter or even second to third or by pages. Perhaps it didn't impress me as much because I'm no longer Billie's age group so I can't quite connect as much, but I can see girls of the same age as being interested. Certainly I would've been as a lover of the fantasy genre. I also appreciate correcting writing, but I suppose because it's published I can expect a higher standard since some stories are riddled with mistakes.

The only concern I would point out, if any, is that only the character, Billie, interests me. In terms of her friends and where she came from, it was touched ever so lightly to not rouse much wonderings. I do like the aspect of magic, but again the purpose of it all in the story and the possible connection to where came from weren't clear or vague in an interesting way so as to make me question and want to explore further. But then again, this might be due to me not being the target audience completely, or even the brevity of a first chapter.
But I wish you the best of luck with your novel! :)