Chapter 17: RavenA Chapter by Nikki CongdonThe longer I stayed at the Jacobson's house, the more
I felt they were my family. Zella grew
to love me as a sister and Penny and Jacobson treated me as their own daughter.
I felt right at home, going on family outings together, helping Penny clean the
house or cook and being active in Zella's home schooling. On Halloween, Zella
and I dressed up and went trick or treating with the family. Zella went as a princess and I went as a
purple crayon. Zella had picked it out. "You look cute Raven!"
Penny beamed as she took pictures of Zella and me. I felt stupid in a crayon
costume, but then again, I had never gone trick or treating before. "So, I just knock on the door
and say trick or treat?" I asked as we headed out the door, Zella and I
both carrying plastic pumpkins. "Yup! Just follow my
lead!" Zella skipped across the street, pulling my arm as well. We
followed the walkway and Zella rang the doorbell. The door opened and a old
woman in her 60's smiled at Zella and I. "Trick or Treat!" Zella
exclaimed. I mumbled it, a little embarrassed that we were doing this. "Here you go girls!" The
old woman beamed and we left the house. That night, Zella and I got a butt load
of candy that we collected together. Afterwards, we all piled onto the couch
and watched cheesy horror movies before bed while eating some of the candy we
had collected. By now, it was early November and
Zella and I were making very good progress with her change. I had figured out that she was a zebra which
was actually made sense with the white streak in her hair. "Ok, remember to relax and just
let it wash over you like water." I advised. She nodded and took a deep
breath. Her body grew bigger and black
and white stripes began to cover her body.
"Keep it up Zella!" I
encouraged. "You're doing great!" The full change took hold. She was
now a full Zebra. "Ok! Now just relax and walk
around." She took a shaky step and stumbled, but I was there to catch
her. "You're doing great," She
took another step and didn't stumble this time. "When you feel ready, you can
trot, but only when you feel ready." I advised. She took a few more steps
and then ran around the yard. I beamed with pride. She was doing amazing. The
sliding door opened as Penny came outside, wrapped in a small blanket. "Wow, you did it Raven! You
taught her how to do it." "She just needed to relax. We
don't think about it now since we do it so well." I smiled. "You know, Winter Formal is
coming up and I got a call from Derek that he'll be coming to take you back to
the academy soon." "Am I cleared?" "Apparently there was another
death, a girl this time and you couldn't have possibly have done it because you
were here." I rubbed my temples. "Another
death," "I was thinking we could go shopping
and find you a winter formal dress. It sounds like Derek is very fond of
you." I blushed heavily, but used my hair
to shield it. "He-He is very fond of me. We're dating." Penny broke into a grin, "I
thought so. Poor Jane, she's never had a boyfriend. Apparently her friends' say
she's too opinion oriented." By now, Zella had trotted over to us and was
nuzzling my hand. "Ok, to end the change-"
But she had already completed it. I smiled with pride. "Let's go shopping." Penny
nodded and we prepared to go. When we
were ready, we piled into Penny's car and drove to the mall. I had been to a mall before, but I had stolen
stuff, not actually paid for it. Penny parked and we hoofed it inside. "Where are we going to find
Winter Formal dresses?" Penny only grinned. "Follow me. I found Jane's here
as well." We went up an escalator and swerved to the right and into a
small store named Lola's dress shop. "Hi Lola!" Penny called
into the store. A Hispanic, plump woman waddled from behind her counter. She
had black, styled hair and golden eyes. "Ah! Penny Jacobson! Welcome
back!" She noticed Zella and then myself. "Did you adopt?" She
pointed to me. "No, she's just a friend of
Jane's. We're looking for a Winter Formal dress for her." Lola outstretched her hand for me to take. I
stood in front of her and she examined my body. "Hm...I think I have just the
dress for you." She hustled into the back. She returned with with a teal
dress with a jewel strap and heart neckline. The bottom flowed as the dress moved
with Lola. "Try that on," Lola handed
it to me and I did as I was told. I walked out and everyone gasped. "It looks amazing on you."
Penny breathed. "It does indeed," A girl's
voice purred. I looked behind Penny and I saw Caroline with Tanya standing
there, both hands on their hips. What the hell were they doing here? "Why the hell are you
here?" I spat. Penny gave me a glare. "Just looking," Tanya
replied smoothly. They walked into the shop and began to rummage through
dresses. As they browsed, I dragged Penny's arm as well as Zella's. "They're demons," I
hissed. "We need to get out of here now." Penny looked at me with
shock as she held Zella close. "Don't do anything yet. Get out
and I'll distract them. They're after me anyway. I'll meet you at the
house." Penny nodded, but
commented. "I'm going to buy that dress
for you." "You don't have-" "I'm buying the dress for
you," She repeated. I knew I wouldn't win here, so I nodded and changed
out. I handed it to her and she acted normally, paying for the dress. When Penny and Zella walked out safely, I made
my move. "So demons, did the Father send
you to fetch me?" I taunted. Caroline and Tanya whipped around. "How do you know about the
Father?" Tanya hissed. "I have connections." I placed
my hands on my hips and waited for their move.
Caroline bristled with anger and anticipation, but Tanya placed a hand
on her shoulder. "Not here Caroline. You
wouldn't want to leave Wyatt alone now would you?" Caroline thought for a
second and then shook her head. "This is not the time and place."
Tanya then sauntered up to me. "I have a message for you." She
hissed, her breath smelling of strawberries. "Go on, b***h," She laughed harshly, yet her fists
clenched with anger, "Drake is looking for you. Your time to join us is
coming soon. The Father is ready to take you back." I squinted my eyes. "The Father is not claiming my
soul." I spat. "I could do it for you. Get it
over with, because he'll drag it out. I'd be quick." she grinned. "Go to hell." "Been there already," She
laughed loudly and then sauntered off with Caroline by her side. I glared at
them as they left. Once they were long
gone, I called a thank you to Lola, who was missing and then booked it out of
the mall. I clambered down the stairs,
not even bothering with the escalators and slammed through the doors. I looked
left and then right before darting into an alley. "Good memories," I
muttered as I remembered the alley behind the bar where I almost died. I didn't have Whitney to save me this time
round. Once I was in the shadows, I
relaxed and let the change happen to me.
I felt my bones hollow and watched as feathers covered my small, light
body. I felt the wind in between the
feathers and took flight, flapping as hard as I could to get back to the
house. I needed to make sure they were
safe. I didn't want them to get hurt
because of me. When I saw the car in the
driveway, I felt a small wave of relief. "We're not certain yet Raven," my conscience chimed in and I
agreed with it. I landed in the backyard
and changed back, feeling sweaty and wanting a shower so bad. I jogged around
to the front again and knocked on the door. Zella opened it and I hugged her
tightly. "I'm so sorry I got you into
danger." I whispered. "But we came out safe!"
She protested. "The demons didn't get us." "Good." I told her. "How could you tell?" She
asked me, her eyes wide with innocence. "Red rimmed eyes
sweetheart." I answered, "Plus I've seen them before." She
thought about it for a second. "Raven!" Penny came out of
the kitchen with two other people following her. "Thank god you're
safe." She hugged me and kissed my cheek. She felt like my actual
mother. "Did you get scratched? Did
they beat you up?" "No. I'm ok." I reassured
her. "Darling, if she was scratched,
she would have turned by now." One of the figures said. Jacobson. The two figures came into better light and I
recognized the other person easily. "Derek," I breathed. It
had been such a long time since I had seen my man. We had talked over the
phone, but talking over a phone is nothing compared to the real thing. Zella
let go of me and I ran into Derek's arms. He buried his face into the crook of
my neck, smelling me deeply. "God I missed you." He
breathed, his voice muffled by my hair.
I couldn't even speak; I just didn't want him to let me go. My fingers
clenched on his shirt. A tear fell from my eye. I don't like to cry, but I
couldn't control my emotions. "I have lunch ready."
Penny coughed. "We'll leave you two alone for a minute until you're
ready." I glanced to her, mouthing thank you. She smiled warmly as she
corralled Zella and Jacobson into the kitchen.
The door was closed shut for ultimate privacy. "How are you?" Derek
asked, now removing his face from my neck. "Much better that you’re
here." I silently kicked myself. That sounded so cheesy. Derek didn't seem to mind. He
chuckled as he guided me to the couch. He pulled me down onto his lap and the
grabbed my legs and swung them up onto the couch as well. He positioned me on
his chest so my ear could hear his heartbeat and my legs were curled up. He hugged me. "Derek," I whispered. I needed to tell him about the dream I had
weeks ago. It kept coming back to me, night after night. "What's wrong sweetheart?"
He cooed. "I had a dream about Drake. He
told me I'm destined to go demon. Those
demons I spied on keep telling me I'm going to go demon. That "The
Father" wants to take me back." Derek shushed me gently. "You won't go demon as long as
you're with me." He told me. "If any demons touch you, I will kill it so it's sent down to hell
again." I nuzzled my head into his
chest and breathed an ok. "Let's go
eat lunch. Then we have to shove off.
Our friends are waiting for our glorious return." "Our
friends?" I asked, stunned. "Yeah, I joined your little
group. You've missed a lot. I'll have to fill you in once we start
driving." I slid off his lap and pulled him up. He wrapped his arm around my waist as he
guided me to the door. "After you, my Raven." I
smirked as we entered the kitchen. *** After lunch, we gave our goodbyes. I told Zella, who was tear-stricken, that she
could call me anytime to talk and I told her if she walked into any interesting
demon's dream, to let me know. I quizzed her how to identify a demon and she
passed with flying colors. Penny hugged
me and told me she would miss my company. She also let me know my dress was in
Jacobson's trunk and to not let Derek see it. We both smirked at our little
joke. Derek, Jacobson and I piled into the car as Penny and Zella waved us off.
"I'm blocking you love birds
out," Jacobson called as he stuck his ear buds in. I smirked. I turned to Derek, "What did I
miss while I was gone?" Derek informed me about the other death, which was
a girl. He told me about what happened
to Flora and how she has demon venom coursing through her veins. He explained
that she had to fight the demon soul out of her. "She's still in the infirmary
recovering, but she's doing great." I laid my head on his chest, listening
to his heartbeat. "Two deaths, who's next?" "I don't know sweetheart."
I closed my eyes. "Why don't you take a short nap?" I didn't want to,
but my eyelids were starting to close. I allowed them and carry me away as
Derek kissed the top of my head. When I woke up, we were in front of
the Academy's gates. I never thought I would be back here. Derek escorted me
out and Jacobson popped the hatch. "Don't forget your package
Raven." Jacobson called. I laughed as I grabbed it as Derek talked to Jan
to open the gates. The gates swung open and I waved as he drove away. When
Jacobson was gone, Derek took my package in his hands and had me jump onto his
back for a piggyback ride to the infirmary. "We're aren't going to check
in?" I asked, astonished that Derek didn't even mention doing that. "Nah, Williams knew I was going
to get you." I grinned and kissed his cheek. He smelled of faint
aftershave. He carried me to the infirmary where he placed me back on the
ground right before we entered. "Flora does have some bruising
on her face. While she fought the demon, all the injuries that she suffered in
her head, affected her body as well." I acknowledged it and we entered. "Guess who I brought?"
Derek called warmly. I smirked as I walked over to the group. Whitney was the
first to hug me. "We missed you." She said.
Rhett and Ethan smiled as they nodded at my presence. Betty clapped her hands
and Jane just smiled. I looked at Flora and understood what Derek was warning
me about. Her face had a large black and
blue splotch. Her arm was in a sling and
her hair was ruffled. "Hey there," She croaked.
I smiled and sat in the seat next to her bed. "How are you?" She shrugged her shoulders,
"Wish I felt better." "You're still very pretty
Flower girl," Ethan cooed. She slid her good hand into his and squeezed. "Guess what?" Betty
announced excitedly. "The dresses arrived today!" "No way!" Whitney's face lit up. "Good thing I got mine as
well." I smirked. "You know what we should
do?" Whitney added. "We should model them for all the girls." "We can't see them?" Rhett
asked as he wrapped his arms around Whitney. "It would spoil the
surprise." Flora answered. "The boys can have some guy
time." Betty announced as Derek chuckled. "Come on guys, we've been
kicked out." Rhett and Ethan kissed their girlfriend and Derek sauntered
up to me. I kissed him lightly on the lips.
"See ya soon sweetheart," he breathed before the trio of guys
strolled out. Whitney clapped her hands together,
"Who wants to start?" "Why not Flora?" Jane suggested.
"I'll help you get into
it." Betty volunteered. Whitney and Betty helped Flora out of her bed and
I noticed strange marks on her ankle, like deep nail marks. The
poor girl. I thought to myself.
About ten minutes later, Flora stepped out of the bathroom in a
strapless red satin dress. It was so simple, yet so divine and beautiful. Our
jaws dropped. It showed off her slimness easily. "You look stunning in that Flora." I commented. She blushed, but it
mixed with the bruise. "Thanks," She shuffled
with Betty's help to change back into her hospital gown. When she was snug in
her bed and the dress was hanging beside her, Betty wanted to go next. She
stepped out in a strapless purple dress with a heart neckline. The top was a
pretty design that reminded me of a butterfly wing. The fabric reminded me of water as she
twirled around in it. After Betty, it was Whitney's turn. She stepped out in a
strapless, pink high low dress a strip of jewels going down the middle in a slant
down the front of the dress. I didn't think Whitney would pick a dress like
that. I knew Rhett would do a double take. Jane went next because I wanted to
go last. She stepped out in a peach, strapless dress with a jewel in the middle
of her waist. It actually looked very nice on her. At last it was my turn. I slipped on the dress and stepped out. "I didn't see that in the
catalog!" Betty exclaimed. Flora smiled. Jane smirked. "Lola's right?" "Yup." I winked. Our
little secret. I changed back and we sat with Flora, catching up on what we
missed. It was nice to be back with friends and I couldn't believe I was happy
to be back at the academy. © 2013 Nikki CongdonAuthor's Note
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Added on August 13, 2013 Last Updated on August 13, 2013 AuthorNikki CongdonPlover, WIAboutHey! I'm Nikki! I'm 15 years old and I have dreams of getting at least one of my writings published! I love to read, write and I preform in plays and musicals at my school! I play flute and learning C.. more..Writing
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