Miss Fortune

by Brandi Dougherty

  “I just don’t understand who would do that to you!” Mia said. There was genuine fear in her voice now, too.

  “Oh no,” Zoe interrupted with a groan. She covered her eyes with her fingers. Her computer was frozen on the IM page. Then, suddenly, as she and Mia watched, the screen went black. There was a tiny yellow frown face with X’s for eyes in the center of the black screen. Zoe had seen that face on techsupport pages before, and she knew it wasn’t good.

  Zoe uncovered her eyes and leaned in to look at the screen a little bit closer. “What the …?” Under the frown face was something else. In tiny yellow type it read: GAME OVER, ZOE.

  Zoe gasped and looked at Mia. Mia’s face was as white as paper, but she wasn’t staring at Zoe’s computer — she was staring at Zoe. Zoe followed Mia’s gaze and looked down at the pendant around her neck. The jewel in the center was glowing a deep and menacing red.

  Zoe involuntarily reached up and cradled the pendant in her palm. Her mind felt cloudy. Hadn’t she taken it off first thing that morning? Why had she decided to put the necklace back on again? Zoe tried to think, but she couldn’t remember what had made her put the necklace back on.

  “Zoe!” Mia shrieked. “What is going on? There is something wrong with that necklace! You have to take it off … NOW!” Mia was hysterical. She had leaped off the bed and was standing a good six feet away from Zoe.

  “I d-don’t know….” Zoe stammered. Then she remembered. That morning, she had felt as though something terrible would happen if she didn’t put the necklace back on. And now it seemed as though something terrible would happen if she kept it on. Zoe didn’t know what to tell Mia.

  “Take it off!” Mia shouted again.

  Mia’s voice startled Zoe. Zoe reached up and slowly lifted the necklace off of her neck. Then she slipped it into her pocket. She silently decided that she’d put it back on when Mia wasn’t looking, but even thinking this alarmed her. Mia was right — there was something horribly wrong with the necklace.

  “What is going on, Zoe?” Mia’s voice was low and serious. “This is getting really creepy. That necklace should NOT be glowing like that! It’s like … it’s like it’s cursed!”

  Zoe slipped her hand into her pocket again and touched the pendant. A jolt went down her spine as Serafina’s voice careened through her head again.

  “You don’t think …” Zoe trailed off, shaking her head. “Well, I did have one thought, but it’s just so crazy!”

  “What?” Mia pressed her gently. “You know you can tell me anything, Zoe.”

  “Well, after I fell off my bike yesterday I thought what if … what if that fortune teller at the carnival was right?” Zoe finally managed to say. “What if she has something to do with all the bad stuff that’s been happening to me? Remember how she said I would make a bad decision and that it would lead to regrettable events?”

  “But what was your bad decision?” Mia asked, her voice rising sharply.

  Zoe stared at the floor. “I should have never agreed to have my fortune read in the first place. And then I made jokes about your fortune, and asked why mine was all bad stuff. Did you see how mad she was at me?”

  Mia drew in a sharp breath. “And then she did something creepy to that necklace! I knew she was being weird when she gave it to you.”

  Zoe took her hand out of her pocket. She stared at Mia, paralyzed with fear. She didn’t know what to say or do next.

  “Did you notice it glowing yesterday when all that bad stuff happened?” Mia asked.

  “No,” Zoe said. “I didn’t even remember that I was wearing it until I woke up this morning.”

  “Really?” Mia’s eyes widened again in disbelief.

  “I know it’s weird,” Zoe admitted. “I mean, you know me — I don’t even really wear jewelry. But for some reason I haven’t wanted to take it off. It’s really freaky.”

  Mia stared at Zoe intently. “We have to go back to the carnival and confront her. We have to find out what’s going on!”

  Zoe nodded. “You’re right. This is all really starting to scare me.”

  Mia stood up and looked around for her shoes.

  “I’ll just tell my mom we’re going for a bike ride in the park,” Mia said. “We can ride our bikes to the fairgrounds and then straight back here afterward.”

  “Good idea,” Zoe replied. Mia went out to find her mom while Zoe put on her flip-flops.

  The girls met at the front door and ran out to their bikes. Neither of them spoke as they sped toward the carnival. What’s going to happen when we confront her? Zoe’s mind raced as quickly as she pedaled. Will she help us? What if she makes it worse? Suddenly, Zoe’s thoughts darted back to the necklace like a magnet. She slowed her bike for a second so that Mia was riding in front of her. Then she quickly slipped the glowing pendant back around her neck, hiding it under her T-shirt. She reasoned to herself that she didn’t want it to fall out of her pocket because they might need to give it back to Serafina. But she also knew that something else had made her want to put the necklace back on. Some force that she couldn’t understand. Whatever it was, it made her feel sick all over again. She sped back up to Mia’s side.

  Before they even reached the fairgrounds, Zoe knew something was wrong. The giant Ferris wheel that should have loomed above the trees was missing. As she and Mia pedaled to a stop at the main entrance to the grounds, Zoe felt as though the wind had been knocked out of her. Where the carnival had been, there was a barren parking lot full of discarded food containers, posters, broken balloons, and forgotten prizes. Everything else was gone.

  A man in dark coveralls was picking up trash near the side gate. They biked over to him.

  “Excuse me,” Zoe called through the fence, fear gripping her. “What happened to the carnival?”

  “I can’t say for sure,” the man replied as he stopped and leaned against his rake.

  “Wasn’t it supposed to be here until tomorrow?” Mia asked, her voice tight and high-pitched.

  “Yep.” The man nodded. “They pulled out in the middle of the night. I came out of my trailer and they were running everywhere, packing up rides, pulling down tents. There was one woman in particular who seemed pretty ready to be on the road. She was shouting at folks to move out.”

  Zoe and Mia exchanged worried looks. Just then a mass of dark clouds swallowed up the sun. The sky flashed bright blue as a bolt of lightning sliced through the air on the horizon. Thunder rumbled in response, shaking the dusty ground. Zoe hadn’t even noticed that the air had grown thick and heavy as they rode. Now the sky looked so ominous there was no question it was about to pour.

  “Let’s get out of here!” Zoe yelled to Mia over another deafening boom of thunder.

  The girls hopped on their bikes and started to pedal just as the skies opened up. The rain was coming down so heavily Zoe could barely see the pavement in front of her.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “Zoe, over there!” Mia pointed to a run-down strip mall across the street. The girls pedaled to the other side of the road and stood under the roof of the long, narrow building.

  “That looks like a bookstore down there.” Zoe nodded toward the other end of the plaza. “Let’s go in there until the rain stops.”

  Zoe and Mia locked their bikes to a post and pushed open the door of Benson’s Used Books and Curio Shop. A loud chime announced their entrance. They spotted an old man hunched over a dusty counter in the front of the store. He was poring over a giant atlas. He looked up and smiled.

  “Let me know if there’s anything I can do for you girls,” he said before going back to his map. The store was packed, floor to ceiling, with books. Along the wall behind the counter were shelves lined with old globes, statues, and other ancient-looking collectibles. Zoe couldn’t tell if they were supposed to be antiques or just old junk that nobody wanted.

  “We should look for a book on fortune-telling or bad luck or something while we’re here,” Mia suggested as she headed for the back of t
he store. Zoe followed Mia, straining her eyes to scan the tall shelves. The dark rain clouds outside made the dim lighting of the store even darker. Mia pulled a heavy volume off a shelf and started to flip through it. Zoe could see that the title was A History of Magic. Zoe moved down the row and was about to pull a book off one of the lower shelves when something caught her eye. A small, tattered leather-bound book was peeking out from under the bookcase. Zoe picked it up and dusted off the cover. She nudged Mia in the side. The cover of the book had a symbol on it that looked eerily similar to Zoe’s pendant. Zoe stared at the cover. She didn’t know how to feel. What did it mean? Mia grabbed the book from Zoe and opened it.

  “What language is that?” Zoe asked over Mia’s shoulder.

  “I’m not sure,” Mia mumbled, flipping through the pages. “It kind of looks like Spanish, but I can’t read it, so it must be something else.”

  At the top of each page was the symbol from the cover of the book. “Is that the same symbol as the necklace?” Mia asked.

  “Uh-huh,” Zoe answered quickly. She was almost sure it was, but she was afraid to look. She didn’t want Mia to see that she was wearing the necklace again.

  “Need any help?” The man appeared at the end of the row.

  “Do you know what language this is?” Zoe asked, holding up the book for him.

  The man put on the glasses that were hanging around his neck and peered down at the pages. “That would be Italian,” he replied. “I spent a bit of time in Italy a while ago. A long while ago. May I?” The man took the book from Zoe and studied it carefully. “Is this your book?” he asked.

  “No …” Zoe answered slowly. “I just found it on the floor. It was sticking out right there.” She pointed to the bottom shelf of the bookcase.

  “Huh.” The man scratched his white beard thoughtfully and turned the book over in his hand.

  “I’ve never seen it before. It’s definitely not in my catalog. Are you sure you found it here?”

  “Yes, I’m positive.” Zoe nodded, feeling light-headed.

  “Zoe, we should probably go,” Mia said quietly. Zoe thought it looked like the color was draining from Mia’s face again.

  “Yeah, we have to go,” Zoe said to the store owner.

  “You can keep the book if you want to.” The man held the book out to Zoe. “Like I said, I’ve never seen it before.”

  “No!” Mia half shouted. “I mean, no thank you. It’s okay. We don’t speak Italian, anyway.”

  The man gave them a strange look, but Zoe and Mia scooted around him without further explanation. They ran from the store like someone was chasing them. They stopped short at the edge of the plaza and stood there catching their breath. The rain was still coming down in heavy sheets. Neither of them spoke for a long time. Then, Mia slowly lifted her finger and pointed to the top of a tree in the corner of the parking lot. In one of the highest branches of an evergreen tree sat a large, jet-black bird. A raven.

  “Do you think that’s the same bird?” Zoe asked, her eyes fixed on the raven. In an almost trancelike state, she reached up and pulled the necklace out from under her T-shirt. She stood, fingering the pendant gently while she stared up at the bird. “It kind of looks like the same bird. I think it’s watching us again.”

  “Zoe!” Mia shrieked, backing away. “What are you doing? Why did you put that thing back on?”

  “I … I don’t know…. It just …” Zoe struggled to answer Mia. She couldn’t explain herself. “I don’t know why I put it back on. It was like some weird force came over me and made me.”

  “You have to get rid of it!” Mia sounded like she was going to cry. “Think of all the trouble it’s caused already!”

  “We don’t know for sure it’s the necklace, Mia,” Zoe said, trying to reason. Even as she heard herself say the words, she knew it wasn’t true. Of course there’s something wrong with the necklace, Zoe thought. All of the bad stuff started as soon as I put it on!

  “Zoe, it’s glowing,” Mia said sternly.

  “I know,” Zoe admitted, her voice a frightened whisper. “The truth is, part of me is worried that something even worse will happen if I do take it off.”

  Mia’s eyes widened in fear. “Do you really think so?”

  “I don’t know,” Zoe said with a sigh. “I don’t know how to explain it, and I know this sounds weird, but even though I know it’s bad, I don’t want to take it off.”

  Zoe looked at Mia and saw true fear in her eyes. But then something in Mia’s eyes changed. They darkened, and her voice was suddenly determined.

  “We’re going to get to the bottom of this, Zoe,” Mia promised her friend. “We have to. There’s no way we’re letting that creepy necklace hurt you, no matter what. We’ll go to the library tomorrow, and we’ll do some real research on curses.”

  “Tomorrow?” Zoe asked. She felt tears well up for what seemed like the tenth time that day. She glanced at her phone. It was after five o’clock. “Do you think they’re still open? I don’t know if I can wait until tomorrow!”

  “I’m pretty sure they’re closed,” Mia said. “But I promise we’ll go first thing in the morning — as soon as they open. We’re going to fix this!”

  “Thanks, Mia,” Zoe said. She felt a little calmer listening to Mia’s confident pledge.

  “Come on,” Mia said. “It looks like the rain is stopping.”

  Zoe looked out at the parking lot. The rain was definitely lighter, and the sky looked brighter. Zoe thought she even saw the sun trying to peek through the gray clouds. Zoe hopped on her bike feeling lighter, too. She was a little surprised by how takecharge Mia was being. It wasn’t like her to take the lead — that was usually Zoe’s job, like with the Kamikaze. Thank goodness for Mia, Zoe thought as the two girls pedaled back to Mia’s house. I don’t think I could handle this all on my own.

  Zoe was sure no one else would have even believed her.

  “Mia, is that you?” Mia’s mom called out as soon as Zoe and Mia closed Mia’s front door behind them.

  “Yeah, Mom, what’s up?”

  Mrs. Wang poked her head out of her bedroom. She was in her bathrobe, her wet hair sticking up in all directions. “Thank goodness you’re home!” Mrs. Wang almost shouted in relief. “The babysitter just called and canceled on us. Can you stay home tonight to watch Annabel? Your dad and I can’t miss this cocktail party. The woman throwing the party is one of my biggest clients!”

  Mia glanced at Zoe. Her mom had a rule that she wasn’t allowed to have friends over when she was babysitting Annabel.

  “Sure, Mom,” Mia responded. “Zoe and I have plans to go to the library first thing tomorrow to do some research for her film, but I’m free tonight.”

  “Yeah, I should probably get home for dinner,” Zoe said. “Let me just go get my backpack from your room, Mia.”

  “Thank you, girls!” Mrs. Wang called as she disappeared into her closet.

  Zoe and Mia headed upstairs.

  “Maybe you should call Noah tonight to try to explain the whole e-mail thing,” Mia suggested.

  “I don’t know,” Zoe said as she packed up her computer. “Maybe I’ll just e-mail him back.”

  “Um, Zoe?” Mia asked. “Your laptop is still dead, remember?”

  Zoe laughed tiredly. She had completely forgotten. “Oh yeah. I can use my dad’s computer … or Conner’s.”

  “I think you should just call him. If he sees another e-mail from you he might just delete it,” Mia said gently.

  “Yeah, you’re probably right,” Zoe sighed. “I guess I’ll text Tomo when I get home and see if she can get his number from Andrew.”

  “It will work out, Zoe. Noah’s so nice, it’s hard to imagine him staying mad for very long,” Mia reasoned.

  Mia walked Zoe to the front door. “I’ll call you first thing tomorrow morning so we can make plans to meet at the library,” she said. “Good luck with the phone call!”

  Zoe cringed at Mia’s choice of words.
/>   “Okay, bye,” Zoe said as she headed out to her bike.

  Zoe rode home as quickly as she could. She just wanted to get back to the safety of her bedroom without something catastrophic happening.

  She found Conner parked in front of the TV when she got home. He was eating a giant plateful of gooey chips and cheese and watching Ninja Warrior. “Conner’s gourmet nachos,” as he called them, consisted of piling a plate full of Doritos (usually Cool Ranch), adding Cheez Whiz and shredded cheddar cheese, and microwaving it for forty-five seconds. It was Conner’s favorite thing in the world. Zoe thought it was disgusting.

  “Enjoying your dinner?” Zoe asked as she set her backpack on the floor.

  “Yesh,” Conner replied through a mouthful of nachos.

  “Is Dad home yet?”

  “No, hesh shtill a wowk.”

  Zoe was pretty good at deciphering Conner’s speech when he talked with his mouth full because he did it all the time, so she knew he’d said their dad was still at work.

  Zoe went up to her room and collapsed on her bed. She took out her cell phone and texted Tomo. She silently hoped Tomo wouldn’t write back right away, but her phone buzzed just a few minutes later.

  Now that she had no more excuses, calling Noah didn’t seem like such a great idea. How could she possibly explain that she hadn’t written that awful e-mail? What could she say that wouldn’t sound crazy? She was starting to think maybe she was crazy. She’d had so many weird thoughts and feelings the last couple of days she was beginning to wonder what was real and what wasn’t. What if the e-mail from Noah wasn’t even real? What if she called him and he had no idea what she was talking about? Then he’d really think she was weird!

  Finally, Zoe took a deep breath and typed in Noah’s number. She still had no idea what she was going to say, but she had been lying on her bed for at least half an hour and hadn’t figured it out. So she decided to just get it over with.

  “This is the last time I’m answering the phone!” Noah barked instantly.