Miss Fortune

by Brandi Dougherty

Mia closed the curtains on the kitchen window that looked out onto the backyard while Zoe washed the dirt from her hands. Then they plopped down at the table with two heaping dishes of ice cream between them. They both exhaled loudly.

  “I feel better,” Mia said through a spoonful of mint chip.

  “Me too,” Zoe lied. She didn’t want to tell Mia that she still felt miserable. Burying the necklace hadn’t changed the fact that something bad could still happen to her at any minute.

  “I think it’s all going to be fine now,” Mia said with assurance.

  After they finished their snack, Mia and Zoe returned to Mia’s room. Zoe opened her backpack to get out her toothbrush and saw that she had a text message on her phone. She thought maybe it was her dad checking in. She flipped open her phone and stared at the number on the screen. It wasn’t like any other phone number she’d seen before. It was just a string of numbers going all the way across the screen. There were no dashes and no area code — it was just a list of at least twenty random numbers. Zoe clicked on the number to open the message and felt like she had been punched in the stomach — hard. Mia was watching her with a terrified look of anticipation on her face. Zoe passed her the phone with a trembling hand. Mia looked down at the message and gasped. The screen read, YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE DONE THAT.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Zoe woke up at six the next morning. She had tossed and turned her way through another night. She was scared — really terrified — and she couldn’t stop thinking about the text message. What could possibly happen next? she thought over and over again as she stared at the geometric shapes on Mia’s bedroom wall, but she really didn’t want to know the answer.

  It was just beginning to get light out as Zoe lay on her stomach on the air mattress next to Mia’s bed with her notebook in front of her. She thought she would try to take her mind off of everything and work on some notes for her film edits while she waited for Mia to wake up.

  Zoe began doodling, her mind wandering as she tried to concentrate on ideas for her film. After what seemed like just a few minutes, Zoe realized she had completely zoned out and hadn’t been thinking of anything at all — and especially not her film. She shook her head and glanced down at the paper in front of her.

  Zoe gulped.

  Without even realizing it, she had drawn the symbol of the snake eye over and over again. Her stomach seemed to turn upside down, and she dropped her pen in shock. She stared down at the thick, dark lines of the symbol on the page. Suddenly, something struck her. It was the same symbol that had been on the book — that small, dusty leather-bound book from the bookstore. The man had said the book was in Italian. The Great Serafina was Italian! I come from a long line of Italian fortunetellers, she had told Mia. Maybe the book would give them more information about the curse! It might even contain the spell to break the curse!

  Zoe sat up and stared at Mia, hoping somehow to will her awake. It didn’t work. Zoe didn’t want to annoy Mia by waking her up so early — she knew Mia was just as exhausted as she was, but she also couldn’t keep this new information to herself. Then she noticed just how bright Mia’s room was. Maybe it’s later than I thought, Zoe realized. How long have I been lying here drawing this stupid symbol?

  Zoe got up and opened Mia’s fuchsia-and-orange-striped curtains, flooding the room with strong sunlight. It was definitely later than she thought.

  Mia opened her eyes and squinted at the sun. “What time is it?”

  “I was just wondering the same thing.”

  Mia reached over to her alarm clock and turned the face toward her. “Whoa, it’s already ten.”

  Zoe was floored. She really had drawn the symbol for hours, then.

  “So, I had an idea.” Zoe walked over and sat on the corner of Mia’s bed, trying to forget about her lost morning. “You know that book we saw at the bookstore?”

  “Yeah?” Mia asked hesitantly.

  “It had the snake eye symbol on it, and it was in Italian.”

  Mia stared at Zoe with tired eyes.

  “Serafina’s Italian!” Zoe said. “Remember?”

  “Oh yeah.” Mia seemed to be waking up a little bit at a time.

  “We need to go back to the bookstore and see if that man will translate it for us. Maybe it can actually help us figure out what to do!”

  “Hey, good idea!” Mia was definitely awake now.

  Just then Mia’s mom called them for breakfast, so they quickly got dressed and went down the hall to the kitchen.

  “Don’t forget you have ballet this afternoon, Mia,” her mom reminded her as she consulted the calendar posted on the side of the fridge. “I have to take Annabel to swim lessons, but then I’ll be back to pick you up.”

  “I don’t think I can make it today, Mom.” Mia took a bite of her egg-white omelet.

  “Oh?” her mom replied. “But you never miss ballet.”

  “Zoe and I … um …” Mia struggled. “Uh, we’re still working on that scene for Zoe’s movie, and we need to shoot it today.”

  Zoe smiled at Mia. She knew how much Mia loved ballet. It was a big deal for her to skip class in order to help Zoe out.

  “Is Ms. Durand going to be okay with that?” Mia’s mom asked.

  “I haven’t missed a class all summer,” Mia said. “I’ll call her and explain.”

  “All right, I suppose, but just this once,” Mrs. Wang said.

  Zoe called her dad to check in while Mia called her ballet teacher, and then the girls set off on their bikes for the bookstore. Zoe’s leg muscles burned as she pedaled. She hadn’t ridden her bike this much since she’d gotten it. The late morning air was humid and there was no breeze at all. The air just hung around them like a thick, hot fog. Zoe peeled her navy blue tank top away from her already sticky skin as her mind floated back to the necklace for the hundredth time. She felt the absence of its warmth against her chest and the familiar heaviness of it hanging around her neck. She couldn’t believe she actually felt this way, but she knew it meant the curse still had a powerful hold over her. And she knew she had to stop it before something truly horrible happened.

  The door chime announced their entrance and they squinted into the dusty dim light of the used bookshop. Zoe let out the breath she’d been holding when she saw the man sitting behind the counter next to an old fan that was struggling to cool the space in front of it. She was worried he wouldn’t be there. This time he was cleaning an old set of figurines.

  “Hello again, ladies.” He nodded toward them. “What brings you here on this hot morning?”

  “Well,” Zoe started, “we were hoping you might still have that book.”

  “Which book was that?”

  “The one in Italian that you didn’t think belonged to you,” Zoe said hopefully.

  “Oh, yes,” he replied. “That strange little leather book.”

  “Yes!” Mia said eagerly. “Do you have it?”

  “Well, I don’t know. I don’t really remember seeing it again.” The man continued dusting a small porcelain elephant. “You’re welcome to have a look around though.”

  Panic seized Zoe. What if the book was gone? It was her only hope!

  Mia charged toward the back corner of the bookstore and Zoe followed. They searched the entire section three times each.

  Zoe leaned against the dusty shelf and let her head fall back on a row of books. “It’s hopeless,” she said desperately.

  “Don’t say that!” Mia reprimanded her. “Let’s look again.”

  This time, Zoe got down on her knees to check under the shelves but found nothing there except mountains of dust.

  “Is this what you’re looking for?” The man appeared at the end of the row holding the leather book in his hand.

  “Yes!” Zoe jumped to her feet, her heart beating wildly. “Where did you find it?”

  “Strangely enough, it was behind the counter as though it had been reserved for someone,” he said. “I didn’t put it there though, and I don’t remember s
eeing it there before. Very odd.”

  Zoe took the book and instantly felt a searing pain in her chest where the pendant of the necklace normally lay. She gasped, trying to catch her breath, and quickly handed the book back to the store owner. As soon as the book was out of her hands, the burning sensation stopped.

  Mia stared at Zoe alarmed by her reaction.

  “Do you think you could translate it for us?” Zoe asked, still flinching from the book’s effect. “This probably sounds silly, but we’re looking for a spell to break a curse.”

  “I suppose I could.” The man smiled and turned back toward the counter. “Let me get my glasses.”

  Zoe and Mia stood expectantly on the other side of the counter while the man positioned the book under a reading lamp and put on his glasses.

  “Let’s see here.” He flipped open to the first page. “It says, ‘Within these pages you will find the ancient and wise words of the Zifiri.’”

  Zoe’s tired eyes grew wide. “This is it!”

  The man laughed. “So this means something to you?”

  “Yes, sir,” Mia responded. “We need the Zifiri spell to break the curse of the snake eye, and I think it’s in this book!”

  The man looked back and forth between Mia’s and Zoe’s serious eyes. “Well then, let’s have a look. Oh, and call me Mack — none of that ‘sir’ business.”

  “Okay, Mack.” Zoe smiled a real smile for the first time in days. She was relieved that Mack was willing to help and didn’t think they were just a couple of silly kids. They were finally getting somewhere!

  “There are instructions for the most powerful spell of the Zifiri, the Incantata Zifiri,” Mack continued.

  “Yes!” Mia and Zoe said at once.

  “Can you translate the spell and write it down for us?” Zoe suggested.

  “Sure, sure,” Mack said, reaching for a notebook and a pen.

  Zoe and Mia leaned impatiently against the counter while Mack wrote down the instructions for the Zifiri spell.

  “You’re going to need some strange ingredients,” he warned them.

  “Like what?” Mia asked worriedly.

  “Two raven feathers, five drops of snake venom, a strand of hair from the one who bestowed the curse, a teardrop from the one who is cursed, and the object that holds the curse within it.”

  Zoe let her forehead fall into her hands. “Anything else?” she asked, her face pale.

  “A few more normal things, like a pinch of earth and a drop of water from a source in nature. Oh, and some candle wax.”

  Mack finished scribbling the instructions and tore out the sheet of paper. He handed it to Zoe and studied her face. Zoe’s expression was a mixture of invigoration and exhaustion. They’d finally found the spell, but how were they going to gather all those weird ingredients?

  “Anything else I can do for you?” Mack asked.

  “You don’t happen to have some snake venom, do you?” Zoe joked.

  “Actually, I just may have something you need.” Mack turned in his seat and faced the crowded shelves behind him.

  Zoe and Mia stood on their toes, straining to see what he might have.

  He turned back around and held out two large black feathers.

  “Are these raven feathers?” Mia asked excitedly.

  “They sure are,” Mack told them. “There was a huge, beautiful raven hanging around the parking lot a few days ago. I happened to find these feathers when I got out of my car. I love that blue-black color, so I thought I’d keep them.”

  Mia and Zoe exchanged a quick look.

  “Are you sure you don’t mind?” Mia asked.

  “They’re yours,” Mack said generously. “Glad I could help.”

  “Thank you!” Mia and Zoe said in unison.

  “Well, good luck,” Mack said. “Stop in again and let me know how it goes.”

  “Okay, we will!” Zoe promised.

  “And don’t … don’t get yourselves into any trouble over this, okay?” Mack added. He looked concerned.

  “We won’t,” Mia assured him.

  The girls walked quickly toward the door of the store. “Now we have to find Serafina no matter what,” Mia said. “We need a piece of her hair.”

  “But how will we find the carnival?” Zoe asked. “They could have moved to New York by now!”

  Mia stopped short and pointed straight ahead of her. She turned to Zoe and smiled brightly. “Check it out!” she practically shouted.

  There was a huge, colorful poster advertising the carnival tacked to the community board on the wall next to the door.

  Zoe studied the poster. “The carnival’s supposed to be in Vancouver, Washington, today and tomorrow! That’s not far. We can totally figure out a way to get there!”

  Mia nodded. “I guess we’re going to need a plan.”

  The girls rode their bikes toward Zoe’s house with a new burst of energy and determination. Zoe couldn’t believe they actually had the spell and knew where the carnival would be. It was about time for some good luck in her life! Her mind was buzzing with ideas about how to find Serafina and secure the ingredients they needed when all of a sudden she heard a loud pop. Her bike wobbled and she gripped her handlebars frantically, fearing she would be flung in the ditch at any moment. She looked down and realized she had a flat tire.

  Mia slowed her bike and circled back to Zoe. “Ugh,” she groaned.

  Zoe crouched down to study the tire. She had just located the nail stuck in her front tire when she heard the high-pitched screeching of car tires. She looked up and drew in a quick, startled breath. A blue car in the lane closest to her was accelerating wildly. Zoe’s mouth hung open and she watched with wide eyes as the car careened out of control. It was headed right for her! She wanted to move, but she didn’t know which way to go. She was standing on the outside of her bike, close to the road. Zoe knew somehow that the car was going to hit her, and she was so paralyzed with fear there was nothing she could do. She closed her eyes. Then she felt something smash into her with a thud. When she opened her eyes, she was lying in the dirt on the side of the road. Mia was staring down at her with an expression of terror on her sweaty face. Mia had thrown her own bike aside and tackled Zoe, pushing her out of the way just in time. The car was about two feet away from them with its bumper resting against the curb. Zoe tried to brush the dirt from her eyes, but it was caked on with sweat. A woman in a business suit jumped out of the car and ran toward them, her hands in the air.

  “Oh my goodness!” she yelled. “I don’t know what happened! Are you okay? I just … the steering wheel seized up. I tried to turn the wheel and slam on the brakes, but nothing happened! I’m so sorry!” She was breathless and sweating even more than Mia or Zoe.

  “Zoe?” Mia asked tentatively. “Are you all right?”

  “I … I think I’m okay,” Zoe eventually eked out. Her throat was so dry, it was barely a whisper.

  The woman was crouched down next to Zoe. “Let me take you to a hospital or call your parents,” she said.

  Mia squeezed Zoe’s shoulder. “Zoe, are you sure you’re okay? Do you want to go to the hospital?”

  Zoe sat up and looked around for a minute. Then she held out her hand for Mia to help her up. She struggled to her feet and squinted at Mia.

  “I’m okay. Really.”

  Mia turned toward the woman, taking charge for what Zoe thought was the zillionth time in the last few days.

  “We’re okay,” Mia said confidently. “She’s fine. Nobody got hurt. It was just a weird accident.”

  “Are you sure?” the woman asked. She still looked incredibly worried. “I don’t know what happened, I just … Are you sure you’re both okay?”

  Zoe nodded numbly, even though she wasn’t okay. Physically she was fine, except for a few new scrapes to add to her old ones, but she knew it hadn’t been an accident. Zoe realized the woman had nothing to do with it, but somebody — or something — had.

  “Zoe?” Mia asked again
. Her eyebrows crinkled into a look of painful worry.

  “Really, Mia,” Zoe replied. She tried to sound as normal as possible. “I’m okay. Just a little freaked out, that’s all.”

  Mia walked back over to the woman and spoke to her while Zoe moved her bike farther away from the road and tried to clean the dirt off her face and legs. She was unable to stop tears from coming after such a close brush with danger. The woman gave Mia her phone number and glanced worriedly at Zoe a few more times, but she finally got in her car and slowly drove off down the road.

  “I didn’t think she was going to leave,” Mia said as she walked back over to Zoe’s side. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Thanks to you I am!” Zoe sniffed. “Mia, you totally saved my life.”

  “All in a day’s work.” Mia tried to make her comment sound light and jokey, but the fear in her voice couldn’t be masked.

  “I guess I should call my dad to pick us up,” Zoe managed to say through the tears streaming down her face. “I think I might need to just go home and go to bed.”

  “Totally,” Mia agreed. “We’ll figure out how to get to the carnival tomorrow, and then we’ll perform the spell and this will all be over.”

  Zoe nodded and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “It has to be. It’s pretty clear now that the curse isn’t going to stop until …” She couldn’t even finish the sentence, but they both knew what she hadn’t said. Zoe was in real danger now. She could have been killed.

  Zoe called her dad. She didn’t tell him about the car — only about the flat bike tire. Then she and Mia walked up to the nearest intersection and waited in silence in the shade of a bus shelter. The heat was sweltering, and they were too tired and shaken up to say much. Finally, Zoe’s dad appeared in his work truck. He must have driven straight there from his landscaping job. Zoe and Mia sank into the air-conditioned cab of the truck while he put their bikes in the back.

  “You girls look exhausted,” Zoe’s dad remarked when he climbed back in the truck.

  “It’s just so hot out there,” Zoe replied quickly, shooting a small, knowing glance at Mia.

  Zoe was just starting to nod off when her father spoke again. “Zoe, why did I get a call from Noah Bronstein’s parents this morning asking that you stop calling him?”