Miss Fortune

by Brandi Dougherty

  Zoe’s heart sank into her shoes like a cement block. “Are you serious?”

  “What’s going on? Are you harassing this boy?” Her dad was trying not to laugh, but Zoe was angry. It wasn’t funny! Nothing about this curse was funny to her.

  “No!” Zoe was mortified. “It’s all a big misunderstanding. I tried to explain, but Noah didn’t believe me.”

  “Well, try to straighten things out, okay?” her dad said wearily. “I don’t want to have to take your cell phone away.”

  Zoe sank down farther in the seat and tried not to start crying again. Mia gave her arm a sympathetic squeeze. Zoe didn’t even want to look at her phone to see how many new calls had been placed to Noah.

  When Zoe’s dad finally pulled into their driveway after dropping Mia off at home, Zoe wasn’t sure if she could make it into the house. She was so worn out from everything that had happened. She just wanted to take a cold shower and go to bed. She wearily climbed the stairs to her room and flipped on the light. She took off her dust-filled shoes and was just about to head to the bathroom when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She turned to face her bed and let out a horrified scream. There it was — lying right in the middle of her bed: the necklace!

  CHAPTER NINE

  Zoe backed away from her bed. She couldn’t get her breathing under control. She felt like she was going to pass out. She turned in a circle, hyperventilating now. She had no idea what to do. Should she throw the necklace out the window? Should she call Mia? Should she try to explain to her dad what had been going on?

  Zoe sank to her knees on the rug in the middle of her room and pulled her cell phone out of the dusty tote bag that still hung limply from her shoulder. She tried to steady her hand long enough to punch in Mia’s speed-dial number. Fresh tears streamed through the dirt on her cheeks as she waited for Mia to answer. Pick up. Pick up! she shouted frantically in her head, but the call went through to Mia’s voice mail. She hung up without leaving a message. She knew if she tried to speak she would just start sobbing. She felt like she was having a total nervous breakdown.

  Zoe stared at the necklace. The stone was still glowing — like a big red warning sign. She struggled over to her desk on her knees and searched for something to put it in. She pawed through the contents of her desk drawers as little sobs and broken gasps escaped her lips. Finally, she found an old pencil case at the bottom of a drawer. She crawled over to the side of her bed and picked up the necklace. Instantly, a feeling of calm relief washed over her. Zoe held the necklace out in front of her and hesitated. It felt so warm and inviting — like nothing bad could ever happen. “No! No! No!” Zoe shouted, vigorously fighting the urge to put it around her neck. She shook her head with quick snaps like she was trying to fling all thoughts of the necklace away from her, then she quickly put the pendant in the case and snapped it shut. She scrambled back to her desk and opened the small top drawer. She buried the pencil case under a pile of papers, closed the drawer, and used the tiny silver key to lock it. She stood up and wavered. She was dizzy and her exhausted legs could barely carry her. She stumbled to the head of her bed and put the key under her pillow.

  Zoe buckled onto her bed in a terrified heap. She knew that locking up the necklace hadn’t changed anything. It wouldn’t stop the curse. It wouldn’t protect her from further accidents. Nothing would. After all, she had helped Mia bury the necklace in the ground, and somehow it had still ended up back in her room like it was the most natural thing on earth — like it belonged there.

  Zoe finally managed to get up and go to the bathroom to take a cold shower as she’d planned. The clean, cool water helped ease a little bit of her hysteria, but she still had no idea what to do. She returned to her room and got into bed.

  The morning dawned bright and just as hot as the day before. Zoe had thrown all her blankets on the floor during the night, but she still woke up feeling sweaty and uncomfortable. She could feel the heat radiating through her wide open window. She couldn’t remember another summer in Portland that had felt like this. She was surprised she had slept at all. She had expected to lie awake all night in a panic in the warm, heavy air of her room, but she had been so exhausted that sleep had eventually come, anyway.

  Zoe’s cell phone rang, making her jump. She was beginning to wonder if she would ever feel normal again. She reached over and grabbed it from her nightstand. Her stomach pitched a little before she saw that it was just Mia calling. She hated never knowing what to expect — that familiar sick feeling rose in her every time the phone rang.

  “Hey,” Zoe said groggily.

  “I don’t know how I missed your call last night. I didn’t notice it until it was too late to call back. Everything okay? “

  “No, not really,” Zoe’s voice wavered.

  “Zoe, what now?” Mia’s tone was full of fearful anticipation.

  “When I got home last night, the necklace was on my bed.” Zoe could barely get the words out. Saying it out loud made it feel even more real.

  “No.” Mia’s voice was barely audible.

  “I’m serious,” Zoe replied. “I almost lost it.”

  “It’s not possible.” Mia sounded very far away.

  “I know it isn’t,” Zoe said, her voice cracking again. “But is any of this possible?”

  “What did you do with it?” Mia asked.

  “I locked it in my desk. Not that it really matters.”

  “Oh, Zoe. This is terrible!” Mia sounded on the verge of tears. Zoe could tell her friend was just as tired, frustrated, and angry as she was.

  “So, what time can you come over?” Zoe asked. “We have to get to the carnival and do the spell today.”

  “I have to have lunch at my grandma’s house.” Mia sighed. “I told my mom we have to go early so I can meet up with you as soon as we’re done.”

  “Okay. Just call or text me as soon as you’re on your way,” Zoe said.

  “I’ll get there as soon as I can. Hang in there, Zoe.” Mia tried to sound hopeful.

  “I’ll try.”

  Zoe got out of bed and looked in the mirror. She looked bad. Tired, hot, scared — just bad. She put on a pair of long, dark blue denim shorts and a white cotton sleeveless shirt with an artsy design pattern around the neck and over one shoulder. Then she went to the bathroom and washed her face and wet down the unruly curls in her hair. She tied her hair back in two loose braids and brushed a little silver eye shadow onto her eyelids, hoping to make herself look more awake.

  Zoe trudged down the stairs and followed the smell of cooking bacon into the kitchen. “Good morning, sweetheart,” her dad greeted her cheerfully.

  Zoe kissed her dad on the cheek silently.

  “You look nice,” he remarked.

  Zoe shrugged as she flopped down onto a bar stool.

  “Everything okay?” Zoe’s dad eyed her quizzically.

  “It’s been a rough few days,” Zoe replied, unsure how much to reveal.

  “Boy troubles?” Zoe’s dad asked awkwardly. “Did you get that thing with Noah Bronstein straightened out yet?”

  Zoe groaned. “Not yet. I don’t know what’s going on, Dad. My phone seriously keeps dialing his number, but it’s not me doing it — I swear!” She was close to tears yet again. “Lots of weird stuff like that has been happening to me lately.” Zoe watched her dad carefully, trying to gauge his reaction.

  “Weird stuff, huh?” he asked, concerned.

  “Yeah, like the bike accident,” Zoe pointed out. “And the hammer that fell on my toe, and the flat tire, and the lasagna that burned up even though the oven wasn’t on! I’m cursed, Dad!”

  Mr. Coulter threw his head back and laughed. “You’re cursed? Don’t you think you’re being a bit melodramatic, Zoe? You’ve just had a bit of bad luck lately. It happens to the best of us.” He leaned over the bar and gave Zoe a kiss on her forehead.

  She pulled away, annoyed. “I mean I really am cursed, Dad.” Zoe’s face grew hot. Her explanation ha
d totally backfired. She thought about showing him the glowing necklace, but she knew there was no way her dad would take her seriously now. He would just have an explanation for everything.

  Mr. Coulter shook his head. “You’re not cursed, Zoe. You’ve just had a couple of accidents, that’s all. Things will get better soon — you’ll see. Growing up can be tough, but it will get easier. Pass me your plate.”

  Zoe sighed and handed over her plate. She tried hard to fight back the frustrated tears building up in her eyes. She had really hoped her dad would take her seriously. Maybe I should have told him about that car almost hitting me yesterday, she thought. She was so stressed and freaked out, she just wanted her dad to take control and fix everything for her. But now it was totally clear that she and Mia were on their own. No one was going to help them.

  “Here you go, honey.” Zoe’s dad handed her a plate piled with pancakes, fresh strawberries, scrambled eggs, and bacon.

  “Thanks,” Zoe mumbled.

  “I feel bad I’ve been so busy lately, so I wanted to make sure you had a nice breakfast waiting for you this morning. And I was going to suggest a do-over of that lasagna and some movies tonight.”

  An image of the fiery oven flashed into Zoe’s head. She wasn’t sure when she’d be ready for her dad’s lasagna again.

  “Well, I was actually hoping maybe Mia could spend the night tonight. I know we’ve been having a lot of sleepovers, but she’s helping me with a new movie I’ve been working on,” Zoe said.

  “Yes, you certainly have had a lot of sleepovers,” Zoe’s dad remarked. “I’m glad you girls are having fun.”

  I wouldn’t exactly call it fun, Zoe thought.

  “I guess that would be fine.”

  “Also, do you think maybe we could take the bus to Vancouver this afternoon?” Zoe asked hopefully. “I took the bus to see that video installation at the modern art museum with Makenna a few months ago, remember?”

  “Vancouver?” her dad asked. “Why?”

  “After we went to the carnival the other night I had an idea to shoot a movie there, but now the carnival’s up in Vancouver.” Zoe felt bad for lying to her dad again. She never lied to him about anything, and she didn’t like doing it now.

  “Let me think about it,” Zoe’s dad said. “Why don’t you look up the bus schedule and make sure it’s okay with Mia’s folks and then we’ll talk about it.”

  “Okay.” Zoe breathed a sigh of relief. So far, everything was going according to plan — as long as her dad agreed to let them go to Vancouver. Zoe finished her breakfast and helped her dad clean up. Then she went to his office to use his computer, since hers was still totally dead. She printed out the bus schedule and a Google map of where the carnival was supposed to be. Then she paced nervously around her room, waiting for Mia to call. She started cleaning up her dirty clothes and had even moved on to organizing her closet when her cell phone finally rang.

  “Hey, I’m done. What’s the plan?” Mia asked right away.

  “Well, I already asked my dad if you could spend the night tonight. Do you think your parents will go for that?”

  “I think it should be okay, especially since I saved the day by babysitting Annabel the other night.”

  “Great,” Zoe said. For the first time in the last few days, Zoe felt in control of her life. She and Mia were going to break the curse. They had to.

  “I asked my dad if we could take the bus to Vancouver to shoot a movie at the carnival,” Zoe explained. “He said if it was okay with your parents, he’d think about it.”

  “Okay,” Mia agreed. “Let me talk to my mom and call you back.”

  Zoe sat on her bed and waited impatiently with her cell phone in her hand. Finally, it rang again.

  “I think I just signed away the rest of my summer.” Mia sighed. “I have to be home first thing tomorrow morning to watch Annabel again and clean my room.”

  “I’m so sorry, M,” Zoe said. “If you want, I’ll clean your room and do your laundry and cook your family dinner for the rest of the summer.” Zoe was so relieved that Mia’s parents had agreed to the plan that she would have done just about anything for the Wangs.

  Mia laughed, but Zoe noticed that her voice was shaky. “Let’s just get this thing over with so we can actually have a ‘rest of the summer’! I’ll be at your house in twenty minutes.”

  As Zoe waited for Mia to arrive, she glanced out her bedroom window every three seconds. It was impossible for her to concentrate on anything. As soon as she saw Mia turn in to the driveway, she ran downstairs to meet her. The girls rushed back up to Zoe’s room and sat on the bed with Mack’s handwritten instructions for the Incantata Zifiri, the bus schedule, and the Google map in front of them.

  “So, assuming the carnival is actually where it’s supposed to be, we have to find Serafina’s tent as quickly as we can,” Zoe started.

  “Do you think we should just confront her when we find it?” asked Mia.

  Zoe shook her head. “What if she’s still in that weird trance? And if she’s not, she’s probably relieved to finally be rid of the curse. We’d be the last people she’d want to see!”

  Mia nodded. “True.”

  “I think we have to sneak into the tent without her knowing.” Zoe shuddered just thinking about it, but it was the only way.

  Zoe read over Mack’s instructions again. She alone had to perform the spell. The instructions made it clear that only the cursed individual could do it. So, once they had all the ingredients on the list, Zoe needed to combine them in a specific order exactly one hour before sunset. Then there was a chant Zoe had to say and instructions for destroying the talisman of the curse — the necklace.

  “I think we should just get to Vancouver as quickly as we can so we can get back to my house to do the spell tonight. I looked online and the sun sets at 8:08, so that means I have to perform the spell at exactly 7:08.”

  “Okay, that sounds good, I guess,” Mia agreed meekly. “But what about the snake venom? Where are we going to find that?” Zoe could tell Mia was growing more and more nervous about their plan.

  Zoe, on the other hand, was starting to feel some of her old confidence coming back. She knew this was their only chance to break the spell, and she was willing to do whatever it took.

  “Well, while I was waiting for you to get here I remembered something I saw in Serafina’s tent. There was a snake head in the corner with its jaws open like it was about to strike. It was super-creepy. That should have been the first clue that I was about to make a bad decision!” Zoe sighed. “Anyway, there was a tiny glass vial in the snake’s jaws. That has to be snake venom, right?”

  “Probably … maybe … I don’t know,” Mia responded tensely.

  “So, first we have to get to Vancouver without anything horrible happening,” Zoe continued.

  Mia fell back on the bed, covering her face with her hands.

  “Then we have to sneak into Serafina’s tent and steal the snake venom from the snake’s jaws and find a strand of her hair.”

  Mia groaned.

  “Then we have to get out of the tent without getting caught.”

  “Ugh,” Mia responded. “I’m sick to my stomach just thinking about it.”

  “I know,” Zoe agreed. “And then after that, we have to get back here in time to do the spell an hour before sunset.”

  Zoe fell back on the bed next to Mia and tried to breathe. So many things could go wrong. And what if they didn’t even make it to the carnival or to Serafina’s tent? What if their bus ran off the bridge into the river before they even got to Vancouver? After the car accident yesterday, Zoe couldn’t stop her mind from going in a million tragedy-filled directions.

  After a while Mia broke the silence with another question. “So how are we even going to get into her tent in the first place?”

  The girls fell silent again.

  “What if you wear some sort of disguise and distract Serafina while I sneak into the tent?” Zoe finally sug
gested.

  “You can’t be serious!” Mia sat up, a horrified look on her face.

  “Why not?”

  “Why not?” Mia screeched. “What if she knows it’s me? What if she traps me in a cage and makes me her slave? Or worse — what if she curses me, too?”

  “You won’t get caught,” Zoe said confidently. “We’ll make the disguise really good. We’ll make you look like a boy. We can pull it off with some of my brother’s clothes and stuff.”

  Mia covered her face again.

  “What else are we going to do?” Zoe pleaded. “She can’t know that we’re there.”

  Mia uncovered her face and nodded a small, reluctant nod. “Okay, fine.”

  “Great!” Zoe jumped up. “You work on fixing your hair and I’ll go raid my brother’s closet and talk to my dad about the bus schedule.”

  Zoe returned twenty minutes later with an armload of clothes.

  “So, there’s a bus that leaves Portland at 3:15. My dad said he would drive us to the bus station, make sure we get on the right bus, and then pick us up from the 6:05 bus back from Vancouver. We just have to remember to call him when we get there and then again when we get on the bus to come back.”

  “All right,” Mia responded. She seemed distracted as she tried to pin her long hair up to lay flat against her head.

  “Here,” Zoe handed her a hat. “I brought you one of my brother’s baseball caps.”

  “Thanks, that will help,” Mia said as she stuffed her long hair into the cap.

  Zoe also gave Mia a Portland Trailblazers T-shirt and a pair of cargo shorts. “Luckily, this T-shirt shrunk, so it won’t be too enormous on you. The shorts though, are probably going to look like pants.”

  Mia gave Zoe a doubtful look.

  “We’ll just have to cinch them really tight with a belt.”

  Mia changed into her outfit, and Zoe surveyed the costume seriously.

  “Are you sure about this?” Mia asked, clearly not sure herself.

  “I think it actually works. You have sneakers to wear and the baseball cap totally covers your hair. You really look like a boy!” Zoe said, actually smiling a bit at their handiwork.