by Sybil Nelson
One night I overheard one of their arguments.
"I can't live like this anymore, Quin,” my dad said.
"Like what? We can be a family again. The worst is over. Selliwood is in jail -"
"Until he escapes or something and comes after us again. What about all the specimens still out there that are on his side, huh? Specimen Xi, Specimen Zero, Specimen Theta, Specimen Z to name a few. How long before one of them breaks him out of jail and we're back to where we started? I don't want to put my family in danger anymore."
There was a pause.
"What are you saying, Greg?"
My dad didn't respond.
"I love you so much, Greg."
"I love you, too. I just...I can't...I can't take this. My baby...our baby is gone." Then they both started crying.
Around this time of stress for my parents, I turned into a class A stalker. Are stalkers divided into classes? Whatever. Anyway, I became obsessed with following Kyle's career. As the face of Mini Frosted Funnel Cakes he did commercials, appeared in magazines, and even did box signings. Yes, he would show up in shopping malls and sporting events and sign boxes of cereal for screaming ten-year-old girls who were suddenly in love with a sugary breakfast food. He even got to be the judge for a competitive eating competition. His celebrity was kind of weird. I mean how could anyone become famous for smiling on a box of cereal? But at least it helped me keep track of him.
I don't know why I needed to see his face all the time, but it could have been the fact that my life was falling apart in every other aspect. I wanted a piece of my old life. I wanted my life to be like it was when I lived in River's Bend and I couldn't shoot fire out of my fingers, I didn't have to chase evil villains to the ends of the Earth and my biggest worry was making sure the twins hadn't wiped snot on my dinner fork.
I talked with Tai and Elizabeth sometimes, but it wasn't enough. Tai was too far away and Elizabeth was busy most of the time. I just wanted someone to wrap their arms around me and say 'It's gonna be okay.' And I wanted that someone to be Kyle.
After visiting the Mini Frosted Funnel Cakes website for the fifth time in two hours, I learned that Kyle would be doing a box signing at Kansas City Royals game. I was going to be at that game. I had to see him.
"Priss, turn off the computer and meet us at the breakfast table,” my dad said, poking his head in the family room. He had his cranky voice on. It wasn't his old cheery voice that used to get excited about a new cranberry orange muffin recipe he'd found. It was the cranky voice that I had gotten used to over the past month whenever he was near my mother.
I sat down at the table across from Josh. The twins sat next to him and my mom and dad were on opposite ends of the table. I couldn't help but notice how I was all alone on my side of the table.
"Kids, your dad and I have been talking and we both think it's best if we have some time apart."
Josh and I stared at each other with eyes wide.
"What do you mean time apart?” I asked in a panic.
"Do you mean divorce?” Josh asked.
"Oh my God, you're getting a divorce!” I said.
"Calm down, Priss,” my dad said. "We didn't say divorce. We're just going to spend some time apart and think about things."
"It's more like a...temporary separation,” my mother added.
Josh and I stared at the table. The twins looked back and forth between my mom and dad. They weren't completely sure what was going on, but I think they were perceptive enough to know that something was wrong.
"How are you going to separate when you live in the same house?” Charlie asked.
"Yeah, won't you see each other all the time?” Chester added.
"We're not going to live in the same house, boys,” my dad said.
Silence.
"So what does this mean for us?” I asked after what felt like ten minutes, but was probably more like ten seconds.
"Well, that's why we called this meeting,” my mother said. "We all need to make some decisions."
I looked back and forth between my parents again. "Oh my God. You mean you want us to choose, don't you? Choose between you and Dad...Right now?"
"It's not really that you have to choose, Priss,” my dad said, trying to soften what felt like claws ripping my heart open. "I think we're going to eventually work it out so that you spend equal time with both of us. But, officially, one of us needs to be your primary guardian."
"And if you want to sleep on it and let us know in the morning that will be fine,” my mother added.
"Oh thanks, Mom. How generous of you to give us eight hours to decide the rest of our lives." I crossed my arms and slouched in my chair. I felt like my parents were tag teaming us in this attack on our lives.
"Oh don't be so dramatic, Priscilla. You'll still see your siblings and your estranged parent regularly. We'll still be a family just in different houses." My mother tried to sound like her normal, calm, cool, collected self. I rarely saw my mother get emotional or lose control. But I knew this had to be killing her inside.
The kitchen was silent. How could they do this to us? How could they expect us to choose between them and at a moment's notice? It was completely unfair. I knew Josh had to agree with me. This was completely unacceptable and I was going to give them a piece of my mind.
"I choose Dad,” Josh said out of the blue. I glared at him. How could he give in to this pressure? Maybe if we stuck together we could force them to change their mind. But no, he was just giving in after like two minutes. Once again he was being selfish. I hated him even more.
"Very, well,” my mother said, hiding the hurt in her voice. I looked over at my dad. If he was happy about winning Josh's affection he didn't show it. He just stared at his hands folded in front of him. "What about you Priscilla?"
"I ... I ... I " I didn't quite know what I was going to say, but thankfully I was interrupted by the twins.
"We choose Dad, too,” Chester said.
"Yeah, we want to live with Daddy,” Charlie added.
My mother couldn't hide the tears welling in her eyes. She turned away and pressed her eyelids shut. Although we'd explained to them dozens of times that it wasn't really our mother that tried to kill Dad, that Selliwood was controlling her, I think they were still a little afraid of my mom deep down inside.
"If you want to live with your father as well, Prissy, I understand,” she said not looking at me, but staring at the refrigerator as if it was going to help her or give her strength in some way.
What was I supposed to do in this situation? Of course, I loved my dad. And, honestly, I'd probably feel more comfortable living with him. He was the one who had taken care of me for the past three years while my mother battled Colonel Selliwood and his specimens. He may have been a little overprotective and wacky sometimes, but he was my dad and I loved him. But I loved my mom, too. And Charlie and Chester and Josh had abandoned her. I couldn't leave her alone. And I didn't even know if I could continue to live in the same house with Josh.
"No, Mom. I choose you. I want to live with you."
She looked at me as a tear spilled down her cheek. "You do?"
I nodded.
That night my mom and I met in my bedroom and made plans on where we would go and what we would do.
"This could be a great adventure for us, Prissy. What do you say we just buy a recreational vehicle and travel the country for a few months? Wouldn't that be fun?"
"But why do we have to leave?"
"Your Dad and I want to spend some time apart like we explained. Since he and your brothers are going to run the farm, we have to go somewhere else."
I shook my head. "Well, I don't want to live in an RV."
"Well, tell me what you want. We'll go anywhere you want. We can even live next to DisneyWorld or something. Is that what you want?"
"No Mom, I want to go home. I want to go to River's Bend."
Thankfully, she understood my desire to go back to Pennsylvania. She hugged me and sa
id, “Okay, we'll move back to River's Bend."
My mother also understood my need to go to that Kansas City Royals game and see Kyle. She took me herself.
***
Kyle, also known as, the Mini Frosted Funnel Cakes kid, signed autographs until the first pitch was thrown out. Then he and his agent packed up and headed to the Mini Frosted Funnel Cakes van (which, by the way, was shaped like a giant funnel). I just skipped the autograph thing and waited by the van, the funnel-shaped van. Really, who thinks of these things? Well, I guess it was better than driving around in a giant wiener like the Oscar Meyer people.
"No more autographs, kid,” his agent said when he saw me.
"No, it's okay, Morris. I...I know her,” Kyle said, staring into my eyes as if he was looking at a ghost.
Morris shrugged and went into the van.
"What are you doing here, Priss?"
This is what I was afraid of. He didn't want to see me. What was I thinking? He probably hated me. The last time he saw me I was kissing another boy.
"I...I...I..." I couldn't think of anything to say so I just ran to him and wrapped my arms around him. Tears that I'd been holding in for a month started racing out of me with uncontrollable speed. Thankfully, he didn't push me away. He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me close as I soaked his shirt.
Given the fact that I don't think Kyle had ever seen me cry in my life, I was sure he was probably a little freaked out. I mean, I didn't even cry in the fourth grade when I broke my arm during a game of one on one basketball with him. I actually made him finish the game against me. When our parents showed up, they thought Kyle was the injured one since he was more upset than I was.
"Don't cry, Priss. It's going to be okay,” he said, burying his face in my hair.
"Oh, Kyle. I've missed you so much. My life...I can't...."
"Just let it out, okay? I'm here for you." How could he be so understanding? The way he was just willing to wrap his arms around me without asking questions made me cry even more.
We sat down on the ground. Kyle leaned back against the van's front tire and continued to hold me against his chest. He stroked my hair while I breathed in his scent. Cherry lollipops mixed with his dad’s Old Spice. It brought back so many memories.
When I had finally cried everything out of me, I leaned up and looked at him.
He wiped the tears off my cheeks with his fingertips and stared at me with his sweet blue eyes.
"Are you ready to tell me what's going on?” he asked.
I nodded. "There's so much I have to tell you, Kyle. It's time you knew everything."
Book Three Study Guide
1. What does CRANG stand for?
2. Do you think Dr. Witherall really cares for Priss and her family? Why or why not?
3. Why does Ian get upset when Priss calls him Australian? How did it help her solve the mystery of CRANG?
4. How do you think Kyle will react to knowing the truth? Will Katya have to erase his mind again?
5. Why does Priscilla decide to live with her mother instead of her father?
About the Author
Sybil Nelson lives in Charleston, SC with her husband and two children. She currently attends the Medical University of South Carolina. Visit www.sybilnelson.com or www.priscillathegreat.com to learn more
The Priscilla the Great Series
Priscilla the Great
Priscilla the Great: The Kiss of Life
Priscilla the Great: Too Little Too Late
Priscilla the Great: Bring the Pain
Priscilla the Great: The Time Traveling Bullet
Priscilla the Great Versus the World
Twin Shorts
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