September 27th, Thursday Day - Casey Silpetti
Weird dreams plague Casey’s sleep, keeping her from resting very well that night and making the morning seem like it comes all too soon. She glares at her alarm clock for a long moment before finally swatting it into silence, and stretches hard before even thinking about trying to get up.
She goes through her normal morning routine in a dreary limbo, finally finding herself in the kitchen fixing something to drink without even realizing it. The TV is on in the corner, and even though the volume is low she catches a bit of the broadcast:
“It has been a little over a month since the body of Tina O’Bradain was found. Tina – daughter of two Arkham Police Officers - was the sixteenth child known to have gone missing this year. Last night, another name was added to that list.
Timothy Wells, a nine year old resident of the Cook Housing Development in Outer Arkham was found missing from his bedroom this morning. While no evidence of a struggle was found inside his room, his window was found opened.
This is the first child to have gone missing from inside their home, though several have disappeared while close to home.
Police are searching for any lead, and ask that anyone who has information to please call the special hotline set up for this investigation…”
“Horrible, isn’t it?” Bianca’s question startles Casey, who thought she was alone in the kitchen. She turns to look at the other girl, who holds out the remote and mutes the tv. “I can’t imagine what those poor parents are going through. I remember when Vee was taken, I just…” She shudders and falls silent for a long moment, before finally looking down and spooning her own coffee around. “Guess mom will be busy again, with the council meetings and all. I hope they find whoever’s doing it soon… it’s so horrible.”
Casey nods and sits across from Bianca, joining her in silence. Casey finds herself getting lost in thought again, this time thanks to the news broadcast. Now that she knows the kinds of things that are stalking around in the dark, listening to the news of it happening to someone is that much more frightening. Bianca is right; someone needs to be out there doing something about it. Obviously there are more people with power like Faust or Cadence or even herself out there in this world, so shouldn’t something be stopping these attacks?
Her internal dialog is interrupted when Roni finally walks into the room. She’s moving listlessly, her skin pale and deep shadows lurking under unfocused eyes. She’s dressed in her uniform, but unkempt. Her hair is a wild tangle of knots and frizz… all in all Casey has never seen her in this bad a state of disarray.
Bianca jumps up at once and helps her sister to the table. “Hey you, is it bad?”
Veronica shakes her head dully. Bianca rushes over to the sink and gets her a glass of water. “Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be right back.” True to her word, she rushes from the room and is back a mere few moments later, panting from her run upstairs and back.
She places a line of pill bottles in a row in front of Roni, who starts silently pushing them into some kind of order – nudging them into a perfectly straight line. One at a time, she takes a pill from each bottle and swallows it silently, pausing for a second and then moving down the line to the next bottle.
While she’s doing that, Bianca starts brushing her hair lovingly, neatening her appearance. She glances over at Casey. “Sometimes she has episodes. She’s been doing pretty well lately, but every once in a while… The pills should help some later. It’s nothing to worry about though, she’ll be fine.” She says it matter of factly, in a tone that sounds as though it’s been repeated many times. At the same time, it sounds as though she’s still trying to convince herself as well.
Casey looks at Bianca, then at Veronica, confused and a worried about her friend. “Episodes? From what? Are you sick, Roni? Is there anything I can do?”
Roni shakes her head listlessly. “It’s ok. Just a condition I have, if flares up sometimes.”
Bianca finishes her hair and starts cleaning up the pill bottles and cups. “Ok little bear, go get your books. That is, if you’re sure you want to go to school. We can stay home today, if you feel like it?”
“No, no. I’ll be fine, I want to go to school today.” She heads out to get her books, Bianca watching her closely as she does, frowning slightly. When Veronica is out of the room, she turns to Casey and sighs.
“The doctors don’t know what it is. They think it’s similar to autism or something. And sometimes she just gets really exhausted, rundown or something. But she’ll be ok, the medicine usually works. And if she’s actually wanting to go to school, it can’t be too bad. Just make sure if you’re in class with her or whatever, she doesn’t get too worked up. She doesn’t deal good with a lot of stimulus like this. She doesn’t like to be touched, or bright lights and loud sounds.”
Casey nods, wondering what’s really causing Roni to feel this way.
By the time they all head out to the car, a little color has come to Veronica’s cheeks, and her eyes are a little clearer. But she still sits off to the side, as if she’s in her own little world. Bianca idly chats with the two of them, not seeming to care that Veronica isn’t answering back anything.
With Bianca talking to her she doesn’t have the chance to actually focus her senses and check, but sitting this close to Veronica, Casey notices that the faint – static-electric – like buzz of power she normally feels around Roni isn’t as strong as it usually is.
When they arrive at school, Bianca walks in with Veronica while Casey waits for Harmony, who she spots heading towards her from the student parking lot. They walk towards the SC together.
“So, we still all going to the game tonight? Chris can’t go, so I can give everyone a ride no problem.”
“I think so. Not sure about Roni, she wasn’t feeling good this morning.” After a few steps, she adds, “And of course, if we make the play, we have that meeting after school to hit.”
They get inside and grab some breakfast. They get to their table to find it empty other than Cadence, who’s resting her head against her books – seemingly fast asleep. Casey tries to sit quietly and let Cadence rest, Harmony on the other hand…doesn’t.
“Yo Cade,” she practically yells, “late night last night? What’d you do, have a never-ending date that no one knew about?”
Cadence stirs and looks blearily at Casey and Harm, “Not exactly, Harmony, but it was a late night.” She looks around, “Where’s Veronica?”
Casey shrugs, “Not sure. She wasn’t feeling very good today and she and Bianca both headed inside. I thought they were coming in here, but I don’t know where they ended up going.”
At the mention of Roni not feeling well, Cadence looks more alert. “I’m gonna go see if I can find her.” She stands up and scans the room. “See you guys later,” she says distractedly as she heads away from the table.
“That was kinda weird…even for her,” Harmony says. Casey nods in agreement as they eat breakfast together, moving into idle chit-chat until it’s time to go to class.
Casey walks into second period to find Aiden and Cadence laughing. Aiden smiles up at Casey as she walks up, and he looks happier than he’s been for a while. Cadence still looks tired, but she smiles up at Casey too.
“So, ready to find out at lunch which part you get? I already told Cade here to threaten her mom not to give you a munchkin role, though I guess ya’ll could both get away with it.” He grins, and laughs a bit as Cadence punches him in the arm, a laugh that turns into an honest “Ow!” in response.
Veronica walks in, and makes her way over to the table. She’s brightened up some, but Casey can still tell that she must be under the weather. Cadence frowns as the other girl sits down gingerly.
“Hey tiger, you ok?”
Roni gives a weak smile. “Just having an attack, not feeling so great.”
Aiden looks over at Casey with confusion written on his face, but Cadence nods as if she understands. When she answers, she lowers her voice and speaks slower. “Bad?” She reaches out to touch the other girl’s arm, but stops when Roni shies away. “Sorry, forgot. Why don’t you go home, tiger?”
Roni just shakes her head. “I’ll be fine. Besides, I want to go to the game tonight, and if I’d stayed home I wouldn’t be able to.” She pulls out her books and turns towards the front of the class, subtly leaning as far away from everyone in her seat as she can.
Lunch comes around all too soon, and Casey’s not sure she’ll be able to eat well while waiting for the end of the lunch hour, when the audition results go up. She and Veronica grab some lunch and head out to their table where Harmony is waiting, busy texting Chris. They all make final plans for getting to the game after school and Veronica promises to fill Cadence in on it.
Casey’s a little glad that Veronica isn’t all wound up about the results, she’s not sure if she could have lived through what would have surely been an energetic ball of nervous meltdown. Still, she wishes the other girl felt better, as it just seems so unnatural how quiet and withdrawn she’s being. But at least she’s sitting down and eating with them, unlike breakfast this morning when she just disappeared. But Casey’s distracted, worrying about how the auditions will turn out and doesn’t pay much attention to the other girls for most of the lunch period.
Cadence passes by while they’re eating, but only to say that she’ll see them at the audition board at the end of lunch. “Mom’s not home, so I can sneak some food and talk a little bit more about our plans. I’ll catch ya’ll on the other side.” She heads off towards her house, leaving a confused looking Harmony behind. Harmony looks to Casey for an explanation, but doesn’t press the issue as she reads the nervousness on her friend’s face.
Lunch comes to a close, and the girls make their way towards the post board where the audition results are going up. Cadence catches up with them, and pulls Casey off to the side. “I think we might have found someone who can help out. Jill says that there is another of her Sisters working in town, exiled like she is. So after the game we’re going to head to Legal Tender to try and get a lead on her. So I’m going to drive to the game, and sneak Jill with us. Unless you think that’s a bad idea?”
Casey pauses, biting her lip and finally looks Cadence straight in the eyes, “You’re sure she’s telling the truth? I know you have history and this has to be hard for you to even consider, but what if she’s still supposed to kill you? What if it’s all a ruse?”
Cadence looks away for a moment and Casey can see her holding back tears. She takes a deep breath and looks back at Casey, “I honestly don’t know if she’s telling the truth, but if she is, I need to help her and if she’s not…I don’t know.”
“I’m going with you then. I may not be able to help much if something bad happens, but at least I’ll be there to do something. Plus, Faust said I need to go to Legal Tender at some point, so I guess now is as good a time as any.”
“You don’t need to if you don’t want to. Even if Jill isn’t telling the whole truth, she did give me her word she’s not here to hurt me or anyone else, and she even spoke it thrice. She can’t break her word, so I’ll be safe with her.” She sighs.
“I still want to go. Just in case.”
Cadence looks over at her friend and smiles a genuine smile, clearly thankful. “I’ll tell Roni the basics, but with the way she’s feeling she needs to rest, and I’m not sure I want her going anywhere near Legal Tender, ever.”
Casey nods in agreement and they start again toward the audition results. Casey stops after a few steps, catching Cadence’s arm to make her stop too. “I almost forgot,” she looks around and lowers her voice, getting close to Cadence’s ear and whispering so she’s the only one who can hear, “I figured out what Roni is…”
Cadence pulls back abruptly, clapping a hand over Casey’s mouth, “Shhhh…we’ll talk about this later.” And with that, she turns and beelines it for the casting sheet.
Before Casey can even make it through the crowd, Roni is back at her side, looking almost like her usual self. “I made it Case! I’m gonna be Glinda!” She grabs Casey’s hands and twirls them around, abruptly stopping as the adrenaline leaves her system and she feels the funk that she’s been in all day hit her again. She looks like she’s going to fall over or faint, so Casey moves and grabs her around the waist, holding her up.
“Hey, you ok?” Casey feels a sudden wave of dizziness flash through her. She feels something completely weird, like a subtle draining feeling that seems to pull at the energy Casey has been able to feel inside herself thanks to her new learnings.
It passes quickly, barely noticeable as it was weak even at the first touch. But it’s odd, as Veronica usually seems to radiate energy.
Roni shakes her head as if to clear it, “Yeah, just a little too much excitement all at once.” She takes a couple of deep breaths and continues, “I wish I felt better…but I’ll be fine.”
“Roni, are you sure you’re up for the game tonight? Maybe you should just go home and rest.”
She perks up a little, “No! I’m going to the game. We have to cheer on Aiden. I’ll be fine. I just get like this sometimes.” Cadence emerges from the crowd around the casting sheet and hurries over as soon as she sees Veronica.
“Hey tiger, you ok?” she says, reaching out to touch Veronica, but stopping before she actually makes contact, dropping her hand back to her side.
Veronica stands up a little straighter, stepping away from Casey a little. “Yeah, just too much excitement. I think I’m gonna head to my next class. I’ll see you guys after school for the play meeting and then we’ll go to the game.” She gets a couple steps away before turning back, “Oh, and Case, congratulations…you’ll make an awesome Dorothy.” She doesn’t wait for Casey’s reaction and just keeps going to her next class.
Casey pales immediately and looks at Cadence who gives her a little smile and nods at her, “Uh yeah, you’re Dorothy, Case.”
“Really?” Casey asks, feeling a bit nauseated.
“Yup.”
“Do you think your mom will change it? I can’t be Dorothy. I’ll forget the words. I can’t dance, I’ll fall on my face.” She pales even more, looking at the floor. “Oh god, what am I going to do?” She looks back up at Cadence, pleading, “I didn’t even want to be in it, I just tried out for Roni…you have to help me get your mom to change it, please…”
Cadence grins, “I don’t think she’ll change it. It’ll be fun. We’ll all help you with it, I promise. Come on, let’s go find Harmony, she’ll want to congratulate you too.”
Casey takes a deep breath and they head off to find Harm. “By the way Cade, what part did you get?”
“Auntie Em. We’re related,” she smiles as Harmony rushes up to meet them, with Kale slightly behind her.
Harmony gives Casey a big hug, “Congrats girl! I can tell by the look on your face that you found out you’re Dorothy. Don’t worry, you’ll do great! We can help you with the memorizing and everything.” She steps back as Casey gets even paler at the thought of memorizing everything.
Kale looks at her, very concerned. “Are you ok, Casey? You look like you’re gonna pass out. Shouldn’t you be happy about this?”
She takes a minute to compose herself, and some of her color returns as Harmony answers his last question, “She didn’t really want to try out, Stevens…and even though we all know she can do this, she doesn’t think she’s capable. Is that about right, Case?”
Casey nods, “I’m fine…well, I’ll be fine. I just…I just never expected this.” She takes another moment to pull herself together. “So Harm, what part did you get? Roni’s Glinda, Cade is Auntie Em, and I’m Dorothy…so who are you?”
“She changed the parts around a bit, I’m the Tin Woodswoman.” She starts to sing in an over-the-top way, “If I only had a heart…” Cadence and Kale join her as they all whistle the next part, not even close to matching tones, before they all crack up.
“OK, you guys are gonna have to keep me going with all this,” Casey says to them as they calm down a little. “I never expected this part and I really don’t know if I can pull it off.”
“You’ll be great, Casey,” Kale says, blushing a little as he gives her an awkward hug. “I’ll see y’all later.” He takes off, leaving the three girls together.
“He’s right,” Harmony adds, “you’ll be great!” The first bell rings and all of a sudden, the noise in the room goes up and everyone is on the move to get to class. “I’ll see you after school!” She gives Casey a hug and runs off toward her locker.
“Yeah, I should get going too, Case,” Cadence says. “I’ll see you at the play meeting and we’ll figure out some of the other stuff later, kay?” Casey nods as Cadence disappears into the flow of people. Casey heads over the casting sheet to see that she’s Dorothy for herself. There’s finally nobody around it, so she easily makes her way up to the posting and there it is, her name at the top saying she’s playing Dorothy Gale. She feels herself pale again as she sees for herself that she’s the lead. She composes herself, and as she starts off for class, the bell rings. She breaks into a run, making it to her next class a few minutes late and takes her seat.
Casey makes it through all her afternoon classes and when she gets to her art class, she’s already decided that she’s sticking around the school today. She doesn’t want to be late for the play meeting after school, plus she needs to talk to Mr. Boyd about her new time issues for her project thanks to the play.
Casey tells Mr. Boyd that she needs to talk to him about her project and he tells her to set up at a station and work on her pictures. He’ll be around to everyone today to see how they’re doing. So, that’s what she does. She pulls out her laptop and gets online. She checks her email to see if Mr. Mors, or anyone else, wants to buy any of the pictures she took, especially the ones she took for her project.
Sure enough, there is an email waiting for her from Mr. Mors himself.
Ms. Silpetti, I’ve been trying to reach you on your cellphone to no avail. I have a project that I wish to speak to you about. Please make an appointment with Owen as soon as you can meet me. -David
She checks her cellphone, and there are a few voicemails waiting for her. There are no missed calls showing, but the messages are certainly there.
After she finishes that, Mr. Boyd has already talked to some of the other students but hasn’t gotten to her yet, so she gets into the files for her project photos. She gets absorbed in examining them, tagging the ones she really wants to use, and noting what worked with composition and what didn’t for her future pictures. Casey doesn’t even notice that Mr. Boyd has made it to her, and he startles her when he sits down.
“How’s your project going, Casey?”
“It’s going all right. I have some good pictures to use already and I talked to Father Piccoli. He’s going to let me go shoot at the shelter. We’re going to make it a fundraiser for them.” She shows him the ones she’s tagged so far, and he scans through the rest of them as well.
“It looks like you’re off to a good start. I know you still have a while until the end of the semester, but I want to make sure you get it done in time. Don’t bite off more than you can chew with this.”
“I know. But, um, what I wanted to talk to you about was the school play, or musical I guess it is.”
“I don’t have anything to do with the play, Casey.”
She smiles, “I know, but I made it into the play, so I do now, and I don’t know when I’m going to be able to take my pictures with all the rehearsals and stuff for that. I can still do them during the last 2 periods of school, but by the time I get to wherever I need to take pictures, I won’t have long before I have to be back for rehearsals. And I’m sure rehearsals will go kind of late, so I’m not going to have a ton of after-school time either, and I’ll still have my other homework to do.” She’s about to keep rambling, when he cuts her off.
“Casey, I’m sure you’ll be able to figure something out. You may have to work on this project more on the weekends instead and use your study period for homework, so you don’t fall behind in your other classes. You’re a smart girl and I’m sure the Carlin-Kane’s will do what they can to help you get your schoolwork done.”
Casey gapes at him. She’s not sure how many people know about her living situation, but she’s surprised that Mr. Boyd knows. He senses where her confusion is coming from and answers her question before she gets a chance to ask it. “Mr. Carlin spoke with the administration about some of what’s going on. All of us that have you in our classes right now were told the basics of the situation and that they are your guardians right now.”
She relaxes a little, relieved she doesn’t have to explain everything to him. “I just found out at lunch about the play and I’ll talk to Sandy about getting more rides so that I can still work on this when I need to. I just wanted to make sure you knew.”
“I’m sure you’ll get everything done well, Casey. You have a good eye, and you’re a natural at capturing people in a good, well-composed photograph. Let me know if any more issues come up.” He points at one of the later pictures in the group on her computer that she hadn’t gotten around to examining yet. “I’d definitely use that one. The lighting, the composition, even the shallow focus really work together. Like I said, a natural.” Casey smiles to herself as she focuses again on her computer, examining the photo he just pointed out up close and then continuing to work her way through the others for the rest of the class period.
After class, Aiden is waiting at Casey’s locker. “Congratulations Dorothy,” he says, moving out of her way.
She blushes and opens her locker, putting away what she doesn’t need and grabbing a couple books to work on homework during her study period. “Thanks. I’m really nervous about it though. Cade and Roni and Harmony all said they’ll help me with it, so I guess I should relax some about it. You ready for the game?”
“I think so. Coach has been pushing us really hard this week.” He shuffles his feet, looking nervous. “So, um, you wanna go to dinner after the game tonight?”
Casey smiles at him, “I wish I could, but I’m helping Cadence out with a project. I already promised. But, um, maybe we could do something this weekend instead.”
“Sure, this weekend!” The first bell rings. “I, uh, gotta get to class. I’ll look for you tonight at the game.” He gives her a quick peck on the cheek without really thinking about it. “Uh…see ya later,” he says as he practically runs off to class.
Casey heads for the student center to get some homework done before the play meeting and the soccer game, knowing she probably won’t have much time afterwards to do any. About ten minutes before the period is over, she packs up and slips out into the hallway to call Mr. Mors. Owen Spiner answers and, after apologies from Casey and an explanation that the calls never actually came through, just the voicemails, they quickly set up a meeting for Saturday morning at 9am. Casey is a little surprised that Mr. Mors is so ready to use up his weekend free time to meet with her, but doesn’t say anything. She finishes the call and heads to her locker.
Harmony catches up with Casey at her locker. “You feeling any better about all this, Silpetti?”
Casey grabs one schoolbook to take home and her camera bag before shutting the locker. “I guess so. I’m still nervous about it, and I’m not really sure why Ms. Connor picked me for Dorothy. There were other people who were better than me. But, oh well.”
“That’s my girl,” Harmony says, slinging her arm across Casey’s shoulders. “Let’s go find out when all our rehearsals are.” They meet up with Veronica and Cadence just outside Ms. Connor’s room and all go in and sit together at one table.
Ms. Connor is waiting for all of them, packets of information in her hand. She passes them out to each person according to their role.
Casey is surprised to see Kale standing in the room, holding a packet. He smiles and walks over. “Kale, what are you doing here?”
He looks at the floor. “Oh, I told Ms. Connor I could help with the technical stuff. It’s no big deal, I do stuff like that all the time.” He smiles self-depreciatingly. “Don’t worry, I’ll be so busy behind the scenes you probably won’t even know I’m here!”
She smiles at him, “I didn’t even know you were interested in all this stuff.”
“Oh yeah, I actually joined the journalism department to run all their tech stuff, but they had a shortage of people so I ended up reporting too.”
“Well that’s a bonus for them, since you’re a really good reporter, huh?” Kale doesn’t answer, just blushes a little and nods.
Ms. Connor finally calls the room to order.
“This will be our Fall presentation. We will have six showings, one each Friday during November, and the first two Fridays of December. Starting next week, you will each be expected to be here for at least three hours each week. Please schedule with me before hand, you can either come during lunch, before school, after school, or during your free period.
“If that’s a problem, you need to let me know now. Some of you Seniors, you have the more difficult roles. I’ll be relying on you to help me with your understudies, as they’ll likely be filling those roles in the future.
“There may be some set nights or days when you’ll be asked to come in. We’ll try to work around your schedules, don’t worry about that. Are there any questions?”
Casey finds the girl playing her understudy, Stormee James, and they work out a good time when they can both come in to rehearse. Casey talks to Ms. Connor and arranges to come in during her free period for some individual work, and after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays to work with Stormee.
“Now, Casey, because you have such a large role, you are in practically every scene. I will need you to come in some other times as well.”
“Oh…um…my last period every day is a free period, and I can probably arrange to come in early some days if I need to. And I can do lunchtime too, if I have to. I’d rather keep after school free except for Tuesdays and Thursdays, if at all possible so I can keep up on my photography project this semester.”
Ms. Connor writes down Casey’s preferences. “I’ll keep those times in mind when speaking with other students who need to rehearse with you, but as we get closer to the actual dates, we’ll be ramping up our schedule and I will need you every day after school so we can do full run-throughs.” Casey nods hesitantly and Ms. Connor looks like she’s about to say more when she’s interrupted by another student. Casey slips away and finds her friends.
When the meeting is finally over, they all head outside as a group. Kale says his goodbyes and makes a quick disappearance. Veronica takes Cadence by the arm and walks away from Casey and Harmony, waiting until they’re out of earshot to start talking to her.
Harmony raises an eyebrow at Casey, who just shrugs in return. “Well, I’m headed home to get ready for the game. I’m still up to give everyone a ride.”
“Thanks Harm. I’ll txt you and let you know.”
“K.” She turns towards the other two girls, who have finished talking. Veronica is walking back towards them, Cadence is standing there with a distracted look on her face. “Hey Connor, you need a ride tonight?” Harm yells out at her.
Cadence shakes her head and looks over. “No, no, I’ll be driving. See y’all there.” She turns and walks towards her place.
Roni smiles as she wraps her arm around Casey’s. “We’d love a ride, if you don’t mind Harm. That way my sister can go separate from us, if you know what I mean. Just call us when you’re on the way?”
Harmony smiles back. “Sure thing, girl.” They all make their separate ways to their rides.
Casey looks over at Roni, who seems to be feeling better but is still being a lot more quiet than normal. She’s curious about the conversation between Roni and Cadence, but if the younger girl wants to keep it under wraps, Casey will keep her curiosity under wraps.
When they get to the house, Casey goes looking for something to wear for the night. The weather has been around 65° today, and it might get a little cooler tonight with a breeze. There’s also a chance of rain, as it did sprinkle on and off throughout the day. And on top of that, it has to be something suitable for a super-secret supernatural bar that’s on the plans for later. She finally decides on the dark-washed skinny jeans that Aiden got her at Bullseye that sit low on her hips. On top, she layers a pair of fitted t-shirts, one black and one in Holsey red, that Harmony had given her, and adds a pair of black ballet flats, also from Aiden, to her feet. She plays with her hair and some of the products Sandy filled her bathroom with, bringing out some curl, then adding enough makeup to not look out of place at the bar, but not enough to really stand out at the game. She puts her ID and her cellphone in her pockets, hoping she doesn’t need any cash since she doesn’t have any. She debates about bringing her camera to the game, but decides she doesn’t want to risk it getting stolen afterward and leaves it in her room.
After getting ready, Casey grabs her coat and heads inside to grab something to eat. Veronica is sitting at the table doing the same. She’s wearing a red Blake Holsey rain jacket with a black hoodie she borrowed from her sister underneath, with a pair of comfortable jeans and her school sneakers. Her hair is pulled back and she has a hint of makeup on. It’s subtle but not exactly a perfect match for her coloring, it looks like it was probably borrowed from her sister as well. However, with her simple outfit and the color that’s come back to her cheeks plus the makeup, she looks quite cute tonight.
Casey’s phone beeps, and when she looks at it the message is from Harmony. Be there in ten.
She tells Veronica, and they eat quickly, Bianca swinging in to grab something herself. She asks Veronica if she’s sure she doesn’t want a ride, and Veronica answers her with a tone that says she’s tired of repeating herself.
Bianca is dressed up much nicer than a soccer game calls for, and is flushed with anticipation. Roni cracks a grin at Casey and sighs when Bianca rushes out. Casey grins back at her.
Harmony walks into the kitchen from the front of the house. She’s wearing an expensive leather jacket over a silk top and designer jeans. Her hair and makeup is impeccably done, and tastefully subtle as well. Her top, makeup and accessories are all Holsey red, making her outfit both practical and stylish. As usual, she looks like she’s just stepped off the pages of a modeling magazine.
“Hey kids, Fetch let me in. We ready to go?”
They grab their stuff and head out to the opposing school, Fetch and Bianca following behind them. Harmony kicks the heater up and leaves the top down, her music blaring as they laugh and sing.
When they get there, Veronica insists on paying for all of their tickets. They make their way over to the bleachers, finding good seats pretty close down. Kale waves to them from the bottom line, his little digital camcorder and notepad in his hands complimenting his “Press” tag.
They sit and chat for a few minutes as people start to slowly fill in the seats. Veronica stands and waves down to someone filtering in, smiling as she does. Harmony nudges Casey in her side, and Casey turns to note her friend grinning at her – matchmaking plans twirling in her eyes.
They’re both surprised when Tom makes his way over, a large tub of popcorn in his hands. “Hey, I hope you want some. I’m so glad you called me,” he says, smiling widely. He glances over at Casey and Harmony and nods at them. “Hey Casey, Harmony. I hope Aiden and the guys do well tonight!” Even as he says this, Casey notices that while he’s dressed up really nice – too nice for a soccer game – he’s not wearing a single thing in Holsey’s colors.
He sits on the other side of Veronica, and holds the popcorn in between them. Harmony shoots Casey a “What-the-hell is this?” look, before looking past Casey and suddenly seeming even more confused.
Casey turns and spots Cadence and Jill making their way up. They take the seats behind Casey and Harmony. Cadence is wearing an olive drab baseball cap turned backwards, her hair poking out on either side. Her hair seems darker than normal, a solid raven black instead of the dark brown it normally is. That is, except for the shocks of neon, bubblegum pink that stick out of the cap on either side, framing her face. Her heart shaped face seems paler than normal, her skin almost glowing in the lights. Contrasting with her skin are eyes a deep violet instead of their normal brown under her chunky black framed glasses. Silver glints from multiple piercings in her ears, a ring in her left eyebrow, and the stud in her left nostril.
A black long sleeve jersey layered under a dark brown short sleeve tee, and a pair of olive drab cargo pants over her usual Doc Martin’s complete her attire. Her low-slung pants are held up with a studded black leather belt. A similar studded black leather choker circles her throat. Dark eye-shadow and black lipstick are the only makeup she wears tonight, but with her almost iridescent skin is all that is needed.
Casey realizes that this is the real Cadence, that there is almost no glamour hiding her tonight. Her looks have taken on a subtle, wild exoticness that would make her too noticeable, if she didn’t tamp it down normally. But whatever her reasons, she’s not hiding much of it tonight.
Jill looks the same as Casey had last seen her, and is clearly a match in the exotic attractiveness levels as the girl sitting next to her. Simple, worn jeans and a sweatshirt complete her outfit, with the addition of an Army Surplus jacket similar to the one Casey herself has. Casey can feel the faint glimmer of a glamour still cloaking her, for which Casey is glad. Cadence is only half-fae, if she could pump out that much power without even trying, Casey wouldn’t want to see what the full blood elf sitting next to her could do.
“Jill, you know Casey and Veronica. That’s Harmony and Tom. Harmony, this is an old friend of mine, Jill. We didn’t miss anything, did we?” Cadence asks, her teeth shining white as she smiles at Casey and Harmony. Her eyes flick over to where Veronica is laughing with Tom, then back to Casey. For a moment - as the lights flicker across her eyes – they seem to be the vertically slit eyes of a cat. But the moment is so quick that Casey’s not sure if that’s what she saw or not. Either way, Cadence doesn’t seem surprised by Tom’s presence here tonight.
Harmony saves her from answering, “Nope, we just got here a few minutes ago. Looks like we have about 10 minutes before they start. Hey, want anything to eat or drink?” She grabs Casey by the arm and drags her off with her towards the concession stands, not even waiting for an answer.
Harmony tries to wait until they’re out of earshot range, but can only contain it so long. She rounds on Casey. “What the heck is going on here? Why is Mini-Kane here with Tom stick-in-the-mud? And who’s the chick with Cadence? What did I miss?!?!?”
“Shhhh…Harm.” Casey pulls her the rest of the way down the bleachers and behind the concession stand, where they’re mostly alone. “I have no idea why Tom is here with Roni. I didn’t even know she’d invited him. But Cadence didn’t seem surprised to see him, so it’s probably something they cooked up. As for Jill, she’s an old friend of Cadence’s from where she lived before moving here. She showed up yesterday right after we got done with auditions and I think Cade is trying to keep her mom out of the loop about Jill’s appearance in town. She’s worried her mom will make them move again. I don’t know details Harm.”
Harmony glares at Casey for minute, trying to figure out if she’s telling the truth or not. She must believe Casey because she lets out a big sigh and shrugs her shoulders. “Fine, I won’t pick at this…for now. So, what’s with your mod look tonight Case? Make-up, hair done, no sneakers…whatcha doin’ after the game? Making up with Aiden? Gettin’ it on with Kale?”
Casey laughs out loud, “Neither. Cadence thinks we can find someone for Jill to stay with or something and I wasn’t sure what to wear. From her looks, I’d say I’m not quite dressed right.”
Harmony looks bummed. “Oh. Are you gonna get back together with Aiden?”
“I don’t know for sure Harm. We’re gonna go out sometime this weekend, so we’ll see. Can we go back to the stands now? We’re missing the game.”
“Yeah, let’s get some snacks first though.” They stand in line and Harmony orders two large diet cokes, nachos and two hot dogs.
Casey quietly says in Harmony’s ear, “Hey, I don’t have any money on me…you don’t have to order anything me anything.” Harmony ignores her and pays for the food and drinks, handing half of it to Casey, and heading off to their group. Casey just shakes her head and follows.
They get back up into the stands and Casey notices that Jill and Cadence are pretty much ignoring the game. They seem to both be on high alert. Tom looks bored out of his mind, and even though Veronica is into the game and cheering on the team, she’s still not back to her usual self. Harmony offers the nachos to everyone to share and while Cadence and Jill eat some, Veronica and Tom stick to popcorn. Casey thanks Harm for the food and eats her hot dog and some nachos. She shares her drink with Cade and Jill, and they all get a little more into the game.
