UnEnchanted Read online

  Her bottom lip trembled in a way that used to make him give in to anything she wanted, but her words confused him. “Savannah, what are you talking about?”

  “About our argument in the factory?”

  “What argument?” Brody was starting to get frustrated. He had been trying to think back on the last hour and was having problems recalling anything past the tour guide’s name.

  “You don’t remember?” Savannah asked.

  “No, I don’t remember much of anything after getting off of the bus. This whole morning is kind of a haze.” Brody felt himself start to lose his balance. “I think I should go home.”

  Hope filled Savannah’s face and her lip quit trembling when she realized Brody didn’t remember their breakup. “You’re right, Brody, we should get you home.” She clutched his arm possessively and led him toward the bus and a panicked Mr. West.

  “Brody my boy, I hope your family doesn’t think it was negligence on my part. I got called away on an important phone call.” Mr. West placed his hand on Brody’s shoulder and gave a wary glance toward B.J. Turning toward the rest of the students he called out in the tone that only a teacher can do. “All right students, lets load up.”

  Mina filed behind Nan and Pri and waited to board the bus. She watched as unsteady Brody was led up the steps onto the bus with the help of Savannah.

  “Well, I guess that was the shortest breakup in history,” Pri mumbled sarcastically.

  “Don’t be too sure about that,” Nan said, thoughtfully glancing at Brody who took a window seat and stared balefully out it toward her direction. Nan knew he wasn’t glancing at her, but at the clueless Mina behind her. Nan looked between the two of them and smiled to herself. He WAS staring at Mina.

  “I mean, I don’t even know what he sees in her?” Pri kept ranting, like a frustrated teenage girl.

  “Don’t worry, Pri. I have a feeling that the makeup is only temporary.” Nan turned to Mina who looked as if she was going to throw up from all of attention and talk that was now aimed her way. She couldn’t wait to tell her about Brody’s sudden interest, but after taking one look at the panicked Mina, Nan decided to hold her tongue. She would tell Mina at a different time, when she could get the biggest rise out of her.

  Mina was going to be sick. She knew it. Her guilt was making her a nervous wreck. Should she apologize to Brody? That would mean she would have to go up to him and actually speak to the world’s most handsome boy. Definitely not. Maybe she could slip him a note? That wouldn’t do. What if his family sued hers? Yep, Mina was going to puke.

  Mina felt a nudge from behind and she glanced up and saw that she needed to step onto the bus and when she did, she immediately wanted to get off as rows of students started clapping and calling out her name. Keeping her head down Mina hastily made her way to the back of the bus and slid down as far as she could into her seat, in an attempt to hide. Nan slid in next to her.

  “Kinda nice to be sitting next to a celebrity,” Nan laughed.

  “No it’s not. It’s horrible,” Mina groaned. “You were wrong. I don’t want to be popular.”

  “Maybe I should get your autograph and sell it on eBay. Or better yet, I could auction off your old English papers. I wonder how much money I would get for a D plus?” Mina looked terrified at the prospect. “Then I could buy that new handbag I wanted,” Nan teased.

  “I hope you choke on the handbag,” Mina shot back.

  Nan chuckled and quit making ribs at Mina’s expense. She leaned out the bus aisle to take a peek. Sure enough everyone was still looking toward her,, pointing and whispering in her direction. Sighing in regret she leaned back dramatically and drummed her fingers on her thighs.

  Mina noticed the lack of an electronic accessory in Nan’s hands and decided to comment. “Aren’t you going to tweet this? I thought for sure you would have taken fifty photos by now and embarrassed me further to your followers?”

  “Can’t,” Nan sighed wistfully.

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t have my iPhone anymore.”

  “What happened?”

  “I threw it off the catwalk as soon as I saw you were in trouble.” She held out both hands palms up as if weighing imaginary items. “I mean come on; it was either hold on to my stupid phone or save my best friend life. Duh! Not a tough decision.”

  Mina reached over and hugged Nan as tight as she could. She knew how much Nan’s life revolved around that stupid phone and her friend did help save her.

  Nan made gagging noises as Mina squeezed harder and harder. “Gee, let go, let go.”

  “Thank you Nan,” Mina smiled.

  “Yeah, yeah, I know. You’re indebted to me for life. You’re my eternal slave and must sacrifice yourself to save me now. You owe me three wishes, etc. etc. blah blah blah.” Nan waved her hands in the air like it was nothing.

  Mina and Nan sat back down in the seats and listened to the harmony of a bus load of students, texting, talking and playing games on their cell phones. The chiming noise was a constant reminder of her loss.

  “Nan?” Mina began, getting ready to apologize again.

  “Don’t!” Nan snapped, holding her pink polished finger up to silence any more words. “I already regret it.”

  Mina laughed.

  Chapter 3

  Mina hadn’t told her mother what had happened at Babushka’s because she knew how she would react…badly. Sara was an extremely overprotective mother and anytime a crazy unexplained accident happened to Mina, she would pick up the family and move. No questions asked. Mina wasn’t really sure why.

  In first grade Mina took a trip to the zoo and was overcome with anxiety as all the animals in the petting zoo started following her around. They had moved the following week.

  In fourth grade Mina's garden variety science project produced two car sized pumpkins over night, they moved the next day.

  In seventh grade during Home-Ec., Mina kept falling asleep during her knitting projects. Sara told the school it was mono and their family was packed by the time Mina got home.

  Mina knew that what happened yesterday was worse than any of her other unpleasant accidents. Which was why Mina kept the list, she hoped to one day find hidden link to these disasters that made her mother want to bolt to a different state and city.

  She was just lucky that her mother wasn’t close friends with any of the moms from school. Otherwise Mina might come home from school to find their small apartment packed up in boxes and a moving truck in the alley.

  “Mina?” Sara peeked her head into her daughters room and took one look at the floor and decided to try and look at the walls instead, anything to distract herself from the obvious piles of teenage debris. When Mina didn’t answer, Sara braved the obstacle course of clothes and magazines and walked into her daughter's dark room to open the blinds and window to let out the stuffiness and let in the light.

  “AHHHhh MOM!” Mina answered, throwing the comforter back over her head to protect herself from the onslaught of fresh air and light. Both of which were toxic to a very sleepy teenager. Grumbling she curled up under the covers and tried to ignore her mother’s movements throughout her room. All she wanted was to lie in bed comatose for another few hours as she gathered her thoughts and strength to face another day at school. Was that too much to ask? When Sara stubbed her toe on an unidentified object in Mina’s room, she let out a gasp of pain but held back any forthcoming remarks. Mina bit her lip guiltily under the covers knowing she really needed to clean up her room and was grateful that her mother never harangued her about it.

  “I have to pick up a few things before taking Charlie to school. So we are heading out now. I’ll be late coming home because Terry my boss called and I’ve been asked to drop off a Happy Maids packet at the Carmichael’s residence.”

  “Wait! What? NO!” Mina shrieked sitting up in bed and throwing the comforter behind her. “I mean don’t they have live-in maids? Why would they want to employ another company?” Mina knew th
at whatever happened she could not let her mother go to the Carmichael’s. What if they told her mother about what happened at the bakery? What if they tried to thank Sara? No. Mina couldn’t let that happen.

  “Well, maybe they heard what a great job we do and want to hire the best. We definitely could use the extra money.” Sara looked at the piles of clothes and sighed wearily. She loved her daughter so much, and tried to give her the best that a single mother could. She spoiled her in the only way she knew how. God knows that it’s been hard on her ever since her husband James passed away when Mina was six. It wasn’t until after James funeral that Sara realized she was pregnant with Charlie. So Sarah tried to be a good mother and provider and tried to not be a nag about the small things like a messy room.

  “What if I do it?” Mina shot out without thinking.

  “Do what, honey?” Sara nudged a pair of dirty socks with her shoe over to what she assumed was a dirty clothes pile.

  Mina had to think fast. “I lent Brody my notes on a class so I have to go over there today anyhow, so give me the packet and I’ll drop it off for Mrs. Carmichael.”

  Sara thought about it. “Well that would work, because then I wouldn’t be late to the Brown’s. Why thank you Mina,” Sara smiled.

  Mina tried and failed to return her mother’s smile when the full implications of what she had volunteered to do hit her. Mina was an idiot.

  Sara put the packet on the kitchen table and Mina watched as her younger brother, wearing a superman cape followed her out the door. Mina ran back to her bedroom, grabbed a purple pillow off of her bed and screamed hysterically into it dancing around the room.

  Green movement captured Mina’s attention and she froze when she realized that her mother had opened her window and blinds. Mrs. Orn, the eighty year old cat lady from the building next store, was watching her with a look of total disdain. She happened to be watering her window box full of daisies when Mina had made her dancing debut.

  “Sorry Mrs. Orn,” Mina called and dashed to the ledge to close the window and blinds.

  Looking at the clock, Mina was glad to see that she had woken up with plenty of time to take a morning shower. Grabbing her robe, Mina flung it over the top shower bar and began to work on the infinite twists and turns of the shower spigots. It was easier to crack a double combination safe than it was to coax hot water out of these ancient pipes. Mina said a quick prayer to the god of plumbing and bathroom fixtures and after a few spurts of murky brown water, then hot water eventually began to rain down.

  After a quick and refreshing shower, Mina donned her blue terry bathrobe and slippers and pulled on the ancient porcelain bathroom door handle. She must not have prayed hard enough to the god of bathroom fixtures because the bathroom door handle came off in her hands.

  “NO….No..no..no. this can’t be happening!” Mina pounded frantically on the door and called for help before remembering her mother and brother had left early. Mina desperately tried to reattach the door handle but all she succeeded in doing was push the other one out the other side.

  “AAARRRRGgghhh!” Mina screamed. Getting on her knees she tried to look through the bathroom hole and find out what sort of lock it was. After assessing the situation, Mina discovered she had no clue what it was and how to get out. Frantically she began to pull out drawers and open cupboards to look for something she could jam into the hole and turn the door. Scouring the bathroom from top to bottom, Mina’s eyes rested unwillingly on the toothbrush holder.

  Would it work? Should she try? Grabbing the fattest toothbrush, which happened to be Charlie’s, Mina inserted it in handle first and gave a few turns. It pulled on the lock a bit. Opening up another drawer Mina grabbed a nail file and inserted it between the door frame and the catch. If she could budge the latch enough to push the nail file through…She did it. Freedom.

  Mina could almost have cried in relief, another reason to talk to her mother about getting a cell phone. But this latest debacle had made her late for school. Grabbing a violet zippered hoody, Mina ran out the door having to double back and grab the Happy Maids packet from the kitchen table.

  After pedaling for two blocks on her bicycle Mina heard a slight mewing noise, looking down and to the right revealed and orange tabby cat keeping pace with her. Mina swerved a few feet to the right to avoid the cat and almost ran over a large dog that was to the left of her bike.

  “Yikes!” Mina stood up and tried to pedal harder to outdistance the animals, but after a few more labored breaths, she looked behind her and they were still there.

  “Go away! Shoo!” Mina was worrying that the dog and cat would continue to follow her and get hit by a car. They sped up and seemed to be chasing Mina. Who would have thought a dog and cat together would be chasing her on her bike?

  A loud screech and the large colorful object flying toward her head was the only warning that Mina had of a rooster propelling himself from a nearby fence. Ducking, Mina swerved and almost lost control of the bike.

  “What the?” This was the oddest thing Mina had seen in a while. She turned her head to see the rooster land behind her next to the dog and cat and it seemed to join in on the chase.

  Turning her head Mina had only a split second to register that there was a large animal directly in her path, and slammed on her brakes. Too late, Mina lost control and flew head long over the handle bars of her bike to land crumpled on the sidewalk. In that instant, Mina recognized the animal that caused her wreck but she couldn't believe it. It was a donkey, in the middle of town. And was it wearing a hat?

  ~~~

  Shivering and sore because of her wet hair and skinned hands, Mina rode slowly the rest of the way to school. She decided today was turning into another epic disaster. When she hit the sidewalk she must have blacked out for a split second. Either that or she was hallucinating, because when she dusted off her hands and looked around, there was no sign of the donkey, rooster, dog or cat. There was no evidence that they were ever there. Mina ran up and down the block looking for the donkey but with no success. Maybe it wasn't a donkey, maybe it was another large dog? Pulling up to the bike rack, she didn’t even bother and threw her bike on the ground, her feet pounding the pavement as she ran up the stairs and into the school.

  Mina glanced at her watch; she was five minutes late for class. Keeping her head down she tried to walk as fast and as quietly as she could hoping to avoid the hall monitors. Maybe if she pleaded hard enough to her first hour teacher, she would have pity on her and avoid writing a tardy slip. Yeah right.

  Her teacher Mrs. Porter had her back to the door, and was writing on the whiteboard, so she slipped into the classroom and tried to nonchalantly slide into her desk next to Nan Taylor. Mina took a quick peek at the rigid spine of Mrs. Porter noticing that the teacher never turned or made any movement to acknowledge that she saw her late entrance. The grey-haired teacher turned slightly and began to shuffle some papers around on her desk; she didn’t even glance Mina’s way. She was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when Mrs. Porter walked over and dropped a tardy slip that was already filled out with Mina’s name on the top line in perfect penmanship.

  She never even saw her teacher fill out the form. Mina took the yellow slip of paper between her shaking fingers and looked towards Mrs. Porter’s desk in confusion.

  Mrs. Porter’s thin pale lips tightened into what could only be described as an inhuman smile. “I find that it saves time if I fill out your tardy slips in advance Mina. It’s less of a distraction for the class and you seem to be the only one that has this peculiar problem.” She held up a stack of the small carbon copy yellow forms and spread them so everyone could see her name printed on the next five tardy slips. “As you can see, you haven’t disappointed me yet.” Her eyes tried to crinkle as she laughed but everything looked strange and awkward on her. She was so old the whites of her eyes were no longer white but a pasty grey. Her teeth even looked like faded yellow parchment and her clothes seemed to have come from the 1950’s.
r />   Everything about Mrs. Porter was a throwback to some other era and time. Even her antique candy bowl that sat on her desk with ancient uneaten candy corn seemed forlorn and out of place amongst the high tech gadgetry of the school and classroom.

  Mrs. Porter had been with the school since they first opened and refuses to retire, which is why she only teaches homeroom or study hall. Her teaching methods are so far outdated that she makes VHS tapes seem modern. Mrs. Porter has never touched a DVD player, TV, or computer. While other teachers have moved onto video chat guest speakers and live televised distant learning, Mrs. Porter has literally been left in the Stone Age. But there is one thing that Mrs. Porter does and does well, it is discipline. She prides herself on handing out the most detention slips and tardy notices, explaining that the other teachers had gone soft which is why our country is on the verge of rotting away underneath their feet.

  Mina shrunk into her seat, crumpling the tardy notice and stuffing it into her pocket. It wasn’t fair that she was always late, most of the time it was out of her control. Biting her lip, she tried to study her Algebra notes when a persistent foot kept nudging her Converse shoe. Mina looked up into the excited eyes of Nan. Nan always sat across the aisle from her and was being very careful to mouth her words so as not to be overheard.

  “Have you heard? Assembly about you,” she mouthed.

  “What?” Mina said audibly. Quickly she ducked her head and buried it in her notebook, just as Mrs. Porter swung around at the noise. The woman may be old, but she had hearing like a bat. Mina pretended to scribble in her book and out of the corner of her eye she watched as Nan pursed her lips and tapped her pencil on her book as if solving a complicated problem. Mrs. Porter scanned the room for the noise and then turned her back and continued her writing.

  Nan blew out a breath of air that made her bangs float in the air before resting nonchalantly on her cheek. Her hair always looked effortless. She raised her eyebrow at Mina as if waiting for a response. Mina glanced at the back of her teacher and shook her head.