The Other McCawber Girl
by Amanda Rohrssen
Chapter Ten
How could you paint this picture,
With life as bad as it should seem,
That there were no more options for you?
I can't explain how I feel,
I've been there many times before,
I've tasted the cold steel of my life crashing down before me
But these words
They can't replace
The life you,
The life you waste
~Staind, “Waste”
Negaduck groaned and opened his eyes with some difficulty. A heavy sleep clung to him, his body feeling as weighted as if he had a hundred dumbbells strapped to him As the
blurred shapes began taking on more definition, however, he felt his mind jerk into awareness. Where the blazes was he?
The room was small and dingy, and from the looks of the shabby desk, chair, and file cabinet it had once been an office. Sunlight streamed through the window behind the desk, fighting its way through broken glass and bent blinds. Beneath his weight he could feel the sag of old leather and the strain of rusted springs. It took a moment more before he realized he was in one of his old hideouts and not inside a jail cell.
Surprised, he sat up and immediately regretted the action. His head throbbed and he felt weak. Crashing back onto the lumpy cushions, he tried to recall how he had gotten there. The last thing he could remember was demanding warheads from the top of the Sitting Duck National Bank…then he’d been about to blow up the police force…
His eyes widened and he felt around his chest in a panic. He’d been shot! Those idiots had shot him! But nothing met his worried fingers. No blood, no wound…not even a scar. Absolutely nothing except the stiff feathers covering his body. What the…? he thought to himself, raising an eyebrow and scratching his head. Had he dreamt the entire thing? It had seemed so real, and he’d been planning that heist for weeks. No explanation was coming to mind. Was he going mad? There were still bullet holes in his costume…
A cloud of suspicion was slowly forming in the back of his mind, accompanied by an unsettling tension. Something was going on here, and he was going to get to the bottom of it. Too impatient to wait for his body to adjust to waking life, he sprang off of the dilapidated sofa and stomped through the office, raiding it for any evidence as to what had brought him here. He hadn’t used this particular hideout in weeks.
Finding nothing of interest, except for a few choice weapons he’d left behind -- which he pocketed -- Negaduck made his way into the adjoining room that had served as a conference room. It was empty save for the debris from the caving ceiling and decrepit walls, and he walked through it planning to investigate the warehouse just beyond the far doorway. The aching in his joints seemed to increase as he moved, but he pushed the pain aside. He made it only a few paces before something caught his peripheral vision. Whirling toward the shape, dagger drawn at the ready, his beady eyes fell upon a young woman, sound asleep. Without dropping his guard he approached her, scrutinizing her shrewdly from every angle.
At least ten years his junior, she was slender and pale, more like a sleeping doll than a living, breathing avian. Her blonde hair fell in light, hasty locks that trailed onto the dirty floor, gold on sandpaper, and her eyes were framed with thick black lashes that offset the pallor of her flawless plumage. The tiny hint of a smile graced her delicate beak, and she appeared so serene and lovely that Negaduck felt increasingly sick to his stomach the more he stared at her. Though he had seen her thrice before, this was the first time he had actually looked at Ariana McCawber.
Well, she’d be eating food through a straw once he was done with her. Hadn’t he already warned this pest once not to trespass in his hideouts? Kneeling beside her, he put the dagger to her throat. No wake-up call this time, girly… None too kindly he hissed, “All right, whoever you are…you’ve got one second to-!”
“Stop!” she whimpered. “Please, don’t.”
He smirked. Finally, some begging. He was going to enjoy this.
“You can’t…you can’t be here. They’ll catch you…”
One of his eyebrows lifted quizzically. Nobody knew where he was, because he changed hideouts so often…unless she had called the police. The thought made his teeth grind together, and he pressed the blade harder against the white feathers of her neck.
Just as he was about to slice, he realized her eyes were still closed, and it made him all the angrier. She was dreaming, completely unaware of what was happening. Not only that, but it had been she that had pulled him out of the bank. A public enemy of his stature and renown, saved by the likes of some weak-minded ninny! This enraged him more than the fact that he hadn’t obtained his warheads and didn’t seem to have come away with any of the bank’s money. He ought to cut her throat for the sheer embarrassment! But why had she done it? Why hadn’t she let them catch him? For that matter, how had she evaded the authorities?
If he wanted answers, he couldn’t kill her just yet. He pocketed the knife, but he’d be damned if he was going to wait for her to wake up on her own. Taking a firm grip on each of her shoulders, he was about to jolt her awake when she started to scream.
“It wasn’t me! It was an accident! I didn’t kill him, I swear! Please, let me go! Don’t!” She began struggling fervently against invisible foes, pulling herself from Negaduck’s claws as she pleaded.
The villain sat back momentarily, intrigued.
“I’ll never use magic in the village again…” she whispered brokenly. “Please…don’t do this…”
He raised an eyebrow. Magic? Absently his fingers found the non-existent wounds on his person while he contemplated the new clue, but he wasn’t able to concentrate with her carrying on so pathetically. In frustration he grabbed her by the upper arms and shook her violently.
“Wake up!” he snarled, patience lost as she continued to snivel.
It wasn’t until the third or fourth jar that her eyes popped open, and she gasped for air as if it had all been stolen from her lungs. Disoriented, she skittered away from Negaduck and looked around the room like a caged bird desperate for freedom. He gripped the knife more firmly and watched her warily. Small beads of sweat had appeared on her forehead, and she wiped them away hastily as she tried to catch her breath. The same nightmare. Nearly every night, the same nightmare.
Finally she seemed to remember where she was and what was happening. She regarded Negaduck with some recognition, but it was obvious she was a bit cautious as well.
“Oh, good…” she said softly. “You’re awake. I was afraid that I was too out of practice to save you…” Her eyes fell to the dagger in his possession, but she didn’t even flinch. “How are you feeling?”
“Who are you?!” he snarled, not wanting to beat around the bush. If she was either a threat or useless to him, he would take all the pleasure in the world murdering her where she sat.
“I-I…My name is Ariana…” she started carefully. She wasn’t sure how much she should tell this mallard who’d been waving around a rifle at innocent people as if it were a flag on Independence Day. “I…I rescued you.” She fell silent, but he only glared at her. It made her feel suddenly uncomfortable, so she continued. “We’ve met before…well, I mean, I’ve seen you before. Do you…do you remember me…?”
“How did I get here??” he barked, ignoring her comment.
“I-I brought you here.”
“How?! You couldn’t have slipped past the cops, there’s no WAY you –“ His head snapped back to her and he stared at her accusingly. “Unless… you’re working with them!”
“What?” she exclaimed, taken aback. “No I’m not! I-I’m not working with anyone!”
He folded his arms. “Prove it.”
She was silent for a few moments, looking desperately at the floor. Meanwhile Negaduck began searching for bugs or surveillance devices, ignoring his throbbing head and body.
“I…I don’t know, I…i-if I was working with the police, then why wouldn’t I have let them arrest you at the bank?”
The hunt put on hold for the moment, the villain turned to retort, “Oh yeah? Then why didn’t you leave while I was out? Why stay here…in imminent danger?” He grinned darkly and chuckled.
“I was worri—“
A knife was back at her neck. “You got any family, kid?” he demanded suddenly.
“Don’t call me ‘kid’!” Her eyes flashed angrily, and he grinned. There was some spitfire hidden behind that disgustingly innocent face. “Why do you want to know about my family?”
“Because…” he replied smoothly, his deep voice rumbling with malicious intent. “I’m sure they’ll pay handsomely to get their precious so-and-so back...”
“Ariana.”
“Whatever.”
She almost smiled. The subtle wryness in her expression was unmasked in her voice. “They won’t pay to have me back. I’m sure they’d pay you just to keep me away.”
“Is that so? Heh, heh, sounds like a few of my relatives…”
“You have a family?”
His entire demeanor darkened instantly. “We’re not talking about me, dollface. Give me one good reason I shouldn’t cut your pretty little throat right now…” He seemed to drool with desire to do just that, but she merely regarded him with a quizzical, wounded look.
“Why do you keep saying that…?”
The fangs that had been growing with his evil thoughts glimmered. “Aww, what’s the matter? Don’t like being threatened?”
“Well n-no, I don’t, but that’s not what I meant. I meant ’pretty.’ Why do you keep saying that…? I’m not pretty.”
The fangs retracted somewhat as he was thrown off guard by her answer. “Oh, I don’t know, some broken bones, bloody feathers, and a fat lip might do it…care for a makeover?” He leaned toward her menacingly, but to his surprise, she smiled and started to giggle.
Revolted at the sweet sound, Negaduck backed away from her and grimaced as if she’d just turned into a Little Lost Bunny. This girl was definitely a little…different…than any other hostage he’d had before. Ariana couldn’t help herself, and once she’d started, she couldn’t seem to stop.
The public enemy covered his ears and thundered impatiently, “Do you have a death wish?!”
Her initial delight subsided, and Ariana took a couple of deep breaths. “I’m sorry, it’s just…no one’s ever said anything like that to me before.”
“Can’t imagine why,” Negaduck muttered to himself, then pointed the knife at her to punctuate his next affirmation. “I’m not walking away from this empty-handed. Either I get a ridiculously large ransom, or I kill you right here, right now.”
Her eyebrows narrowed slightly. She had gone out of her way to rescue this mallard, and all he could do was threaten and demean her. “You won’t be getting any ransom,” she declared spitefully, getting to her feet. “Not now or ever. Not on my behalf, anyway.”
Negaduck began using the knife to preen his nails, and decided to try a different route to get the information he wanted. There was only one witch he knew of in St. Canard, and magic-users tended to stick together. “You sure you don’t have any relatives around here, Ariana?” He emphasized her name sardonically, to which she folded her arms.
“Just one,” she said, “but she wouldn’t sink to the likes of dealing with you. Even if it was to help me.”
Much to Ariana’s surprise, rather than raging at her assertion, he merely chuckled.
“Is that so?” He knew he’d hit a good angle and added nonchalantly, “Her name wouldn’t be Morgana, would it?”
She tensed slightly. He smiled like a wolf.
“I thought so…” He flicked a few fingernail scrapings away and pocketed the knife.
Now her eyes were locked on his curiously. “How do you know her?”
“We run with the same crowd…” he said vaguely. “She’s a first rate criminal…” When she raised both eyebrows in surprise, he continued. “Aww, didn’t you know? Looks like she hasn’t been completely honest with you...”
“That’s not true! ”
“Oh…? You should ask her how she paid back those student loans of hers… How she used a pizza topping business as a front for an organized crime ring...”
Ariana was too thrown off by his statements to notice the devious glint in the eyes behind his black mask. Now both of her brows were furrowed, but Negaduck saw the subtle uncertainty in her face.
“My sister isn’t a criminal.” Though she put forth a stony expression, her tone wavered.
He shrugged. “Fine, don’t believe me. But it is true.” His careless expression suddenly shifted into his usual sinister stare, and he took a step toward her. “And if I’m not going to get any ransom, then I want a cut of her profits…a big cut. Tell her that, and if she doesn’t give me what I want, I’ll hunt down you both and they’ll have to use tweezers to find all the pieces!” Another maniacal chuckle escaped his beak, but Ariana only glared and folded her arms again.
“My sister isn’t a criminal,” she repeated firmly. “Look, I’m glad you’re all right, but I’m going home now.” It was bad enough that he had insulted and threatened her earlier, but now he was bringing her sister into it! She had had enough. She began to stalk away, but paused and looked over her shoulder to add, “And by the way? You’re welcome.”
Negaduck smirked. His instincts told him to waste her right then and there, but his calculating mind had other plans. The warehouse door slammed shut behind her, and even after the ominous echo had long faded, the devious smile on his bill remained.
She felt strangely uneasy on the walk home. Although she refused to believe him, Negaduck’s words had unsettled her. Morgana couldn’t possibly be a criminal…her pizza topping business had fallen through, but that didn’t mean it had been illegal! Then again, why had Morgana felt the need to hide the money she’d made from the sale? If she had wanted to place the money in the bank, why not do so outright instead of keeping it in all of those safes? It seemed so odd, now that she really thought about it.
She shook her head. That inconsiderate, self-absorbed mallard had her second guessing her sister! Of all the absurdities, Morgana would never lie to her. They told each other everything.
Why she had even bothered to help that duck was beyond her. He was ungrateful and conniving, and clearly didn’t care about other people in the slightest. Yet he had saved her life…and he hadn’t taken the opportunity to harm her when he’d had multiple chances… It didn’t make any sense.
On top of that, she had no idea why she had reacted so strongly to him. She never spoke to anyone that way. It was as if all of her normal barriers were down around him and she could freely say exactly what was on her mind. What about him made that happen? It was all too confusing for her, even after she passed through the rickety black gate and wandered back into the home she now shared with her sister.
“Ari?” Morgana’s voice rang hopefully from the back of the house. Footsteps preceded her, then suddenly she was there. “Oh, it is you! Where have you been?!” Ariana’s older sibling embraced her quickly, then pulled back with a demanding expression on her face.
Ariana blinked. “You don’t know?”
Morgana shook her head, frustrated. “Of course not! How would I know? You never came home after work yesterday!” Worry creased her brow. “Did something bad happen to you?”
The young blonde averted her eyes. “W-well…”
“Who was it?” Morgana cried, at once filled with protective fury. Her green eyes flashed in the dim light, and Ariana felt a mixture of comfort and indignation at her sister’s assumption. “Tell me, and I’ll make them sorry they ever messed with a McCawber!”
“It wasn’t like that, Morgana,” Ariana corrected her timidly. “I just…the bank I went to yesterday to deposit my paycheck got robbed…”
The witch inhaled sharply. “You mean you were at that bank that Negaduck held up yesterday?”
Ariana nodded.
“But they got all of the hostages out! …Except one…”
Even as Morgana’s eyes filled with disbelief, her sister nodded. “He kept me there with him.”
“You must have been so frightened!”
“No…not really…”
Morgana stared at Ariana, flummoxed. “But it was Negaduck! Surely he threatened you…” Her eyes flashed again, and her lithe fingers balled up into fists. “If he hurt you, I’ll--!”
“He didn’t hurt me. In fact, he let me go this morning.”
“What? This morning? But…” One of Morgana’s hands flew to her bill as a realization overcame her. “The news said that the authorities couldn’t find any sign of Negaduck…or his hostage…after they raided the building. Ari…you didn’t…”
“Well I couldn’t just leave him there!”
“Why not? If given the chance he would have left you! He’s a public enemy! A criminal! He could have killed you. You don’t realize how serious this is! What if the SWAT team finds out who you are and decides you’re an accomplice? Did you think of that?”
Ariana looked away from the outraged woman, her eyes falling on the floor and indicating that she, indeed, hadn’t thought of that.
“No…”
Morgana sighed. “Lucky for you, they haven’t. Negaduck’s hostage is still ‘unidentified’ as far as they’re concerned. What were you thinking?” She locked eyes with her younger sister, looking at her in a sincere and motherly way that made Ariana feel immediately defensive.
Ariana looked down at her hands. Could she really tell Morgana that she had seen Negaduck three times before, and that once he had saved her life? Morgana didn’t seem to realize it was he that had brought her back home the night she’d fallen from the roof. Because of his reputation, Ariana wondered if it was her place to reveal his rescue of her to anyone, though she hated to keep anything from her sister.
“Well?”
“It’s just…maybe he’s not all bad,” Ariana offered slowly. Morgana scarcely held back a snort of contempt.
“’Not all bad’? Ariana, do you know how dangerous he is?! He held you and countless other innocent people at gunpoint!”
“He could have hurt me, Morgana, but he didn’t.”
“And that makes him some kind of a saint? Do you know how many crimes he’s committed? How many people he’s hurt?”
“Like Father? But you never had much to say about that.”
Morgana’s eyes narrowed, and she spoke through clenched teeth. “Leave Father out of this…”
“Look,” Ariana said gently, trying to calm herself down, “I don’t want to fight with you.”
Taking a few deep breaths of her own, Morgana put a hand to her forehead and nodded. “Neither do I.”
They were quiet for a few minutes before Ariana swallowed and interrupted the awkward silence. She hoped that by changing the subject, they could forget the argument, and she could find out some answers to the questions that had been on her mind.
“…Morgana?” She waited for her sister to look her in the eyes before she continued. “What really happened to McCawber Mushrooms?”
“What do you mean? It wasn’t working out, so I sold the business. I told you that.”
“But what made it stop working? The last I heard, things were great…”
“Well, that was four years ago when I had just moved here and started it up. I had hoped that the business would pay off my student loans.”
“Are they paid off now?”
“Yes, with the money from the sale.” Morgana raised an eyebrow. “What’s with the interrogation?”
“It’s nothing, I just…wanted to know.”
“My employees weren’t much to speak of, either. But all that’s in the past.”
“What did the person who bought the business do with it?”
Morgana shrugged. “I don’t know, I didn’t keep up with it.”
Silence fell over them again, with Ariana trying to think of how to word her next questions and Morgana fidgeting slightly on the couch.
“You haven’t eaten all day, have you?” The hem of her crimson dress dragged gracefully behind her as Morgana got up and walked across the room. “Let me fix you some –“
“Where did that door lead?” Ariana interrupted, impatient to get the answers she needed.
Morgana’s green eyes flickered momentarily to the spot where the freestanding door had stood a few weeks before. “What door?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know,” Ariana replied firmly. “The one that was in the middle of the living room when I came here.”
“Oh, that? It was a…it was…uh…”
“It was a portal, wasn’t it? Where did it go? Who were you talking to? And what was in the bag you were holding when you came out…?”
“You were spying on me?!” Morgana demanded, taking two steps back toward her sister. Ariana stood up, though she was still half a head shorter than Morgana.
“I had to! You weren’t giving me any straight answers!”
“I can’t believe you would do that!” the witch raged.
“Somebody told me you made that business as a cover for a criminal operation and that you stole that money you paid your loans back with! Is it true?”
“How can you think that of me?”
“I need to know, Morgana. Is it true?”
Morgana narrowed her eyes dangerously, and her entire body tensed with anger. Ariana began to worry that she had gone too far. Deep down, though, she knew that if what she’d heard wasn’t true, Morgana would say so. She trusted Morgana more than any person in her life.
Surprisingly, Morgana’s pointed shoulders finally slumped in defeat, and she exhaled loudly as if dropping an enormous weight that had been pulling her down.
“I didn’t want to tell you…I knew you wouldn’t like it, and…I was afraid you’d hate me…”
Ariana blinked, then stared at her sibling with confusion and concern. “Morgana…”
“It’s true, okay? McCawber Mushrooms was just a front so that I could run every other pizza topping business out of town. I was making mutant mushrooms so that I could terrorize people out of their money…but someone found out and stopped me.” Green eyes fell away from silver ones, and it was Morgana’s turn to look at the floor. “So I moved across town…here…and used the doorway to get into Dream World. I made a deal with the ruler there so that I could use his sleepsand and steal from everyone while they were dreaming. I was talking to him when you saw me…and I was carrying sleepsand. I paid back my loans with the money I took.”
“That was what was in those safes?”
She nodded.
“Morgana…” Ariana repeated in the same tone. She was filled with disappointment, hurt, trepidation, and disbelief. “Why didn’t you tell me…?”
“Oh Ariana, please…don’t be angry.”
“Of course I’m angry! Why didn’t you tell me you needed money? That you needed help? Couldn’t Father have just paid for your loans?”
Morgana shook her head. “He said they were my responsibility to pay since he’d paid for the other part of my tuition at the academy. And anyway, how could you have helped me?”
“I don’t know, but you know how I feel about stealing…and lying…”
“I’m sorry I lied to you, but…I was so happy to have you back, I—“
“You are a criminal…” Ariana said softly, feeling suddenly short of breath. The world was doing flip-flops around her. She had to lean on the arm rest to keep from falling over.
“I tried to do the business legitimately at first, but the money I got the other way was just too…tempting! Our coursework was a bit…different at Eldritch than yours was at Webminster.”
“You mean you twisted it that way.”
Morgana frowned. “Things changed since I went to school, Ari. I changed. But now I’m beginning to think this was all a mistake…”
Ariana nodded with a sardonic expression. “Oh really? Turn yourself in, then.”
“Ariana, you can’t…”
“Turn yourself in! Make it right! Give that money back!” Ariana’s voice had turned high and shrill, but she didn’t care. She was much too upset at this newfound information from someone she had always looked up to and trusted.
“It’s already gone! And anyway—“
“I have to go,” Ariana breathed, her heart pounding. “I can’t even look at you anymore!”
Morgana moved toward her sister worriedly. “Ariana, please, just calm down.”
“I can’t!” Ariana cried. “The person I love most in the world is a criminal and a liar!”
“Ari, wait!”
But by the time Morgana’s call reached her ears, Ariana had bolted out of the house and was running up DeSpell Lane. She wasn’t sure how to get there, but she needed the shelter of someone she knew and trusted. Someone she felt safe with because right now, her world was falling apart. It felt as shattering to her as when she’d discovered what her father really had had planned for the villagers. She needed the comfort of a friend. She needed Beth.
As she rounded a corner and blindly ran north, the sky opened up and poured sheets of water over St. Canard. The sudden storm hardly impeded her, though her mood wasn’t helped by the gloomy foreboding that the rain brought with it. Her long hair clung to her shoulders, back, and face like spiders, and her dress suctioned itself to her slender frame. Although her mind was set on Beth, her feet were taking her wherever they willed. She had no idea where she was, but she was glad to be out of McCawber Manor.
He had been right. That ill-mannered, tempestuous mallard had been right. Her sister had been lying to her. Her sister was, indeed, a criminal. If Morgana had been lying about that…what else had been a lie?
“What do you and Father do when you go downstairs?” Morgana asked curiously, sitting on the castle steps next to her younger sibling. “And why does he lock the door?”
“He says it’s a secret,” Ariana replied quietly. “I’m not supposed to tell anyone, not even you.”
Morgana frowned, her nine-year-old face screwed up in thought. “But why?”
The other child shrugged. “I dunno, he didn’t say…” Ariana studied her sister’s face carefully before adding worriedly, “’Gana? You’re not mad at me ‘cause Father takes me downstairs and not you, are you?”
Morgana forced a smile. “Of course I’m not. I just wondered what you did, that’s all.”
“If you want, I’ll tell you anyway!” Ariana whispered conspiratorially. “Then you can know all the same spells as me!”
“Spells?” Her sister blinked. “You’re learning new spells?”
Ariana made an “oops” face, then nodded sheepishly.
“Hey…what’s that?” Morgana pointed to a couple of bruises dotting Ariana’s wrist. Instinctively, Ariana pulled her arm behind her back and out of her sister’s view.
“Nothing. I just didn’t do it right.”
Morgana pursed her lips together, but didn’t say anything. Even for her young age, she was wise enough to know exactly what was going on.
“’Gana…?”
“What, Ari?”
“…I miss Mommy.”
Morgana put an arm around her sister’s shoulders and hugged her. “I miss her, too.”
She ran until the stitch in her side forced her to stop and the tears in her eyes blurred her vision too much for her to see clearly. Putting one arm against a nearby brick
wall for balance, Ariana doubled over to catch her breath and to wait for the pain to subside.
The rolled-up diploma crumpled slightly in her nervous grip as she watched Moloculo schmooze with the other powerful warlocks whose offspring had just graduated the academy. She felt more like a trophy than a daughter, and somehow felt guilty that she had received the honor of valedictorian while the other men’s children had not. All she wanted to do was to return home to the safety of her room. These inquisitive, judging eyes were beginning to be too much for her.
Thankfully she’d only endured a few minutes of the aristocrats’ snide leering when she felt a hand on her shoulder that tugged her backward and away from the group. She turned to find Morgana standing there with a proud smile on her face.
“Hi, Ari.”
“Morgana! You came!”
“Of course I did. I’m a little late, but I couldn’t miss my little sister’s graduation. I can’t believe you were first in your class; that’s great!” She pulled her younger sibling into a brief but heartfelt hug. “I can’t say I’m surprised, though. I’m sure Father is head over heels with all of the secondhand attention he’s getting.”
Ariana half-smiled and nodded.
“But you can admit that it’s nice to have some attention, isn’t it? I know I felt that way when I graduated…although I wasn’t first in my class. They’ll be talking about you for a long time…”
Ariana ducked her head slightly and felt uncomfortable, remembering Mr. Greytalon’s warning earlier. “I hope not…I really just want to go home.”
“Oh come on, Ari! It’s your graduation day! Father would want you to be happy. After all…you’re his favorite.”
The streets began to look familiar again the farther east she walked. Finally she was beginning to get used to the city’s layout, and she knew she wasn’t far from Beth’s house now.
I hope she doesn’t mind me coming over without calling first…
When she reached the front porch, she rang the doorbell and waited patiently for Beth to open the door. She hoped her friend would be pleased at her visit, even if it was sudden.
As she brushed the soaked tentacles of hair over her shoulders and away from her forehead, another thought struck her. Oh gosh…she’s probably at work. I can’t bother her at work, can I? Maybe I should wait for her to get back… She began to shiver in the cool, damp May air, and realized she couldn’t be outside much longer unless she wanted to catch cold. Her decision made for her, she turned on her heels and headed in the direction she thought Bindler’s Hardware Store was.
Her shivering grew more violent the farther she walked, and it wasn’t until she came to the storefront that she remembered that Beth no longer worked at Bindler’s. She had quit a couple of weeks ago. Ariana felt guilty that she hadn’t recalled Beth telling her this bit of information, and tried to think if Beth had mentioned anything about getting another job. Nothing came to mind.
Nothing except…
Oh no!
She took off as fast as she could through the city streets, puddles splashing beneath her feet as she ran. With everything that had gone on that morning, it had completely slipped her mind. Her shift at Audubon Jewelers had started hours ago.
It took her fifteen minutes to get there on foot, and she burst through the doors with the breath heaving in her overworked lungs. Josephine looked up from the display mirror she’d been looking at herself in.
“Well, look what the storm dragged in,” she commented snidely. “Mrs. Pennyfeather wants to talk to you. Apparently she’s been trying to call you all morning.” As Ariana hurried past, she added, “Someone’s in trooouuubllle…”
Anxiety was eating away at her insides, and she could feel her heart doing somersaults up and down her throat as she knocked, then entered, her boss’ office. Mrs. Pennyfeather looked up from the stack of timesheets in front of her. When she realized who it was, she pursed her lips together and said curtly, “Sit.”
Ariana began to shake all over, and it wasn’t from the cold rainwater covering her body. She clasped her hands together tightly in a vain attempt to get a grip on herself.
“Mrs. Pennyfeather, I—“
The elderly woman raised a finger to silence her employee, staring at Ariana sternly. There wasn’t an ounce of empathy or understanding on that grim face. It felt to Ariana as if the room grew suddenly icy.
“Your shift started at 8:00 a.m. You were supposed to have the store opened by then. It wasn’t until Gloria came in at 10:00 that I heard that you hadn’t bothered to show up.”
“But I was –“
“There are no excuses for being late, especially without a simple phone call.” Mrs. Pennyfeather’s eyes moved quickly over Ariana. “You’re obviously not ill.”
“There was a rob—“
“I’m not interested. Your performance here has been a disappointment from the start, especially given your peer reviews. We have a strict no call, no show policy here that you have been aware of since day one. In accordance with that policy, I’m afraid we’re letting you go.”
At those words, Ariana’s eyes immediately filled with tears. “No, please! It wasn’t my –“
“Give me your time card and your nametag. You should receive your final paycheck in two weeks.” The older duck stuck out her spindly hand expectantly.
Again, Ariana opened her mouth to try to explain. It wasn’t as though she had skipped work on purpose. She’d been held hostage by a mad-duck! But the look on Mrs. Pennyfeather’s face made her close her beak again. She knew it was useless to argue. Especially since she had no real proof that it had been her that Negaduck had detained.
“I…I don’t have them with me…” she said softly, barely above a whisper.
The hand retracted. “Fine. You can mail them.”
Wanting nothing more than to be out of that office forever, Ariana stood up and started toward the door.
“Oh, and Ariana, dear?”
She paused and turned back to look at Mrs. Pennyfeather, who had a sweet smile plastered on her wrinkled bill.
“I wish you the best of luck.”
Anger pulsed through her small frame as she exited the jewelry store, and all she wanted to do was scream in outrage. Fate seemed to have something against her, and she felt that somewhere out there, whomever was puppeteering her life was laughing gleefully. Tears ran down her cheeks in tandem with the rain that still pattered on the sidewalks.
She turned to leave, but only got about two steps before a black sedan pulled up alongside her. The window slid down ominously.
“Are you Miss Ariana McCawber?” the driver asked behind large sunglasses.
She nodded, still too consumed with emotion to speak.
“I’m Agent Milcreek, SHUSH.” He flashed her his identification. “We’d like to have a word with you downtown.”