The Other McCawber Girl
by Amanda Rohrssen
Chapter Four
This is the place where I sit,
This is the part where I love you too much,
Is this as hard as it gets?
'Cause I'm getting tired of pretending I'm tough
I'm here if you want me,
I'm yours, you can hold me,
I'm empty and achin' and tumblin' and breakin'
'Cause you don't see me
And you don't need me
And you don't love me
The way I wish you would,
The way I know you could
I dream a world where you'd understand
That I dream a million sleepless nights,
I dream of fire when you're touching my hand,
But it twists into smoke when I turn on the lights
I'm speechless and faded,
It's too complicated,
Is this how the book ends,
Nothing but good friends?
'Cause you don't see me
And you don't need me
And you don't love me
The way I wish you would
This is the place in my heart,
This is the place where I'm falling apart,
Isn't this just where we met?
And is this the last chance that I'll ever get?
I wish I was lonely
Instead of just only
Crystal and see-through and not enough to you
'Cause you don't see me
And you don't need me
And you don't love me
The way I wish you would,
The way I know you could
'Cause you don't see me
And you don't need me
And you don't love me
The way I wish you would,
The way I know you could
~Josie and the Pussycats, "You Don't See Me"
The small ornate clock on the end table chimed one o'clock as Ariana sat hunched over a myriad of hastily scribbled notes and half-drawn sketches. Surrounding her were a few
pencils that busily scrawled on the remaining blank pieces of paper. Why had she not started on this sooner? She had known it would be a big project the moment Mr. Dodson had
given it to her as part of her new position.
She had been promoted to character design a little over a week ago and had fallen in love with it. At first she had been a little dubious about taking the job because it was well known throughout the animation department that Krysten had wanted that job since she'd started there over five years ago. Ariana had been there a little over six months. But the position had been offered to her first, and while she felt horribly guilty, at the same time she knew it was an opportunity that she couldn't pass up. Krysten didn't seem to mind, at least not outwardly, so Ariana had pushed the worry from her mind and had begun concentrating on her new projects instead. This one had been given to her only two days beforehand and was supposed to be ready for presentation the next morning. She wished she hadn't wasted all that time at the club; now she was going to be up all night.
After a few minutes of trying to repress it and focus on her work, the stress and tension that had been building up inside of her became too much. Her fingers started shaking and her breath came in heaving gasps as she desperately tried to keep herself from crying. Why did she always take on more than she was capable of? Sure, she could use magic to help her out when no one was looking, but that still didn't seem to front her much of an advantage.
Taking long, deep breaths through her nostrils, Ariana willed herself to calm down.
The phone rang suddenly, jarring her out of her frantic thoughts. While she was grateful for the interruption, she was also irritated because it took time away from her work.
“Hello?" she answered with the calmest tone she could muster.
“Ariana? You busy?" sniffled a low feminine voice.
“Krysten?"
“Yeah."
“Well, I..." Ariana looked longingly at her stack of papers, the pencils still drawing furiously of their own accord. "I do sort of have-"
“Okay, great, see you in a few minutes." The line clicked dead.
Ariana looked at the receiver for a moment before thrusting it back in its cradle, gritting her teeth. Then she thought the better of it. Krysten was obviously upset about something and needed her there. Ariana was flattered that Krysten would turn to her; she just wished it had been at a better time. It was very unsettling for her to hear Krysten, who almost never showed any emotions except anger and an extreme love of picking on other people, on the brink of tears.
With one last mournful look at her unfinished project, Ariana waved her hand and left her apartment, leaving the pencils to roll lifelessly over the pages.
Back outside in the wintery breezes, Ariana wondered to herself what it could be that had shaken Krysten so terribly. She had seemed very angry when they had left the
club earlier that night and even angrier when she had dropped Ariana off at her apartment complex, but she had never said what was bothering her nor did Ariana try to pry while
Krysten was in such a mood.
What had happened to her in the club?
The club...The Roxy.
Ariana's thoughts started to drift as snowflakes began to fall lazily from the heavens like tiny white feathers. She remembered the back of the man who had paid for her drink, his longish, thick dark brown hair falling loosely down the back of his neck. She wondered what he looked like, what sort of person he was, what his dreams were...
No! she snapped at herself, shaking her head. Don't do this to yourself again! If you do, it might end up like it was with...
“Terren!" Ariana called merrily over the screaming, frigid wind. "Terren, where are you?"
In her hands she clutched a long woolen scarf she had knitted herself without the aid of magi, a feat which she was very proud of, especially since she'd also managed to keep it a secret from Moloculo. Each stitch had been woven with great care because she'd known from the start it would be a gift for Terren...the first normal (not to mention the first boy) who had shown her kindness.
Her already pink cheeks flushed when he came to mind along with a thrill of excitement.
He's going to be so surprised and happy! she thought. Maybe then he'll know how I...how I feel about him.
The vision of him taking her into his arms, gently brushing the hair away from her face like he always did, and kissing her softly on the forehead made her feet begin to fly over the powdery surface of the fresh Transylvanian snow, faster than she ever knew she could go.
When she reached the back of his house she turned down the neighboring alleyway. She heard the sound of his voice just up ahead, and she felt her heart lunge into her throat and threaten to abandon ship. When she reached the corner, however, she stopped abruptly, her leather-bound feet sinking into the snow melting about her ankles.
He was laughing. "Thank you, Brigitte, this'll really come in handy!"
Ariana gulped dryly at the utter happiness in his voice and dared to peek around the corner.
There he was. Standing a few feet away opposite a girl with long auburn hair and lilting hazel eyes. A sudden blaze of resentment flared through her, centered directly on that girl. Just who was she to make him so happy? That was her job!
Then her eyes fell on a thick woolen scarf draped across his hands. It was as if someone had dropped a million ton weight on her heart.
They drew closer to one another.
“It's a gift...you mean a lot to me, Terren," the girl whispered.
“You mean a lot to me, too," he replied softly, drawing her close to him and tenderly stroking any wayfaring hair from her cheek.
I thought I was the only one he did that to...
Ariana barely noticed how white her knuckles were or how much they ached as she gripped the scarf she'd worked so hard on for the past two months.
He and the girl named Brigitte stood there for what seemed an eternity, each passing second killing Ariana a little bit more. Finally Terren pulled Brigitte close and held her against him, breathing in the scent of her hair.
It was all Ariana could do to keep from screaming and running out of her hiding place to rip them apart. Jealousy and rage burned agonizingly within her breast, and the scarf - the beautiful scarf that held everything she felt for Terren in its coils - fell to the muddy, sloshy ground in a heap. Her throat burned, and tears blinded her eyes. Quickly she turned on her heels, not even noticing that she'd stomped the scarf deeply into the mud, and ran away from them, away from the rage, and away from the pain. But she couldn’t seem to outrun it.
701 Nottingham, Apartment H. Ariana hesitated before knocking on Krysten's door.
Not two seconds later, the lock snapped open and behind the door stood Krysten with red-rimmed eyes and a wadded up tissue in her hand. She stepped back to let Ariana inside, and then shut the door behind her.
Ariana turned and looked quizzically at her friend, waiting for her to tell her what the matter was.
“You can sit down, you know," Krysten said flatly as she made a beeline for a Kleenex box on the counter.
Ariana sat down.
Without warning, Krysten suddenly kicked the wall with such violence it would have made a hockey player cringe.
“Damn it!" she screamed, her face wrenching into a pained snarl. "Why are all men such jerks!?"
A large dent remained where she had attacked the wall. Ariana watched almost fearfully. She didn't know how to handle Krysten when she got like this. It was a side of her Ariana liked to avoid.
“That-" Krysten said a word here that made Ariana cringe, "-two-faced scumbag! He broke up with me for HER! Anyone else I could have handled but the biggest-" again with the nasty word, "-in the company?! ARGH!"
Krysten slammed her fist down on the countertop, making the cups sitting on it rattle in protest.
“How could he do this to me after all I've done for him?" Krysten plopped down beside Ariana, her face red with rage.
Ariana decided it best not to mention that the only times she could recall between Krysten and her now ex-boyfriend were times when Krysten would gripe at him or make fun of him or tease him to the point of humiliation. (Much like Krysten treated everyone in her life.)
“He said I'm not trustworthy," she added lowly, her brown eyes narrowing. "I'm trustworthy! Why doesn't anyone trust me?!" Krysten was on the verge of hysteria. Tears were already brimming again in her eyes.
Thinking only to make Krysten feel better, Ariana responded. "I trust you." She laid her hand softly on top of Krysten's shaking ones.
“Prove it," Krysten challenged fiercely, withdrawing her hands from underneath Ariana's as if they'd been scalded with molten lava.
Ariana blinked, quite taken aback by Krysten's reaction. "W-well..."
“I knew it," said Krysten bitterly, resting her chin in her hands.
Taking a deep breath, Ariana hastily made a choice. "If I show you something..." she said slowly, her voice unsteady, "...will you promise not to tell anyone?"
It was 8:40 a.m., and she was late. Briefcase in hand and her arms full of sketches and notes, Ariana hustled her way through the building, having to shift everything around every time she had to open a door. Her stomach was in knots and her mind was racing with a million simultaneous thoughts as she tore down the hallway. Just when she was about to reach the conference room she careened headlong into someone going the opposite way. Papers went flying and Ariana flew backward onto the floor with a gasp of surprise.
“I’m sorry; I didn’t see you!” she apologized hurriedly, beginning to gather up all of her sketches and notes in a panic.
“Hey! Relax, kid,” replied a familiar voice.
Ariana jerked her head up and met eyes with Krysten, who smiled and shook her head.
“A little jumpy, aren’t we? Don’t worry about the meeting, I stalled ‘em,” she winked. “Now just take a deep breath and then go inside. You’re gonna knock ‘em dead.”
Immediately Ariana felt a little better and smiled gratefully, taking Krysten’s advice and inhaling deeply. Taking the rest of the papers off of the ground, she stood up, turned the doorknob, and entered the conference room.
“Ah, finally decided to join us, eh Miss McCawber?” Mr. Dodson drawled disapprovingly from the chair at the head of the table. The room was empty save for him, but the thought that this was unusual did not cross her mind. Ariana felt a rush of guilt wash over her as she made her way to the front of the room.
“I’m sorry, sir,” she mumbled apologetically.
“Uh, Miss McCawber?”
She stopped, looking back at Mr. Dodson with an almost terrified expression.
“That won’t be necessary. We’ve already seen some excellent work from Miss Wrennard.” He motioned to a few drawings and poster boards laid out on the table. “We won’t be needin’ your presentation after all. In fact, this company no longer needs people of your…caliber…working here. Pack up yer things, Miss McCawber, and don’t cause a scene. I want you outta here within the hour.”
“But…but sir,” she managed to sputter, looking helpless and perplexed.
“You’re fired Miss McCawber. I trust ya can find yer own way out without an escort?”
“I…” she started to argue, the complete unfairness and spontaneity of the situation making her temper rise, but she knew that were she to try it would only make things worse. “Yes sir…” Resignedly she hugged her papers closer against her.
On her way out Ariana glanced at the tabletop where the ideas Krysten had presented to the board were sitting, and her eyes grew wide. Everything that had been in her arms cascaded to the floor, and with an unsteady hand she picked up one of the drawings, her jaw hanging open. It had taken her hours to come up with the concept of the character that smiled at her from the page. It had taken her hours to refine the costume, to discover the pose that best suited the personality, and to pencil in every detail that gave the character its believability. It had only taken Krysten one night to steal it.
All of a sudden Mr. Dodson snatched the drawing from her hand, an increasingly irritated scowl scrawled across his jowls. “Good day, Miss McCawber.”
Once outside of the conference room, Ariana hunched over her briefcase and opened it with a spell, in too much of an upset to worry about concealing her magic. From the bag she pulled out a binder of her best works – the works she had intended on making the biggest impression with Mr. Dodson – and opened it hurriedly. Her heart froze and a cold shiver ran down her spine. Every single page in the binder was blank. The sketch she had picked up from the table had been from that binder. Someone had stolen her work and replaced it with empty pages.
And that someone had to have been Krysten Wrennard.
“Have you seen Krysten?” Ariana asked the first person she saw, not giving her usual shyness time to impede her.
“In the break room,” the spindly little dog yelped as he dodged out of her way. Anger consumed her to the point that guilt was eliminated from her conscious mind. She needed answers, and she needed them now.
With a set jaw, Ariana stormed into the break room where she found Krysten, thankfully alone.
“Oh,” Krysten said as she turned from pouring herself a cup of coffee, “hi Ariana. How did your presentation go?” Her voice was dripping sarcastic sweetness.
“How could you do this to me?” Ariana demanded barely above a whisper.
“Do what?” Krysten asked innocently, taking a sip of her coffee.
“You know what I mean.” Ariana’s patience was wearing thin. “You took my drawings.”
“Oh, that. I was only taking what rightfully should have been mine.”
“What?” Ariana’s face went desperate with confusion.
“I’ve wanted that job since I started here! You knew that, but you took it anyway!” Anger and bitterness suddenly twisted Krysten’s face into a hateful glower.
Ariana felt terror in the pit of her stomach at the rage in Krysten’s eyes. She’d seen that look before. Still, her feet remained planted on the floor.
“Krysten…you said you didn’t care…you said I could go ahead and-“
“Don’t turn this around on me!” Krysten shouted. “You took it away from me! And you know what?” Her voice dropped dangerously low. “Since you like betrayal so much, I think I’ll tell your little secret to everyone else here like I told Dodson this morning…” A cruel sneer snaked across Krysten’s beak. “In fact, I may even let Mr. McDuck in on it. I can make sure you never work in this town again!”
Ariana’s eyes widened. “No! Krysten, please!”
“Payback’s a bitch, isn’t it?”
“You can’t!” Her plea came out choked and weak.
“Awwww, gonna cry now?” Krysten pouted, mocking Ariana’s distress. “If you think that’s gonna stop me, you’re wrong.” With a flick of her curly hair, Krysten sauntered toward the wide open door. Just before she reached it, it slammed shut and locked. “Wha-?” The expression of surprise Krysten held slowly melted into a smirk, and she turned around to face Ariana again and folded her arms. “Oooo, nicely done. But if you think I’m scared of a freak like you, you’re wrong.”
“I thought…I thought you were my friend…” Ariana’s voice wavered.
Krysten only smiled in a satisfied way. “I knew you’d come over. It gave Woody plenty of time to make copies of those drawings with the key you gave me. You fell for my act perfectly by telling me your dirty little secret, and now I have something to use against you should you try and claim credit for my drawings…”
“You…you used me…” Ariana’s heart sank. She had trusted Krysten – been there for her when she needed her – and she had put up with Krysten’s taunting and abuse for nothing. She had been taken advantage of as soon as Krysten hadn’t gotten something she wanted.
“Now work your little voodoo and open this door,” Krysten demanded.
The ache turned to fire in Ariana’s throat, and she narrowed her eyes. She had had enough of being patronized. “No.”
“No?” Krysten stepped toward Ariana. “You don’t have a choice here, kid. It’s my job now whether you like it or not, so pack up your things and hit the road.”
“Not until you tell me why,” Ariana replied slowly, her voice razor-sharp.
“Why? For one thing, how am I supposed to be friends with a monster? You waltz around and think you’re so perfect and better than everyone else. Maybe you used your magic to get that job. Did you brainwash Dodson with a spell?”
That was as far as Krysten got before a blast of silver blue light propelled her backward through the door, shattering it into a thousand splinters. With a heavy thud, she slammed into the wall just beyond the broken doorway and sank to the floor, unconscious.
Ariana stood slightly hunched forward, breathing heavily with wide eyes. Her fingers were still tingling.
Moments later, people began crowding around Krysten’s limp body and peering through the destroyed door into the break room at Ariana. Their eyes were wide and full of fear. Already she regretted what she had done. Their expressions were enough to tell her that her life in Duckburg was coming to an end.
With stiff legs she made her way through the wreckage toward her office, and the throng of onlookers parted to let her pass. Slowly, she began gathering up her things. Some empty boxes had already been placed on her desk.
As she was packing, a framed photograph on the corner of her desk caught her eye. Both she and Krysten smiled out at her from the picture, their cheeks rosy in the winter air. They had had so much fun together that day.
Ariana placed the photo face down in the box, picked the box up, took one last look around the office, then left McDuck Studios for good.