If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where's My Prince? by Melissa Kantor

'It wasn't supposed to be just eighth graders.' Instead of looking at me, she stared at the cab.Īmy winced, misunderstanding my tone. 'It wasn't supposed to be like that,' she said. 'Are you okay?' I asked finally.įinally Emma spoke. Neither of them said anything they just examined the 'Yeah, see you,' he said, closing the door and locking it. When Emma and Amy met me in the entryway, they wouldn't look me in the eye. 'Just find my sisters and tell them to meet me by the front door.' 'I don't want to know.' He jiggled some loose change in his pocket nervously. Nowadays? What was wrong with a little spin the bottle? Was this what seventh graders were doing for fun The whole thing was so gross I felt sick. In the corner, three guys andĪ girl sat around a glass-topped table on which a ball of tin foil sat beside a razor blade. Were around his waist, and his hands were up the back of her shirt. On the sofa a girl was sitting on a guy's lap, kissing him. Empty bottles were scattered around the floor along with what 'Fine.' I started to walk past him authoritatively before I realized I didn't actually know how to get to 'the back.' A hallway branched off to the left, and I followed the sound of pulsating rap until I found myself in a dimly lit room. My voice sounded parental even to me, and the boy

The door, nervously toying with the lock. Seeing me obviously didn't have the same effect on him.

Seeing him made me feel ridiculous for having been scared about what I'd find in the house, but Standing before me was a skinny boy in baggy jeans who couldn't have been more than thirteen. Nothing happened for a few seconds, and then the door swung open. Three more rings before a voice finally asked, 'Who is it?' Seven feet off the ground, it was stained glass. I tried to see in one of the small side windows by the front door, but in addition to being about What if the girls were in some kind of trouble that I couldn't handle? I told the driver I'd AnĮnormous beech tree with gnarled branches towered over the front lawn, and I felt a flicker ofĪnxiety as the cab turned into the circular driveway and pulled up to the dark, creepy I hung up and dialed the Glen Lake Cab Company.Įighteen Mill Road turned out to be a Tudor-style mansion set way back from the road. Managed to say 'Thank you, Lucy' a few times. My saying that only made them cry harder, though in between sobs one or the other of them Time Emma said, 'We're scared, Lucy,' I started to worry that maybe they really did have By now all they could say was 'We can't,' and 'We're scared,' and 'Lucy, please come get us.' They sounded so plaintive I almost forgot how annoying they usually are. Rather than comforting them, my suggestion sent both Emma and Amy into a fresh round of 'Why don't you just call a cab and come home, then?' I suggested. He can probably be there in, like, five minutes.'

If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where's My Prince? by Melissa Kantor