Legacy (21 page)

"No, of course not. How could I forget?
"
Oh, my god! I forgot!

"Just making sure. So much has gone down this past week
, I just thought...I mean..."

She gazed up into his eyes. "I'm not going to forget something as important as a date with you." She saw relief flood his face.
OMG! He
's afraid
I
'd
forget. How sweet is that?

He brightened immediately. "Really? Well, I knew you had a lot on your mind...I mean with the sheriff and all." He shrugged. "So, you wanna grab a burger before the movie?"

She let go of the locker door and hugged him. Right there, in the middle of the hall with all the other kids watching, she hugged him. "Yes, I would love to grab a burger. That would be...
awesome
."

He walked with her to her class, the way he usually did, with his hand resting on the back of her neck. When they reached the doorway, he handed her books
over
and gave a wink. A wink that said,
everything's okay and yes, you're normal.

She walked into the classroom and took her seat without meeting anyone's gaze. She didn't want to acknowledge any
classmate
who might give her a look that said, 'no, you're not normal.'

She opened her book bag and took out her homework.
Not going to look up, no matter what.

Then a folded up piece of paper landed in the middle of her assignment. She sucked in a deep breath, not wanting to open the note. Not wanting anything to turn this day to an
ything less than normal.

Reluctantly her fingers reached for the tightly folded
cube
of notebook paper. She squared her shoulders and blew out the breath she had
been holding and read the note.

Since you made Lindy Boyd disappear my life has been heaven. TYTYTYTY

Mercy crumpled the note and glanced around. No one was l
ooking at her in particular. She turned around in her seat and checked out the back of the classroom.
There!
One kid she didn't know was gazing at her with a half-smile. He was small for his age, with a thick mop of dark hair and glasses that dwarfed his face. She had no idea what his name was. He
gave her a surreptitious wave.

Oh, no! He knows! What shall I do?

She gave him a faint smile and, with a little shake of her head, shrugged her shoulders.
I hope
he
gets the idea that I know nothing about the disappearances.
Absolutely nothing...
I hope...

After the class, Felicity fell in with her as she made her way to her next class. "Are you excited?"

"Excited?"

Felicity rolled her eyes. "You have to be over the moon about your date with Greg tonight. What are you going to wear?"

"Um, yeah. I'm excited...I don't know what to wear. Any ideas?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. You should be casual, like it's not a big deal. Just wear something that makes you look hot."

Mercy had to laugh at that. "I'm not sure I have anything that makes me look hot. I'll probably just wear my best jeans and a top."

"That could be hot." Felicity
gave her a little shoulder bump. "Toodles. See ya' at lunch." She veer
ed off to her own class.

"Bye," she said and turned to wave
. T
he guy who wrote the note
was
trailing
along
after her. She almost stumbled, but caught herself.

"Hi," he said. "I'm Donald. You probably never noticed me, but I had to say thanks."

"Um...Hi, Donald." A sudden case of the creepy-crawlies skittered over her skin and she shivered. "Look," she said. "I don't know what you're talking about. I had nothing to do with Lindy and the others disappearing."

He looked disappointed. "Are you sure? Because I hear people talking and..."

"Yes," she said firmly. "
I'm positive."

"Oh...I was hoping it was you, because Lindy is so mean. She makes me miserable. I was hoping you would never let her come back."

"Sorry, Donald. I had nothing to do with it." She turned and fled to her classroom, wondering what hateful things Lindy had been doing to Donald.
But, then again...maybe she
really
didn't want to know.

When she arrived home after classes were over, Kelli and Felicity wished her a good time with Greg.
She thanked them and ran inside the house
as though pursued by a squad of demons
.

She tried to sort out the conflicting thoughts a
nd emotions plaguing her brain.

Happy. I should be happy. And ex
cited. I have a date with Greg.

But the image of a donkey, a goose and a chicken burned in her memory.
What can I do? I have to find a way.

She went to the mirror and placed her fingers against the cool glass. "Gran? Are you there?" She stared at her own reflection
anxiously, but there was no
warm
response...no glimmer on the other side
.
She sighed and turned away.

Apparently she was on her own...and expected to carry on as though everything was normal...She let out an indelicate snort.
Yeah, like I'm supposed to even remember what
normal
is
?

Mercy
ran outside to gather the eggs, taking the recovered egg bowl with her. She glanced at her grandmother's garden, which seemed to be thriving in her absence. But was she really absent?
Alistair
seemed to feel her presence although Mercy felt alone and abandoned...
E
ven if
I
ha
ve
a cat to protect
m
e.
Hah!

She went inside to
change her clothes and brush her hair. She thought the blue knit top looked okay and it matched her eyes. Nothing special, but
she hoped Greg would like it. She paced around ai
mlessly as she waited for Greg.

Normal. I have to be normal tonight. I have to pretend that I'm just a normal teen-ager who is NOT a witch and that I'm on a normal date with the awesomest boy and I'm not worried about a donkey or a goose or a chicken.
She took several deep breaths.
Yeah, that's it. I'm normal
.

When she heard Greg's tires crunch on the gravel driveway, she grabbed her house key and stepped outside.
Then she remembered to flip on a light inside the house.
Don't want to leave Gran in the dark
.
She could see his grin from where she stood on the doorstep. He started to get out, but she went to meet him and put her h
and on the passenger side door.

"You're right on time," sh
e said and swung the door wide.

He settled back behind the wheel and closed his door. "I didn't want to keep you waiting."
He grinned and
turned the key in the ignition.

As they backed out of the driveway, Mercy felt a little tug of anxiety. Her grandmother had said that as long as she was on this property, she was safe...Safe from what?

"
Do you w
ant to go for a b
urger or pizza?"

Mercy snapped out of her haze. "Oh, I like both. Whatever you choose is fine with me."

They agreed on hamburgers and Greg drove to a franchise near the theater. They got out and went inside. Mercy ordered a hamburger and soft drink, not feeling comfortable with Greg spending money on her, but he seemed to be fine with it. He chose the same an
d added a large order of fries.

They chose a booth by the window and when she slid onto the plastic seat, Greg slid in on the same side.
He put his arm around her a
nd she scooted a little closer.

Nice. This is nice. It feels like we're the only two on the planet.
She leaned her shoulder into him, relaxing for a moment, but then their number was called overhead and Greg dislodged himself and took the ti
cket up to retrieve their food.

When Mercy looked up, she saw Donald sitting at a table all by himself on the other side of the restaurant. He stared at her intently and then raised a hand in greeting.

Nooooo. This can't be happening. I can't have him come over here and say things to Greg. He can't
out me as a
witch in front of my boyfriend.

"Who is that guy?" Greg set the tray with their food down on the table and scooted in beside her, casting a frown in Donald's direction.

"Um, he goes to our school. He's in one of my classes."

Greg snorted and handed her a napkin. "He must like you or something. He hasn't stopped staring at you since we got here."

"Oh, no. I don't think that's it. He's just shy."

Greg frowned at Donald again. "He doesn't look shy to me. Do you want me to say something to him?"

Mercy opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
Is Greg actually jealous of Donald?
She drew a deep breath and let it out. "No, please. It's okay."

Greg continued to glare across the restaurant until Donald glanced down at his food and then began to eat very rapidly.

"Greg, he's just a little kid. Lindy used to pick on him, so he thought
I was somehow involved...You know? All the witch talk.
It’s totally c
razy, I
agree
." She managed a feeble
twitch of a
smile.

Big brown eyes assessed her. "That's just dumb! How could anyone think you're a witch?"

She shrugged. "Beats me." She reached for a French fry and stuffed it in Greg's mouth. "Eat up, Big Guy. We have a movie to catch."

Casting another dark glance at Donald, he picked up his burger and
peeled the
wrappe
r off
before taking a huge bite.

Mercy heaved a sigh and started on her own food, but noticed Donald get up and leave without making further eye-contact.
To her amazement, she saw him climb into a
blue Smart Car and drive away.

OMG! Donald can drive! He has to be at least sixteen...b
ut he looks closer to twelve.

She realized she had paused with her burger halfway to her gaping mouth. S
ucking
in a deep breath
, she
took a
bite. The chewing process kept her from having to talk while her brain chewed on the things she knew about Donald. Not much, it seemed.
For instance, she didn't know his last name, or what grade he was in. She hadn't even noticed him in her class u
ntil he lobbed the note at her.

Not a problem...as long as he stays away from me. At least until I figure out how to turn a donkey, a goose and a chicken into three really irritating girls.

She tried to relax and
pay attention to
what Greg was telling her about his
baseball practice.

T
hey arrived at the movie theater
right on time. They grabbed popcorn and sodas and made their way down the aisle before the lights went out. Greg waved at a couple of people and followed her to a seat. He gri
nned and waved to someone else.

Mercy sat down, thinking that his self-assurance was part of his character. Outgoing, friendly and confident. She heaved a sigh.
So not like me. Shy, geeky and
uncertain
. That's my character.

Greg held the popcorn toward her and she grabbed a handful. "Thanks," she whispered. She looked around, wondering if anyone she knew might be in the gathering crowd. Just before the lights went down, she spotted Donald coming down the aisle and slip into a seat in the back. An eerie feeling crept around her spine.
Who is this guy
,
and why is he following me?

Maybe she needed to find out a little more about
her li
ttle shadow.

When the theater was completely dark and after the gush of coming attractions and advertisements for the concession s
tand, the main feature started.

Mercy tried to relieve the tension in her shoulders. She took several unobtrusive deep breaths and let them out.
Yes, I'm good
.

Greg reached to take her hand, settling it on his knee with his hand on top of hers. She smiled.
Yes, this is what normal girls do on a date. They ho
ld hands with their boyfriends.

"Normal! You think this is normal?"

Mercy gazed at the screen in horror. Darynda gazed back at her with a smirk on her face. "Oh, my god!
Be quiet. Are you crazy
?" She glanced at Greg, but he stared at the screen, transfixed.