Chapter 2.51- The Monkey Queen of the Moon

                “Just a few more months until spring is here and then,” Roger said, his voice slightly hushed. “Then we graduate. Graduate! We’ll be out of that hell hole forever. Well, until we have kids and they start going and we go back for parent teacher conferences.”

                Mariah stopped short, her head snapping up. “Uhmmm,” she started.

                “Pfft,” Roger rolled his eyes at her, grinning, blushing. “Not we as in us. I just meant in general. You do plan on having kids right?”

            Mariah walked straight into the chair and chess table in front of her while Roger avoided it easily.

            Dammit. Pay attention. Mariah had been fairly easily distracted lately. Her thoughts of recent events and developments taking over her waking moments, driving her crazy.

            “I dunno,” she admitted. “I mean, I can’t imagine having little kids around my mom. And it’s not like I can leave her alone in that state.”

            “What are you going to do then?”

            But Mariah was once again not paying attention.

            “It’s crazy right?” She said. “I mean, we played at that park as kids. As kids! Wasn’t that just a few years ago? And yet we’re already being expected to act as adults. We won’t have a choice but to act as adults when we graduate.”

            Roger nodded, looking at the park they were walking past.

            “I guess I just don’t feel like I should be a grown up yet. I think I’d rather go play,” Mariah sighed.

            Roger stopped. “Look at the sunset,” he said quietly. “One less sunset to go until we’re grownups. “

            Scoffing, Mariah did as he asked, watching the sun paint the sky with a blaze of light.

            Realizing Roger had no intentions of moving any time soon Mariah stopped as well.

            “What’s got you in such a romantic mood over a sunset we can see any day?”

            “I’ve made decisions today, ‘Riah,” he said. “Big decisions.”

            “I see,” Mariah’s eyebrows shot up as she rolled her eyes at his back. “Let’s keep walking and you can tell me. My toes are going to freeze if we just stand here.”

            “It’s a huge weight off my mind, I can tell you that.” Roger had had a meeting at the police station that morning. He’d signed up for the Police Academy session beginning just a few weeks after graduation, and spoke to the Chief addressing his concerns about not going to college. “I just don’t know how my parents could have afforded all three of us at that university this fall. I might not have the fancy degree my brothers have, but I’m going to be doing just what I want to do.”

            With a heavy heart, Mariah had listened to Roger’s glowing plans for his future. He couldn’t wait for his future to start. She wished she could say the same thing.

            Sensing his buddy’s inner turmoil, he stopped.

            “I know you don’t know what you’ll do, or where you’ll go, or how,” he said, gazing at the moon in front of them. “But don’t worry about it. You’ll figure it out.”

            Nodding, Mariah dragged her feet along the frozen sidewalk a little. Mariah wouldn’t be going off to the University with other kids in their class either. She’d be stuck here, taking care of her crazy mother, forever.

            “Mariah, your grades have you in second place in our class,” Roger told her. “You’ll figure out what you want to do with that. And once you do, you’re going to shine. I just know it.”

            Sighing, Mariah nodded, her shoulders drooping. She had no idea what she wanted to do. None. Other than taking care of her mom, she almost couldn’t care. Well, that’s what she told herself anyway.

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            Mariah was still feeling rather morose when she’d gone to find Roger and a shoulder to cry on. Actually, she’d originally been looking for Andre, but he was out with Kelci. Now she’d found Roger he had no idea she was here. He was busy playing games in the arcade at Pop! while she sat here and stared at him, hoping he’d sense her and come to cheer her up.

            Oh well.

            And then, to her shock, Kelci sauntered over and sat down near her.

            Mariah glared at her while the b*tch sat there giving her a vapid grin. She was in no mood to start a conversation with her. Not after their last conversation. Not after… well. And Watcher above! Kelci had on the same earrings Mariah always wore! Well, not anymore. If she could remember...

            “Hi, Mariah,” chirped Kelci.

            Narrowing her eyes even more, Mariah gave a terse nod of acknowledgement.

            “So,” Kelci must have super glued that stupid grin on her face. “How are you today?”

            Mariah was thoroughly disgusted. The tone she used suggested she was talking to a toddler.

            “I’m fine, thanks,” Mariah said tonelessly. “What do you want?”

            “I wanted to talk to you about your ‘gift.’”

            “My gift?” Mariah was thoroughly confused.

            “Sure,” Kelci continued. “You know, when we were all kids you used to predict the future and it always happened. I know you don’t do it anymore, but surely you still have that power?”

            Taken aback, Mariah sat up. It had been years since she used to make up predictions about her childhood enemies. Once, Andre had actually broken his leg after she’d told him he would and the entire class had immediately steered clear of her for months. Each and every one of them had been terrified she’d see the same grisly things if they crossed her.

            “I’m just hoping I can convince you to use your gift to help me out,” Kelci went on. “Y’know, with Prom coming up in a few months and all.”

            Looking down, Mariah frowned. All her childish predictions had been because she knew her classmates habits and lives very well. Andre always had his shoes untied and always stood too close to the staircase. His falling and breaking his leg was inevitable. JJ’s pet frog dying was inevitable. He’d had that thing for years and didn’t take the greatest care of it.

            “I’m willing to pay.”

            Now she had Mariah’s attention. Mariah never had any money to spend. It was her mom’s. And she felt awful using it unless she needed to. What if they ran out before she could get a job? She had no idea how much money was actually in the bank account.

            Noticing her continued reluctance, Kelci stuck her hand in a pocket and pulled out a wad, literally a wad, of cash making Mariah gape.

            “Now as I said, if you still have this gift, I’m more than willing to pay for a reading.”

            Forcing herself to breath, Mariah nodded at her. For that? Mariah would be the Monkey Queen of the Moon if she had to be, complete with song, dance and costume.

            “Alright,” she said, reaching out to take the bundle of bills from Kelci. Slightly afraid Kelci might change her mind she hastily stowed them in her back pocket.

            “Great,” Kelci’s voice was almost oily. “Let’s get started. I want to know if I’m going to be prom queen. And if I’m not prom queen, what do I have to do to get that crown?” And she raised both arms, sticking them out, looking like a pathetic Mummy.

            Mariah recoiled. People didn’t touch her. She didn’t touch people. What was Kelci doing?

            With an exasperated sigh, Kelci rolled her eyes. “I thought you had to touch the person to get a reading,” she said. “That’s what your grandmother always did. And you’d always bumped into the kids you’d predict about first.”

            Oh. Yeah. That.

            Summoning all her hatred of Kelci she gave the exasperated sigh right back.

            “I might need to touch you, but I don’t need to hold both of your hands and date you to get a reading,” she sneered. “I only need one of your hands. And actually-“

            Reaching out, Mariah trapped Kelci’s left hand in hers, pinching her ring finger.

            “-Actually, this is plenty.”

            “Whatever you need to see me as prom queen,” Pacified, Kelci’s voice was silky smooth again.

            Abuella Sabria didn’t bow her head or close her eyes when she’d ‘read’ others, but Mariah needed the moment to think.

            Prom Queen. Prom Queen? Lizzie and Roger usually knew more of the hallway gossip than she did. And she rarely paid attention when they’d go on about what they’d heard from whom who had heard it from someone else and so on.

            Prom Queen?

            A quick peek at Kelci, didn’t help her either. But she was wearing a blue shirt. That seemed to trigger something.

            Lizzie was on the prom committee and had told them all about the secret decisions the committee had made. This year’s colors were blue and green. Under the Sea or something like that was the theme. Cheesy in Mariah’s opinion. Not that she would be going. Not after the rumors about the football… That was it!

            Lizzie had told Roger that the early votes the committee had received had all been for Kelci. That Andre was paying the football and track teams to vote for her to make her happy. In turn, they were bullying others into voting for Kelci two months early. Alrighty then. That was easy enough.

            “I see,” she whispered slowly. “I see a lot of blue. Green too.” Shaking her head a little, she frowned. “It’s kind of dim and hard to see. Hang on.”

            Letting all of her breath out she slumped a little, bowing her head further, trying to scrape other bits of hallway gossip together when something Andre had told her flitted across her thoughts.

            “There are two girls in the lead at the start of the night. You are one of them. Wait. Your dress. It’s blue, too. That’s why it was hard to see. You just blend in with the decorations. Maybe white would be better? Yes. White. And you are Queen of the Prom in flowing white chiffon.”

            A sudden high pitched squeal made Mariah wince as Kelci jerked her hand out of her pinch.

            “Really? I am Queen?”

            Forcing her eyelids open, Mariah nodded slowly, heavily.

            “Oh my PlumbBob! I can’t believe it! But I already ordered a blue dress with a matching tux for Andre! I’ll have to cancel it. But it’s a custom and they won’t! I’ll just tell Daddy I have to get a new one. A white chiffon dress. He’ll let me. He wants me to be Queen too. Prom Queen!”

            “Oh, this is So exciting! I’m so happy,” Kelci continued to gush as Mariah slumped further down. “Thank you dear, dear, Mariah! I need to go find Andre and get him remeasured. A white tux this time. Yes. Or black. Yes. Black. I’ll be white, he’ll be black. We’ll be perfect! And I’ll be Queen! See you later, sweetie!”

            The bit about the blue dress had come from Andre who was horrified at looking like a giant blueberry in his matching tux, or like a forgotten member of the Zoot Suit Riot. It was a bright blue he’d said and she assumed it was awfully tacky.

            That had saddened her a bit, telling Kelci to change her dress color. It would make Andre happy and that was great since he made her happy. But it was with Kelci.

            Slowly raising her eyes, she watched Kelci join Andre across the room. She was still bouncing and squealing as she grabbed his arm and began to usher him toward the doors. As they left, Andre turned, craning his neck until he spotted her still in the corner, still slightly slumped. His face had clouded with concern as he’d half waved at her making her heart flutter. But she wouldn’t worry too much about him right now.

            No, she couldn’t worry about too much at all right now. That little episode had just given her some ideas. Lots of ideas.

            Pulling the money Kelci had paid for her pack of gossip and lies out of her pocket she’d quickly counted it all out. Yup. That gave her lots of ideas alright!

            Suddenly seeing the absurdity of the entire situation her pensive mood fled and her gloomy skies cleared as she began to laugh.

            She laughed until Roger noticed her. And then she took great delight in just spending some time with her friend.

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          So there are a ton of holes up there because Mariah is hiding a lot from us right now. We’ll fill in a few of them next time and see some of the secrets she’s been keeping. The rest? Well. Those will come when they come.

          Also, I realize that most teenaged females would claw Kelci’s eyes out before doing her any favors, for pay or no, but you’ve got to remember that Mariah’s sense of what is right and what is wrong is very skewed. She witnessed the murder of her father and uncle and felt that her uncle’s murder was justified and then watched it destroy her mother’s sanity. She was then emotionally abused by a woman whose desperation to make everything better again drove her to extremes of cruelty in a quest for control. Since then she’s been bullied by classmates, in and out of foster homes and all but forgotten by her older sister as she takes care of the woman who is supposed to be raising her. And since Roger’s anger at her even being seen in public with Andre she’s been keeping her own council more and more. So how Mariah reacts to situations like that is going to be very different from how you or I might react. Just something about Mariah to chew on, especially before the next chapter goes up.