The Frights of Fiji by Sunayna Prasad (books to read for self improvement .txt) 📕

right now, I’d have her tell you.”

There was another halt. Alex breathed.

“I’m sorry, b-but it’s the truth.”

“Oh… m-my god,” gasped Alex. “I . . . I don’t believe it.”

“Yeah, I didn’t believe in it, either. But can you keep magic a secret from anyone else you know?”

“I don’t think anyone will believe me anyway. But sure, sweetie. I won’t tell anybody.”

“Thanks. No one other than Hailey believed me. So anyway, when can you talk to your lawyer about having me move in with you?”

“I can do it now, but it’ll take at least a month before I can be your guardian.”

“What?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry. If I could make it earlier, I would. But that’s what I’ve read.”

Alyssa sighed. “Okay.”

“I’ll work out what I can, all right?”

“Sure. I love you.” Alyssa hung up.

“Alyssa?” Hailey called from upstairs.

“Yeah?”

“Who were you talking to?” Hailey walked down the steps.

“If I tell you, do you promise not to tell your dad?”

“Yes.”

“My godfather.”

Hailey raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth. “You actually got to talk to him?”

Alyssa nodded.

“If you get to live with him, will I be able to go too?”

“Sorry, no.”

“Why not?”

“The way my parents had organized it was for him to be only my guardian.”

Hailey groaned.

“It’s okay, Hailey, you can talk to your grandparents. They only live a half hour away.”

“Yeah, I guess I could.”

“Girls, get dressed!” Uncle Bruce shouted from upstairs.

“I’ll call them later,” Hailey said.

The two headed back up. Alyssa walked into her room, where she dressed herself in jeggings, a tank top, and a plaid shirt. She heard another swish and turned to her bed. It had better not have come from the anonymous sender again. Nevertheless, Alyssa picked up the paper and read it.

 

Dear Alyssa,

 

We need to talk about the strange happenings you encountered yesterday. I didn’t commit them, but I know who did. The name of the person is Beau Duchamp. I will tell you all about it in a few minutes. Meet me in your bathroom. The one you’re closest to.

See you soon,

Simon

 

P.S. If you’re wondering why Duchamp and I made these notes appear to you, it’s because that’s how we wizards communicate with people when we don’t know their contact information.

 

Alyssa breathed. She could now show the name of the person who’d committed those crazy pranks to Uncle Bruce. But who was this Simon guy? How did he know her name? He sounded like a trustworthy person. But when Alyssa had learned about stranger safety as a little kid, adults had taught her never to trust strangers. Still, maybe she should give listening to Simon a try. Whenever somebody showed care and offered guidance, Alyssa had always trusted him or her. But she’d already known those people.

She walked into the bathroom to do her morning routine: wash her face and brush her hair and teeth. But a voice with an English accent whispered, “Alyssa, don’t go.”

Alyssa turned around, letting out a shriek. A small marble statue with wings, short wavy hair, and a suit stood by her. He waved.

“I know—I look strange,” said the statue.

“You’re . . . you’re—”

“Simon—the one who sent you the note about this meeting,” he said.

“You should’ve told me you’re a statue.” Alyssa knelt down.

Simon bent his eyebrows. “Who are you calling a statue? Statues aren’t alive. Therefore, I’m not a statue.”

“Then what are you?” asked Alyssa.

“A marble figure,” Simon answered. “I’ve been alive for thirty years. In fact, I was born into a family of marble figures.”

“How did marble figures come to life?”

“Some wizard magically brought them to life two thousand years ago. I don’t know how, but I don’t have time to tell you anyway. We need to discuss Duchamp and the storm tonight.”

“There’s going to be a storm?”

“Yes.” Simon turned to the door. “Hey, why don’t you lock the door? I can’t be seen.”

Alyssa did so. “So why didn’t anyone tell me about the storm?”

“Duchamp is forming it now.”

“Was he the one who turned the rain black and—”

“Yes. He committed every magical incident from yesterday.”

“Including the marks on my babysitter?”

“Yep. He’s also responsible for making her fall asleep.”

“My uncle grounded my cousin and me for that.” Alyssa lowered her voice.

“I’m sorry to hear.” Simon frowned. “I’m assuming you also told him the truth and he didn’t believe you.”

Alyssa nodded.

“Well, just like Duchamp wanted your babysitter gone, he wants to hurt your uncle now too.”

Alyssa gasped.

“That’s why he’s creating the storm. It was the best thing he could think of. Right now, he’s hiding somewhere. He doesn’t want anyone to see him until you have no one to protect you.”

“Can’t the police find him?”

“Nope. He’s so powerful that he created charms on himself to make him invisible to the police and government—from anywhere in the world.”

“What the heck?”

“I know. Anyway, let’s talk about the storm. Tonight it’s supposed to sleet in bright colors.”

Alyssa brightened her eyes. “Why?”

“So people will get worried. But it’s going to hurt your uncle in some way. I don’t know how, though.”

“Something’s going to happen to him tonight?”

“Yes.”

“Oh my god,” moaned Alyssa. Despite how Uncle Bruce had been, Alyssa still realized that she loved him and would never want anything to hurt him.

“But most importantly, Alyssa, you need to know about what Duchamp wants with you.”

“What?”

“He wants to kidnap you and bring you to the Fiji Islands to enslave you.”

Alyssa inhaled, tightening her chest. “You’re kidding.”

“I wish. But he owns a dark magic center there, and he wants to keep you there. Magical connections work better in the tropics, and Duchamp can only achieve his goal if he weakens you there with some type of magic.”

“Wait—there’s a connection between us?”

“Yes. He received it last fall at your parents’ graves when he put a magic thermos near it and sucked in copies of their DNA.”

Alyssa lowered her jaw. “Why did he do that?”

“I don’t know. I’ll have to find out. But once he opened the lid, the DNA evaporated and traveled to you since you’re the only one related to them that he could use.”

Alyssa kept her jaw hanging and tilted herself back. “I don’t remember that.”

“It happened when you were sleeping. It doesn’t work when you’re awake. But since then, the magic in the connection has grown and reached its peak yesterday.”

Alyssa clenched her teeth. “Oh no.” She inhaled and exhaled.

“Yes, I know how it feels. But one of the good things about marble figures is that we can absorb information from other people’s brains. So later today I’ll talk to you about why he wants you exactly.”

“Wait, you can what?”

“Don’t worry, Alyssa. I only gather information to help people. I don’t absorb anything else.”

“You sure?”

“Of course.”

“Okay.”

“I’m going to go now.” Simon pushed his body up into the air.

“Wait, when will I see you again?”

“Soon.” He held out his arms and disappeared.

Alyssa breathed and her heartbeat rushed. She left the bathroom and headed downstairs for breakfast. Uncle Bruce cooked spinach and egg-white omelets, and Hailey ate some sliced pears.

“What were you doing upstairs for so long?” asked Hailey.

“Uh . . . hanging out,” Alyssa said. “Did anyone hear about the storm tonight?”

“What storm?” asked Hailey.

“It’s supposed to sleet,” said Alyssa.

“They didn’t say anything about sleet on the radio,” said Uncle Bruce. “I don’t know where you heard that, but you need to let that go and eat your breakfast. We’ve got a lot of work to cover today.”

Alyssa sat at the table and had the pears. At some point, the radio should announce the storm. Uncle Bruce must also learn that it would harm him tonight. Alyssa would rather let him know as soon as possible than at the last minute.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4

 

A knock on the door made Alyssa jump back in her desk chair. Only twenty minutes had passed since today’s homeschooling had ended. Alyssa hadn’t even finished a quarter of her homework load. According to her digital clock, it was three.

Uncle Bruce opened the door and poked his head inside. “Get ready, Alyssa. We need to be at Mr. Steinberg’s in a half hour.”

“What should I bring?” she asked.

“Nothing. He’s going to give you work.”

“Are you kidding me?” Alyssa followed Uncle Bruce downstairs.

“Don’t worry. You’ll be finished with it before you come home. He’s not giving you homework.”

“Okay, good.” Alyssa joined Hailey and walked with her and Uncle Bruce out the door.

Despite the storm that would happen tonight, the weather didn’t cool her at all. In fact, it had warmed up to around the high fifties or low sixties.       

Alyssa hopped into the back seat with Hailey, and Uncle Bruce slid into the driver’s seat.

“Can you put the radio on?” asked Alyssa.

“Why?” asked Uncle Bruce.

“Because of the storm tonight.”

Uncle Bruce sighed and started the car. He turned on the radio and selected the news station, where the meteorologist discussed the weather forecast. It would lower into the twenties tonight.

Okay, that’s a good sign of letting people know about the storm, Alyssa thought.

The weatherman announced that it would sleet up to three inches. He also said that there might be power outages as early as seven or eight o’clock tonight. But he mentioned nothing about the sleet’s vivid colors. The weather forecast concluded.

“You were right, Alyssa,” said Uncle Bruce. “There is going to be a storm.”

“Yeah, the sleet’s even going to be funny colors,” Alyssa said. “The weatherman just forgot to say that.”

“Alyssa, don’t talk like that,” Uncle Bruce said. “Sleet can’t be any color but white.”

“How do you even know that?” asked Hailey.

“I heard it somewhere,” said Alyssa.

“Where?” asked Uncle Bruce.

      “From . . . someone,” said Alyssa.

“Who?” Uncle Bruce asked.

“A . . . uh . . . talking marble figure.”

“Alyssa, stop it right now!” exclaimed Uncle Bruce. “How many times do I have to remind you there is no such thing as magic?”

“Yes, there is,” Alyssa said.

“I’m not arguing with you. So let’s stop talking about this right now.”

Alyssa heaved a sigh. Would she ever get a chance to tell him that he’d be harmed?

“Now, girls, I want you on your best behavior at Mr. Steinberg’s. He’s not like many other tutors.”

“What do you mean?” asked Hailey.

“He’s much stricter.”

“Are you kidding me?” asked Alyssa.