Forlot: A Girl Who Needs Her Space - Book Thirty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Karl and I must have been so focused on the music box that we did not see or hear Vicky coming in. Yes, it was none other than Vicky. How am I not surprised?

Karl and I both gasped when Vicky snatched the music box from Karl's hands. She raised her arms and held it high above her head.

"Greetings, losers!" Vicky sang. "Did ya miss me?"

"Vicky!" I exclaimed.

"Vicky? Who is Vicky?" Karl asked.

I squinted at her. "Vicky is a bully. Otherwise known as a pain in the bottom." I could feel my blood boiling as I clenched my fists tightly. "What the heck are you doing here, Vicky? Nobody invited you."

"That is where you are wrong, Carmen," she answered. She was singing off-key just to tick me off. "Somebody did invite me to your little party."

"Who?" Karl demanded. "Who invited you?" He leaned forward. "For the record, Carmen and I are not having a party."

She snorted. Snorted like a pig. "I am smart enough to know that you and Carmen are not having a real party. I just wanted to see what you were up to."

I scratched the back of my head and could not help but smirk. "If you are smart like that you claim...then why do you believe that this planet is flat?"

Karl was adjusting his glasses. "The planet is flat? I did not know that. I always thought that it was round...like that it is supposed to be." He scowled at me and Vicky. "This is exactly why I want to remain single for the rest of my life. All the girls at my old school did not like me, so why did I expect something different?"

Vicky tucked my music box under her arm and jabbed at his nose. "Maybe no girl wants to hang out with you because you are a loser."

His eyelids lowered halfway. He pushed her hand away and said, "I am not a loser. I am a survivor. You would know that if you got to know me."

"Why would I ever want to know you?"

"He is a good student, Vicky," I commented, coming to his defense. "A good kid. He might be nothing like you, but that is the thing. He is nothing like you. Karma and I are happy that he is nothing like you."

Karl turned to me. "You...and Karma...are happy that I am...me?"

"Absolutely. I do not trust you yet because we just met, and Karma and I do not like how you have been acting and treating us."

He slowly nodded and rested his hand on my shoulder. "I do not like the way that I have been acting either. It hurts my heart whenever I am cold to...friendly faces."

"Then why do you do it?" Vicky spat.

He turned his attention back to the bully. "Why do I do what...what is your name again?"

"I am Vicky. Vicky Chance. And you had better not say my first name or my last name. Never." She shook her finger at him. "Ever. Do you understand?"

"I think that I do, but...why do you not want me to say your first name or your last name?"

"Karl, is it? There are all kinds of losers in our world."

"There are?"

"They are everywhere." She jabbed at my chest. "There are losers like her and Karma." She jabbed at his chest. "Then there are losers like you. Oh my. I never thought that I would say this, but...I would rather ruin Karma's and Carmen's days than deal with a loser like you."

I got in front of him. "You are out of line, Vicky. Leave him alone. As a matter of fact, why do you not do all of us a favor and go away? Just give me the music box."

"What music box? Oh, you mean the music box hiding under my arm. Here." She tossed it, and I caught it. "I do not want a tacky thing like that anyway." With that, she spun around and left the bathroom.

"Did she even know that she was in the boys' restroom, Carmen?" Karl asked.

"Knowing her intelligence, I doubt it," I responded.

After Karl showed me how to use it properly, I finally - finally - figured out how the music box works. It is easy to use once you learn the functions - but it is one of the most dangerous devices in the world, and I will tell you why.

Much like a lamp or a shooting star, this music box has the power to grant wishes. There is just one difference. It is a difference so huge and so important that the box would not operate without it.

You cannot use the word "wish."

Well, you can use the word "wish," but the box will not do anything. It will not grant your wishes. It will never give you your heart's desires. No, no. If you want your wishes to come true, you cannot say, "I wish." You will say, "I want."

Weird, right? Instead of saying, "I wish that my enemy would get what is coming to her," you state, "I want my enemy to get what is coming to her." This would take a while to get used to, but I got the hang of it.

Karl was holding the music box and gave it back to me. "So...?"

"So what?"

"Well..." He massaged the side of his neck. "...now that you know how the box works, what will your first wish be?"

I thought for a moment. "I always wanted to teach that brat a lesson."

"You referring to Vicky?"

"Yeah." I leaned against the wall. "I am jealous of her."

"Why?"

"A being like her gets to be sooooo talented and have a beautiful voice. She thinks that she is God's gift to this world."

"Then use your music box to sabotage her."