Brown Eyes

Chapter 24

(Eliza's P.O.V.)

I was sitting in dance class, at our water break next to the girls, messing with the same piece of glass I had found at the mining tunnel.

"What's that?" Taylor asked.

"I have no idea," I said with a shrug. "I can't think of anything it would be. I found it near the caved dwarf mines the other day."

"Maybe it's evidence," Lily said coming up and looking at it. "Maybe Henry's right, maybe there's something down there!"

"Maybe it's just litter, tossed up from the dirt when the mine caved in," Kylie said.

"It does remind me of something," I said. "I don't know what it is though."

Then we felt a small rumble through the ground. Everybody looked around.

"Must be the mines again," Lily said.

"All right everyone, come on!" Ms. Greene called and we all stood up and I put the glass back in my bag.

"Today we're rehearsing the scene where the prince sees Cinderella for the first time at the ball, so Eliza, Jake, could you please come up and stand here?"

I walked up to the front and so did Jake Hall, who was playing the prince. I smiled at him and he smiled back and said, "Hello, princess."

"Hello your Highness," I joked back with a curtsy.

"Okay, now Kendra, Olivia, come up and get in place," Ms. Greene called to the girls playing to evil stepsisters. "Eliza, go stand back there, where the doors are going to be."

I jogged to the back and waited for her cue to come up with someone's phone went off. We all looked around and turns out it was Ms. Greene's.

"Sorry, I thought it was off," she said pulling out her phone. "Keep practicing."

She walked away from a bit on the phone. I waited for the cue in the music coming from the CD player, then ran forward and looked around dramatically, as if looking around a palace, then I felt Jake take my hand and I turned to meet him. But then Ms. Greene yelled, "Taylor, fill in for Eliza," and she motioned for me to go over to her.

"It's your friend Henry," she said and I felt my heart rate increase.

"I just got a call from the Sheriff's station. He went down into the mine that collapsed the other day, and it crumbled and now he's trapped underground with Dr. Hopper."

I stared at her, probably gaping.

"Are you okay?" she asked. "The police and the fire department are working on getting them out a we speak--"

I ran back to all my stuff, quickly unlaced and pulled off my ballet slippers, pulled on my sneakers and ran for the mines, leaving dance class.

That idiot! I know he's desperate for evidence, but this was crossing the line! He could get himself killed!

I ran up, out of breath, to Emma and shouted, "Is he okay??"

She jumped at my sudden outburst, but then said, "We don't know, he's still trapped. How come you're in a tutu?"

"I just ran here from dance class," I said.

The first thing I thought of was moving the rocks with magic, but Regina was here, along with basically the rest of the town. Or at least, the rest of the town that was friends with Henry or Archie. People might get a little freaked. So, none of that kind of magic.

There was suddenly a loud rumble and rocks started falling.

"Stop!! STOP!!" Regina yelled, running forward.