"I swear, if I'm dying tonight because of you, I'm gonna haunt your ass so hard, Harrington!"
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah! I'm gonna go full Poltergeist and shit!"
"Then bring it, Graveswood."
"Challenge accepted."
***
In which after years of suppressing their...
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Chapter Forty-Five: The Arcade
(MADMAX, Pt. 2)
***
Rowan was sitting on her bed, reading Carrie again and listening to Joan Jett's new album, when she was rudely interrupted by the slam of her door.
Jerked out of the reading zone, Rowan shouted, "Al! What the hell?!"
"Sorry Rowan, but I need to borrow some quarters for the arcade!" Alistair yelled as he ran to her desk and pulled out the top drawer, where she kept her hard-earned money from helping Aunt Aco in her schemes in a sock.
"Why the hell do you need my money?" Rowan demanded as she pulled off her headphones and turned off her music. "Don't you have enough from cleaning the windows of all the trailers this past summer?"
"Not enough!" Alistair yelled as he grabbed a couple of quarters.
"Put those back! I earned that money!"
"I promise I'll pay you back!"
"Hey!" Rowan yelled as her brother darted out of the room. "Give it back, Alistair! I'm gonna kill you!"
"I'LL PAY YOU BACK!" Alistair shouted as he sprinted down the corridor and to the door, flinging it wide open as he ran for his bike.
"YOU BETTER!" Rowan screeched as she stood in the doorway. "And say hi to the other gremlins for me!"
"Sure!" Alistair yelled as he led his bike behind the trailer to Kerley and began biking to the arcade.
Rowan watched her brother's retreating back as she sighed in frustration.
"He better pay my damn money back," Rowan muttered darkly as she slammed the door close.
Aunt Aco chuckled from where she was sitting on the couch, a glass of red wine in her hand. "Ah, siblings. I remember when Percy and Quinn used to steal your mom's money for the carnival games when the fair was in town. She threatened to plunge their rooms into eternal darkness if they didn't pay her back."
"Let me guess. You stole my mom's money for the fair as well?" Rowan asked with an arched brow.
"Yes, but not for the games. I used that money to scam the con artists that rigged the games right back at them."
"Of course you did," Rowan muttered with a smile.
"It runs in the family, kid. You're just unlucky enough to be the sibling who's money's been stolen from," Aunt Aco said in a tone that Rowan supposed was meant to be consoling.
"Wow. Very reassuring," Rowan snarked as she made to head back for her room.
"Hey, kid. You did your homework, right?" Aunt Aco asked.
