Monsters Are Forever

18. It Really Works

Sunday night around eleven, Mia decided it was about time to head on up to bed. Hopefully her parents would be going to sleep soon, and she wanted them to think she was already asleep when they did. It made sneaking out a lot easier if they thought she wasn't still awake.

"Goodnight!" she called down, once she'd reached the top of the stairs.

"Goodnight!" her parents called back to her. Satisfied, she shut the door to her room and turned out the light. She waited almost an hour to make sure her parents didn't come in to check on her before she quietly got up.

When she'd gotten that mistletoe on Wednesday, she'd sat down in the car, dumping all the packets into her lap. Her mom had looked over at her and asked what all those plants were supposed to be for – especially since Mia seemed to have so many.

"School project." Mia told her.

She'd set them on her desk when she got home, but quickly moved them to her backpack after school on Friday, so her mom wouldn't see them. She didn't need her mom barging in on her randomly and seeing that she still had all that mistletoe with her; it might make her suspicious. She wouldn't know what it was for, of course – there was no way she'd ever guess that. But Mia didn't want her to realize she'd been lying.

She would have hidden it in her backpack immediately, but she didn't want to bring any of it to school with her, especially if it really would work against werewolves. She didn't want to do anything that would hurt Zev, or his friends. But Rudi was another matter. And since she'd planned on using it tonight when she went out, she figured it could sit there hidden for a few hours. What harm could it do?

Now that she was supposed to be safely asleep, it was time to figure out what to do with all those plants. She emptied her backpack of all the mistletoe she could find – seven packets. She stared at them for a minute or two, trying to decide the best plan.

She decided to take them back to her bed while she thought. And this way she could hide under the covers if her parents did feel the urge to come check on her suddenly.

She decided she wanted to wear them – in her hair, maybe. Or like a necklace. She didn't want to stuff it in her pockets, especially since she planned on using it until every single leaf had dried up and died. What if she stuffed it in her pockets and then squished it on the bus? After a few minutes of thinking, she decided the easiest thing to do was to make something for her hair – some sort of wreath, maybe. It would be easier than a necklace, and it wouldn't get flattened under her coat. And that way, she could play it off as festive instead of werewolf-repellent if she needed to.

When she was younger, she used to make daisy chains with her friends. So why not do something about the same? The stems were a little thicker, sure. But that shouldn't matter. And if it turned out that she didn't have quite enough to make a wreath, she could always split one or two of the plant pieces in half.

Mia emptied the little baggies out and went to work, slitting the stems carefully and pulling the next bunch through the hole. It was a little tricky since the stems were so short, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. And in just a few minutes, she had a nice little ring of mistletoe. She grinned happily in the dark – perfect. This should keep Rudi away. She set the mistletoe-chain on her desk, put her hair up into a messy ponytail, and got dressed. Now, she was ready. All she had to do was wait until her parents were finally asleep.

It seemed like forever before the lights in the hall went off. And Mia knew, it would be just a few minutes more before she would finally be able to go outside. She waited almost half an hour to make sure her parents were really asleep. Then, when she was satisfied, she put her brand-new mistletoe wreath on her head, threaded her ponytail through, and checked herself in the mirror. It looked nice – just perfect for the holidays, really. Mia was glad; she didn't want to look weird, especially if she was going to be walking around downtown late at night. She was hoping to attract someone, and looking kind of bizarre was almost guaranteed to keep everyone away. Even worse – it could cause her to be remembered.