Twisted Wonderland | Mickey's Print

51. Night in Ramshackle

Warning: This chapter contains a brief part of "s*x education" (you'll get why it's on quotation marks) and Crowley trying to be an overprotective father figure. Read with discretion if either of these topics makes you uncomfortable.

"Hey, Sam!" Yukiko greeted him as she entered the school store.

Sam peeked out from inside the storeroom and greeted her with a big smile. "Good afternoon, little demon! You seem to be in a good mood today. Is it because of the little party you're having in Ramshackle?"

Yukiko's eyes widened. "Oh, how do you know? Did one of the boys tell you?"

The store owner winked at her: "My friends from the Other Side don't miss a thing, my dear customer."

"Oh, of course," she replied with a laugh before looking around. "Are they here right now?"

"Maybe yes, or maybe not. Are you curious about them?"

"A little bit, actually. Yuu mentioned seeing one of your friends once, when he came here with Riddle. Was it shaped like a bee?"

Sam's eyes widened. He hadn't expected that topic to come up again so suddenly. "Oh, I remember. To be honest, I still find it hard to believe I was able to see even a tiny part of one of my friends from the Other Side."

"Why do you say that?"

Sam glanced around the shop to make sure they were the only ones there. "There aren't many people who have this same ability to contact beings from the Other Side, beings that are much different from the ghosts you see around campus; in fact, mine runs in the family. You have no idea how surprised I was when someone without magic, like your brother, was able to see one."

Yukiko's eyes widened at this revelation. "Then... how could Yuu?"

The shopkeeper pointed to his shoulder. "We can't explain it for sure, but once, before you came to the school, he and I discussed it with the headmaster and concluded that it's those strange marks you have. It might not be the case, but we don't have any other conclusive clues."

"Really? No one had ever mentioned that to me."

"It's been a long time. Maybe the subject never came up again, or maybe they forgot about it. And anyway, I doubt your brother will ever see one again. My friends have become more discreet every time you come here. We have to keep it a secret, you know?" he said, with a sly smile that seemed to be trying to change the subject.

"Oh, I see..." she replied, unsure if that answer had been enough or if it had only raised more questions.

In the end, she decided it wasn't worth talking about it, at least not yet. It didn't seem like Sam's "friends" were going to show up anyway, and she still had a party to prepare. "Well, what can you do if they don't want to go out and play! But they were right: we're inviting people over for the weekend, and we've been looking forward to it for days! Yuu and Grim are at home with the food and the clean up, so I'm coming to get the rest."

She could have sworn for a second that Sam seemed relieved by the change of subject and went straight to the sales pitch. "Perfect! We have a great selection of soft drinks, snacks, and sweets from all over the world. And if you're looking for entertainment, I recommend this popular board game where you have to solve a murder. Perfect for a spooky night with your friends!"

"Thanks, Sam, but the guys are bringing cards and surely a movie. The sweets will do," she politely declined.

"Great then! We have a wide variety of drinks and snacks from all over the world! We even have potato chips with flavours they don't even sell here in Sage's Island; buy two bags and get a discount on the third."