The Five Furies

Chapter 1

          Summers in Clearwater tended towards swelteringly hot. Harsh sunlight glinted off of glass and steel alike. The windshields of parked cars could be particularly blinding. The crush of traffic led many to park wherever possible and walk, which used up all the available parking spots, which forced more cars onto the road, which made many, many more wish they had somewhere to park so they weren't caught up in the traffic themselves. One such car left with no place to pull over contained five individuals, one of whom had had it up to here.

          "How can there be no spots left? It's eight o'clock!" Emiel exclaimed.

          "Calm yourself."

          "I'm sure it won't take that long to find a parking space," Delilah said.

          "Stop backseat driving, Ricca. And you-" he jabbed a finger in Delilah's direction- "stop passenger-seat driving."

          "I don't think that's a thing," Mateo chimed in.

          "I don't think I care," replied Emiel. "Now. If you'll all just stop talking and let me drive-"

          "There!"

          "Where is it?"

          "Over there. By the big tree," Hae said, pointing.

          "Thank you."

          The blue-gray minivan edged into the parking spot that had been miraculously spared by the morning foot traffic. Its passengers filed out onto the sidewalk. Ricca was the last to hop out. "Let's go get breakfast."

          "I'm starving."

          "Well," Emiel said, "it's a good thing you found that space."

          The five headed off. The restaurant they were eating at was called Café De La Lune. Fortunately, it wasn't terribly crowded. Ricca didn't want to have to wait in line, and she really didn't want to be late for work. Sure, Ara would understand if the crowds made them a little behind schedule, but she'd feel bad if she left her boss alone to wrangle the bloodthirsty children, even though she knew that Kang was more than capable.

          Plus, she needed to speak to Ara about some special weekend plans. Their Saturday excursion was two weeks in the making. She was ecstatic. Emiel wanted everything to be perfect. There was no doubt in Ricca's mind that it would be.

          They would meet up for breakfast first thing in the morning. It would be Cafe De La Lune again, Mateo's favorite breakfast place. Then, they'd go over to Grant Park for some frisbee. Lunch would be at what was in Mateo's mind the best restaurant downtown. Everyone would drive home soon after that, since Mateo had to leave to celebrate with his family. It would be perfect, Ricca was sure. The only thing that could possibly go wrong would be if it rained. Which it wouldn't.

          The five ordered and paid quickly. They'd been to the coffee shop often enough to have their orders practically memorized. Maybe five minutes later, they all had their drinks and food.

          "Have you guys ever seen a civet?" Delilah asked around bites of her bagel. Everyone answered that they had not. "Okay, well, they're spotted and fluffy and basically the cutest things ever. Almost like a cross between raccoons and leopards."She quickly finished the rest of her breakfast and pulled out her phone. "See?"

          Mateo took the phone. "What, pray tell, is that?"

          "It's a civet. Duh."

          Hae set her latte down and leaned forward so she could get a better look at the screen. "I guess it is sort of cute."

          "I told you!"