Violet

Chapter 54: Chop Suey

The gray-haired old woman went back inside and we followed behind her. "Come over to my desk," she said.  She grabbed a marker and two yellow sticky notes then handed them to us. "Please write your names here."

"Why?" Abby asked in a rude tone.

"Because I like to keep track of everyone who enters my library," she said with a smile. "It's an odd collection, but I love to do it."

I thought that was pretty cute of her to do. Abby walked off without signing the note. Instead, she took a seat somewhere in the back and started reading the closest book to her. I shook my head then signed the sticky note. "Sorry about her."

"It's alright," she sat down in a chair behind her desk then folded her hands together. "We often get those types. Is she your sister?"

I shook my head. "Just a friend."

"She looks just like you," she replied.

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow. "I don't see it."

"Why she has your nose and your eyes," she rocked a little in her chair.

She isn't the first person to have said I looked like Abby. Even Abby's mom told me I looked like Abby. I didn't see it, at all. Although, she could pass for my sister considering her and my father were almost always together.

All of a sudden, a penny flew onto my shirt then fell on the ground. "Penny for your thoughts?" The old woman asked. I picked up the penny and looked at it. It wasn't actually a penny. It was a shiny bronze coin with a woman's head on it and written underneath her, "Survival." It looked pretty neat. I handed it to her.

"Keep it," she said." It was made by my great grandfather.

I put it in my pocket. "Thank you," I said. Not wanting to get too carried away, I leaned forward and lowered my voice. "You wouldn't happen to have any books on evil books or magical books, have you?"

"Like for magic tricks?" She raised an eyebrow.

"No," I took a second to think about it. "Books on evil. Books that can possess people maybe." I snapped my finger. "Ah, maybe even books on sacrifices of human beings."

She smiled at me. "How interesting. A few years ago I had a girl around your age ask me about those. I didn't have them at the time, but I promised I would order them. However, she never came back and I never heard of her again. She seemed desperate that day."

I frowned, feeling sorry for her. She seemed to have cared about this person. "Did you get their name?" I asked with a smile.

"Her name was Helena," she said. "Such a pretty name." The woman got up and reached into a cabinet behind her for some books. She took out about three small magazines. They weren't exactly magazines, just in resemblance. The papers barely stuck together and she had to keep same from falling. "These are the only ones that came in," she handed them to me.

I carefully took them out of her hand. "Thank you," I said.

"Would you like to check them out or read them here?" She asked.

I smiled at her, then turned to Abby. I didn't want her to know what I was reading. "I'll get these, but I'd like to check out a few more books."

I got a few horror and mystery books to make myself look less suspicious. When I went to check out my books, I put all the normal books on top of the ones I really wanted. After that, I bid farewell to the woman, then Abby and I headed back home.

****

Wake up (wake up)
Grab a brush and put a little make-up
Hide the scars to fade away the shake-up (hide the scars to fade away the...)
Why'd you leave the keys upon the table?
Here you go create another fable

Turns out, dad had a gift for Abby and me at home. It was a sing-a-along karaoke machine. It also came with two mics and you could hook it up to a TV and have singing competitions.

Abby and I were doing a duo song called Chop Suey by System of a Down. Abby had the song down packed, but I couldn't manage the whispering part which started us over if we got it wrong.

"Okay, once again," Abby said, taking the mic out of my hand. When I say WAKE UP, you whisper Wake up. Then when I said to hide the scars to fade away the shakeup, you say hide the scars to away the. After that, you just sing the next part. Got it?"

I frowned at her. "The lyrics are moving too fast," I whined, knowing it was something Abby hated. She threw our mics to the ground then left my room.

Finally, that's what I wanted. It was seven at night and I still hadn't had a chance to read anything. This was my chance. At nine I would have to spray the plants before I went to bed so I had about a good two hours.