CIFYA Represent!

My big competition for goalkeeper, Taylor, got bit this summer, the night of the Fourth of July. She and her brothers were lighting illegal fireworks out on the basketball court, late, after everyone had gone home from the city-sponsored show, and when the cops showed up she ran blindly into the woods toward the park, and that’s where it happened. I didn’t find out until I showed up at tryouts, of course, otherwise I wouldn’t have come, or I would have went out, maybe, for volleyball instead. Because if you’ve seen Teen Wolf (and who hasn’t) you know that no one can beat a werewolf on a court or a field. No one. I looked like an idiot out there.

I decided to walk home to let the sweat my dry on my skin and the humiliation mellow. The sidewalks were dotted with fellow classmates shouldering backpacks and making their own disappointed ways home: the wannabe jock parade. I turned the corner onto my street and found myself on the heels of a blonde girl with her head bent down, looking at her phone, probably. Her wavy hair was twisted up and she wore a leather jacket over denim shorts, a slouchy bag bouncing at her side. An art kid maybe?

At the other end of the street, a car engine roared and we both looked up. I didn’t even see the other thing approach us until it had barreled into her, knocking her through Mrs. Thompson’s honeysuckle bushes. I raced through the break in the sweet-smelling flowers and greenery to find the girl on her knees, straddling the thing, with what looked like a silver letter opener at its throat.  

“You know why,” he growls, his eyes fixed on her hand. “She’s getting tired of waiting for you to bring her what is hers.”

“Well, she can wait until she drops dead,” the girl retorts. “I’m not giving it up until I get my brother back.”

“Just give her the—” the wolf starts, but she cuts him off.

“This is how this is going to go. I’m going to give you a nice little reminder of our time together—” She traces a line in his skin with the blade and a well of red follows. “—then you’re going to crawl back to your den and tell your master that she can meet me tomorrow night outside the school gym at halftime, with my brother, or I’m going to take her precious and bury it in the deepest, darkest hole in the farthest part of the wood I can find and she’ll never see it again.”

“You’re such a b—”

She knees him in the stomach, cutting off his air supply and sentence and waves the letter opener menacingly. “You really wanna go there, fur-brain?”

He scrambles back as she jumps off him and makes a rude gesture as he sprints around the side of the house. I swear he looks a little like one of my classmates but I can’t get a positive ID before I notice those sharp green eyes focus in on me.

I suck in a breath as she darts towards me with the blade still in her hand. “Whoa, whoa, don’t stick me!” I throw my hands up.

“How much did you hear?” she demands.

I weigh my options: should I lie or tell the truth?

“So, Haven, now that we’re BFFs, I’m going to need you to tell me everything you know about Dacey Jacobson.”

I hesitate for a minute.  I do want to help her find her brother, but it almost feels like a betrayal of Emily.  I’d never want to do something that could put her at risk.  On the other hand, there’s no love lost between me and Dacey.  She’s been tormenting Emily, and me by extension, since we were 8 years old.  I guess it’s not that much of a stretch to think she’d be some kind of evil werewolf queen.  La Lupine.  That ridiculous faux French name sounds exactly like something Dacey would give herself.  She could never allow herself to be just a common wolf. Besides, I really wanted to know more about Diana.  She was fascinating and beautiful and could wield a letter opener like a switch blade. 

“How do you feel about coffee?” I asked. “Let me buy you a cup and we’ll talk.”

I told her as much of Dacey as I could manage on the walk over to the only half way decent cafe in town. She was the quintessential “IT” girl who peaked way too soon. After failing out her freshman year and calling it a sabbatical, she’d returned home to torment Emily and by proxy me too. Apparently looks could only get a person so far, and not showing up for class for months on end didn’t bode well with GPA. Only one of the Jacobsen girls had both beauty and brains, and I knew it killed Dacey to see Emily succeed where she had always failed. 

“She’s insecure,” Emily had said after one of her infamous rants. “She doesn’t mean half of what comes out of her mouth.” “That doesn’t mean we have to take it,” I countered. “Why don’t you lure her outside and I’ll accidentally kick a ball into her face.” Emily snorted. “You’d have to make the shot first.” “Touche.” 

Was that only yesterday? I wondered. I shook my head. Time was moving at the speed of a bullet. I hadn’t even called Emily yet to tell her the results of the tryouts. Though by my lack of response, I was sure she had figured it out. My information on Dacey was apparently not as enticing as Diana had expected. That, or the scowl on her face was permanently etched there. The two of us stared at each other in silence, sizing each other up. I knew couldn’t take the girl if she decided she wanted to fight. I mean, I could leave a good mark, but I saw the way she took down that wolf-man, and was no looking for a repeat performance.

“Sooooo,” I drawled out. “I’ve told you all I know. How about you tell me why my home is now infested with a bunch of slobbering dogs and how your family is in the middle of it?”

“Oh really?” I replied, crossing my arms. The espresso was zinging through my veins like a firetruck on fire.  “I don’t think you’re in a position to make that case. Especially since I can offer you a way in to Dacey’s house - I mean, her den.”

“You can?”

“Yeah,” I said, hoping the plan that was starting to form in my brain wasn’t just the caffeine talking. Emily hated her sister enough that I knew she would help me bring her down. “So spill it. Why is our town crawling with furpeople?”

Diana pushed her empty coffee mug away and sighed. “From what I’ve gathered, Dacey was turned right around the time that she failed out of school. And she spent a year or two just, I don’t know, dealing with it. That’s probably why she was extra bitchy to you, with this secret bottled up inside just festering there. So she bit this mechanic dude.”

“I remember her banging some tattooed guy who worked on cars.“

“He’s like her second in command now,” Diana says. “She started calling herself La Lupine, and they’re just terrorizing the town now, trying to turn as many people as they can.”

“What a bitch,” I said. “Not surprised, though.”

“So my little brother, he’s this uber-nerd who thinks he’s like Sherlock Holmes or something. He started sniffing around, trying to figure out how to stop her, and he discovered this thing she had, the source of all of her so-called power. And he took it. So she took him.”

“What was it?” I asked. 

Diana cocked an eyebrow and smiled. “You’re never gonna believe this shit.”

I tilted my head and smirked, barely holding back laughter, “….is that…a fucking red cloak? With a hood on it….? Do you mean to tell me….” I put the phone down and shook my head. I passed it her way, almost insulted at the implication from such a seeming bad-ass as Diana. Did she really think I was this gullible?

Diana said, “No, I’m telling you the truth - I didn’t believe it at first either, but the fact that my brother is now kidnapped for stealing it? So yeah…that’s Little Red Riding Hood’s cloak. That’s what giving La Lupine her power and I don’t know where he hid the damn thing. Or how we can get him back from this bitch. I think I need help. My brother was in over his head and I just want him home safe, reading his comics and dreaming the dream. Can you help me?”

“Where?”

“Emily and Dacey’s grandma is traveling all summer and they’ve been taking turns house sitting. Last week Dacey told Emily that she was just going to stay there the rest of the time and that Emily should stay away. I bet that’s her headquarters and where she has your brother. What’s your brother’s name?” I realized she hadn’t said it.

For the first time, Diana almost smiled. “Benedict. Let’s make a plan.”

I texted Emily to meet me at my house. It was time to make a plan to take down Dacey - I cannot called her La Lupine without rolling my eyes. I knew Emily would be willing to help. She was really mad at Dacey when she kicked her out of her grandma’s house.

Diana and I gathered some supplies and went back to my house. Emily was already there. She thought that I’d need some support after failing at tryouts, so she was armed with ice cream and Chex Mix. We hatched a plan for Emily to lure Dacey out of the house. Emily had a key to the house, so we hoped it wouldn’t be too hard to get inside. We had no way of knowing how many creatures we were up against. This wasn’t going to be easy. Our best hope was to get Benedict out unscathed. We made a plan, got in a few hours of rest, and were standing at the back door  at dawn.

Hi, I’m Macy from The Truth about Forever. Today, I’ll be your guide on a Mystery Hike in downtown Little Rock, in what we call The River Market! I’m not a paid tour guide – I am doing this for extra credit – so tips will be greatly appreciated! We have started here at the Main Library for the Central Arkansas Library System because I work here at the information desk, so please feel free to stop by and see me any time. I also work a second job in the River Market, so I’m sort of an expert.

I’ve positioned a bunch of my YA friends in locations around the River Market. You’ll recognize them from some of your favorite books. Find a YA character you know, and they’ll tell you about the location they’re in! Let’s go!

(Psst - throughout this hike, my commentary will be in bold.)

SIMON SPIER and BEX PORTER

Hey! I’m Simon from Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda, and this is Bex from The Royal We. We’re hanging out at the Ron Robinson Theater for Terror Tuesdays, when they show vintage horror movies for $2 admission. This week’s showing is Rocky Horror Picture Show!

CELAENA SARDOTHIEN

Hi friends, I’m Celaena from the Throne of Glass books. Next door to the Ron Robinson Theater is one of my favorite clothing boutiques, Fringe.

Now that you’ve met a couple of my friends, you’re off to a great start! Let’s take a lunch break at one of my favorite music venues – Sticky’z Rock’n’Roll Chicken Shack. Come back tomorrow to catch Brilliant or Catastrophic’s show - you probably heard about them in Saint Anything. Let’s head across the street - I see a couple of familiar faces.