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I Bump Back
Part Three Enemyoffun Misty Curtis' punishment is almost at an end
and her life might finally go back to normal, that is if Fate doesn't interfere. |
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Author's Note:Here's Ch.3. I understand that a few of you thought my flashbacks a bit confusing but I'm sad to say that they're not going on anywhere anytime soon. They're important to this story. Writer's try new things all the time to break up the monotony of writing the same every single time they write. However this isn't the first time I've written this way and it won't be the last. I'd like to thank djkauf for the excellent editing.~Enemyoffun.
THREE
Present
March 19th
I couldn’t get the other day’s encounter out of my head. It wasn’t just the whole screwy “not turning back” thing either. Sure that was in my mind as well but foremost in my thoughts was Father Mitchell aka “The Fake Priest”. I say fake priest because I did a little research into the matter after I got home. Ok, in the morning, and after a stern talking from my father but I digress. It turns out he didn’t exist, at least not as far as any church knew. I made a few phone calls. Ok, so actually Father Marcus made a few calls. He’s the actual priest of Ravencrest. We don’t have a huge parish in town and the church is kind of small but Father Marcus was able to make the proper calls. One of his professors at the seminary he went to had a direct line to the Vatican.
Father Mitchell was not a member of any parish within several hundred miles of Ravencrest or New York for that matter. Father Marcus’ friend said he’d do more digging into the matter but it was clear that whoever he was, he wasn’t here in town on church business. I knew there was something off about him the moment I talked to him. He had this vibe that sent chills down my spine. Whoever the slime was, Gerard had a sketch artist working on his face now. If he was in Ravencrest to cause problems then he was in for it for sure.
Not that there was anyone stupid enough to cause problems in this town.
Sure Dad and his deputies were on top of things, of course, but they weren’t the real power behind taking care of things.
I sighed, trying not to think about it. I was told to leave it alone and that’s exactly what I was going to do. There were things in this town---things all over the world----and most people didn’t even know were there. They were the Unseen things, the things that hid in the shadows and the nightmares of children. Sure a lot of them were dangerous but it was clear that most of them just wanted to be left alone. Ravencrest was apparently home to a lot of these things. When I first learned the truth about it, it scared the fuck out of me. I thought it was pretty fucking crazy too.
There are things that bump in the night…
The ringing of my phone interrupted my thoughts. I pushed myself up from my bed, sighing heavily. Without even looking, I snatched the cell from my bedside table and clicked it on.
“Hey babe.”
Hearing Mark’s voice made my heart skip a beat. It was so good to hear him talk. It was really strange to think that I would even think of a guy the way I do now but I couldn’t help it. When he held me in those big strong arms of his, I melted. Out of all the things about turning back into Mike, he was the biggest thing I was going to miss.
“I miss you,” I said, choking up a bit.
Mark was only a part time student at RU. He came and went like the wind, his words, not mine. His family lived about fifty miles away. He was only in town for three days a week before he went back home to work. His parents owned a small printing business there and he spent all the time not in school there. He was going to school to be a writer. It’s funny really; I never was really into the brainy ones as Mike but I knew it impressed the hell out of me. Of course, as Mike I wasn’t into guys at all. I was all about the dumb sluts who could put out for me. Sure I pined for the smart ones---girls like Dana---but I always knew they were way out of my league. Apparently Mark was as well. Or he was before.
It was weird really. I had my memories of course but there were also memories of the Misty me too. I knew for instance that “she” liked Mark a lot but felt she wasn’t good enough for him. She also felt the only way to have a real relationship with him was to fuck him then push him away. It was the way she handled things apparently. I’m not really sure why though. It was like a piece of her was missing. There had to be something there but whatever it was, I didn’t have access to that little bit of “her” psyche.
“How did the meet go?”
I smiled. “We won of course.”
I quickly filled him in on the events of the other day. Of course, I left out the encounter with both Alexis and Father Mitchell. Mark and I had no secrets of course but there were just some things I was sure not even he could handle.
“You ok, babe?” he asked after I was done. “You sound a little distant.”
“A lot on my mind.”
“Spill.”
“It’s stupid.”
“Mel, we’ve been officially dating for what two months now. We promised we’d tell each other everything remember?”
“Its just stuff….my uncle…school….the usual.”
“Your uncle” There was an edge in his voice when he spoke. “He’s not back is he?”
“Dad says he came back into town the other night. He’s got Stephanie watching him though. So there’s no need for you to worry. Trust me, I promise I won’t go anywhere near him.”
“You better not, the last time…”
“I know, I know.”
The last time had been a disaster. It was small on my list of things to worry about though. Uncle Reg was practically harmless. Sure, he creeped me out the first time but after Dad ran him off everything was fine. Him I could handle, it was everything else. Though it wasn’t bothering me when I was awake, every time I closed my eyes I couldn’t help but see Alexis’s face. Well actually the look on her face when that crossbow bolt went through the window and killed her. She looked surprised. I mean she was this Thing, this Thing powerful enough to change my gender and alter reality and then she was gone. It was the scariest thing I’d ever seen. There had been so much blood too.
Last night and the night before I barely slept. When I did, there was the dreams. The horrible nightmares of living it over and over. The craziest thing was that in my dreams I was the one who fired the crossbow that killed her. The scariest part though was that I was happy she was dead. Sure she was the bitch that did this to me in the first place---changed me into a girl and ruined my life but she was also the one who saved it. It was strange really. Back then---after the change----I was so scared and confused, I hated everyone and everything. I lashed out. I wanted to die in fact. I was convinced my life was over and no one could help me.
Things changed of course but not before I was lost.
Lost
I felt like I was trapped in that Alice Cooper song. I was in a twisted nightmare and I sure as hell wasn’t enjoying it.
I’d been this “Misty” for a few days now and it was the worst few days of my life. As it turns out, I was right about my new life. Misty was indeed the school slut, a slut that every guy seemed to want to bang or supposedly had. Everyone hated me too. The girls thought I was a tramp and the guys thought I was an easy lay. It didn’t help that my wardrobe reflected that. There wasn’t a single piece of clothing that I owned that could even be considered normal. Don’t even get me started on my friends or rather former friends. In this reality, I was, of course, never on the football team and all of my friends were now assholes to me. What’s worse, all of my former conquests were bitches too.
So I was a friendless slut that everyone hated.
What’s worse was all the staring.
Here I was sitting in Math class and doing everything, I possibly could not to get noticed. It was kind of hard considering the halter top and jean skirt I was compelled to wear this morning. That’s right, compelled. It turns out that I couldn’t keep myself from wearing this shit. It was horrible. The last few nights I’d literally cried myself to sleep. I couldn’t remember the last time I cried and here I was doing it nonstop now. Fucking female hormones. I was being punished though. At least that’s what the fucking note said. After finding it on my vanity, I tore open the envelope and found a simple written card inside. There was a short message: “Your punishment begins now. You have four months, see ya soon sweetie.” That was it, no other clue as to who or what was going on. I had a pretty good feeling that it was that bitch from the bar but I couldn’t be certain. Hell I couldn’t even figure out what the fuck was happening to me.
My thoughts were interrupted by the buzzing of my cell, signaling a text. I quickly reached into my purse---groan. I pulled out the pink razor phone---gag me. I checked the text and wanted to gag ever more: HEY BABE. WE STILL ON FOR TONIGHT-J. Who the hell was J and why was he asking me if we were still on? Ok I’m pretty sure I knew the answer to the second question even if it made me want to hurl. There was no way in hell I was going to hook up with anybody. It was bad enough I woke up in that motel room with Mr. Rock Hard Abs.
I ignored the text. Unfortunately, another one buzzed a few seconds later.
I NEED AN ANSWER BABE.
Who the fuck was this prick.
I was about to stick the phone back into my purse when it buzzed a third time. I didn’t even bother to look at it though.
“Miss Curtis, are we interrupting you?”
The reality may have shifted but regardless of that, Miss Dawkins was still an old hag.
“No ma’am.”
I shoved my phone in my purse, shutting it off as I did so.
The rest of the class was pretty uneventful. I kept getting the feeling that I was being watched though. It was like several eyes were burning into the back of head. I couldn’t help but feel that there was something else too, something unnatural. I glanced around a bit to see but there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. Try as I might though, I couldn’t shake the feeling. Thankfully though as soon as the bell rang to end class, I rushed out into the hall with the rest of my “peers”. As soon as I was in the hallway, the feeling went away.
I started toward my locker, keeping my head down as I did. I was halfway there when I got that strange feeling again. It was this overwhelming sense that something didn’t feel right or someone didn’t feel right. I raised my head slightly, looking at the faces as I passed them. Everyone looked normal but there were a few people that seemed to make me feel something. It was this slight twinge in the pit of stomach, almost like a cramp. I tried to push the feeling away and was successful until I passed by a group of girls by their lockers. I looked directly at them and cringed.
It was that bitch Tracy Locke and her psychotic freak of a friend.
Malice still dressed like one of those Goth freaks. Believe it or not, things might have been different now but no matter what reality, she was still a bitch. I was about to make a snide comment when I noticed something. It was subtle and very quick but I saw it nevertheless. For a split second, Tracy’s face seemed to change before my eyes. First, I saw the face of her loser brother Trevor---my former punching bag---then I saw something else, something feral. Her eyes flashed yellow and her face morphed into that of a dog. It happened so quick that I thought I was seeing things. I blinked a few times but whatever it was, it was gone.
Freak. Beast. Sissy.
What the hell was that?
I continued to stare at them, wondering if whatever it was I saw might come back but it didn’t. Thankfully, neither of them noticed me so I moved back into the crowd and made my way toward my locker. I was a few feet away when I noticed I had a visitor. Jason and I were friends as long as I could remember. His family---the Wrights---lived down the street from me. Our mothers used to car pool with one another. I had a lot of friends as Mike but Jason was probably the closest one I had, I guess you could call that a best friend. Growing up the two of us were inseparable, sadly things were a bit different. Sure, he was the quarterback on the team and sure we still hung out on a regular basis but our friendship was not like it used to be.
Thankfully, it looked like we might have some kind of relationship in this reality too.
I smiled as I approached my locker.
“Hey Jay” I said, hoping we were that informal.
He smiled. “You have a minute, Mist?”
I nodded. He smiled and started walking, so I obediently followed. We didn’t walk far though. He stopped in front of the janitor’s closet, knocking on the door before he opened it. I felt something in the pit of my stomach, something I didn’t like. Before I could act on that something though, he grabbed my arm and pushed me inside. Shit. I banged into the back wall, my head hitting the racks of shit there. It hurt. Jason shut the door behind him, locking it as he did so.
“You ignored me” he said, an edge to his voice.
Ignored him? Shit, the texts. So “J” was Jason. I should have known. Of course, this new life wouldn’t give me any friends. The note said I was being punished so this was just another twisted part of it. Just great.
“I was in class.”
He snorted. “That’s never stopped you before.”
“Sorry, it’s my time of the month” I said, lying quickly.
Girls use that excuse with me a lot. It was their attempt to get out of sex. Of course, it never really worked on me.
Jason smirked. I guess it didn’t work on him either.
“You make me so hot and bothered,” he said, closing the distance between us rather quickly.
I tried to move but he put both of his arms on either side of me, blocking my escape. As the quarterback, he was strong. I mean I was pretty strong too or at least I was but Jason had arms that were like pistons. There was no way I was going to get out of this unless I did something drastic. I just wasn’t sure I wanted to do something that might cause further harm to myself.
“I mean you dress like that and you strut around like that,” he said, his face inches from mine, running his hand through my hair. “You make me want to do unthinkable things.”
“Maybe before but not anymore.”
The edge returned to his voice. “What the hell do you mean by that?”
His hand snapped from my hair to my shoulder. He gave it a hard squeeze, shooting pain through my entire left side.
“Jason you’re hurting me.”
“Saying those things hurt me too babe. We’re good together. Sure I can’t bring you home to Mom and dad but let’s face it; you and I are going to be nothing more than casual fuck buddies. It just hurts me when you think you can break it off when you want to.”
Shit. So this reality’s Jason was the complete opposite. Jay was always a decent guy, sure he was a little possessive with things but I never thought he was like this with girls too?
“I’m not into it anymore.”
He laughed. “We both know that’s a lie.”
He started to unbutton his pants with his free hand. Was this son of a bitch actually going to try to do me here? I shook my head, not on my watch. Misty Curtis might have been some kind of easy whore but, news flash, I wasn’t her. Whoever she might have been---whoever she was in the past----I wasn’t her. I was Mike Curtis and no one and I mean no one fucked with me.
I started to struggle but his hand was still holding tightly to me.
He laughed. “It’s almost like you don’t want this, bitch.”
“News flash asshole, I don’t.”
What I did next I wasn’t proud of because it broke the unwritten rules of guyhood but right now I wasn’t a guy. So kneeing him in the nuts seemed like the right thing to do. It worked real well too. Jason groaned as his eyes practically popped out of his head. I didn’t just knee him; I put everything I had behind the kneeing so he really got it. I’m sure it didn’t help that his pants were around his ankles and the only thing protecting his boys were his boxers. He doubled over in pain regardless, letting me go and giving me a chance to flee. I took the opportunity by pushing his ass into the far wall and making a break for the door. I fumbled with the lock before pulling open the door and rushing into the hall. As soon as I got out into the hallway, I burst into tears.
I’m not sure how I ended up in the bathroom but that’s where I found myself a moment later. I went into one of the stalls, hoping that no one would find me there. I think I sat there the whole period crying which blew my mind. I’m Mike Curtis, I wasn’t some sissy. I wasn’t some freak like Trevor Locke. Trevor, where the hell was that little twerp anyway. I knew I twigged on it before. How he disappeared and that bitch of a sister showed up. She actually rejected me too. A girl like that turning down me? A girl…girl?...wait where did she come from anyway. For that matter, where did that Cindy Harper come from too?
I saw her on the field the other day, practicing with the girls. She was so hot and cute; she made me stiff in all the right places. But she just came out of nowhere too. She just popped up like Tracy, arriving just as her cousin Craig seemed to disappear. Cindy and Tracy, Craig and Trevor. Oh God, was it that? It was crazy but it was also the only thing. Were they like me? It was weird how two guys just disappeared and two girls who happened to be related just showed up days afterwards. How in the hell did no one else not notice?
Locke really was a freak. He was a freak who was now somehow a girl.
A girl like me.
What the fuck was going on in this town?
I heard the bell ring in the distance. I missed a whole class. Big fucking deal. It wasn’t the first time and it wasn’t the last. Besides if things were still slightly the same then I had that class with that stupid motherfucker Jason. I started to cry again, crap why the fuck was I crying so damn much.
I heard the bathroom door open a second later. Why the fuck didn’t I lock that?
Someone came into the room. I heard them walk toward one of the stalls then stop; I saw their feet outside of my stall. Then they knocked gently on my door.
“Go away” I sobbed, not realizing I’d been crying that much.
“I can’t do that,” said a voice and the door opened.
Great, Tracy fucking Locke. Just what I needed.
“Its you” I snapped. “What the fuck do you want?”
There was a pause before she spoke and as soon as the words came out of her mouth; my whole world seemed to crash around me.
“You ok, Mike?”
Mike, did she just call me Mike. Did someone else know who I was? How was that even possible? I felt that feeling again, that tingling in my gut. Then I saw her face change. First, I saw Trevor then I saw the beast again, the dog hidden beneath her skin.
What the fuck was going on?
Our conversation spread out from there a bit. Of course, I was freaked that she knew who I was and of course, she denied it. I couldn’t help but think there was more to it than that. I jumped to a few conclusions, calling Malice a witch and blaming her for everything. Hey, I was angry. Besides who’s to say she wasn’t involved with this somehow. I lost it even more when she suggested I go to the nurse’s office, making it sound like I was crazy. I wasn’t crazy. I know what was happening here. I was a guy and now I’m a girl and somehow magic was involved. Yes magic, it was the only explanation.
Anger got the better of me as I pushed past her and out into the hall.
I heard the bell for the next class ring but I didn’t feel much like going. I started down the hall, toward the nearest exit. Maybe if I got home and figured things out, lied down or something. As I headed for the door, I couldn’t help but pass a few other kids. Though most were normal, one of them gave me a bad feeling again. She was that singing girl, the one that came here over the summer. When I brushed past her, I could swear I saw she had gills or something. What the fuck was going on here? My head started to pound and I suddenly felt very faint.
Shit, don’t tell me I’m going to be one of those losers who passes out in the hall.
I shook my head and turned around, trying to make it to the nurses after all. After a few feet though, my feet felt like lead then the whole world seemed to fall out from under me. I vaguely remember hearing someone scream then everything went black.
Present
“A priest, are you sure?”
I nodded and Maggie looked confused.
It was strange what a few precious months did to a person. Before I never even would have considered someone like Maggie Wilkes as friend material but she was cool in her own weird way. Our friendship had blossomed quite a bit since Kelly left too. She was the one who got us together of course. You could almost say she was the catalyst that set both our lives on the right track. I told her that every day when we video chatted on Skype. It was cool to know that though my life was hell, Kelly refused to accept what others thought of me and befriended me regardless. Maggie had been the same way. Of course, that led other people into friending me as well. Sure Mike was a popular guy but that was because I knew how to catch a ball well. As Misty, I had friends because they wanted to hang out with me, not because I was good at something. Sure, I was still an athlete---both volleyball and track, but it was more than that. I was different person now and I was damn certain Kelly had something to do with that.
“Why would a priest come into this town, I mean sure we’re a little weird but we’re not worthy of having more than one.”
“But he’s not a priest.”
She nodded and looked even more confused.
Maggie and I were a few of the Norms in town that were in the “know”. We tried not to talk about it but every once and a while something just didn’t feel right to keep it bottle up inside. The priest thing for instance. Of course, I didn’t tell her about the whole Alexis thing. The only ones who knew who I really was before were the Unseen and they liked to talk about those things even less than I liked thinking about them.
“Did you tell your Dad, I mean did you tell him how you found out the guy wasn’t a priest?”
I shook my head. Sure Dad was a lot cooler now but he made it pretty clear that he wanted me to concentrate on being a teenager and leave the adult stuff to the adults. I’m sure Gerard told him about Father Mitchell but there was more important things around here than investigating strange priests who came wandering into town. I thought about contacting one of Them, using the emergency number they gave me but I wasn’t ready for that. Besides, They gave me the willies. Sure they were supposed to be the good guys but there was something about Them that rubbed me the wrong way.
I was pretty certain it was nothing too.
Ok, that was a lie but it was a lie that made me feel better.
“Maybe I’m just being paranoid.”
Maggie bit her lip. “You want me to ask Tracy to….”
“No” I snapped and then quickly apologized. “Sorry, I just don’t want her help.”
Maggie frowned. “You two need to get over whatever it is that happened. Tracy is a cool person. She’d see that you were too if you gave her a chance.”
Sure and the fact that I was the bully that terrorized her for years. Yeah not happening any time soon. Sure, I felt a great deal of remorse over it now but there weren’t enough sorries to make up for all the shit I did to her. No, Tracy Locke and I never were going to be friends and I was ok with that. Besides, I don’t think I could actually be friends with one of Them anyway. Anytime I got too close, I started to feel sick and I hated when that happened.
“I’ll figure it out on my own.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“Beats the hell out of me.”
We changed subjects after that. Maggie had really become a different person since hanging with me. Well ok, Kelly probably had a great deal to do with that as well. It was strange how much she had an effect on both of us. Before Maggie was kind of shy and barely spoke; now she was very outgoing and extremely popular. She slipped in and out of all the clichés like she was a born politician. I’d changed quite a bit too but it was more subtle I think. I’m not sure what overall effect Kelly might have left other than the fact that she showed me just because I was different didn’t mean I couldn’t try to change myself. That’s why I agreed to join the volleyball and why I eventually accepted Mark’s date invitation. Just because I was being punished, it didn’t me I should be punishing myself too.
After talking about clothes and boys for the next twenty minutes, the bell ending lunch finally rang. I took our trays to the trash. On my way there, I saw a few more of Them. Thankfully my “Freak Sense” started tingling and I was able to avoid looking at them directly. It was worse when I looked in their faces. I’m not sure what the hell was wrong with me but whatever it was, it allowed me to see what was hidden. It was a really creepy.
The two girls I passed looked at me strangely. I smiled and dumped our crap.
As I turned to follow the flood of students out of the cafeteria, I could sight of a figure at the end of the hall. At first, I thought he was Bernie, the janitor but as I pushed further out of the cafeteria, I realized I knew exactly who it was. It was Father Mitchell. He was at the end of the hall, just standing there like he belonged there. I looked to the other students to see if they noticed but if they did, no one seemed to react. The two of us stared at one another for the longest time, sizing each other up, waiting for the other to make the first move.
I broke the stalemate and started pushing toward him.
I got a lot of rude comments as I practically shoved people out of the way to get to him. When I got closer, I saw a smirk spread across his smug face before he headed toward one of the exits. I made a rush to follow. I was almost at the door when one of the teachers stopped me.
“Miss Curtis, where the hell do you think you’re going?”
It was Mr. Spencer, one of the physics teachers.
“I saw some creepy looking dude at the end of the hall, he was staring at me. At the other girls too.”
The look on Spencer’s face was priceless. Teachers didn’t take too kindly to hearing that there were strange men on the school grounds, especially ones staring at their female students. Spencer urged me to go to class and told me he’d take care of it. I smiled and nodded, turning and heading back the other way. I peered over my shoulder as Spencer rushed toward the exit. What bothered me about it was Mitchell. He was right outside Spencer’s classroom. He was practically ten feet from the door and yet Spencer never saw him there?
Who the hell was this guy anyway and what the hell did he want in my town.
To Be Continued...
Author's Note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story.
Thanks in advance...~Enemyoffun.
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Comments
"Who the hell was this guy anyway"
good question.
This Guy
We'll find out eventually.
I'm curious
Why she gets a headache whenever she's near a touched?
I know who I am, I am me, and I like me ^^
Transgender, Gamer, Little, Princess, Therian and proud :D
The Headaches
The headaches and her other things are important. There will be more on that later :)
why do i get the feeling that
why do i get the feeling that Misty is going to become the replacement Punisher/Punishment Angel/Demon/Unseen, to replace the murdered Alexis?
Seeing the Unseen
Get the feeling that Misty is taking after her mother in seeing the Unseen as what they are and Father Micheal and her Uncle know it.
Grimm-like?
Maybe Misty has some Grimm-like ability that let's her see what the Unseen really are?
Good chapter! Looking forward to her dealing with the creepy "priest."
Drakira
Cliff Hanger...
... Here we going again with those tormenting cliff hangers E.O.F
Cliffhangers
I love my cliffhangers lol
Cliffs and Ravencrest
Well, Ravencrest is in the Catskills and there ARE cliffs there... :)
Melinda/Misty seems to have
the ability to sense the Unseen as well as those who want to harm her. But what did Mike/Melinda/Misty do to warrant this attack? Did Mike swtch bodies with the girl he would have been born as?
May Your Light Forever Shine
Hmmm.
Misty, or Melanie, has the gift(?) of being able to not only feel, but see the unseen. No wonder it freaks her out.
And that 'priest' is just... creepy beyond words.
Maggie
Misty has a challenge then
She still has a bit of a bad attitude towards anyone who is different then herself and did not seem repentant when thinking about Trevor and what he did to him. Tracey would tear him apart in a minute though. Hopefully she and Tracey can come to an understanding and closure.
Kim
Misty and Tracy
At this time, I don't think the rift between the two of them is ever truly going to be fixed. They hate one another too much for any kind of friendship to form.
Doesn't have to be friendship but I get your meaning
This just affirms what I surmised about Misty's character. It still has not changed enough to be a repentant human being so, go for it, make her find reformation and maybe empathy the hard way.
Kim
A mutual dislike
Is nothing that needs reformation. But if it does, what kind of punishment would you give to Tracy? She dislikes Misty as much as Misty dislikes her, so by your rules Tracy requires punishment also.
“When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn’t become a king. The palace becomes a circus.” - Turkish Proverb
Not really
Mike was the bully after all who made Trevor's life less than happy to say the least or are you suggesting that Tracey should just ignore that.
Kim
Two wrongs
Still do not make a right. Misty is already being punished for what Mike did, should she be punished even more? These "sweet and innocent" girls, like Tracy, are supposed to be superior. Yet Tracy is sure coming across as mean and vindictive. Besides, Mike got this as a punishment, there was no intent that he/she be rehabilitated, just that Mike has to be the skanky girl who puts out. There was certainly no rehab in that. So putting aside my earlier comment, there is no reason or requirement that Misty make nicey-nice with anybody. Because the punishment Mike was given wouldn't permit Misty to do anything but be a slut. Misty apparently was able to break that part of the spell, with no help from the others.
And don't forget - Misty didn't bully Trevor, or Tracy. That was another person in another universe whose memories Misty shares.
“When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn’t become a king. The palace becomes a circus.” - Turkish Proverb
Mike's punishment did not come from Tracy
... nor was it requested by her.
So Tracy did not 'get' anything. Also if you read 'For the Fairest' at all, Tracy does know who Misty is and it will turn out now that Misty will know who Tracy is originally so your point is invalid as they both remember what was done to Tracy.
Misty is NOT another person, Mike's core is still there. And if you were to read For the Fairest again, Tracy is hardly being 'bitchy' to Misty. And please don't give me this Batman Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right business.
This is a quote of Tracy's thoughts from 'My Dearest Daughter':
'I wasn’t really keen on the idea of her turning the football star into the school slut but after a day of watching him get ridiculed, I couldn’t help but crack a smile. Mary was sure enjoying it, going out of her way to make sure Mike---err---Misty was punished as much as “she†could be.'
and then 'Mike's perspective' from 'My Dearest Daughter':
“You OK, Mike?†I asked, without even thinking about it.
“What did you call me?†she asked.
I cursed. I just called her Mike didn’t I? One of the things about the spell was that everyone now thought of her only as Misty. Well everyone that wasn’t an Unseen. It was strange but I was unaffected by Mary’s spell but so were Dana and Chris too, Cindy as well as far as I knew. Mary told me later that some spells didn’t work on Unseen; Weres for instance had a lot of resistance, especially to reality altering spells.
“Misty†I said, trying to recover quickly.
“No you didn’t,†she said, her eyes getting big. “You know who I am? Who I really am!â€
I shook my head. “You’re a bit confused.â€
“She did this didn’t she? That little friend of yours. She’s a witch.â€
Her eyes widened. “She did it to you too, didn’t she? You really are Trevor aren’t you?â€
She laughed. Suddenly whatever depression she was in was gone. There was a malice in her eyes though not nearly as wild as the one Mike used to get. This one was desperate, like a scared girl looking for answers. Now I felt a bit sorry for her. It was clear that she’d gone through hell the last few days and now here she was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Of course, she’d discovered the truth---Mike might have been dumb but he was really perceptive. Now he was starting to put more pieces together, something that no one wanted him to do.
“I think you need to go to the nurse Misty.â€
BTW, as far as I know, there has been no all or nothing reality shift ala Bikini Beach, A total reality shift is beyond the powers of witches in this universe as the unseen are not affected. So even though it is Misty and Tracy in form, it is still really Mike and Trevor talking to each other and from what I read Tracy is not vicious in her enjoyment of Mike's predicament, and again, not the one who had requested said punishment in the first place.
Finally, you only have Misty's word that Tracy was a bitch and that fits into Mike's character type who always blame everybody else for their problems but never themselves. Tracy realizes also in My Dearest Daughter that Mike's change is not something that will lead to reformation.
This lead to my comment you jumped on about reformation. A change was the wrong tool for the job obviously but this stories chronicles the fallout of that change and how this story pans out will show who is right and wrong in interpreting this whole series.
Please reread the other Tracy Locke and Season of the Witch stories. I suspect your POV comes from a dislike of sex change for punishment stories but you need to look at both sides of this before taking one side over the other. I am so going to ignore you again from now on. It was a mistake to read your comment.
Kim
Straw dog
Nobody said Tracy had anything to do with Mike's punishment. If you have some kind of therapist certification, then maybe you would be qualified to comment on what I like or disaprove of. After at least 5 in person sessions. My comments have been on the subject of this story, you are the one to make it personal. Don't flatter yourself, you don't make the cut to where I would take you seriously.
“When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn’t become a king. The palace becomes a circus.” - Turkish Proverb
Kelly
There was some overall influence she had on a lot of people. What this is and how she does it will more than likely be explored in a later story of hers.
Some how I have a feeling that...
the mysterious Father Mitchell may be connected in some way with Misty's creepy uncle Reg. its obvious that both her uncle and the faux father are up to no good and are after Misty for some as yet unknown reason. I also have to wonder about Misty's ability to recognize the unseen. Is this why her uncle and the faux father are interested in her? Is her ability something that is a result/side effect of under going the transformation from Mike to Misty or is it possible that Misty might have some latent unseen blood in her family that started to wake up and become active when she was changed? So many questions, we your readers have EoF, and so many more cliffhanger ending chapters to go before we get the answers. But then, that's what makes reading these stories so much fun.
Hugs,
Tamara Jeanne
All in Good Time
You'll have to wait and see :)
Hm...
Don't let anyone talk you out of the cliff hangers, they're a perfectly good literary device, and you generally use them pretty well. In fact, honestly, you should probably turn up the heat and make them worse. As cliff hangers go, the end of this chapter is fairly mild. The point of using a cliff hanger is to get the reader to turn the page (or come back for the next installment), you manage to do that with yours so it's all to the good. Of course, people have to care about the character involved too.
Reading all this ... I have to question again, how big is this town? How many actual teenagers are there? I know there's magic that can be used to "smooth over" the rough edges (in people's memories), but you've got a lot of stories and characters running in this universe and a lot of them are all in Ravencrest. How many story sets are there by now? 20? More? If there's 100 people at a given grade level in a high school and suddenly 20 of the boys vanish and are replaced by 20 girls ... that's a big number. That starts to have an impact on activities the school can reasonably support. Are there enough boys left to support all the sports teams there are supposed to be? I know it's just a back ground detail, but it nags at my mind while I'm reading. How many "normals" are there really at this school, or in town?
I guess what I'm saying here is that I think the supernatural elements of these stories work better when set against a backdrop of normalcy, and it seems to me like the backdrop is starting to look a bit thin and worn. I don't really have a suggestion for dealing with that, it's just something I notice. The more "weird" stuff there is going on, the harder time I have believing that the "normals" don't notice.
Um ... what does Mike/Misty (or Melanie) want to do? The "present day" Misty seems conflicted. She seems to have it fixed in her mind that she wants to turn back into Mike. Yet at the same time she frequently catalogs all the aspects of her life that are actually better as Misty. She also seems to be sure that she'll still be capable of turning back, which seems a little odd to me given that the individual who apparently transformed her originally is now dead. I'm seeing a lot of ambivalence here. What does Misty want? What are her goals? You've got a shadowy antagonist, but ... does he tie in with whatever Misty's goals are?
I guess I have to say that at the moment, I'm enjoying the flashback more than the present day story. The flashback seems to offer some pretty clear challenges that are going to require Mike/Misty to grow as a person. The present day story offers me an antagonist that I'm having trouble making an emotional connection with. (Tobias Locke of course being a key example of an antagonist that elicited an emotional response from me). What's present day Misty doing that I care about? Am I supposed to wonder if she's going to turn back into Mike? I'm having a hard time seeing that as a good (enough) choice to have it be a driving emotional spur to engage me.
And what's with the clothing Misty ends up wearing? It's been a while since I read For the Fairest, so I don't recall what she was wearing the first time we saw her. It's quite possible she was wearing "slutty" clothing. However, by the time Kelly first sees Misty, she's supposedly dressed in a very conservative (even masculine) style (jeans and a bulky sweatshirt as I recall). How's that going to work? Having a magical "compulsion" to wear slutty clothing seems a bit heavy handed.
Having a character who becomes nauseous anytime they come close to one of the Unseen seems like it could be a potential problem which will limit her ability to interact with a lot of the existing characters in the universe. That could be a good or a bad thing depending on one's perspective. If it gets Misty off on her own more and builds up the more normal characters for her to interact with that's all to the good in my opinion. But of course ... as I've said before, my personal bias is for more character driven stuff.
Anyway ... looking forward to more.
Answers
First of all, there are about 20,000-30,000 people who live in Ravencrest most of the year, less when the college is not in session. I'm not sure how many kids that makes in the highschool put there's enough to fill the Norm to Unseen ratio. In actuality, there have only been a few male to female student changes at the school---only three that I can currently think of: Tracy, Cindy and Takeshi. The others are in the college.
Present day Misty is supposed to be conflicted. It makes for a better story in my opinion. There are a lot of answers to your questions coming up soon. I always try to answer everything that I raise, leaving nothing to the imagination.
I'm lovin it
EoF, Darlin,
You go on writing them any way YOU want to write them. I love your work and I will keep on loving it and reading it. This has hints of Russian nestling dolls.
Joani
Misty's "Gift"
Lets see Misty seems to have this ability to see thru the Unseen Mask and is uneasy around any of the unseen. However she became friends with Kelly who is Unseen and a fairly powerful witch. Misty thinks to herself about how she doesn't think she could be friends with one of "Them" however as I noted shes friends with Kelly already when she thinks that. I think I'm lost. Anyway love the story so far and look forward to reading more
A Friendly suggestion
I would like to make a friendly suggestion that maybe you could move some not all but some of the characters from RavenCrest to Vancover like Amysthst has for your universe. Or maybe moving them to a different city all together to maybe get your creative juices flowing again.is her Uncle an Unseen That might explain some of this as well. Or what about her mom sense it seems she was left out of the picture. Anyways best of luck to you I am also more the willing to spitball some ideas with you and don't need any credit for it I create lots of characters in my head cause of my need in role playing but I am never good with actual story writing so if you even need that sort of thing to get ideas going more then willing to help.
OK, OK;
I admit it...You threw me for another loop.
I don't have a clue who his/her punisher with the white wings tatoo is.. : (
alissa