Monday started out weird and just got weirder. First, I was up early and spent most of the morning before school trying to decide what to wear for my second date with Ross. It had to be something that would also be good to wear all day in school. It took forever to decide on an outfit that, last week, I probably would have chosen without a second thought. The worst part was my assumption that Ross probably wasn’t thinking about his outfit at all.

Then, I did my makeup and it, for some reason, was difficult because I could not decide which combination of eye shadows looked best on my copper and green skin. Mom knocked on my door as I was adding a marigold eyeliner. “Not yet, Mom,” I called out. “I’m lining my eyelids.”

“You’re going to be late. I can see Elliot walking this way.”

“Okay, thanks, Mom.”

I finished up quickly and was out the door before Elliot could ring the doorbell.

“Don’t you look all spiffy,” he said.

“What this? I just threw on the first thing I saw.”

“Yep, and it turned out rather spiffy.” After a moment he said, “You’re nervous. I totally understand. I was nervous the first day of school after Marie and I went on our first date.

“Is it obvious?”

“Only to someone who’s been there recently. Relax. You had a good date. You’ve set up a second date. School should only be its normal level of awkward.”

“That’s a relief.”

We made it to school just in time to get to our first classes. After class Stacy walked with me to my next class. “Looking good, Em.” The Fashion Police had started calling me Em. “How was your date?”

“We can talk at lunch. Short answer: great.”

“Great. Can’t wait till lunch time.”

Before lunch, I saw Ross down the hall between classes. He smiled at me and then disappeared into the rush of students trying to get to their next class. Someone bumped into me from behind because I had stopped short. It was not until I was in my next class that I realized my hair snakes had not hissed at the intruder. They had been as distracted as I had been.

I was grilled at lunch by the girls and apparently the kid gloves with which I had been treated up until now were gone. They wanted to know everything and I could not keep any details private from them. I finally felt just like one of the girls with them.

When classes ended for the day, I rushed down to the gymnasium. The boys on the team were running in circles bouncing basketballs up and down and passing them between one another in a manner that looked like a choreographed dance. I didn't know much about basketball but I think it was called drilling. Ross towered over the other players. Only Ryan came close.

As I watched I didn't notice Jenny until she was sitting next to me. I said, "Hi."

"You're here to watch Ross? He is so hot."

"Won't Tommy be mad if he heard you say that? "

"He knows better than to be like that. Heck, he'd probably say Ross is hot."

"Really? I never would have thought those words could come from his mouth."

"Oh, no, he wouldn't say that in public or in front of friends. Maybe he'd joke about how hot Ross is in the locker room. But he has told me a few guys in school are hot."

"Why does he hate me?"

"It's all because of his asshole friends. Hell, if I ever dumped him, and he could figure out how to woo you, given the history, he'd date you in a second."

"I find that impossible to believe."

"I don't blame you. I've tried to get him to stop hanging with those idiots but they're all on the football team and he doesn't want to rock the boat. If he did, he would apologize for all he's done to you."

"Are you sure you know him as well as you think?"

She laughed. "Maybe I don't. But I believe what I'm telling you."

The game started and it only took the first ten minutes for Jenny to say, "You don't know anything about basketball, do you?"

"Not really."

She started explaining the game to me. Ross was the Center because he was the tallest player on the team. I remembered Ross telling me that and I wasn't sure what it meant.

At the end of the first half, I said, "Thanks for explaining what's going on in the game."

"You aren't the first girl I've had to explain basketball to."

"I'm sure I'm the first one who used to be a guy that you've helped in this way."

"Don't assume." She ignored the surprised look on my face and continued, "I saw the bust you made of Marie. You’re very talented. I will completely understand if you say no, but could you make a bust for me. I'd be happy to pay for it."

"A bust of you?"

For the first time since she sat down she seemed apprehensive and unsure. "I'd like a bust of me and Tommy, kissing. I can model my part and I have a photo of us kissing that would be so cool in 3D."

"And all that stuff about me not understanding Tommy was to get me to agree to do it?"

"Not as such. Please? I know you probably hate him. But I love him. And it would be a gift to him. He's always giving me thoughtful gifts and I want to one up him."

"He'd probably break it if he knew I was involved."

"I wasn't planning to tell him where I got it."

"Let me think about it."

"That's more than reasonable."

Jenny and I were waiting outside the boys locker room when both Ross and Tommy exited. They bid one another a good evening. Tommy didn’t say word to me. Jenny and I said goodbye to one another.

Ross drove us to a quiet coffee shop not far from my house. “I saw you were sitting next to Jenny during the game. “

“She knows a lot about basketball.”

“She does. Did you know she and I went on a date before she started going steady with Tommy?”

“No, I didn’t. She was the only one date girl?”

“Yes, I told her I didn’t think it would work out.”

“She still thinks you’re hot.”

“Am I hot?”

“The hottest.”

At the coffee shop we ordered beverages and sat on a sofa. “You’ve asked me a lot a questions. I still know very little about you,” I said.

“We’ve established that I’m the hottest, I believe,” he said with a wide smile. “Ask me anything.”

“Do you have any hobbies?”

“Aside from basketball? Actually that’s not really a hobby. It’s fun. But, it’s not a core part of me. I read a lot, mostly mystery thriller stuff.”

“When I suggested an action movie you didn’t want to see it.”

“I don’t think thrillers really translate to film very well. A thriller isn’t a scary story, it’s an edge-of-your-seat story. While some action films can give you that feeling, I far prefer reading them.”

“I guess I never really thought about it.”

“And that’s fine. I’ll give you one of my favorite books if you want.”

“Sure.”

We talked for a couple hours before we noticed it was getting late. He drove me home and we kissed for a moment in the car. He walked me to the front door and we kissed again. He had to get home for dinner so he didn’t come inside.

As soon as I entered the kitchen, Mom said, “How was your date?”

“It was good. We mostly just talked.”

“You could have invited him in for dinner.”

“He said he had to go home for dinner.”

Elliot noticed the photographs as soon as he entered. “Are you stalking Tommy and Jenny? Have you finally decided how to get your revenge?”

“What are you talking about?” I said.

“I’m just joking. I suppose you decided to make the bust for Jenny.”

“Yeah. I didn’t have anything else going on. And she’s paying for it. I can deal with Tommy’s face because I’m being professional.”

“She’ll be here Thursday so I can start the details of the bust. I was actually thinking you and Marie might want to model for the kissing part.”

“Well, I’m flattered. Am I as good looking as Tommy?”

“On the inside, where it matters.”

He laughed. “I’ll take it.”

“Where is Marie?”

“She’ll be here around five. She had an appointment.”

When she arrived she was eager to be petrified while kissing Elliot. I took a few pictures of them kissing, trying to match one of the photos Jenny had given me. We spent a few moments picking which photo would look best as a bust before I zapped them. I took a small sip part way through working on the bust. After an hour and a half, I had a rough sculpt of two generic people kissing. Marie and Elliot had to leave after that.

Jenny arrived at my house around four on Thursday. She liked the pose of the bust so far. She saw the stool and asked if she would sit there when she posed.

“Posed? I doubt you can pose all kissy-faced for very long.”

“I thought you would do your thing to me.”

“Why would think that?”

“Marie told me she posed for her bust.”

“You want me to petrify you?”

“Yes. Is that a problem? I’m really curious about it.”

“Curious, you say?”

“Marie isn’t the only person you know who’s contemplated being petrified.”

I laughed. “I had no idea it was so popular.”

“I’m serious. I first saw that Greek myth movie from the eighties when I was eleven. I must have cried for days when Perseus cut off the head of the gorgon. Do you know what kind of raw deal your namesake had?”

“Being cursed for getting raped? Yes, I’m aware of the parts of the myth most people don’t know about.”

“So, you’ll do it.”

“I’d have done it without the explanation. But I appreciate knowing what you said.”

“How should I pose?”

For almost half an hour we tried to get her to pose as if she were kissing someone. But it never looked right. I took a bunch of photos and she agreed she wasn’t doing it right. We could not get her to look right by herself.

“What if I kissed you?” She said.

“That could work. But how will I know how you look from a distance if I’m right next to you?”

“Take a selfie of us and we’ll see if I look better.”

We tried it. Her lips tasted of some kind of berry and we may have kissed a bit longer than was necessary. The selfie was much better. And after a second selfie, we were sure she would look right. We kissed a third time and I admit I let the kiss linger a moment longer than necessary before opening my inner eye and turning her to stone.

“What the fuck!”

My hairsnakes opened their eyes to see Tommy rushing toward me. The next thing I knew I was in serious pain as he had grabbed a handful of my snakes and tossed me to the ground.

“What is going on in here?” My mother said, suddenly appearing in the doorway. “Look out!” She shouted.

“Oh fuck, no!” Tommy shouted.

I heard a loud thump and a crack. When I got up Tommy was holding his head, his face went from shock to utter despair and he started bawling and repeating the word “no” over and over.

“Oh my god,” my mother said.

I noticed Jenny wasn’t standing where I left her. I stood up. She had fallen backwards, her head no longer attached to her neck.

“You can fix her, can’t you?” Tommy said, tears running down his face. “Dear god, I’ll do anything. Anything. You have to fix her.”

“Get the fuck out of here,” I screamed at him. “I don’t know if I can fix her. But I know I don’t need your fucking noise.”

“I’m going. I’m going. Ple--” he shut up and disappeared from the garage.

“Can you fix her?”

“I don’t know, Mom. Help me stand her back up.”

“He killed me,” Jenny said. She was in my arms as I carried her to the living room.

“He could have killed you,” I said. “You are alive. If you had shattered more, well, then he would have killed you.”

“I felt it. I felt myself falling. I felt it when I hit the ground. There was a loud cracking sound reverberating through my body. And then nothing. I was dead.”

She wasn’t wrong. But, I didn’t want her to completely freak out. I was barely holding it together. My stomach was flipping and flopping. I had to leave.

“I’m guessing you’re tired,” I said as I laid her down. The strain I was under was obvious though I doubt she noticed. “Sleep a while.”

“Okay.”

She fell asleep almost immediately. As soon as she did, I ran up the stairs to my room, removing my clothes as I went. Naked with my door shut, I transformed into my snake form and grabbed a canvas bag. I was out the window in a flash. I paralyzed a few small critters as I zipped into the forest. When I had a bag full of paralyzed critters I stopped and took one out of the bag. My body was screaming at me to suck the poor thing dry. I stood there holding the squirrel for several minutes before I opened my inner eyelid. It turned to stone in an instant. I put my palm on its chest and I slowly drained it. I stopped before it went completely gray and I set it aside.

I removed the next animal from the bag and repeated this controlled consumption of their life force. Eventually the bag was empty and I was surrounded by a stone menagerie. A menagerie of animals that would come back to life eventually.

It took over thirty animals to quench my hunger.

After standing the statue up, Mom said, “You can do something. I can see it in your eyes.”

“I need to look at her with my special vision.”

“I’ll leave.” She kissed me on the cheek as disappeared from the garage. The door slammed shut behind her.

When I opened my eyes, I was disheartened. There were no moving lines in the statue. Faintly, I could see where the lines would be. But they weren’t active. I looked at the head, still puckered up for a kiss. The memory of her lips on mine was all the more maddening. There were lines there. But they were quickly leaking out of the neck of the statue.

I quickly put the head on the neck of the statue. But it did not connect. There was no flow within the body for the flow within the head to connect to. I put my palm on the body near the break and for the first time pushed life force out of myself. It hurt. My body didn’t like what I was doing. I pushed some more. After a few moments, I couldn’t move. I felt my skin harden and the color drained out of my body. I had become petrified. I was holding her head in place and I could see my lifeforce flowing into her body and her head where I was touching her.

What had I done? Were we both going to die?

I was overjoyed when I could see the lifeforce flowing from her head into her body. Lines became more visible and took on the colors I was use to seeing. More of her life functions became visible to me.

“Medusa?”

I heard my mother calling me from outside the garage. I couldn’t answer. My phone rang on the table where I’d left it.

“Medusa?”

She must have called my name for a few minutes before she stopped. Then I saw her walking slowly around Jenny and I. “I hope you’re okay, honey,” she said. And then she left.

A moment later, Elliot was circling us. He was standing where I could see him. “It’s been two hours. She said she remembered to look at a clock when she left you to look at Jenny. I assume you’ll be stuck until the life forces equalize. And since it’s been over an hour, Jenny must not have had much life force. Did she?”

No, Elliot, she didn’t. I wanted to tell him.

He left shortly after that.

The sun rose. It hadn’t felt like we were standing alone together for eleven or twelve hours. I finally experienced time as a statue only feeling like five minutes.

At least another six hours passed before it happened. Suddenly we were made of flesh and bone again. Jenny collapsed into my arms and I was feeling the hunger. I picked her up and carried her into the house.

Everyone I knew was suddenly in front of me talking at once. I nearly zapped them all. “I have to leave. Stay back.” I growled at them.

Mom, Daddy, Elliot, Marie, and Ross took hold of the man and woman I didn’t recognize, whom I guessed were Jenny’s parents, and disappeared into the kitchen.

As soon as Jenny fell asleep, I ran up the stairs to my room.

I sat in the clearing for an hour or so before I heard Elliot calling out. “Is it safe?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

He was with Marie and Ross. I rushed toward Ross and he held his arms out. We hugged and kissed for a few moments before separating.

“So, I’m guessing this is the other form.”

“Good guess,” I said. “How is she?”

“Still asleep. The Wu’s had her pediatrician examine her. She seems no worse for losing her head.”

“It was never lost. It was right there on the floor,” I said.

“She’s fine,” Elliot said with a laugh. “Let’s leave her and Ross alone, Marie.”

“Are you fine?” Ross said.

“Fine enough to joke about it. Sure. Has Tommy been back?”

“Jenny was awake for a few moments and when Mrs. Wu asked if she should call Tommy. Jenny told her to let him stew about it.”

“She did say she believed he killed her.”

“She isn’t dead.”

“She was.”

The three of them were shocked.

I told them about pushing my lifeforce into her to get lifeforce to flow within her body.

“Cool. You’re also a healer.”

“Can you explain what happened from the beginning?” Marie said. “I still feel like I missed part of it.”

“Oh, yeah, Mom probably couldn’t explain how it started.” I told them the whole story, starting with the basketball game to explain why she wanted the bust.

“He just burst into the garage?”

“I’m not sure what his problem was,” I said. And then I blushed. “He may have seen us kissing.”

“You were kissing Jenny Wu?”

I blushed, or I suppose I oranged, even more. I explained why we were kissing staring into Ross’ eyes the whole time, pleading.

He didn’t say anything at first. “You don’t have to worry about me kissing John or Ryan as revenge for this.”

He said it so seriously I thought he was mad until he smiled and kissed me.

“It was all for art. I’d kiss Jenny for art’s sake too if she asked me.”

“Me, too.”

“Me, too. And if Elliot did it, I’d just ask him to tell me how it felt.”

“It felt great. Her lips are so soft.”

“I’m sure she would say the same about yours,” Ross said. And he kissed me some more.

“Should we leave?”

“No, we can all head back to the house together.”

When we got back to the house, Dr. Parker and Dr. Lewis from the Clinic were there as well as a police office. They were seated in our kitchen talking with Mom and Daddy and Mr. and Mrs. Wu.

I had to go over the story again from start to finish. And I had to do it in my snake form. The doctors and the police officer asked questions for over an hour before the officer was satisfied. She turned to Mr. and Mrs. Wu and said, “Do you think your daughter will want to press charges of assault against Tommy Radner?”

“No, they are dating.”

“And do you want to press charges against Mr. Radner?” She said to me.

Gordon would have jumped at the chance to do that. But I was no longer Gordon. Gordon didn’t exist any more. “No. I’m sure whatever he’s going through now is punishment enough.”

“Usually I’d say punishments are for the courts to decide. I’ll file your statement at the precinct and copies will be sent to you and the high school.” She looked at the Wu’s again. “Bring your daughter to the station when she’s feeling better so we can take her statement as well.”

“We will.”

Dr. Lewis said, “I don’t think we are needed here. But Medusa, I think you should schedule an appointment with Dr. Parker as soon as possible. And I’m sure Dr. Adelaide would be thrilled to hear about how you reattached a head.”

“She’d probably ask me to do if she doesn’t hold her impulsiveness at bay.”

Parker laughed, “You aren’t wrong.” He and Dr. Lewis left.

Mrs. Wu stayed the night in the guest room. Jenny was allowed to stay asleep on the sofa. Mom said she’d stay awake over night to watch her.

I said goodbye to my friends, informing them, I still needed some sleep. I woke up in the middle of the night and went to the kitchen. Mom and Jenny were eating bowls of plain pasta.

Jenny dropped her fork into the bowl and jumped up to give me a hug. “How did you save me?”

“That’s a long story. Let’s just leave it at ‘you got better’ and not talk about the details.”

“Why? I want to tell the world that you saved my life.”

“I’m flattered. And I can understand how you don’t want to downplay it. But, I don’t want too many people knowing I can see lifeforces.”

“Okay. I won’t say anything.”

“Does Tommy know you’re alright.”

“No. My phone was full of texts from his friends asking that I tell them I’m okay so he’ll stop crying. I haven’t responded to them.”

“Isn’t that a bit cruel?”

“You didn’t see his face. He wanted to kill you because we were kissing.”

“Kissing?” Mom said.

“I’ll fill you in later.”

“Sure you will.”

“You were telling me on Monday that he wasn’t the asshole I’ve always thought he was. Were you lying?”

“I said he was influenced too much by his asshole friends. I never said he wasn’t an asshole. I’ve also never know him to be this violent. I don’t know if I want to ever speak to him again.”

“As much as I believe he should be left twisting in the wind, you should let someone tell him you’re alive.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything,” Mom said. “But I think he’s been sitting in his car since dinner time, parked across the street.”

“I don’t want to talk to him.”

“I’ll go tell him and then tell him to go home.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Yes, I do. I’ll get dress though, first. I’m not in a hurry.”

Tommy jumped out of his car and walked toward me as soon as I stepped out the front door. It was not yet dawn. “Is she okay? No one will tell me.”

“Shut the fuck up, Tommy. She doesn’t want to talk to you. So drive your ass home and don’t come back.”

“She’s alive? That means she’s alive.” He dropped to his knees in silent prayer.

“Yes, she’s alive. And she hates you for attacking me. I’m not thrilled with you either. What were you doing?”

“I couldn’t lose her. I saw you two talking during the basketball game. She’s into you. If I lost Jenny I’d be devastated. But I’d move on. Plenty of fish in the sea. If I lost her to you – of all people – you. I’d be ostracized by my friends.”

“Your friends suck.”

“They do. But they’re all the friends I’ve got.”

“There are plenty of friends in the sea as well.” I started laughing and couldn’t stop.

“What’s so funny?”

“You are. You’re pathetic. I never knew how pathetic you are. Picking on other kids because you’re worried about losing your friends. And somehow I was the loser.”

“You were a loser.”

“And now I’m not? Am I hot? You want me? Never gonna happen, by the way.”

“Don’t delude yourself. I wouldn’t date you.”

“Like you have a choice. But you just said you wouldn’t date me because of your friends. I’m not the one who’s delusional. Now get the fuck out of here before I call the police and tell them some guy’s been sitting in his car across the street from my house for the last ten hours.”

“Tell Jenny I’m sorry.”

“Tell her yourself if she ever lets you.”

---

Author's Note: When I split this into 10 sections I dropped the ball. The end of chapter 16 should have been a cliffhanger. But, chapter 16 is rather short. It should have been paired with last week's chapter 15. So, I erred on the side of have a sizeable release and not the cliffhanger. Oh, well. Not the worst opportunity I've missed in my life. Still, a bit sad. In any case, I hope you enjoy this installment.

And, as always, comments are encouraged.