The Changeling Princess (4 page)

CHAPTER 6

Wade was waiting in front of his house when I arrived.

“
Nice car,” he said as he opened the passenger door. “Is this a 1958?”

“
Yes and it’s in mint condition.”

“
I can see that. What’s your girlfriend Sherri like?”

“
She’s a pretty blonde with a great personality. I’m not going to tell her you’re a Witch because I don’t know how she’ll react.”

“
Won’t her senses tell her I’m different?”

“
No because Changelings don’t inherit their full powers until they reach the age of sixteen. Sherri’s birthday isn’t until March.”

“
It’s pretty much the same for Witches. My aunt says the only reason there’s bad blood between some of our Clans is because we haven’t learned to respect each other. She said it’s easy to condemn someone when you don’t know anything about them.”

I nodded my head in agreement.
“Your aunt is a very wise woman. I think we’re making progress because some of the Clans have integrated. We still have a long ways to go.”

* * *

I pulled up in front of Sherri’s house. She was wearing her usual bright smile as she came running out the front door. Wade got out of the car and held the door open.

Sherri nodded her head and said,
“Thank you.” as she slid into the back seat.

Wade replied,
“You’re welcome.”

“
Sherri, this is Wade Wilson. He just moved in down the street from me, so I invited him to have a soda with us today.”

“
Good idea, Jan.” Sherri leaned forward and extended her hand. “Glad to meet you, Wade Wilson. What grade will you be in next year?”

“
I’ll be a junior.”

Sherri
’s smile widened. “Just one big happy family.”

Sherri chatted on with her usual brand of humor and we laughed all the way to Baker
’s. When we walked through the door, the juke box was going full blast. I saw several kids swing dancing to the beat of “Kansas City,” a big hit in 1959.

Baker
’s Dairy was designed like the old fashion soda bars of the 1920s. The soda bar itself was lined with stools and it ran the entire length of the building. There were several booths against an adjacent wall and twelve tables spread around the room. There was a juke box and a small dance floor area that was rarely ever empty.

“
This is a great place,” Wade remarked.

“
Wait until you taste the goodies,” I said. “Baker’s has the best sodas, malts, shakes, and banana splits in Charlotte and the portions are humongous. I guarantee you’ll spoil your dinner if you stop here after school.”

We found an empty table and waited for the waitress. The dairy bar was always crowded on Saturdays, but it was a mad house after school.

“If you’re really hungry, try the Godzilla banana split,” said Sherri.

Wade smiled.
“I think the name just scared me off. It’s really big, huh?”

Sherri leaned closer to Wade.
“Five scoops of ice-cream piled with five different toppings, a large banana and whipped cream clear up to your nose. If you can eat two of them, the third one is free.”

Wade laughed.
“I think I’ll pass on that one.”

Sherri and I ordered chocolate sodas and Wade had a strawberry
shake. When Wade’s shake arrived, it was served in a large soda glass, topped off with a mountain of whipped cream and a cherry. The can the milkshake was mixed in was next to the soda glass. Wade looked into the can and smiled. “There’s enough in here to fill my glass again. Now this is a milkshake,” he said laughing.

It had turned into an enjoyable afternoon with the exception of the resident loudmouth seated on the opposite side of the room.
“Who’s the jerk making all the noise?” Wade asked.

“
That’s Bobby Sims,” I answered. “Just ignore him.”

“
That’s easier said than done.”

“
Do you swing dance?” Sherri asked.

Wade grinned.
“Sure, I love swing dancing.”

The juke box was playing
“What’d I Say” when Wade led Sherri led to the dance floor. Sherri was a terrific dancer, but she had trouble keeping up with Wade. He looked like he’d been born on a dance floor.

Things were going great until Bobby Sims almost knocked Sherri off her feet.
“Watch where you’re going,” Sherri cried out.

I could see that Sherri was ticked when she returned to the table.
“That stupid Sims is so uncoordinated he can’t walk down the sidewalk without tripping over a crack. Everyone laughed, but I noticed that Wade never took his eyes off Bobby.

I was sipping on my soda when my senses picked up on a strange energy force coming directly from Wade. My senses also told me that his energy was aimed directly at Bobby Sims. I watched as the back legs on Bobby
’s chair broke in half, causing him to fall backwards onto the floor. Bobby’s soda glass fell into his lap, covering the entire front of his pants with chocolate. Bobby rose to his feet, cursing under his breath, but the kids sitting close to him were laughing.

“
I don’t see what’s so damn funny,” Bobby shouted angrily.

“
You look like you wet your pants,” a girl yelled.

Bobby was still cussing under his breath as he made a bee line for the front door.
“That was an unfortunate accident,” Wade said with a devilish grin.

“
Yeah, what a shame,” said Sherri. “It’s too bad the entire table didn’t fall on top of him.”

I tuned into Wade
’s thoughts.
That creep really had it coming. Maybe I should have bounced his head off the floor.
Wade’s thoughts removed any doubt that he was the one who had broken Bobby’s chair. I planned to question him about it later.

“
Do you have any hobbies, Wade?” Sherri asked.

“
I play the drums, if that counts as a hobby.”

“
How about that!” said Sherri. “I play the clarinet and Janis plays the flute. We both play in the high school band.”

“
I played in the school band back in San Francisco, but I got together with some other musicians and we formed a rock band. We called ourselves the Rockateers.”

“
We should start a band,” said Sherri. “We could call ourselves The Changeling Two, plus One.”

Wade looked amused.
“That’s funny, Sherri.”

I couldn
’t resist making a remark. “It’d be even funnier to hear what a flute, clarinet and drum would sound like playing rock and roll. Maybe we could be the first classical rock band.”

Wade laughed.
“That’s funny, too.”

I was glad I had invited Wade to have sodas with us. I really enjoyed his company and Sherri seemed to like him too.

* * *

We were halfway to Sherri
’s house when I decided to surprise her. “Oh, I forgot to tell you, Sherri, Wade’s a Witch.”

Sherri
’s eyes opened wide as she turned and stared at Wade. Suddenly she screamed, “I’m riding in a car with a Witch?”

Wade
’s smile was a mile wide. “If you promise not to hold it against me, I won’t turn you into a mouse.”

Sherri looked nervous.
“Can you really turn me into a mouse?”

Wade laughed.
“Of course not, silly. I was only kidding.”

Sherri regained her composure and Wade stopped laughing.
“I’m sorry, Wade. I’ve never been around a Witch before. I didn’t realize that Witches were so normal.”

“
That’s the greatest compliment I’ve ever had. I didn’t realize that Changelings could be so beautiful.”

“
I hope that doesn’t include me,” I said.

“
Both of you girls are knockouts and don’t let anyone tell you any different.”

Sherri looked at me.
“I guess Wade’s all right. After all, he does recognize beauty when he sees it.” Sherri giggled and she had me giggling too.

After we dropped off Sherri, Wade paid her a sincere compliment.
“I like Sherri. She’s a nice girl and she doesn’t try to pretend to be someone she isn’t.”

“
Sherri doesn’t have a pretentious bone in her entire body. She’s a ‘what you see is what you get’ type of girl. I think Sherri’s one of a kind.”

“
I agree one hundred percent.”

We were headed for home when we came to a vacant field. I pulled over to the side of the road and turned off the engine.
“We have to have a talk,” I said.

Wade looked concerned.
“Did I do something wrong?”

“
I’m wise to that little stunt you pulled back at the dairy bar. I sensed the energy force you directed at Bobby Sims. I assume it was a form of telekinesis.”

“
You’re pretty sharp, Janis. No one in my family knows I have that power.”

“
How did you acquire it?”

“
It was given to me on my sixteenth birthday. No one else in my Clan has ever been granted this kind of power. I haven’t told anyone about it, not even my Aunt Mildred.”

“
Anything else?”

“
I can put thoughts into people’s heads.”

“
Give me a demonstration”

“
Okay, but only a tiny one.”

The next thing I knew I was raising my right hand over my head.
“You put the thought in my head to raise my right hand. That’s fantastic. Try telling me to do something else.”

We waited ten seconds and nothing happened.
“It didn’t work,” said Wade.

“
That’s because I blocked your thoughts. Do you have any other unusual powers?”

“
I can control the weather to a small extent.”

“
Give me a demonstration”

Wade looked around.
“Keep an eye on that vacant field.” What started as a small dust devil was soon approaching the size of a house. Wade blinked his eyes and the dust devil disappeared.

“
That was really something Wade. Do you have any idea why you were granted these powers?”

“
Not a clue.”

“
I had the same kind of experience after I turned sixteen. I have powers that no one in my Clan has ever had before. I’ve managed to keep them a secret.”

“
Do I get a demonstration?”

I couldn
’t believe that I was revealing my powers to a complete stranger. I was sure Pauline would hit the roof if she found out, but it seemed like the right thing to do. I was positive that fate had drawn Wade and me together. “Tell me how you like your twin brother.”

I morphed into a replica of Wade. He smiled and clapped his hands.
“I thought I was better looking than that.”

The next thing I did was turn invisible. Wade had a blank look on his face.
“That is simply unbelievable. I don’t know anyone who has ever had that kind of power.”

“
How would you like a pretty new doll to play with?” Wade was stunned when I shrunk my body down to a foot tall.

“
Wow! You could be the next Barbie, I mean Janis doll. You’d be terrific because you can talk and move around.”

“
I have one last power, but prepare yourself because you’ll be startled.”

“
I can take anything you can throw at me.”

I morphed into a baby gorilla and Wade almost hit his head on the car door window.
“I wasn’t expecting an animal,” he said.

“
If we weren’t sitting in the car, I would have morphed into something larger, like a lion or a tiger.”

Wade frowned.
“The baby gorilla was big enough for me.”

I started the car and we headed for home. I suspected that Wade and I were going to be seeing a lot of each other. I had no doubt whatsoever that fate had designed it to be that way.

CHAPTER 7

It was Saturday and we were getting ready to go the animal shelter to pick out a playmate for Missy.
“We’d better take Missy with us, Mom. If she doesn’t like a particular cat, she’ll let us know right away.”

“
That’s a good idea. We’ll let Missy pick out her new playmate.”

* * *

We walked up and down the row of cages that housed the cats. I was holding Missy in my arms and listening to her thoughts
. Let me talk to this one
, said Missy.

I stopped at a cage containing a grey tabby that looked a lot like Missy. The kitty was slightly smaller and maybe a little younger than Missy. I moved closer to the cage.

What’s your name?
Missy asked.

My name is Isadora, but everyone calls me Izzy.

My name is Missy and I’m looking for a playmate. Would you like to be my playmate?

Sure, I
’ve never had a playmate before, but I love to play.

Missy looked up at me.
We don’t have to look any farther. I think Izzy will make a great playmate.

Mom made the arrangements and we took Izzy home with us. I carried Izzy
’s cage upstairs and set it on the floor in my bedroom. I opened the cage door and Izzy walked gingerly onto the carpet. Missy jumped onto the foot of the bed.
This is where we sleep, Izzy.

My master never let me sit on the bed,
Missy replied.

Master, what kind of talk is that?
Missy asked
. We don’t have any Masters around here
.

I got down on my knees
. Izzy, you are now a part of this family and you will be treated like a family member. And you have my permission to sit on the bed anytime you want to.

Izz
y turned her head and looked at me.
I’ve never been able to talk to a human before.

Let
’s just say that I’m not an ordinary human. And just remember that you’ll have Missy to protect you. She’s the top cat in this neighborhood.

Missy puffed up a little.
I sure am. Nobody, but nobody messes with me.

I don
’t know what to say
, said Izzy.

Don
’t say anything, little sister. As soon as you get settled, we can play cowboys together and round up the bad guys.

Izzy stared at Missy.
What’s a cowboy?

Missy looked up at me.
Boy oh boy, this kid has a lot to learn.

* * *

It was a sunny afternoon and I finally got around to washing my car. When I took it for a drive, I tried avoiding the puddles of water left over from the rain. Things were going great until a car pulled out in front of me. I swerved to keep from hitting it and ran through a water puddle next to the curb. I ended up with dirty water all over the right side of my car.

I was really upset when I got out of the car and stared at what was left of my beautiful wash job. As I stood there fuming, the dirt began sliding off the car like it was washing itself. I fli
nched and the process stopped.
Did I actually do that?
I asked myself. The logical answer was that I had removed the dirty water through the use of telekinesis. I decided to head for home and investigate this development further.

I pulled the car into the garage and focused on the muddy side of my car. As before, the dirt magically peeled away as I stood there smiling. When I was finished, you couldn
’t tell that my car had ever hit a mud puddle.
This is a great way to wash a car
, I told myself.

Mom was watching television, so I said
“Hi” and rushed upstairs. I looked around the room and focused on a pair of slippers next to my bed. With only a slight amount of concentration, the slippers began walking across the room.

Missy stared at the slippers and nudged Izzy.
I think we’ve got spooks in the room.

Izzy looked at the slip
pers moving all by themselves.
You didn’t tell me this house was haunted.

I decided I
’d better let the kitties know what was going on.
The house is not haunted and we don’t have any spooks. I’ve just found out I can move things with my mind without touching them.

Missy looked up at me.
Looks like spooks to me.

Izzy was curious.
Move something else.

I concentrated on a hairbrush from my dressing table and lifted it
into the air.
Would one of you kitties like to be brushed?

Missy backed away.
I think I’ll pass.

Izzy was inching backward.
I think I’ll pass, too.

If you
’re not going to get brushed, I have a great idea if you girls wanna join in.
Izzy looked at Missy.

Missy will do it. My big sister isn
’t afraid of anything.

I smiled at Missy.
I agree, Izzy.

Missy was holding her breath as I used my power of telekinesis to lift her off the bed. Then I began moving her around the room in a circle. I had everything under control, so I picked up the pace and spun Missy a littl
e bit faster. When she yelled,
Weeeeeeee,
there was no question she liked being spun around the room.

I lowered Missy back onto the bed and went to work on another experiment. I focused on my slippers, but I wanted to control them separately. I lifted one slipper into the air and began spinning it around the room. Then I lifted the other slipper and placed it about three feet behind the other. I now had two slippers spinning around the room and I was controlling each of them separately. I was really excited as I placed them back on the floor.

Are you ready to go again, Missy?

Missy sat up straight.
Ready and willing.

I picked up Missy and began spinning her around the room again. Then I picked up Izzy and placed her about three feet behind Missy. Izzy was frightened at first, but it wasn
’t long before she was having as much fun as Missy.
Come on, Izzy; let’s round up them rustlers and put ‘em in jail.

I
’m right behind you, Missy. We’ll show them varmints they can’t break the law.

I can
’t remember when I’d had so much fun. My adorable little kitties were having the time of their lives and I was as thrilled as they were.