Just as the bell rang to announce the end of another day at Grimoire High, A girl lifted her head from her desk waking up from what seemed like a mid-class nap. The girl had waist-length black hair and astonishingly green eyes, her thick long hair was tied in a neat ponytail topped with a blue satin ribbon tied into a bow. She stood up from the last desk, walked to the very first one, and sat on its table, the girl sitting on it gave her an exasperated look. The girl on the seat was the exact opposite of the one on the table. Shy-looking, with blonde hair in a messy bun, and blue eyes, and was now looking at the girl sitting on her table with a mixture of fondness and disgust.
Amy Glimmers looked at her best friend of fourteen years with a grin. "You know you might as well say goodbye to the blackboard since you won't be seeing it for five whole months, poor thing, it'll be crying itself to sleep the whole summer without its biggest admirer". "Oh, Shut up" replied Penelope Moon rolling her eyes, she too got up and the two friends made their way to the school gate. On their way, Penelope spotting someone tapped her friend on her shoulder and teased "There's someone you ought to say your goodbyes to" pointing to a boy with round glasses and an armload of books. Noticing them, Liam Brooke smiled bashfully at Amy who blushed and could hardly wave back hurried to the gate pulling a giggling Penelope behind her. "Aww… that's isn't a proper goodbye, they normally have words you know" continued Penelope in her teasing voice. "Stop it, Penny, that isn't funny," she said blushing profusely and glaring at her friend who was now shaking with laughter. "Man… you take the phrase "Chicken-coward" to a whole new level," said Penny still unable to control her laughter. "That's not what that phrase means and you know it!" said Amy now shaking with age as Penny was with laughter. "All right then use another phrase you already know what I mean".
As the two continued fighting to the gate neither of them noticed a figure emerge from behind a tree and pounce on Amy. As the figure roughly started pulling her hair, Penny barely managed to pull it off before it did any serious damage. "You freak! Do you honestly have nothing else to do? "Shouted Amy her rage now directed at her brother. "Humph! You could be a little nicer, you're only a year older and you act like you're decades older" replied Alexander Glimmers, Amy's younger brother, " besides, you need to hurry up mom's waiting at the gate its Friday remember, you don't want to keep gramma waiting". As Amy attempted to scratch his face he sprinted to the gate sticking his tongue out at them. "Penny, you don't have to go easy on him just because he's my brother next time he pulls something like this, no need to pull him off gently, give him a full slap on his face, that'll teach him. "Still, I wonder how he manages to sneak up on us like that I nearly had a heart attack," said Penny clutching her chest and leaning against the tree that that the phantom brother had emerged from not so long ago. They spent the rest of the walk in silence.
"Amy! Over here!" she waved to her mother and said goodbye to Penny and made her way to the car. "I'll pick you up from grammas place at 8, Is that all right with you kids?" "Yes Mom, that's all right," said the siblings in unison. Every Friday their mom would drop them off at their grandma's house to help her with the housework. They didn't mind it too much as the housework wasn't too hard and they always had a scrumptious feast afterward to make up for it. Her grandma made the best foods which only a grandma could make.
As they arrived at their grandmother's house, Alex ran to the door and started banging on it with both fists. "Oh Alex....," Her mom sighed," How mom handles you two is a mystery." "There's no mysterymom…. She just knows how to cook," Said Amy, and then ducked as her mom tried to hit her with her purse. "Chill I'm just kidding!" giggled Amy. Mom was just about to say something when the door opened and her gamma's beaming face greeted them. After basic greetings, Amy and Alex followed their grandmother inside as their mom went back to the car as she had to go to the office.
As they followed her into the house Amy noticed that something was odd the house was oddly humid and she soon found the reason. The kitchen was practically filled with potted plants. Her mouth dropped open they were FLOWERING plants. She looked at her grandmother lost for words when suddenly Alex said exactly what Amy thought, "What's with all the plants?" Their Grandmother turned around and said, "Just a new hobby dear, they're quite lovely aren't they?" She was about to leave the kitchen when Amy asked her "Where are you off to?" "Just to get plates" her grandmother answered. "Aren't they in the cupboard?" Amy said confused. "I was thinking that we could use the crystal ones," she said dismissively and left the kitchen.
"What the actual heck?" Amy said feeling more confused than she had been in today's double chemistry and that was saying something because boy she was NOT passing that class. "Yeah…. She never uses her crystal dishes." "That and the fact that she's allergic to pollen what's with all the flowers!" said Amy. "What does pollen have to do with anything?" He asked. "Flowers have pollen!" Amy hissed "Gramma should be sneezing all over the place considering the garden she's got here." "Maybe she grew out of her allergy?" Alex offered "That happens" "At seventy?" Said Amy scathingly.
At that moment her gramma came back and if either of them thought of interrogating her they thought better of it. Her grandma served them their favorite curry. Alex quickly sat down and picked up his spoon. "Wait," said Amy as they both looked at her puzzled "Gramma could you get us some salt you know you always add less." She said with an innocent voice. "Alex stared at her bewildered while their grandma said, "Of course, Honey." And went out. Amy walked up to the kitchen drawer and taking the only salt shaker in the house, put it on the table and then did something so instinctively that she had no idea what she did until she did it.
"Something is dead wrong." She said, grimly looking at the newly withered house plant and the two freshly emptied bowls of curry in her hand.
Alex looked dumbfounded at the plant then at his sister and the plant again at a loss for words to describe such a situation. Amy was the first to speak "Well, that's definitely not Gramma." She said with all the confidence she wasn't feeling. Alex stayed quiet. "Which means," Amy continued, "That..." She considered for a moment, unsure of what it meant. "Wejsthevtfineher" she stammered. "Oh God, please not now," she thought desperately as panic seeped in.
She had been suffering from a speech impediment ever since the year had started. Ever since that happened." "NOT NOW" She commanded her body with every bit of strength she held back her tears, holding back all the fear and uncertainties of what was happening and what had happened five years ago. "STAY AWAY" She commanded desperately then looking at her brother looking at her with a worried expression. She was clutching her head and bowing without noticing. He looked at her and she saw that even with all the fear of all that had happened he was worried about her, His little eyes were wide with fear and worry.
"Oh God, Why doesn't he look away," said a voice inside her head. Then a stronger voice said, "Get up." She did and said calmly "We have to find her." Her insides were numb and freezing with fear. "Wh... what do we do?" Alex spoke for the first time since the beginning of the conversation with all the fear in his eyes. "We look," she said curtly and then on a kinder note "for clues."
"A walk around to get started, you reckon?" Amy suggested. Alex nodded and they walked deeper into the house they knew so well. The thing that they immediately came to notice was the numerous and many kinds of plants that lined the ….. everywhere. Not even the slightest bit of lower wall could be seen. "What's with the plants? I'm starting to feel breathless and I'm not even allergic!" Said Alex wheezing slightly. He sounded a lot calmer than he felt. Both had reached a silent agreement that they were both scared to their wit's end but they had to deal with this as calmly as they could even if calm was too good to be true. "He's right," She thought, "Gramma could never survive here considering her age and her allergy." The humid air was making it hard to breathe for her too.
Suddenly she heard a low growl. She jumped and looked around at a grinning Alex. "Just me. Man! Am I hungry." Said Alex. She was getting hungry too. They saw a strawberry plant laden with fat, juicy strawberries. "Should we risk it?" asked Alex. Amy thought about it and then saw a lemon squeezer on the shelf. She plucked a strawberry and squeezed it on the marble tabletop. It melted instantly to reveal the contents under it. Neither of them felt hungry anymore.
They went back to the kitchen and saw that the sink was full of filthy dishes and a full bottle of dish soap was next to it. "Gramma would never let more than three dishes stay in the sink," thought Amy grimly. Then suddenly she said, "Let's do the dishes." "What?" He stared at her as if she was mad. "Please.." She said almost in a begging voice. He nodded. "No sponge," He said. 'Look in the cupboard." Amy said. She had just sat down when she heard Alex scream. A green liquid had spilled on his shirt from a crystal vial that had dropped down as he had opened the cupboard. "Take the shirt off!" Amy said horrified. "Don't worry, this shirt is thick, it won't seep through" said Alex. He picked up the vial and it had really intricate patterns on it, like some sort of leafy scales. "Let's go wash it," She said, "The cleaning supplies are in the basement." "But …The dishes" Said Alex. "Forget it," Said Amy "I'm sorry it was stupid I just.." "It's OK." Said Alex reassuringly, "Don't worry about it." She nodded gratefully as they made their way to the basement
As they opened the cleaning cupboard, they were surprised to see that all they could find were brooms, rags, and more dish soap. "Where's the detergent, bleach, and toilet bowl cleaners?" Alex said confused. Just then they heard a sound that they had both expected but deeply dreaded. Their gramma called them up.
They walked up the stairs not knowing what to expect but mortified all the same. They walked up the steps, and with each step came horrible visions of what was about to come. Their Gramma was waiting for them at the top of the stairs, her face unreadable. They followed her back to the kitchen and she sat them down. She went to the pot filled the bowls with curry and put them in front of the two. Amy noticed that the withered plant was green again and seemed to be thriving. That wasn't good.
"Eat." That one word that creature announced with an air of sealing their fate sent chills down both their spines. Amy knew what she had to do. "No," She said, a strange feeling came over her, all she knew was that she had to protect. "What was that?" The creature growled. "NO!" She screamed at it with a fury she couldn't understand. The creature brought her face so close to Amy's that she reacted instantly.
She pulled her perfume bottle out of her purse and sprayed it right in the creature's face. It was one of those compressed cans so the spray was powerful. It went in its eyes and covered her face. If Amy knew what she was about to see at that moment, she would have wolfed down that curry.
Her Gramma's face started changing. All the wrinkles disappeared and her Grammas face was replaced by a face so beautiful that she completely forgot her fear. In fact, why was she afraid? What she was, was hungry. The curry on the table… her Gramma's cooking. She sat down as the face smiled at her. She picked up a spoon and brought it to her mouth ready to open it. Then she smelt it. Black pepper. Her Gramma never used Black pepper. "NO!' screamed a voice so loudly that it was painful. Suddenly and painfully it all came back in an instant. She slapped the spoon out of Alex's hand and grabbed him practically carrying him to the door. She turned back and what she saw made her suspicious of whether she'd ever eat again.
The creature had a woman's torso with long black hair, and blue eyes and her upper body would have been beautiful if it wasn't for the fact that she had large antlers coming out of her head and that her eyes were a shade of blue that no human could have had. Her lower body was the horrifying part. Where a respectable person would have had legs it had a long green snake tail with intricate leaf-shaped scales. After taking this all in, she looked at the face again. The face smiled invitingly but seeing the look on Amy's face she tried a different approach. Her pupils turned into slits like a cat's. Her mouth opened unnaturally wide to reveal many fangs as it roared and charged towards them. Amy screamed, shut the door, and bolted it. "Safe for now, I suppose." She thought hopefully. Then she heard an odd slithering noise. She tried to look for it but it was coming from all around. What she saw almost pass out. The plants… but they had changed. Every inch of the stems covered with one-inch thorns. The flowers and fruits were replaced with large mouths with many thorns as teeth and the leaves had turned into many small mouths with shorter but sharper-looking thorns. She didn't need science class to know they were all poisonous. She turned to Alex and what she saw just was scarier than anything she had seen so far. Alex was staring blank-eyed at the ceiling with a stony expression. She was alone.