A Week Before the Dance
"Come on, hurry up Luz!" called Sasha, the young blonde sitting on her bed.
"Just give me a minute," said Luz from the closet, after a few minutes, she emerged from the closet wearing the clothes Sasha had given her. A dark blue crop top with some short black shorts, Luz looked at herself in the mirror and became instantly embarrassed.
"Uh are you sure this is what I should wear to the dance?" she asked, "it's very….revealing."
"Well duh, if you got it you've got to flaunt it," said Sasha coming over to her.
"I just…I'm not sure that I've….got it," said Luz still embarrassed.
"Why not?" asked Sasha.
"I don't know…I just…," stammered Luz.
Sasha came up to Luz putting her hands on her shoulders and looked at her in the mirror, "Luz don't be afraid of your own beauty, you could turn a lot of heads with the right look."
Luz looked at herself again before replying, "you really think so?"
"Of course!" said Sasha as though it was the most obvious thing, "I wouldn't say it if I didn't think It was true!" Sasha reached out her hand asking to see Luz's, she took her hand into her own and looked down at her nails.
"Do you have any nail polish?" asked Sasha, "I don't think I've ever seen you wear any."
"I sometimes wear black, for when I want to feel like a bad girl," answered Luz trying to sound tough, "but I don't really wear it all that often."
Sasha let out a laugh at this, "you cannot wear black nail polish to a dance Luz, only goth girls wear black. Here I've got a few bright colors I can lend you."
"How are things going in there dear?" asked a voice knocking on the door, a second later the door opened and Mrs. Waybright entered the room.
"Things are going fine mom," said Sasha, "I'm just trying to give Luz a new look."
"I see," said Mrs. Waybright looking at Luz, "wonderful dear, it's always nice to see you take the lead and help the other less fortunate girls. You're such a natural at that."
"Thanks, mom," said Sasha smiling.
"So Luz," began Mrs. Waybright, "is there a particular boy you're trying to impress?"
Luz thought for a second, there wasn't a boy she liked right now, but she thought of Anne before replying in a coy voice, "maybe…"
"Oh very mysterious," said Mrs. Waybright, "how about you Sasha? Any boy I should be concerned about?"
Sasha responded in the same coy voice, "maybe…" Causing all three women to laugh.
"Well Luz if you want my advice boys are easier to handle when you know how to control them," said Mrs. Waybright.
"Control them?" asked Luz.
"Oh of course," continued Mrs. Waybright, "controlling boys is an art form that we ladies need to master as soon as we can."
Luz looked a little uncomfortable at this, but decided she wanted to hear more anyway, "so uh how exactly do you…control boys?"
"Well it's a lot easier with boys who are shy," began Mrs. Waybright, "if you ever want to get something out of them just act a little helpless in a cute kind of way. For example, if you want a free soda from the vending machine at school just hang around one until a boy shows up. Pretend you want a soda and that you don't have any money, say how appreciative you'd be if he was to buy you that soda, and bam! Free Soda!"
"I used that technique on Dean Sanchez," said Sasha, "got him to help me with my homework for free. The best part is I got Anne to help me break up with him so I didn't even have to bother with that."
"Good girl Sasha," said Mrs. Waybright, "nice to see you learning."
"Uh, I mean I don't know," said Luz, "that sounds a little…manipulative, are you sure we should be doing that?"
"Oh Luz, I know you're still young, but it's probably best you learn this now," said Mrs. Waybright, "look there's no denying that men dominate the world, right? Well, they like to think they control everything so there's no shame in using your feminine wiles to turn the tables on them."
"I mean I don't think that all guys are like that," said Luz, "it's not really fair to lump everyone together like that."
Mrs. Waybright gave her a look, "so young and so naïve, I remember being that young, but whether you believe me or not Luz I'm sure you'll see for yourself as you get older."
"I get it people can be mean," admitted Luz, "before I met you guys I didn't have any friends of my own, cause a lot of the other kids at school thought I was weird. They've made fun of me in the past, but even so, I still like to think that deep down people are nice.
"You do like looking on the bright side of things don't you Luz?" said Sasha.
"Yeah, I do," said Luz, she paused thinking for a second of her dad, "I know bad things happen, and it sucks when they do, but I still try and see the good in those situations. If you only focus on the bad too much then it can get, overwhelming."
Sasha looked at Luz, "huh, I guess that's a good way to think about things."
"Well sometimes manipulating boys can have positive affects too," said Mrs. Waybright, "you know when I met your father I wasn't that interested in him at first, he was a shy nerdy kind of man. I was only going to use him to help tutor me in math, but he turned out to be a charmer. Not only that but he had a brilliant mind for anything that dealt with numbers, so I encouraged him to pursue accounting. After we both graduated college he got straight to work at a big financial firm, but he wouldn't' have gotten that job if I hadn't pressured him to apply. So you see me "encouraging" him to do that was a good thing."
"Wait dad was shy?" asked Sasha surprised, "he always seems so charismatic. I can't imagine him being shy at all."
"Oh trust me he was," said Mrs. Waybright, "he got more confidence as we dated and then even more once he got that job. Which I remind you I was responsible for. So don't feel bad about using a boy to help you get ahead Luz, who knows maybe it will all work out in the end."
"I'll think about that," said Luz. At that moment she got a text on her phone.
"Oh mom is here to pick me up," said Luz, "let me get changed."
"What, why?" asked Sasha, "go down in those clothes and show her your new look."
Luz blushed furiously as she imagined what her mom might say to her if she saw her dressed as she was, "ah no thanks, trust me it's for the best."
"Okay but go ahead and take the different clothes we tried, and don't worry about returning them to me, you can give them back whenever," said Sasha.
"Thanks," said Luz as she went into the closet to change. Moments later she came out glad to be back in her regular clothes. Sasha helped gather up the different sets of clothes they had tried on, as well as a few bottles of nail polish, and gave them to Luz to take with her. Luz still wasn't sure if she'd wear any of these to the dance, but she thanked Sasha for lending them to her, the two said goodbye then Mrs. Waybright escorted Luz downstairs to her mom. She came outside to greet her.
"Uh Camila right?" asked Mrs. Waybright.
"Yes, that's my name," said Camila offering her hand, Melissa shaking it.
"How are you Camila?" asked Melissa, "is it true that you are a vet?"
"Yes I work as part of an animal clinic, it's called Pet Vet. I also volunteer at an animal shelter on the weekends," said Camila.
"How noble of you!" said Melissa, "you know I've been thinking of getting a dog for some time now. I wonder if you have a recommendation on those."
"Oh sure," said Camila, "it depends on what kind of dog you want, big, small, outdoor, indoor, but we can sit down and talk about it in more detail at some point."
"Wonderful!" said Melissa, "I'll have to have you over for dinner at some point. I'd love to learn more about you then!"
"Great, I look forward to it," said Camila.
"Splendid!" exclaimed Mrs. Waybright, "well you and Luz take care now, we'll see you around."
A Week After the Girls Went Missing
"Yes I got the picture you sent me," said Oum into the phone, "I'll make sure and give it to Bee, he's the one who's taking the pictures to the store to make the flyer. I'll send you an image of one when it's done in case you want to make your own."
"That's good to hear," replied Camila through the phone, "have you heard back from the other parents?"
"The Wus haven't called me back," said Oum sadly, "and neither have the Waybrights. I hope at least one of them will call me, we can't wait much longer for a picture from them."
"Okay, well let me know what happens," said Camila, "if all goes well I'll see you on Saturday at the Thai Temple."
"Yes see you then, goodbye" answered Oum hanging up the phone.
Her call with Camilla complete she opened up a text chain that she had with Melissa Waybright. There were no replies from her. Oum had asked five different times for a picture of Sasha from her and had not received a response. Realizing that time was of the essence she finally decided to just call her. Oum was annoyed at this, as she was not used to being ignored especially by someone who she honestly thought of as a friend. She called Melissa and hoped she would answer, and after four rings she did.
"Hello?" said the voice on the other end.
"Melissa, thank god, it's Oum," said Oum.
"Oh…hi Oum," said the voice in a depressed tone.
"Melissa I've sent you a bunch of texts," began Oum, "I need you to send me a photo of Sasha for the flyer.
"Listen…" began Melissa, "We're not going to do the flyer."
"You're not?!" said Oum in surprise, "but this could help find Sasha!"
"Chris and I have decided to hire a private investigator to look into it," said Melissa, "he doesn't want to draw too much attention to the fact that Sasha is gone, so we've decided to do that instead."
"Well even if you're going to use a PI the flyer might still help," said Oum in a pleading voice, "we need to consider any and all options."
"Please, I've already decided Oum," said Melissa in a firm voice, "if you and Camila want to do a flyer campaign and if you think that will help then go ahead. I've heard they aren't very successful though."
"Melissa….are you alright?" asked Oum, she paused before continuing, "I know Sasha's disappearance is terrible, but you told me about those problems you were having with Chris…"
There was a long pause on the other end of the phone before Melissa answered, "we're fine for now. We've had some….problems, but for now, the two of us have decided that for Sasha's sake, we'll try and work through them. I don't know how well that will go….but finding Sasha is all that matters."
"Okay," said Oum, "you know if you ever want to talk you can always call me."
"I know," answered Melissa, "and hey, we're paying this private investigator to find Sasha, but since the police think the girls went missing together there's a good chance if he finds anything it will lead to the others. I promise to let you know if his investigation turns up any leads into finding Anne."
"Thank you," answered Oum, "and please take care of yourself."
"I will, thank you," said Melissa hanging up the phone. It would be the last time the two talked for a long while.
Sometime Later
As Melissa Waybright walked out of the courtroom she felt a small sense of relief. The Divorce had been as amicable as it could be under the circumstances and she was at least going to be able to keep the house. She had wanted to keep the house in the small hope that if Sasha was found the two of them would still have a place to call home, but now as she thought about it, with only herself living there for now, it would feel a lot more empty. Still, Melissa pulled herself together and slowly walked to her car wanting to go home and unwind as best she could from the day's events. It was at this point she got a call on her phone, she brought it up and saw that Oum Boonchuy was calling her again. Melissa wanted to answer the phone, but she also didn't feel like talking to anyone right now. As she ended the call she looked down at her phone and saw that she had ten missed calls from Oum, not only that but there were also a lot of unanswered texts from her too. For a second Melissa thought about responding, but her heart wasn't in it. She felt bad about ignoring Oum, but she also didn't feel like talking to anyone.
Present Day
"Are you ready to go Amara?" called Sprig.
"Yeah just about," answered Amara as she looked over her backpack making sure she had everything. She double-checked to make sure Sprig's violin and her harp were in there as they would be the most important part of this trip.
"Okay, I'm good, we have water and food in our bag and our instruments too," said Amara.
"So you guys ready for your first excursion into the human world alone?" asked Anne coming up to them.
"I think so," said Sprig, "but you guys are going to join us eventually right?"
"Yeah we will," said Anne coming up to Sprig.
"We just thought it would be good to let you two stretch your legs a bit," said Luz she turned to Amara, "so just double checking, are you sure you know how to get to the beach?"
"Yeah I got it," said Amara, "I studied those maps of the human transit system you showed me. We need to make sure and get on the Gold Line, take it to Union Station, then switch to the Red Line, then one more switch to the Expo Line, and that will take us all the way to the beach."
"Correct," said Camila giving the newt a smile, "I think as long as you stay together and look after each other you should be fine."
"And don't forget to call us if either of you get into trouble," said Mr. Boonchuy handing Sprig a flip phone, "Anne showed you how to use that right?"
"Yep," said Sprig taking the phone and putting it in his pocket.
"Do you think they'll make a lot of money?" asked Hop-pop.
"I think they'll do alright," said Luz, "there are so many different kinds of street performers on the pier, but people tend to really support the ones who play music."
"We're gonna be the best music-playing duo on the pier people will shower us with human money," said Sprig making a flourish with his hands. Amara smiled at him.
"Oh don't forget your hat," said Camila handing a large top hat to Sprig.
"Uh what's this for?" asked Sprig, "do I need to wear it as part of my act?"
"No silly," said Camila, "you put the hat on the ground and that's where people put in the money they give to you for playing music."
"Oh, alright," said Sprig, accepting the hat.
"The Santa Monica Pier is a huge destination," said Anne, "tourists and locals alike go there and summer is almost over, so I'm sure there will be a big crowd."
"Just make sure that when someone gives you a big tip you do an extra flourish for them as thanks," advised Oum.
"Oh and tell them you take requests, but it will cost extra," said Bee, "you'd be surprised what some people will pay for that."
"And while I hope this doesn't happen if for some reason you lose your disguise just say it's part of the performance," said Anne.
"Yeah there's a lot of weird performance art in LA, they should buy that," said Luz.
"Oh you could also say, "boy I could use some coffee," advised Anne, "It's like code for I'm human."
"We'll keep all that in mind," said Amara. With that Anne and Luz gave Sprig and Amara a hug before sending them on their way. The two stood on the porch waving as Sprig and Amara walked toward the sidewalk and then out of site.
"Huh, our babies sure are growing up aren't they?" said Anne putting her arm around Luz.
"Yeah, they are," said Luz smiling as she watched Sprig and Amara leave. She turned to look at Anne who was also smiling the two looked into each other's faces before realizing their parents were there. Anne took her arm off of Luz and went into the kitchen to help her mom clean up. Luz went to sit in the living room with her mom who was talking with Mr. Boonchuy. Hop-pop and Polly went back upstairs.
"So I started showing Sprig some episodes of Cosmic Frontier, it's this series that was really popular when I was young," said Mr. Boonchuy to Camilla, "I thought I could get him into the series but I don't think he likes it that much."
"Eh he did like Tarantu-Lad," said Oum coming over to join her husband, "I know how much you like that movie."
"Well I did take you to see it on our first date," said Bee smiling at his wife. Oum smiled back at him.
"I'm glad I said yes when you asked me," said Oum giving a flirty smile to Bee, "probably helps that you were also a fan of Cosmic Frontiers."
"You were both fans of that series?" asked Camila with interest.
"Oh yeah," said Oum, "both that series and Cosmic Wars. We even had Boonchuy battles here in the living room with Anne when she was younger."
"I remember those," said Anne coming into the living room, "they were a lot of fun."
"Oh…" began Camila, "you told Anne you were fans of that series."
"Of course," said Bee as though it were the most obvious thing.
"I liked Cosmic Wars a lot more than Cosmic Frontiers," said Anne, "well at least the classic ones. Not sure about the prequels and sequels."
"The Classic trilogy will always be the best!" said Bee.
"There's a lot of expanded universe material that's also good," said Oum, "books, video games, TV shows."
"Oh I think my favorite of those is the Old Republic Games," said Bee, "You can customize your character and you get to choose whether you conquer the galaxy or save it."
"I guess I'm just surprised you were willing to share that part of yourself with your kid," said Camila slowly, she looked over at Luz as she said that before adding, "so just out of curiosity, what was your favorite part of Cosmic Frontiers?"
Bee was about to answer when the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it," said Anne walking up to the door, she checked to make sure that Hop-pop and Polly weren't there before opening the door, the atmosphere in the room quickly changed as all the occupants of the room immediately recognized the women in the doorway….
She was a blonde woman with bluish-green eyes and a pearl neckless. Whenever Anne had seen her in the past she had always looked put together and very fancy, now though Anne could see clear signs of grey in her hair and bags under her eyes that seemed to indicate she had not been sleeping well. Her face was also devoid of any make-up, Anne's face fell as she recognized the blonde woman who was standing at her door.
"Mrs. Waybright," said Anne in a scared voice.
"So the rumors are true," said Mrs. Waybright in a serious tone, "you have returned, Anne where is Sasha?"
Anne gulped hard caught completely off guard by that question and not sure how to answer. Mrs. Waybright moved closer to her, the expression on her face not changing. She looked past Anne, at her parents.
"And you two….HOW DARE YOU! Your daughter came back and you didn't think to tell me?" said Mrs. Waybright in disgust, "I had to find out through the school's gossip blog!"
Oum and Bee looked at each other uncomfortably. Mrs. Waybright marched towards Anne, grabbing her by her shoulders and looking her in the eye.
"Anne….where the hell is my daughter?"
Anne couldn't think of what to say to her, though in her mind she felt a deep sense of shame as she remembered how she had at one time wanted to tell Mrs. Waybright her daughter was dead…
"Mrs. Waybright….I…well…uh," stammered Anne.
"WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?! WHERE IS SASHA?!" yelled Mrs. Waybright, tears forming in her eyes, as she shook Anne.
"Melissa, please stop," said Oum coming up to her and trying to defuse the situation, "please calm down."
"Don't tell me to calm down Oum!" shouted Mrs. Waybright, "especially not after you decided to say NOTHING to me about Anne returning." She looked around the room her eyes settling on Luz and Camila, "So the gossip blog was right about Luz being back too…Is Marcy here somewhere? Am I the only one who didn't know? WHY DID YOU KEEP THIS FROM ME?!"
Everyone in the room looked between Mrs. Waybright and each other as they tried to think of what they could possibly say. No one seemed to have planned for this contingency and all of them were completely caught off guard. Melissa stared back at them hoping that someone would say something and give some sort of explanation, but everyone remained silent until finally Anne spoke up.
"The truth is…" she began, "I don't know where Sasha is. That's why we didn't tell you."
"What?" said Mrs. Waybright letting go of Anne but still looking into her eyes, "what do you mean you don't know?"
Anne thought for a moment, trying to decide what she could say that Mrs. Waybright would believe, while also not wanting to lie. Finally, Anne made a decision and decided to say something that wasn't far from the truth.
"We had a fight, Sasha and I," said Anne in a low voice not looking up into Mrs. Waybright's face, "Sasha and I had a fight while we were on the road and she left to be on her own….we aren't friends anymore…."
Melissa didn't say anything in response, she stepped back trying to absorb this new information. She stared into Anne's face almost as if trying to see if she was lying. At that moment a car pulled up to the house and a woman stepped out of it. She made her way up to the house seeing that the door was open and went inside. The adults all recognized this woman and all felt a deep pit forming in their stomachs as they saw Detective Ventura look around the room, her eyes falling on both Anne and Luz.
Sprig and Amara slowly made their way to the area around the pier. After finding a good spot the two took out their instruments, put out a hat, and began to play. Amara played a smooth relaxing melody on her harp while Sprig complimented it with his violin. Many people passed by and tossed some money into the hat, some stayed only a short while before leaving, and some stayed to hear the song and then gave them some money. At one point a small girl with blonde hair came up to the duo and asked for a specific song.
"Can you play the opening theme to Tarantua-lad?" she asked.
"Sure," answered Sprig, though Amara whispered to him.
"I don't know that one Sprig," she said.
"It's from that movie Bee showed us the other night," said Sprig.
"I don't think I was there for that," fired back Amara.
"Okay, don't worry I'll handle it," said Sprig confidently.
"Oh hey would you mind if I record you?" asked the girl, holding her phone so she could record Sprig.
"Not all," replied Sprig, "prepare to be amazed!"
Sprig slowly brought his bow across his violin and began playing the notes on his instrument. Many others walking by seemed to recognize the song as a large crowd gathered to hear him play. The theme started slow and quiet but as the song continued it grew in both speed and sound, Sprig did his best to replicate the feeling of that on his violin. As he continued playing he also began moving in time with the rhythm doing a dance to help accentuate the song. As he got to the end he jumped up into the air and did a big flourish as the song ended! The crowd clapped at his performance many throwing money into the hat, and the girl who had requested the song cheered.
"Well I'm going to share this online," she said, "hope this helps make you more popular!"
"Thanks," said Sprig holding out his hand, "what's your name by the way?"
"Molly Jo," said the girl giving Sprig's hand a shake, as she did her hand became stuck to Sprig's. The two struggled for a bit but were able to separate, they both laughed as the girl left. Amara came up to the hat.
"Wow we did really well with that one," she began, Sprig let out a small cough, "I mean YOU did really well with that one, you wanna take a break?"
"Sure," said Sprig, "I'd like to get some human ice cream, have you had that yet?"
"Yeah I have," said Amara, "it's a lot like our ice cream, but there are no ants in it."
"We can add our own ants after," said Sprig.
After getting their ice cream Sprig and Amara walked around the pier, observing the sites.
"I thought Newtopia was a big city, but it doesn't compare to this place," said Amara as she observed the hundred of humans walking around.
"At least you already lived in a city," said Sprig, "Newtopia was big compared to Wartwood."
"Yeah, I mean I can only imagine the culture shock you're going through," said Amara.
"It was rough," admitted Sprig, "but honestly after you get over the shock of the human world it starts to feel like an adventure when you're out in it, a big grand adventure." Sprig trailed off as he said those words.
"Is everything alright?" asked Amara.
Sprig hesitated before answering, "it's just ever since Anne came into our lives things have been a lot more interesting. Before I met Anne it was just doing chores on the farm and maybe go into town now and then. After we met her we did so many amazing things, we had our own little adventures around Wartwood, then we went to Newtopia, which was an adventure all on its own. Then we went to the different temples, and we fought the toads in Newtopia. Now here we are on her world going out and exploring it on our own…" Sprig let out a sigh as he said this, "I always wanted to have my own adventure, and because of Anne I got it, and now….now I can't imagine life without Anne in it anymore."
Amara listened to what Sprig said and put a comforting hand on his shoulder giving him a smile, "I know what you mean, my life is a lot different than how I thought it would be and I know a big part of that is because I met Luz. She not only changed my life but also how I see things. I think back to the kind of person I was before I met her, and I'm glad I was able to change. I've gained so many things because of it, mostly new friends that I wouldn't have had otherwise."
The two kept walking until they made it to the edge of the pier. They stared off into the vastness of the ocean before them, an ocean that seemed to stretch on forever.
"Hey Amara," said Sprig.
"Yes," answered Amara.
"I've seen maps of Amphibia, they all have it surrounded by water. While we've been here on Earth Anne has told me that the place she lives in isn't the only landmass here. She showed us the country her parents are from Thailand. It's really far from here, all the way on the other side of the sphere that is her world. I was just wondering, do you think that in Amphibia, there are other lands beyond the ocean? " asked Sprig.
"I know there are some islands just beyond the mainland," said Amara, "but if you're asking if there's another land that's just as big as Amphibia beyond the sea, well honestly I don't know."
"Maybe when we get back after we defeat Andrias and things calm down, maybe we could go exploring and find out," suggested Sprig.
"Huh, that would be nice, I'd like that," said Amara.
"And we could bring Lilly, Gustav, Anne, Ivy, and Luz with us too, we'd all be one big group of friends, off on a new adventure," said Sprig smiling at the idea.
Amara didn't reply, though she did smile back at Sprig as he said that. A small part of her had wondered if when all this was over they'd still be able to see their human friends on a regular basis. While she secretly hoped they would, she had also started to come to terms with the possibility that they wouldn't. Maybe they'd have to destroy the box to prevent Andrias from ever using it, maybe the box would only work a certain amount of times, or maybe Anne and Luz wouldn't want to come back and risk being trapped in Amphibia again. As these thoughts raced in her mind though, she was at least glad that she'd met the Plantars, she was starting to feel closer to them than she'd ever felt to her father or mother. Amara turned back to stare at the vastness of the ocean as she contemplated her future.
Mrs. Waybright sat down on the Boonshuy's couch, a mug of hot tea in her hands, she slowly drank it occasionally looking up from her drink to stare at Anne and Luz who were seated opposite of her. She didn't say anything and only made quick glances at them, afterward letting her head fall and look down. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, the adults were talking with Detective Ventura.
"You honestly didn't think you had to inform me your daughters came back?" asked Detective Ventura in an exasperated voice.
"We never had a missing child before so we didn't know the procedure," said Bee trying his best to give an innocent look to the Detective.
"Did common sense not tell you that you should have informed the authorities?" asked Detective Ventura trying her best to not shout at them.
"Uh no I guess not," said Oum innocently, trying her best to smile
Detective Ventura let out a sigh as she brought her hand to her head and began slowly rubbing her temples.
"Please Ms. Ventura," began Camila, "the Boonchys and I were just so happy to have our daughters back we didn't even think of the fact that we needed to tell you. For us it was like a nightmare had ended. You have no idea how happy I was to see Luz again, Oum and Bee were the same, we were just so happy it slipped our minds."
"I understand," said Detective Ventura looking at Camila, "and I truly am glad that your daughters came back and you were able to see them again. God knows I've worked my fair share of cases where this doesn't happen, and I hate it every time I have to inform a parent that their child is dead."
The Boonchuys and Camila both flinched at hearing her say that.
"But Sasha and Marcy are still missing," continued Detective Ventura, "and if your kids have any information on their whereabouts then we need to know so that we can increase the chance of finding them. I am glad that you both got to have a happy ending in this whole affair, but Melissa Waybright didn't get that. Her daughter is still out there and I need to know more if there's a chance to find her. The Wus might have left LA but I'll need to contact them to give them an update on the case. I still need to do my job and try and find the other girls."
"So uh what do you need from us?" asked Bee.
"I need you all to come down to the station with your daughters and I need to get a statement from them regarding what happened after they left," said Detective Ventura.
The Boonchuys and Camila all looked at each other nervously.
"Uh is that really necessary," asked Oum, "Our kids went through quite an ordeal, I'm not sure they really want to talk about it."
"I know this is hard," said Detective Ventura, "but you're kids may know something important, something that could help us find the other girls.
Again the adults looked nervously at each other, they knew they couldn't tell the police the truth, but they didn't know what else to tell them.
"Please, maybe I could tell you what happened," suggested Camila, "the whole experience was very traumatic for Luz, I don't want to have to put her through that again."
"Senora Noceda," began Detective Camila in a serious voice, "neccesitamos escuharlo de su hija, tratare de hacerla sentir comoda."
"I just don't want to have to put Luz through something like that," said Camila.
"I need to know what happened to Sasha!" yelled Mrs. Waybright getting up from the sofa and marching into the kitchen, her expression hovering between anger and sadness, "please….you at least owe me that!"
Luz thought quickly and came up with an idea, she stepped forward into the kitchen.
"Ms. Ventura," began Luz, "do you really need to hear from both of us? Would it be alright if I came and gave the statement by myself? Anne was there for a lot of it, and the two of us were together from the time Sasha left to when we headed home. Please…there's no reason for us both to have to relive what happened."
Luz turned towards Mrs. Waybright, "I promise I will tell you about the last time we saw Sasha."
Mrs. Waybright looked into Luz's eyes, pausing for a second before saying in a calm voice, "that's fine with me."
Detective Ventura looked hard at Luz, she was going to protest, as it was procedure to get a statement from all parties involved. It seemed that whatever it was that happened was traumatizing to the kids so Katie decided that for the sake of the families she would allow it, "yes that's fine."
"Do we have to go with you?" asked Luz, "or can mom and I just follow you there?"
"You can follow me," said Detective Ventura as she turned to Mrs. Waybright, "you can follow me too." She then gave both parents the address of the station they would be driving to. Luz and Camila gathered up their things and made their way to the door, as she passed Anne Luz gave her a smile, a smile that tried to convey that things would be alright. A part of Anne wanted to stop Luz and not let her go through with this, but another part of her trusted her and hoped that whatever plan Luz had would work.
Camila gave a similar smile to the Boonchuys trying to assure them that they would handle this, all of them had been caught off guard by the arrival of both Mrs. Waybright and Detective Ventura and none of them had any idea of how to handle them or what to say. With no real option, the Boonchuys decided to trust the Nocedas and hope for the best. Though right, as they were getting ready to leave a voice, called from upstairs.
"Is everything alright down there?" called Polly, "we haven't heard from you guys in a while."
Mrs. Waybright and Detective Ventura both turned to the stairs.
"Is someone else here?" asked the Detective.
"Uh yes," said Bee quickly moving himself to the stairs, "we have other guests over right now, they're not involved in what's going on right now.
"Who are these other guests?" asked Melissa with suspicion.
"Uh extended family from Thailand," said Oum nervously also moving to block the stairs.
"Yes exactly," said the voice of Hop-pop, in perfect English, "we're the Boonchuys long lost relatives coming to visit, but uh we're sick right now, so don't come up here." He coughed to try and sell the illusion.
Detective Ventura looked up the stairs suspiciously, "Thai relatives who speak perfect English?"
Thankfully Polly heard her and replied back trying to keep up the ruse.
"Xyū̀ h̄̀āng «reā pĕn rokh tidt̀x māk," called Polly downstairs.
Oum and Bee both smiled as they continued to stand in front of the stairs blocking access to them. Detective Ventura was still puzzled, but decided not to push the matter. She ushered the Nocedas and Melissa out the door and to their cars.
As Melissa made her way out the door and to her car though Oum walked up to her, wanting to say something.
"Melissa, wait…listen I'm sorry," said Oum in a sincere tone.
Melissa didn't reply she kept her back to Oum, "you're sorry….is that really all you have to say?"
"I…" began Oum, but Melissa cut her off.
"Our children have been friends for years," began Melissa, "we've trick or treated together, they've had birthdays, sleepovers, and end-of-the-year parties together. I invited you to my house, we had cookouts and dinner parties together. I've known you for years, I confided in you and told you that Chris and I were having problems…and you're sorry?!"
Oum couldn't think of what to say to that, she stayed there with a guilty look on her face, but after a few moments, she finally replied.
"I tried reaching out to you Melissa," said Oum in a sad desperate voice, "I asked you for a picture of Sasha for the flyer. I called you many times while you were going through the divorce and you never called me back. I tried to be there for you, but you wouldn't let me in. I really am sorry for not telling you Anne came back, but you've become distant from me."
Melissa thought about what Oum said, in the back of her mind she knew Oum was right, she knew that she had ignored her, and she recalled the missed calls and unanswered text messages that Oum had sent her. But she also didn't want to admit it, either to herself or Oum. She turned to look at Oum one more time, but then just as quickly turned away not saying anything.
As soon as Luz and her mother got into the car Camila made sure the doors were locked and the windows closed, she quickly turned on the radio trying to hide their conversation.
"Okay so we need to think of something," yelled Camila over the radio.
"Mom I can't hear you," said Luz talking over the noise of the radio. Camilla quickly turned it off.
"Sorry I just wanted to make sure they couldn't overhear our conversation," she said.
Luz gave her mother a look before saying, "we're in different cars, I think we're fine, but you're right we need to think of what I'm going to say."
"Mija…" began Camila seriously, "I know we have to keep the Plantar's existence secret, but….lying to the police, you know we could get in a lot of trouble for that…"
Luz listened to her mother, she knew she was right, her mind was racing as she tried to think of what to say, "they won't be able to find Marcy or Sasha, so whatever story I come up with should work as long as it's believable."
"Well the station isn't that far away, so we need to think fast," said Camila.
Luz leaned back and began thinking intently about what she was going to say…
Sprig and Amara had returned to their spot on the pier and continued playing music, the crowds were still large and many people stopped by to hear them play. Quite a few people gave them money, and for the most part, the two were having a good day. At one point a family of four came up to them, the father was a man with brown hair and blue eyes, and the woman had black hair as did both of her children. Sprig and Amara played a soft melodious piece that entranced the family of four. The father put some money in the hat so Sprig and Amara focused more on them. As the song came to an end Sprig bowed with a flourish to the family and they all clapped.
"Wow that was amazing!" said one of the kids, a boy who couldn't be much older than twelve, "you're really good with that harp."
"Thank you," said Amara kindly.
"I wanna learn how to play an instrument someday," said the other kid, a girl a bit younger.
"Well you know I can pay for lessons for you," said the father getting down to look the young girl in her eyes, "is there any instrument you're thinking of?"
"Wait, can I learn to play one too?" asked the boy jumping in.
"Of course, you can, if that's what you want," said the father.
"Chris….you don't need to offer that," said the woman.
"Oh I don't mind it at all Sarah," said the father with a large smile on his face, "your kids should have the opportunity to explore their talents." He turned to Sprig.
"How long did it take you to learn to play that violin?" he asked.
"Not long," answered Sprig, "I started learning when I was eight and now I'm ten. I almost won a contest a few months ago."
"Wow you're only ten," said the boy coming closer to Sprig and looking at him more intently, his smile faded as he studied Sprig, "hey what's up with your face, you look a bit different."
Sprig gulped and began to sweat as he thought his cover might be blown, luckily the father came over and pulled the boy back.
"Now, now Nathan," said the father, "leave the young boy alone, I'm sure there's a perfectly good reason for him to be wearing that mask.
"Your hair is really pretty," said the girl coming up to Amara, "I hope I can have hair that long someday."
"Thank you," said Amara getting down to look the girl in the eye, as she did the girl began to look at her strangely. She seemed to notice that something was up with her face, and gave the newt a look. Amara noticed this and quickly pulled her face back.
"Well that was fun," said the father, "now who's ready for a day at the beach?"
"WE ARE!" said the kids in unison turning back to the father and running up to him. The woman put her arm around him. The group walked a short distance away and set up their gear on the beach. A few moments later Amara and Sprig heard a voice call out to them.
"Oh thank goodness you're both okay," said Anne rushing over to them out of breath.
"Well yeah of course we're fine," said Sprig, he held up the hat, "check out all the money we made."
Anne's eyes actually lit up at seeing the amount, "wow, and I thought I did good by just being a freak in a frog world. But anyway we need to go home."
"Why what's wrong?" asked Amara.
"I'll explain on the way, but for now let's…" Anne trailed off as she looked past the two and saw the family setting up their site on the beach, recognizing the father.
"Oh do you know him?" asked Sprig, "he seems really nice, and gave us a big tip."
Anne paused before saying, "yeah I do know him, uh can you both wait here a minute? I need to talk to him."
With that Anne walked forward to where the family was setting up, as she got closer she finally called out to him.
"Mr. Waybright?" she said in an unsure voice, the man turned around his eyes finding Anne.
"Oh Anne, is that you?" he said in a cheerful tone, "well I'm sure you're parents must be happy to see you again. How are you?"
Anne paused caught off guard by the happiness in Mr. Waybright's voice, "uh I'm fine, but aren't you a little surprised to see me?"
"So you decided to come back from wherever you ran away to?" he asked in a somewhat smug voice, "did Sasha come back too?"
"Uh no she didn't," said Anne, "I thought you'd be more concerned about where she is."
Mr. Waybright made a motion with his hand to the woman he was with (who was quite a few years younger than him) to help the kids and get them ready while he talked with Anne.
"Anne….a lot happened while you were gone," he said, "Melissa and I aren't together anymore. As for Sasha, well I was disappointed that you, her, and the others all chose to run away."
"But Mr. Waybright-" began Anne.
"I'd done my best to provide for Sasha," said Mr. Waybright, "I've worked extra long hours, donated money to the school, and let her have all those sleepovers at my house and she still chooses to run away. I mean that really is a slap in the face isn't it?"
"No…that's not what," stammered Anne, "we didn't run away!"
"You didn't?" asked Mr. Waybright looking hard at Anne, "then what happened?"
Anne seized up, she knew she couldn't tell him the truth, yet she couldn't think of what to say. She took so long to come up with an explanation that Mr. Waybright spoke again.
"Ah I see," he said, anger in his voice, "you did run away and now you don't want to admit it."
Anne looked up into his face she couldn't think of what to say in response to that.
"You know the old me would be angry at that," began Mr. Waybright, "but the new me has had a lot of time to think and reflect. I've come to the realization that if Sasha wasn't happy in my house and wanted to run away then there's nothing I can do about it. I've let go of the past and now I'm only concerned about the present. Melissa and I may have had a rough divorce but that's all in the past. Now I found Sarah, she has her own kids who need a father figure in their life. And hey these kids seem much more appreciative of the things I can provide so it's all good!"
Anne was stunned to hear that, she looked up into Mr. Waybrights face unable to believe he had just said that.
"Aren't you even a little bit concerned for Sasha?" she asked in disbelief.
"Anne, I told you I've moved on," said Mr. Waybright in a calm tone, "I'm not someone who's going to be stuck in the past. Sasha is gone and well I can't change that, it's best to move on and try to live my life. I've been listening to some great videos that talk all about that. They say how you need to think positively, smile even when things are going bad, don't cry, don't be negative, and honestly this advice has worked wonders for me! Did you know that you can manifest things that you want in life just by thinking of them? Well, I used that advice and I managed to get myself a new more appreciative family. Now I'm happy all the time and I don't think about Sasah or what happened between me and Melissa. That's all in the past and frankly, I don't want to talk about it, so that's the end of this discussion."
"But Mr. Waybright," began Anne.
Chris Waybright held up his hand in the same way Sasha had done in the past, "end of discussion."
Mr. Waybright turned away from Anne and back towards his new family. He smiled as he picked up the girl and spun her around. Anne just stood there mouth agape unable to believe what she had just heard. She stayed there for so long that Sprig and Amara eventually came over to check on her.
"Anne are you okay?" asked Sprig concerned.
"Yeah," lied Anne still in shock over what Mr. Waybright had said. She continued to stare at him as he played with the kids, treating them as though they were his own. The more she looked at him the more contempt she felt for him. Finally, she turned towards Sprig and Amara.
"Let's go home. I need to fill you both in on what happened."
"Remember Mija, just stick to the story and everything will be fine," said Camila to Luz. The two of them were sitting in a police interrogation room. They were clearly nervous looking around them, but Camilla put her hand on Luz's shoulder trying to calm her down. After a few more minutes, the door opened and Detective Ventura entered.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," she said as she began to set up a camera and point it at Luz and her mother, "I know this has been a very trying time for the two of you, and I understand that you may not want to talk about everything that happened, but it's my job as a detective to conduct this interview. Anything you tell us might be able to help us find Sasah and Marcy, also I want to reiterate you aren't in any sort of trouble Luz or Camilla."
"I just want to say I'm sorry for not coming to you immediately when my daughter returned, I didn't realize I had to," said Camilla in a nervous voice.
Detective Ventura looked at Camilla then spoke in Spanish, "Se que estabas sintiendo muchas cosas cuando encontraste a su hija. No te preocupes, pero tendremos hablar ahora." Again she looked at Luz.
"Estas bien?" she asked, "quieres algo de tomar?"
"No, estoy bien," said Luz, "ahora quiero empezar."
"Great! Let me just finish setting up this camera," began Detective Ventura, "and Luz I want you to know that I'm not here to judge you for your actions. Me and the rest of the officers working on this case just want to know what happened so that we have a clear picture. Also, we want to do our best to try and help find Sasha and Marcy so anything you can remember no matter how trivial could be helpful to us. Do you understand?"
"Yes I understand ma'am," said Luz meeting Detective Ventura's gaze.
"Good girl Luz," said the Detective in a calming manner, she finished setting up the camera and turned it on, she then took a seat opposite of Luz and her mother.
"Now whenever you're ready I'd like you to tell me what happened after the four of you ran away."
Luz looked one more time at her mother, who gave her a reassuring smile before looking back at the Detective.
"Okay…" said Luz slowly, "here's what happened…Sasha wanted to run away, she asked Marcy, Anne, and I to join her. She said her parents were toxic and she wanted to get away from that."
As Luz said that she cast a glance at the two-way mirror, wondering what Mrs. Waybright was thinking. She continued.
"So the four of us met up after school in the park by that old antique shop. Sasha had seen an old box there that had some gems in it and said we could use that to get money for our trip. She pressured Anne to steal it from the store…"
Luz stopped as she said this, looking between her mother and Detective Ventura, she also cast a glance towards the mirror in the room, she knew Mrs. Waybright was behind there listening to everything she was saying. While this part of the story was mostly true (based on what Anne had told her) she still felt bad saying it knowing that Mrs. Waybright was listening.
"Uh Anne's not going to get in trouble for this right?" asked Luz nervously.
"I wouldn't worry about that for now," said the Detective, "but you should perhaps try and make things right with the store owner when you can."
"Right," said Luz, "any way we sold that box for some cash and then we headed out of LA. We got bus tickets and went north, past Fresno. Eventually, we found a homeless encampment where we decided to stay for a bit. We were going to continue traveling north, but we got separated from Sasha and Marcy."
"One second," said Detective Ventura interrupting Luz, "while you were gone did you turn your phones off? We tried seeing if there was any activity from you four on social media or something we could use to estimate your location."
"Yeah we turned our phones off," said Luz, "Anne and I both had some stored videos and music on us so we kept them to watch that. The area we were in had no cell service, that's probably why you couldn't find us."
"Okay, continue," said Detective Ventura.
"As I said we lost track of Sasha and Marcy, but we decided to stay and look for them," said Luz, "we stayed in the encampment for a long time. Eventually, we got taken in by a family who owned a small farm."
"What was their name?" asked Detective Ventura.
Luz hesitated before replying, "They were called the…Potters. Anyway, we stayed with them for a while until we found Marcy again. For a long time, the three of us were fine and we worked on the farm the Potters even paid us some money to help them. Then we found Sasha, and that's when things went bad…"
From behind the two-way mirror, Mrs. Waybright breathed heavily.
"Sasha had found some…new friends," said Luz, "and it turns out this group had some sort of dispute with the Potters and wanted to take over their farm. Well, that's what Sasha and Anne fought about, Sasha tried to convince Anne to come over to her side and well, things got pretty heated."
Luz took a pause before continuing.
"A big fight broke out between us, and the gang Sasha was with," said Luz, "we tried to defend ourselves against them but they were too strong. Anne and Sasha fought and it was pretty bad. While that was happening Marcy and I tried to distract the others, but their leader, they called him the King found us. We tried to get away but…"
Luz thought she would have to fake cry in order to sell the next part of her story, but as the memories came flooding back and she remembered seeing Marcy get stabbed by King Andrias the tears began to flow from her eyes.
"He…he stabbed Marcy," cried Luz her face full of tears, "he stabbed her and…." Luz didn't finish her story as she cried louder bringing her hands up to her face. Detective Ventura felt terrible as she saw Luz cry. Camilla glared at her.
"Okay we're done here," she said firmly, taking Luz into her arms, "if there's anything more you need we can talk on the phone."
Detective Ventura wanted to protest, but couldn't bring herself to do it seeing Luz break down like that. She gave a nod to Camilla and the two exited the room. She stopped the camera from recording and let out a heavy sigh.
As Luz and her mother left the interrogation room, they stopped by Mrs. Waybright. Luz composed herself enough to talk a little bit more.
"Anne and I managed to get away," she said to Melissa, "but that was the last time we saw Sasha, after that we got scared and decided to come back home. I'm sorry neither of us knows where Sasha or Marcy is."
Melissa took a long pause before speaking, "so Sasha fought against you…I…I can't believe it! I…why would she do that?"
Luz and Camila looked at each other, not sure what to say in response.
"Chris and I were having marital problems," she said in a defeated voice, "I thought we had managed to hide that from Sasha but…I guess not. Still, I never thought she'd fight against Anne, those two have been inseparable since kindergarten. Even if Sasha wanted to get away from me I thought for sure nothing could break the friendship she had with Anne….was it my fault?"
"No of course not," said Luz quickly. Though her words didn't seem to change Mrs. Waybright's mind, as her face began to tear up. She turned and walked out of the station. As she got to her car she heard a voice call out to her.
"Melissa wait," said the voice, she turned to see Camila coming up to her. She managed to compose herself.
"Listen, I…I wanted to say I'm sorry," said Camila, "we haven't known each other that long but I still kept the fact that Luz was back from you, so I wanted to say I'm sorry."
Melissa wiped her face, "you're right we haven't known each other that long, not nearly as long as I've known the Boonchuys, which is why I'm angrier at them than you."
"Please I understand why you're mad at Oum and Bee, but they were trying to spare your feelings," said Camila, "they didn't want you to know about the fight between Anne and Sasha, that doesn't make it right, but I hope you at least understand that."
Melissa stood there a long time absorbing what Camila had said, before she left she replied, "Camila…be grateful your daughter is back, don't take her for granted."
When Melissa arrived home she opened the door and put down her things. She slowly walked from the door upstairs, passed by Sasha's room opened the door, and looked inside. The room looked pristine, the bed made, no dirty clothes on the floor, the desk clean, yet the site made her even sadder as she missed the feel of the room being lived in. For a second Mrs. Waybright imagined seeing Sasha there in her room sitting on her bed, looking at her phone, or maybe even practicing her guitar. Melissa had gotten annoyed with her in the past for playing too loud and would knock on her door telling her to take it down. Now the quiet and stillness of the room seemed to mock her.
Melissa moved on from Sasha's room to her own and sat down on her bed. She let out a heavy sigh as she tried to unwind from this long and stressful day. Seeing Anne again had for a moment given her hope that Sasha was back. While she regretted how she had yelled at Anne, she was just so desperate to see her daughter again that she hadn't thought straight. She also regretted ignoring Oum and her attempts to reach out to her. Finally, she wondered if she was responsible for Sasha's actions, was her teaching Sasha how to manipulate boys wrong? Should she have paid more attention to her? Was there anything she could have done to prevent this? She leaned over to her bedside table and pulled over a picture. It had been taken a long time ago when Sasha was only a baby. In the picture Melissa was holding onto the young Sasha and Chris was right beside her, all three of them were smiling at the camera. The reminder of a happier time in the past made her emotional. She looked a long time at the picture before saying,
"Oh Sasha, I promise if you come back things will be different…I'm so sorry…"
She brought the photo close to her chest and clutched it tightly, wishing beyond hope that it was the real Sasha. As she held the photo tighter she began to cry….
It had been a few days since Melissa Waybright had shown up at Anne's house. After everything that had happened, Anne was feeling particularly miserable and had gone for a walk. She stopped at a park that was not far from her house and sat down on an empty bench. Anne began to recall a moment from right before she had come back to Earth.
"What about her parents?" asked Marcy, "we're going to have to tell them something?"
Anne thought for a bit before replying, "we'll tell them she died."
Anne inwardly flinched as she recalled what she had said in regard to wanting to leave Sasha behind in Amphibia. It made her feel even worse knowing that as of now Sasha was stuck there with no way back and seeing Mrs. Waybright's reaction to her missing daughter made her feel terrible. Anne buried her face in her hands as she thought about what she had said, clearly regretting it. This memory however gave way to another that made her feel worse.
"Oh hey Olivia is the punishment for treason here death?" asked Anne, "cause if you execute Sasha then we wouldn't have to lie!"
The group all looked horrified at Anne's suggestion.
As Anne thought about what she had said she began to hate herself for even suggesting that Sasha be executed. She was glad that she had been talked out of it as she doubted she could look Mrs. Waybright in the eye if they had gone through with it. Yet the fact that she had suggested it at all made Anne feel terrible. Finally, she recalled the last thing she had said about Sasha
"No!" interrupted Anne loudly, "I don't ever want to see or speak to Sasha again! I HATE HER!"
Tears finally began falling out of her eyes as she recalled the anger in her voice as she declared her hatred for Sasha. She could almost see herself yelling that last part. Anne realized that while she didn't say that to Sasha's face the two had still parted on bad terms with her telling Sasha she wanted nothing to do with her anymore once they got back home. After that, the whole fight with Andrias happened and Anne hadn't spoken to her during the fight. The last thing Sasha had said was that she, Grime, and Lilly would hold off Andrias while Anne and the others escaped. The more she thought about it the more she regretted what she had said about Sasha in private. As Anne continued to dwell on these thoughts she heard a voice call out to her.
"Hey," called Luz, waving at Anne. Sprig and Amara were with her. Anne waved back and the three approached the bench she was seated on joining her.
"Your mom told us you were here," said Sprig, "are you okay?"
Anne thought for a moment before replying, "no, I'm not."
Luz, Sprig, and Amara came up to her and put their arms around her.
"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Luz.
"I…I was just remembering something I said about Sasha," said Anne slowly, "I was so angry at her at the time that I said something terrible."
"You did?" asked Luz confused.
Amara and Sprig looked at each other as they realized something, "Oh that's right, you were still unconscious when this happened," said Sprig.
"I guess Anne hadn't yet told you what she said about Sasha while you were out," observed Amara.
"Yeah you're right," said Anne realizing the same thing, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to keep it from you Luz, but I guess it slipped my mind."
"What did you say about Sasha?" asked Luz.
Anne pause before speaking, "listen before I say this I want you to know I was really angry at her. And I was also really worried about you. You were unconscious, you had almost died, and I wasn't in a good state of mind."
Luz took Anne's hands into her own looking her in her eyes, "I understand, tell me what you said."
Anne let out a sigh before saying, "I suggested leaving her in Amphibia to face execution for what she had done, also I said that I…I said I hated her." Anne turned away from Luz as she said that last part, but it was only a moment later that she felt Luz hug her. Anne hugged Luz back the two stayed together for a while before Anne spoke again.
"Seeing Mrs. Waybright so worried about Sasha, I just…I felt so bad that I had ever even thought that, how could I ever look her in the face if Sasha had actually died?"
"You were angry at her," said Amara trying to help Anne, "and that's okay. I honestly think you never would have gone through with something like that even if given the chance."
Anne turned to look at Amara and smiled.
"Anne I understand," said Luz, "I don't think you actually meant it, and well…at the very least you didn't tell Sasha you hated her to her face."
"I still wanted to hurt her for what she did to you," said Anne, "at that moment I felt nothing but hate for her."
"That's why it's important to have friends who understand you," said Amara, "when you feel those raw moments of anger, despair, or grief. Having someone who can talk to you and help you work through those emotions is necessary. Remember it was Sprig here who talked you out of it." Sprig jumped up to Anne's lap.
"I get it you were angry," began Sprig, "but I know you, Anne, you're a sweet, caring, loving person. I know deep down you would never want to intentionally hurt anyone, even if they deserved it. That's why I said what I said at that time."
Anne reached down and hugged Sprig, while Sprig returned the hug. Amara and Luz smiled.
"Is that all that's bothering you?" asked Luz, "Amara told me how you saw Sasha's dad at the beach."
"Yeah he was there," said Anne, before bitterly adding, "with his new family…"
Luz flinched at that, "I still can't believe that he didn't seem to care about Sasha."
"Well he didn't," said Anne her voice heavy with bitterness, "I didn't see him much when Sasha and I hung out but he always seemed happy to be with her. Sasha looked forward to spending time with him because he was always so busy with work, and now to hear him say that he doesn't care about her….I just….ARRRRGGG!" Anne let out a yell of frustration not knowing what else to say.
"I haven't known her parents as long as you have," said Luz, "but the few times I met them they seemed like good people. Mrs. Waybright yelled a lot the other day, but I think that was only because she was so worried about Sasha."
"After seeing how her father reacted I'm at least glad that she still cares about Sasha," said Anne.
"It sounds to me like Mr. Waybright doesn't want to admit that this whole thing happened," said Amara, "my guess is that's the reason he was so keen to "find a new family." I think he really does miss Sasha a lot and he's just trying to fill the void."
"That's still pretty messed up though," said Sprig, "getting a new family to "replace" his old one. It hasn't even been a year that Sasha's been gone."
"I'm starting to think that Sasha didn't have the best home life," said Amara, "I wonder if that's the reason why she acted the way she did," continued Amara. The group all looked at each other as they considered this.
"Whatever happens, when we get back we've got to find her," said Luz, "even if our friendship with her can't be fixed, Mrs. Waybright shouldn't have to suffer because of that."
"You're right Luz," said Anne, "if nothing else we'll make sure and get Sasha home so that her mom can see her again. But honestly, I hope that we can fix our friendship! I hope after everything that's happened Sasha will change. I don't want to sound naïve, I just…I just want to have her as a friend again."
Luz nodded to Anne giving her a reassuring look.
Detective Ventura walked into the station a bit more hopeful, she had managed to contact the driver who had picked up the girls when they arrived back in LA and was hoping to speak with him to see if he could provide any more insight into what had happened. The last text she had received from him had stated that he was already here and waiting for her at her desk. A few minutes later though she arrived at her desk and didn't see anyone there.
"Hey, was someone waiting for me at my desk?" she asked a fellow cop.
"Oh yeah, he was," replied the cop, "but I guess you didn't hear."
"Hear what?" asked the Detective.
The officer paused before replying, "The Feds are here."
"The Feds?" said Ventura in a huff, "fine time for them to show up. I forwarded all the information regarding the case to their department of missing persons months ago, and now all of a sudden they're getting back to me!"
The officer shrugged his shoulders.
"But anyway what do the feds being here have to do with my witness?" asked Ventura.
"Oh, they took him to interrogation," answered the officer.
"What?!" said Ventura, "he's not a suspect."
"So I'd like to hear more about when you picked up those girls," asked the agent, a tall bald man dressed in a purple suit with white pants.
"I found them off the 10 freeway," said the Lyft Driver, "we talked for a bit, and I realized they were the girls who I'd seen on that missing person's flyer and I drove them home."
"And were they alone when you found them," asked the agent
The Lyft Driver paused before answering, "they were alone, there wasn't anyone else with them."
"Are you sure about that?" asked the agent his eyes narrowing on the Lyft Driver.
The Lyft Driver was about to respond but at that moment the door to the interrogation room opened and Detective Ventura entered.
"What is going on here?" she asked indignantly.
The agent turned towards Katie, "oh good the local cop is here, why don't you be a dear and get me some coffee?"
"I am a detective," exclaimed Ventura pulling out her badge and showing it to the agent. The agent gave it a quick dismissive look.
"Perhaps you are not aware but I'm with the FBI," said the agent in a smug voice pulling out his own badge and showing it to Ventura. The detective looked at the badge.
"Mr. X?" she said scanning the badge closely, "what department are you with? I don't see one on your badge."
"That's on a need-to-know basis," answered Mr. X, "as of right now I'm in the middle of something."
"As am I" exclaimed Katie, "I'm trying to solve a case here. You know I asked for help from the Feds several times throughout the course of this investigation and all I got was a shrug and a "we'll keep an eye out for your missing kids." Why is the FBI only now taking an interest in this case?"
"Is everything okay?" asked the Lyft Driver. The agent turned back toward him.
"Yes, everything is fine," said Mr. X, barely acknowledging the detective, "So where were we? Ah yes, I want you to think carefully before answering. Now when you found the two girls was there anyone else with them?"
The Lyft Driver looked nervous but once again answered, "no, there wasn't, it was just Luz and Anne."
Mr. X looked hard at the Lyft Driver, "do I need to remind you, sir, that lying to an FBI agent is a crime!" He slammed his hand on the table for emphasis scaring the Lyft Driver. Mr. X moved closer to him so that he was right in his face.
"Do you want to be charged with obstruction for lying to an officer?!" he threatened.
"That's enough!" shouted Katie, "what does this have to do with anything?"
Mr. X turned toward the detective furrowing his brow, "may I speak with you outside please?"
The two left the room leaving a nervous Lyft Driver behind.
"Listen very carefully to me detective," said Mr. X once the two were alone, "I don't appreciate being interrupted like that, let's not forget who's hirer on the chain of command here. If you have questions for this witness you can ask him after I'm done. I've been briefed on the particulars of your missing person's case as well as the fact that two of the missing girls recently turned up so I know what I'm doing."
"Oh do you?" asked Katie sarcastically, "because making threats against a witness who was already cooperating with us hardly seems like a good tactic in my book!"
"How long have you been on the force?" asked Mr. X.
"Five years," answered Katie with confidence.
"Well I would think that someone with your years of expertise would know that sometimes you need to be firm with a witness and scare them into telling you what you need to know," said Mr. X, "especially when we might be dealing with something far bigger here!"
Detective Ventura paused before asking, "what do you mean by that?"
Mr. X paused before saying, "that's on a need-to-know basis. What I need to know is whether the girls were alone or not."
"What's all this about someone else with the girls then?" asked Katie, "why is this the first time that I'm hearing about this?"
"I would assume it's because you didn't bother to do your own research," said Mr. X smugly, "or rather your research was sloppy. Now if you don't mind I need to finish my interview with this witness, feel free to question him yourself when I'm done."
Ventura was taken aback by that comment, she thought about saying something in response but managed to bite her tongue as Mr. X went back inside the interrogation room. She went over to the two-way mirror to look inside.
"So before we were rudely interrupted you were telling me that you don't remember seeing anyone with the girls when you found them," said Mr. X.
"That's correct," said the Lyft Driver nervously.
Mr. X looked hard at him, "Did you see anything else when you picked them up? Something perhaps out of the ordinary? Unusual?
The Lyft Driver did his best to put on a brave face, he knew about the frog people who were with the girls but also remembered his promise not to expose them. The fact that it was an FBI agent asking about them further put him on guard.
"No sir," he said in a plain tone, "there was no one else with the girls when I picked them up."
Mr. X looked at him for a long time, perhaps hoping that his stare would break him, but the Lyft Driver didn't say anything else. Finally, he decided to move on.
"You were at the Santa Anita mall on the day of the reported robot sighting were you not? In fact, I think you work in the store where that robot was sighted correct?"
"Robot sighting?" said the Lyft Driver, "I'm afraid I don't know anything about that."
"Really, that seems strange," said Mr. X, "especially since the apparent sighting took place right outside the store you work at."
"I got knocked out by something, maybe it was a robot, but I honestly don't know, all I know was that when I came to the store was trashed. I got blamed for that by the way and almost got fired," said the Lyft Driver.
Mr. X brought up a picture on his phone, and he showed it to the Lyft Driver, "so you're sure you didn't see this robot in the mall? A few witnesses managed to take a picture of it, I think it might have been what trashed your store."
The Lyft Driver looked hard at the image. It was a photo of a tall metallic creature, it was gray in color, with long lanky arms and mean red eyes. Something about its appearance seemed to remind him of a frog.
"No I didn't see anything like that," said the Lyft Driver. Again Mr. X looked hard at him, and after a few moments, he spoke.
"Have you perhaps seen it elsewhere?" he asked, "There's been other reported sightings of this robot mostly around Pasadena, Monrovia, and Arcadia." Mr. X brought up some other pictures on his phone and quickly scrolled through them showing them to the Lyft Driver. The photos all showed what looked to be the same robot in other locations, though it wasn't always clear as many of them were from far away or not properly focused on the robot. The Lyft Driver looked at these images before responding.
"No, I haven't seen this robot either at the mall or anywhere else."
"Well, that's all I have for now then, If I think of anything else I'll be sure to be in touch, and it should go without saying, but just in case, please keep what we've talked about to yourself." With that, the agent exited the room as he did his phone rang and he answered it.
"X speaking," he said into the phone, "Jenners what is it, dearie? Oh really…hmmm okay I'll take a look at it when I have time. I just finished my interview with the witness who found the girls but he says he doesn't remember seeing anyone with them. Oh is it ready now? Then yes please send it to me."
Mr. X waited, and a moment later an alert on his phone informed him that he had received a photo. He opened his phone and found the photo that had been sent to him. He moved over to where Detective Ventura was.
"Tell me, detective," began X showing her the photo, "what do you see here?"
Katie stared at the image, it was a still traffic cam image from the 10 freeway in Los Angeles, she looked closely and saw Anne and Luz moving across the highway, but they weren't alone, there were four other figures with her and they looked different…
"Is this Anne and Luz?" she asked puzzled.
"It sure looks like them," said Mr. X, "but they aren't alone, are they? What do you make of those other figures with her?"
Katie starred hard at the image, unless her eyes were deceiving her, it almost looked like there was a group of humanoid frogs and a large newt with them.
"I…I honestly don't know," she said.
"Well now you see why the Feds are interested in this case," said Mr. X smugly, "I don't know what they are either, but rest assured we will find out the truth."
His phone rang again, and he answered it.
"What is it Jenners?" he asked impatiently, "….hmmm I see, alright then. I'll be on the first flight I can. When I get back we'll review the evidence and plan our next course of action." He hung up his phone and turned to the Detective.
"It seems my bosses in Washington want me back, there's a lot to discuss with regard to this case. But once we have a more clear direction I'm sure I'll be back. I think you now realize that this is about more than just four missing girls Ms. Ventura," said Mr. X.
"That's Detective Ventura," said Katie making sure to emphasize the "detective" part.
"Yeah sure sweetie," said Mr. X dismissively, "I'll make sure and let you know when I'm back in town, wouldn't want to step on your toes again. But consider this! Four girls up and vanish with no trace whatsoever, in most circumstances this would be written off as just one of many missing person cases reported each year. But then two of the girls show back up unexpectedly, and soon after that there start to be strange sightings of unexplained phenomena all over LA, is that really a coincidence or is there more going on that you can't explain."
Katie Ventura stood there not sure how exactly to respond to that, she looked one more time at the image her eyes focusing on the nonhuman figures in it.
"Here I'll send you a copy so you can keep studying it," said Mr. X grabbing back his phone, "but keep it under wraps for now." He sent a copy to her phone, her phone alerting her."
"I never gave you my phone number," said Detective Ventura in surprise.
Mr. X gave her a look before saying, "FBI, remember? We know everything!" He glanced back inside the interrogation room at the Lyft Driver, before bringing up his phone again
"Speaking of which I happen to know quite a bit about him," he said, "would you believe he went to a prestigious acting academy at eighteen? The same one that Paul Rudd, Anne Hathaway, and Dany Devito went to, yet here he is working menial jobs today. His parents must be so proud."
Detective Ventura looked at the Lyft Driver, wondering if what Mr. X had told her was true.
"Oh one more thing," said Mr. X as he made his way out, "you recorded the interview with the Noceda girl right? I'll need you to forward a copy of that to me, don't forget." He looked one more time at the door to the interrogation room before saying, "feel free to ask him whatever, though now that you know the truth, well I wonder if you will."
With that Mr. X left. Detective Ventura looked between her phone and the Lyft Driver still sitting in the interrogation room wondering what to do. After a few minutes, she went inside.
"Is everything okay?" asked the Lyft Driver.
"Yeah, it's fine," replied Katie, "actually we're done here for now, let me uh escort you to your car."
"Oh that's not necessary," said the Lyft Driver getting up.
"Yes it is," said the Detective in a firm voice. She followed him out of the station to the police parking lot where his car was. Finally, when they were alone she asked.
"Listen, I need to ask you something…off the record."
The Lyft Driver gave her a look.
"Look, I want to ask you something, not as a cop, and I know it might be hard to trust me but I hope you can," said Detective Ventura.
For a long time, the Lyft Driver didn't say anything, though finally, he responded, "what is it?"
"Was there anyone else with the girls when you found them?" she asked, "again I'm asking off the record, I won't put your answer in any report or anything official, nor will I tell anyone, especially that FBI guy."
"Why do you want to ask me this off the record?" asked the Lyft Driver.
"Because I do," said the Detective, "if I wanted to I could have asked back at the station and tried to force the truth out of you, but I didn't. I hope that will convince you to trust me."
The Lyft Driver looked at the Detective for a long while before finally deciding to answer her question.