Erin Grammar - Magic Mutant Nightmare Girl

Chocolate icing stained my dress an hour before I got drenched in blue blood and a pinch of magic. When we stood to leave, I saw the blob and shrieked. Every head in the fancy Italian restaurant spun to gawk at me as I ran for the back with my best friend close behind. Distraction gripped me. Thats why Id dropped birthday cake on the cream-colored skirt of my favorite dress. And I had no trouble blaming the creepy old woman for my mistake.

I shoved my bangs up with my big headbow, and dunked the fabric near my knees into the bathrooms only sink.

Chi Ho juggled my belongings, swatting and snarling at the socialites invading our space. Her beauty drew them like bugs to a Venus flytrap. No one knew shed snap until they got too close.

I scratched at the thick layer of butter and sugar with the rhinestone manicure she gave me. Chunks dissolved to reveal the print beneathgolden ballerinas on marionette strings.

Two soft hands tapped my shoulder as Chi Ho held hers on top of the fuzzy white paw of my designer purse. Usakumya, the white rabbit with crimson eyes whose name Id kept from his Japanese manufacturer, bounced a sympathetic glance against the mirror. He nuzzled my cheek with the help of his mischievous puppeteer.

She sang a squeaky question for him. Are you sure youre okay?

No. I hadnt been since we left Visions of Serenity Nails and Spa, because thats when her grandmother latched onto my elbow by the door.

Tonight, her warning rasped. Dont go through the alleyway!

The amateur psychic thought wrong when she assumed cryptic advice made a good present for someone turning eighteen. I expected a card, or a handful of confetti. Not a verbal smack in the face and the devastating unease that followed. Instead of a star on the cats in hats calendar by the front desk, perhaps shed written a secret message in characters I couldnt read: Third Wednesday in October, be sure to ruin Hollys big day.

What Nai Nai said I mumbled.

Chi Hos face replaced Usakumyas. She rolled her eyes. Are you still stuck on that? I love her, but shes kooky. Stop worrying about it.

I shut off the faucet. I know, but

Look. She reached for the wall dispenser and handed me a gigantic wad of paper towels. If she could really see the future, dont you think shed be playing Powerball numbers instead of running a nail salon? Who wants to work? Are you spacing? We live in San Francisco now. Its not like the Midwest. Telling you to avoid alleyways is like saying stay inside when its raining, or dont pay too much for coffee. Its bullshit. Impossible. Even if you asked exactly what she meant, you know shed never tell you. Thats her shtick.

The food in my stomach churned like cement in a mixer. I dried off, spritzed myself with the free perfume sitting on the counter, and tried to hide my uncertainty. Adopting a brave face, I puffed out my chest, locked eyes with my reflection, and reminded myself fortune tellers werent real. Superpowers didnt exist, except in the mushy minds of people who believed in Elvis conspiracies. Or that trees had souls.

You know what she says about me. All that crap about destiny. She mimicked her grandmothers prophetic trance. You will be the seeing eyes of a great soldier. Yeah, right. I wish my life was that interesting.

Nai Nai being full of it didnt make me feel better. Id known Chi Ho since kindergarten, and her personality never strayed far from outgoing, protective, kind when it suited her, and independent to a fault. No one but her grandmother wouldve described her as perceptive.

I swallowed my doubt and forced a smile. Well, at least we know that isnt me.

She laughed as we wheeled around to leave and found a crowd waiting to wash their hands.

They blocked the door with arms crossed. The woman in front gave me a nasty once-over and sneered.

About time, princess. Dont you know its not Halloween yet?

Chi Ho bared her teeth. The bloodthirsty twinkle in her deep brown eyes crackled as I pulled her away before she could defend me.

The same question pelted us from speeding cars once every five minutes on our walk to the restaurant. A few brave drivers even leaned out their windows to get a better glimpse of me as they flew by, and then promptly slammed their breaks at the next red light. My shy and anxious nature meant she always spoke for me in social situations, but I wasnt in the mood for a fight. I didnt blame the stranger for her mean remark. Id have heard it anyway, hogging the sink or not.

I chose my fate by adopting the over-the-top Harajuku style that transformed me from another boring white girl in sneakers to a cross between Disneys Alice and a Rococo debutante. People assumed I wore cosplay since I looked like a powerful magical girl. My favorite dresses waltzed into my life when I found a Japanese fashion magazine in my old schools library. Pouring over its glossy pages became my reward for finishing mountains of homework each night, and I never returned the sacred text.