Molli Fitc - Merlin The Magical Fluff. Merlin Fights A Ghost. Merlin Kills A Zombie

1. MERLIN THE MAGICAL FLUFF

1

My name is Gracie Springs, and Ive always been a pretty normal girl. I work as a barista while working toward my masters degree in Sociology. Ive finished all my coursework but still havent landed upon the perfect thesis topic. And I cant earn my degree until I do.

Oops.

Meanwhile I live in a small suburban town in Southern Georgia called Elderberry Heights. And the name fits it to aT, because most of my neighbors are somewhere north of seventy years old. Im living in my grandma Graces house, which she left behind when she chose to move south to a trendy retirement community in the Florida Keys.

She gave me the home where she raised my father and all my uncles, saying it was my early inheritance and that Id always been her favorite, anywayand not just because we shared a name.

She left all her furniture and decor, which means my house has at least three dozen hand-crocheted doilies and the living room is made up of brown floral couches and honey oak side tables. I dont have the heartor the moneyto change anything.

Grandma Grace also left me this ragamuffin cat that turned up at her doorstep only days before shed been scheduled to move out and me to move in. The vet says hes a Maine Coon. I say hes much larger than any cat should ever be, especially considering all that stripey fur that poofs out from his body and makes him look like a literal fluff ball.

I guess thats why I named him Fluffy.

Keeping a cat I hadnt wanted was a small price to pay for being handed a free house, and over time Fluffy has started to grow on me. Hes not exactly the cuddly type. In fact, every time, Ive tried to pick him up, hes gone for blood. And succeeded in getting it twice.

I dont try to pick him up anymore, but if I sit really still and pretend Im not interested, sometimes hell help himself to my lap. Once he even purred.

Fluffy does love food and often takes a bite of whatever Im having for dinner. He also enjoys running up and down the hallways in the middle of the night like a creature possessed.

I hadnt meant for him to be an outdoor cat, but hes such a good escape artist that eventually I just installed a pet door so I wouldnt have to worry about it, anymore.

That brings me to this morning

I was running late for work, thanks to having a particularly difficult time following a new makeup tutorial from my favorite beauty Tuber. In the end, I scrubbed off the whole thing and went with a smoky eye and nude lip. Thatd teach me to try something new so close to the start of my shift.

Especially since my mean old boss would take any excuse to dock my pay. Hes still bitter that a popular franchised cafe moved in a couple streets away and cut his profits considerably. But hes also stubborn and not quite ready to admit defeat, which is why hes kept the whole staff on while slashing our hours and looking for any excuse to pay us less.

Great guy, that boss of mine.

I hadnt seen Fluffy since breakfast and wanted to make sure everything was okay with him before taking off for my shift.

Fluffy! Fluffy! Here, kitty, kitty! I called and clicked my tongue, but he didnt come running. He never comes running. Its always up to me to find him.

And so I looked under the bed, behind the couch, and out the front window.

Finally I spotted him with his butt in the air and face toward the ground in that classic pre-pounce pose. Across the way stood an unaware robin bathing in the stone birdbath Grandma left behind with whatever few drops hadnt yet been evaporated by the hot summer sun.

Wiggle, wiggle, went Fluffys butt.

He leaped, but the robin saw him coming and flittered away.

Fluffy flittered after him.

Not just a normal cat leap, either. He looked like a tiny feline athlete about to slam dunk a basketball. Up and up he went after that frightened avian target. He must have gone at least six feet into the sky and was still climbing up, up, up.

Thats when he turned his head my way and saw me watching. Those emerald eyes bored straight into mine, and for a moment he remained stuck mid-jump just hanging in the air.

Then he turned again, and the sudden movement broke the spell. Fluffy came crashing straight back to earth, then skittered out of sight, leaving me to wonder:What in the heck just happened?

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I chalked the whole gravity-defying cat episode up to poor sleep and an overactive imagination, then hurried my way over to Harolds House of Coffee.

Despite ignoring both speed limits and stop signs, I wound up three minutes late for my shift. My boss, Harold himself, stood just inside the front door waiting for me.

He tapped his wrist even though he never wore a watch and shouted,When will you learn? Three minutes means three dollars, and since this is your second offense this week, Im doubling it.

I snorted and rushed past him to clock in.

Gracie! Arent you listening to me? he demanded, trailing after me like a demented duckling.

Yes, youre docking me six dollars for being three minutes late, even though we have no customers and you only pay us minimum wage. And even thats because youre legally obligated. Pretty soon Im going to be paying you for the pleasure of standing around with nothing to do while our customers hang out at Mermaids Brew down the street. Does that sound about right?

Harolds face turned bright red. The insolence! he screamed. If it didnt cost so much to train someone new, youd be out of a job. In fact youre lucky that I

He took a step back, shook his head, and tried again.Listen here, Gracie. Youre lucky that

His words stopped coming as he gasped and crumpled to the floor. From hotheaded to out cold in mere seconds.

Harold, Harold! I cried and fell to my knees to check if he was breathing.

He wasnt.

I grabbed his wrist and tried to find a pulse.

I couldnt.

Ruh-oh.

2

My boss had just dropped dead, right here in front of everyonewell, at least a couple coworkers and one customer who sat sipping a cold brew in the corner. Even though I couldnt find a pulse, I attempted chest compressions. But Harold was already gone.

Im calling an ambulance! Kelley, our newest barista, shouted from behind the cash register.

Drake, our shift manager, tromped over to the door and flipped the open sign around, then drew the blinds.

Im sorry, Miss, I told our lone customer. Were going to have to ask you to leave now. If you have your punch card handy, I can give you a couple extra points as an apology for the inconvenience.

Had Harold been alive, he would have fired me for that, given his propensity to nickel and dime both his staff and his customers for all they were worth. But I guess that didnt really matter now.

The woman took a long swig of her cold brew, her green eyes wide as she regarded me, then tossed the remainders in the trash can, gathered her belongings, and hightailed it out of there. I couldnt say I blamed her.

Kelley rushed over to my side and glued herself there.An ambulance is on the way.

Wont do any good if the jerk is already dead, Drake said with a scowl.

Dont talk like that, Kelley shrieked, clutching a hand to her chest. A man just lost his life!

Probably a heart attack, I offered with a shrug. Its sad, but it happens all the time. Harold wasnt exactly in the best of shape, besides.

Yeah, Drake added with a sarcastic laugh as he crossed his arms and leaned back against the counter. And considering his heart was at least three sizes too small, Id say it had a pretty hard time keeping up.

I kept my lips pressed together in a tight line. Even though I agreed with Drakes assessment of the man, it was a terrible thing to witness his death. Add to that the uncertainty of my future employment, and today was just an all-around crummy day.