My mom had thrown my bike in the back of her van and she had taken me home without another word. On the ride there she tried to be subtle when she locked the doors, but I noticed anyway.

"Mom," I had said. "You don't need to lock the doors. We're safe in here."

"How do you know that?"

"Mom, I was there when that white thing attacked the Pattys. It's just a freaking insane cat!"

"But that 'insane' cat can still kill us if we aren't careful."

I let the subject drop, just when I remembered my first intention of leaving the house. "Um, mom, I still need to go to Jen's house...."

"Is it really that important Maggie? Can't you go to her house tomorrow?"

My jaw hung open in a look of pure horror. "I have been waiting all day and all yesterday for this! Please mom!"

"Maggie, it's really late...."

"Mom, I'll be safe there. I promise." But little did she know how true that might be.

When we got home I had packed up my school work; our original intention was for Jen to tutor me, and mom said I could stay for supper, but no longer. The drive there wasn't too bad; mom hadn't wanted to talk much because she didn't want to miss the stop. The second the car stopped at her driveway I was throwing open the door and running out, slamming the door behind me. I waved behind me and then took to running up the drive to meet with Jen.

The second she appeared I yelped, and then covered my mouth. I didn't want someone to think I was being attacked. She stood at the edge of the trees, a statue of perfect glory, glowing in the moonlight.

"Hey," she whispered. "You're late."

"I know, and I'm sorry. There were...difficulties."

"I heard what happened. Another 'animal attack.'" I could hear the sarcasm. She doesn't think it's an animal?

"But it is an animal. I was there. It's an insane cat. It's all white, and fluffy...." I trailed off on my sentence because Jen was looking at me with a 'just shut up for one second' look. And I shut up.

"I know it's a cat. But it's not just an animal. Your cat--"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. My cat? I don't think so."

"--Has been--"

"No! Please don't say abducted by aliens!"

"--Possessed and--"

"Possessed? By what?"

"--Is killing all of your--"

"Neighbours. I know that! But why?"

"--Yes, because whatever--"

"Or whoever."

"--Yes, or whoever, wants all the land to itself. The cat might also just be following orders because it was hypnotized. Or maybe it's doing the mice's bidding so that they won't kill her!"

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. But we need this to stop! Dang Murder...."

For a second she smiled, but then her expression was blank.

"But, since there's nothing we can do about it right now, let's go inside; it's cold out here."

"I don't find it cold at all. It's actually quite warm," she protested.

"Fine. We can talk about your 'difference' right here then."

She sighed but nodded. "It'd be better if we walked to my house."

"More time to waste," I mumbled.

She was so graceful. I had to do a double take when I saw that her feet weren't touching the ground. They still didn't look it when I looked the second time, but I supposed that was because of my superstition.... By the time we got to her front yard, I was partly exhausted, and freezing to death, too.

The yard itself was gorgeously kept. There wasn't a blade of grass out of place, the trees' leaves were all bright green and there wasn't a single leaf on the ground. The forest surrounded it in such a perfect way...I couldn't even explain it.

And the house! It was two stories, white-walled, and the roof was at a perfect slant. There were windows on the south side that went all the way to the floor, letting the little sun that was left enter through them. There were vines growing all over the north wall in complicated swirls. The light blue flowers that crawled around the door looked great with the contrast of the mahogany of the door.

Jen elbowed me and I closed my mouth. "Wow," I mouthed.

"It's nice, isn't it?"

"Yeah! Dude, this place is beautiful! It's amazing! How did it get so nice?"

"We work on it every day."

"Wow. That's surprisingly simple."

"Are you coming in or not," Jen called from the door. I hadn't noticed her move.

Despite my efforts to move, my feet stayed rooted to the ground. I really wanted to go in there, but I guess my body didn't. I pursed my lips angrily and swung my arms from side to side. I tried to make my legs move. They didn't, of course. Until Jen sighed and snatched my arm, pulling me away from where I was struggling with myself only seconds ago.

When we entered her house I was in awe again. The walls were all pale blue--like the flowers around the door. There was a spiral staircase to the left, the steps the same mahogany as the door. The doorway looked into the dining room, where a mahogany table--set for one--was waiting, a pale blue tablecloth laying on the surface. The floor was hardwood. There were plants carefully placed around the room in white vases, and along the walls were some pieces of art. There was a clock in between two family photos on the wall across from the door. Jen stood in the middle of the room with a grin on her face.

"Its nice, huh?" she asked.

"Let me think...yeah! This place is awesome!"

"I'm very glad you like it," she said with a big smile on her gorgeous face. The colours of the house made her look like an angel come down from heaven.

I jumped and yelped. A redheaded woman with the same tawny eyes as Jen had just appeared beside her. I wasn't expecting that when I looked away from the 'angel-in-disguise' to look around the room again another woman in the room would startle me. She apologetically smiled and then whispered something to Jen, who shook her head no in reply.

"Hello, I'm Karrie. I'm Jen's mother." She walked up to me and shook my hand. I shuddered--her hands were freezing! "Sorry, I was just trying to stuff some food back into the freezer. I had to move everything around for it to fit."

I nodded. My mom had to do that all the time. "I'm Maggie. It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Days."

"It's nice to meet you too, Maggie. But please, call me Karrie. Any friend of my daughter's is a friend of mine."

"Of course, Karrie."

She smiled at me. "Now, I bet you haven't had supper yet. Seeing as you were late, we had already eaten, but, we have some food ready for you here."

"I'm sorry I was late. We were having...issues...."

"It's quite alright. Don't worry about it."

She led me to the table, where she sat me down at the set space. Jen came out with a steaming plate of chicken and rice. I love chicken and rice.

"Thank you, Karrie. That's very kind of you."

"You are welcome darling."

The food tasted the best. My mom's chicken and rice was never this good.

"I'm glad you like it," said Jen from beside me.

"How did you know?" I asked.

"Well--for one thing--you're eating it. Second, you are wolfing it down. You must like it."

I blushed and then finished up, wiping my mouth on my napkin. When I looked up there were three people at the table--besides me. A golden blonde man--with the same eyes--was sitting across from me, beside Mrs. Days. Jen sat beside me. I was startled; how come I never noticed when another person entered the room?

"Hello. I'm Edwin, Jen's father."

I took his hand. "I'm Maggie."

"Very nice to meet you. Maggie."

"You too, Mr. Days."

"Maggie, when someone offers you their name, they are usually comfortable with you calling them that," he said with a smile. I blushed.

"I'm sorry. Edwin. I was just raised to do that. Besides, it's better to do that so you don't get told not to call someone by his or her name. Like at school, we can't use the teacher's first names."

"I suppose that's logical," he said thoughtfully.

"Are you done with that Maggie?" asked Mrs. Days.

"Oh, I can take it to the kitchen. You don't have to--"

"Host manners."

"Can I come with you at least?" I asked.

"Mom, Mag wants to see the whole house," clarified Jen.

Mrs. Days nodded, but took my plate and napkin anyway. The kitchen walls were made of a grey stone, with marble-topped counters and a steel-grey fridge. The sink was steel-grey, too. The south side was a window-wall that had a sliding window-door that led to the back yard. The backyard was covered in lots of intricately designed pathways and ferns. I wanted to go out there but...it was too dark. She put the plate in the sink and then turned on the tap to rinse it. I looked over to her, and then when I looked back out the window there was a dusty blonde boy with lighter, butterscotch eyes, standing in front of it.

"Ah!" I yelped.