Chapter 48 - The Weird and The Wild

"Hey Mariah, you're back early," Aadi said. "I was just telling Miranda... hey, are you OK, Girlfriend?"

"No," Mariah practically sobbed. "No, I'm really not OK."

"What's wrong?" Miranda gasped. "What's happened?"

Aadi watched and listened, while Miranda tried to comfort her obviously distressed girlfriend. Mariah rambled something about Ms. H, who Aadi gathered had something to do with the Alto gang, something about drinking blood, which creeped them out intensely, and something about vampires, which didn't make any sense at all. Still, it was obvious to Aadi that something had seriously and devastatingly shaken the confident and strong Mariah she'd worked so hard this semester to reclaim. Whatever it was, and Aadi wasn't quite ready to believe in literal vampires, it was deadly serious.

"Girlfriend, you are wiped out," Aadi said when Mariah started spiraling through her story again.

"Aadi, you just don't understand," Mariah started.

"No, I don't," they replied. "Totally lost, but I can still see that you are messed up, wiped and you need to rest."

"I can't..." Mariah started.

"Aadi's right," Miranda said. "You need to go lie down. I'll be in shortly."

"Maybe, maybe I should pack," Mariah said. "I should leave... get away from you..."

"None of that," Miranda said firmly. "You go lie down. Don't do anything noble, heroic or otherwise stupid until I get there."

"OK," Mariah sighed, sounding as hopeless and defeated as Aadi had ever heard her.

"Wow," Aadi breathed. "She is messed up. What really happened?"

"Aadi," Miranda sighed, "I really don't have time to explain the occult nature of reality to you right now. Would you please call Snow?"

"Oooo'K," Aadi said puzzled. "Why am I calling one of my karaoke group in the middle of the night? I mean M had fun and all, but I don't think it would cheer her up that much."

"Please, Aadi!" Miranda said. "I'll explain everything when I can... right now, I need to call my mom, and I need you to call Snow and ask her to get here as soon as possible."

"Damn it," Miranda groaned in despair a moment later. "Fucking shit gods-damned fucking phone."

"What's wrong?" Aadi asked, stunned at Miranda's outburst.

"The call won't go through," Miranda said. "I swear, Glimmerbrook is where cell service goes to die."

"Miranda, What Is Going On?!" Aadi insisted.

"Aadi..." Miranda sighed. "Ok, how do I explain this so you'll get it?"

"I wouldn't say no to the truth?" Aadi said.

"You've heard the truth," Miranda said with remarkable calm. "You just don't believe it... but vampires and stuff aside, here's the important part for right now. Ms. H poisoned Mariah."

"Poisoned?!" Aadi said. "Like, seriously, poisoned? Like, making her sick poisoned."

"Aadi, she could die," Miranda said seriously.

"Die?!" Aadi gasped. "Like, really actually die? As in dead? As in no more Mariah?"

"Right," Miranda nodded. "No please, call Snow. Tell her... tell her anything you want but get her here as soon as possible."

"OK, OK, I'm calling," Aadi said frantically. They still didn't know about this vampire business, but they could tell Miranda was serious.

"Thanks," Miranda said. "I'm going out back to try and reach my mom."

"Ok," Aadi dashed out into the backyard a few minutes later. "Snow says she'll be here in that... what the hell?!"

Tiny lights, like stars, flew from Miranda's fingertips, forming a glittering cloud around her. Aadi stared in awe as they spun and whirled in the night like miniature fireflies. Miranda called out, her voice musical, and the stars she'd conjured shimmered and moved to the sound of her voice. She spoke a Word, and the glittering swarm went streaking off in all directions.

"What. The. Hell?" Aadi breathed.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then Aadi saw what, at first, they took to be one of the conjured stars returning. A tiny blue light, it dropped down out of the sky and zipped across the rooftops before coming to rest just over Miranda's shoulder.

"Hello Bluebell." Miranda said. "Thank you for coming."

The little blue light chimed. To Aadi, it really did sound like a bell. Looking closely, they thought they could make out a tiny, winged figured inside the sphere of blue lights. It's a fairy, Aadi thought. It's an actually, honest to gods, fairy.

"Bluebell, this is Aadi," Miranda said. "Aadi, this is my friend Bluebell."

"Hi," Aadi said weakly.

There are some friends who you can not see for years and still pick up a conversation with them as if you had never been apart. It was clear to Aadi, whatever else the little blue fairy was, she was that kind of friend for Miranda.

Miranda quickly and urgently explained the situation and asked Bluebell to convey the news to her mom and Gwen. 

When Bluebell had vanished once more over the rooftops, Miranda smiled sadly.

"Aadi, you should get some rest," Miranda said. "Tomorrow... tomorrow, we'll see, but I imagine it's going to be a big day."

"You should too," Aadi said.

"I'm fine," Miranda said. "I don't need to sleep as much as mortals do." 

Aadi wasn't quite sure how to take that, but it was obvious something had changed in Miranda. No, they thought, that wasn't it. She was still Miranda. If anything, she was suddenly more Miranda than she had been in the years Aadi had known her. Some hidden part of her was no longer hidden.

Gently, she added, "I'm going to stay up and watch Mariah."

"Ok," Aadi nodded. 

Whatever weirdness was going on, Aadi was sure of one thing: their little M&M's loved each other and would stand together, even through the weird and the wild.