Battle of the Beasts

“Gum disease, mouth ulcer, oral cancer—”

“Cancer?”

“Don’t jump to conclusions.”

“You’re the one who said cancer!”

“Here.” Nurse Pete handed Cordelia two Advil and a Solo cup full of water. “Take these. And most importantly … you need to see a dentist. A dental specialist. Have your mother make an appointment.”

Yeah right, Cordelia thought as she took the Advil. Nurse Pete meant well, but of course she couldn’t discuss this with her parents. Her parents would send her to a bunch of specialists, but they wouldn’t find anything, because this was no normal tooth decay. This was a curse. And it had something to do with Kristoff House.

Come to think of it, Cordelia thought, should I even tell Bren and Nell? If she told her siblings that her hands were turning geriatric and her teeth were coming out, what would that accomplish? It would be one thing if she were the little sister, and everyone was expected to take care of her. But she was the oldest – she was supposed to be the strong one. How can I expect to be successful at anything if I can’t even handle my own problems?

Once she was out of the nurse’s office, Cordelia scratched at her arm as she walked down the hall. Nurse Pete had told her to go home but she didn’t want people to start talking about her, so she was just going to sit in class, keep her mouth closed, and eat broth and triple-whipped smoothies to protect her remaining teeth. But now her arm was itching something fierce. What’s going on?

Cordelia began to pull back her sleeve. When she reached the itchy spot, several peach-coloured flakes fell on to the floor. Cordelia picked one up and examined it. Skin! There was a torn patch on her arm, as if the flesh had been peeled away like cheap black ink on a Lotto card. Like she’d been scratching for hours, getting through her skin—

And under it was ice.

No veins. No muscle or blood. Just clear blue ice.

Terrified, Cordelia tapped the ice with her fingernail. It made a small clacking sound. She pulled her sleeve back down. Her flesh was cold beneath it. She wasn’t going to look. She wasn’t going to say anything. She wasn’t sure how, but she was going to deal with this herself.

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On the way home from school, as soon as Angel had rolled up the partition in his town car (he was shouting at sports radio, “No way should that bum get into the Hall of Fame! He ate steroids like M&Ms!”), Brendan asked Cordelia, “A frozen Snickers?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t know what’s worse: You lying to me, or you expecting me to believe such a ridiculous lie.”

“It’s not a lie.”

“Do you know how many lawsuits Snickers would have if people bit into their candy and lost their teeth?”

“Sorry for not following the Snickers lawsuit blog. But I do know it happened to me. Anyway, what happened to your backpack?”

Cordelia pointed to the plastic bag below Brendan’s seat, where he was carrying his books, having ditched his knockoff Mastermind bag in the locker room trash. Eleanor looked at it too. Brendan had a lot of explaining to do.

“I, mmm …” He fumbled. “I met a collector.”

“A collector?”

“Yeah, a guy whose hobby is collecting Mastermind stuff,” said Brendan.

“This ‘collector’ just happened to be hanging out at school?” asked a skeptical Cordelia.

“Mom said you’re not s’posed to talk to strangers who hang out around school,” said Eleanor.

“It wasn’t a stranger,” said Brendan. “It was someone I know.”

“Who?”

“Norm the janitor.”

“Norm the janitor’s kinda weird,” said Cordelia.

“Yeah,” added Eleanor. “He’s always asking me if I wear Louboutin shoes.”

“Anyway, he offered to pay me one hundred dollars more for the bag than I originally bought it for,” said Brendan.

“The school janitor is going to pay you eight hundred bucks for a backpack?” asked Cordelia.

“Yep,” said Brendan. “Then I’ll be able to pay Mom back and—”

Eleanor interrupted. “That’s even stupider than Cordelia’s story. You both need to stop lying.”

Brendan and Cordelia looked at the floor. It hurt to be caught out.

“All right, it’s my turn to tell you guys what happened today,” said Eleanor. “But I’m telling the truth. These two girls told me I need a new phone.” Eleanor pulled out her starter phone. “Is this really so bad?”

“Yeah, Nell,” said Brendan. “You should ask Mom for a new one.”

“But I like it! It’s good enough for me! I don’t need all this fancy new stuff we have. I don’t even like being driven around in this car! It’s weird.”

“You’re the one who made all this happen,” said Cordelia. “You wished for the money. Think how broke we would be if we didn’t have it!”

“I don’t care,” said Eleanor. “And think if you’re Mom. Would you want to hear me asking for a new phone the same night you hear that you lost your backpack and you lost your tooth?”

Eleanor was getting upset.

Cordelia gave her a hug, and then Brendan did.

“Don’t worry,” said Brendan. “After she finds out how messed up Deal and me are, she’ll be happy all you’re asking for is a new phone. And if those girls at school make fun of you again, just get your big brother on it.”

“Yeah?” asked Eleanor, still held tight by her siblings.

“Sure,” said Brendan. “You shoulda seen what happened when Scott Calurio started hassling me today. Let’s just say he won’t be doing it again.”

“Thanks, Bren,” said Eleanor.

Brendan gave her a big fake smile. Cordelia noticed this and realised her brother was lying. But she didn’t say a word. She just felt cold. We’re all lying about something. Maybe even Eleanor.

The car went over a big bump and their hug separated.

Back at home, Eleanor waited for the right moment to approach her mom. She decided that after dinner, when the dishes were cleared and the dishwasher was on, she’d send a text with a riddle she heard at school: What do you call a snoring bull? But she wouldn’t add the answer: A bulldozer. Then she would make up a story about how her phone was broken and some of her texts didn’t always get sent.

When the time came, though, Eleanor decided, I’m not lying to my mom. We’ve got enough secrets in this house.