UnEnchanted (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale #1)(5)

Brody’s voice grew louder and everyone stopped talking to listen in to what was sure to be the biggest argument of the semester and they were going to witness it firsthand.

“It’s over between us. I’m sick of you, I’m sick of your dog, I’m sick of your childish ways, it’s time for you to grow up!” Brody looked feverish and tense. Sweat beaded off of his forehead.

Savannah’s eyes glistened with tears and her perfectly cherry-glossed lip started to tremble. “You don’t mean that. Yesterday, you told me…”

“Well that was yesterday and this is today. Don’t you get it? You’re too much of a baby.” The words left Brody’s mouth but they seemed awkward and forced. Savannah turned and ran back down the hallways towards the bathrooms. Pri dutifully ran after her.

Claire turned to the group and smiled brightly. “Well now that that embarrassing scene is over with, let’s be on our way shall we?” Her smile was so blindingly bright that it was almost painful look at.

Did no one else seem to notice the effect the bewitching tour guide was having on Brody and the boys? Apparently not. The girls were so upset by the obvious scandal of the break up that they were no longer paying attention to the tour but whispering among themselves excitedly. Mina could only guess it was because of the apparent and sudden availability of the hottest guy in school. No one ever could hold a grudge against Brody Carmichael.

Nan nudged Mina and motioned to the group of girls with her chin. “I told you that everyone loves gossip. I’ve already been texted by three different people that aren’t even here that Brody and Savannah broke up and it only happened minutes ago.” Nan frowned and her fingers flew over the touchpad. “No, that’s not right. I was here, I saw it.” Nan began murmuring to herself as she tried to fix whatever new rumor was now flying through their high school ten miles away.

Claire finally led the tour group to the third floor and was allowing the kids to walk the railed catwalk over the production floor. By now many of the students had become bored and started horsing around. It seemed that whatever love spell that once charmed them had worn off and they were back to being normal, erratic teenage boys. All except for one hypnotized Brody. His movements become slower and he was transfixed by Claire’s every movement.

Mina watched as Claire’s hand stroked Brody’s bicep in a demure manner. Warning bells went off in Mina’s head that something was definitely wrong. A tingling began in Mina’s hands and spread throughout her body and up her spine like an electric current. Jumping, Mina looked around and behind her for the source of the probing culprit, but no one was near her.

Another intense feeling of wrongness overcame Mina and she felt as if she was being propelled forward through the crowd against her will. Mina tried to regain control of limbs but her body didn’t seem to cooperate. Flinging out a hand in a final act of desperation, the chewed up pencil Mina had been holding onto launched from her hand to land at the feet of Steven and Frank. The boys were distracted and looked to be having some sort of argument over a video game. Mina watched as the pencil rolled right in front of Steven’s foot, wincing when his foot came down and and he slipped on pencil. A domino effect occurred as Steven lost his balance and pitched forward into Frank.

Frank, caught off guard, tried to catch his friend but ended up slamming backwards into Claire and Brody. Claire’s heel snagged in the catwalk and she stumbled headlong into Brody, pushing him towards the railing. But Mina’s bad luck continued as the rickety walkway that hung thirty feet in the air, shifted under the weight, causing everyone to lurch to the right.

The sudden jostling woke Brody from his hypnotic state. Mina saw his sudden confusion, followed by shock as the catwalk tilted again. He stumbled backwards; his arms flailed widely as he reached for a hand railing and missed. His blue eyes filled with terror as fell backwards over the safety rail.





Chapter 2


Screams of horror reverberated off of the walls. Mina who had been walking steadily through the crowd the entire time was the closest to Brody. Adrenaline took over as she lunged for Brody missing his body entirely but grabbing the shoulder strap of his black Jansport backpack. Either his momentum was too strong, or something mysterious was at work because despite Mina’s efforts, Brody seemed to fly backwards over the railing.

Mina gritted her teeth and held on to the backpack. The railing slammed into her stomach, causing her to cry out in pain. There was a moment of suspended animation when she thought she had him and they were safe, but then her feet slowly lost contact with the floor. Screaming, Mina started moving upward and over, her feet dangling uselessly. She was going to go over the railing with him. That was until hands grabbed Mina around the waist anchoring her. Brody and Mina’s downward momentum stopped with a jolt and a loud rip. Mina kept a death grip on the backpack strap and felt another surge of tingling cover her body making the hairs on her arms rise in protest.

Brody had one arm through the other strap; it had slid down to his elbow. Reaching up he used his other hand to hold on to get a firmer grip. He stared upward, a panicked look on his face, the catwalk still swaying precariously.

“Don’t worry! I got you, Brody.” Mina tried to sound comforting when her muscles burned and arms shook from the strain of holding on to someone twice her weight.

“And I got you,” Nan’s voice was muffled from exertion. She was the one who grabbed Mina from going over. Other students began to aid in the rescue. Steven and Frank reached over to grab the backpack helping relieve the burden of Brody’s weight. They helped pull him up to where Brody was able to grab onto the lower safety bar.