31 Days

12:00 am

Monday, November 1st, 2004

"Are you going to Julie's?" The attractive blonde switched her cell phone from her left ear to her right. "What did you say? Ugh, why not? It's not like you have school tomorrow."

The brunette driving the silver sedan glanced over at the blonde sharply. "Yes she does," she said half-heartedly.

The lights whizzing by outside the car began to fade as they turned off the main road into a middle-class suburban neighborhood.

The blond covered the mouthpiece on the phone and turned to the driver. "What's that, Nan?"

Nancy gave her a quizzical look as if she had said nothing.

"What's that, Dani?" the blonde asked into the phone. "Oh, you do for real? I forgot, sorry. Shat are you doing up so late, you should go to bed. Yeah, right back at you." She took the phone away from her ear and held down the end button just as the car slowed on a dim block. Music was faintly audible from a few houses away; the street was packed with cars.

Nan double-clicked the lock button on the car after she and her garrulous companion had gotten out of the car. They trudged up a hill to the front door of a familiar house; they didn't bother knocking since the door was wide open. They did, however, pause a moment in the doorway to take in the scene and, equally, to allow the scene to take in them.

The two girls, Nancy and the blonde (who was frequently referred to as "Gren") made quite a picture standing in the doorway. Nan's long dark hair and slightly taller stature contrasted neatly with the short blond hair, yet they had the same skin tone and similar builds, making neither one seem an extreme.

This is actually why the two became friends. They went to different schools, but they met at a party like this one. They did not find that they had much in common, but that men seemed to take them more seriously when they traveled together, as if they were a bit more intimidated.

Of course, that wasn't an issue at this party. Any hopefuls hesitantly approaching one or the other backed off, pretending to have been headed outside when the boyfriends greeted the girls.

"Took you long enough to get here," Randy said, putting his arms around the blond and pulling her away from Nan. She gave in and leaned against him. Randy was wonderfully typical of her boyfriends; he was about twice her weight and all muscle. He was boisterous and pushy to everyone except their friends and, of course, her.

They left the foyer for a darker room with louder music. Julie's house was already trashed; the party had been going on for a while. Nan and Gren had thought it important to put in an appearance at Nan's middle school cousin's Halloween party since they had promised to attend. Randy and Luke had refused to attend the "kiddie party", which frighteningly resembled Julie's high school party.

The blonde knocked over a half-full beer bottle and did not make a move to prevent its entire contents from spilling on Julie's living room carpet. Instead, she allowed herself to trip and grabbed on to Randy to stop her fall. He looked surprised and his reaction was a bit delayed; it took him a moment to wrap his arms more securely around Gren and smile reassuringly.

Gren smiled back. It occurred to her that Randy was the first boyfriend she had had who was at least a year older than her. It showed. He was very mature and even a little paternal. All her other boyfriends, despite how built and confident they were always seemed to be coming to their girlfriend to help heal their booboos, not to help her with hers. Yes, Randy was not so entirely typical.

"I'll be right back. Wait here, ok?"

Gren realized she was sitting on Julie's couch next to a sleeping guy and Randy had gone, maybe to the bathroom. She leaned back and closed her eyes, picturing his face. He was very pretty.

Nan, Gren, and Randy were all in the car. They were looking for Luke, who was lost. It was very dark. Gren was driving. She didn't understand why she was driving, Nan and Randy were both better drivers and she was drunk. Also, her phone kept ringing and she kept looking for it. She was positive it was under the back seat, but for some reason Randy wouldn't just look. Instead, Gren kept trying to look while steering with her knees.

The room was dark and quiet. Gren woke up suddenly in a flash of light that she thought was an oncoming vehicle. She was very confused, especially when it occurred to her that Randy had not returned.

The guy sleeping on the couch next to her had half fallen on the floor and was drooling on one of Julie's pillows. Besides his soft breathing, Gren could vaguely make out two other noises.

The first was a bit alarming; she suddenly heard someone running quietly outside on the leaf-covered lawn. However, it was the second noise that instigated Gren's curiosity. It was coming from the room where Julie kept her washing machine and dryer. It sounded like heavy breathing.

Gren stumbled off the couch and fell to her knees. It took her a moment to regain her balance in this position; beams of light seemed to sizzle across the room for a moment. Then she stood, leaning on the couch. She walked quickly, listening for the noise. She opened the washroom door.

It might have been at that moment that Gren truly died. Randy's hands tangled in someone's hair and Randy's lips locked in someone's lips flash across Gren's vision. He didn't even see who was there before she bolted out the back door. She stumbled a bit on the way.

Gren probably wouldn't have cared if she had suspected; she might have even coolly broken up with Randy if she had been totally sober, but she hadn't and she wasn't, so she most certainly didn't.

She flew out into the cool, dark night air and stopped, feeling a chill creep over her. Nan's car was a silver beacon under a lone street light; however, Gren, or the person who Gren became, knew it was locked.

It is a mystery who the blonde girl was for those few minutes in between being Gren and being Mandy. She sat on the grassy hill, contemplating who knows what. It is possible she was on the verge of discovering some kind of wisdom from within her when she changed again.

"Fun party?" a young man asked. He was wearing a full tuxedo; he looked clean and new. His face was pale and his hair and eyes were dark. He looked at her inquisitively, not sure whether to laugh or to cry for this pathetic girl.

She merely shrugged, smiling a little. She wasn't sure why she felt like smiling. This tall, skinny guy was way too young for her, but she felt helplessly attracted to him. She knew that it was probably only because of her momentary weakness from shock, but she didn't care.

"My name's Dan. What's yours?" He smiled a little more fully, seeing that she wasn't crying anymore.

She shrugged again and looked away playfully.

"Why won't you tell me?" he said, pretending to be hurt.

She turned back to him. "What if you're Satan and telling you my real name will give you power over my eternal soul?" she quested innocently.

"Good response." He continued thoughtfully, "In that case, I'll call you Mandy. Mandy McClure." He sat down next to her. "What are you doing out so late, Mandy?"

"I'm pondering," she replied, gazing off at Nan's car.

"Indeed. And might I wonder what you are pondering?"

"Surely you must jest. I cannot tell you when and when not to wonder."

"Forgive me, fair lady, for I phrased my question most poorly. Will you be so kind as to tell me what you are pondering?"

"I am afraid I cannot do this, good sir."

"Wherefore, pray tell?"

"I fear I have forgotten."

They fell into silence and sat together for many minutes, gazing about them at the great and terrible metamorphosis of the dark, starlit world of mystery into a world sharp and sunlit where the truth finds it difficult to hide.

Randy was a thing of the past. Before Dan drove Mandy home she saw him and his new girlfriend leave the party happily hating each other. Mandy felt no gratification when she saw their unhappiness. She was not angry or jealous; she had never dated Randy. Gren had.

Now Mandy woke up in her own bed, having slept the majority of the day. She dragged herself out of bed, feeling disgusting and a bit ill as a result of Gren's last actions. However, she also felt a glowing joy inside that she had finally changed.

She and Dan had spoken about many things.