Young Writers Society

Alex stood up as she waited for her friends to join her. Esther had only just become aware that the others were beside her, waiting to be introduced, but this came first.

Esther noticed that Claire and Helen were carrying bags and Sasha was munching on popcorn.

"You wouldn't believe it," Sasha said. "The movie theater threw away perfectly good popcorn."

She offered Alex some, who took a handful. Then, she put the bag in front of Esther, who declined.

"Jay's coming back in a little bit," Sasha continued. "He went to Wichita. He met up with an old friend who might have work for us. But we have food!"

They all sat down and a circle. Claire and Helen opened their bags and the girls started to take whatever they could find. It was odd things. A few more bags of popcorn. Bread. Candy. Almost as if it was scavenged trash. Because it was."

"Wait," Helen said. "Let's make sure everyone gets some."

"I could feel her this morning," Alex told the girls, gesturing to her pregnant belly.

"Her?" Asked Claire, her British accent thick.

"I have a feeling..." She smiled.

"Can we?" Asked Claire. Just then, the girls took turns feeling her stomach. Alex remembered then, watching the redhead. Esther knew that Claire had a daughter too. Claire had insisted the father was the man she'd met and married she'd met almost immediately after leaving the group. But her mother had told her differently when she'd gone to visit her in prison.

Debbie had yet to say a word. So it was true what Adam told her, that she was always quiet and shy. She had a daughter too, two years younger than Esther.

Esther felt a lump in her throat and almost addressed the girls by names before she remembered she wasn't supposed to know any of them. "I'm Esther, and these are my friends. Alex said that you can help us."

"We can," said Helen. "I feel so embarrassed. I'm Helen." She introduced Claire, Debbie and Sasha. "We're so glad you're here." She turned to Carter and Skull. The fairy seemed to be in skull's pocket. She wasn't quite sure how to bring her up yet and she wanted the chance to explain that fairies weren't exactly common in this world so they had to play their cards right. "And I know Jay's been wanting some men around too, so it's perfect."

If they'd asked any questions, they'd have easily been able to poke holes in Esther's paper thin story. But they didn't. Their acceptance was unconditional. The past had no meaning.

The past.

"You and Alex look like you could be sisters," Helen told Esther.

Alex turned to Esther. "We kinda do, don't we? Except your hair's dark. Just like my mom's was. You wear it just like she did too."

"Is Jay... the father?" She asked.

Alex nodded. "I'm so excited for you all to meet him."

"Where do you sleep?" Esther asked.

"Oh, we'll set up camp when he gets back," Alex said matter of factly.

Just then, Helen stood up. "We're going to go for a swim," she said, turning to the people Esther had just met but were supposed to be her best friends. "Do you want to join us?"

"You know I can't," Alex said. "But go ahead."

"I'll stay here with Alex," Esther said, trying not to sound too suspicious. She turned to the rest of her group. "But if you all want to go, you can go." She tried the best to make it sound like she was offering them a choice while being clear that she wanted to be alone with her mother. Her nineteen year old mother who was pregnant with her.

Dear old Dad wasn't even here yet. Esther didn't want to think that far ahead.

Queenie gave another one of those practiced smiles, "Do any of you have a sewing kit I could borrow, by chance?" she asked, already plotting the excuses she'd use to get away from these people long enough to fix herself up. The idea of taking any of her current items of clothes off in front of these people didn't really bother her that much in reality, but this felt more like the effects of one of Briar's fancy little 'endurance tests'. Because nothing says 'endurance' quite like trying to fight off a master of hand-to-hand combat while tripping on a yet-unknown-to-science brew of gods-knew-what.

The kid, Hamlet, or whatever his real name was, who she was using as support had, thankfully, not said a word about the amount of weight she was actually resting on his shoulder. Seriously, that kid's name was not 'Skull'. It had better stay that way. If it didn't, she might have to consider teaching him a lesson about keeping his mouth shut. Maybe by breaking his jaw, or knocking out a couple of teeth.

Carter nods at me and gestures subtly to his pocket. I wish I didn't have to stay hidden, but it's better than nothing.

I fly to his vest pocket and give him a grateful smile as I slide into it without anyone noticing. It's pretty small, but if I sit cross-legged, I can get a perfect vantage point of the conversations unfolding.

The girls have brought out food: bread, something fluffy and white, almost like clouds, some packages blaring out odd words. It's unlike anything I've ever seen. Perhaps it's traveler fare for humans.

One of the new round of strangers, Helen, I believe, stands up and addresses up. "We're going for a swim. Do you want to join us?"

I freeze.

Wings and water are not friends. As a young child, my elders always warned us about wandering in the forest during a raging storm. Wings were fragile, they said. Some of us lost the ability to fly because of it. Reckless as some of my friends were, they would never dream of diving into water.

If Carter is indeed going swimming, I need to find a way to sneak out of his pocket unawares to Esther's mother's friends and save myself.

Carter let the winged woman hide, keeping himself from looking down at the risk of drawing more attention to her. He didn't know where she was from, or if Esther's world wouldn't be too phased at her existence, but Esther's hasty "spiritual advisor" label told him otherwise. So he was glad, for her sake, that she stayed hidden.

But just as she hid in his pocket, they were invited to go swimming, of all things. He supposed it made sense, given the weather, but it immediately made things more complicated for him. He'd just offered refuge for a ridiculously tiny person in his pocket on a garment that he'd have to remove, or otherwise risk drowning her.

Well. Carter was nothing if he wasn't able to navigate nuanced situations with grace.

It was clear that Esther's suggestion was more than that, as subtle of a suggestion as it was. So he would just have to go with it, as she'd insisted before.

Then there was Elizabeth, asking for a sewing kit out of nowhere. No apparent reason. He glanced over at her, skeptical, but more confused than anything.

"...No," he said, before looking over to the women who were Alex's friends. "But sure, I'll join you. I don't feel like getting drenched, but I can get my feet wet. It should be refreshing in this dreadful heat."

If I hadn't already been suspecting that something was up with Elizabeth, I definitely did now. I got the weirdest feeling of deja vu when she leaned up against me and gave me that glare - it made me think of how Megara acted around me.

But Megara would have said something by now if it was her, so I brushed that thought away.

Besides, I had something a little more pressing to deal with - ignoring how Elizabeth definitely needed that sewing kit to stitch up a wound. The bigger, more important problem was that the group we were stuck with without any explanation - thanks, Esther - wanted to go swimming.

I didn't know how to swim.

In my defense, I grew up in a city. The little group I traveled with never had any reason to go near the water. We were always traveling by land, and hadn't seen anywhere we could go swimming. Besides, I doubted either Asmira or Nathaniel knew how to swim. Natty boy had spent his life being all prim and proper, and Asmira grew up in a desert. Water wasn't exactly plentiful.

I could tell Esther wanted some alone time with her mom. I was usually annoying, but the reason I was so determined not to do that was because I wanted my lack of swimming abilities to remain a very well-kept secret.

But then I started to get a feeling I didn't like.

I started getting the suspicion that maybe - just maybe - Esther's mom wasn't part of the picture anymore. That something had happened between now and whenever Esther was from that meant they couldn't see each other. And the little part of me that hadn't died back in the alleyway with whatever bits of moral integrity I had knew that I'd love to spend just one more hour with the mother I hadn't seen in years.

I smirked.

"Swimming sounds good," I said, hoping that my very forced smile and tone looked at least a little convincing.

"I have a sewing kit," Helen told Elizabeth. "But it's with our car. And our car is with Jay. He should be back soon though," she added. "Sorry I can't help sooner."

The girls each took another bite of the food they'd collected for themselves and stood up. Helen pointed in the direction of the trail. "It's just a short walk this way," she said, before turning to Alex. "Get us if Jay comes back."

Esther watched as the people she'd come here with followed Helen and the others down the trail. Then, she turned back to Alex. She wasn't sure if she'd really been taken back in time or if this was all a figment of her imagination, so she had to be really, really careful.

She still couldn't believe she was sitting in front of her. She was so young, so radiant and yet still so sad.

"So, why did your parents name you Esther?"

Esther felt a lump in her throat as she thought about how to respond. The truth was, Alex's favorite author was Sylvia Plath, and Esther Greenwood was the main character of her only novel, The Bell Jar. If Esther said that, it would be too suspicious. So she lied. "Um, you know, Bible reference and that."

"I'm named after the wife of Edward VII," Alex said. "Princess Alexandra of Denmark."

"Wasn't that Queen Victoria's son?" Esther asked.

Alex nodded. "Random, right? But, she was supposedly one of the most beautiful women of her day. And my middle name is Jean. Like Jean Harlow."

"Mine is Lucille," Esther said. "My middle name anyway. My parents liked Lucille Ball." She neglected to mention that she hadn't been given a middle name from birth, that her grandfather, Alex's father had added that later when he took over custody of her."

"Esther Lucille," Alex said. "You sound like you could be a princess."

"So do you, Alexandra Jean."

Alex blushed. "Do you know what Jay said to me when we first met? He asked me, why did my parents name me Alexandra? And I told him my name was Alexandra Jean and why, and he said, 'a princess and a movie star'. Seems to me like you were destined for something great."

"So, is Jay like your boyfriend?" Esther asked, playing as dumb as she possibly could.

"We don't believe in that. Monogamy is just another way society holds us down," Alex responded. It was the least convincing thing she'd said yet.

Just then, a figure appeared. She'd seen his picture many times. Adam really was his spitting image. He gazed at Alex, and looked down to meet Esther's eye line.

"Hello," he said. "I'm Jay."

"I'm Esther."

"What brings you to us, Esther?"

"My friends and I, we're low on food and supplies," she said, trying her best to hold his gaze. "We met by chance."

"I'd love to meet your friends," he said.

"They went to the river with Claire, Helen, Sasha and Debbie."

Jay nodded. "I'll be right back," he said. He stood up and began to walk down the trail.

Carter very, very quickly grew fed up with his shoes that kept flopping up against his heel and getting caught on unlevel ground, so he slipped them off prematurely in the walk towards the river.

He was very aware of the fairy in his pocket, but he drew no attention to her as he engaged in conversation with the group of girls leading them. Most of them seemed pretty devoted to the Jay fellow who came up ever so often in conversation, but one of the girls - a brunette, Sasha - was more open and friendly.

When they all rushed into the river, and Sasha (among the rest of them) insistently invited him to come in with excited giggling and splashing, he decided it'd be best to hop in, but ditch the vest as soon as possible.

He called out to them - "Just a moment!" before getting too close to the water and within range of the splashing, and tossed his useless shoes on the ground. Then, he slipped his vest off, being careful not to throw it around and support the weight of the winged woman in his pocket, before gently setting it on the ground, pocket-facing up.

He leaned down, just to whisper for a second.

"Sorry about that, Iris," he apologized quietly, flashing her a small smile. He took off his necklace too - it was only an instrument for strangling, not that he expected any of the girls to resort to that kind of violence. But it was just better without it. "You can keep hiding out here if you want but I'll be back."

Sasha called to him again, and he quickly rolled up his pants to just below his knees. It looked silly, with the holes in them already, but he knew how this kind of material held water for a long time. He didn't want that flopping around his legs when this was all over.

Finally, he ran over, jumping into the water with a splash. Maybe he'd lied about the whole "just getting his feet wet" thing, but it was worth it when he popped up out of the water and heard all of the surprised, playful, and perhaps mildly annoyed laughs.

Queenie internally cursed all the way to the water. She'd abandoned Clive (his name still wasn't Skull) as soon as they started walking. She didn't need any support if she was moving. Besides, it was too obvious.

She walked normally. How many times had she done that before? She tried to count. Steadily. Once, one of her first jobs. She'd been bad at it then. Father hadn't been happy when she let herself be followed. Twice, with Briar. It was late at night, and Briar had insisted they use a safe house for the night. Briar ratted her out for getting hurt when they got home. Father was even angrier that time. She was supposed to know better.

She shook her head. Her pleasant, neutral smile hadn't changed. 'Oh silly me' is what that shake of the head said. 'Silly me for letting my mind wander' or something like that. She didn't know what she was 'supposed' to be thinking about.

When they reached the water, she sat down by the riverbank and sat cross-legged. She nearly screamed from the pain when her maneuvering twisted her wound. Her smile became the gritting of teeth as she held that scream back. No one was paying her any mind, and she was fine with that.

The girls were all happily splashing and laughing like schoolgirls in a stageplay, and Queenie had never felt less inclined to join any particular group of people doing anything. Which was odd, considering the kinds of people she'd had to blend in with.

Suddenly they froze, and all their attention turned to something behind Queenie, and to her left. She looked back. A guy. Why had she been able to guess that?

I slip out of Carter's pocket and fly away into the shelter of the trees. There's Elizabeth, sitting cross-legged by the river, but she looks like she'd rather be alone. I wonder if she doesn't join because...I think about the moment she stumbled, hand on Skull's shoulder.

The girls - and now Carter - are splashing loudly in the water, reminding me of the days when my friends and I would pretend to swim through a flower-field, sending up thousands of petals into the air. We'd come back all sticky with pollen and breathless with laughter.

Even this far away, a light spray of droplets settles on my skin, a reprieve from the humidity.

For a moment, the idea of sneaking back to see Esther and her mom crosses my mind. But I remember the way she looks at Alex, as if she's trying to soak in everything about her, and instead I feel ashamed. I can do my own investigation. I don't need to spy on her.

The past - now - seems to be hovering on the brink of something dark and tragic. Are we granted with some task to change the past?

I drift along the trees, closer to behind Elizabeth. I run my fingers along each leaf I pass. Many are rough, but many also smooth with newness like a baby's skin. Lost in thought, I don't pay attention. I don't hear the footfalls I should have heard.

Instead fingers suddenly wrap around me. My breath whooshes out of my chest. I struggle fruitlessly for a minute and then look up into the wide eyes of a young man.

"What are you?" he whispers.

Esther's words slide through my mind. Spiritual advisor

"I'm-I'm -" I squeak. "I'm a spiritual advisor."

He blinks and says slowly, "You're a fairy. Where'd you come from?"

"Around here."

He stares at me a moment longer, and starts forward. I try to breathe as he steps out of the trees to the river.

While everyone else flocked to the water, I still lingered on the shore. The most I did was kick off my shoes and let my feet cool in the water. I had been so slow getting to it that Carter and Elizabeth had successfully gotten the attention of the girls - no one bugged me to get into the water.

The water, admittedly, did feel pretty good. Everything was so hot, and it was the desperate break from the heat that I needed. If I wasn't going to take off any of this stupid outfit, the least I could do was cool down.

...My euphoria was quickly dashed.

Right after I was finally starting to feel a little cool, I heard someone emerge from the woods. When I looked to see who, I saw that the newcomer - probably Jay, whoever Jay was - hadn't come alone.

He had Iris.

...Great.

I shook the water off of my feet and slipped my shoes back on. With my usual nonchalance, I walked on over to where the man was - studying him carefully. He almost reminded me of Lockwood. He was young, handsome, and definitely charismatic from the way the girls looked at him.

But that was the last similarity. Lockwood would never have a group like this - he had his agency, and the agency just felt different from this group of girls. Jay wouldn't have a cookie rule. He wouldn't do bad imitations of accents, and wouldn't take Lucy to a graveyard as a bad first date.

(Because that was a date, no matter what either one said.)

"Hey," I said with a smirk. "I'm Skull."

Jay was entranced by the fairy.

"You're a pretty one," he said. She was shy. Then, he turned to the rest of the girls. "Come help me unpack."

Just like that, they all started to get out of the water and followed him back the way they came.

Esther and Alex continued to talk. Esther let it slip that she had the aspiration to be a singer, and Alex insisted that she would have to sing. She still wasn't fully processing of all of this, but she tried not to think about it too hard.

"Oh, we met Iris a long time ago," Esther said casually. "She's our spiritual advisor."

"So there are fairies in this world," Jay said quietly.

"Yep," said Esther, as casually as she possibly could. Just then, Helen turned to Elizabeth and then to Jay. "She wants to borrow my sewing kit." Without a word, Jay handed her the car keys, staring at Elizabeth a second too long as he did. And he turned to the rest of the girls.

"Go help them unpack," Jay said. "It's getting late, and we have to set up camp." As the others left the way Jay had come, he turned to Esther.

"I want to know about you."

Esther's heart was pounding. She saw the way he was looking at her. She knew that look.

Oh god, no. The last thing she needed was her life to become a bad remake of Back to the Future. But she saw the way Alex was looking at her and knew she didn't have a choice.

She'd have to think about what to say. Jay helped her up with his hand. She took it and began to follow him down the trail.

This wasn't happening.

"Esther," he said. "She was a Queen in the Bible."

"I don't know if my parents were thinking about that when they named me," Esther said casually.

Jay gave her the slightest smile as he continued. "Esther what?"

"Esther Lucille... Bowie." Bowie? God that was dumb, but it was the first thing she could think of.

Her heart was pounding as they walked deeper into the woods.