Chapter 18: Speed Bumps

“NOOOOOO! My clothes, my food, my exercise machines!”

“Your whip,” I whisper in shock.

Fairy Godmonster’s eyes turn pink. She throws herself on the bed. “They’ll expel me from Fairy Court if they hear about this.”

“WHAT HAPPENED TO GODZILLA!?”

“She’s in the NTMT chip.”

“THE CHIP IS IN GODZILLA AND SHE’S GONE!”

“Oh, chill. It’s really a matter of semantics. The nanoparticles in the NTMT chip have transferring intelligence. There are safeguards against sintering. I’m sure the quantum confinement cell enclosed Godzilla inside.”

“Is that good?” My legs wobble. I collapse on the edge of the bed.

“It’s only a matter of time. Godzilla won’t be able to digest the NTMT chip. When she poops, she’ll reappear.”

“How long will that take?” I ask.

“One to four days. Of course, the poop will still be invisible, except for the microscopic luster,” she adds.

My head spins. “Four days?”

She nods.

I’m dead meat.

A car door slams.

“They’re back.” I stand up in panic and the room swirls around. Fairy Godmonster

grabs me before I crash to the floor.

“Buck up. Quick. Let’s go.”

She hustles me out of the room. I start to close the door.

“No. Leave it open a crack, to cover your tracks. Get downstairs and pretend to be working.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I have to get the Luster Detector from my motorcycle.”

“How will you find it at night?”

She rolls her eyes.

I forget about her X-ray vision.

“You can’t get downstairs in time,” I say in panic.

She smiles. “I’ll climb out the attic window and jump.”

My brain swirls and I want to throw up. “I can’t get Kong out of here in time.”

“I’ll take him with me,” she says.

“He weighs a hundred-and-forty pounds!”

“I don’t lift weights for fun. Some of my monster clients are huge. Now go!” She sprints for the attic.

“Wait!” I yell. “Here’s the key!” I throw it to her.

The front door opens.

I run down the hall and eye the banister. I jump on, sliding like a maniac. Faster and faster. The curve comes sooner than I remember. My legs sail off. I fly through the air. Hit the back of the sofa, roll over the wedding presents and crash to the floor. I stand up and try to look casual, heart hammering in my chest.

John and Claire walk into the room.

Claire hands me a milkshake. “The house looks wonderful.”

“You did a great job,” adds John.

I cross my legs to stop them from shaking.

“Thanks. Did you have a good dinner?”

John pats his stomach. “Delicious. For a small town, you have a good selection of restaurants.”

“If you don’t mind, I need to get to bed early,” I say.

“You earned it.” John smiles.

“David called while we were at the restaurant,” Claire says. “He doesn’t know when he’ll be home. He’s searching the city’s shops for enough benches.”

John laughs. “You’ll have to do with my expertise in the morning.”

“I don’t expect you to help when David isn’t here, John,” I say. “You’re company.”

“I need the workout. Can’t have you doing everything alone, so I better go to bed. See you in the morning. Goodnight.” John strides toward the den.

“‘Night. Thanks.” I swallow a gulp of chocolate shake to soothe my dry throat. It tastes like mud.

Mr. Dudley saunters into the room. “I’m impressed with your work ethic, young lady. Good job.”

Fairy Godmonster’s magic did the work. I ignore the guilt. “Thanks for the milkshake, Mr. Dudley.”

“Least I could do.” His cell phone rings and he excuses himself.

Weasel hovers in the doorway. “I wonder how you accomplished so much in such a

short time.”

“Mother. That’s not nice,” Claire says in a quiet voice.

Daria’s piercing screech fills the house. Chills shiver all the way to my toes.

Weasel rushes to the stairs. Claire follows her and I stumble after them.

Daria screams and runs down the stairs. “G-Gazella’s gone!”

“Dear heavens!” exclaims Weasel. “The mousetraps.”

“GAZELLA!” Daria heads for the kitchen.

“I put the mousetraps away after I caught the mice, Mrs. Dudley.”

Weasel clutches her throat in silence.

Claire grabs her sister. “Calm down, Daria. I’ll help you search the house. She has to be here somewhere.”

Daria points at me and screeches louder. “She cleaned my room and left the door open.”

I tell the truth. “The cat was there the last time I saw her.”

“We’ll find her.” Claire takes Daria’s hand. “You get some sleep, Winifred.”

“Thanks. ‘Night.” I hurry up the stairs. Fairy Godmonster left the key and I lock myself in the attic. I plop down on the bed and stare at the ceiling. The hot tub gurgles.

“Daria. Come back inside.” Mr. Dudley’s voice booms through my open window.

“Gazella! Gazella, kitty, kitty!”

“Come in this house, young lady.”

“Daddy, she’s not in the house! She got outside! She’ll die!”

“Cats are very good at hiding, Daria. Besides, you can’t find a black cat in the dark. We’ll look in the morning. Time for bed.”

“I can’t sleep without Gazella! She’s my only friend!” Daria starts crying like her heart is breaking. Her sobs get louder and then there is silence.

Mr. Dudley and Daria have gone inside, but Daria’s cries still fill my mind. I know it’s not my fault that her cat disappeared. What if Godzilla never comes back?

I roll over, totally lost. “Oh, Mom. What am I going to do?”

The moon peeps over the windowsill and a beam of light shines on Mom’s trunks.

I drag myself off the bed. With a shaky hand, I slowly lift one lid and see Mom’s beautiful clothes. I search through them carefully and go on to the next trunk. Under a pile of books is a soft, leather diary with a single rose etched on the cover. I hold my breath and open it. The title leaps out from the lace-edged pages, “To Winifred, My Precious Daughter.”