Jane-Anne Pearce

"What did you get for number five?" I asked.

"2, but that feels wrong," said Taylor. "I haven't gotten a single whole number this entire packet."

"Well, that's what I got." I said, feeling a bit more confident in my answer.

"Yeah... 2... totally." said Kiara, erasing her paper furiously. "Math sucks." she added offhandedly. Her fedora was starting to slip, but Taylor caught it without even looking up.

"I need to use the restroom." I announced suddenly. "Taylor, can you ask my mom for some snacks? She's probably downstairs."

Inside, I was celebrating like crazy. I had practiced saying those words casually in front of the mirror fifty times. Now here I was, lying successfully.

Me.

Lying.

As I walked to the bathroom, I tried not to skip with absolute glee. I shut the door and listened for Taylor's footsteps as she made her way downstairs. When I was sure that she had made it to the kitchen, I crept after her.

As I had guessed, Taylor was locked in a conversation with my mother. The plan was in place. I held out my phone and pressed record, listening to the conversation intently.

"How is she?" Mom asked.

"She seems fine, but I'm still worried. I know that everyone's on edge with the Ivy situation, but we can't let Jane-Anne slip by too. I feel like she doesn't trust us like she should." Taylor explained.

I stopped just short of the doorway and placed my back against the wall, taking slow, quiet breaths.

"Have you been doing everything you can?" Mom asked.

"Of course I have!" said Taylor. "It's not like I have much of a choice."

"Watch the way you speak to me," said Mom. Her words were calm, but they still had a terrifying chill to them.

"Sorry," said Taylor. "It's just that she and Carter seem to have made up after the funeral." Taylor explained.

"What?" Mom asked.

"Surprised me too. I thought using Asher was overkill, but now I get it. The flyers last year should have broken them permanently, but now Rowan is overriding everything." Taylor explained.

"What about the Scotts?" Mom asked.

"Well, after the Asher thing, she's stayed away from him. For Ivy, we got Kiara to spread some rumors. We even showed Ivy that Jane-Anne had a motive with Jacob. The thing is, Ivy's gotten past it." said Taylor. She almost sounded scared.

"Great," said Mom, sounding irritated. "Keep Jane-Anne close. When she's out of my sight, she should be in yours."

"I know." Taylor huffed."It's just... would it really be that bad if Jane-Anne expanded her circle a bit?"

"Do you think you know better than me?" Mom asked.

"Of course not." said Taylor, with a tinge of sarcasm. "Gomenasai." She was probably rolling her eyes right now.

"I will wish you out of existence." Mom threatened, displeased with Taylor's attitude. 

"No you won't." said Taylor assuredly. At this point, I actually dared to peek my head into the kitchen to watch this strange exchange take place in real time.

It looked like Taylor was by herself, looking around impatiently. Suddenly, she ducked from an invisible force and skillfully leapt away. Concentration took over her face as she scanned the empty kitchen and grabbed hold of an invisible opponent. My mom suddenly appeared out of nothingness, Taylor's hands wrapped firmly around her wrists. Taylor quickly let go and my mom nodded at her in approval.

"You're getting better," said Mom. There was a pride in her voice that I'd never heard her use before. Not with me anyway.

"Arigato Gozaimasu." said Taylor, bowing respectfully.

"You should get back with the others. I feel like Kiara doesn't take her job seriously sometimes." Mom instructed, handing Taylor a plate of inarizushi.

"She does take it seriously." Taylor insisted.

"I'll agree with you when I see it." said Mom dismissively. "She's on thin ice among the residents here, and I'm not afraid to kick her out." I ducked away from the doorway and out of view. I had no idea what was going on, but I needed to get out.

As quietly as I possibly could, I opened the front door and made my way outside. My bare feet met the grass as I made my way to Dad's Mercedes, which still had the keys inside. My hands shook nervously, and I could barely start the engine. It was only a matter of time before someone would notice I was missing.

A harsh knock on the car window startled me. It was Kiara.

"Where are you going?" Kiara made the question sound simple and innocent, but something else was clearly behind her smile.

"Out!" I called.

"I'm sorry, I can't hear you. The window." said Kiara. That had to be a lie, considering that I could hear her just fine.

"Right." I said. I rolled down the window and reached out my arm. In a large, sweeping motion, I knocked Kiara's fedora off her head.

I wasn't sure what would happen, but I was aiming for some kind of distraction. Kiara screamed in absolute terror and ducked down in search of her hat. Her hand covered the top of her head, but I didn't waste a second looking back at what I had just revealed. The car sped out of the driveway, leaving the house behind.

I knocked on the door of Ivy Scott's house desperately. Asher answered, only to find me barefoot and terrified.

"Jane-Anne?" He asked, confused.

"Where's Ivy?" I asked, out of breath. I glanced behind me, unsure if Taylor and Kiara had caught up to me by now.

"What's going on? Do you need help?" Asher asked. He opened the door wider for me to come in. As soon as I was inside, he locked the door.

"Taylor and Kiara. Don't let them in." I said, still out of breath.

Asher nodded. "Do you need water or something?" he asked.

"Where's Ivy?" I repeated.

"In her room," said Asher. "Are you sure I can't help?"

I didn't bother to answer as I sprinted up the stairs and knocked on Ivy's bedroom door.

"I'm not going to talk to you." Ivy responded.

"Ivy?" I asked. The door swung open. Ivy was there, still in her school uniform. "What's going on?" she asked.

"You're not going to believe me." I said. I walked straight into Ivy's room and sat on her bed. "Something really weird is going on. I think that my Mom can turn invisible or something. I just-"

"Slow down," said Ivy. Behind her glasses, her eyes looked extremely concerned. "What do you think you saw?"

"I think my mom has super powers and Taylor and Kiara have something to do with it!" I exclaimed.

"Lower your voice!" Ivy hissed. "I don't need my dad overhearing anything weird." She looked around. "I'm sure there's an explanation. Let me do something really quick." Ivy walked out of her room, but I caught her pulling her phone out as she shut the door behind her.

Slowly, I walked to the door and placed my ear against it.

"I wasn't sure who else to call." I could hear Ivy whisper softly. "No, not for sure. But she's talking about super powers and stuff. I know Carter, that's why I'm calling. If I don't do anything, it's going to look bad." There was a brief silence before Ivy continued. "Fine, if I leave my house, who would be watching me? Don't play dumb, who is it? Dryad?" Some more silence. "I can work with that. Meet me at the - Yes, there." Ivy sighed dramatically, and I could hear her footsteps circle back to the door.

I raced back to the bed and tried my best to look dumb. It was easy enough, considering that dumb was my default.

"What were you doing?" I asked.

"Are you sure that you actually saw your mom turn invisible?" Ivy asked me.

"I'm not making this up! Seriously, do you think I have it in me to lie?" I asked.

"Did you talk to anyone about this besides me?" Ivy asked.

"I asked your brother not to let in Taylor or Kiara." I answered. Ivy was actually taking me seriously, which was foreign. My words have never been something worth paying attention to.

"Nothing else?" Ivy asked. She was pacing now.

"No." I promised.

"That's good," said Ivy. "Why don't we go somewhere more private to talk about this?"

"This is your room. Isn't it private?" I asked.

"I cannot stress how important it is that my Dad doesn't hear about any of this. He's downstairs." said Ivy. "So can you just come with me?"

"Where?" I asked.

Ivy huffed, her frustration building. I always irritate the people around me. "Okay, let's go." I agreed.

Ivy and I traveled all the way to her basement and exited into the backyard. I had to borrow her boots before following her straight into the woods to a small secluded beach. "I had no idea this was here." I whispered in awe. The water stretched all the way back to Atalka Trail on the other side of the gate. I walked across the sand, which only stretched a couple of yards before meeting the blue water. The water lapped the shore peacefully, with barely any ripples.

I walked until the boots I was wearing nearly met the river. The water started to get excited, splashing onto my shoes. I backed away quickly, and realized that I had nothing to do with the water at all. Before me, a small statue of water was rising. The water darkened, and I could make out Makaya's features. Some of her hair was braided like a crown on the top of her head, while the rest remained free. Water surrounded her completely, slipping from her shoulders like a dress that melted back into the river.

Makaya floated towards us effortlessly, and the water melted away, revealing a white dress. "Hi Jane-Anne," said Makaya casually.

"You just..." I didn't even know what to say.

"I didn't expect you." said Ivy.

"Has that ever stopped me?" Makaya asked.

"This has nothing to do with you. I can take care of this from here." From the foliage behind us, I could see Mrs. Delaney step out from the woods. Feeling the need to match Makaya's spectacle, Mrs. Delaney surrounded herself with vines that framed her like a throne, and was wearing a vibrant flower crown with white trilliums.

"What is going on?" I asked. Maybe I was hallucinating or something. 

"If you just calm down, we can explain everything." said Makaya.

"We don't need you here, Ms. Gladwell. Need I remind you that you're on probation?" Mrs. Delaney asked. Her harsh tone didn't match the way she talked to her students. The water started to dance with an angry energy, and I could hear the crackling of branches continuing to spread. Makaya and Mrs. Delaney were locked in a silent battle of wills. A fight was coming, and I didn't want to be there when it happened.

I raced into the woods, not looking back. Branches slapped my face and nettles pulled at my clothes, but I didn't care. The woods around me were starting to twist and contort, mirroring Mrs. Delaney's anger. I stumbled as thorns stuck to my coat. I shrugged it off quickly, and stole a glance at the beach.

A giant wall of water slammed into the beach violently, but Mrs. Delaney didn't budge. I glanced at her legs, which were tightly wrapped in roots. The woods leapt into action around me, extending to the water. I ducked to the forest floor as nature retaliated against Makaya fiercely.

I looked above me to see the trees twisted, nearly horizontal. I couldn't see the beach anymore, which was comforting. I tried to crawl further away, but navigating the distorted wildlife was difficult. Tired, I decided to stop.

This had to be a dream, but I couldn't make it stop. I tried to slow my breathing and calm down, but I was dizzy with fear and adrenaline.

Right next to me, there was a small white flower. A trillium. I picked the floret and twirled its stem between my fingers. The woods were slowly retreating back to normal. All around me, trees and plants retracted their spindly vines and branches and straightened pridefully. I stood up with the rest of the forest. The fight must have ended, but I couldn't see Mrs. Delaney or Makaya anywhere.

"Those take seven years to grow back." said Ivy, appearing through the straightening trees. I looked up at Ivy and hid the trillium instinctively.

"You can't do anything about it now," said Ivy, shrugging. "I just thought you should know."

"What's going on?" I asked Ivy.

"You just caught your first glimpse at the Forbidden. They're living embodiments of almost every myth and legend out there." Ivy explained. As she stepped towards me, I stepped back. "Don't worry about me. I'm normal. As normal as I can be, anyway." Ivy added.

"Is my mom one of them?" I asked, recalling what I had seen in the kitchen.

"Yeah." said Ivy.

"So what's your role in all of this?" I asked.

Ivy sighed. "I have absolutely no idea. I'm just trying to stay on their good side. If they investigate my family, bad things could happen. I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"Bad things?" I asked.

"Did you see what they were doing out there?" Ivy asked, gesturing back to the beach. "And they're just annoyed with each other. They have some kind of rivalry I can't figure out."

"Rowan didn't just die of hypothermia, did she?" I asked.

"No, but I don't know who did it. No one does." said Ivy. "I'm really sorry about that."

"This is just... a lot." I said, still in shock.

"I know," said Ivy. "Let's sit down." Ivy sat down by a fern, and I sat beside her. "I need you to breathe for me, and close your eyes."

"Okay." I closed my eyes obediently and took a deep breath.

"Again." Ivy instructed gently.

I took another deep breath.

"I want you to think about a place where you feel safe." Ivy continued. I thought about the small garden that my mom used to take me to when I was little. I relaxed a bit, and rested my head on Ivy's shoulder.

I took one more breath, but this time, I thought I could hear the sound of typing. I opened my eyes and looked at Ivy, who shut off her phone.

"You told them where we are, didn't you?" I realized.

Ivy nodded solemnly. She was staring straight ahead, refusing to look me in the eye. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"What's going to happen to me?" I asked.

"I'm not sure," said Ivy. "You might get a trial, like me, or your mom could do something else."

"She'll do something else." I decided. I had given up completely on the idea of running away. I was resigned to whatever was going to happen. "My mom doesn't trust me with anything."

"She's just trying to keep you safe." said Ivy, but I could tell she didn't believe it. I could hear a branch snap from somewhere. They were coming.

I looked at the small white flower in my hand. "Is it true it takes seven years for these to grow back?" I asked.

"Yeah." said Ivy. "It takes some time, but it'll be fine." Ivy squeezed my hand and stood up. She nodded her head respectfully as my mom came into view, Taylor close behind.

"Thank you, Ivy." said Mom. "Carter and Jessica are working on calming down Mrs. Delaney and Makaya. They could probably use your help."

"Sure, Mrs. Pearce," said Ivy. She walked away, not bothering to glance back at me. The realization of her betrayal was beginning to weigh on my chest.

"And Ivy?" Mom asked.

"Yes?"

"No one will hear about this." Mom instructed.

"Of course," said Ivy. She walked away, defeated. I watched her go, an unfamiliar anger beginning to form in the pit of my stomach.

"Make sure she doesn't remember." Mom instructed Taylor.

"Is that what you wish?" Taylor asked.

"It is." said Mom.

"You get one more, so you better make sure this doesn't happen again." Taylor warned.

Mom nodded. "Any suggestions about what I should do?"

"I think Ivy and Carter proved themselves responsible today." said Taylor. "Maybe you can let her have more than two friends." As she spoke, Taylor didn't bother to look at me.

"You're right." Mom admitted. "I wish that Jane-Anne would forget the events of today."

Taylor bowed. When she looked up at me, she gave me a small smile of sympathy. Her skin rippled with glowing blue tattoos. When her hand reached for my forehead, it glowed with a formidable blue light.

Dear Diary,

It's been a pretty uneventful day. I'm not even sure if it's worth it to write anything down. My phone broke today, and Mom said she would get me a new one. Also, I think someone ripped a few pages out of my diary. It may have been me. Maybe I wanted to start over or something. I'm sure it wasn't anything important.

A/N: Hi guys! I know that this was a long one, but I hope you enjoyed Jane-Anne's adventure. We definitely learned a lot about Mrs. Pearce's... methods. On a personal note, finals are the worst! I'll see you guys with another chapter soon. Hope you guys have a great day!

QOTD: Why do you think Mrs. Pearce is doing this?