"You're such a scaredy-cat," Chloe taunted, calling from where she was standing at the bottom of the hill. She had just made her way down, and now Dream was standing at the top of the hill, her heart pounding as she looked down. "I thought you were a pro at winter sports, hm?"
"That was like two years ago, when I lived in Switzerland," Dream snapped. "Cut me some slack, will you?"
"Aw, too bad," Chloe teased. "These are the kinds of things that once you learn, you know how to do it for the rest of your life. It's like riding a bike."
"You are freaking annoying," Dream said, scowling.
"Just hurry up and get it over with, it's fun," Chloe grinned.
"Okay," Dream said, closing her eyes. "I'll go down on the count of three. One, t--" She suddenly felt two hands on her back, pushing her down. "WHAT THE FREAK?" she shrieked.
She landed at the bottom of the hill with a thud. "Ow," she stood up, rubbing her head where she had fallen after she plummeted from the top of the hill. "What the heck was that?" she glowered at Chloe.
Chloe shrugged, "It wasn't me. My arms are kind of long for my height, but they aren't that long."
"Then who..." Dream looked up the hill, hearing a high-pitched giggle. Okay, that sounded nothing like Francesca or Fatima, or any of her other friends. Instead, it sounded like a little kid...
"Damon!" she heard either Francesca or Fatima say. "We do not push people. That is not nice."
"You've got to be freaking kidding me right now," Dream grumbled.
"Dang," Chloe said, looking up the hill at the short boy. "That little kid pushed you?"
"That little kid happens to be Francesca and Fatima's little brother," Dream said. "I thought he was a cute child, but looks like he is the spawn of the devil. He could have killed me," she said venomously. "And look at him giggling."
"He is cute," Chloe said. "He looks like he's, seven or eight, maybe?"
Dream glowered at her. "He is a demon. DEMONS ARE NOT CUTE."
"Whee!!" he slid down on his skis, a big smile on his chubby face. "Look at meee!" he called to his sister (either Francesca or Fatima), who was still standing at the top of the hill.
"Aww," Chloe said. "Look at him. He's so adorable!"
Dream punched her in the shoulder.
"Ow!" Chloe flinched. "I mean," she said quickly. "He looks adorable on the outside, but that's just a trick to make people think he's an angel, right?"
Dream grumbled, still shaking her head.
Damon approached Dream and Chloe. "Haha, I pushed you," he stuck his tongue out at Dream. "And you fell screaming like a little girl," he taunted.
"And this is who you called cute?" Dream spat.
Chloe rolled her eyes. "Fine, yeah, whatever."
Beside them, Francesca - it was Francesca earlier - skied down.
"Sorry he pushed you," she said tightly. "We're still teaching him manners."
"That's okay," Dream said, equally tightly.
And Chloe, being Chloe, decided to open her big fat mouth at that exact moment. "You know, why are you and your sister teaching your little brother manners? Your dad is estranged, how about your mom?"
Dream gaped at Chloe. "What the heck? That's so rude!"
Chloe shrugged. "You want to know. Your weakness is that you don't know how to be blunt."
Francesca stared at them for a moment, pain flashing in her eyes.
"Apologize," Dream demanded at Chloe.
"I'm sorry," Chloe said. "I guess, I'm just too tired of everyone talking about how evil you are and what not, and Dream defending you with random assumptions. It'd be nice to finally have some solid facts, right?"
"My mom won custody of all three of us when our parents were divorced," Francesca blurted out. "I wanted to be with my dad, and I hate my mom more than anything, but she cut off all ties with him so I'm legally not allowed to contact him. When Fatima and I turned sixteen in August, we sought legal emancipation and adopted our brother. Happy?"
"I'm sorry to hear that," Dream said softly. "It must not be easy for you."
"Anything is better than having to live with that woman," Francesca spat.
"At least I bet that your mom is nothing like the evil, horrible, terrible, hated, dun dun DUN! Mrs. Woods," Chloe said dramatically.
Dream's eyes widened in horror. "Chloe! Stop. Talking. Do you even hear yourself?"
Chloe shrugged.
Francesca looked down, not wanting to say anything.
"Sorry about her," Dream said. "She...doesn't think before she talks."
"It's okay," Francesca said, sounding upset. "It's just...my mom..." she hesitated.
"What?" Chloe said, her eyes wide. Dream pinched her arm, causing Chloe to squeal.
"Give her space," Dream said snappily. "Don't force her to talk if she doesn't want to."
Francesca gave a loud sigh. "Sorry about Fatima," she warned in advance. "She will kill me if she finds out I'm telling you this."
"It's okay, I understand this is private and hard for you to say," Dream tried to sound understanding but honestly, she could not relate at all.
"My mom...is...Mrs. Woods."
---
A/N
Dun dun dunnnn................
Honestly, a lot of you guys already guessed this (more than I expected lol)! Sooo what do you guys think? Did your opinions of Mr. Baren, Francesca, Fatima, and Damon change after this chapter?
Next chapter we're going to explain a lot more of what's actually going on, so stay tuned for that!
Please vote, comment, and share! And... thank you guys SO much for 3k reads!!! I have no idea how on earth I could possibly thank you!!
Next update: Friday
💙, Stella Rose
YOU ARE READING
The Mrs. Woods Mystery
Teen Fiction"Between you and me, I specifically requested to be in Mrs. Woods' class," Zac said, slightly louder so Dream could hear him. "What?! Why would you do that?" "To investigate," Zac admitted. "Investigate what?" "It's a horrible thing," Zac sa...
