Coraline's Twin

Chapter 7: Miss Spink and Forcible

We walked down the stairs and came to a door. Coraline used the comedy/tragedy door knocker, but no one came. I peered into the glass window and then jumped back. Three black Scottie dogs were jumping up and down while yapping their heads off. A lady with a walker wearing a robe came to the door and opened it.

"Oh cease your infernal yapping!" She said harshly to the dogs before glancing up to us. "How nice to see you, Caroline and Coral. Would you like to come in? We're playing cards." She asked nicely.
"It's still Coraline Miss Spink." Coraline said.
"Yeah and mine is Carol." I say.

"Miriam! Put the kettle on!" She called over her shoulder, ignoring what Coraline and I said.
She lead us into the apartment. I looked around and saw posters of what they performed when they were younger.
I saw a taller woman in the kitchen wearing a pink robe, blue glasses and had platinum blonde hair, which I think was a wig, and guessed it was Miss Forcible.

"April, I think you're being followed." She said, peering through the glasses she held.
"It's the new neighbour, Miriam - Caroline and Coral?" Miss Spink said, Coraline and I both waved. "They'll be having the Oolong tea."
"No, no, no. I'm sure they'll prefer Jasmine." Miss Forcible said.
"No, Oolong." Miss Spink replied.
"Ah, Jasmine it is." Miss Forcible said, turning back to the kitchen.

I saw Miss Spink do a small facepalm and smiled. It seems as though they've been like this for a while. She lead us to a red sofa.
"Get off, boys!" She said to the three dogs sitting on the sofa.
She motioned us to sit down, so we did. I looked up and got a huge fright. There was a huge bookcase stuffed with Scottie dogs in knitted jumpers with angel wings.
"Are those dogs...real?" I ask.

She sighed. "Our sweet, departed angels. Couldn't bear to part with them...so we had them stuffed." She said before pointing to different dogs. " Now, there's Hamish the third, the fourth, the eighth, the ninth. Angus the second, the fifth, the..."

Miss Forcible came in with a tea tray with two teacups and a bowl of circular candies.
"Oh go on, have one ­it's hand-pulled taffy from Brighton, best in the world." Miss Forcible said.
Coraline reached for a candy, but her hand got stuck as it was so sticky. She tried getting her hand off with her other hand, which got both hands stuck.

"...seventh, the third, the ninth, yes, the fourth I'm right and Jock Junior, Jock senior, Jock the third, the fourth..." Miss Spink continued on, oblivious to what was going on.

I grabbed the bowl and pulled, but her hands wouldn't budge. After one huge pull the candy finally un-sticks itself and flew up, sticking to the ceiling.

" ...oh, and that's Jock's 2nd cousin, twice removed." Miss Spink said before turning around.

Coraline and I were about to have a sip of the tea before Miss Spink pointed to Coraline's cup.
"I can read them if you'd like." She said.
"Read what?" Coraline asked.
"Oh, your tea leaves, dear. They'll tell me your future. Drink up then, go on" Miss Spink said.
I watched, amused, as Coraline gulped down the tea.

"No, not all of it, not all of it. That's right, now hand it over." Miss Spink said after putting on a purple hat with an eye in the middle and a blue feather pointing up on the top.
Coraline handed the cup over to Miss Spink, who swirled the teacup around before looking in it.
"Oh... Caroline, Caroline, Caroline, you are in terrible danger." She said looking up to Coraline.
I heard Miss Forcible snort.

"Oh, give me that cup, April, your eyes are going." She said, taking the hat off of Miss Spink and onto her head.
"My eyes? You're as blind as a bat!" Miss Spink retorted before passing the cup over to Miss Forcible, who adjusted her glasses.
"Oh, now, ummm... not to worry, child, it's good news, there's a tall, handsome beast in your future." Miss Forcible said.
I snickered.

"A what?" Coraline asked.
"Miriam, oh really, you're holding it wrong." Miss Spink said before rotating the cup. "See? Danger!"
"What do you see?" I ask, wanting to know more.
The two ladies, heads side-by-side, looked into the cup again.

"I see a very peculiar hand." Miss Spink said.
"I see a giraffe." Miss Forcible said, rotating the cup again.
I giggled.
"Giraffes don't just fall from the sky, Miriam." Miss Spink said before the bowl of candy fell from the roof and smashed.
"Oh!" Miss Spink said.
"Oh, lord!" Miss Forcible said.

"Well, what should I do?" Coraline asked.
"Never wear green in your dressing room." Miss Spink told Coraline.
"Acquire a very tall step ladder." Miss Forcible added.
"And be very, very careful. Now, was there something you came to tell us?" Miss Spink asked expectantly.

I look at Coraline who shook her head.
"No, I guess not. Thanks for the tea, though." She said getting up.
I waved before getting up and following Coraline out of the door.
"Danger?" I heard Coraline say to herself.

There was mist on the ground, it felt cool and wet. I saw something out the corner of my eye, so did Coraline, but kept on walking until Coraline turned around and pulled Wybie up by the helmet, punching him in the arm.
"Owwww!" Wybie said, rubbing his arm, lifting his helmet up.
"Great, the village stalker." Coraline said, crossing the arm.

I shoot a glare at Coraline.
"Ow, I-I wasn't stalking you. We're hunting banana slugs." He said taking some tongs out of his belt and snapping them.
"What do ya mean, "we?"" I ask.
There was a meow coming from Wybie. He opened his coat where the black cat poked his head out and climbed onto his shoulders. I smiled and stroked the cat.

"Ha! Your cat's not wild, he's a wuss-puss!" Coraline said triumphantly.
The cat shot her a glare.
"What? He hates to get his feet wet. Geez." Wybie said.
I gave the cat one more pat before it jumped off Wybie and onto the roof of the house.

"So, that doll...did you make it look like me?" Coraline asked.
I roll my eyes, that creepy doll again.
Wybie had put his helmet on again and was looking for slugs.
"Oh no I found it that way. It's older than Gramma -- old as this house probably." He said, still looking for slugs.
Coraline raised an eyebrow before pointing to herself.

"C'mom - blue hair, my swampers and raincoat?" She says.
"Yeah, doesn't that seem a little creepy?" I ask.
Wybie stood up holding a huge yellow and green slug. "Dang, look at Slugzilla!" He said.

"Ewwww! Get it away from me!" I say, stepping a few paces back.
Coraline crossed her arms. "You're just like them."
"Huh?" Wybie asked, looking at the slug to himself.
"I meant our parents, they don't listen to us either." She said.
"Uh-huh, you mind?" Wybie asked, not hearing properly, handing a camera to Coraline.

She took a few photos of him, but I wasn't paying attention. 'How could a doll that looks just like Coraline be way older than the Pink Palace?' I think.
"You know, I've never been in the Pink Palace." I heard Wybie say.
"You're kidding." I say.

"Grandma would kill me. Thinks it's dangerous or something."
"Dangerous?" Coraline asked.
"Well... she had a twin sister." Wybie started.
'Twin sister?' I thought.
"So?" I ask, wanting to hear more.

"When they were kids, Grandma's sister disappeared. She says she was stolen." Wybie explained.
"Stolen?" Coraline asked.
I zoned out and looked up to the roof to find the black cat looking through the window to our room, where the doll was.
'That cat knows something that we don't.' I think before Wybie whistled to the cat.

The cat ran down the tree and onto Wybie's shoulders.
"Look I gotta go." He said, getting onto his bike.
"Wait a minute!" Coraline yelled, but he already left.

~~~TIME SKIP~~~

"Really, Coraline?" I ask, watching her place some cheese in front of the door. It was night and we were already ready for bed, but Coraline wanted to go back to that world again.
"Really." Coraline said before scrambling back into her bed.
I sigh and fall asleep.

I awoke with a start and found the cheese was gone and so was Coraline.
"Coraline, what are we going to do with you?" I ask myself, getting out of bed and rushing to the door in the living room. Sure enough, the door was open. I hesitate before crawling in to the other world.