Another Me

I woke up to my room stinking like rotting meat. It was faint, but persistent. I wrinkled my nose, tossed on some clothes, and went to take out the garbage. It wasn’t full but the smell was annoying. Sighing, I opened my window to air out my room and went to shower. After I ate breakfast, I slung my backpack over my shoulder and jogged to school. I ran a little faster today. I was using the wind to air out the slight smell of rot that seemed to linger around me. It worked and by the time I got to the glen, that I normally practiced in, I could no longer smell anything.

For the next couple of days, I fell into my routine and continued to practice. It wasn’t until Tuesday that I managed to get a precast spell to trigger and came to understand that the trigger had to be very specific. Unlike how Mr. Schmell explained it in class, using a generic trigger like being hit by a “Fire”, “Water”, or “Shadow” spell didn’t work, at least not for me. To get anything to trigger, I had to add triggers like “After I activate two Shadow Chains” and “After taking a hit on my right arm”. Still, it was progress and with practice maybe that limitation will lessen.

By Thursday, I also confirmed that maintaining spells had little to no effect in increasing my ability to cast them. Instead, only studying the spell formulas and repeatedly casting seemed to increase their power. I also figured out that the more I cast the more I ate. Even so, due to my tiny size, my meals never exceeded what I use to eat when I was a man.

On Friday, I hugged my mom goodbye and got into the van that the show team had sent. I was dressed in tight jean so that I could wear the boots I had found in my closet. The soles on them were raised giving me an extra couple of inches. Plus, I thought I looked bad ass. I left my face bare. Knowing that I was going to be on TV, I had played with the makeup in the desk drawer during the week, but I didn't receive any knowledge on how to apply it. Without that knowledge and the fact that I never touched the stuff before, I quickly discovered it was harder than it looked and gave up.

I pushed my snack filled duffle into the back seat of the van, sat next to Janet, and smiled. I didn't know if the crew was recording yet, so I just tried to act as normal as possible. I just made idle conversation as they drove us to a rundown mansion. The once red bricks were faded, and the painted wood was warped and peeling. I could see why it had a reputation for being haunted; the gloomy ambiance it gave off was perfect to generate such stories.

There were several burly camera men pointing cameras at us, but Janet had already warned me, and we both acted like they weren't there as we got out. Instead, we walked into the mansion as if it was a hotel. Groups of people were standing around, talking. I spotted Mary Eternal and the host talking in the far corner. According to Janet, she would still be on our team. As we walked in, they separated, and Mary came over to stand next to us.

The Host gave his dazzling smile and cleared his voice, drawling everybody's attention to him. It was about then that I noticed that the camera men hadn't entered behind us. Instead, there were six groups that consisted of one adult and two teens. If I counted the host, there were nineteen people in the big foyer.

Once we were all looking in his direction he said, "Today we are visiting the Bailey's mansion. Our Contestants will be spending two days trying to track down the hidden treasure believed to be hidden somewhere in this house. This treasure hunt will be harder because it was never discovered. Maybe they'll have better luck. Of course, if a viewer sees something and reports it to our hotline" He pointed at the air in front of him and I assumed they'd put the number there, "They can receive ten percent of the treasure that is discovered."

Then he lowered his voice and said in a conspiratorial tone, "You'll have it better for at night rumor has it that you can still hear the wails of those lost within these walls and people have been known to never come back out after spending the night. Will the lost souls let our explorers investigate unimpeded? Even if they do, can our explorers find it before a sharp-eyed viewer, or will all their efforts be for naught?"

He smiled and I couldn't help whispering to Janet, "He does know we're standing right here, right?"

She giggled and said, "Yeah, he's like that. It's why he's the host. He's smart, funny, and more importantly, yummy to look at."

“So, when are we starting?” I looked at the camera men through the still open door as I asked Janet.

But she didn’t answer. Instead, the host did. “You will be happy to know that we are already live broadcasting. As soon as I started the introduction, miniature, high-end cameras throughout the house were turned on. So, no matter where you go or what you say, our audience will be there with you to lend you moral support.”

I shot the host a stink eye and whispered to Janet, “Can I beat the pretty out of him?”

“No, you aren’t strong enough and his wife fans would hunt you down even if you were. Besides, could you bare to hit such a man?” She openly scrutinized him, like a nympho.

“Ha, ha, ha, I’ll be gentle…”

Our host used the same line I whispered to Janet and said, “You do know I’m standing right here, right? You girls are adorable. Ok, let me walk everybody through the mansion and give you a bit of history.” He gestured for everybody to follow him and said, “Let's start upstairs.” He chanted something and as he walked his sexy voice floated back so that all of us could hear it. He led us through the bedrooms and music room on the second floor, pointed out the dumbwaiter and trunk room before going up to the third floor where the servants slept. He then led us down a narrow stairway that he said was used by the servants.

They led to the kitchen and cellar. He just pointed out the cellar and mentioned there was also a root cellar outside and then led us through the first floor. Where the was a dining room, a formal dining room, a drawing room that didn’t look like it was used for drawing, a sitting room and a door that led to sleeping porch. What I found interesting was that everything looked ancient but was undamaged and dust free, as if it was just bought. It probably was. I just didn’t think the show would spend so much just to film for two and a half days.

As he walked through the house, he popularized the history of the place. I listened to him saying, “All of his family members were stabbed through their hearts in the dining room. You can still see where his saber left gouges in the wood here, here, and here. But he later moved their bodies to their beds and tucked them in to keep them from catching a cold. They were there so long that they had become withered and decayed. And over here is where the rope he used to hang himself was tied.” But the contradiction between his pleasant voice and the macabre subject made it creepier.

He continued, “There is food in the refrigerator, and the cameras inside the bedroom will shut off at ten o’clock but can be turned on again with the lights in case of an emergencies.” He looked at his watch and then outside at the sun that hung high in the sky. “Good luck, we’ll come to pick you up on Sunday at three o’clock.” Then after a final goodbye, he left us to explore on our own.