*** Chapter found on CYOC added by baudrie ***
Megan walked down the long, dimly lit hallway and saw that there was only one window at the very end behind her, but its light didn’t reach very far. Megan came out of the hallway and onto the landing of a grand staircase. She hurried down the stairs, her stomach jiggling with every step. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she felt agitated and a little out of breath. Her stomach growled again when her nose caught a delicious smell. She followed the scent, her mouth practically drooling. She didn’t know if it’d been the walk from the car to the creepy old mansion, or the whole getting turned into a middle-aged man, but she was starving.
Megan walked into the dining room, a dusty chandelier hung from the high ceiling. On the table was a delicious looking spread. Eggs, toast, pancakes, and hash-browns were some of the mouth-watering dishes waiting for her. Sitting around the table were a young man about her brother’s age, a little girl that looked like she could’ve Megan’s classmate, a middle-aged woman, and some people she didn’t recognize. She sat down across from the boy and the girl, next to the woman, not know that she sat with her family. Megan noticed that even sitting down she towered over everyone. From this vantage point, she could see everyone looked miserable. Her stomach growled.
“Well,” the witch appeared at the head of the table, “now that everyone’s here we can start eating.” Megan didn’t wait for the others and immediately dug into her plate. Everything was delicious! She grabbed the mug set at her place and took a sip. The dark drink in it was so rich and flavorful, she almost didn’t realize it was coffee. She’d had coffee before, it was gross and bitter, but now? She was drinking it black and it was possibly the best thing she’d ever had. Megan finally looked up at her family. The only other person eating was her mom, the teenage boy. Her brother looked at her with annoyance.
“How can you eat right now?” he asked her, his voice was soft, and almost melodic.
“I was, uh. I was really hungry,” Megan replied with her gruff voice.
“I want you to turn us back!” a squeaky voice piped up. Megan looked across the table, her dad had his fists on the table and he was scowling at the old sorceress, although on his new face it looked more like pouting.
“Hush now, eat your breakfast, little girl,” the witch replied without even looking up from her plate. Megan saw her dad’s shoulders tense as he sat back down and picked up a fork. Alan, Janet, and Megan all looked at each other, Steve didn’t take orders from others very well, something must’ve happened for him to act so obediently. The family continued to eat in silence, occasionally stealing glances at the strangers that sat further down the long dining table. Megan had just finished her third serving of bacon and eggs when the witch broke the silence. “Now that we’re all done we can start the day,” she said cheerfully, a smile that made Megan uneasy spread on her wrinkly face, “Stella,” she looked at Steve, “you’ll be in piano lessons with Mrs. Murphy for most of the day,” she gestured at an elderly woman that sat silently clutching the dirty lace tablecloth. “Jacob,” she turned to Janet, “you will help Ricardo with the garden chores. Hard work is good for young men like you.” Janet looked over at the man she assumed was Ricardo, he looked about 30, and had dark, sun weathered skin and dark black hair. “Mrs. Donaldson, you and Charisse will clean up the table and take care of the dishes,” she nodded at Alan and at a pretty, young woman in a maid’s uniform fiddling with her hands next to Ricardo. The witch stood up and began walking towards the lobby.
Megan was almost afraid to ask, but she did anyway, “What about me?”
The witch stopped and turned to face her, “Your work, Mr. Donaldson, won’t start until tomorrow. For today, feel free to relax and enjoy yourself.” Megan gulped. The old woman’s voice always dripped with malice, even when her tone was otherwise sweet.
“I’m not going to some stupid piano lesson,” Steve said.
“And I’m not gonna wash some stupid dishes. I'm not anyone’s maid!” Alan joined in.
“She can’t make us. I won’t let her!” Steve stomped his little foot. His display of bravery was starting to look more like a temper tantrum.
Megan pushed back her chair and stood up, “I think it’s best if we just do what she says. We have no idea what she will do to us if we make angry, we could end up as roaches or toads or worse!” Her voice boomed louder than she anticipated, but everyone listened, everyone looked at her. It was strange, to be able to command everyone’s attention when just yesterday no one would listen to her.
“Your daddy’s right,” the old woman, Mrs. Murphy joined in, “that old hag is capable of anything, and she won’t hesitate to punish you and your family if you don’t play along.”
“She’s not my dad. She’s my daughter,” Steve replied indignantly.
“Whatever, no one here is who they appear to be. It’s just easier to call people by what they seem,” Ricardo had stood up. His voice was gravely and he had a thick accent, “Just look at me, I used to be a 22 year old girl, and now I’m just that old witch’s handyman.” So the strangers were also victims of the witch’s curses, Megan realized.
“Come on now,” Mrs. Murphy lead Steve by the shoulder, “for your family’s sake just do as your told.”
Janet watched her husband disappear around the corner, then turned to Ricardo, “I guess there really is no point in fighting it,” and let him lead her out to the gardens, her eyes were teary, and her voice sounded strained.
“I’ll get started on these, you bring the rest,” Charisse said to Alan as she walked into the kitchen. Alan looked at Megan, opened his mouth to say something, but stopped, huffed, and started picking dirty dishes off the table. And just like that, Megan was left standing alone in that dusty, decrepit old dining room.  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
| Members who added to this interactive story also contributed to these: |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author