Chapter 8 - Manic Monday

Violet found Bailey waiting for her by the fence outside their school.  She smiled at her friend, and reached out to take her hand.  Bailey giggled as she felt Violet’s hand squish slightly in hers.  “So you’re really going through with it?”

Violet pulled Bailey close to her.  “I don’t care who knows I love you.”

“I meant the tentacles, but that works too.”

Violet laughed.  “I’ll be careful.  Mostly.”

Her care was strained when they met Jimmy and Katie, as the latter wanted to see Violet wiggle a tentacle.  Violet eventually broke down and had Katie cup her hands so only she could see how Violet’s thumb wiggled, sticking up between them.  “Eee, you really did it!” enthused Katie.

“I did.  And you can’t tell, okay?”

Katie mimed zipping her lips shut.  Then giggled.  “Ooh, could you actually change me to have a zipper over my lips?  That’d really help.”

“I approve of this plan,” said Jimmy with a chuckle.

Katie blew a raspberry at him.  “Little sisters do not need mute buttons.”

“Oh yes they do!”

“Oh no they don’t!”

“Break it up, you two,” giggled Violet.  “Or I’ll turn both of you into dresses.  That’d keep you quiet.”

“Please?” begged Katie.

Violet rolled her eyes and headed into the school.  As she did so, she got far more attention than she was uses to.  Every head turned her way, usually followed by worried looks, whispers, and edging away.  “Great,” she muttered.  “They’ve all seen the video of me dismembering ‘Chelsea’.”

“That’s not the reaction you were getting in the mall yesterday,” murmured Bailey.  “Something’s up.  I don’t like this.  Glad you’re Venned.”

Violet nodded, and gave Bailey a quick hug before they went their separate ways.  The worried looks continued through the day, with more than a few girls hissing “monster” at her from a safe distance.
 
At lunch Bailey admitted she’d been getting much the same.  But when they tried to talk to Amelia, the cheerleader gave them a dirty look.  They ended up eating lunch with Jimmy and Katie.  Katie put a cheerful spin on things, saying it was better to be feared than abused.

After lunch, they went their separate ways.  Amelia, Stella and Darla confronted Violet, blocking her into a corner.  Violet stood her ground.  “Think three of you are enough to face the monster?”

Stella and Darla jeered loudly, while Amelia subtly shook her head.  “Try to look pissed.”

Violet sneered, “Not a problem.”

“Chelsea’s back, and trying to ruin your reputation,” said Amelia, pitched low so nobody else could overhear.  “Don’t let her sell the ‘fearsome monster’ lie.”

“Maybe I don’t want it to be a lie,” huffed Violet.

“She’s trying to make everyone in the school too afraid of you to use your business!” hissed Amelia.  “She wants to ruin you.”

“Let them fear.  Maybe they’ll leave me alone.”  More softly, she added, “Are you afraid of me?”

“No.  But we’re going to play that way so Chelsea won’t know we’ve turned.  She needs to break you, and has something nasty planned.  I couldn’t find out what.  Be careful.”

With that warning, Amelia backed away.  Loudly she added, “Pah, you call that a monster?  Pathetic.”  The three cheerleaders turned their backs on Violet and walked away.

Violet shrugged, and moved on to her next class.  It took enough of her attention to keep her hand looking like a hand while taking notes that she ignored the looks and whispers from the others.

On her way to the last class of the day, Violet passed Chelsea in the hallways.  The queen of the school was looking tired, but she flashed Violet a triumphant, evil grin.  “Bye, Violet.”

Violet turned to watch her go, confused.  “Whatever.  She’s insane, that has to be it.”

Partway through class, the teacher approached Violet.  “The vice principal wants to see you.  Now.  Pack your things.”

Violet did as she was told.  At the office, she was waved in to the vice principal’s office, and found a female police officer there.  “What is this about?”

“Constable Blackthorne here has some questions for you,” said Mr. Hanley.

Violet shrugged, and sat down.  “Okay.”

“I understand you were at the school party on Friday night, in an... unusual form.  Can you describe it?”

Violet’s eyes lit up.  “Oh yeah!  I was this giant spider-like thing that could roll itself up into a ball and look like a giant eyeball instead.  We had so much fun scaring the people coming through the maze.”

“By we you are referring to your partner, Bailey York?”

Violet nodded.  “Yes, she was the giant tentacled panther.  She did most of the scaring, really.  I helped with illumination and atmosphere.”

Constable Blackthorne made some notes, and flipped through her notebook to another page.  “If I understand correctly, you cannot have designed your own shape.  Was Ms. York the designer?”

“Of course.  Why are you asking?”

“So she is the one that equipped you with deadly weapons?”

Violet’s eyes went very wide.  “What?”  She wanted to protest further, but the police woman’s avid expression made her remember her mother’s lessons about talking to the police.  More specifically, to not to.  “I have nothing further to say until my Mother is present.”

Despite the police woman pointing out that testimony regarding others could be compelled, Violet stayed quiet.  “Look, kid, it’s just some basic questions.  They’re not even about you, you can’t invoke self-incrimination.  If we can’t do this here, we’ll have to do it at the station.”

Violet shrugged.  A minute later she was being led out of the school in handcuffs.  Classes had just let out, and she looked around desperately for Bailey or any friendly face.  All she saw were Amelia, Stella and Darla.  “Amelia!  Tell Bailey to call my mom!”

“That’s enough out of you,” said the police woman.  “Keep moving.”

When Bailey made it to the school entrance she looked around for Violet.  Chelsea was there with the other cheerleaders.  “Looking for someone?  You won’t find her.”

“What have you done?”

Chelsea chuckled wickedly.  “Oh, she’s done it all to herself.  This time.”

Stella spoke up then.  “You should have seen it.  Dragged away in handcuffs, crying for her mommy.”

Bailey’s eyes went wide, but before she said how improbable that sounded she stopped herself.  She limited her response to a muttered, “bitch” and hurried away.

At the police station, Violet maintained her stony silence in the face of both threats and promises.  “I want my phone call,” she insisted once Constable Blackthorne had finally given up talking.

“This isn’t the US, kid.  We’re not required to give you one.  Besides, you have a cell phone.”

“Had.  You took my purse.”

“Oops.  See you in the morning.”

Violet rolled her eyes.  “Are you really threatening to leave me here?”

“Just answer the questions!  Why are you making this so difficult?”

“Because you’re trying to railroad me, or Bailey, or both.  I’m not answering without a lawyer present.”

“First you said your mother.  Now you’re asking for a lawyer.  We’re not required...”

“Not required to what, exactly?” asked a familiar voice that made Violet grin.  The woman that strode into the interrogation room bore little resemblance to “Ruby” from the mall.  Wearing a well-tailored suit and subtle makeup to conceal her reduced age, Mrs. Powell looked every inch the lawyer.

“Mom!” cried Violet happily, slipping a hand out of the cuffs to wave.  At her mother’s stern look she squeezed it back into a tentacle and slipped it back into the handcuff before the constable could see.

“What lies have you been feeding my client?  She is a minor, and you know damn well what the requirements are for questioning one.”

“She doesn’t look like...”

“She’s a high school student, and you started questioning her at her high school.  Do you have a warrant?  Anything?”

“No,” said Constable Blackthorne woman weakly.

“Then get her out of those cuffs and out of here.”

“We just need some questions answered before she goes.”

Mrs. Powell raised an eyebrow.  “Are you charging her with anything?”

“Um…”

“Then you can’t hold her.  Send us your questions, and we will provide written answers.”

The police woman’s expression turned sour.  “How do I know you’ll answer?”

“Nobody was injured in the incident,” said Violet’s mother.  “Why are you even pursuing this?”

“Because the injured party is trying to press assault charges.  From the look of the video, she has a case.”

“Katie would never!” exclaimed Violet, before shutting up at a glare from her mother.

“No, that’s not the name...”  Constable Blackthorne flipped through her notes.

“Is Chelsea Azrael the party attempting to claim damages?  The video you mentioned names her, but the person seen in it is obviously a product of the Venn Machines.  It could be anyone.”

“That’s as may be, but the video clearly shows an assault causing grievous bodily harm!”

“To a person who was obviously designed to fall apart at the slightest touch,” replied Mrs. Powell calmly.  “They were Venned.  No harm was done.  Do you think you can sell a case to a jury without any record of a hospital visit?”

“That’s just it,” said Constable Blackthorne.  “I have a hospital admittance record for Miss Azrael showing extensive bruising and physical trauma.”

“What?” asked Violet, only to be shushed again by her mother.

“A record that is consistent with an obviously Venned body being assaulted?  You’d need a jury full of people who’ve never even heard of Venn Machines to sell that one.”

Constable Blackthorne stared at her notes.  “I trust the person who signed off on the medical exam.  They wouldn’t lie.”

“I wouldn’t put it past Chelsea to injure herself to get sympathy,” muttered Violet darkly.

“Speculation, and unfounded,” said Mrs. Powell when Constable Blackthorne started to make further notes.

“No, it’s fine.  You’re right, there’s no way the injuries are remotely compatible with the events of the video.  Do you want to press charges for filing a false claim?  Against someone with the Azrael’s resources, I’d advise against it, but...”

“No, that’s fine.  We just want to put this behind us and go home.”

“Right,” said the police woman, nodding sharply.  “I’ll see about getting keys for those cuffs.  Back in a tick.”

The moment the police woman had left the room, Violet easily slipped her tentacle arms free and hugged her mother tight.  “Thank you!  You were amazing.”

“I may not be a great mother, but I’m a pretty darn good lawyer.”

Violet hugged her tighter.  “No!  Seeing you come in here like an avenging angel?  You are an amazing mother.”

Constable Blackthorne looked at the two of them, then over at the cuffs, then down at the key in her hands.  Violet grinned and shrugged.  “Sorry?”

“Get out of here.”  She tried to make it sound gruff, but had trouble hiding her grin.


Mrs. Powell drove Violet home, and didn’t return to work.  Violet helped her cook a simple dinner, and afterward, once Mrs. Powell had her makeup off, Violet realized she hadn’t changed back.

“You’re still young!  Didn’t anyone notice?”

“Not at work,” said Ruby with a grin.  “I don’t let them see this part of me.  Well, maybe a couple of my friends noticed.  They said I seemed to have more energy...”

“That’s good, right?”

“It’s great!” enthused Ruby.  “I feel so much better.  And the looks I got this weekend, out clubbing?  I haven’t had those in a long time.”

“Just... just looks?” asked Violet.

Ruby laughed, and patted her daughter’s hand.  “The kind of guys sniffing after me were not my type.  No more sleazy bar hookups for me.  I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I feel like there’s a world of possibilities out there waiting.”

“Oh, good!  Wait, does this mean no sleepovers?”

“If you can set me up to stay like this, you can sleep over whenever you like!”

“Stay?  Stay twenty-three?”

Ruby nodded eagerly.  “I don’t want to go back.  I know, I’m your mother, it’s weird and crazy and I’d probably end up feeling like your big sister instead of your mother.”

Violet started to grin.  “A big sister who’ll come to my sleepovers?”

“And bring booze.   Well, if we’re hosting them here, anyway.”

Violet hugged her tight.  “Okay, okay.  I’m sold.  I can’t make you like this forever, but you can get changed for three years at a go.  I’d rather just do two months at a time and refresh it every month or so.”

“Getting me hooked on your services already?” said Ruby with a chuckle.  “Clever.  This is going to be great!”

*** *** ***

“You should have seen her!” exclaimed Violet to Bailey the next day.  “Shut the whole thing down like it was nothing.”

“You haven’t seen your mom work before, have you?”

Violet shook her head.  “The only courtrooms I’ve seen are on TV.  Not that she’s in one all that much, most of her work is done in the office.  Reams of paper, she says.  Still... I should see if I can watch her in court some day.  I bet she’d like that.”

Violet’s exuberant mood turned stern as they approached the school to find Chelsea holding court out front.  She was wearing a dress that looked oddly familiar.  Bailey figured it out first.  “That’s one of your designs!” she hissed.

Violet’s eyes widened.  “What has she done to it?  It’s all gaudy.  It didn't need crystals!”

As they got closer Chelsea posed triumphantly.  “Like it?  You know, failing to register your designs was a mistake.  Now this pattern is owned by Bella.  No copying!”  She laughed... well, more like cackled.

Violet rolled her eyes.  “You took one of my designs and assaulted it with a bedazzler?  Bleh, I’d have stopped using it after that anyway.  By the way, nice trick with the cop.  Did you forget my mother is a lawyer?”

Violet said the last looking at Stella, with the tiniest nod to her in thanks for what she’d done the previous day.  Stella shook her head just as briefly, and cut her eyes over to Chelsea, who was fuming.  “That video is causing me emotional pain!  You should have...”

“You weren’t even there.  Bite me.”  Violet strolled into the school, grinning.

The whispers continued, of course.  Violet waved at the worst offenders cheerfully, wriggling her arm in a way that wasn’t quite plausibly human.

At lunch Katie was afire with the rumours.  “Everyone’s saying you’re currently a monster!  Did you show off?”

“Maybe a little,” admitted Violet.  “But not so anyone can prove anything.”  She held up her hands.  “See?  Doesn’t even require attention any more.”

Katie took one of the hands, and held it under the table.  When she squeezed it, Violet wriggled her fingers around Katie’s, making the younger girl giggle.  “You’re so bad.  Can you make me a hidden monster, too?”

“You’re a bad influence,” said Violet with a grin.

“I’m pretty sure you two won’t be the only ones with subtle Venns around here,” said Jimmy, rolling his eyes and glancing over at Bailey.

“There’s no way I can hide what I want,” said Bailey.  “And even a tail... nope.”

“You could go for a patch of spotted fur somewhere nobody will see it...”

Bailey bit her lip.  “Okay.  So what do we do to you in return?  Retractable claws?  A-cup breasts that you can hide with a tight shirt?”  At Jimmy’s starry-eyed expression Bailey giggled.  “Really?”

“I... last weekend was a lot of fun, okay?  I’d like to be one of the girls again.  Not permanently, but...”

Katie patted her brother’s hand.  “It’s okay.  You can be my big sis any time.”

“We could have another sleepover...” suggested Violet. “Mom offered to host.  Um, as Ruby.  She still looks twenty-three.”

“She’s staying that way?” asked Bailey.  “That’s going to be weird.  Isn’t she like... crazy busy?”

Violet nodded.  “Yeah.  So if she’s willing to spend more time with me, I want to go for it.”

Bailey hmfed softly.  “It’ll be like having a chaperone.”

“She promised to bring alcohol.”

“I’m in!” cheered Jimmy, to general laughter.

After lunch, Violet was confronted by Amelia and her gang once more.  While Stella and Darla provided cover, Amelia whispered that Violet had really wound Chelsea up this time.  “I honestly think you can break her.  Show up in Violet Bailey creations for the rest of the week.”

“What?”

“You need to beat her.  Her leverage is fashion.  So make something awesome that everyone’s going to want to wear, and wear it here.”

Violet looked away from Amelia’s intense gaze, her fingers twisting and twining together.  At Stella’s cough she stopped, and put her hands back to normal.  “Right.  I...  I’d have to design for myself.  I... oh, hell.  I know how to find a volunteer, if it comes to that.”

Amelia backed away then.  “You call that fashion?  Pah.  Come back in something that looks like it didn’t fall off the back of a truck.”  She winked at Violet, then the three of them sauntered off down the hallway.

Violet shrugged, and went to her classes.  Other than the odd hiss of ‘monster’ – to which Violet would only grin – little happened.  She get a truly poisonous glare from Chelsea as they passed in the hall going to her last glass.  Violet made sure to smile especially brightly in return, making Chelsea scowl all the more.

Once the day was done, Bailey, Violet, Jimmy and Katie gathered outside the school.  Violet told them what Amelia had said, and Katie immediately volunteered to be her dress.  Violet sighed.  “It may come to that.  But I’m betting I can find some other way to do this.  Time to learn how to design my own dresses.”

“You could turn me into a dressmaker’s dummy,” volunteered Katie.  “Oh, but if you put me back in the Venn Machine I’d just go back to normal.  What if I still had arms, though?”

“Maybe we can find a solution that doesn’t involve turning you into things?” chided Violet, gently.

“Oh.  Right.  You could... design for Bailey, then change the clothes to fit you?”

“I suppose.  It doesn’t feel right, what looks good on her won’t necessarily look as good on me.”  Violet sighed gustily.  “Only one thing for it.  I have to get over the creepy factor of having someone look like me.”

Katie of course volunteered immediately.  Jimmy drove the four of them to the mall and soon Katie and Violet were in a Venn Machine.

“Sure you don’t want to just turn me into a dress?” asked Katie.  “I don’t mind missing a few days of school for a good cause.”

Violet chuckled.  “I’m not sure that this attempt to ‘defeat’ Chelsea counts as a good cause.”

“Meh, good cause, revenge, I’ll take either.  C’mon, change me.”

A few moments later Katie stood as Violet’s twin.  “Woo.  Okay, tentacle arms are weirder than I thought.”

Violet made a face.  “Don’t...  Augh, you don’t sound anything like me.  This is so weird.”  She turned away until the Venn Machined opened.

Outside the Venn Machines Bailey and Jimmy gathered around.  “Do I not sound like her?” asked Katie.

Bailey shook her head.  “Not really.  Tone is similar but discernable, and the cadence is all wrong.  Sorry.  You’ll need some serious practice if you want to take her place and wear her as a dress.”

“Bailey!” protested Violet.  “That’s...”

“Wicked?  Maybe kind of hot?” asked Bailey with a grin.

“You’re going to be the death of me yet,” muttered Jimmy.

Violet blushed.  “Maybe.  To Bailey’s thing, not yours.  For now... can you just be still and quiet, Katie?”

Katie nodded, then did her best mannequin impression.  Violet paced around her, examining the dress she was wearing - a clone of her own simple green one.  “Oh!  Yes, this could work.  If you’re not facing me, it’s almost like I’m designing for someone else.”

“Okay,” whispered Katie.

“Why are you whispering?”

“Because you told her not to talk, I suspect,” said Jimmy.  “That she obeyed is beyond impressive.”

Violet smiled, and patted Katie’s shoulder.  “It’s okay.  If you’re not facing me, the creepy factor goes way, way down.”

“Yay!” cheered Katie, pitching her voice higher than Violet’s usual tones.  “Hey, I almost sound like me again.  Cool.”

“Nice!” cheered Violet.  Katie’s grin was radiant.

Back in the Venn Machine, Katie chattered away while Violet worked.  Violet almost forgot that she was designing for herself, and had to correct her work a few times when she incorporated ideas that she felt worked better for the younger girl.  “Okay, thanks for the distraction.  Try turning around now.”

Katie turned slowly, her face carefully neutral.  Violet smiled at her appreciatively, making her smile back.  “Okay.  This is good.  Can you manage a couple more?  I need dresses for the rest of the week at the very least.”

“Yeppers!”

Katie was very patient with the next few dresses, her chatter dying down as she paid more attention to what Violet was doing.  “You’re very patient about all this.”

Violet laughed. “Perfection takes patience.  I could say the same about you.  Want to do something fun after this one?”

“Yes please!”

After they’d set aside Violet’s newest creation, Katie and Violet returned to the Venn Machine once more.  When they emerged looking perfectly normal, Jimmy looked confused.  Bailey spotted it a moment later.  “You swapped!”

“Yes we did,” enunciated Katie slowly, trying to hit Violet’s pitch.

“I think it’ll take more practice to sound like her,” said Bailey.  “Nice try, though.  It might fool a teacher.”

“Can we stay swapped all day?  Can we please?” begged Katie.

“And now you’ve totally ruined it,” laughed Jimmy.

“Can we can we can we?” mimicked Violet in a passable imitation of Katie’s voice.

“Pleeeease?”

“This weekend.  We’ll swap for a day.  But not at school, okay?  I don’t want you facing Chelsea in my place.”

Katie nodded solemnly.  “She’s a jerk.  You should just punch her.”

Violet laughed, and turned back to the Venn Machine.  “And that would be part of why.  She’d turn that into a lawsuit and so much trouble.  C’mon, we should go home.  As ourselves.”

“Awwww.  That’s no fun.”

Before long they were heading out of the mall, four abreast, each holding hands with the next.  Bailey gave Violet’s hand a squeeze.  “I thought you were going to keep the tentacles all month.”

Violet shrugged.  “They were fun, but not really me.  Too distracting to design for, too.  I’ll do a proper tentacle dress one day, but this week...  No.”

“Tentacle dress!” cheered Katie.  “Can I be one?”

Violet laughed.  “Okay.”

“Yay!”