Matt cautiously pulled the Expedition up to the curb, which was presently a wall of snow and salt. Jill emerged from the phone booth with her helmet on and rushed to the passenger side of the large truck. She climbed inside and closed the door quickly before taking off her helmet. Matt looked at her; she was a lot different-looking than when she left. Her eyes were lined in black eyeliner and she wore blood-red eye shadow and lipstick. She had an ominous look, but Matt ignored it and drove them back to the lab. 
Jill entered the house and immediately got yelled at by her mom.
"Did you do your homework yet?" Gina Derby asked her daughter.
"Not yet, mom." Jill headed upstairs to her ultra-chic room to make one of her music mixes, a.k.a. 'do her homework.' She slammed her door and patted her mutt, who had been asleep on her couch. Turning on her stereo, she cranked it up and plopped down on the bed, trying to concentrate. As Private Emotion played, she sat cross-legged, meditating, getting in the mood to practice her white magic. This was what she liked doing best, besides listening to music.
She took her incense out of the drawer under her Wicca books and lit it, watching the smoke curl up from the stick. It calmed her, made it easier to concentrate.
She started her magic.
Matt and Jill entered the Mobile Lab. Lindsay, Anton and Peter were nowhere to be found, probably working on paperwork from some of the previous cases.
"I have to show you guys something really strange at my friend's apartment sometime," Jill told Matt, leading him on.
"What is it?" Matt asked, always interested in new case possibilities.
"Just... something. You'll find out soon enough." Jill grinned evilly to herself, Matt not noticing.
Matt led her into the small alcove near the computer deck and started brewing a fresh pot of coffee to warm her up. He still thought it was weird that she had changed so much since the last time he had seen her, but he shrugged it off once more, thinking she must have been going somewhere from a party and got stuck or something like that.
When the fresh coffee was brewed, she poured herself a cup and, adding nothing to it, took it into the conference room with her. The team had been seated there for some time, seemingly having come out of nowhere.
"So what's so special about your friend's apartment?" Matt asked when Jill took a seat at the table.
"You'll have to see it for yourself. It's like nothing I've ever seen." Jill took a long swallow of her black coffee and looked everyone in the eye, giving them all the creeps.
"I'm staying at her apartment until she comes back from boarding school, and I just noticed it tonight."
"Yeah, sure. If the weather clears up tomorrow, we can take a look then."
"No more snakes with you, and I'll be fine," Peter voiced his opinion yet again.
Jill, not being who everyone thought she was and not knowing what he was talking about, merely smiled and nodded at Peter.
"Alright everyone, it's late and I'm tired. Let's hit the sack. Jill, you're staying here for the night. You can stay in the extra bunk if you like." Matt rose, dismissed everyone, and they all went to bed. |
