“hello.”
Amber looked down at the bandage with tired eyes. “A long story about a long night with Missy.”
“Missy did that?” I asked.
Amber looked at her bandage then back at me and sighed heavily. “Remember when Missy went all crazy last night?”
“Yeah?” How could I forget?
“Things went downhill from there. As soon as Missy got to the car, she refused to go to the hospital like I suggested. Instead, she wanted to go to Luxe. So we went. She flipped out there, getting into minor scrapes with a few people. We got kicked out and went to club after club—getting kicked out of all of them—until Missy finally decided it was time to turn in. Of course that was after she demanded we get something to eat at an al l- night diner. When we finally made it back to her apartment at like nine this morning, she freaked. Clawing and scratching at me until she was able to bite me. Again. The damn thing won’t stop bleeding. No matter what I do.” She lifted her arm for us to see.
Each of us looked sufficiently grossed out. Looking at the deep red stain blooming on the bandage made me a bit queasy. The wound seemed to be oozing, spreading across the cloth at a rate that wasn’t normal. I had to look away.
“Did you go you the hospital to get it checked out?” I asked.
“I didn’t get a chance to. Everything was so crazy. I came straight here because I was supposed to be meeting with Mr. Bixby to talk about developing a show for the network.”
“I think you might need to skip the meeting and get that looked at,” I said.
“You need a new bandag e, ” Kaci added.
The rest of us agreed.
“It wasn’t this bad when she first bit m e, ” Amber said looking at her arm. “She barely broke the skin.”
“And now it’s almost like Carrie White’s prom dress. Does it hurt?” I asked.
“What do you think? She bit me.”
“Then you need hel p, ” I said, ignoring her sarcasm and reached for her.
She pulled away from me, clutching her arm to her chest protectively. “It hurts but I think I’ll be fine.”
I decided to drop the subject. I knew Amber and Missy were friends, but if Amber wanted to get rabies, that was on her.
The whispers in the room died down as the lights on the set brightened. I focused my attention on Maddie’s bedroom. A figure I immediately recognized as Mr. Bixby’s appeared off the side of the set. He strode out to its center in a tailored black suit, looking well put together as always.
“Good evenin g, everyone.” Mr. Bixby didn’t waste any time getting started. The room was silent enough to hear a pin drop.
“Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to come here this afternoon.” He gave a nod to a few of those standing closest to him as he scanned the crowd. “I know you all were expecting an announcement about changes in the network’s line up but I’m afraid those will have to wait for another time.”
Mr. Bixby looked out at us. “The Bixby Network prides itself on upholding traditional family values through family-friendly programming for people of all ages. I've worked toward creating a family-like atmosphere for all of my employees and to make this place a home away from home for all of you. I like to believe we’re family. And being family, I’ve gathered you here to share some rather somber news.” He paused, looking at us again.
“I never thought there’d come a day when I would have to deliver news like this.” He cleared his throat and continued, “With a very heavy heart, I’m here to announce we’ve lost one of our own.”
Whispers invaded the silence as people turned to one another to figure out who was missing. Mr. Bixby didn’t let the outbreak of conversations stop him from continuing, his voice a bit louder to accommodate the chatter. “Earlier this afternoon, Melissa Bolton passed away.”
A chorus of gasps filled the room. I shook my head in disbelief. Missy Bolton was
Amber looked down at the bandage with tired eyes. “A long story about a long night with Missy.”
“Missy did that?” I asked.
Amber looked at her bandage then back at me and sighed heavily. “Remember when Missy went all crazy last night?”
“Yeah?” How could I forget?
“Things went downhill from there. As soon as Missy got to the car, she refused to go to the hospital like I suggested. Instead, she wanted to go to Luxe. So we went. She flipped out there, getting into minor scrapes with a few people. We got kicked out and went to club after club—getting kicked out of all of them—until Missy finally decided it was time to turn in. Of course that was after she demanded we get something to eat at an al l- night diner. When we finally made it back to her apartment at like nine this morning, she freaked. Clawing and scratching at me until she was able to bite me. Again. The damn thing won’t stop bleeding. No matter what I do.” She lifted her arm for us to see.
Each of us looked sufficiently grossed out. Looking at the deep red stain blooming on the bandage made me a bit queasy. The wound seemed to be oozing, spreading across the cloth at a rate that wasn’t normal. I had to look away.
“Did you go you the hospital to get it checked out?” I asked.
“I didn’t get a chance to. Everything was so crazy. I came straight here because I was supposed to be meeting with Mr. Bixby to talk about developing a show for the network.”
“I think you might need to skip the meeting and get that looked at,” I said.
“You need a new bandag e, ” Kaci added.
The rest of us agreed.
“It wasn’t this bad when she first bit m e, ” Amber said looking at her arm. “She barely broke the skin.”
“And now it’s almost like Carrie White’s prom dress. Does it hurt?” I asked.
“What do you think? She bit me.”
“Then you need hel p, ” I said, ignoring her sarcasm and reached for her.
She pulled away from me, clutching her arm to her chest protectively. “It hurts but I think I’ll be fine.”
I decided to drop the subject. I knew Amber and Missy were friends, but if Amber wanted to get rabies, that was on her.
The whispers in the room died down as the lights on the set brightened. I focused my attention on Maddie’s bedroom. A figure I immediately recognized as Mr. Bixby’s appeared off the side of the set. He strode out to its center in a tailored black suit, looking well put together as always.
“Good evenin g, everyone.” Mr. Bixby didn’t waste any time getting started. The room was silent enough to hear a pin drop.
“Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to come here this afternoon.” He gave a nod to a few of those standing closest to him as he scanned the crowd. “I know you all were expecting an announcement about changes in the network’s line up but I’m afraid those will have to wait for another time.”
Mr. Bixby looked out at us. “The Bixby Network prides itself on upholding traditional family values through family-friendly programming for people of all ages. I've worked toward creating a family-like atmosphere for all of my employees and to make this place a home away from home for all of you. I like to believe we’re family. And being family, I’ve gathered you here to share some rather somber news.” He paused, looking at us again.
“I never thought there’d come a day when I would have to deliver news like this.” He cleared his throat and continued, “With a very heavy heart, I’m here to announce we’ve lost one of our own.”
Whispers invaded the silence as people turned to one another to figure out who was missing. Mr. Bixby didn’t let the outbreak of conversations stop him from continuing, his voice a bit louder to accommodate the chatter. “Earlier this afternoon, Melissa Bolton passed away.”
A chorus of gasps filled the room. I shook my head in disbelief. Missy Bolton was
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