Short Story I Wrote

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Acasta
Chapter One
“…and that’s how Bigfoot came to reside in Calaveras,” said Robert.
“Fascinating,” said Mr. Benson in his usual monotone. “Who wants to go next? Connie Chung?”
“Connie Chen,” she said with a straight face, and took the stand. “As Robert showed you, Calaveras is no stranger to supernatural rumors, but I’d be surprised if any of you have heard the name Acasta Lee. This woman has lived in our country since before the signing of the Constitution or Declaration of Independence and has created little a stir, even though at some point she moved three time zones. The few who still speak of her don’t know what she does all day in that big house of hers. Some say she does witchcraft. Others…well, along with one of the first two some…claim a midget named Sarah helps her out with these operations.”
“The word ‘midget’ is offensive,” said Mr. Benson. “Please say ‘dwarf’ instead.”
“Sorry, Mr. Benson. Now, where was I…oh yeah, Acasta Lee was the only daughter of Roland Lee and Margaret Smyth, two teenagers who arrived at Plymouth Rock in 1620 with their respective families. Despite their parents’ strict Puritan beliefs, Roland and Margaret fornicated and Margaret became heavy with child.”
“You’re in high school, tone it down a notch,” said Mr. Benson.
“Okay, well, Acasta was born and their parents, I mean Acasta’s grandparents, tried to keep Acasta a secret so they had an old Indian woman take care of her in one of their three houses. Acasta never came out of the house, but for some strange reason, she continued living long after she should have been dead. Sometime in the 1800s, after California had become a state, the old Lee house she lived in disappeared from Massachusetts and neatly reappeared on Marshall Street in Calaveras, California, only a few blocks from where we are now.”
“We know,” said Mr. Benson. “Does anyone else want to go? Gertrude?”
Trude Pidney’s monstrous 6’1’’ frame burst from her seat. “So, Connie, like, how the hell do you know anything about early American settlers? Your family didn’t come here until, like, twenty years ago from Japan or wherever, unlike mine who were on that same Mayflower. Yeah.”
Brittany Johnson, her usual crony, towered over her at 6’5’’. “Then how come Gertrude is a German name?”
“Ixnay on the Gertrude,” she said through clenched teeth, and they both sat back down.
“Moving forward,” said Mr. Benson.

Chapter Two
“I think I’m going to walk over to Acasta’s house if you want to come with,” Julio told Connie after the school bell rang.
“Oh, so you finally gave up on finding Josephine and her musical mice after all these years,” snickered Trude.
“Shut up, Gertrude, I wasn’t talking to you,” said Julio. “Connie?”
“I don’t know if it’s such a good idea,” said Connie. “I mean, everyone says she’s dangerous.”
“She’s probably misunderstood,” said Julio. “I mean, who did you hear about her from?”
“Just some internet people. They’re practically anonymous.”
“See, we have nothing to worry about,” said Julio. “For all we know, they just don’t want other people trying to get more information before they do.”
“I guess,” said Connie. “I mean, I was just going to play Star Crash so I guess it’s cool if we go over there.”
“Can I hold your hand?” asked Julio.
“Mmm…no,” said Connie. “You’re a nice guy and all, but I’m just not really ready for a relationship right now.”
“Oh, come on,” said Julio, putting his hand on hers. “You only get to be a teenager once.”
“Yeah, and you heard how well that turned out for Acasta’s parents,” she said, and pulled Julio’s hand off hers. “Go away, Julio. I’m going there by myself.”
“I’m sorry,” said Julio, and walked away.

Chapter Three
Connie knocked on the door. “Hello?” she asked as she heard a slight rumble inside. After a few minutes of waiting, the door was unlocked from inside but did not open. Connie nervously creaked open the door and tiptoed inside. The foyer was empty so she walked down the hall, noticing several paintings of Pilgrims. Before she could get to the kitchen, a large figure blocked the entryway. Connie gasped when she saw an old Native American woman holding a footlong twenty-something brunette like a baby.
“You’re not supposed to be in here,” said the old woman. “Sarah and I don’t mind you, but the lady of the house doesn’t like visitors.”
“You mean Acasta?” asked Connie.
“Who told you that name?” asked the old woman.
“I don’t know, I read it on the internet.”
“Ugh, must have been those Jones boys. I told her turning their brother into a newt was a bad idea.”
“So she’s a witch?” asked Connie.
“No, don’t be silly,” said the old woman. “She’s a scientist. Gene splicing and all that. I don’t partake in it myself, Sarah does. Say hello, Sarah.”
“Don’t condescend to me, Juanita,” said Sarah, jumping out of the old woman’s grasp. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude,” she said, shaking Connie’s hand. “I’m Sarah Mill.”
“Tell her about how you were Acasta’s first science experiment,” said Juanita.
“Don’t scare our guest like that, either,” Sarah told Juanita. She turned back to Connie. “So what really happened was that…”
“Are you sure you want this girl knowing your deepest secrets?” asked Juanita.
“What girl?” asked a voice from deeper in the kitchen. A shapely redhead in a lab coat walked up to Connie. “You weren’t sent here by the Jones boys, were you?”
“No, my name’s Connie Chen, I’m a student at Calaveras High School.”
“Do you have a teacher named Mr. Benson?” asked Sarah.
“Yes, why?” asked Connie.
“He kept telling his students about us and they kept coming here, especially the Joneses.”
“That’s odd, he didn’t seem to be interested when I told my class about this house,” said Connie.
“Why on Earth would you do that?” asked Acasta.
“It was for a presentation,” said Connie.
“I hope nobody else knocks on our door today because of you,” said Acasta.
“Nobody else was really interested,” said Connie. “Well, there was this one kid, Julio. He’s always been into this kind of stuff. I remember back in elementary school, he tried to find Josephine and the mouse folk.”
“You mean from the Franz Kafka story?” asked Juanita.
“How do you know about Kafka?” asked Connie.
“Because I’m the only one here who ever goes outside,” said Juanita. “I have to; otherwise Acasta’s experiments might get a tad dated.”
“I think I’ve seen you at the library before,” said Connie.
“Is Julio your boyfriend?” Sarah asked Connie. Suddenly, there was another knock on the door.
“Speak of the Devil, Sarah,” scolded Acasta.
“Don’t!” yelled Juanita as Connie rushed out to open the door.
“You should have asked her for her name,” said Acasta.
“Why didn’t you?” asked Sarah.

Chapter Four
Connie opened the door. It wasn’t Julio. It was Trude and Brittany.
“Go away,” said Connie.
“Where’s the witch?” asked Trude. “Is she your grandma?”
“Come on, Trude, she told us to go,” said Brittany.
“Don’t talk to me like that,” said Trude, and began to lunge for Brittany’s throat before Brittany knocked Trude out with a casual slap.
“You really should be going now,” said Connie.
“Look, I’m sorry I’ve been such a b***h to you,” said Brittany. “I’ve been letting Trude push me around for way too long.”
“That’s nice to hear but the lady of the house doesn’t want visitors.”
“Now, hold on,” said Acasta, and screamed in horror when she saw that one of the two new intruders was unconscious.
“I was trying to save my friend from this evil woman over here,” said Brittany. “I’m Brittany Johnson, class of ’17.”
“I was class of ’38,” said Acasta. “1638.”
Brittany laughed hysterically. “Sorry, I was just surprised.”
“I get it all the time,” said Acasta. “People don’t seem to take eternal longevity seriously, not that I ever showed them my life serum.”
“You’re a scientist?” asked Brittany. “I’m thinking of getting my degree in chemistry.”
“Then are there any experiments you want to help perform on that evil woman you saved your friend from?” asked Acasta.
“My name’s Connie,” said Connie.
“Sure, we could turn her into a…”
There was another knock on the door.
“Julio,” said Connie, and she and Brittany went back to open it again.
“I never heard names like Julio, Connie, or Brittany back in Plymouth,” said Sarah.
“You’re very ignorant sometimes,” said Juanita.
“Mr. Benson?” yelled Connie.
“Oh God, no,” said Acasta.
“Lord’s name in vain!” yelled Sarah.
“Shut up, Sarah,” said Juanita.
“Connie was just kidding, it’s Julio,” said Brittany, and the three teens walked inside, dragging the unconscious body of Trude into the kitchen where the three women began their latest science experiment.