Stella
Once my mom left the room, I locked the door. I uncorked the wine and poured myself a little glass.
My first sip made me wrinkle my nose. It wasnât the first time Iâd ever tried some, but it was
supposed to be the first time I really tried some.
The next sip wasnât much better, but I turned on the clock radio that had been in this room when my
parents told me it would be mine. That meant the radio was mine, right? The desk, the bed, the
chair, all of it? Mine, mine, mine.
Hey. Maybe those sips of wine had been bigger than I thought they were. Standing in front of the
mirror, I watched my features ripple and change. For a moment, I looked exactly like my mom. Then
my fathers, one after the other. Just the faces, though. No way would my fathersâ huge bodies fit
inside these clothes.
By the third âsip,â Iâd drained the glass. I was feeling pretty good as I danced to the tunes coming
out of that radio. Music Iâd never heard before, something catchy, with a great beat. I tried snapping
my fingers along with it, which was easier than getting my feet coordinated.
Outside, night had finally fallen, which meant I felt okay sneaking out. I took a few minutes to shift
and make sure everything was where it was meant to be. Then I stuffed some pillows under my
covers and shut my door behind me.
Nobody stopped me as I left the mansion. My navy ballet flats crunched on the gravel of the
driveway as I hurried as fast as I could without looking suspicious toward the road. I didnât need a
map to guide me. I could rely on the tracking and guiding skills of several different supernatural
types. All I had to do was point myself in the right direction.
Okay, so maybe drinking half of that bottle of wine on a mostly empty stomach hadnât been the best
or brightest idea Iâd ever had. I felt good for now, though. Light, almost like I could fly.
Well, I could fly, couldnât I?
I could sprout wings, like a griffin shifter. I could make myself lighter than gravity, or I could give
myself the ability to control the air currents under my feet. Instead, I kept one foot moving in front of
the other along the road, reminding myself that the entire point of all of this was to blend in. Look
natural. I couldnât do that by flying to a downtown bar!
Downtown looked different at night than by day. There was still a bustle of people moving along the
sidewalks, but most of the shops that Iâd visited before were closed. So was the ice cream shop.
The three bars, however, were all open with bright lights spilling from the windows.
I paused to listen to the music. With my regular hearing it was a bit of a jumble, but when I tuned in
with some more specialized skills, I could differentiate between the songs. An upbeat tune that felt
good for dancing competed with a slower song with more instrumentals, and the final bar was
playing songs with voices that sounded a little bit like whooping and hollering.
I picked the bar with the dance music. My heartbeat pumped a little bit quicker as I moved closer. I
mingled with the people on the sidewalk, holding my breath when any of them looked at me.
Nobody gave me more than a passing glance, though.
My disguise was working!
The bar I picked was called The Silver Crescent. The man at the door gave me a long, up and down
look that at first made me nervous. I thought he was going to stop me from going in, or question me,
but as it turned out, he just gave me a slow smile.
Oh, my.
He was totally checking me out.
I was a little giddy, and no longer from that wine Iâd had. I gave him a small smile and a nod like I did
this every dayâ¦or even like Iâd done it at least once. I pushed through a small crowd near the door
and smiled and nodded at everyone I passed. My heart was still beating harder than normal. My
palms felt a little sweaty, and the music beat throbbed in all the places my heart was pounding.
I didnât think I wanted to drink too much more tonight, but I also felt weird without a glass in my
hand. Everyone else had one. So, I went up to the bar and confidently tried to place my order.
âOne beer, please.â
The woman behind the bar looked at me with a funny expression. âBottle? Draft? Can? Any brand in
particular? We have a pretty big selection.â
Shoot. I didnât know anything about beer. All I could do was smile at her and hope she didnât think I
was a complete idiot.
âWhat do you recommend?â
The bartender rolled her eyes but filled a glass and slid it toward me. The first sip was horrible, so I
allowed myself to use one of my Celestial skills to turn the sourness into sweet on my tongue.
I turned to watch the crowd. The dance floor was hopping. In the center of it was a girl who looked
like she was having the time of her life.
To my surprise, I know exactly who she was.