Nan sat up and gave Mina her full attention. “You’re really serious?”
Mina ran her hands over her head. “Dead serious.”
“Like, this isn’t some trick to try to punk me or anything, right?”
“No. I wish it were, I really do, but it’s not.”
“Okay, I’m listening. Start from the beginning.” Nan crossed her legs and waited patiently through Mina’s whole tale. She barely fidgeted, never once interrupted, and even refrained from immediately grabbing her phone to tweet the update. “Whoa,” was all she said when Mina was done.
“You can say that again,” Mina mumbled unhappily.
“Whoa,” Nan repeated, and ducked as Mina threw a pillow at her. “So you were actually attacked outside the library? That must have been awesome.”
“Nan!” Mina chided. “No! I could have been killed.”
“But you weren’t—Brody saved you. So if Brody saved your life and all, then why is he in such a fit?”
“I’m not sure, but I probably have something to do with it. He wanted me to go to the police, but if I did, and my mother found out, that would be the end of us. She would have shipped us out to Canada before you can say…‘Canucks.’”
“So you two fought,” Nan stated.
“Yes, we argued, and I demanded he drop me off. And with a huge bruise on the side of my cheek, I couldn’t very well go to school.” Mina paced her small bedroom and kept passing her bedroom mirror to look at the bruise.
“So in other words, he hasn’t called you, spoken to you, or seen you since the attack.” Nan ticked off the words on her hands. “That definitely explains why he has been out of sorts. Mina call him! Let him know that you are still alive.”
“Nan, I can’t.” And Mina truly felt that she couldn’t. She had burned her bridges, and burned them badly.
“Nonsense, all you do is pick up the phone and say, ‘Brody, I’m not dead.’” Nan grabbed her phone and held it up to Mina’s ear. “Here, you can use my phone.”
Mina glared at Nan in response.
“Fine.” Nan put her phone away. “Since it seems you have a lot to do, maybe we should get cracking and find this Grimoire or whatever and prepare you to break the curse.” The way Nan said it made it sound as if Mina was going on a camping trip and needed to find supplies, instead of possibly meeting her doom. “But before we do anything else today, we need to eat!”
“You just ate,” Mina said.
Nan made a gagging face. “That is not what I would call eating. That’s biting the bullet to win a bet. I’m starved. Let’s grab food first. You owe me.”
After a cheap lunch at one of the Mexican stalls nearby, the girls walked the rows of small shops in the various districts.
“So your dad…?” Nan let her question trail off. It was too delicate a question to ask outright.
“Yeah, my dad was chosen by the curse before me and was caught in one of the more vicious tales. He didn’t live through it.” Mina walked a little slower.
“Do you remember the night?”
“No. I guess I must have suppressed a lot of those memories, and my mom won’t speak about it. What I do remember was that my dad was happy, loving, and carefree until my uncle died. That’s when it all changed. He changed. He was driven, obsessed with breaking the curse.”
“He must have loved you a lot.”
“That, or he wanted revenge for Uncle Jack. I don’t know.” Mina felt at a loss, confused, and a little angry. “So I have to do this, Nan. I have to finish the tale and break the curse, because if I don’t, it falls on Charlie, and I can’t let that happen. I have to protect Charlie.”
“Sign me up—where do we start?” Nan said.
“Nan, you don’t have to help. You don’t even have to get involved. I only told you because I needed your support in case I have more episodes where I can’t go to school.”
“You can’t tell me about this curse and then NOT expect me to help. I’m your friend. I care about you, and I care about Charlie. It’s a done deal.”
“Nan?”
“Don’t you ‘Nan’ me—I’ve got two semesters of karate under my belt, a serious case of attitude, and mace on my keychain. I’m ready to tackle any giants that come my way. Fe Fi Fo Fum!” When she said “Fum,” Nan did a karate kick in the air and followed with a chest punch.
“I think that’s the wrong story.” Mina laughed.
“What, there’s no giants? I was really hoping to tackle some giants.” Nan looked devastated.
“From what my mom said, the tales don’t necessarily fit the Grimm guidelines to a ‘T.’ They adapt to the modern world. Yes there are giants, but it maybe instead of a thirty-foot giant, you may find yourself facing a six-foot-six, 300-pound New York Giant linebacker.”