The Secret of the Scarlet Stone (A Gabby Girls Adventure Novel, Book One) (2 page)

Grandma Celeste shot her an annoyed glare
.
“Now
,
listen here
,
young lady
.
I make all the decisions in this house
.
D
on’t you ever forget
that.
” She abruptly yanked the
rest of the
blanket from around Gabrielle’s body. “Now get ready.”

Remorsefully, Gabrielle looked
up at her
.
“I’m sorry
,
Grandma
. P
lease don’t be angry with me. I really don’t mean to be so difficult but—
i
t’s
just that I really don’t want to leave you
.
”
S
he looked at her sadly. “I mean, who will take care of you while I’m away? We only have each other now.”

Grandma Celeste smiled sadly
.
“Gabi, I know it hasn’t been easy for you since your parents passed away,” she said. “And I also know that a lot of other things have changed for you lately, especially since you just turned thirteen.” Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Gabrielle expectantly
.
“Like maybe you are experiencing things that you don’t understand?”

Gabrielle looked at her uneasily.

“But if you ever need to talk to me about anything
—
I mean anything
—
you know that I’m always here to listen.”

“Um—everything
’
s
okay
,
Grandma Celeste. It’s just—I
miss Mommy and Daddy so much, especially Mommy,” Gabrielle mumbled.

Grandma Celeste touched Gabrielle’s hair, breathing
out longingly as she looked into space
.
“I do
,
too
,
Gabi
.
I miss her more than you could ever know
.
”
 

“So, why are you making me leave you?” Gabrielle wailed.

“Gabi, how many times do I have to tell you that your going away to
Vineswell
Academy is not some sort of punishment? You’re thirteen now; it’s just your time. We all have a time whe
n t
hings change for us and this just happens to be yours.” Her face suddenly became stern
.
“Besides, with your terrible behavior as of late, you could use a little refinement
,
and
Vineswell
Academy is just the place to provide that.”

“But it’s not like I’m not trying,” Gabrielle replied angrily. “It’s just sometimes I can’t control my temper
…
besides
,
Samantha deserved everything she got.”

“No
,
Gabi, she absolutely did not. Samantha did not deserve to be pushed
.
” Grandma Celeste shot her a stern look. “You could have seriously injured her. I know that I taught you better than that.”

Gabrielle quickly scrambled to sit, crossing her arms in front of her defensively while looking over at Grandma Celeste. “Grandma Celeste, how many times do I have to tell you that I didn’t push her?
Why won’t you believe me?”

Grandma Celeste shook her head disappoint
edly.
“No matter how much I try to break you out of it, you still have this
‘
it’s
-
me
-
against
-
the
-
world
’
attitude. Gabi, when are you going to realize that the world is not out to get you?”

Gabrielle angrily brushed away an unruly strand of hair from her face
.
“But Samantha is just a big bully and I was sick and tired of her trying to push everyone at school around,” she said. “Like I told you before, we were arguing
then
she walked away and tripped. I can’t help it if she’s clumsy.”

Gabrielle
paused then
continued
more contritely.
“I mean
,
she did make me very angry and maybe deep down inside I wished that she would trip
…
but wishing something and making it happen are two different things.”

Grandma Celeste softly grabbed Gabrielle’s face between her hands
.
“If nothing else, always remember this
,
Gabi
:
be careful of what you wish for because it will be returned to you threefold.”

Gabrielle’s face crumpled with confusion
.
“Oh
,
Grandma, what does that mean? You’re always saying strange things that I don’t even understand.”

“It means just be very careful of what you wish for,” Grandma Celeste responded very slowly. “Okay, no more dark and gloomy talk
.
A
fter all, today is supposed to be a very happy day.
Y
ou’re on your way to a new school, a new beginning
,
and new friends—
so
get up and get moving. And by the way, Mrs. Downey told me that breakfast is almost ready,”
she adde
d playfully.

Gabrielle smiled as she gave her
grandmother
a sharp military salute
.
“Yes
,
ma’am
.
R
ight away
,
ma’am
.
”

Grandma Celeste chuckled as she leaned forward and tugged on Gabrielle’s nose
.
“You know, I might actually miss that smart mouth of yours,” she chirped happily.

“I
heart
you
,
” Gabrielle whispered softly.

“I love you
,
too
,
”
he
r
grandmother
responded as she leaned heavily on her cane and got up from the bed.

Gabrielle watched with pure adoration as Grandma Celeste walked out of the room with the soft clicks of her cane echoing down the hallway.

* * *

Hours later
,
in Gabrielle’s room, the sun poured through sheer white curtains and landed on the cluttered desk with an orange laptop computer and magazines scattered across it. A huge pink-framed poster of a ballerina hung on the brightly painted wall and a small pair of well-worn pink ballet slippers hung from a pink ribbon on a hook near her bed.

With utter disgust written all over her face, Gabrielle pulled on
a d
ark gold cardigan with a large ornate beige and gold emblem. She looked over at Fiona
,
who was firmly tucked in the center of Gabrielle’s bed
,
napping.

“So, okay
,
Fiona, what do you think of my outfit?”

Fiona looked at her with disinterest, purred softly
,
then
closed her eyes again.

“Well, thanks a lot for your obvious interest, Fiona the
T
errible,” Gabrielle said quickly.

As if outraged, Fiona screeched angrily.

“Okay, I’m sorry
.
I
t’s Fiona the Beautiful
…
not,” Gabrielle taunted.
 

She rushed over to the sequined and beaded flower mirror and stared at her tousled
,
curly
h
air that cascaded down to her shoulders. She stuck
out her tongue with utter disgust
.
“Icky! What am I going to do with this wild hair of mine?” She hummed loudly and out
of
tune as she quickly picked
up a brush from the messy dresser and brushed her hair, pulling it into the usual two dog ears ponytails while snapping a bright blue ponytail holder around each mound of hair.

“And now for the most important part,” she announced self-importantly as she shoved two bright red lollipops into the tops of each ponytail. She smiled happily as she posed and preened in front of the mirror like a supermodel at a photo shoot. “Work it, work it,
work
it!” she sung jokingly. She giggled hysterically then ran out of her bedroom and down the hallway. Looking around mischievously, she hopped on top of the smooth mahogany banister.
Well
,
why not? One more ride for the road
, she thought wickedly.

Downstairs in the dining room, the sun shined through a huge bay window and landed on an oval wooden table.
 

Grandma Celeste suddenly looked up from stirring her hot tea, and smiled knowingly. “Gabi, don’t you dare slide down that banister,” she shouted playfully, her loud voice bellowing from the dining room to the upstairs hallway.

Gabrielle smiled with mischief.
“Oh, Grandma!
Don’t be so mean. This is my last day at home. Come on! Let me slide down one last time.”

Grandma Celeste shook her head in defeat. “Like I could really stop you,” she whispered under her breath. She chuckled softly as she lifted the dainty, rose-painted teacup to her lips and sipped.

With a huge smile pasted on her face, Gabrielle twisted her body sideways with her legs dangling precariously over the side of the banister. With a gentle push, her body glided smoothly along the railing, her arms stretching out gracefully like a bird in flight.

Grandma Celeste walked out of the dining room, leaning on her cane as she watched Gabrielle slide smoothly down the banister. Midway down, she gracefully hopped off as her legs split in mid-air and landed firmly on the floor.

“Young lady, I know I taught you better than that,” Grandma Celeste scolded playfully. “Next time, point those toes.”

“Oh, Grandma Celeste, even though I had a lifetime of ballet lessons, I will never be as graceful as you are,” Gabrielle responded.