Cassandra the All Knowing Part 14

Part 13

So, Cassandra made her way to the high school.  She walked into the front office and the secretary looked shocked.  "You shouldn't be here," she said.

Cassandra glared at her.  "I need to talk to the principal, now!  And I won't leave until I do."

She watched the secretary sigh and pick up her phone.  "Helen, there's a woman here who's demanding to see you. . . Yeah, she said she won't leave until she talks to you . . . I don't think she has a child who goes to this school . . . I think if you saw her, you'd understand why . . .Okay."  She hung up.  "She'll be out in just a second."

Then Helen walked out of her office.  "Oh, great, the crazy lady who yells terrible things at people," she said upon seeing Cassandra.  "Wonderful.  How can I help you?"

"Doom!  Doom!  Trojan High School is doomed!  I see it clearly.  A terrible fire, leaving the school in ashes and many students dead or injured.  May 5th.  You must tell the students to not attend school that day or fix the faulty wiring that will cause the fire."

"A fire, huh?  Yeah, that sounds real.  You realize that Trojan High School is one of the best built and most fireproof building in the city, right?  I know this is a weird thing to brag about, but we have great walls.  If there were ever any sort of threat, this is where people would go for protection.  So, thank-you for the warning, but I think we'll be just fine," Helen said.

"No!  The problem is in the walls.  In the walls!  The fire will start in the walls due to faulty wiring and use the insulation to quickly spread throughout the building, trapping the students.  39 of them won't make it out alive!" Cassandra yelled.

"Right.  Thank-you for your concern.  But I think we'll be fine.  Now, is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Remember my name, Cassandra the all-knowing!  And when the fire happens, and it will, you will know of my powers.  You can't say I didn't warn you!"  With that, Cassandra stormed out.  But she was starting to feel better.  Helen would know, but she would go out of her way to make sure that everyone knew.

So, she didn't stop yelling at people.  Instead, she just started to yell at them about the high school burning down.  She'd yell at high schoolers to skip school that day.  She'd yell at parents to keep their kids home.  She'd yell at everyone to warn people.  And, of course, just like she expected, nobody believed her, many didn't pay any attention at all.

So, the day of the fire quickly approached and Cassandra chose to sit on a nearby hill to watch it happen.  The fire started small, not noticeable, and the fire alarms didn't pick it up.  But pretty soon, it picked up, starting to consume the walls and the roof.  She watched students and faculty file out in alarm; the classes nearest to the doors getting out with no problems.  Classes a little further from the doors would come out choking and coughing.  But it was the classes in the middle who would really be effected by the fire.  Soon, emergency services arrived but the flames were already completely out-of-hand.  This is when Cassandra decided to make her descent.  Surely, now, everyone would know that she was psychic.

She quickly found Helen who was comforting a couple of parents.  "Well," Cassandra said.  "I warned you."

Helen glared at her.  "I can't talk to you right now.  In case you haven't noticed, I'm dealing with a crisis."

"A crisis I predicted!  I warned you!  But you didn't listen!  I was right the entire time!"  Cassandra lifted her voice and started to cackle.  "I warned you!  I warned all of you!"

"Who cares?" Helen said.

"What?"

"Who cares if you did predict this?  Who cares if you warned us?  Yes, we didn't listen, but that doesn't stop the fire from happening, it doesn't stop the students from being trapped.  Who cares about warnings when we're trying to deal with a crisis in the meantime," Helen said.

"But, I knew . . ."

"And, on that same note, you're a crisis.  Seriously!  Look at yourself!  What a mess!" Helen said handing Cassandra a mirror.

Cassandra looked at her reflection.  There was a wild look in her previously gorgeous hazel eyes.  Her thick black hair was all over the place and clumps of dirt were in them.  Her olive skin had lightened up looking old and unhealthy.  She looked at her hands, her fingernails chipped and some of them were way to long.  Then she looked up at the fire and it hit her.  There was a fire, people were in danger, and all she had cared about was being right.  Proving to everyone that she was a psychic.  She had let it consume her, become her everything.  She had alienated everyone around her, and she realized that she had been telling people terrible things not to help them but to hurt them.

Without another thought she dropped Helen's mirror on the ground and dashed towards one of the openings of the school.  She heard people yell at her that she couldn't go in there but she didn't care.  She went in anyway.  She was going to use her gift to save the 39 people who were going to die.

Index

Cassandra the All Knowing Part 13

Part 12

After, her radio show Cassandra had lost every single one of her clients.  And any walk-ins she would immediately scare off.  But her problems got really bad when Xanthe walked back in.

"Hey Cassie," she said.

"Xanthe!  Let me guess, you're here to kick me out," Cassandra replied.

"Well, you haven't paid your rent and also your giving our tattoo shop terrible reviews.  Look, I'm sorry, but we already found someone else to replace you," Xanthe said.

"Yippee!  She's Romanian, right?  The real deal, right?  Yeah, Xanthe, the real deal, she's so fake she might as well be I Can't Believe it's Not Butter," Cassandra said.

"Yeah, so you have until the end of this week."

"No need.  I'm already packed up.  Tell your Romanian chick that the room is hers.  Also, I just can't wait until you get that nipple infection due to a bad nipple ring.  Yikes!  That's going to be fun."  Cassandra grabbed her bags and started to leave.

She walked for a while and then sat down in front of a different building and started to laugh.  Her entire life had fallen apart.  She had lost her dream, her job, and now she was homeless.  All because she didn't go on a date with a guy.  Her life was a disaster.  A little kid walked by and hid behind his mother who glared at her.

"Oh, do I scare you?" she asked in a fake sweet voice.  "Yeah, well, you should be scared of failing fifth grade!"

His mom glared at Cassandra even more and quickly walked away.  "I could tell you how to not fail, but you don't want to hear that.  You don't believe me.  Nobody believes me!"  Cassandra yelled after them.

"But they'll see.  They'll all see.  'Oh, Cassandra,' they'll say.  'We should have listened to you,' they'll say.  'You could have saved us,' they'll say.  And I'll just laugh in their face and tell them that I knew," she said to herself.

"Because I do know!" she yelled at a couple passing by.  "Just like I know you're going to get a divorce!"  The couple looked at her and walked off.

So, that became Cassandra's life.  She would yell at random people terrible things that were going to happen at them and then just laugh when they didn't believe her.  She slept on the streets under some of the blankets she had packed.  She could always see when there would be danger on her corner or if the police were coming so she always knew how to move.  She could also see where people would throw out food or loose money which she used if she got hungry.

She wasn't really planning on trying to get better or for people to believe her, but she formed a plan when a couple of band kids walked by.  She was just yelling at them like anyone else.  "You guys like playing instruments, do you?  Well, I'm sure you'll have fun playing your instruments when they're destroyed in a fire!"

That's when it occurred to her.  "The fire," she said to herself.  "There's going to be a fire at Trojan High School."  She started to laugh.  "Yes.  Yes.  I see it.  It's going to be a huge news story.  36 dead.  49 more injured.  And me, I know about it."

She paused for a second and then stood up.  "Well, I think it's my job to warn them.  After all, it is a tragic event."

Part 14

Index

Cassandra the All Knowing Part 12

Part 11

Cassandra couldn't help but feel nervous as she walked up to the radio station.  Nothing had been going her way lately and there was no reason for her to believe that this would.

Cindy greeted her when she walked in.  "Great!  I'll let you in as soon as there's a commercial or we're playing music."

Cassandra just nodded solemnly and followed Cindy to the recording room.  They waited a couple of minutes and then Cindy opened the door and Cassandra walked in.  Mad Maxwell smiled at her, but Cassandra had a hard time returning the pleasantry.

"Cassandra!  You're last show was brilliant.  So excited to have you back," he said.

"Thanks," she said.

Maxwell stared at her for a few seconds.  "We just have this song and a couple of commercials and then you'll be on," he said.  "Is everything alright?"

Cassandra immediately popped out of her nervous funk.  She didn't want to loose her only chance of getting some of her clients back.  "I'm doing wonderful, Maxwell, happy to be here," she said.

Maxwell chuckled.  "Alright.  Alright.  Save it for the show," he said.

They chatted for a little while, Cassandra tried to keep the conversation off of her.  And then the show was back on.  "Alright, we're back.  And with me I have fan-favorite, Cassandra Priam.  How are we doing today, Cassandra?" he said.

"We'll I don't know how we're doing, but I'm doing excellent," she said.  She hoped to herself that her clients hadn't turned off the radio when they heard her name.

"Excellent.  Excellent.  Let's go ahead and take some calls then," he said.

"No!" she yelled, a bit too loudly.  Everyone in the room stared at her.  "I just mean, the reason why I'm here, I wanted to check up on the young lady, Melody, to see if she met the young man I said she would.  I'm sure people just want to hear music until then."

Mad Maxwell just continued to stare at her.  "Uh, anyway, I have Cassandra here.  She's a phenomenal psychic, despite that weird outburst.  You have a question for Cassandra, give us a call."

"We have a caller on line 3," the technician said.

"Great, welcome, what's your name?" Mad Maxwell asked.

"Vinny," the voice on the phone said.

"And, Vinny, what's your question?"

"Yeah, so recently I haven't been having much luck with business.  I'm a wedding photographer.  And I was just wondering would I have more luck if I tried somewhere else?"

Mad Maxwell looked at Cassandra.  Vinny was planning on moving to a different state, but he wouldn't have any recommendations from his clientele there.  He'd be better off both with his clientele and happiness if he stayed in the same city.  The problem was the season, not the place.  "Um, what do you think would be best?" she asked him, trying her hardest to not give him any predictions.

"I don't know.  That's why I'm calling.  Because on one hand, this is where I live, but on the other hand, I think I might be more successful if I move somewhere with more weddings.  What do you think?" he asked.

"Perhaps it is the season that's the problem and not the location?" she said.

There was a brief pause.  "Yeah, no offense, but I don't think you actually know what your talking about.  Uh, I guess I'll figure this out on my own.  Thanks, anyway."

"Sure," Cassandra said.

"We have another caller.  Hopefully, the spirits won't get intermingled this time," Mad Maxwell said laughing.  "Alright, who do we have calling?"

"Stephanie," the girl said.  "I just graduated high school and I was wondering what I should do next."

It would probably be in Stephanie's best interest to start college right away because if she waited a year like she wanted to it was going to take her three times as long to graduate.  "What do you want to do, Stephanie?" Cassandra asked.

"Well, I was thinking about taking a year off and saving money," she said.

"Good.  Do that," Cassandra said.

There was a pause.  "Everything will be okay if I do that?  It's a good decision?"

Cassandra tried to think of a way to avoid that direct question.  "Hmm, I think so," she said.

"Okay, thanks," Stephanie said and she hung up.

"Okay, thank-you, Stephanie.  Caller #3, what is your problem and how can we help you."

Cassandra took two more calls.  Every time, they left feeling dissatisfied, but at least Cassandra felt like she sounded believable.  Then the call was she waiting for happened.

"Sounds like we have Melody from the car show on the line.  How's it going, Melody?" Mad Maxwell asked.

"What did you do?" Melody asked.

"What?" he asked.

"Melody, did you meet that man, Tim?" she asked.

"Yeah, I did.  Just like you planned, right?"

"Not my plans.  Fate's plans," Cassandra said.

"I am so creeped out, you have no idea.  I cannot believe that you hired an actor to start dating me just so you could get more business.  I feel like I have a thousand bugs crawling on me," she said.  Cassandra was shocked.  What had she just said?

"Did you do that?" Mad Maxwell asked.

"No, it was just a prediction.  Look, I know I've been sounding unbelievable lately, but that's just because I was cursed to sound unbelievable.  I really can tell the future.  That's why you met Tim," Cassandra said.

"Yeah, right!  Psychics aren't real, or at least you're not real.  I'm breaking off my date with Tim, right now.  How dare you?  You can't play with people's emotions like that."  And with that, Melody hung up.

"It does seem a little weird, Cassandra.  Look, I've had you on my show a few times, and I don't know if you really did hire that guy, but I think I want you to leave," he said.

"I was just cursed, Mad Maxwell, I'm the real deal," she said.

"Well, maybe you were cursed that you can't tell the future anymore," he said.  "Either way, I think it would be best if you left."

"No!" she screamed.  "I was cursed to sound unbelievable.  I can tell the future!"

"Alright, thank-you, Cassandra!  You're listening to -"

"I'm telling the truth.  I know everything, Maxwell, everything!  I know that you're going to eat a sandwich tomorrow.  I know you're going to die at 78 years old.  I know that -"

"We've cut to commercial," she heard the technician say.

"Maxwell," Cassandra said.

"Cassandra, I've tried to be civil.  Leave," he said.

She started to laugh.  "You'll regret this!  You'll all regret this!  I know everything, la la la la.  And none of you, none of you will be able to access my knowledge," she said.

"Leave, Cassandra," he said.

"Already gone," she said.  And with that, she stormed out.

Part 13
Index

Cassandra the All-Knowing Part 11

Part 10

While Cassandra waited for the call back to be on the radio show she continued taking clients to help her practice sounding believable. She couldn't lose her radio gig too. She tried old methods of stringing clients along to see what they wanted to hear but the second she made anything that sounded like a prediction they started to get upset. It turns out her curse applied to fake predictions as well. She tried wording her predictions differently which didn't work. She tried to sound less confident when she made predictions which just made people not believe her right off the bat. She tried to give predictions from familiar spirits which was probably the least effective method she employed since she had to figure out which spirit her clients would want to hear from which she had never been good at.

By the time Cindy called back about three days later Cassandra hadn't retained any clients. "Hello," Cassandra said answering the phone.

"Sorry it took so long to get back to you, Cassandra," Cindy said.

"That's alright."

"Look I know it's short notice but I think we can get you in tomorrow. Mad Maxwell's show has been packed with the giveaway we've been doing but he actually does have an opening tomorrow," she said. "Can we get you in at six?"

"Hmm . . . I don't know," Cassandra said.

"Oh gosh, I'm getting another call. Listen I have to go. Give me a solid yes or no," Cindy said.

"Okay," Cassandra said agreeing to give her an answer.

"Great. See you tomorrow at six," she said hanging up.

"Wait," Cassandra said into the receiver but it was already too late. Cassandra let out a huge sigh. There was one method that she hadn't tried yet. She would have to find Anthony and do whatever she could to get him to take the curse away. But just as a delightful prediction popped into her head when she didn't want to date Anthony a horrifying prediction popped into her head now. He could not take the curse away even if he wanted to. Cassandra was doomed.

Her heart started to pound and she clenched her fists as anger washed over her. He had destroyed her lively hood and just because she didn't want to date him. She wished that he had never given her the gift in the first place. She laughed when she thought of all those people who would never know their futures because of him and it was all his fault. All those people would suffer and she would just stand there at laugh at them for not believing her.

"Come in, Xanthe," she said before she even knocked.

Xanthe poked her head in. Like most tattoo artists she had artwork all over her body. She wore tight ripped jeans and a black mesh shirt. Her platinum blond hair was pulled up in a wild ponytail. "Hey Cassie, that's a wicked laugh you got there," she said walking in. "Kind of creepy almost."

Cassandra looked at her with annoyed eyes. "Don't call me Cassie," she said. "I've told you time and time again that it is Cassandra."

Xanthe walked closer. "Listen, man, I hate to do this but I need to get your rent from you. You're already kind of late," she said.

"My business hasn't been doing as well. I don't have the money for you yet. Do you think that I can have a few more days?" she asked. As soon as the girl on the radio show told people that Cassandra's predictions would come true she was sure that business would pick up.

"Oh, yeah, sure, man. Everything chill over here?" she asked.

"We're not friends, Xanthe, merely associates," Cassandra said.

Xanthe frowned. "Sure," she said. "Okay, get me your rent by the fifteenth, alright?"

Cassandra nodded and Xanthe left. Cassandra left the shop and went up to her bed to lay down and think of a plan on how she would do the radio show tomorrow.

Part 12
Index

My Brother, Cupid Preface Part 1

I thought it might be interesting to write about how Todd found out that Chase was Cupid. This is different from My Alter-Ego, Cupid which is from Chase's point of view and is about him becoming Cupid. This probably won't be longer then three parts.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"So, I wanted to talk to you about Africa," my Mom said putting a tuna fish sandwich in front of me.

"Yeah?" I responded.

"As you know it has always been my dream to go to Africa and help the people there. Well, an opportunity has just opened up for me to go to Sierra Leone for almost next to nothing. Now, you know, I would never even consider anything like this when you were younger but now that you're in high school you're pretty self sufficient and I really think you'd be okay without me. You'd be staying with Chase which I think would be a lot of fun for you. He's already a much better cook than I am so you'd have plenty of good food to eat. He'd take you to school or shopping as you need it. Plus I'd send you and Chase all of the funds that we get from your grandpa's store. And I'd try to take care of you as much as I can from overseas. I'd really, really love to go but of course I won't go unless you're okay with it," she said.

I swallowed my bite and looked at her. "How long would you be gone?"

"A year."

"A whole year," I muttered.

She stared at me and started to tap her fingers on the table. It seemed pretty obvious that she was really hoping that I would tell her that it was okay to go.

"I don't know, Mom. I think it would be really hard here without you but this is what you really want?" I asked.

"Yes. More than anything. This is my dream."

"Well, if you really want to go that bad I guess I'm fine with it," I said.

She let out a sigh of relief and stood up. She grabbed my head and pulled it towards her chest. She kissed the top of my head. "Oh, Todd, you're such a good son. You have no idea how much this means to me," she said.

"Okay, I'm going to go sign up," she said and she started to walk away.

"Mom," I said.

"Yes?" she asked pausing.

"Aren't you going to finish your sandwich?" I said pointing to the sandwich that she hadn't even touched.

"Oh, right, of course," she said and she sat down.

The next day I came home from school and she was in the living room. "Todd," she said when I walked into the door. "I talked to Chase today."

"Yeah?"

"Apparently he won't let you stay with him," she said obviously upset.

"What?!" I said.

"I told him that there was no way that I could get out of this now. I already paid, non-refundable. We'll just have to figure something else out. Maybe you can stay with a family friend or I wonder if there are any affordable boarding schools," she paused and looked at me and the obvious panic on my face. "Anyway, don't worry about it. I'll take care of it."

"Didn't he already say that it was okay when you asked him? Why would he change his mind?" I asked.

"I just asked him today. I thought he'd be okay with it so I didn't worry about it."

"Mom," I said in an annoyed voice.

"I'm sorry, Todd. I really thought he'd be okay with it. But don't worry, I'll figure something out, alright?"

I walked away not saying anything else. I pulled out my phone and called Chase.

"Hey Todd," he said answering the phone.

"I thought Mom asked you if I could stay with you before she asked me," I said introducing my concerns.

"No, she told me today that you were going to stay with me."

"She said that you told her that I couldn't stay with you."

"Yeah, it's not a good time for me, Todd. I can't really take you in right now."

"Where am I supposed to stay?" I said raising my voice slightly.

"I'm hoping she'll change her mind about going," he said.

"She's not going to. She already paid and it's non-refundable. Plus this is her dream."

"Well, maybe you can talk to her. Tell her there's nowhere for you to go."

"Chase, she's going to go. She said if she can't find someone else for me to stay with that she was going to send me to boarding school."

"Todd, I don't know what you want me to do."

"Is it because of money. Mom said that she would send the money that we get from grandpa's store to you. I know it's not a lot but -"

"No, this isn't about money."

"I'll be really good. You should still be able to work on your novels," I said.

"It's not about that either."

"Then, why, Chase? Why can't I stay with you? If not you, then she'll send me to boarding school."

"It's complicated, Todd. Trust me if I could I would."

"Chase . . ." I said in a sad voice.

He didn't speak for a few seconds. "Alright, Todd."

"You'll let me stay with you?" I said feeling excited.

"I'll have to talk to my boss but yeah, I think so," he said sighing.

I hung up feeling relieved. But after thinking about it for a little while I wondered to myself Why would he need to tell his boss? and Who was his boss?

Cassandra the All-Knowing Part 10

Part 9

Cassandra was not going to give up. She would just have to take another route. She wasn't surprised that sensitive people like Keegan or paranoid people like Lena would ruin it for her. Psychic fame was still within her grasp. Anthony might have made her sound like a liar but she could still prove that she was real and she would start with the girl on the radio show. So she called the radio station manager, Cindy, who she had a direct number for.

"You've got Cindy," a cheerful voice said into the receiver.

"Hi, Cindy, this is Cassandra Priam," she said.

"Oh, right, our resident psychic, how are you doing today?" she asked.

"I'm doing well, Cindy. I was calling because I think it's about time for me to come on Mad Maxwell's show again," Cassandra responded.

"I'm not so sure, although your last segment was pretty interesting. I just think that we probably need to spread it out."

"Cindy, I was thinking we could do a follow up with the girl who was wondering if she would meet anybody. I guarantee that she has."

She hesitated for a few seconds. "I would be interested in that. I would be really interested in that. Okay, you know what I'll find a way to pencil you in. We'll stay in touch, yeah?"

Cassandra smiled to herself. "Here's the thing though, I think it might be better if I don't make any predictions on the show and instead we just talk to that girl so I'd only need a couple of minutes."

"Oh, I don't think so. We don't have that girl, what's her name, Melody's contact information. We'd need to keep you on for a while and hope that she would call. Why would you not want to make any predictions?"

"Well, like you said, I think it's better if we spread out these things. People might get bored of psychic predictions if they don't think they'll come true. I mean of course they will but they are a lot of skeptics out there."

"Hmmm . . . no, I think we'll be alright. Don't worry about that. I'll contact you again with more info later, 'kay?" Cindy said.

"Sure," Cassandra said with a sigh.

"Great talking to you, Cassandra. I'll talk to you later. Bye."

"Bye, Cindy."

Part 11

Index

Cassandra the All-Knowing Part 9

Part 8

Cassandra walked into the television studio feeling a bit nervous. She was about to film in front of an audience, an audience she would have to convince quickly. She took a deep breath and felt a lot more confident. She had wanted this her entire life and she would succeed. She smiled as Lizzie led her to the studio. They had advertised for people to come be in the studio audience and the seats were already filling up.

Devin looked at her skeptically. "Don't mess this up. We spent a lot of money making this set and getting everything ready for you."

"Don't worry, Devin," she said. "I'm good at what I do."

"Hmm," he mumbled still looking skeptical.

She took another deep breath and walked to where she was supposed to sit. They had decided that they were going to go with a modern day psychic look so instead of beads and glass balls. The set was incredibly simple with light blues and greens and a wooden stool. Cassandra, herself, was asked to wear black pants and a forest green shoulderless shirt that matched the color schemes of the set. She only wore a silver necklace for jewelry and black shoes with low heels.

After a few last minute adjustments and the rest of the audience coming in, they were ready to start. Cassandra looked at the camera and said the lines that she had memorized. "Hello future-seekers, my names is Cassandra the All-Knowing, your metaphysical guide to all things unknown to come. Join me as we set out on this adventure of spirit and find answers. We already have people lining up at the microphone to ask me, Cassandra the All-Knowing, what they do not know. Go ahead, Keegan."

"Yes, I recently lost a lot of weight on a diet that I went on. Will I be able to keep it off?" he asked.

Typically she would hate questions like this since the answers are so simple anyone could tell him what they are but in this case, it was good that the answers were so straightforward as it would make her sound more believable. Plus she saw that this guy had a chip addiction something she was sure he would confirm once she confronted him. "You look fantastic, by the way," she said.

"Thanks," he said.

"I see in your future that this quest of keeping the weight off will come with great difficulty. I recommend not going down the chip aisle as I see that is something you struggle with. Cheese puffs are your weakness," she said.

He looked at her upset. "That's rude," he said. "Why would you assume I have a problem with cheese puffs?"

No, she thought to herself. He was supposed to confirm what she said not deny it. She looked around the studio anxiously people were looking at each other skeptical of her. She had to save this. "It's true, though, right? I didn't assume it, I saw it because I'm psychic," she said.

People were not starting to mumble. Devin looked at the audience and then walked on stage. "You know what, let's go onto the next question," he said. The guy handed the microphone to a girl behind him in line giving Cassandra a dirty look. Devin walked over. "Try to be careful with your 'visions.' We don't want to offend people. And also you are sounding incredibly unbelievable so try to sound a bit more believable, alright?"

Cassandra nodded at him. "Alright, Lena, go ahead," she said feeling a bit shook up.

Lena looked to be about sixteen and she looked skeptically at Cassandra and then at a woman next to her who Cassandra thought might be her Mom. Her mom shrugged at her. Cassandra felt like this was a good time to intervene. "You were going to ask me about cheerleading tryouts and if you got on the team. I know Trojan High can be quite brutal -"

"Did you tell her that I was going to ask about that?" Lena said angrily at her mom. This was good, her Mom would say that she hadn't and this would serve as proof.

Her mom said something inaudible to the audience. "Why don't you hand your mom the microphone?" Cassandra said. "I'm sure she'll tell you that she was not the one to tell me."

"You're right, she says that she didn't tell you but your studio must have found out somehow and it's freaking both of us out," she said.

"You'll make the team!" Cassandra said loudly feeling frustrated.

"You don't know that," Lena said.

The audience started mumbling louder. And then to Cassandra's horror, a few people stood up to leave. Seeing that others were leaving a lot more people also stood up shuffling towards the exits.

"No, wait, don't leave," Cassandra called after them. "I can prove that I'm a psychic. I can tell you something that is just about to happen. What's on TV right now?" A few people started to laugh at her.

Cassandra was losing them even more. "The man wearing red is about to trip," she said. The guy wearing red stopped to look at her. "Well, he was about to before I warned him."

People kept leaving. "Wait! I can tell you anything! Who the next president will be! Who will win the Superbowl! The World Cup! Please don't go!" They ignored her. Cassandra put her head in her hands, she felt like crying.

"Alright, that's quite enough. This isn't going to work. I'm so sorry to bother all of you but we're not going to make this show. Thanks for coming out," he said to the audience. Those who had stayed behind started to leave.

He shot Cassandra a frustrated look. "Look, I'm not sure how you fooled me before but it's pretty obvious that you're terrible at this," he said to her. "I'm going to need you to leave."

"No," she said. "I proved that I was a psychic, right? With the cars and the lady."

"Yeah, not sure how you did that but a broken clock is right twice a day," he said.

"That was too much to be coincidental. That's like saying a broken clock is right at one, one o'one, one o'two, one o'three, one o'four, and one o'five. I really am a psychic," she said.

"Wow, she sounds desperate," Cassandra heard Lizzie say. "I can't believe that I ever thought this girl was cool."

"Cassandra," he said sounding like he was about to loose his temper. "I need you to leave, now!"

"Devin -" she said hoping to get sympathy.

"Lizzie, call security," he said.

"No," Cassandra said. "I'll leave."

Part 10

Index

Cassandra the All Knowing Part 8

By the way, I am changing Anton's name to Anthony. I'm not going to go back and change it in all the parts I've already written so just so everyone knows Anton and Anthony are the same person.

Part 7

It was still a few weeks before Cassandra had the filming of the first episode of her new show which was going to be called "Cassandra the All-Knowing." They were planning on filming it in front of a live studio audience and were currently building the set, discussing the format, and advertising to get an audience.

During these few weeks, she spent a majority of her time at the studio and did a lot fewer readings. So at first, she didn't notice anything wrong. There had always been skeptics in her line of work so when people didn't believe her she shook it off. She had learned that people tended to discard anything they didn't want to here and since she was now telling the whole truth about their futures there was plenty that people didn't want to hear. It wasn't until about a week later when Maria, an older superstitious lady, didn't believe her that she started to wonder. Maria was gullible, Cassandra had found that she didn't even have to try hard to give her a reading that she would be satisfied with. Cassandra started to reflect on the week. It was common for walk-ins to not believe in her, sometimes they only came for a laugh, but none of her regulars believed her either.

Cassandra thought back on what Anthony had said to her, that everyone would see her as a liar. She hadn't really worried about it at first, she thought that she would just seem unbelievable but since she was good at selling what she had she thought it would be easy to override the curse. She was now realizing how strong the curse actually was.

"It's fine," Cassandra said to herself. "Devin didn't believe me at first and I convinced him that I was a real psychic and I can convince others too. I just need to have visions that will happen immediately."

Cassandra spent the second week telling every client that came in what they wanted to know about as well as something that would happen in the next few hours or days. Nobody believed her but she was sure that people would start believing her once her visions started coming true. She decided to make sure that this was working when one of her clients, a man in his forties named Reggie, called.

"Hello, Reggie. It's always great to get your phone calls," she said.

"I need to cancel my reading for next week," he said.

"Really, why?"

"Truth be told I'm pretty sure you're a scammer. People have been telling me to not believe you for a while and I've had my suspicions as well, but I think after our reading last week I know for sure. Everything that you said just sounded so . . . well so . . . fake."

"What about the part that I told you about your store changing brands of soap in the bathroom? That came true didn't it. I must be a real psychic if that came true."

"I don't know. I wasn't really paying that much attention plus that's not super interesting," he said.

"Yes, but the point is that I knew it was going to happen which means other things that I say are going to happen will happen."

"Wow, you really sound like a scammer. I don't know how I didn't see it before."

"Fine, Reggie, do what you want. I don't need you, I'm about to become a TV psychic," she said.

"Have fun with that," he said hanging up.

Cassandra let out a frustrated huff. But the more she thought about it the less she was worried. Reggie had specifically said that he wasn't paying attention and she knew her other clients would not to mention that the girl who asked her about the date would probably be calling into Mad Maxwell's show pretty soon to tell everyone just how correct Cassandra actually was.

Part 9

Index

Cassandra the All Knowing Index

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11

Part 12

Part 13

Part 14

Cassandra the All Knowing Part 7

Part 6

Cassandra was walking on air as she made her way back to her apartment. She had finally achieved her dream of becoming a television psychic and it could only get better from here. Once people realized that she was a real psychic she might even get her own show on cable. She might really become famous. She really wished she could see her own future.

When she walked into the tattoo parlor there was Anton waiting for her. He was sitting casually with one of his legs crossed on one of the leather chairs that they had browsing one of the tattoo books that they put out. "Cassandra!" he said as she walked in. He smiled at her.

Cassandra sighed. She had completely forgotten that Anton was going to be there. "Anton," she said back.

"You look beautiful. Audition went well?" he said.

"Yes. We are discussing the details of creating a new show."

"Ready for our date?" he said uncrossing his legs and putting his book to the side.

"Yeah . . . here's the thing . . . I'm not going out with you," she said. "Sorry."

"We had a deal!" he said standing up.

"The thing is I didn't know you could actually give me the ability to see the future when I said I would go out with you," she said.

"So? We still had an agreement," he said. "Plus you can't tell me that you haven't benefited from my gift at all. If it wasn't for me you would have bombed that audition."

"It did, of course, but I'm just really not interested in you and I really don't want to waste a couple hours of my life. And I know that you can't take the gift away so I'm really not worried about it."

"You're right, I can't take away the gift, but I can give you a curse." He was angry. "Everyone will soon see you for what you are, a liar. People are already so skeptical of psychics now anyway. No one will ever believe you."

Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but you're forgetting that I really can see the future. Even if they don't believe me initially once they realize that I'm telling the truth they will."

He snickered. "You may be pretty but you are really full of yourself. I don't know why I was ever interested in you." He walked past her towards the door. "You'll regret this, Cassandra."

Cassandra watched him leave and then went upstairs to her apartment. She wasn't too worried and besides she had a show to prepare for. She was able to convince Devin that she was a real psychic, she'd be able to convince anyone.

Part 8

Index

Cassandra the All Knowing Part 6

Part 5

Cassandra smiled at him. "Well, what I was thinking is that I would go out in front of a live studio audience, pre recorded of course, and answer questions they have."

Devin looked her up and down. "I see. Simple enough. You think that will retain viewers?" he asked.

"I think they'll be impressed and want to see more, try to figure me out," she said.

"Hmmm. I guess then it's just the matter of testing out your psychic ability then, right? What can you tell me about my future?" he said.

"Well, um, let's see, what exactly would you like to know?" Cassandra asked.

Devin just shrugged.

"Alright, well, here are some things that might interest you. Your second daughter, Brandi, she is planning on breaking it off with her current boyfriend, Mark. Apparently they've been drifting apart and she's loosing interest in him," she said.

Devin didn't say anything, he just kept looking at Cassandra.

Cassandra was starting to get nervous. Anton said she would get the audition, not necessarily get the show. "Um, also, the ski trip you're planning will go just as planned. No real problems and Tyson will really enjoy it."

Devin let out a sigh.

"Are you sure that there's nothing specific that you want to know? I can see your whole life but it's hard for me to know exactly what you're interested in knowing," Cassandra said.

Devin sighed again. "I don't think there's anything exactly that I want to know."

What am I supposed to do about this? Of course he won't be interested in a show that provides answers if he doesn't have any questions, Cassandra thought to herself. "Well," she said to him. "I know your having chicken parm for dinner tonight. And, um, you'll finish the financial reports you've been working on by tomorrow."

"I already knew that," Devin said.

Although, she had been trying to be polite Cassandra couldn't help but huff. "The point is I know it," she said emphasizing the word I.

"What am I thinking about right now?" he asked her.

"Sir," she said sharply. "I'm not a mind reader. I'm a psychic. I can tell you things about your future. Give you answers to live's mysteries. I foresee the unknown making it less scary."

"Interesting. So you don't do magic tricks then?" he asked.

"What? No," she said. "Listen, maybe, we should let some of your staff ask me questions. That way I can show you what I can do."

While they had been talking quite a few people had shuffled in. Devin turned to face them. "Alright," he said.

Lizzie hadn't come in yet so Cassandra decided to start with a mousey college girl with large black framed glasses. "You. What question would you like to ask Cassandra the All Knowing?"

She looked surprised for a few seconds but then she said, "My internship here is almost up and I was wondering about what happens after this. Where do I get a job?"

Cassandra sighed, this was not a good start. "To be honest with you, my dear, the road you are heading down is tough and almost impossible at times. The connections, job experience, and abilities you have will not be enough to land you a job in show business. Instead you will get a job as a secretary in security company. This will be very tough for you. I'm sorry it's not good news but I must be honest."

The girl looked worried. "Is there anything I can do to make sure that doesn't happen?"

Cassandra thought for a few seconds. "I'm not entirely sure. The spirits show me things as they are now on the current path but if you were to stray to a different path that is still unknown to me. Perhaps you could work on building more connections, go into job counseling, try for jobs in show business that don't necessarily focus on what you're interested in."

"Okay," the girl said. "I'll look into it."

"I have a question," said an older man in the back. "When do I die?"

Cassandra studied him for a few minutes.  "Do you really want to know this? Instead of enjoying your life and going on as normal you'll be trying to prolong your life and feeling anxious in anticipation." Cassandra wasn't entirely sure if this was true or not but predicting death dates was a bit morbid for what she was trying to achieve.

"Maybe I'd be worried if I actually thought you could tell the future," he said smuggly.

"January eighth, forty-seven years from now. You'll die of a heart attack brought on by complications from Alzheimer's disease, I'm so sorry," she said. And she was sorry, Alzheimer's was a terrible disease to live with.

He looked impressed. "That actually sounds realistic. Like it could actually happen," he said.

By this point Lizzie had walked in. "I promised Lizzie that she would be able to ask me about her future in the film industry," Cassandra said turning to Lizzie.

Lizzie bounced on the balls of her feet in anticipation. She was a believer. "I was wondering if I ever become a famous TV writer for a television show," she said.

"TV writers aren't really famous. But I see a future where you are a writer for a show. You're quite talented. Stay on the path that you are currently on, don't get a big head, don't be afraid to do smaller jobs for a while and you'll eventually get a job writing," Cassandra said.

"I wanted to ask a question as well," Jason said. "You said you would tell me about how my audition goes."

"Yes, you will get a call back and you will get the part as one of the twelve angry men," Cassandra said to him.

"You sound so sure. That's great for retaining viewers but what if Jason goes to his audition and doesn't get the part or if another viewer doesn't get what you predicted. What if you're wrong," Devin said studying Cassandra.

"I won't be," Cassandra said back matter-of-factly.

"I'm not so sure," Devin said.

"How about a more immediate demonstration? Follow me outside," she said standing up.

Devin sighed loudly but he stood up. The rest of the staff followed as well. Cassandra stood at the two metal doors that led outside and prevented them from going outside. She had to time this exactly. She decided to wait about a minute so she would have long enough to explain what was going to happen. "Eastbound; silver car, white van, red car, blue car, white car. Westbound; blue SUV, while later white car. The blue car parks in front of the blinds store. Woman with sunglasses on wearing yoga clothes gets out. The white cars cross at the same time. Got it?" she said out of time. She pushed open the doors and everyone spilled out.

Just as they did so a beautiful silver car zoomed pass followed very closely by a white van. A blue SUV then crossed on the other side of the road. Nothing happened for a few seconds until a red car drove by. Another few seconds passed but a blue car pulled up and parked across the street in front of a store that sold blinds. A larger woman wearing yoga pants, a bright pink sweatshirt, and large sunglassed stepped out. She looked at the blinds store and then headed in. While she was walking towards the store two white cars, different makes and models, crossed each other right in front of the TV studio.

"Oh my gosh," Lizzie said.

"That was incredible," someone else said.

"I can't believe it," the man who asked the death question said. Most of the other staff mumbled their approval.

"I told you," Cassandra said turning to Devin. "I'm never wrong."

"Color me impressed," he said smiling at her. "I think this could sell. You've got yourself a TV show. Let's talk dates to film our first episode."

Part 7

Cassandra the All Knowing Part 5

Part 4

The next few days leading up to the audition went fantastic for Cassandra. Even though it had only been a short while, people were so impressed with her radio show that business had already picked up. She was almost completely booked up most of the day. And as soon as people heard how magnificent she was in person it led to them telling their friends who also tried to book appointments with her. Everyone wanted answers and Cassandra had them.

The day of the audition Cassandra dressed herself up in an outfit that she believed made her look like a modern day psychic. She wore a silver hairpiece that drooped down into her tight curls. She wore multiple colored bracelets with symboled charmes and overlapping silver and gold necklaces. She also had a few rings on. She wore a pair of dark blue jeans and above that she wore a long dark red sleeveless shirt. She wore black gladiator pumps. Her lips were a dark red to match her shirt and she had blue eyeshadow on to make her look mysterious. She took one last look in the mirror and satisfied with what she saw she walked outside with her head held up high.

Cassandra walked into the local television studio feeling confident. She looked around at the college aged kids who were interning there and found the one who had Lizzie on her name badge. Lizzie had medium length auburn hair which was pulled up in a half bun. She had a rounder face with pink lips and bright blue eyes. Upon seeing Cassandra, Lizzie's eyes lit up. "You must be Cassandra. I didn't know what you would look like. I've only ever heard you on the radio, you know. Which doesn't really give you any idea of what the person looks like. But you're what I imagine you would look like although I thought maybe you'd be older. You sound older on the radio. I thought you'd be pretty though, and you are very pretty. Very pretty and very young," she paused for moment her eyes drifting downwards and her lips turned into a confused pout. "Wait, what was I talking about?"

"I am indeed Cassandra the All Knowing. Will you be sitting with us in the audition?" Cassandra asked.

"Audition? Isn't it a show pitch?" Lizzie asked.

"I was hoping for something a bit more theatrical. People watching me as I give them answers to the things they most desire to know. Like you, Lizzie, I know that you would like to ask me about your future in the television and film industry and this is the sort of question I would like to answer in front of many people," Cassandra said looking Lizzie directly into her eyes.

Lizzie looked away quickly. "Jason?" she yelled behind her. "Cassandra, the psychic lady, is here."

She saw a man who looked to be in his mid twenties come in. He didn't look too old but his dark brown hair was already receding. He wore a pair of glasses and had a concerned look on his face.

Once Lizzie saw him she said to him, "Jason, Cassandra wants a bunch of people watching her perform."

Jason blinked at her. "Okay? Why?" he asked.

"Jason," Cassandra said before Lizzie could speak. "You are a showman, are you not? I see you auditioning for local productions such as the upcoming '12 Angry Men.' Don't you think in order to prove what a magnificent psychic I am that it would be better if I took questions from all sorts of people in the studio. That way I can prove that nothing is planned."

Jason shrugged. "How do I do in that audition by the way?" he asked.

"That is the type of question that I would like to answer in front of your boss if you don't mind," Cassandra said adding a sweet tone to her voice.

"Okay, follow me," Jason said and Cassandra followed him into the back.

Jason knocked on the door of a middle-aged man with black and white hair that was staring at his computer screen. He had black framed glasses and an expression on his face which made it look like he was focusing very hard. Upon hearing the knock he looked over at Jason and Cassandra. He didn't smile. "Yes?" he said.

"This is-" Jason started.

"Cassandra, right? The psychic girl, younger then I thought. And prettier, you might do okay on television just looks alone. Okay, sit down, tell me about your show idea. I won't promise that I'll like it," he said looking Cassandra up and down.

"Actually, sir, if you don't mind I was hoping I could put on somewhat of a performance. I think that it would be the best way to showcase my talents. I could show you how I think the format of the show could be. But can I show you that I am a real psychic if I can't show you the extent of my powers," Cassandra said.

Devin just looked at her. Jason spoke up, "Yeah . . . I guess she was hoping we could gather a bunch of people at the studio and a bunch of us could ask her questions. I mean, that's the impression I got from you."

"That's correct," she said.

Devin audibly sighed. "Whatever then, let's do this. It's probably best anyway," he said standing up. He held out his hand directly Jason and Cassandra to leave. They waited for him to exit and then followed him down the hall to a room set up like a studio.

"Jason," Devin said. "Go get us some volunteers for this. Thanks."

"Sure, Devin," he said back. "I'm on it." And with that he dashed out the door.

"Should we begin?" Devin said. "What exactly were you thinking?"

Part 6

Index

Cassandra the All Knowing Part 4

Part 3

Sure enough, as soon as Cassandra got back to her apartment she looked up the number of the local television production company and called them. She had considered doing this before but never had but now she was sure that she would succeed, mostly because Anton told her she would.

"This is Channel 10 Entertainment. Lizzie speaking. How may I help you?" a woman said on the other end.

"Hello, my name is Cassandra," She paused for a second and then added. "The All-Knowing. And I was wondering -"

"Wait. Were you the one who was just on Mad Maxwell's show? I was just listening to that on my way to work. You were so amazing. It really sounded like you knew what you were talking about. I mean I don't know if you knew what you were talking about but you sure sounded confident. Did you know you were calling me? Did you know that I was going to pick up?" she said quickly. She paused for a second, thinking to herself, and then asked, "Wait, why are you calling me? It's not bad is it? Oh, please don't tell me that you have bad news for me."

"Actually, Lizzie, I believe you have good news for me. I know your producer, Devin, doesn't typically take calls like this but I do believe with a little convincing he'll take mine. Tell him that I know he has an open slot for an 11:00-11:30 pm show and I'd be interested in pitching an idea for that. Namely, me taking calls live and giving answers. Trust me if he brings me in for that time he has open on Friday he will be impressed and I can make the studio quite a bit of money," Cassandra said.

"Okay!" Lizzie said on the other side. "I'll go talk to him. I'll tell him how great you did on Mad Maxwell's show. Do you mind holding?"

"Dear Lizzie, I was expecting to hold," Cassandra said.

"Okay," she said. The sound of generic hold music played for only a couple of seconds. Cassandra heard the sound of the phone being picked up again.

"Yes, Lizzie," Cassandra said, "If you get me on the show, which I see that you will, you can ask me any question for free."

"Great!" Lizzie said and Cassandra was put on hold once more. Cassandra sighed and moved to the couch. She could see that she was going to be hold for quite a while. After about ten minutes the phone was picked up again.

"Hello?" she heard a man say.

"Hello, Jason, how are you?" she said. She knew that Jason was Devin's assistant.

Jason didn't answer for a few seconds. "Um . . . listen. Devin's not sure about you, he doesn't . . . well . . . he does-"

Cassandra cut him off. "Have an opening on Friday at 1:00 pm. Yes, that will work for me."

"Um, well," Jason said.

"I know. He doesn't want me to audition, even after Lizzie was so persistent. He told you to talk to me and tell me that I wasn't likely to be accepted and try to talk me out of it. But after hearing me say your name even though you didn't give it to me, you are so impressed that you believe I should audition. Right?" she said.

Cassandra waited for a few seconds while Jason didn't say anything. "Why don't I give you a second?" she finally said. And without Jason saying a word hold music came back on.

Just as the hold music ended Cassandra said, "Hello, Devin, my name is Cassandra, the all-knowing. I would like to pitch you the idea for my show. I've seen your future and I know it will be a success."

A deep male voice responded. "Well, I must say you've really impressed my staff. You should have heard the way Lizzie talked about you. Listen, I don't know about this. Shows that feature physics aren't as popular as they were, well, unless your a psychic detective."

"I know. There is a lot of skepticism in my field but if you had a real psychic . . ." Cassandra said.

"I don't believe in psychics in the slightest. But maybe if you act real enough-"

"Trust me, sir. I don't need to act real. I am real. I am a real psychic," she said adamantly into the phone.

She heard Devin chuckle. "Alright, listen, like I said I don't believe in psychics in the slightest, so if you can convince me that you're real, which mind you won't be easy, then you have a spot on my network."

"I knew you would say that. Don't worry, sir, you will be amazed, trust me. I'll see you 1:00 pm on Friday."

"Well, you certainly sound sure of yourself and I guess that's definitely important. I always say if you do anything with enough confidence then people will believe you know what you're doing even if you don't. See you on Friday."

With that Devin hung up the phone and Cassandra smiled to herself. She looked at herself in the mirror and couldn't help but wink at herself. "This will go great," she told herself. "Trust me, I'm a psychic."

Part 5

Index

Cassandra the All Knowing Part 3

Part 2

When Mad Maxwell saw Cassandra he offered her his hand and brought her back on stage. "You ready for round two?" he asked her. She solemnly nodded to him barely taking her eyes off of Anton.

"Okay," Mad Maxwell said into the microphone. "We're back with the beautiful and astonishing Cassandra."

He paused expecting her to say something but she was still pretty shook up. Mad Maxwell continued. "You completely continue to baffle me, Cassandra. How do you do what you do?"

Cassandra snapped out of it and looked at Mad Maxwell. "Just a gift, I guess," she said.

"Well, we're going to continue taking questions for Cassandra. What's your name, sir?" Mad Maxwell asked an older gentleman that came on stage. Geoffrey, Cassandra thought to herself. He's going to ask me about his son being unemployed. This is my chance to impress everyone.

"Geoffrey," the man said.

"And what is your question, Geoffrey?" Mad Maxwell asked.

"Mad Maxwell," Cassandra said before the man could speak. "If I could interrupt, he is wondering about his son who was recently laid off. Your worried because he's struggling finding another job. Is that right?"

The man looked astonished. "Yes," he said.

She couldn't help but smirk. This was going to be a piece of cake. "He will find another job in two and a half weeks on a Wednesday, after going to an interview at a grocery store. They will give him a cashier position which of course isn't ideal and doesn't pay too much. But after about five months or so he will be promoted to manager which even though it doesn't pay that much more he'll enjoy it a lot more." Cassandra faced the audience with a smile, typically she didn't put in that many details but she knew this time that she would be absolutely right.

"Will he get a better job after that?" the man asked her.

She thought about it for a second. "No," she said. "Because he won't look for another job after that. The spirits might tell me something different if he were to look. He will stay at the grocery store until he retires but he will continue to get raises in the current timeline. I believe Melody wants to ask me about her love life."

The girl that Cassandra had seen was Melody looked at her in surprise. Mad Maxwell looked at Cassandra and then at the next girl in line, he gestured for the old man to step down. "Are you Melody?" Mad Maxwell asked her.

"I am," she said. "I recently broke up with my boyfriend and I wanted to see if there were any prospects on the horizon."

"Yes," Cassandra answered. "In three weeks time you will meet a man at your favorite coffee shop, The Brew, while you are with your friends . . . Heather and Jen. This guy and you will hit it off but he won't ask you at until he finds you twice more at The Brew. The second time which will be in five weeks, you will be by yourself, and he will ask you out."

"Will he ask me out sooner if I go by myself the first time?" she asked.

Cassandra played this scenario out in her head. "He will be less reluctant to talk to you but he still won't ask you out until the third time he sees you."

"Is there any way to speed it up? What's his name?" Melody asked starting to get excited.

Mad Maxwell looked at Cassandra cautiously. But Cassandra just smiled back. "Tim," she said. "And, dear, you could always ask him out. I see that he will not be intimidated by this and will accept the invitation. Invite him to get coffee, just the two of you. He will not only say yes but he will insist on paying and ask for another date."

Melody looked excited at Mad Maxwell. "Well, I got to say, Cassandra, you sound really sure of yourself," Mad Maxwell said.

"There's no need for hesitation when you know you're right, Mad Maxwell," she said. "I sound sure of myself because I am sure. We'll see. Melody, if you meet this man in three weeks time, you be sure to give Mr. Maxwell a call won't you."

"Of course," said Melody.

"I look forward to that call," Mad Maxwell said. Ignoring the next person in line he turned to face. "Now I have a question for Cassandra."

She smiled at him. "Yes, Mad Maxwell, your producer will be happy with your show tonight."

He laughed. "That's great. Well, that's all the time we have with Cassandra. Thanks, Cassandra, for coming. We always love having you."

"I always love being here. And if your driving home please avoid Main Street there is about to be a traffic jam," she said.

"Well, we got to go to commercial. Once we get back our next guest, local celebrity, Jasmine aka JazMakeUp, will be talking about her YouTube channel and some of the exciting things she has happening in the future so you're not going to want to miss that." he said.

He turned to Cassandra in astonishment. "How did you know Melody's name and what everyone was going to ask?"

Cassandra winked at him. "I'm a psychic," she said.

"Well, color me impressed," he said. "You'll be invited to be back on my show very soon . . . that is if what you said about my producer is correct."

"It will be," she said. "Thanks, Mad Maxwell."

Cassandra walked off stage feeling pretty smug. This is what she always wanted, she was going to become famous with this gift.

"It's great, right?" she heard from behind her. Anton picked up his pace so he was right beside her.

Cassandra muffled a frustrated groan. She had almost completely forgotten about Anton.

Anton looked at her. "What time is good for a date?" he said.

"Not sure," she said. And she wasn't. For some reason she couldn't foresee what her week would be like.

"How about after your audition on Friday?" he said.

"What audition on Friday?" she said.

"Well, right now, you're already thinking about calling the local tv studio and demanding an audition. That's going to be on Friday," he said.

"How come I don't see that?" she said.

"You can't see everything in your own future," he said. "Because your actions could change based on the visions they're too fluent. Sort of like a paradox. Other people are more set in stone because they don't know what is to come."

Cassandra just stared at him.

"Friday, after your audition then?" he said giving her a weary look.

"Yeah, fine, whatever," she said.

"Great," he said. "Look forward to it."

Cassandra watched him run away and actually did groan. She really wasn't looking forward to going out with him. But as she was thinking about how she didn't want to go with him she got a vision of a loophole. He couldn't take the gift away whether she went with him or not.

Part 4

Index

Cassandra the All Knowing Part 2

Part 1

He smiled at Cassandra and held out his hand. "My name is Anton. I heard you on the radio before. You have a real talent. I came down here because I wanted to see if you were as pretty as you sound. You are," he said.

She gave him a sympathy smile but didn't return the handshake. "Nice to meet you, Anton. So, you're a fan?" she said.

He put his hand down. "Well, sort of," he said. "I'm impressed by your psychic power. It's rare for mortals to have your talents."

"You say that like you're not a mortal," she said.

He winked at her. "Hey, can I get you some food?" he said.

What a weirdo, Cassandra thought, but she'd never turn down free food especially from a fan. "Of course," she said.

"Cool," he said giving her that smile. Cassandra left and went and sat at one of the tables they had set up.

Anton joined her and handed her a chicken sandwich. "Here you go. I know this is what you wanted," he said.

Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Anton, I'm a psychic. I'm not impressed by your ability to predict this is what I wanted. You probably saw me looking at the sign and realized that is what I was looking at."

Anton laughed and leaned in close. He looked both ways like someone might be listening and said quietly, "But Cassandra, I really am a psychic. Not only that but I could make you a real psychic too."

It was Cassandra's turn to look around to make sure no one was listening. "Oh, please," she said. "As a psychic I know there is no such thing as psychics. Just people who are in tune."

"But there is. I could turn you into one if you agreed to do something for me," he said.

"Like what?"

"Like if I granted you the ability to really see the future then you would go out with me on one date and give me a chance. I'm actually really charming when given the chance."

This conversation was getting ridiculous. She knew many people believed in psychics, that's why she was able to be successful, but this guy was clearly just a creep trying to make a move on her. Cassandra was not interested in him but she also didn't believe he could give her the ability to see the future. "Okay," she said sarcastically. "If you give me the ability to see the future then I'll go out with you."

He stared into her eyes and she could swear that his blue pupils started to glow. Suddenly she felt like she had just been sleeping and just woken up with a start. The world seemed clearer to her and she could see people all over the world; what they were going to do, when they were going to do it, and where they were going to do it. She was unaware that her brain could handle so much knowledge.

"It is done," he said.

Despite the feeling that she had got, Cassandra still didn't believe him entirely. She did mind tricks so she knew one when she saw one. He had only made her feel like she had gotten some magic ability. "Yes, I'm ready to go," she said standing up.

The radio producer who had been sent to get her gave her a surprised look. She hadn't even been looking at him. Cassandra was shocked too. She walked with the producer for a little while when she saw a man and his daughter about to cross the street that led to the exit. "Watch out," she yelled at them. The man held out his hand stopping his daughter as a car that hadn't been in view sped by. They looked at Cassandra in astonishment and Cassandra looked at Anton in astonishment.

He smiled and waved. "Don't forget our date!" he yelled.

Part 3

Index

Cassandra the All Knowing Part 1

This is obviously based off the myth of Cassandra in ancient Greek mythology which basically goes that Cassandra was a princess of Troy who the God of prophesy, Apollo, fell in love with. He blessed her with the gift of prophesy but when she refused his advances he cursed her that no one would believe her. She predicted the destruction of Troy but was unable to do anything to stop it. You can read more here: http://www.greekmyths-greekmythology.com

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Cassandra flipped on the light of the open sign of the psychic shop that she shared with a tattoo salon and prepared for her first client. Cassandra had opened the shop years ago because she was intuitive and good at basic predictions. She loved the respect that she got from her clients and even had a regular spot on a local radio show. Her dream though was to be a TV personality and she certainly thought herself to be pretty enough to be one. Cassandra had long, dark-brown, curly hair and large hazel-colored eyes. She had darker olive colored skin. She had a long, skinny face that matched her long, skinny body-type. Everything was proportionate and she truly believed that people would enjoy watching her on the TV.

Cassandra smiled as her first client entered. He was a regular of hers who came in at least once a month if not more. He was a paranoid man in his forties who came to Cassandra to be consoled and told that everything that would be okay which is exactly what she told him. After him she didn't have an appointment but a teenage girl who had just lost her dog wandered in to see if he was okay. Another one of her regulars had an appointment after that who came in frequently to use Cassandra as a medium to speak to her dead relatives.

Cassandra led the old woman out of her shop after her appointment as the woman thanked her over and over. She stepped outside to watch the sun set. Typically evening was the most profitable time for Cassandra as it was the time that the tattoo salon opened and the night life would come in to get tattoos. If they were waiting for one of their friends or saw the psychic sign they frequently get a tarot card reading as well. But Cassandra had other plans this evening. She was going to be on her regular radio show this evening. She quickly flipped over her sign on her desk and went to the back to get ready. She was really excited for tonight because they were doing the show in front of a live audience as part of a promotion for a car dealership. She typically did her portion of the show in the morning but the host, Mad Maxwell, had specifically requested her for this event. People were actually going to be looking at her so she wanted to look good. She put on a blue dress with a flowing skirt and tight waist. She chose her favorite transparent blue and green beads to wear and her favorite black heels. After doing her make-up and running a brush through her hair she looked at herself in the mirror. Her prediction was that this night was going to go very well for her.

Cassandra drove to the car dealership and walked over to where the radio station had set up. They were playing a song so Mad Maxwell was able to get up and hug her. "You look great," he said looking at her.

"Thank-you," she said smiling at him.

"So, after the next commercial break we'll introduce you in and then we'll start taking questions from the live audience," he said. "Your one of our favorite radio personalities so I know they'll love you."

"This is so exciting. I've never done a live show before."

He smiled at her and put his hand behind her to lead her to the desk. "You'll do great."

Cassandra sat down at the chair that the station had prepared for her and looked out. The booth they were sitting at was specifically designed to be sound-proof as to not pick up any of the sounds of the live audience. There were no chairs set up, which Cassandra believed to be a shame, instead audience members were encouraged to walk around and look at the cars. Some people sat by the building. She noticed quite a few people were staring at her or the other personalities on the stage. One man, in particular, who was standing next to a salesman looking up at her especially caught her attention. He had messy blond hair and a tight light-blue shirt on. He flashed her a white smile.

The commercials ended and Mad Maxwell started to talk. "Welcome back. Right now we're at the Ford Dealership and they have great deals going on all evening. They have food, things for the kids, a lottery, and a lot more. It's a ton of fun so come down here, say hi to us, and enjoy in all of the activities that we have here. I know you'll have a blast. We're now being joined with our next guest, Cassandra Priam. Cassandra is a frequent guest of ours so you've maybe heard her before. She's a local psychic; she deals with love, death, and everything in between. We're so glad to have her today. How are you doing, Cassandra?"

He paused allowing Cassandra to say, "I'm doing really good, Maxwell. So glad to be back on the show and here at the Ford Dealership. They seem to have some great deals!"

Maxwell smiled at her. "They sure do, Cassandra. So we have some guests already here at the Ford Dealership. We're going to have them step up to the stage and ask you a question."

"Okay."

"Okay. Let's get started. Our first 'asker,' since I guess she's not a caller, is Mabel." Mad Maxwell stood up and grabbed a woman who looked to be in her thirties on the stage. He gave her a microphone. "How are you doing, Mabel?"

The woman was pink with excitement and she smiled at the audience. "Good," she said.

"What is your question for Cassandra?" Maxwell asked.

"Yeah, my question for Cassandra is I just went through a divorce about six months ago and I'm struggling to get back into the dating field. I was wondering if you could use your psychic powers and give me any advice," she said smiling.

Really? Cassandra thought. How am I expected to wow the audience if they don't ask me to tell the future? Cassandra would just have to turn it around so she could predict the future. Cassandra smiled at the young lady and started to ask her leading questions and "psychically" giving her answers. Maxwell had her answer two more peoples questions. One, a young man who had just graduated college, asked if he was going to get a good career. The third person was a little girl, about ten, who asked Cassandra what her future was going to be like. Cassandra answered all three of their questions with much ease. She could tell by the audience gathering at the stage and their expressions on their faces that she was wowing the audience just as she wanted to. She also noticed that the man she had seen earlier with the light blue shirt kept moving closer and closer throughout the show until he was standing right next to the stage.

After she was done Mad Maxwell thanked the little girl and Cassandra and then cut to a song. "You never cease to amaze me, Cassandra," he said. "Why don't you go enjoy some of the events? We're not going on for a little while. We're probably going to play a song or two then commercials then you again. I'll have someone get you when we're ready to go back on."

Cassandra's stomach rumbled. She was pretty hungry and she had been eyeing a carnival food stand all evening. She jumped off the stage and went straight to the food stand. A few people stopped her on her way and told her what a fantastic job she had done.

She was waiting in line when the man with the light-blue shirt came up to talk to her.

Part 2

Index

Tales of 5 Kingdoms - Story 3: Alex and Kivi Part 1

The Kingdom of Siqua was one of the most beautiful Kingdoms in the land especially in the Spring. The trees that lined the salmon colored cobblestone streets were full of falling blossoms in white and pink. The colorful houses lined the sat peacefully in a row as the residents, just as colorful, played right outside. And at the end of the street was the grandest castle in the land of Quinque. There lived King Alexander; his wife, Charlotte; and their beautiful daughter, Alexandria who ruled over this happy land.

And what a happy day indeed! For Princess Alexandria, or as most called her Alex, was turning 18 today and the entire Kingdom was invited to her birthday party.

Alex stood in her dressing room as three ladies fiddled with her elaborate hair and large pink dress. "Oh, Alex, you look like a dream!" said the tallest, skinniest woman who was working on her hair.

"Thank-you, Margaret," Alex said. "But really it's because this dress you made is amazing."

Down below with a mouth full of pins the larger lady who was fixing her hem said, "Alex always looks like a dream. We barely did anything."

"Thank-you, Sylvia," she said.

"Oh, we'd do anything for you, dear," the third lady who was the smallest said as she put a silver heart shaped necklace around Alex's neck.

The three stepped in front of Alex to admire their work. Alex's long blond hair fell in large curls around her shoulders and back with the midsection pulled up in the back of her head making a bump. Her dress fit her petite frame perfectly. The top was made of a light-pink, metallic fabric with silver sequins and her sleeves went to her mid-forearm. The bottom of her dress puffed out, the top layer was a slightly darker pink then the top. And it laid on top of about ten fluffy white layers. Margaret was right, Alex did look like a dream. Alex couldn't help but smile at herself in the mirror behind the women.

"You're done," Margaret said extending her arms and smiling at Alex.

Alex curtsied at the ladies and turned to leave the dressing room but right before she got to the door she felt the top of her head and turned in alarm. "My tiara!" she exclaimed. "We forgot my tiara!"

Sylvia immediately grabbed the tiara from it's stand and put it snuggly on Alex's bump. "I'm so sorry, dear."

Alex sighed a breath of relief. "I'm a princess," she said. "I never go anywhere without my tiara." She adjusted the tiara and walked out, head held high.

"Enjoy the party, dear," the shortest one yelled after her.

Realizing that she was running late, Alex picked up the hem of her dress and started moving quickly down the corridor towards the ballroom until she saw her parents standing in front of the doors that led to the ballroom. She instead dropped her hem and approached her parents in a respectful manner. "Father. Mother," she said nodding at them. "Shouldn't you be in the ballroom greeting our guests?"

Her father spoke first. "We wanted to see our beautiful little princess first. Happy birthday, Alex."

Alex kissed her father on the cheek. "Thank-you, Father."

Her mother then stepped forward and gave her a hug. "Oh, you look all grown up! Pretty soon you'll be running this Kingdom. Where does the time go?" She stood back to look at her daughter. "It seems just like yesterday you were our perfect little baby and now you're a full grown princess!"

"And quite a charming one at that," King Alexander added.

"Thank-you, Mother," Alex said giving her mother a kiss on the cheek.

"Well, we'd better go. We'll see you in there," her father said kissing the top of Alex's head. The footmen then opened the door for the King and his partner.

Alex waited patiently in the corridor for her father to make his speech and for the footmen to open the door. Once they did, Alex stepped in lightly her head held high, her back straight, slowly waving her hand. She smiled brightly as she faced her people.

Immediately the people yelled and cheered, calling her name and saying kind things. Alex stepped forward to the banister and stopped waving to blow a kiss. The people cheered even louder. King Alexander stepped forward taking the Princesses arm.

Just as he was about to lead her down the stairs they heard gunshots and a commotion in the back. A guard told Alex and her father to get down and they obeyed.

The people of Siqua started started to scream and back up and Alex was able to see the Fortis soldiers that were terrorizing her people. Alex was alarmed, the people of Siqua and the people of Fortis had been at war since the two Kingdoms were created but neither side had ever made it to the castle. Both mostly just fought defensively.

A few Fortis soldiers saw Alex and her parents and started to go towards them. Alex's father turned to her with wide eyes. "The secret exit! Go! Now!" he yelled at her shoving her away.

"I can't abandon my people!" she yelled, tears starting to stream down her face. "I'll stay and fight!"

"No, Alexandria," her father said sternly, "Our people need a King! Come back when it's safe."

"But-"

"Go!" he yelled giving her one final push.

Alex ran as fast as she could lifting her dress as she ran. Some of the Fortis soldiers started to chase her and were getting closer as she couldn't run very quickly in heels. But right before they got to her, one of her soldiers stepped in allowing her to get away.

She ran into the kitchen where a servant upon seeing her stepped into the fireplace and opened the trap door underneath to let Alex through. Alex quickly thanked her servant dropped through hearing the door slam shut behind her.

Alone, Alex got her hands and knees and started to crawl through the narrow passage way that led underneath the Kingdom's North Wall. She crawled through the end of the long tunnel and started climbing the wooden ladder. Once she got to the top she started to push on the ceiling with all her might with one hand. When that didn't work she secured her feet on the rung of her ladder and started to push with both her hands. Finally the dark-wood trap door swung open with a satisfying whoosh.

She stepped through to the light and looked around. Behind her was the Northern wall standing high. In front of her were the woods. She had gotten out of the Kingdom but she wasn't free yet. She closed the trap door and tried to hide it as best she could and then she bolted for the woods.

She tried to wipe the tears away from her face while trying to keep her dress up and her tiara on. She stepped into a large mud puddle and her heel got stuck sending her tumbling into that mud and into some bushes. She got up and started to limp until she found a small clear puddle.

She stared at her reflection. The princess that had been put together so nicely just about an hour earlier was now in pieces. She had mud and branches in her hair, her tiara was now crooked and the bump it sat on was messed up. Black eye make-up ran down her cheeks. She wasn't even sure what had happened to her necklace but that as well as one of her shoes was missing. Her once beautiful pink dress was now brown and torn up.

Alex glared at her reflection and then deciding she couldn't go any further plopped down in the mud and started to bawl.

My Boyfriend, Cupid Part 2

My Boyfriend, Cupid Part 1

During the ride to Chase's house Gale used the opportunity to catch up with her sons lives but she mostly talked about her time in Africa. Chase lived in a small two story house that looked a lot his neighbors. It had gray stucco and some faux stone siding. It looked completely normal on the outside but once we walked in I was surprised how feminine it looked. It was exactly how I would decorate my house; red fresh roses on the table on a white table cloth, heart-shaped decor on the wall, and it all looked incredibly clean.
"Uh, Bridgette, I guess you can sleep in the front room. I'm sorry, I really wasn't expecting you," Chase told me. It had already been decided that Gale was going to be sleeping in Todd's bedroom and Todd was going to sleep in the living room.
"That's okay, Bridgette, I can sleep in the front room, you can have the living room," Todd said. "After all you're the guest."
"Thank-you, Todd," I said. I could see the living room from the kitchen so I just went and put my suitcase down in a inconspicuous place and went back to the kitchen.
Chase stood by himself cooking dinner. "My mom and Todd are getting my mom settled in upstairs," he said. "You like macaroni? It's my mom's favorite so I thought that I'd make it for her since she just got home."
"Yeah, I like it," I said.
"So, Bridgette, why were you in Africa?" he asked me.
"Well," I started. "Before I left I was engaged to this guy. And, well, I loved him a ton. He lived kind of far away so I dropped out of school and quit my job and moved out there. And then when I got there . . . I caught him kissing another girl. On top of that he told me that he was planning on breaking up with me anyway but he 'didn't want me to think that it was about this other girl.' Needless to say, I was heart-broken. So I did what any rational person would do in my case and sold my stuff and moved to Africa."
"I see," he said.
"It was really good for me though. I stopped thinking about myself for once and started thinking about others. It really gave me perspective about what was important. I sort of wish I could of stayed there forever." I took a breath. "I guess I always knew I was only going to be there for a year but I didn't think about where I was going to stay when I got back. Sorry to put you in a such an awkward position. I thought Gale had asked you."
He chuckled. "It's really okay, honestly, I don't mind you staying here as much as I made it sound. My mom just never asks me anything. She didn't even ask me to take Todd when she left. She just sort of told me a week before she left that she was going to Africa and I asked her where Todd was saying. She was like 'with you of course, silly.'"
"She didn't even ask!?"
"Yeah, and I wasn't exactly in a position to take him in. But, what can I say, he's my brother, I would do anything for him," he said.
"That is so sweet! I wish I had a brother like you, my older brother and I aren't even talking," I said.
He just gave me a confused look.
"We kinda got into a fight at my mom's funeral and haven't talked since," I said.
"Ah," he said. He just looked at for a little while then he asked, "Bridgette, would you like to go out with me this Friday?"
I smiled. "Your mom did say that we'd be perfect for each other. So, why not?" I said trying to playful. My heart started beating faster.
He smiled back. "Never thought I'd date a girl that my mom wants me to be with," he said.

Tale of 5 Kingdoms

This will be filled in as I write more of these.

The Queen Who Never Smiled
Part 1

The Rebellion of Angustus

Alex and Kivi
Part 1

The Five Princes

The Bravest of Alta

The Robot, the Wizard, and the Popstar Episode 1: Part 1

This is another one that I wanted to to be a TV show, so the format might be a little weird.

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Misty was Dr. Williams greatest creation, his proudest moment. Yet she lied there, lifeless, her hands folded on her chest. Her two pigtails hung to the side of her innocent-looking face. She wore a dark red shirt which ruffled on the bed she was lying on. She wore dark blue jeans with white flowers at the bottom and black flats. She hadn't moved for ten years and then suddenly her eyes opened glowing bright red, a mischievous smile flickered on her face.


Owen sat alone in his magic shop. He was a lanky man, tall and skinny, with messy brown hair and a look on his face that always looked like a combination of confused and concerned. He played with a slinky on his desk as he waited for a customer to come in. It was a small shop with magic kits, costumes, and other various items. Typically his customers were kids looking for a way to spend their allowance or adults looking for something to get their nieces and nephews for his birthday. He did have a few magic enthusiasts who would come in regularly and knew him by name but even they only came in once a month or less. Business was rare so he spent most of his time alone, worrying about paying next months rent.

Today had been especially worrisome and lonely as he hadn't gotten business for the last 3 days. Not even someone who was only interested in looking around while they waited for a table at the Mexican Restaurant down the street. He laid his head on his hand, shutting his eyes, almost giving up hope when he heard the bell hanging above his door ring. His head immediately shot up. The girl who had just wandered into his shop smiled sweetly at him. She was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen.

"Welcome to the House of Power," he said throwing his hand in the air, sparks flying out. "How may I help you?"

She came over to the counter where she put a teen magazine down. She flipped it open. "I'm looking for them," she said pointing to a picture of smiling boys.

"Regular Paranoia," he said. "Oh, yeah, I heard they were in town performing. But, uh, not this town. They're performing in Denver."

She cocked her head to the side. "They're here? That will make my job easier," she muttered to herself. "I'm Misty." She jutted out her hand and smiled at him.

"Owen," he said.

"Owen, I like you. I sense power in you," she said.

This startled Owen a bit. He wasn't use to such boldness, nor was he used to people associating him with power. Pathetic, maybe, but never power. "Oh?" he asked. "Well, I do do magic."

Suddenly an almost evil expression took over Misty's face. "You must help me take over the world! We will start with these guys. With my weapons and your magic, they'll have no choice but to surrender and give us the world!" She laughed cruelly.