Page 5 of Fairy Godmothers Aren't Cheap

Me

Bet it’s a super-secret nightclub. This has Sam’s name all over it.

Samantha was my role model in so many ways. She was an inspiring rolling stone of adventure, and nobody would ever leave her for being too boring. She was always aware of the next hot club, and by the time I’d heard of it, she was already on a first name basis with the bouncer and cutting to the front of the line. Samantha wasn’t waiting for life to find her. Nope, she chased it down and make it submit.

Holding the invoice, I typed the phone number into my phone. I was not going to turn into a smoking ball of impatience! I was getting to the bottom of this, and if not, I would at least prove to my pranking roomies that I wasn’talwaysthe overly trusting country bumpkin.

Shaking my head, I scoffed at myself. The whole agency got the day off…. Seriously? Was I really that self-centred or gullible?

Tamara

I don’t know… I get a weird feeling about this…

I ignored her text and hit the green button to connect me to the YFGM phone number.

“Hello,” said a chirpy voice, and I almost replied before realizing it was a recording. “You have reached the offices of YFGM, Your Fairy Godmother. Have a great day.”Beep.

I sucked in a startled breath. What on earth?

YourFairy Godmother?

CHAPTER2

~ Char ~

Tamara was still texting me as I pulled on my coat, my curiosity piqued beyond their usual safety levels. My current plan, since my maps app was clearly out of date, was to do a walk-by of the invoice’s listed address. It was probably just a fun little store called Your Fairy Godmother.

Or maybe my roommates, who knew how blue I’d been lately over my dad’s declining health, or how alone I felt on long weekends when they went off with family, had put together a surprise for me.

My phone neighed at me, and realizing Tamara might be freaking out about me calling YFGM and then ghosting her, I texted back.

Me

Got their voicemail.

Heading down the stairs to the locked door that opened into the main floor foyer, I typed ‘Your Fairy Godmother’ into my phone’s web browser search bar. I rolled my eyes as fairytale references came up. What had I expected?

I tried again and added ‘Calgary’ to my search. Nothing different. So maybe YFGM wasn’t a store. However, if it was new, it wouldn’t be in maps yet or have an online presence.

But then, how did I owe them so much?

A glitch?

I redialled the number out of curiosity. Maybe my friends had gotten ahold of a burner phone for this prank, and I might recognize the recorded voice if I paid attention. That would most definitely be preferable to having my identity stolen.

“Hello. You have reached the offices of YFGMagain. Have a magical day.”Beep.

I threw my phone, breathing hard as it bounced down the last two steps and clattered against the scarred wood door.

It knew I’d called before.

It knew.

And it wasshamingme for not leaving a message.

I laughed at my panic and sat down on the steps, inhaling deeply. It was simple. So simple. Samantha, or whoever had the burner phone, noticed I’d called and had zipped in and changed the outgoing message. That was all.

This was simply part of an elaborate plan to stay one step ahead of the bumpkin.

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