Yesterday I finally reached the point in Coven Hill where I could introduce my new favorite character into the narrative.

   ”Amethyst Brown,” said Mr. Griffith over the din, “could you please come here?”
   The girl emerged like an apparition from the shadows near the rear of the laboratory and drifted toward them. Abby had never seen anything like her. Dark hair falling past her shoulders, eyes too big and too round for her otherwise pretty face, the hint of a tattoo of some sort slithering from her left wrist before disappearing inside her shirt sleeve. She wore all black—black top, black skirt, black boots up to her knees, and black nylons up to her skirt, all of it shockingly unflattering on her alabaster skin. 
   Abby had no way of knowing for sure, but she thought the girl looked like the type who’d have piercings in all sorts of unusual places. She was chewing a wad of gum that became a pink bubble, hung for a second or two too long in front of her face, then deflated and disappeared again inside darkly made-up lips.
   “Call me Amy,” she said between chews.
   She did have a pierced tongue, Abby observed.
   Abby was quite literally speechless.
   ”Nice to meet you, too,” said Amy, a wicked but not unfriendly smile splitting her face.

Now for the disclaimer: This is just a first draft, so I’m still hammering things out and not paying a huge amount of attention to precision of language just yet. Still, it’s fun to share every now and then.