Something odd was happening. I sat down by myself at one of the lunch tables my the cheerleader's patio and quietly watched the other members of my squad sit at the long table opposite me, all of them completely ignoring my presence like I didn't exist.
Even Molly sat down, pretty and perky as usual in baby pink, directly beside Amanda. She didn't even look at my side once.
Then there was Darren, my dream guy, Darren sitting on Amanda's other side, a hand casually tossed over her shoulder and warm, brown eyes on her like she was the only thing that mattered.
I wanted to be looked at like that.
Correction, I wanted Darren to look at me like that.
I looked down at my tray, staring down the meatballs with slight distaste. It was a well known fact that the cafeteria meatballs were horrible, I had no memory of even going to get them. With a small hiss, I tried to get off my seat but coul
I walked about the market aimlessly for what felt like hours but was most likely minutes, not finding a single soul that could talk or communicate with me.It was like a ghost, invisible and unnoticeable.This was crazy. Where had Azazel taken me to? I could imagine trying to explain this to my mom or anyone for that matter. That the Devil has been contacting me all month long, gave me a deadly assignment to capture my friend's soul and now, he had turned me to a ghost.My life's story was just getting more ridiculous with each passing day. It sounded like it was a fictional tale even.The rows of market people continued to converse and soon I decided to sit on a stool right in front of one of the main stalls. It was of no use wandering around aimlessly around this unknown place.The owner of the stall was a quite fat woman with small, round beady eyes and hardly no neck. She wore a long, blac
Day 22.It was just like I had predicted. I was back at the thrift store the next day.I shifted the weight of my tote bag from the right to the left hand as I pushed open the door to Tom's store with a determined sigh. After the series of crazy dreams I had last night, I had concluded that the only solution was to get my hands on that book.I had waited all day, impatiently at school and when school was finally over, I all but dashed here.Tom's silvers flashed with remembrance as he saw me. "Hello, dear. You didn't come with your boyfriend this time?""He's not my boyfriend." I felt the urge to clear that up."Well you two seemed a little buddy buddy to be just friends," Tom pondered to himself, his look still unconvinced."Well we are," I confirmed with a nod."If you say so, but I think you two would make a great duo, really," he sai
Day 23.I had stayed up all the night with the book.It was the oddest book I had ever seen. I sat at my desk in my small room, and carefully opened the black book. It was the most confusing thing I had ever seen but yet I had been savagely drawn to it, like it held some sort of secrets I was supposed to uncover.It contained writings, inscriptions in different languages and handwritings, like the book had been passed down from hand to hand and each person had left their own impact in it. Each page filled with strange writings and drawings, each making no sense yet all connected. Staring at the last few, empty pages that made the book incomplete, I had felt the urge to put down my own piece, to complete it. To write something down. What was this feeling?Where had Blake's mom gotten the book from? The weird dream I had had not answered that question at all, all I knew was that this book was connected to Azazel
Day 23.I was officially a stalker. The stars twinkled merrily, brightening up the night's hot and unfriendly air as I sat still in the yard's overgrown rose bushes, watching Blake's home from afar. Again.I had been here for at least, thirty minutes now, sitting stiffly and unmoving, all my muscles had gone stiff and were screaming in ache. My purpose for stalking his house at past nine was pretty straightforward.I was waiting for his mom to come home.Blake had once mentioned that she came home from work very late in the night and I was banking on it. I pressed my phone, the low light illuminating my face and I checked the time.9:17pm.She should be home anytime now, the number eight on my hand was a good enough of a prompt to stay here in these bushes all night as any other. A black Camry drove down the street and I almost lunged out of the bushes in ant
I wouldn't trade my mother for anything, the way the woman handled seeing me in tears, that late in the night was amazing. I had sobbed all the way back home, unable to even make coherent sentences and surprisingly, she hadn't even asked a single question.She had crushed me in a hug, telling me I'd be okay and had proceeded to making me some tomato soup. I sat in the living room, still shaking with silent tears and swaddled up in blankets. The TV was on, Disney's Jessie airing and I watched the beautiful Debby Ryan with puffed up eyes. When was the last time I actually sat down to watch TV? It felt like so long ago.The delicious smell of tomato soup filled the air and I felt that warm, homely feel of being loved, being wanted. I wondered if my dad would be proud to see me now, that was even if he remembered he had a daughter. I clicked off the TV with the remote just as my mom came in with a tray containing the bowl of soup.
Day 24.It was funny how fast time went, one moment we thought the appointed days seemed far away, like they were never going to come and in another moment, they seemed way too close. Staring at the number 7 on my hand, I felt that way, had that sinking feeling to despair. I was starting to understand why people ran mad, fell into depression and had other sorts of mental issues.The things happening to me were enough to drive anyone to the brink of madness.I stared at the open, leather bound book, The Devil's Bible, that I had been writing in a felt as though I was slowly losing my process and train of thoughts. I placed down the black pen to look at what I had spent the whole night writing, it was completely unreadable, meaningless like the rest of the writings in the book.I didn't understand a thing there. Yet, why didn't I feel satisfied enough to leave it and go to bed? Why was the urge, the want to writ
I burst out in genuine laughter at that, feeling the stress and aches of the past few days lift as I laughed at his reply. I however stopped when I noticed he wasn't laughing along but was looking at me with mild irritation written all over his face."You're serious?" I searched his face, looking for any sign that he had been kidding. I found none. Azazel didn't tell jokes unless they were sick and amused him, I remembered."Yes, child. I'm quite serious.""What are you? A vampire or something? I thought you were capable of all things.""First, I am capable of most things, to an extent," he replied, his tone clipped and for the first time, I noticed what he was wearing. He had on a black hoodie on an equally black jean which looked like it had seen better days. "Second, there's no such thing as vampires, it was a rumor that I started hundreds of years ago to explain the cravings of women back then. You humans
Day 26.I knew the game scheduled for today would be cancelled, I knew because it had been cancelled a month ago, when time was normal and yet, I still came today.Why?Because I needed some sense of normalcy, something to remind me that I wasn't really dying in five days, that there was hope. It was farfetched but it was my own measure of happiness. So, when Vice Principal Wilson announced that the game was postponed over the howling wind, I was quite indifferent. The rain, I had recalled was very heavy and I had gotten a ride from one of the other cheerleaders home, Molly had come with and stayed over for a sleepover.I doubted if I wanted Molly to come home with me.This rain was quite odd at this period but odder things have happened and at this point, it'd take a lot of surprise me. Quite a lot. I walked side by side with Molly as the crowd at the stands began to disperse immediately, hea
Blake Johnson died on September 1st at exactly midnight. The doctors said it was the 'heart attack'.Belinda Johnson hadn't completed the Bible.When I woke up a few hours later in the same hospital where he died, I was arrested. Not for murder, which was the weightiest of my offences but for breaking and entering a psychiatric hospital and releasing a high profile patient. The memory of me being held in the questioning room at the police station was a blur, and I barely remembered any of the questions the hook-nosed lawyer my mom had hired had asked concerning the footage of me breaking into the ward.They had fired my mom.The lawyer had managed to get me off with only a major fine but that was only because he had everyone convinced that Blake's death was the cause of my trauma. However, I wasn't going through any trauma, just telling anyone that would listen the whole story."I killed
The EMTs had arrived, wheeling Blake away on a stretcher as we all stood in a crowd around them, the light party mood had instantly evaporated when I ran back to the school yelling my head off in panic.The ambulance had arrived in minutes and had to pry off my hands from Blake's motionless body. I kept shaking him, hoping to God or whoever was up there that he would move and say something back to me. Anything.One of EMTs had bent over him when they arrived, looking over at me where I was currently sitting on the dirty field floor where they had dropped me onto after pulling me away from him. "He's having a heart attack," he had told his partner before they started their necessary procedures of transporting him.By the time they had left, sirens blaring loud, I was still on the floor shaking and sobbing, simultaneously. The worst part of it all was that I could feel that strange, foreign feeling fluttering in my chest that in
Day 31.Everything had been leading up to this day.When I started this mission, I didn't think my feelings would get in the way of what I had to do but now staring at the number 1 on the back of my hand, I realized I couldn't do it. I was ready to die, I had failed and had gotten myself into this mess myself. On this my last day, I refused to be scared as I stared up at the school, the venue of the Halloween dance with the courage of the condemned.I was doomed and I knew it, coming here this evening was my own form of a closure, a goodbye. I jammed my hands into the back of my jean pocket and released a breath which blew the wisps of hair away from my face.Here goes nothing, I thought as I entered the building. The dance, like almost all of our dances was taking place in the gym and even before getting in there, I had already seen all arrays of outfits on the other students. Some that recognized me sta
Day 27.It was Sunday. Yet another Sunday and here I was still feeling completely lethargic and uninterested in doing a thing. Only this time, instead of lazing about in my room, I was in the living room watching Telemundo with my mom.I was lying on her laps, wearing three quartered faded jeans and tank as we watched the excuse of a TV soap. I yawned, using the back of my palm to close my mouth and seeing the 4 that was disheartening but I had accepted seeing it that way. I rubbed my eyes, sleepily, I had been up writing in The Devil's Bible again, that book held more of my attention than any school note had ever done.Writing in it had become an addiction."Mom," I yawned and she grunted in reply, not tearing her eyes off the TV. Her other hand went to the bowl of popcorn and she fisted it into her mouth with a few of it dropping on my face. "I hate to say it but this show is shit."
There was a little problem with picking another girl with your girlfriend and it was the sitting arrangement. Now, I didn't really mind staying at the backseat of the black SUV but then Amanda insisted on giving me the passenger seat because she was dropping first. It was the sensible idea but it felt somehow to me.I had then suggested we both stay there together but then Darren said he wasn't agreeing with that idea, he didn't want us making him the driver. So after a lot of awkwardness and the wind lifting my skirt up multiple times for Darren's view, I took passenger's seat while Amanda settled in the back and Darren started the car.I breathed in the warm air of the heater warming up the car and sighed."Bummer this rain, isn't it?" Darren started, casually as he got onto the main road. The rain had finally started just as we had gotten into the car and it was currently coming down heavily. Very heavily. The wipers on the
Day 26.I knew the game scheduled for today would be cancelled, I knew because it had been cancelled a month ago, when time was normal and yet, I still came today.Why?Because I needed some sense of normalcy, something to remind me that I wasn't really dying in five days, that there was hope. It was farfetched but it was my own measure of happiness. So, when Vice Principal Wilson announced that the game was postponed over the howling wind, I was quite indifferent. The rain, I had recalled was very heavy and I had gotten a ride from one of the other cheerleaders home, Molly had come with and stayed over for a sleepover.I doubted if I wanted Molly to come home with me.This rain was quite odd at this period but odder things have happened and at this point, it'd take a lot of surprise me. Quite a lot. I walked side by side with Molly as the crowd at the stands began to disperse immediately, hea
I burst out in genuine laughter at that, feeling the stress and aches of the past few days lift as I laughed at his reply. I however stopped when I noticed he wasn't laughing along but was looking at me with mild irritation written all over his face."You're serious?" I searched his face, looking for any sign that he had been kidding. I found none. Azazel didn't tell jokes unless they were sick and amused him, I remembered."Yes, child. I'm quite serious.""What are you? A vampire or something? I thought you were capable of all things.""First, I am capable of most things, to an extent," he replied, his tone clipped and for the first time, I noticed what he was wearing. He had on a black hoodie on an equally black jean which looked like it had seen better days. "Second, there's no such thing as vampires, it was a rumor that I started hundreds of years ago to explain the cravings of women back then. You humans
Day 24.It was funny how fast time went, one moment we thought the appointed days seemed far away, like they were never going to come and in another moment, they seemed way too close. Staring at the number 7 on my hand, I felt that way, had that sinking feeling to despair. I was starting to understand why people ran mad, fell into depression and had other sorts of mental issues.The things happening to me were enough to drive anyone to the brink of madness.I stared at the open, leather bound book, The Devil's Bible, that I had been writing in a felt as though I was slowly losing my process and train of thoughts. I placed down the black pen to look at what I had spent the whole night writing, it was completely unreadable, meaningless like the rest of the writings in the book.I didn't understand a thing there. Yet, why didn't I feel satisfied enough to leave it and go to bed? Why was the urge, the want to writ
I wouldn't trade my mother for anything, the way the woman handled seeing me in tears, that late in the night was amazing. I had sobbed all the way back home, unable to even make coherent sentences and surprisingly, she hadn't even asked a single question.She had crushed me in a hug, telling me I'd be okay and had proceeded to making me some tomato soup. I sat in the living room, still shaking with silent tears and swaddled up in blankets. The TV was on, Disney's Jessie airing and I watched the beautiful Debby Ryan with puffed up eyes. When was the last time I actually sat down to watch TV? It felt like so long ago.The delicious smell of tomato soup filled the air and I felt that warm, homely feel of being loved, being wanted. I wondered if my dad would be proud to see me now, that was even if he remembered he had a daughter. I clicked off the TV with the remote just as my mom came in with a tray containing the bowl of soup.