Red

by Richard P Rigoli

  Emma rechecked herself in the mirror. She could make out the muted sounds of her mom talking with Jordan on the first floor. She took a last look in the mirror, and saw again, the strange woman in a dress that did such amazing things to her figure that it could be considered fraud in a court of law.

  She heard a thud again, soft, and rhythmic. But it wasn’t her heartbeat. It was coming from the drawer to her nightstand. She pulled it open and saw that her father’s strange medallion was moving again. As she held it, Emma could feel the intricate little gears moving inside it vibrate in her hand. It also felt warm. It had never felt warm before. “A mystery for later,” she mused, “It’s prom night. Time to head out!” She carefully returned the relic to the drawer and closed it tight. Emma grabbed her clutch purse and headed to greet her date.

  Emma hoped she resembled one of those girls slow-walking down the stairs in a teen movie instead of the tall girl who was trying desperately not to stumble in high heels.

  Jordan looked up at her as she descended, and Emma beamed. He was so freaking handsome. The tall athlete was wearing a white tuxedo jacket with black slacks. He was sporting a loosely-fastened, red bowtie and cummerbund that matched her dress.

  “Do I look okay?” she asked him.

  “Amazing,” he replied. He had tamed his curly hair into a swooped-back pompadour that would have made Elvis Presley proud. He held up a clear box with a beautiful wrist corsage made of bright, crimson roses. He also appeared to be as nervous as she felt. Jordan fumbled with the plastic lid as he tried to get it open, persisted, and accidently tore the container in half. He did manage to catch the corsage out of the air and eventually got the flowers onto her wrist.

  “You two look perfect!” Her mom flitted about the couple and took several photos before escorting them to the door. “Well, you’d better get going.”

  Jordan held out his arm, so Emma could loop hers through it, and they made their way out for the night.

  Thankfully, Jordan had been able to borrow his father’s car for the evening. When they finally settled into their seats, he smirked and switched on a playlist with romantic but upbeat hits as they drove away.

  “You made a playlist for this?” Emma asked as she fiddled with her wrap.

  “I can’t claim credit for most of this,” Jordan admitted. “—Connor.” He said, holding up his hand in some sort of boy-scout salute.

  “I’m starting to get a serious Cyrano vibe here,” Emma said. “He’s not hiding in the trunk feeding you things to say, is he?”

  “No!” Jordan said with a laugh. “Though that might not have been a bad idea now that you mention it.”

  “You are the one that likes me, right?” Emma had to ask.

  “Emma, I love you,” Jordan said in a low clear voice and Emma blinked. “I think I always have. I wanted to find some awesome romantic way to say that to you. But there it is.”

  “Wow,” Emma said. There it was, the “L word,” hanging in the air between them. The truth was, Emma did like Jordan, a lot, but she wasn’t there yet. She also knew why.

  “Too soon, right?” He asked, good naturedly.

  “It’s not that,” she replied, wondering if it was really the time and place for this conversation.

  “You don’t feel the same, though.”

  “Okay, let’s do this. I probably could, Jordan,” Emma replied. “But I can’t get there when I feel you’re keeping secrets. Big ones.”

  “I’m not—” he began then paused “—Rai said something, didn’t he?”

  “No, he didn’t,” Emma replied. “But he didn’t have to. I’m not blind.”

  “I’m going through something that I don’t know how to deal yet,” he said.

  “And I’ve been patient and haven’t pried,” Emma said. “I’m not asking to micromanage your life either, Jordan. But this isn’t something ‘micro,’ is it?”

  “No,” he replied after a pause. “No, it’s not.”

  “So, still not prying,” Emma said with a smile. “I will say the most romantic thing for me right now is being included. It’s a trust thing.”

  “That’s fair,” he agreed. “I’ve got scary weird things happening to me. How much have you figured out? Do you know about what Rai can do?”

  “Those aren’t my secrets to tell,” she said in a solemn tone and Jordan burst out laughing.

  “Oh, that’s a perfect Rai impression!”

  “I’ve heard him say it enough times,” Emma agreed. “But tell me what you can do.”

  “It’s more like what I can’t do.”

  “What do you mean?” Emma asked, intrigued.

  “As far as I can tell, I can’t be hurt,” he said, looking uncomfortable.

  “What, like ‘nothing bothers you emotionally’ or a ‘bullets would bounce off you’ sort of thing?”

  “More like the bullets thing, maybe,” he said. “I mean, I can get hurt and I haven’t tried something crazy like bullets, but if something hurts me, I get better, like really fast.”

  “That’s amazing!”

  “I don’t know what else this means for me.” Jordan sighed. “I’ve been trying to figure it out, and Rai’s been helping—in his way,” he added with a smile. “And now you know as much as I do.”

  “Thank you,” Emma said and put her hand on his.

  “Welcome.”

  ***

  When they arrived at the prom and parked, Jordan got out first to open her door. He extended his hand and helped Emma out of the car cordially. When they got to the gym, she saw a red-carpet entry flanked by a pair of classic cars and arching spotlights.

  As they stepped to the entrance, Emma was distracted by a strange droning sound from within the nearby trees across the parking lot. A redbird darted around in the branches, there. No, it wasn’t just one or two this time but hundreds of crimson-feathered cardinals filling the trees and chattering loudly.

  “Do you see that?” Jordan whispered near her ear, gesturing with his head toward the same tree.

  “Yes,” Emma answered. Spotting cardinals wasn’t unusual in Texas, but an entire tree filled with them was unnerving. “That’s weird, right?”

  “Yeah,” Jordan agreed. “I mean, I’ve seen grackles grouped like that plenty of times, but not redbirds.”

  “It’s like the cardinal I’ve been seeing all year brought out his whole family and friends to yell at me,” Emma said with a shrug.

  The chattering sound was overcome by the sound of a live band playing from inside the decorated gym. The lively tones mixed with the energy of a hundred conversations as soon as they walked in.

  An arch made of pearlescent balloons spread over the inside entry and lead to an opened convertible Bellaire for prom pictures. They waited their turn before posing in the beautiful car. Emma twined her chiffon wrap her head like a scarf and Jordan handed her a pair of Wayfarers to complete the look.

  “Oh, perfect!” She gushed as he took the wheel of the car and they struck a pose.

  Jordan took Emma’s arm in his, and together they meandered around the large gym to take in all the sights and various vignettes the student council, committee, and her friend had spent so much time creating. Olivia and the planning committee had outdone themselves. Along the perimeter of the gym, there was a faux boardwalk with little shop fronts, park benches, and an actual ice cream parlor.

  “They did a great job on the place.” Jordan said.

  “I’d love to give the credit to Livs,” Emma replied. “This was her brain child, but it wouldn’t have happened without Kendra.”

  “Yeah,” Jordan nodded. “Just renting those cars they’re using for decoration and ambience must have been expensive.”

  The couple stopped near the buffet line and saw Olivia directing the caterer, Ryan was standing nearby looking bemused and nodded to Jordan.

  “Emma,” she squealed and ran over “—and Jordan! You two look awesome. Let me get a quick picture.” Olivia was wearing a blue chiffon Poodle skir
t, and although no pockets could be seen, she produced her phone and snapped a few images of them. She looked like she wanted to talk but was immediately distracted by the table setup. “You need to put the little forks before the weenies or they’ll grab them with their dirty hands! Sorry, Em, I’ll catch you later. I need to get back to help here.”

  “No problem, we’ll see you at our table later?” Emma asked.

  “Yep!” Olivia confirmed in a distracted voice.

  Jordan and Emma meandered around the until they got to the end of the boardwalk, where they saw others heading through a lattice-arched open door that lead outside. There was a sign attached that read, “Garden Walk.”

  “How cool,” Jordan said. “Did you want to go take a look?”

  “Yep!” Emma agreed.

  “Hey, Jordan and Emma!” a friendly voice yelled from behind them. It was Rai. He was wearing a modern tuxedo with a silvery blue bowtie. Amber Walker was with him in a modest blue dress that complimented her figure tastefully.

  “Rai!” Emma yelled happily and hugged him tightly. “You guys look fantastic.”

  “Without doing a disservice to my lovely date,” he said, “you look beautiful, Emma.” He tiptoed up and kissed her on the cheek.

  “Aw! Thank you.” she said and smiled. “Are you guys having as good time?”

  “We’ve been here since the doors opened, and it’s been pretty cool so far,” Rai said. “You know, for a dance.”

  “I’m still surprised you decided to go to a dance.” Emma said. “The last one didn’t go so well.”

  “Don’t remind me,” Rai replied, then added with a grin. “But I’m not worried. I have Amber to protect me.”

  “My hero,” Rai’s date said with a smile and a shake of her head. She nudged Rai and nodded toward the dance floor. “Now, y’all are going to have to excuse us for a bit.” Amber announced. “You promised me a dance, Rai.”

  “I did?” Rai asked, obviously feigning confusion.

  “Nice try,” Amber said stubbornly. “Let’s go.”

  “Have a great evening, all.” Rai dipped his head to Emma and Jordan before migrating onto the dance floor with Amber.

  Jordan led Emma out to the breezeway space between the gym and building G. It had been converted into a courtyard and garden walkway. Free-standing, tall lattice fences lined the walk and sectioned off a large portion of the area. Each lattice was threaded with faux ivy and tiny, blue, LED lights. Potted spiral evergreen shrubs had been brought in to accent the corners while strands of electric lanterns hung overhead bathing the area in a warm glow.

  “Wow,” Emma said after looking around. “I would like one of these at my house.”

  Jordan read a small standing sign placed beside one of the planters, “’Donated by Christopher and Leah Radcliff.’ Well, that was nice of them.”

  “Yes, it was very nice of my parents to donate this little spot,” Kendra’s voice announced from the doorway, her arm encircled with Sean Arrens’.

  “Hey, Kendra, Sean,” Jordan greeted and bobbed his head politely at each of them. Emma smiled too.

  Kendra wore a short, dark green dress that accentuated her willowy figure like a second skin. Her platform shoes cut some of the distance between her and Sean’s height.

  “How’s it going?” Sean shifted his eyes to the other couple and nodded his head twice with a feeling of profound disinterest. Emma scanned his attire, Sean wore a black tuxedo over a charcoal grey shirt. The top two buttons were undone, and a silken black tie draped from his collar, casually. “I’m going to assume there’s no ashtray out here?”

  “Please give my regards to your parents for their donation, Kendra,” Jordan said with a grin, and led Emma back inside.

  “That wasn’t too awkward,” Emma commented in a droll tone.

  “You’ve got an understated way of saying things, you know that?” Jordan chuckled.

  “I’m working on my graduate degree in ‘Applied Sarcasm’,” she confirmed.

  “So, this is a dance,” he said thoughtfully, nodding toward the packed floor.

  “Yes, it is,” Emma agreed and pursed her lips. “You going somewhere with this, ‘Mister Man’?”

  “Going to the dance floor with you if you’re interested,” Jordan said with a humorous smile “—and hoping I don’t embarrass myself.”

  “Let me drop off these shoes first,” Emma said with a nod.

  Song after song filled the room with dancing classmates who swirled around them. How long Jordan and Emma danced together, she had no idea, but she was having a great time. It turned out that Jordan was a huge liar when it came to his dancing. The guy was smooth and skilled while Emma had the rhythm of a cardboard standup. He didn’t seem to care and, at the moment, neither did she.

  The band ended their set with a rendition of Blue Moon and announced they would be taking a fifteen-minute break. Background music played over the sound system in the meantime, and the prom-goers began heading to their respective tables.

  Then the drama happened.

  30

  MAYHEM

  In the lull after the music stopped, Jordan paused and cocked his head. His expression was concerned.

  “What’s up?” Emma asked.

  “I’m not sure,” he replied. “If I had hackles, I’d say they were up.”

  The sound of loud arguing from somewhere else in the gym followed his statement almost immediately. Jordan craned his neck and used his height to scan over the crowd. He frowned and pushed his way through. Emma followed in his wake.

  Other students had formed a thick semicircle toward the South-end of the room, near the garden entrance. Jordan pushed through the onlookers with disturbing ease. In the center of the ring of teens, two familiar forms circled each other like a pair of feral cats about to strike.

  “What is your damage, Jade!?” Kendra screamed. The redhead held one of her large shoes in her hand, there was no sign of the other one.

  Emma hadn’t known that Jade was planning to even be there tonight, but judging by her outfit, warm up pants, and jacket, it looked like her friend had crashed the prom for one reason only—to fight.

  “What’s my damage?” Jade sneered hatefully. “I’m going to show everyone here who you really are—what— you are!”

  “What are you talking about, you psycho?!” Kendra fired back.

  “You’re a monster, a demon, and everyone needs to know!” Jade yelled.

  Kendra glanced quickly at the crowd surrounding them before turning back to Jade. “You’re messed up and need to get help!” She shouted and flung her platform shoe at Jade’s face.

  Jade snatched the shoe from the air before tossing it dismissively over her shoulder. “A shoe, really?” Then she rushed forward in a rage. But Jordan was faster and got between them. Jade bounced off the tall athlete, rolling back onto her feet immediately. “Move or I’ll move you, Jordan!” she screamed.

  “Not happening,” he said resolutely.

  Jade growled. Emma actually heard her growl as she leapt at Jordan, kicking, punching, and elbowing in a flurry of blows. If the strikes had any effect on him at all, it didn’t show, not even in his expression. A profound hush came over the room.

  “Are you done?” he said calmly.

  “You too?” Jade said, her chest heaving from exertion. She glared at Jordan, then turned to Emma. “You knew, didn’t you?” Jade accused as she backed away toward the garden exit. “Fine, I’ll deal with it myself. You can’t protect her forever!” Jade ran out of the room only a few steps ahead of the security, leaving Emma feeling stunned and conflicted.

  ***

  “Why did you ask me to prom if you don’t like me, Rai?” Amber complained. She looked very upset and Rai didn’t know what to do now.

  Prom had been going so well, even the dancing part had turned out to be fun. Now they were standing on the far edge of the garden walk and had been having a great conversation until Amber had asked him if he was going to kiss her
—and then he froze. Which was bad enough, but then he got his mouth working and made it worse. “I don’t think I like you like that,” he said.

  “I do like you, though,” he tried to explain. “And I knew you wanted to go to prom and nobody had asked—” Her expression went even darker and he realized he’d screwed up again as the words were leaving his mouth.

  “—this was a pity date?!”

  “No!” Rai said, shaking his head. “I mean, I’m not sure what that is—but it sounds bad—so it’s not that. At least, I really hope it isn’t. What’s a pity date?”

  “Stop talking, Rai,” Amber shook her head. She did look less angry at least and even a little amused. Rai kept his mouth shut, which was a struggle. Then Jade Jones ran by, leapt the small garden fence, and kept running.

  “What the heck was that?” Rai asked.

  “I think that was Jade,” Amber said.

  “I think you’re right, and she wasn’t dressed for dancing,” Rai agreed. The garden walk was filling up with people, and Rai saw Emma among them. He waved her over. “What happened?” he asked her.

  “Jade showed up,” Emma said. “She started a fight with Kendra, but Jordan broke it up.”

  “Jordan did?” Rai asked, feeling suddenly worried. “Did anyone see anything strange happen?”

  “I’m sorry,” Amber interrupted “—but this is too much drama for me. I’m going to go.”

  “You don’t have to. We’ll figure it out,” Rai said to her.

  “No, I really do,” Amber replied. “All this—it’s not for me.” She walked away, not looking back.

  Rai sighed, knowing he’d messed up and felt bad about it. But there was a situation now that he couldn’t ignore.

  “Something terrible is happening here, Rai,” Emma said. “Jade thinks Kendra is a demon. I don’t completely disagree on that, but this is a ‘powers thing,’ isn’t it?”

  “I think so,” Rai said. “Let’s go find Jordan.”

  The live band was starting back up again when they got inside and located Jordan. He was standing with Kendra and talking to a security officer, a nice guy named Clark who Emma was familiar with. He was taking notes and there was no sign of Sean or any of Kendra’s usual friends.