by Dee, Maria
“No problem. We have the whole semester, right?”
“Try one week. And if for some reason, you pull another disappearing act then consider yourself a goner. I’ve discussed this with our TA. He was very kind to even grant us an extension as these papers are way past due!”
“One week…easy peasy! You can count on me.” I was very dependable—too dependable if you asked me.
“My life depends on it,” she stressed.
“No kidding, trippy.”
“Huh?”
“I don’t know your name, so I’ve named you trippy…you know, because you’re totally tripping. College life is supposed to be fun—you should lighten up. For starters, try breathing; I hear it’s good for you.”
“I don’t have time to breathe, thank you. I’m Tree,” she bounced, extending her hand.
My initial laugher dwindled down once I realized it wasn’t a joke. “I’m sorry, Tree?”
“It’s actually Acacia, after the Tree. My parents are botanists, plants are their thing. My friends call me Tree. It’s a strange nickname I suppose.”
“It could be worse.”
“I highly doubt it.”
“You could be named after fruit…or colors even,” I said amicably.
“You’re funny,” she denoted, candidly.
I had managed to crack Tree’s distorted impression of me. “I try.”
“You look smart…I think. I feel less panicky now. This is good…yeah,” she nodded, in scrutiny. “Just try to get your share of work done a day early—I need to review it.”
“Hey, where’s the faith?”
“I can’t measure faith, but I can measure my level of reassurance once I physically see your work. I suggest you hit the books.”
“No probs. I intend to right after the carnival tonight.”
“Wait, carnival? No carnival for you. There’s no time! By my calculation, you’ll have to read a hundred pages per day and write a case report, do a statistical analysis and—”
“Attend the carnival,” I exclaimed, continuing, “Trust me. I’m super smart, it’s not even funny,” I whispered. Maybe Calliope would lend a hand…who was I kidding. With this amount of work, she’d need a retainer.
“No Carnival!” she shrieked on the verge of another panic attack.
“Okay, fine. You win! No carnival. Strip away my college activities and what do you have left?” I humored her.
“A med school approved candidate,” she said, snootily.
“If I’m destined for anything, it’s the law,” I said, although my rightful calling equaled zero earnings. My next familial calling was the law, whether I liked it or not. I had an in and those were hard to come by in life.
“Ah, it’s in your blood I take it.”
“It’s not the only thing…” I squirmed.
“Huh?” Tree pulled out a beat up looking note pad and quickly scribbled something down.
“Nothing. What d’you got there?” I pried.
“It’s my future professional network. You’re on the list for lawyers.”
“Aw, that’s nice.”
“You’re fifth in ranking,” she dryly remarked.
“I see. Okay, well I should hit the books. Later, Tree.”
“But we have a tutorial…right now,” she said, snippily.
“Right, I knew that. I was going to grab a quick snack beforehand.”
“There’s no time, we’re going to be late!”
I smiled, slowly backing away. She was a ticking time bomb but it only seemed fair to take her up on the extension that she so industriously attained. I could see how this whole “group work” deal was going to be a problem. I had to buckle down and get this work done in time or Tree would jump in the bandwagon to kill me—quite literally. The look in her eyes was that of desperation and determination, a deadly mix.
This was the first time I actually attended the tutorial, mentally and maybe even physically. Once we arrived to the lecture room, Tree sat in the front row and gaped at me as I continued to the back.
“You should really sit up front. Dr. K will appreciate your zeal.”
“I don’t know if I’d exude any zeal, per se,” I muttered, awkwardly. She stared vehemently. “Are you exuding some now?”
She wrinkled her face unimpressed.
The tutorial quickly commenced as everyone settled. Acacia huffed, turning away. I diligently took notes although I craved to travel elsewhere. The middle world was euphoric, addictive and only a blink away. I executed great self-restraint and by the end of the lab, I was exhausted.
While Tree conversed with another student, I squeezed by to the back exit and headed out. I had mentally factored in a study schedule that I planned to stick to, making up for lost time—the lost time including the carnival of course.
My Cyclopod buzzed pulling me right out of a trance.
“My lecture ended early so I decided to head home for a quick bite. Cal is somewhere on campus, hunting as usual. Hit her up for a ride, if you can, and come over for some drinks before the Carnival tonight,” Marla said. She loved planning events. I could hear the excitement resonate through the receiver.
“I actually have some readings I need to catch up on before the carnival tonight so I think I’ll fly solo.”
“I hear ya. I have a midterm tomorrow and I’m not even half way through the material,” she sighed.
“Try a semester’s worth of material, then we’re on a leveled playing field,” I snorted.
“What have you been doing the whole semester?” She asked in wonderment.
Reuniting lost fragments, saving my boyfriend from an eternity of turmoil or worse, expiration. Reuniting myself in a parallel world, summoning Endeca and resurrecting one of its members.
“You know…stuff,” I uttered, evasively.
“Sounds like Nicholas is consuming your brain,” she said, giggling.
That would suffice as an explanation although it was, in part, one of the reasons for my absenteeism.
“It’s not his fault. He always suggests innovative ways to pick up the slack. I’m the biggest procrastinator and usually it’s okay because I always pull through. But now, I have this assigned partner and she literally hunted me down and held a gun to my head—she threatened my life if I didn’t complete these assignments,” I exaggerated.
“Xenia, we’re in college now. We’re expected to be responsible adults and that means fulfilling your end of the work.”
I conceded, “You’re right. And maybe Tree was right about skipping the carnival.”
“What? She’s crazy! You have to go to the carnival. Since when have you ever taken orders from anyone, especially from someone named Tree?” she screeched.
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s for the best.”
“Maybe it’s time you listen to me. Get your ass home, read a chapter or two, and come support your friend who’s throwing the carnival? Okay?”
“How’s seven?” I stifled. Hell hath no fury like Marla scorn. She generally was a shy complacent girl whom you’d seldom get a rouse out of, but when you did, you’d run for the hills. On that note, I deliberated upon my options. Going to the carnival meant making tradesies with my offline self, which worked out as she was on the down low with the E-SOM lurking about.
I hopped on the bus, getting a head start with my readings on the bumpy road. I smeared highlighter all over the page and decided to save the highlighting for a stationary setting. In deep thought, I focused on the page and before I knew it, my off-source was becoming quite familiar with the workload. I breathed at ease the rest of the way home—two heads were definitely better than one, figuratively speaking.
Smoke in mirrors
As I neared the front door, I heard music emanating
from within. The music grew louder and louder as I reached the kitchen. There, I found Edric oscillating to hard-core rock music while cooking.
“Edric, Edric!” I shouted through the music. He swiveled around, donning my mother’s floral apron.
“Xenia, you nearly startled me,” he smirked, lowering the volume. “Look! I’m cooking.”
“I see that. Where are my parents?”
“They left on another business trip. Isn’t that great? We get the house to ourselves. Why don’t we throw a party?” he beamed. I’d never seen Edric act so normal. Maybe he was experiencing some type of resurrection-crisis.
“I don’t like the idea of a bunch of random people crashing my home and doing God knows what in it,” I let slip, surprising us both. My superego reclaimed the rains in my parents’ absence.
“But isn’t that what college kids do given the circumstance?”
“There’s no circumstance.”
“Empty house big enough for an epic party,” he grinned ear to ear. Evidently, his vocabulary was no longer an issue. “If that’s not a circumstance, I don’t know what is.”
“No parties in my house!”
“Chill,” he whispered, continuing, “That means relax—stop being so controlling.”
“I know what it means,” I scowled, annoyed, “Besides, there are many parties already in store. Word on campus is your bro is throwing one.”
“His parties aren’t the ordinary kind,” he winked, implying the obvious. “I thought you wanted to experience college life to the fullest, that is, if my memory of the summoning isn’t marred—where’s your wild side?”
“There’s nothing wrong with my wild side, thank you very much. I’ve done a few crazy things lately. I just don’t broadcast them.”
“Oh really, like what?” he tested, rolling his eyes.
“Well, for starters, it’s personal. But rest assured it was monumental.”
“Let’s see. You’ve been awakened, accosted by most of the elite, faced a near death sentence with Nyxta, and you’re involved with Nicholas. Hmm, a personal life-altering event for a woman…you and Nicholas consummated the relationship. Sealed the deal, eh?” he winked, suggestively.
My jaw dropped and my face turned beat red.
“Anywhere interesting?” he probed.
“Err, I guess the usual…I don’t want to talk about it.”
“That’s not exactly wild if you ask me, not unless it was by the river…now things can get pretty wild in Styx. This one time, I summoned the deity herself and we—”
“I-I don’t want to hear about your hookups, thanks.” Styx scratched at my insides, thrilled by the acknowledgement.
“You see, this is what I mean. You’re too frigid. You’ve got inhibitions coming out of your ears. Let loose and live. After all, that’s what you wanted.”
“We broke the chandelier mid travel while…you know.”
“Rookies,” Edric sighed, shaking his head. He quickly chopped a red pepper. “How convenient though.”
“What do you mean?”
“In order for Orion to pledge, he needed an impure vessel. Otherwise, anything pure would’ve been absolved in her wrath,” he explained, halting like a statue.
It couldn’t have been him. Could he do something so despicable? So irreparable?
Edric nodded, eerily.
“I’m gonna go now.” My eyes burned with both rage and devastation. Styx empathized with a woman scorn—she urged me to seek vengeance and a part of me embraced the idea of beheading Orion right before a hand grabbed a hold of my arm.
“Xenia, get her in check or else.”
“Let go of me,” I growled flinging him, a two hundred and four year old immorta, across the room. He flashed before me, confining me against a wall. He was a lot stronger than I gave him credit for.
“If you can’t contain her, I will,” he threatened.
I grumbled, taking a long deep breath. “Okay…she’s contained.” Styx’ boiling rage lessened a few notches but I feigned normalcy as cover. Her rage burned just as deep and sizzled like molten lava about to erupt.
“Good. You can go,” he dismissed, continuing, “I’d keep an eye out for anything suspicious tonight like Caleb or the others lurking about.”
“Duly noted, thanks,” I said. How could I forget Caleb, Mr. Flood the city? I prayed that he wouldn’t make an appearance tonight because he’d ruin all of Marla’s hard work, and she was so excited about hosting the event.
There was nothing stopping the immorta from showing up. I hoped that they kept it on the down low, as did Sebastian. The carnival was looking middle ground for conflict as it fit the criteria: a big crowd of people, lots of energy and…me.
After a nice long, hot shower, I dressed in a lose pair of jeans and knitted sweater. As I walked down the hallway, I heard the guest room shower running. “See you there, Edric.”
“Count on it,” he hollered back. My personal bodyguard; Styx’s body guard to be exact.
I video texted Marla, “Hey, I’m just heading out the door. See you soon.” Down the street, Marla’s house caught my eye. The front door was wide open.
I walked in cautiously surveying the living room. “Anyone home?” I called out, but the place was eerily silent. The interior looked intact, and nothing seemed out of place. I called her cell and it went straight to voicemail. I called Calliope, hoping she would know of Marla’s whereabouts.
“Z, you’re missing all the fun. Where are you?” she shouted over the loud background.
“I’m…I’ll see you soon. Have you seen Marla?” There was no point in raising alarm just yet. She likely left in a hurry, forgetting to lock the door amidst her excitement.
“Just a few minutes ago. Hurry, you’re missing out!” she said, before hanging up.
Who lurked in our neighborhood and more importantly, were they still around? I locked the front door with a gust of wind and slowly walked up the stairs. I was scared at first but then riled—this perpetrator was in my friend’s home. They were messing with the wrong girl.
I heard a noise in Marla’s room and zipped over, swinging the door open with a push. It came at me and I ducked just in time. A rabid cat paused down the hallway.
“Stupid cat! You scared the shit outta me,” I gasped, “Damn it, I need a drink.”
After inspecting the upper level, I made way for the kitchen. In the cupboard, the first bottle in sight was rum. I took a shot that didn’t quite hit the mark so I chased it down with vodka followed by a few deep breaths. “Better,” I said to myself.
The cat returned, hissing something fierce. “Get your own,” I hissed back. I took another shot as the cat leapt on to the counter, leering at me. She didn’t like me very much, and for the most part, neither did her kind. “Who let you in?” I asked and the cat acquiesced, purring as she left. “Hey, I’m talking to you,” I shouted after it. “Great, I’m talking to a cat and now I’m talking to myself, even better.” After my final shot, I locked up before I hailed a cab.
It was a two-day event, commencing tonight. Ordinarily, I’d be ecstatic but this time around, I had too much on my mind. Acacia for one, or Tree as she put it, was riding me for papers. The temporarily sealed portal was on my mind because I didn’t want to be the band-aid seal any longer. Moreover, Nicholas, with his mysterious idle behavior, warranted snooping.
I applied lip-gloss using my pocket mirror for precision on an otherwise smooth ride up until we passed a light and before us appeared a woman. The car swerved to an abrupt halt and the woman disappeared. The cab driver got out and looked around beguiled.
She appeared beside me in an instant. “Xenia, I don’t have much time.”
I gasped, “Who are you?”
Her piercing green eyes swirled uncontrollably in a fas
hion I’d never seen before—too quick for an idle one. “I’m Kiran,” she whispered.
~
“No you’re not,” I sneered warily.
“I am Kiran…offline that is.” She seemed ill at ease, just like me. Red highlights perforated her long black hair. It seemed as though everything from her hair to her disposition was edgy.
“You’re his off-source? Hmm, that could explain a lot.” I incidentally uncovered more about human nature than I had bargained for.
Kiran vanished before I blinked—all the more reason to believe him, her. Kiran was quick and so was this supposed offline version.
The cab driver returned to the car, cussing under his breath. “Crazy college kids…pulling pranks…God damn it!” he cursed, while examining his tires.
Once on campus, I walked through the darkness, averting the carnival grounds in hopes of luring her—it worked.
Girl Kiran reappeared. “It’s happening and I don’t know how long I can fight back.”
“What’s happening? Tell me.”
“Sebastian.” I knew he was up to no good. “He’s searing us all one by one and he’s not alone.” Viola?
“How can you even be here? Does this mean online Kiran is—” I couldn’t say it.
“No, he was seared too, but I don’t know where. Around the time the portal was sealed something happened and I ended up here. And right before I was seared online, I overheard Castiel threatening Sebastian. He wants to get you alone and is using Sebastian as a diversion.”
“What’s he planning to do?”
“He’s—” she started before disappearing into thin air. Classic Kiran only this time, someone else was pulling the strings. Whoever this Castiel was, he was working overtime to keep the Aldridge’s away from me.
On Winter’s campus grounds, the festivities were in full swing. Candied apples, cotton candy and rigged carnival games all within reach. I bought a bag of cotton candy and pulled off a long, sticky, mouth full size.