Illuminated Embers

by Jasmine Flowerday

  Savannah and Samuel stared at her open-mouthed. "Mom!" Samuel said.

  "You don't have to call it a date, but she needs to get out and have some fun!" said Johnna.

  "But I was going to take her dress shopping," Chrystal said.

  "Yeah, and I was going to kidnap Samuel to go play Call of Duty!" whined Harry.

  Turning to face his friends, Samuel said, "Guys! You heard what my mom said! Let's not make a fuss, and I'm sure you can take her to find a dress in the morning, Chrystal!"

  "Right," Chrystal glared at him, hands on hips. "If we do that, when are we supposed to get our hair, nails, and makeup done? We have appointments at Les Chic Salon!"

  Taking Savannah's arm and leading her back to the portal, Samuel waved her off. "I'm sure you and Lanie can figure something out." He couldn't believe his mom just ordered him to take Savannah out on a date. He could definitely use the break himself, and he was not going to let the opportunity pass them by, even if prom was tomorrow night. He knew from past school functions that it was always loud and chaotic. Not his choice for their first date! And even if Savannah didn't consider this a date, he was hoping that by the end of the evening, she would.

  **********

  "What do you call this again?" Savannah asked. They were sitting in a diner with plush red vinyl booths. A small jukebox was on the table against the wall where Samuel had input their order of food. She was sucking on something cold, thick, sweet, and delicious out of a tall glass and a long red straw. On it was a layer of frothy whipped cream topped off with a maraschino cherry.

  "Chocolate shake," he replied, smiling. He could tell that she was enjoying it immensely.

  "It's delicious!" she said, smacking her lips. They were starting to feel numb.

  A bleached blond waitress in a pink uniform dress with a white collar rolled up to them on skates. She looked to be in her fifties, had dark circles under her eyes, and smelled of smoke. Her uniform was completed with bright red lipstick and long fake eyelashes. Setting the cheeseburgers and fries in front of them, she asked, "Anything else, Dolls?"

  "Ketchup and mustard?" Samuel asked the waitress.

  "Sure thing," she said, as she reached into her pockets on the front of her dress and produced two bottles, one red and one yellow.

  Savannah waited until the waitress rolled away before she grabbed the red bottle and asked, "What's this?"

  "It's ketchup! You put it on your burger, like this," he said. He grabbed the bottle, opened the top, beat the bottom with his palm and shook some out on his burger. He did the same with the mustard.

  She tried to emulate what he did. She opened the top, tipped it over and beat the bottom with her palm. Glurp! Before she knew it, a bunch of red gunk flowed out of the bottle and covered her burger! "Um--"

  Samuel looked up and gave a bark of laughter before offering to trade. He switched their burgers and managed to get most of the red sauce off the burger and onto his fries. "Ketchup bottles can be tricky," he said, before taking a bite.

  Savannah took a bite of the burger and let out an involuntary groan. "I didn't know food could taste this good! It's even better than pizza!"

  "Right? The Twitchies have definitely got a knack," he agreed.

  "I could eat here every day!" Savannah exclaimed, taking another bite.

  "Probably, but then where would I take you for a special date?" he asked playfully.

  "Oh, you'll think of something," she said, before realizing what came out of her mouth. Her eyes got wide, and she saw Samuel's Cheshire grin spread over his face. "Wait! No, I didn--"

  "Challenge accepted," he said, chuckling. "Besides, you're going to love what's next!"

  "We already went to laser tag! And that was awesome! I woulda kicked your butt, too, if I had remembered to keep my hand on the bottom of the gun," she said. She leaned back against the booth, feeling the full weight of the workout. Between his mother and laser tag, she had muscles burning that she didn't even know existed.

  Checking his watch, he announced that they had half an hour before they had to leave for the next activity. Savannah decided to spend that time savoring the salty food and the sweet drink. She swayed to the bouncy music coming from the big jukebox against the back wall. There was a dancing area with a black and white checkered floor.

  Staring at his date, he liked that she had gone with curly dark red hair. He thought it suited her better than the straight brown that she wore for school. Noticing that her appetite was slowly improving, he watched as she devoured the meal in front of her. Usually, she would eat a quarter of her meal before saying that she was full. She was starting to eat like a normal teenager, and it was refreshing. After they were both done eating, they talked about things they liked to do. He told her about video games, and she told him about her bees and how she made candles. Checking his watch again, he got up from the table and led her to the larger jukebox in the center of the diner. Picking out a song, he put his arms around her waist.

  "I don't really know how to dance," she said, worried.

  "Well, I figure we are going to the prom tomorrow, so we could probably use the practice," he said, placing her arms around his neck. A soft melody came out of the sound system in the restaurant, and he instructed her to just sway back and forth with him like she had done in the booth. "This is called slow dancing," he said, pulling her a little closer.

  Resting her head on his chest, she closed her eyes and moved with him. He felt warm and nice and smelled of some sort of fake pine tree. When she questioned him about the smell, he told her that it was cologne and tried to explain to her what it was. After the song was done, he paid the check and took them to their next destination. It was dark when they left the restaurant, but all of their stops were only a few blocks from the apartments, so they had opted to walk. The sounds of the nightlife met them as they turned on the main streets of downtown. Bright neon lights and blaring music flowed out of nearby bars. Cars that had spinning wheels and thumping sound systems crawled past them. Humans of all sorts were out on the streets, yelling things to each other. Over the last few weeks, Savannah had gotten used to most of the commotion of the city and all the weird smells that came with it, but she still missed her forest.

  Samuel led her to a shorter building with lights brighter than any of the others she had seen. It was a movie theater! She had never been able to go to the movies before, though she'd heard a lot about them. In the books she would read from the library, it seemed that the characters would go to the theater a lot. But she and her mother had never been able to go, even when she was little. She remembered watching movies that her mother would buy at home on their DVD/ Blu-ray player before the fire, but never on the big screen. Pulling Samuel towards her, she gave him a big hug.

  "What are we going to see?" she asked. Excitedly, she jumped up and down like a kid in a candy store.

  "Their nine o'clock showings are about to start. I wasn't sure what kind you liked, so I thought you could choose," he said, smiling at her enthusiasm. He grabbed her hand and led her to the ticket booth. This time, she didn't pull her hand away after only a couple of seconds. "There's the romantic comedy, horror, some cartoon about a talking car, and three conspiracy nuts who save the world."

  Thinking about it, she decided there was too much horror in her life already, so they went with the conspiracy nuts. The smell of over-buttered popcorn hit them as they walked in. She thought it looked beautiful with its bright lights and red ropes. He dragged her to the concession stands and got a large popcorn, two large cherry cokes, a Mike and Ike, and Junior Mints. They walked up the carpeted ramp to the right, and Samuel gave the ticket taker their tickets. After they were torn and handed back, they followed the man's instructions to the theater where their movie would be playing. Samuel guided her to the middle row on the left side. There were only two seats there, and he figured they wouldn't have to deal with strangers around them. Settling into the comfortable seats, Samuel was reluctant to let go of her hand to hand ou
t the movie treats he had purchased. The lights dimmed and a huge roaring lion showed up on the screen.

  After the movie, Savannah and Samuel walked home talking about aliens taking over the world and whether or not Area 51 was real. She couldn't believe how relaxed she felt and what a great time she had. When Samuel dropped her off at her apartment door, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek.

  Brushing the red curls out of her face, he leaned in and gently kissed her lips. He disappeared down the stairs before he could see her reaction, hoping he hadn't just ruined everything.

  Shock fluttered through Savannah. She shook it away and opened her door to go into the apartment.

  "It's about time!" grumbled Eamon. He and Lanie were sitting on the couch, drinking tea.

  "Oh, knock it off, Eamon!" Lanie said, before turning to Savannah. "Did you have fun? Oh, look at those cheeks! Johnna was right! You really did need a night off! And don't worry about your dress. Chrystal and I picked out something heavenly for you. I will show it to you in the morning."

  "Dress? Right, prom!" Savannah stuttered, trying to cover her cheeks. Slowly, reality came to crush her again as she remembered everything else that was going on. She was surprised at how Samuel had been able to make her forget everything over the last few hours. A smile spread across her face as she tried to push away her responsibilities and remember the night she just had. "Yes! I had a great time!"

  "You can tell me all about it while we get you ready tomorrow. Go get some sleep, so we don't have to cover up any baggy eyes. Good night, Savvy," Lanie said. She came up to her daughter, gave her a hug, kissed her on the top of the head, and ushered her to bed.

  Chapter 15

  Straining against a Kite, a Werewolf, and two Dwarves, Savannah was feeling constricted and a little violated. "What are you putting on me now?" she demanded of the women. She was surrounded.

  "It's called a corset! It's strapless! Hold still!" Amethy said.

  "Will it make it easier for you to put on?" Savannah asked the Dwarf.

  "So much easier!" Amethy groaned.

  "I'm not sure it's a good idea then. This thing feels awful!" Savannah said.

  "Stop talking! You're ruining my makeup masterpiece!" Chrystal said.

  "Why do I feel like I'm being attacked?"Savannah asked. She looked down at her mother who was putting shoes on her that looked more like weapons, the heels were so sharp.

  "Don't be melodramatic, Savvy! Try to enjoy the experience!" Lanie said. "Everyone wants you to have a perfect prom, and well you are getting attacked!"

  "Momma!" said Savannah.

  "If you hadn't fought strangers touching you in the salon, then this wouldn't be necessary," Lanie said. She found that she was enjoying making her daughter squirm a little too much.

  "Who knew? I had to pull a lot of strings to get those last minute appointments there!" Chrystal grumbled, more to herself than anyone else. "But, no! Now I have to check on the poor shampoo girl in the hospital in the morning."

  "I'm sorry Chrystal! I just sort of reacted," said Savannah. She did feel bad for the poor girl. "OW! My eye!"

  "Sorry!" Chrystal said. She had accidentally poked Savannah in the eye with the eyeliner pencil. "If you would stop moving, this would go a lot easier."

  "I'm getting pulled from every part of my body! You all are the ones moving me!" Savannah said, as she felt her hair get yanked back again.

  "Try a blond! I'm still not getting it right," Opal said from behind.

  Savannah complied and vibrated her hair to a blond color. "Joleen has brown hair! I think we should go with that!" she winced, as Opal pulled on a few strands at the nape of her neck.

  "Maybe a chestnut brown, the one you had been using was quite boring dear. Not good for a natural color," said Opal.

  "It's not my natural color! And, I was trying to blend in," said Savannah.

  "Well, I'm sure you succeeded," said Opal.

  "Not really," said Chrystal, smiling. "This one would have to become a tree in the forest to blend in. Of course, she would probably still stand out among the other trees. That's why Jen hates her so much."

  Savannah grumbled for awhile longer, and ceased to resist. She imagined this was what it felt like to be in one of those medieval stretchers that the Twitchies used to torture people.

  An hour later, Savannah stood in front of the floor length mirror in her room. The girl she saw staring back at her was stunning, though she didn't recognize her at all. There was paint all over her face, and her hair was a chestnut brown that had been swept into intricate braids and curls. Opal had used silver and jewels to make it look like leaves and vines were interlaced through the braids and holding it all together. The dress was made of a pale pink chiffon that resembled the dress her mother had designed for the forty foot statue. The bodice had thin green vines on it, and sprinkled with jewels. At her waist it puffed out a little and cut off at the knee before flowing back behind her to the floor in a fishtail style. It looked like thousands of soft little rose petals made up the bottom of the dress. The shoes were a silver satin, and felt very unstable. In the center of her chest was a large diamond, set in silver and accented with emeralds, sapphires, rubies and amethyst. She was wearing a matching bracelet, and earrings. That explained why her ears were red and pounding. They had pierced her ears!

  "My ears!" Savannah whimpered. Her hand fluttered up, but she couldn't bring herself to touch the throbbing skin.

  "It was necessary," said Opal. "So, you could wear the fantastic jewelry we made you!"

  "I don't think I'm going to be able to walk," she said to the group. She noticed that her mother had tears in her eyes.

  "You look just like me, when I used to go to the Keystone Ball," Lanie said, sniffling. "You're beautiful!"

  Chrystal looped her arm through Savannah's. "Just follow what I do. We're going to practice walking." She led her new friend around the room and only had to pick her up twice, before she got the hang of it. She had to admit that Savannah looked amazing, though very uncomfortable. She figured that's what you get when you don't show up for dress shopping and put the shampoo girl in a head lock.

  "You really do look amazing, Chrystal!" Savannah said. "How do you look so at ease? Didn't they do this to you at the salon?" She looked Chrystal up and down. The dress that they had picked out the week before matched Chrystal's personality to a tee. She was wearing a one shoulder, above-the-knee dress that flared out at the waist. Most of it was a dark purple satin with black lace over it and black tulle visible as the bottom layer. She had black pantyhose on that had intricate designs going up the legs, and high heels that laced up like combat boots around her ankle. Her hair had been teased and smoothed back to give her a bump at the top of her head. And the Dwarves had made her special jewelry with the Polarstone they had brought with them. The result was incredible.

  "Knock-knock!" Eamon said from the other side of the door. "The gentlemen are here to pick up the ladies."

  "We'll be right out," Lanie called back. She was applying mascara, trying to get ready for her own date with Eamon.

  "I'm feeling a little left out," said Opal. She was the only one without a date for the night. Her brother, Alabaster, was taking his wife, Amethy, out since things were finally calming down.

  "You could always double-date with us, Opal. Tory's been asking you out for months," Amethy replied, joining Lanie at the mirror.

  Savannah listened to the ladies bicker back and forth as she tried to sit on the bed. The corset thing was really tight, and she had butterflies in her stomach. She and Samuel had a great time the night before, but there seemed to be a lot of pressure on prom night. She'd take a fight with a Siphon any day over this mess.

  **********

  "You look beautiful!" Samuel said.

  They had survived the photos and the flower exchange in the apartment with the adults oohing and aahing all over them. Now they were sitting in the back of the limo with Chrystal and Harry cuddling on the other
end. Eamon and Lanie were up front. It had been decided that they would drop the kids off, go on their romantic date, then pick them up again at two in the morning when the dance was over.

  "Thank you," she replied. "I feel like one of the stuffed turkeys that Momma used to make for Thanksgiving." She patted her tummy and focused on breathing. "You look very nice," she said, shyly. Samuel was wearing a black tux with a vest and an electric blue bow tie that made his eyes sparkle. She watched as he looped his fingers through hers.

  "About last night--"

  "I had a great time! Thank you for taking me out," she said, cutting him off. Savannah was a little afraid that he would apologize for the kiss he gave her before running off. Unsure of how she felt about it, she knew that if he brought it up, things would get awkward, and she needed him to be strong tonight. Things were going to be overwhelming enough as it was. The only reason the adults had agreed to prom in the first place was because everyone was sure that the Siphons were elsewhere. As glad as she was to be able to go out and that the Humans were safer, going to a high school dance scared her more.

  "Really? I mean, that's great! I had a good time, too!" Samuel said, grinning.

  The limo pulled into the line of cars that had formed in the school parking lot. Teens in colorful ball gowns and tuxedos were gathering in groups to go inside. When Eamon opened the door for them, the din of excitement was overwhelming. Between the high-pitched squeals, laughter, and everyone trying to talk over each other, Savannah couldn't form a coherent thought. She vaguely remembered her mother telling her to have fun. But before she knew it, Samuel had ushered her inside.

  The theme this year was Haira Days. It was someone's lame idea to combine unique hairstyles and Greek Mythology. The inside of the school had been transformed with long, white, elaborate columns and paper-mache statues of different gods and legends. Mounted on the wall opposite the main entryway was a statue of the queen of bad hairdos herself, Medusa! Her creepy snakes threatened to nab anyone who dared to get too close. The food court had been made to look as though they were ancient carts with peddlers in the marketplace of Athens. They sold gyros and stuffed grape leaves for anyone who was hungry enough to risk spoiling their dress. The specialty drink, Cyclops Punch, had a large eye made from colored ice bobbing in the middle of the punch bowl. They served it in a martini glass with a plastic ping-pong ball made to look like a smaller version of the creepy eye. They had even managed to find a D.J. who called himself Hades: Lord of the Downbeats.