House of Phoenyx: House of Phoenyx book 1

by T. John Greene

  Chapter 3

  Savannah

  They were reading Homer’s The Odyssey in literature class. Savannah usually liked this class because it was the last class of the day and Thomas was in this class with her, but today she hated it. Elena was also in the class. Elena had “forgotten” her book and was sharing Thomas’s book with him, which was really just code for rubbing her slutty boobs all over him. She was such a bitch. Savannah thought about accidentally spilling her coffee on Elena but then she would be without coffee and she desperately needed it after getting next to no sleep. It was worth it, though. She had finally made Percaline admit to being in love with Lucas. Damn, it had taken her long enough!

  Savannah was always a little jealous of Percaline. Percaline was tall (or at least not short), with big boobs, a curvy athletic body, and red hair. Guys always went for the red hair. Plus she had this naturally really cool curl to her hair. Savannah’s hair was straight and refused to accept a curl. There was a seven year age difference between them, so it’s not like they would ever have to compete for the same guy, thank God. The thing that made Savannah most jealous was that Percaline had a Lucas. Savannah and Lucas were close, as in brother and sister close, but she always wanted to find that guy who she could be herself around and who absolutely worshiped her. But until then, she was going to take advantage of something Percaline couldn’t: she was going to have fun with as many guys as she wanted to. She and her homosexual life mate Mason had decided to each keep a scrapbook of their conquests. They wanted to be able to look back at the pictures one day and say, “Yeah, I dated him.” It was the little things in life.

  Savannah didn’t understand Elena’s appeal. She was tall, probably 5’7” but because she was tall she had those knees that fall in towards each other. Savannah knew that it was something that Elena couldn’t help but she was such a bitch that anything was fair game. Elena was skinny too. Like, eat a sandwich already skinny. She had long mousy brown hair and always wore eyeliner that ran down her face. She looked dirty in an ‘I need to bathe’ kind of way. Guys seemed to be into that. Seriously though, anyone could buy a push-up bra and a pair of chicken cutlets. She looked like a stripper.

  “First she said we were to keep clear of the Sirens, who sit and sing most beautifully in a field of flowers; but she said I might hear them so long as no one else did. Therefore, take me and bind me to the crosspiece halfway up the last; bind me as I stand upright, with a bond so fast that I cannot possibly break away, and lash the rope’s end to the mast itself. If I beg and pray you to set me free, then bind me more tightly still.”

  Maybe that was it. Maybe Elena was a Siren. She looked at Thomas and Elena again. No, if she was a Siren he would be constantly staring at her. Hmm, maybe Mischelle was a Siren? Someone broke Savannah’s concentration.

  “Miss Golden?” Mr. Theriot asked.

  “I’m sorry, what?” Savannah replied. Apparently Mr. Theriot had asked her a question. Hopefully she hadn’t been staring at Elena and Thomas when the whole class looked at her. That would be embarrassing.

  “Even after Odysseus has seen the bones and the remains of the men enchanted by the Sirens, why does he still want to go to them?” Mr. Theriot asked again.

  “Because he has a penis,” Savannah answered. The class broke out in laughter. Mr. Theriot wasn’t amused, but it didn’t matter because the bell rang and class was over.

  Savannah watched as Thomas and Elena walked out of the classroom holding hands. That was it. He was definitely going out with Elena. She hoped he got herpes.

  Mason met her at their lockers. The lockers were alphabetical and Mason’s last name was Grady.

  Mason was a little guy with a pointy nose. He wore his dark hair in a spike that came together in the center of his head. This exacerbated the fact that he looked like an elf in the Rudolph Christmas special. Mason was one of her people. They had a couple of other girl friends but of the group Savannah and Mason were the closest.

  Mason moved in closer to Savannah and asked, “So how’d it go? Did you invite him over?”

  “Nope. He and Elena are dating.” Savannah cocked her head down the hallway to where Thomas and Elena were sucking face.

  “She has herpes!” Mason screamed down the hallway. Nobody paid attention. It was high school. “So you and me tonight?”

  “Yep,” Savannah replied. “I’d much rather hang out with you. Plus, you’ll get to see the droid Lucas is engaged to.”

  “What?!” Mason stopped gathering books and looked at Savannah, shocked. Mason had met Lucas once before and even in that five minutes Mason could tell that Lucas and Percaline were in love with each other.

  “Yeah, he brought home some girl he met in Japan two weeks ago,” Savannah said as she continued to put her books away.

  “Oh God. How’s Percaline doing?” Mason asked as he resumed pulling books from his locker. It was the end of the day so some books were put away while others were taken home.

  “She’s okay. She finally admitted to me this morning that she’s in love with him,” Savannah replied.

  “Really? It’s about time.” Everyone knew that they were meant to be together and Mason and Savannah had almost placed bets on how long it would take.

  “I know, right?” Savannah closed her locker.

  “So what’s she going to do?” Mason could see Savannah looking down the hallway at Thomas and Elena.

  “Make him unseeingly jealous,” Savannah responded.

  “Yeah. That should do it.” Mason closed his locker, swung his backpack over one shoulder, hooked his arm into Savannah’s, and pulled her in the opposite direction. “Let’s go meet this man-stealing whore.”

  Percaline wasn’t home when Savannah and Mason walked in. She usually studied on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so today being Tuesday she was at the library. Lucas and Mischelle were home. They were making out in the kitchen when Savannah and Mason walked in. Good thing Percaline wasn’t here. She would hate her sacred space being defiled.

  “How was school?” Lucas asked once he broke free from the kiss.

  “School was school.” Savannah walked towards the coffee pot. “Lucas, you remember Mason?”

  “Of course! Mason, how have you been? This is Mischelle.” Mason nodded at Mischelle.

  Savannah dropped a little coffee canister into the Keurig and slid a cup under the pour spout. She opened the refrigerator and pulled out the creamer. She liked her coffee with only a little half and half. Behind her Lucas, Mischelle, and Mason were making small talk. By the time she poured the half and half into her cup and put it back into the fridge the coffee was done. “We’re going to go study in my room.”

  “We’re all going to dinner tonight, so be ready to leave by six forty-five. I made reservations at P.F. Chang’s,” Lucas informed Savannah. “Mason, I’m sure they can find another seat if you want to come.”

  “P.F. Chang’s?” Savannah asked. Percaline hated paying for overpriced, underwhelming food. “Does Percaline know?”

  “She knows that we’re going to dinner,” Lucas replied.

  Savannah and Mason left the kitchen.

  “So that’s her huh? I don’t get it,” Mason said once they were alone in Savannah’s room. He threw his backpack onto the ground and fell front first onto the bed. Savannah sat on her windowsill. This is how they always were, Mason on the bed and Savannah on the sill. “I mean, I think she’s pretty but why does he stare at her like that? It’s creepy.”

  “I know, right? And there’s no way she’s prettier than Percaline.” Savannah stood up and started to pace. Oh God. She was becoming her sister. “You should come tonight. Percaline would love having one more person on her side.”

  Mason thought about it for a minute and then pulled his cell phone out and called his mom, Nancy. Mason and his mom were close. He was a mama’s boy. “Hey Mom, Savannah invited me to dinner tonight. Is it okay if I go? I’ll be home by nine.” Mason was silent for a moment, then nodded his head. “Sure…
yes…of course…thanks Mom.” He hung up the phone. “My mom wants to make sure that I didn’t invite myself along. She told me to tell you to drop me off at my house if you were just being nice by inviting me.”

  Savannah smiled. She loved Mason’s mom. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Mason’s mom was still married to his dad but a couple years back they found out that his dad had early onset Alzheimer’s. The kind that makes you go from okay to really angry in a matter of seconds. His dad was young, too, like 56. So Mason’s mom sold her half the flower company she co-owned, made a boatload of cash doing it, and became a stay-at-home wife. Because of the disease Mason’s dad couldn’t hold a job so he applied successfully for early retirement—or maybe disability—Savannah wasn’t sure. Now Mason’s mom depended on home improvement projects and volunteer work to keep herself busy.

  “Let’s go upstairs so I can pick out something for Percaline to wear tonight.” Mason moved to sit up.

  “She’ll hate that,” Savannah said.

  “But she needs it.” Mason was up and moving towards the door. He looked out into the hallway. He could hear Lucas and Mischelle were still in the kitchen.

  Savannah knew that Mason was correct. Percaline didn’t have a bad sense of style but she just didn’t know how pretty she was so she never took advantage of her attributes. She grabbed her cell phone because once they found an outfit Savannah would text her and let her know what was up.

  Savannah and Mason had done it. They knew for sure when at six forty-five Percaline walked downstairs. For whatever reason Mischelle was going to have to meet them at the restaurant—Savannah couldn’t confirm or deny the reason but it could have been because she had a wardrobe malfunction. Mason may have seen the dress hanging in the bathroom and accidentally dropped it into a pool of sink water. Now Mischelle was waiting for her garment to dry so it didn’t look like she had peed herself. Savannah had to remember to tell Mason that he was a genius.

  Standing in the living room watching Lucas watch Percaline come down the stairs was worth the unpleasantness Savannah was about to throw herself into. He actually looked at her from head to toe and shook his head like it was fuzzy. Then he fumbled over himself trying to pay a compliment to her. Mason recovered the moment with a simple, “Damn Percaline! You look hot. And I’m not even into girls.”

  “You look great,” Lucas said.

  Percaline was dressed in a skin-tight teal cocktail dress. The teal complimented her hair color and skin tone. Although Percaline was a red head she didn’t have the traditional freckled body, she had a bronze skin tone and tanned easily. She was wearing four-inch tan wedges and when standing next to Lucas she was almost as tall as he was.

  Mason handed Percaline’s jacket to Lucas and Lucas helped her into it.

  “Thanks,” she said, holding Lucas’s gaze.

  Lucas broke away like a husband who had been caught cheating when Mischelle yelled down the stairs, “Lucas, we’ll have to meet everyone at the restaurant. My dress still isn’t dry.” The hair dryer went on.

  Savannah and Mason had anticipated this, so in a series of complicated movements Mason broke Savannah’s dress’s side zipper. “Dammit. My zipper just broke,” Savannah said.

  “Oh no. Maybe we should call the restaurant to tell them we’ll be late?” Percaline questioned.

  Mason knew his response. “No. Then we’ll never be seated. How about you, Lucas, and I head to the restaurant and Savannah and Mischelle can follow when they’re ready.”

  Mason watched as Lucas thought about it. Savannah hit it home. “I would feel really bad if our family dinner was ruined because my zipper was broken. Seriously, go. Mischelle and I will follow. It will give me time to get to know my new sister-in-law.”

  “Yeah, okay.” Lucas said. He started to go upstairs to tell Mischelle.

  Savannah subtly moved in front of him. “I’ll tell her. You guys better get going or you’ll be late.”

  Mason handed Lucas the keys to the Xterra.

  Once everybody left Savannah went to change her dress. Since this had been previously orchestrated she already knew what she was going to change into. She closed her bedroom door behind her, unzipped the broken dress, and slipped it off. Within minutes she had the other dress on, her hair pulled up, and her shoes on. She grabbed her purse and opened the door to go tell Mischelle the news.

  Savannah started when she saw Mischelle, now fully dressed, standing right outside of the door in the hallway, but she recovered. “Hey, I was just coming to find you. Lucas, Mason, and Percaline went ahead to the restaurant.” Mischelle didn’t say anything to Savannah. “Are you ready?” Savannah asked as she turned her back to Mischelle and closed her bedroom door.

  Everything went black.

  Percaline

  Percaline knew that Savannah and Mason had set this up on purpose and she was happy they were on her team. Honestly, if it was ever her against them they would win hands down. They were a force to be reckoned with.

  Mason was sitting in the back of the SUV acting like he didn’t exist. He was trying to give Lucas and Percaline alone time and Percaline took advantage of it.

  She cleared her throat and adjusted the leg closest to Lucas so that just enough skin was uncovered for this to be a PG-13 movie. Lucas noticed and he nearly drove off the road. She had the attention of his little head, that was apparent, but now she needed to remind him of how easy it was when they were together and how much they needed each other.

  Percaline reached into her purse and pulled out a picture. She showed it to him. “I found this the other day when I was going through old things.”

  They were stopped at a light so Lucas was able to look. It was a picture of Percaline, Lucas, and Uncle Jon standing in front of their old house, Selena’s house. The one they lived in before they moved in with Uncle Jon. “Wow. You found a picture of just the three of us.” He took the picture and looked at it more closely. “God. How old were we?”

  “By the look of your haircut and my bangs I’d say twelve.” Percaline answered. The light turned green and Lucas handed the picture back to Percaline.

  “That hair cut was totally in then and I loved your bangs. They covered your big forehead,” Lucas teased.

  “I do not have a big forehead,” Percaline huffed playfully, “Remind me why I hang out with you again?”

  “Because I’m so good-looking.” This was classic Percaline and Lucas. They teased each other, they complimented each other, and they flirted with each other like two kids on a playground. They flirteasemented one another. Percaline laughed, forgetting about everything for a second. She felt good with Lucas. She had made the right decision. She was going to fight for him.

  “Have you dreamt about Jon lately?” Lucas asked. Jon came to Percaline in the form of a five-year-old boy. The dreams had started after Uncle Jon died. The first couple she chalked up to loneliness, but once he continued to stalk her dreams she knew that it was much more than that. He looked like one of those holograms in the Haunted Mansion, so she figured he was a ghost. She didn’t mind though. She liked having him back in her life.

  “Yeah. I’ve dreamt about him every night for the last week. He’s been pretty persistent about trying to show me something, but I always wake up before I get there,” Percaline said.

  “Still not sleeping, huh?” How could Lucas ask her if she had slept? He knew as well as her that she didn’t sleep unless he was next to her.

  “You haven’t been there,” was all she said. Lucas patted her leg.

  They pulled into the parking lot, parked, and walked in. They checked their coats and waited for the hostess to un-busy herself. After about a minute Lucas gave the hostess his name and they walked to their reserved table. Every man in the restaurant followed Percaline with their eyes as she walked past. She would have missed it had it not been for Lucas putting a protective, possessive hand on the small of her back. They sat down, Percaline next to Lucas and Mason one seat removed from bot
h of them.

  The server came up to take their drink order. Lucas ordered a Jack and coke, Percaline ordered a Corona Light, and Mason ordered a Shirley temple.

  It wasn’t long after their drinks arrived that Savannah and Mischelle walked in. Mischelle was wearing a green wrap around dress that looked like something a mom would wear, yet every guy stared at her. Percaline could literally feel the bond between her and Lucas dissolve the moment he looked at Mischelle.

  She noticed that Savannah looked a little rough, with her hair haphazardly on top of her head, and dark circles that hadn’t been under her eyes twenty minutes ago. As she took her seat Mason noticed it too. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. I think I’m just hungry,” Savannah said.

  “Well, you look gorgeous.” Percaline told her. That was their thing. If one of them felt crappy or was having a bad day they would always tell the other that they looked pretty or some variation of that. This made Savannah smile.

  Dinner was phony at best but everybody tried their hardest to make the best of it. The most surprising event of the night was when Savannah announced to the table that she was ordering fish. Savannah hated fish. Mischelle interrupted the succession of questions from around the table by telling Savannah that she too was going to order fish. Percaline appreciated that. Savannah didn’t feel well so she was allowed to order whatever she wanted.