For Blood & Glory

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For Blood & Glory Page 14

by Cassandra Hendricks


  “I actually wanted to ask you if you had any plans this weekend?”

  Oh my goodness. He’s asking me out. Be cool. Be cool.

  “You mean this weekend, like a date?”

  “Well yeah.” He shrugged. “I thought maybe I could show you around town, or we could just hang out and maybe grab a bite to eat or something.”

  “You know, I would, but I actually have plans.”

  “Oh, I understand.”

  Do I sense disappointment? “No, really, I have a friend who’s coming into town and we’re supposed to spend the weekend together. Maybe next week—” Don’t sound desperate. “Assuming, no one has already asked me out. I’d have to check.” Get it, Fira.

  “I see.” He stepped closer, close enough for Sefira to smell the natural earthiness of his dark brown skin. “What was I thinking? I’m sure you have guys clamoring at your door hoping you will spare but a moment of your time.” He reached out and took Sefira’s hand ever so gently, as if he were holding rare, precious flowers blooming for the first time. As he fixed his gaze on hers, she noticed the depths of his silvery brown eyes—like deep pools, pulling her in, rendering her so defenseless she feared she might drown. “I would like to officially request your accompaniment next weekend, if you so choose of course.” He kissed her hand, and as his lips brushed against her skin she felt a rush of warmth and excitement foreign to her. “This is for you.” He produced a single yellow tulip and placed it in her hand.

  Close your mouth. Sefira swallowed, blinking. “Thank you.” The butterflies that were kind enough to nestle calmly within her stomach during their entire exchange were now fluttering wildly. Realigning her backpack, she shifted her weight. It was all she could do to keep from melting into the floor. As she glanced around, it became apparent that several other girls shared the moment with her as their mouths were agape. The dramatic gesture was unfolding in front of a small audience, and Kaetano did not seem to care. Sefira was flattered and slightly embarrassed.

  “Well,” she cleared her throat, “my dance car—I mean, my calendar—is somewhat full, but I do believe I can pencil you in for next Saturday.”

  “Next Saturday it is. I look forward to it. See you later, Sefira.” He flashed a grin and was off.

  Sefira stood there momentarily. Dance card? Geez Sefira. She laughed at herself. Wait a minute, I have a date.

  The sixth period bell couldn’t ring fast enough. Sefira was still reveling in the romantic gesture that took place two periods ago, making it hard for her to wrap her head around Chem class. It occurred to her that he didn’t even have her number, but that was negligible. Within a week’s time, she would be gallivanting around town with Kaetano. She couldn’t help smiling just a little bit every time she reflected on the day’s events. When the final bell rang, she collected her things and floated down the indoor hall to her locker. After placing her backpack on the floor, she opened the lock and retrieved her books and the flower. There was barely enough time for her to pull her fingers out before someone walked up behind her and slammed her locker door shut. She spun around to find herself face to face with Giselle and what she supposed was her “entourage”—three girls. Sefira recognized one of them as a witness to Kaetano’s “proposal.” Oh, so that’s what this is all about.

  “What’s your problem?” asked Sefira.

  Giselle stepped closer, her thin, caramel face twisted into a scowl. “You’re my problem. You think you can steal my spot and my man?”

  “I don’t even know what you’re talking about.” Sefira tried to sidestep her, but the other girls closed in.

  “She doesn’t know what I’m talking about.” Giselle mocked, turning to her group. “I guess we should leave her alone then?”

  They laughed.

  “Do I look stupid to you?” Giselle pressed.

  Is that a trick question? Why am I a magnet for this stuff? Two schools ago, there was another girl—Evelyn. Evelyn hated her, reasons unknown. Celeste said it was ‘cause she was jealous of her brains and beauty, but she figured moms always say that stuff. Anyway, Evelyn decided to do to some digging, found out about her crazy birth mom and after that made life hell. She couldn’t deal with that again. Better to lay low and suck it up.

  “Listen. I don’t want any trouble. I’m just here to go to school and move on.”

  Giselle looked at her, a smile crept up her cheeks. “Good little puppy.” She eyed the tulip in Sefira’s hand and snatched it, smirking to herself. “ He loves me.” A petal floated in the air as she ripped it off. “He loves me not.” She ripped off more petals.

  “Stop it!” Sefira reached for the flower and Giselle pushed her into a locker. Her books fell with a clatter and a small yelp escaped her lips as the angular metal knob dug well into her shoulder blade. The pain didn’t even compare to the sharp humiliation she felt as the other girls pinned her there. Her eyes flitted about and just as she’d feared, a kaleidoscope of faces gathered. Masks ranged from disgust to amusement. Raucous laughter turned her attention back to Giselle. The smug look of satisfaction on her face tipped the scales of Sefira’s emotion toward a depth of anger even she was unfamiliar with. She could feel it boiling in her gut, erupting like a volcano, setting all other emotions aflame.

  Fists balled, she straightened up and looked Giselle dead in her eyes. “That was a mistake,” she hissed. As the words left her mouth the air stilled, as if life itself drew a breath, then exhaled, hurtling Giselle’s body to the floor. The vainglorious expression on Giselle’s face drained like water from a sieve as she sat, legs sprawled in a most obscene manner. Sefira gulped, not knowing what to think or say as some of Giselle’s friends took tentative steps back. They were all in shock. No one dared move. The errant laughter springing from the crowd brought the situation back into focus. Giselle brushed helping hands away, scrambling to her feet.

  “Ladies?” A teacher stepped in. “What is going on here? Do I need to send you both up to Mr. Rutgers?”

  “No,” Giselle replied, chest heaving as she ran fingers through her hair and straightened her blouse. “That was an accident—we were just coming to an understanding.” She turned to Sefira. “I think we understand each other better now.” Her fiery eyes met Sefira’s. “See you around,” she said, strutting off with her friends.

  Sefira was left standing with her books and a mangled tulip scattered across the linoleum floor.

  “Hey, that you, Fira?” asked Celeste.

  “Yep, it’s me,”

  “I didn’t hear Sky’s car pull up. How was school today?” Celeste’s voice rang out between the clanks of pots and pans.

  “It could’ve been better.” Sefira shouted back while thumbing through the mail she’d plucked from the mailbox. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, Celeste was right. After all these years, she still hoped to see a letter from Delilah. Silly, right? She stacked the envelopes and tucked them underneath her arm. “I mean, it started out pretty good,” she said, walking into the family room, placing the mail on the coffee table.

  “Anything you want to talk about?” Celeste asked from the kitchen, still dressed in her work clothes—a sheer top, slacks, and heels. Her head snapped back so as to rid her forehead of her long bangs. Despite working all day and making preparations for dinner, she looked—happy.

  “Not really,” answered Sefira.

  “You sure?” Celeste asked with a hand on her hip and a smile.

  “Yeah, I’m sure,” Sefira feigned a smile.

  Water ran along with the sound of clinking dishes. “Who’s responsible for the dishes today?”

  “That would be me,” said Sefira, plopping on the couch. “I’ll get to them.”

  “No, just, wait there. I wanted to talk to you anyway.”

  A few minutes later, Celeste was sitting beside Sefira. She tilted her head, peering down her nose as if inspecting her. “How are things going with those girls? The ones you told me about. They aren’t giving you any trouble, are they?”
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br />   Sefira pulled a ponytail holder off her wrist and proceeded to put most of her hair up. On the way home from school, she’d thought long and hard about whether she was going to discuss “Giselle-gate” with Celeste. She wanted to, no doubt, but if she did, she’d be tempted to mention that tidbit about the girl flying to the floor, and that would raise all kinds of red flags. Seeing as how her biological mother was no stranger to a straightjacket, she was in no hurry to follow in her footsteps. Accordingly, she’d decided it was probably best to keep her out of the loop. Besides, the last thing she wanted was for Celeste to go waltzing up to the school, trying to fight her battles. She was too old for that now. Ugh. Lying was never her strong suit, but she found herself doing more and more of it lately. The ease at which the fabrications rolled off her tongue surprised her.

  “Actually, things have gotten a lot better with them. I guess, now that I’m on the track team, they see me a little differently.”

  “See? That’s what I’m talkin’ about.” Celeste leaned forward, hugged and patted her back, then sat back, propped an elbow on the arm of the couch and leaned into her hand. “I told you you’d make the team. You’ve got to listen to your mom now and then. I’ll bet that pretty soon, you’ll have a whole new group of friends to boot. It just takes time, that’s all.”

  Sefira nodded.

  “Why the long face? Something’s bothering you.”

  “Celeste,” she drew a breath, and looked up as if she were really contemplating whether to ask a question. “How did you know Rich was ‘the one’?”

  Celeste’s eyes grew larger and she leaned forward. It worked. No more “long-face” questions.

  “Wow, that definitely came out of nowhere. Well…” her eyes rolled up as she rubbed the back of her head, “it definitely wasn’t love at first sight. I thought he was an arrogant jerk at first. But over time we got to know one another and fell in love. Why do you ask?” She tucked some of Sefira’s hair behind her ear. Presumably, to get a better look at her facial expression.

  “It’s a weird question, I know,” she answered, while winding and unwinding errant braids around her fingers.

  “Yeah, well there are probably a few things that I guess I haven’t really taken the opportunity to share with you.” She eased back into the sofa, crossing her legs. “You know, Rich was a great guy in his younger years. He was bright, energetic—good at making me laugh.” A faint smile appeared as she recalled the man she used to know and love, then it disintegrated. “I’m not sure what—changed. Somehow, we just grew apart. We wanted different things out of life.” Lips pressed, she continued. “After we had kids, he became more and more distant. Personally, I just think the pressures of being a dad and having to give so much of himself got to him. I don’t think he was ready. So, I don’t know—maybe he wasn’t ‘the one,’ after all.” Sefira’s gaze fixated on the gold charm her mother was fiddling with. When she talked about Rich, she had a tendency to slide it back and forth along its chain. “Finding ‘the one’ isn’t as easy as you think. And if and when you do find that person, you have to be able to make it last. Unfortunately, that wasn’t something we were able to do.”

  Sefira grazed the arm of the couch with her fingers. “You think you guys would’ve lasted longer if I weren’t around?”

  “Oh my gosh, no.” Celeste shot the ‘of course not’ look. “Rich not being here has nothing do to with you.”

  “I don’t know, Randall seems to think otherwise.”

  “Randall is just having a hard time adjusting. He was close to his dad, and it was a real blow to him when he left. I’m trying to work on things, and I’m sorry if he’s been taking that out on you.” Celeste leaned forward and took Sefira’s hand into hers. “Trust me when I say, you have absolutely nothing to do with the demise of our relationship. Okay?”

  “Okay.” Sefira decided to change the subject. Sitting up, she placed her hands in her lap. “I was asked out.” She met Celeste’s eyes. “On a date.”

  “Really? By whom?” Celeste snapped out of her reflective mood.

  “The boy you met.” Sefira drew a leg. “The one that gave me a ride a few days ago.”

  “Oh, what was his name again? Keaton? The one Moiselle said she thought liked you?”

  “His name is Kie-tah-no—it’s a mouthful, I know.”

  Celeste looked thoughtful. “Is he the reason why you asked me about Rich?”

  “Well, not entirely. “

  “Not entirely? Do you think he’s ‘the one’?” she asked, eyebrows raised.

  Sefira snorted. “Of course not, I barely know him. He’s sweet, but I’m only 16.”

  Celeste’s chest deflated—she looked relieved.

  “So, can I go?”

  “Where, to the party?”

  “I meant the date, but I guess the party too.”

  Celeste’s eyes narrowed. “Your social life certainly has taken a turn since we’ve come to L.A. To think I was worried about you making friends.” She leaned further into the couch. “As far as the party goes, I was talking to a co-worker of mine, and it turns out that her daughter is going to that same function this year, and some of her other kids have gone in previous years. She said it’s pretty harmless fun, and I trust Nora—so I guess the answer is yes.”

  Sefira’s lips curled into a smile. At least something was going her way today. “And the date?”

  “Ugh,” she threw a hand up, “I guess it’s about that time.”

  “Thanks,” Sefira said, reaching out to hug her.

  “You’re welcome.” Celeste embraced her then sat back. “When is this date supposed to take place?”

  “Maybe a week or so. I told him I was going to the party this weekend.”

  “So, you’ve got me all figured out, eh?” She smiled. “About that party—SCU is a little ways away, so I’m going to give you some extra time to get back. I want you home by 11:00.”

  “Aw, the party ends at 1:00….”

  “Well for you it ends at 11:00, and trust me, you’re lucky I’m giving you that. And on Kaetano, you’re going to have to bring him around a bit more so I can size him up,” she said with a wink.

  Sefira was shocked that all of this had gone over so well.

  The charm on Celeste’s necklace was slightly off-kilter. Sefira straightened it out.

  “You like this necklace, don’t you?” asked Celeste. A pillow fell off the couch as she reached behind her neck, fishing for the clasp.

  “Oh no,” said Sefira. “I don’t want—”

  “Here.” It glinted, catching the light as she unclasped it. It was beautiful. “I want you to have it.”

  “Really?”

  “Really. Come here.” Sefira, positioned herself so her back was to her mother, lifting her hair so as to allow her to secure it. When she finished, Sefira turned around and gave her another hug. “It looks great on you.”

  “Thank you,” Fira said, rubbing the anchor between her fingers.

  The phone rang. “I’ll get it.” Sefira peeled herself off the couch and grabbed the cordless phone off the end table. “Hello?”

  “What’s up, Fira? It’s Zada. Did you get things squared away with your mom?”

  Sefira looked at her mother. “As a matter of fact, we were just talking about that. I think we’re good to go.”

  They chit-chatted for a while, finalizing their plans. By the time Sefira hung up, Celeste was back in the kitchen. Sefira returned to the sofa kicked off her shoes and tucked her knees into her chest. She could’ve won a Golden Globe for the performance she just gave. Celeste had no idea how frightened she was. One of two things happened today. Either Sefira was delusional and thought she put Giselle on the ground, or she really did put her on the ground. There’d be a problem either way, and as of now she hadn’t the slightest idea how to solve it. She grabbed a handful of braids and slid them between her thumb and forefinger. They were slick and bumpy like knotted rope and when she squeezed them they left a painful little impri
nt on her fingers. The pain felt good. Not as good as the blade she used to use, but good just the same. One way or another, she was going to have to figure this thing out before things got worse.

  Killin’ It

  “You look absolutely adorable,” Sefira gushed, as she opened the front door. Sky looked amazing in her sleeveless purple and green frock, complete with a ruby wig, headband, green scarf and white boots. “All you need is a Dream Machine.” Her shoes clacked as they walked into the living room.

  “You mean Mystery Machine.” She smiled. “I cheated a little with the boots, but I think it’s still cool. Anyway, look at you,” she exclaimed, examining Sefira’s gear.

  Sefira’s Little Red Riding Hood outfit consisted of a red, short-sleeved satin dress with a black, red and gold striped bodice. The fringes of the sleeves and the hem of the dress were trimmed in lace, and a red cape was tied around her neck. Not exactly what she had in mind, but it was cheap, and she figured it would do. “You think the basket is too much?” Sefira asked.

  “No, not at all,” said Sky. “It’s totally cute.”

  “Okay, well, they should be here soon. Make yourself comfortable.” She gestured toward the couch.

  Sky sat, legs crossed. “Where’s your mom?”

  “She’s getting out of the shower, she’ll be out in a few.” Sefira felt giddy. She needed this—something to take her mind off things.

  Someone knocked on the door. “Who is it?” Sefira yelled, all smiles.

  “Who you think it be?” answered a familiar voice.

  Sefira ran to the front door and flung it open to reveal two screaming girls. “Come in, come in.” Zada was decked out in a glittery black bodysuit with black and silver sequin embellishments. Her matching tule tutu looked light as a feather, as did her oversized black wings adorned with the same intricate sequin beading. “Oh my gosh, you’re the Black Swan. You look beautiful, turn around.” Zada walked through the hallway as if she were working a runway, her tutu sparkling under the light. As she twirled, the second girl stepped in, dressed as a nurse. Her outfit was plain and white, but it hugged her curves in all the right places. Sefira studied the girl—she looked familiar. It took her a minute to realize it was Nora. The borderline bifocals she was used to seeing Nora in must have been replaced by contacts, her hair was absolutely exquisite, and her body—who knew Nora had a body beneath the frumpy clothes she usually wore?

 

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