PANDORA

by Rebecca Hamilton

  She turned to Reggie, studying the printed words on her t-shirt, 'Nobody knows I'm a Lesbian'. Is this what you get everywhere you go? Well, I won't put you under a microscope. "You know, you don't need to justify your relationship with my sister. It's really none of my business. Why don't you just tell us what you have on Jessica?"

  Reggie's eyes sparkled and she gave her a saucy grin. "Chicken." She splayed her fingers on the table in front of her; the contrast of her dark brown skin against the light oak made Toni think of her sister's skin next to Reggie's. A tingle ran swiftly up her spine, a shudder following it.

  "Look," Reggie said, studying her own hands, "let's get the shit with me and your sister out of the way." She lifted her head and locked eyes with Toni. "I fell in love with Sara the minute I met her, but your sister'd just turned seventeen. I was starting my freshman year at Ferris, and I knew she was too young and totally inexperienced. I mean, even though the minor sex thing in reference to lesbians doesn't apply here in Michigan, well . . . shit, I still have my principles."

  Without her consent, Toni's eyes jerked around nervously as Reggie spoke. Will you concentrate on what she's saying and stop being so . . . so like Sara and her damn drama-queen friends!

  "But your sister kept on coming back. We talked about how I knew I was a lesbian, my first sexual experience, school, her friends; hell, everything. She was attracted to me—I could feel it—but she just couldn't get past the whole, 'being accepted' thing." Reggie made quote marks with her fingers and then studied the bookshelves behind Toni. "Kinda redundant since none of those girls or guys she hangs with can accept anyone for more than an hour. High school's like the fricken 'Wild Wild West' on hormones."

  Toni sighed. Poor Sara. Why didn't she talk to me about her feelings? Did she really kill herself because of all of this?

  "Anyway, I stepped back—figured she'd come around . . . and . . . well shit, Paddy drags my ass to that damn sploshing party, next thing ya know I'm pushin' aside my morals—I lost it—and-" Reggie raked her fingers through her hair and then slapped the table. "Dammit, I screwed up; shouldn't of never let it happen. I was so wrapped up in your sister. I played right into their hands."

  "We both did," Paddy said, reaching over to rub Reggie's arm.

  Toni whipped her head in Paddy's direction. "Whaddaya mean?"

  Paddy ran her tongue over her upper teeth, grimacing. "Jessica told me about the party, and casually mentioned that your sister was going to be there. She was baiting me and I fell for it. The brainy idea to bring Reggie along was totally my screw up."

  Toni's eyebrows reached for each other. "What reason would Jessica have for messing with Sara? It must be good because she's still doing it."

  "I have no clue," Paddy answered.

  Reggie cocked a brow and snorted, shaking her head. "Girl, open yer eyes 'fore ya fall over your own feet. It's 'cause the bitch is jealous of Sara. Man, she needs some serious couch time."

  "Why?" Toni asked. They've been friends since grade school. They hung out all the time.

  "It's all about that prick, David," Reggie barked. "He was hitting on Sara, like all over the place—and Jessica—she just had ta have what Sara had. Then, after she found out Sara was all up on me, Jessica started comin' on to me, thinkin' maybe David'd think he was gonna get his rocks off with both of us and toss Sara to the curb."

  Ohmigod, 'Jessica did Reggie', the mysterious entry in Toni's diary echoed in her mind. "Did you . . . were you . . . with both . . . um . . . that is..." I was so not going to ask that question, was I? She felt heat rise up her neck and knew her face would be blood red in a heartbeat.

  Reggie tossed a thumb in Toni's direction, a nod in Paddy's, and said, "There she goes again, soundin' like my Jeep when it's runnin' outta gas, and it looks like she's overheatin' too."

  Paddy giggled, her crystal-blue eyes sparkling.

  Reggie shook her head at Toni. "Woman, the first thing you gotta grab on to if ya plan on hanging with us is, we say it like we see it and nobody gets up on anybody for it, so spit it out."

  Toni's eyes got as round as quarters. Ohmigod, I just can't come out and ask her if she's had sex with both David and Jessica after her professing her love for my sister!

  Toni noticed Paddy turning red too, but it was because she was trying to hold back a laugh. Oh, come on, just ask. I 'm acting like a grammar school kid!

  Reggie sucked on her top left molar, rolled her eyes, slapped the table, and gave her head a shake. "Spit it out, bitch. You wanna know—you gotta ask."

  Toni filled her lungs with air and blurted, "So did you sleep with David and Jessica, or what?"

  Reggie's lips turned up and she burst out laughing. "First of all, I don't do dicks, and no, I didn't do Jessica either. Would you?"

  "Of course not . . . I . . . um . . . I . . . I mean, it's not because she's a . . . and I'm-" I just want to run and hide. I'm digging a hole here. "I mean . . . well . . . um . . . it's because she's . . . Jessica's just . . . well . . . not nice."

  Reggie watched Toni squirm for a heartbeat and then smiled. "Have you taken any public speaking classes at school? Speech class, maybe?"

  "We had Speech together last year," Paddy chimed in, "and although we didn't know each other, I did notice that she did turn in all her homework."

  Reggie grinned at Toni. "I'm thinkin' ya should take it again."

  Toni grinned back, thinking, I'm beginning to feel like one of the girls. "I'm thinking by the end of the summer I won't need it."

  "Okay, enough playing around—time to get down to business," Paddy giggled. "What exactly do you have on Jessica? Hope it's good because I so want to bring her smartass down."

  Reggie pulled out her phone, clicked a few buttons, and handed it to Toni.

  Paddy jumped off her chair and placed her chin over Toni's shoulder and they silently stared at the screen. In unison they lifted their eyes to Reggie and both whispered, "No way!"

  "Yep, LOL smiley face, Jessica texts me, says she wants to sex me. And I kept every one of them. Hit the down key. There's more."

  Toni fiddled with the down arrow and they both gasped.

  "Ohmigod!" Paddy squealed, then leaned in closer and said, "Like, she's so totally naked! And is that a . . . a . . . " Paddy's eyes searched around the room, she put her delicate fingers over her mouth and added, "In her hand? Is that what I think it is? Oh God . . . and she's . . . "

  Toni felt her pulse quickened. Her cheeks heated up, but she couldn't take her eyes off the picture. I wonder if Sara knew about these texts and this video? Is that the reason Sara—I sure can't ask Reggie, now can I?

  Paddy raised her hand up, palm facing Reggie. Reggie slapped it and they both burst into laughter.

  Toni covered her mouth. "This is very nasty." But at least we have something on her. This should even things out. Yesssssssss!

  Paddy reached for the phone.

  Toni pulled it away. "Na'ah, I get to check the rest of this out first."

  Paddy giggled and tried to grab the phone again and they were off and running around the bookshelves. That lasted about two minutes before the librarian hammered the bell on her desk and shot them a look that was all dueling eyebrows.

  The boys at the computer were shaking their heads, thumbs in the air, big grins on their faces.

  This is the first time in my life that I've felt like I was part of something, Toni thought as she slid back into her chair, all three of them giving the librarian a 'sorry' smile.

  The boys burst into laughter—the librarian cleared her throat rather loudly—and the guys turned back to the computer with grins and side glances.

  "You ain't good for her," Reggie said, as Paddy flopped back into her chair with a big grin.

  "So what's the plan," Toni asked, smiling at Reggie. "We gonna forward this to every kid at school, or put it on the net?"

  Reggie shook her head. "I'm not stoopin' ta her level. Her group of food sucking bimbos are planning another sploshing party before
school starts, an' I thought we'd attend. You can watch me snuggle up close to her, tongue a strawberry out of her mouth, flip the cell open, and then ask her if she wants to cut the shit with Sara, or have me start textin' the clip of 'er diddlin'-"

  "Okay, so we got it," Toni said, wiggling in her chair and turning red again.

  "Girl, you betta have the talk with home boy," Reggie scoffed in Paddy's direction, nodding at Toni. "Does the boy know he's datin' a virgin?"

  Ohmigod, she-so-did-not just go there! Toni's eyes darted around the library.

  Paddy shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not telling my brother anything; I'm sure he'll figure it out."

  Are they actually just sitting here calmly talking about my lack of sexual experience?

  Reggie grinned. "Yeah, well, tell him we'll break his face if he hurts her."

  "Okay, so I am so not going to sit here and listen to this conversation!" Toni said.

  "Hey, so what if you’re a virgin," Reggie said. "I've been there, and Paddy's still there."

  Toni's mouth dropped open and Paddy started laughing. "Just because I'm a lesbian doesn't mean I'm sexually active."

  Toni blushed, and blurted, "Of course it doesn't!" Her voice escalated as she went on, "I just thought I was the only virgin going into the twelfth grade."

  Typing abruptly stopped, conversations cut off, the book cart wheels stopped squeaking, and they suddenly had everyone's attention again.

  As the librarian ambled their way, Toni hid her face behind her hands, and moaned, "We should've met at the mall. I'll never be able to show my face here again."

  Paddy and Reggie burst out laughing.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Antoinette followed the chalk circle she'd just drawn on the floor with a trail of salt. When the circle was complete, she checked her compass, knelt, lit a light blue candle signifying understanding, and placed it outside the circle in the southern most position. She placed some rosemary next to the candle to denote loyalty.

  Moving to the east she used a purple candle, accompanied with a sprinkle of fennel; it ensured a good purification of ambition, power, and family business dealings.

  A dark blue candle placed north was for impulsiveness; with a dusting of dried plantain to cleanse. On the west side, she lit a yellow-green candle and added some comfrey to heal discord, jealousy, and anger.

  Rufus, still housing Bartholomew, lay on the bed, tail slapping the flowered quilt, ears flat against his head.

  Antoinette got up and removed a wide-mouthed jar from the dresser containing an assortment of stones: jade, bloodstone, lapis lazuli, feldspar, coral, amber, and a few others; some aiding wisdom, some protection, and others, psychic abilities or the stimulation of dormant Kundalini energy. Antoinette set the jar in her lap, one hand rolling in the rocks, the other opening her spell book as she chanted.

  Understanding is my goal,

  Bring back three purified souls.

  Obedience will no longer be denied.

  A lesson learned, the three shall abide.

  Ruth Wellington,

  Martin Perkins,

  Sara Maestro-Farrell,

  I command your spirits into my circle.

  The candles flickered as the air in the circle sucked like a vacuum, picking up bits of dust off the wooden floor and tossing them around.

  Rufus hiked up his back and hissed, spitting and growling at the circle.

  A loud pop announced the arrival of Sara, Ruth, and Martin. Their translucent forms blended in a churning sphere of smoke until they reformed into three separate entities and stood, staggering in the center of the circle.

  The cat jumped from the bed and paced the circle, tail jerking over his rump.

  "Welcome back," Antoinette said, "I do hope you've all learned something."

  "What day is this?" Martin inquired meekly.

  Antoinette smiled. "Friday, the twentieth."

  "Five freakin' days Gran! What the hell?" Sara yelled. "Come on! I mean, an hour down there would've done it!"

  "Now, now dear, blessGran'sbenevolentsoul, the point was well earned, it was. And I'm thinkin' y'should'ave listened t' yer-"

  "Shut up, Ruth! Just shut the hell up!" Sara spat. "Look at me! I . . . I'm . . . I feel so . . . defiled."

  Rufus hiked up his back and bounced sideways, away from the circle.

  "Sara, you're workin' me!" Martin said. "I'm not going back, so knock it down a notch!"

  "Knock it down? I just spent five days in Hell! I am so NOT going to knock it down a notch!" Sara zipped in and out of Martin, drawing shrill squeaks from him, as he attempted to bat her away.

  "She had no right to send us there and you know it!" Sara spat, hovering in front of Martin. She whipped around and faced her grandmother. "Just who do you think you are?"

  "I could have sent you there for an eternity, Sara," Antoinette chided. "Are you ready to behave, or do I need to send you back?"

  Sara puffed out her cheeks and blew a trail of smoke at her grandmother. "Fine! Just fine! I hear ya, Gran! Loud and clear!" Sara scowled at her grandmother. "So what are you going to do now?"

  Antoinette smiled, raised a brow, and turned toward the cat. "I'm going to take Bartholomew out of Rufus and all four of you are going to make nice," Antoinette said, her facial expression becoming stern as she marked all of them with a nod, "because I need all of you to accomplish my plans."

  Rufus sat, curled his tail to within reaching distance, pawed it to his mouth, and licked long trails to the tip.

  "What exactly are your plans?" Martin asked, as he brought his hands together in front of a weak smile, fingers lightly tapping in and out of each other. "I'd like a precise list of dos and don'ts, if you don't mind."

  "Let's get everyone in the circle first, shall we?" Antoinette's eyes fell on the cat as she began chanting, Her fingers drew a counterclockwise trail in the air to undo the ward she'd placed on Rufus. A puff of acrid smoke began to form and Bartholomew appeared in the center of the circle.

  Rufus shook his head, sniffed the air, and began to groom his belly under his left leg.

  Bartholomew smiled. "Ruth, Martin, nice to make your acquaintance again."

  Ruth wafted back against the shield of protection until she couldn't go any further and appeared to be two dimensional, floating mid-air.

  Martin's fangs slipped from his gums and he hissed at Bartholomew, but quickly retracted them and joined Ruth.

  Sara exploded, "You freakin' made me slit my own throat! I am so gonna kick your old decrepit ass back to Hell where it belongs, even if it kills me!" She flew at him at warp speed, passed through, hit the shield, and ricocheted back through him only to bounce off the other side of the shield and land in a disorderly pile at his feet.

  Bartholomew leaned over the muddle. "Hello, Sara. Sorry for your unfortunate, yet necessary, demise."

  The mess formed a funnel cloud, tapered, and reshaped until Sara stood before the soothsayer. Brows slammed together, she screamed a war cry, jerked her arms straight up, and a maelstrom turned the inside of the circle into a hurricane of gale-force wind that churned the entities into a whirling cluster of turbulence and a cacophony of screams, screeches, and howls.

  Antoinette jumped off the rocker. "That will be enough, young lady, or I will send all of you to Hell in a heartbeat to sort this out amongst yourselves!"

  The inside of the circle settled, depositing all of them on the floor in a jumbled heap of translucent color.

  "What's done is done and cannot be changed," Antoinette announced. "But the future holds reprisal for all of you if you cannot get along. Do I make myself clear?"

  All four reformed and stood, none uttered a word, contempt drawn on everyone's face, except Bartholomew's. He smiled at Antoinette.

  Rufus jumped on the bed and eyed them with an air of disinterest before he stretched out a hind leg, grabbed it in one paw and continued his bath.

  "All right, that's much better," Antoinette said. "Toni will be eighteen Tuesd
ay and we all have a lot to accomplish in four days."

  She turned to Bartholomew. "Tonight, you will enter Paul so he knows you are still watching him. Then tomorrow morning, you will return to me because I want to be able to enter Paul's dreams for the next two nights. The night before her birthday, you will enter him again and demand that he become intimate with her so you are able to gain the knowledge you wish to learn. Tell him you will not possess him during the intimacy."

  Bartholomew rumbled.

  Antoinette raised her brow. "You would not be able to experience the interlude, Bartholomew. She will not receive the gift until several hours after she has sex with Paul."

  Bartholomew frowned and nodded.

  Antoinette turned to the others. "Paul is taking Toni to his family's bookstore tomorrow and you three will join them and report their actions to me tomorrow night."

  Antoinette bobbed her head pointedly at Sara. "Under no circumstances are you to enter the boy, try to make contact, or influence him in anyway. I could spell you, Sara—I could let Bartholomew possess Paul for the event—but I don't need to because if you do anything to stop this, you will find yourself in that crypt for the rest of your spirit life. And that's a promise."

  Sara squirmed. "I'm not going back there."

  "That remains to be seen," Antoinette warned.

  "Well, I know I'm not," Martin said. "I'll squeal like a pig if you even look like you're gonna screw up."

  "Shouldn't one o'us keep an eye on Toni when she's alone?" Ruth enquired, "Bless'erinnocentyoung'eart, I'd think ya'd want t'know what she's up t', I would."

  "Yeah, let me run with Toni," Sara suggested. "I want to see if she's workin' on that video."

  Antoinette tilted her head to one side, and smiled at Sara. "Let's see how you behave tomorrow and I'll give your request some consideration."

  Gran got up from the chair and sliced the salt circle with her foot. Bartholomew immediately wafted out and disappeared. "You have one night to roam around town, Sara. Maybe you should use it wisely."

  "I am so on it!" Sara said, and stepped though the guestroom wall. Ruth followed.

  Martin's eyes played casually over the room, across the spell book on the rocking chair, and stopped on Antoinette. "What will you be doing tonight? I mean, I need to know where you are in case Sara comes up with another stupid idea."