by Mark Tufo
“What did you say?” Laura asked.
Talea had a pained expression on her face when she realized she may have gotten caught. “What did you hear?” Talea asked suspiciously.
“Nothing, that’s why I asked,” Laura said with a smile. Although it was tough to tell as she spent the majority of the day with one or both hands covering her face. Mindy had made it clear she didn’t want to gaze on the ‘disfigurement’ since she claimed that it made her lose her appetite.
“Hello, Callis,” Mindy said, sitting down at one of the chairs that were unoccupied at their table.
“Mindy,” Callis said in acknowledgement.
“Did you think about my offer?” Mindy asked, the smile entirely too large to be sincere.
“I did.”
“And?” Mindy prodded.
“I would have thought my lack of communication would have been answer enough. I guess when they say cheerleaders aren’t smart, they’re not exaggerating.”
George Princeton, the wide receiver, was close enough to pick up on the conversation and chimed in. “Ooooh,” he said, “home girl just dissed your ass, Mindy!” He started laughing.
Cries of ‘What happened?’ echoed across the table. Mindy looked around rapidly.
“Callis just called cheerleaders dumb!” He was laughing and pointing at Mindy whose face was growing redder by the moment.
“No she didn’t?” someone else asked in amazement.
“She said that shit to Mindy? No way!” another voice added.
Mindy stood up quickly. “We could have been best friends,” she said in a huff.
“Why would I want to be friends with the likes of you?” Callis answered.
Kevin put his head down not wanting to be witness to the event. The cafeteria was as quiet as any room with a hundred and fifty teenagers may have ever been since the dawn of man. So when Callis uttered those words…most of the student body heard it.
Mindy looked around, every face looked hostile. She was heading for the exit when Callis reached out with her mind and kept Mindy’s foot from bending at the appropriate time. Mindy nearly fell over as the cafeteria populace burst into fits of laughter. Mindy knew what had happened and gave a knowing glare at Callis as she pushed the teacher monitor out of her way so she could get out of there.
“That’ll cost you detention, Mindy Denton,” the teacher said to Mindy’s retreating back. The laughter increased.
“Damage control,” Talea said as she stood up. “You coming?” she asked Laura.
Laura shook her head ‘no’. “If I go in there she’ll just tear into me. I can’t take too much more of it,” she said, her eyes wide with fear.
“Suit yourself,” Talea said as she left. The laughter and chatter were still in full effect as the door closed behind her.
“Do you believe that bitch!” Mindy was shrieking, her cries echoing off the tiled walls of the bathroom.
Talea saw tears in Mindy’s face and wondered if those were the first tears she had seen leaked from Mindy’s face that were not for some ulterior motive. Whether to get some boy to do her bidding or not have Walmart prosecute after she was caught shoplifting. To Mindy’s credit it usually worked.
“She humiliated me in front of half the school! I should have just picked up a fork and shoved it in her eye! And then she made me trip, Talea! She did that,” her voice barely above a whisper. “We’ve got to get her back, Talea. We’ve got to show her just who is running this school.”
“Maybe we should just leave her alone,” Talea interjected into Mindy’s tirade, hoping to be the voice of reason. “Maybe if we leave her alone…she’ll leave us alone.”
“I know you’re not serious, Talea, because no friend of mine would leave me twisting on the vine like that.” Mindy’s eyes narrowed. Talea was afraid Mindy was about to direct her wrath on her.
“I’ve got an idea,” Talea said. Mindy prompted her on. “When I was looking into all the voodoo stuff online, I found a store in Denver that deals with the occult.”
“What is some New Age shit going to do for us? I don’t want to find inner-peace, Talea. I want to rip Callis Rose’s throat out.”
“They specialized in incantations and spells. I think they mostly dealt with love, but I’m sure we could find something that would work.”
“Spells? Witchcraft type shit?” Mindy asked skeptically.
“She’s probably more likely to be a witch than a voodoo priestess.”
“Probably right, let’s go.”
“Now? We’re in school.”
“I’ve already got detention, what’s the difference?”
I don’t, and I’d like to keep it that way, is what she thought. “Let’s go” is what she actually said.
Talea could not relax the entire ride into Denver as Mindy seemed determined to break every land speed record. Mindy had squealed her tires going around corners more times than Talea cared to count.
“No wonder your car is always in the shop.” Talea said as she braced herself.
“Are you sure this is the right address?” Mindy asked as the vehicle navigation system had her pull into an alleyway barely wide enough to fit the small car.
Talea pulled up the store’s website on her phone just to be sure. “This is it,” she replied, confirming it with what she had punched into the GPS.
“This can’t be right,” Mindy said nervously as the car crept through the passageway. A couple of times, Mindy made Talea get out and move some trash out of the way so they could get past. She had just made up her mind that when she could find a place to turn around she would, and then she was going to make Talea pay for her stupidity when they happened across the ‘Sit for a Spell’ storefront. “Must do a great business, there’s not even a place to park.”
“Is this place safe?” Talea asked as she looked at the blackened windows that made it impossible to see into the store. “No one would even know we were gone.” Talea’s voice revealed her fear.
“When did you become such a drama queen?” Mindy asked as she put the car in park and hopped out.
“You’re just going to leave your car here?”
Mindy looked up and down the alley. “I think it’ll be fine.”
“I could stay in the car and move it if someone came.” Or call for help when you go missing.
“This was your idea. You’re coming in with me.”
“The revenge is all your idea.”
“Get your ass out here,” Mindy snapped, stamping her foot at the same time.
Talea got out and gently shut her door hoping nobody would notice they were there, or…scratch that, hoping someone had noticed.
Mindy opened the door and ushered Talea in. The overwhelming scent of sage and chamomile assailed their nostrils. There was no light source save the dozens of candles lit throughout the store.
“What kind of rat trap place have you brought me to, Talea? They can’t even afford electricity.”
“I don’t think anyone’s here. Maybe we should go.” Talea turned around.
Mindy shut the door and was barring her way. “Not without some help.”
“Help with what?” a slender woman asked as she came through a curtain of beads that presumably led to the back of the store.
“Nice place you have here,” Mindy said sarcastically.
The woman nodded. “I’m very busy. Can I help you with something?”
Talea looked around the empty store. “Really?” she asked.
“Are you a witch?” Mindy blurted out rudely.
“I’m Wiccan,” the woman replied. Her hair was pulled back and it gave her a pinched expression. It also did little to hide the disdain she felt for the two girls in front of her.
“Could you make us do things we did not wish to do?” Mindy asked, stepping further in to the store.
“That is not what Wicca is about. It is about harmony with nature, not bending it to one’s rule.”
“Spare me the New Age shit. Could you make us do things we didn’t
want to do.”
“I wish that I could make you two leave. How’s that?”
“Show us,” Mindy practically demanded.
“That really isn’t how it works. And I would never tap into the One True Source simply to appease some high school snobs such as yourself.”
“We have money. Show her, Talea,” Mindy said, pushing her friend in the shoulder.
“Contrary to popular belief, the world does not center around money,” the woman told them.
“Maybe,” Mindy said “But it sure is nice to have running water and electricity.” She blew out a candle making the dark room just a bit gloomier.
“What is this about? Just come out with it so I can get you what you need and you can leave.”
“There’s this girl that—” Talea started before Mindy cut her off.
“What my friend is saying is that there is this girl that stole her boyfriend and she wants him back.”
“If the boy has fallen for another, perhaps it is best that they are left to their own devices. There is a master plan for us all, and to tamper with this can have serious effects.”
“Yeah, yeah, well what if she has cast a spell over this boy making him fall out of love with my friend here? We would just be trying to restore the natural order.”
The woman was thinking. She put her hand to her chin. “Is this true?” she asked Talea.
“It had to be a spell,” she answered. “We were so in love. We were talking about getting married and raising a family…even what we wanted our dream house to look like.” Mindy nudged her lest she went too far. “And anyway, this girl moves into town, she’s trailer tra...I mean she’s just not a nice person. The first day of school, she gets on the bus and started harassing Mindy and then forced me out of my seat so that she could sit with my boyfriend. Ever since that day, they’ve been going out.”
“I don’t think I’m getting even half of the truth, girls. I think you wasted your time coming here.”
“You think?” Mindy replied caustically. “Fine I’ll give you the truth,” she started when the owner began to show them to the door.
“At least your version of it I’m sure,” the woman replied.
Mindy looked at the shop keeper, wishing lasers would shoot from her eyes, so she could burn that smirk off the woman’s face. The woman simply smiled. “Continue.”
“This girl, Callis Rose, she moved here from somewhere. She’s an orphan…lives in foster care in a trailer.”
“Sounds horrible,” the owner said.
“Are you going to let me finish or are you just going to be a sarcastic a-hole?” Mindy asked crossly.
“Well I can see your family raised you right. Get out of my store.” She pointed angrily.
“Wait!” Talea exclaimed. “Okay, so we were asses to her that first day.”
“Talea!” Mindy yelled.
“What, Mindy? We were.” Then she turned back to the owner. “You know, the typical catty chick stuff.”
“Go on. The honesty is refreshing. You, however, keep your mouth quiet from now on or I’ll kick both of you out,” she said to Mindy.
Mindy’s eyebrows shot up, she looked like she was going to protest and then thought better of it.
“So Callis goes to the back of the bus. She sits with Mindy’s brother, and within a couple of weeks, they’re an item. He invites her over to dinner where Mindy, me, and our other friend Laura are. Well, Mindy treats her like crap.”
“You were there, too,” Mindy mumbled.
“Shush,” the woman cautioned.
“Anyway…Mrs. Denton, Mindy’s mom, kicks her out of the room. Before she goes, though, Mindy pours gravy all over Callis and then, without warning, Laura backhands Mindy.”
“So one of your friends realized how big of a brat you were and was trying to teach you a lesson. I don’t understand why you’re here yet.”
“Thing is, Laura swears up and down she had nothing to do with smacking Mindy. Of course neither of us believe her. I mean sure, it was a really strange thing for her to do because she basically lives up Mindy’s ass.”
“Talea! We are so going to have a talk when we leave here!” Mindy was angry.
“Mindy, it’s the truth and you know it. That’s why you treat her like shit, because that’s where she lives.”
The owner smiled as the light of truth was being shed; it had a propensity for burning brightest in the deepest, darkest parts. It would show all the wrinkly, craggy pieces no one wanted to see.
“Miss.”
“Wendy,” the shop owner replied.
“Wendy, I didn’t believe her, and I’m her best friend,” Talea said.
“I’m her best friend,” Mindy said defiantly.
“No, she kisses your ass because you run the school social circles, and without you she’s just another girl without friends. She’s never said as much, but I don’t think she can stand you. You’re as mean to her as you are to Callis…maybe worse. Only difference is, Callis isn’t taking your shit.”
“And what about you, Talea, how do you feel about me?”
“We’ve been friends since the third grade, Mindy, and I love you, but you’re not the same person you used to be. The only thing you care about is yourself and your ability to make those not in your inner circle miserable.”
“The truth shall set you free.” Wendy leaned against a display case full of herbs.
“Then why are you here, Talea? Why would you possibly help me to make Callis’ life miserable?”
“Wendy, I was in the bathroom with Laura. She was at the mirror and I was in the stall getting ready to smoke a cigarette when Callis came in. They started fighting because we had started a rumor about Kevin, Mindy’s brother, hooking up with Laura. By the time they were through, Laura’s two front teeth were cracked in half and her lip looked like she had put it in a meat grinder. And according to Laura, Callis never touched her.”
“You didn’t see it, though?” Wendy asked.
“No, I was too scared. Callis has that look about her that she could kick your ass.”
“So your best friend was getting beat up and you were too scared to do anything about it?” Mindy rubbed the insult in.
“I am still not seeing the connection, girls. Everything still hinges on hearsay. Even if this Laura girl was in here herself, she does not have a corroborating witness. I don’t think I’d believe her either.”
“We did see something,” Mindy began. “We followed her home last Friday and these three guys—”
“Three shady guys,” Talea clarified.
“Can I finish? These three shady guys are playing baseball or something. They see Callis coming and start cat calling and telling her to come over.”
“And she does,” Talea interjected.
“She did.” Mindy nodded. “Then, just like at my house, out of nowhere the guy with the bat starts whacking his friend. I think he busted his nose…there was blood everywhere. Then he started bashing him on the head. Next, the other guy comes in and starts punching the batter until he went down. The even weirder part was that the guy didn’t even look conscious and he was still swinging the bat.”
Now Wendy’s interest was piqued. “And what was Callis doing this whole time?”
“We were mostly watching these guys try to kill each other, but she was just kind of standing there.”
“Were her hands moving?”
“I...I don’t think so, I think they were down by her side,” Talea said.
“Could you hear her saying anything, any words with like a cadence or a sing-song quality to them?” Wendy asked.
“We were kind of far away, and the three guys fighting were making a lot of grunts and groans and curses,” Mindy said. “But we didn’t hear her say anything before the guy started clubbing the other guy.”
Wendy was thinking. “So what would you girls want from me?”
“We want to make her pay for what she’s done,” Mindy said hastily.
“What
happened to your friend was regrettable. Witches, if she is one, are not supposed to inflict harm. But it seems to me girls that you were trying to pick the Rose and she pricked back. Poor pun, but fitting I suppose. What would either of you have done in her place?”
“So are you going to help or not?” Mindy asked peevishly.
“I think this is something you should walk away from,” Wendy said honestly.
“But what about my brother?”
“Were you two really in love?” Wendy asked Talea.
“No,” she said softly.
“Talea, you’re such a bitch!”
“It’s the truth, Mindy.”
“Like I give a shit about the truth. I don’t want that trash going out with my brother!” She was almost shaking with the force of her rage. “There are other shops we can go and get what we need.”
“Perhaps,” Wendy said. “I, however, will be able to sleep with a clear conscience knowing I did not help one such as you on their personal vendetta.”
“No wonder you’re tucked away in the back of an alley with a store full of customers,” Mindy spat.
“You can leave at any time,” Wendy implied.
“Make us witch,” Mindy tempted.
Wendy began to speak in hushed tones. The candles in the room – as if on a switch – began to dim. Talea looked around, her unease growing by the moment. The hair on both girls began to stir.
“We should go,” Talea said, pulling on Mindy’s arm.
Mindy felt a force as if an invisible man were pushing on her torso. She began to move backwards as the force increased. The candle flames were clinging to their fiery life as they were bent over at a ninety degree angle.
The door opened on its own and Talea yanked hard, pulling her friend out of the oppressiveness of the store.
“Some friend you turned out to be,” Mindy said as they got back in the car. “I should leave you here to find your own way home.”
“Come on, Mindy, she knew we were lying. She wouldn’t have helped.”
“She didn’t anyway, so what’s the difference? And you and Laura were friends behind my back? I should have cut you both off.”
Talea kept her mouth shut; her mind, however, was racing. She was on the edge of telling Mindy to go to hell, but that would only succeed in cutting her own social ties in the school.
