SNOW BRIGHT by Summer Day: "The Queen Bee" #One

SNOW BRIGHT by Summer Day    

The queen bee 

Once upon a school, Sloane Select High, a sophomore named Lavinia Price wielded her considerable power. Sloane High was so ritzy there was a large crystal chandelier hanging in the entrance hallway. During the holiday season a grand piano played carols all by itself and a huge Christmas tree decorated in magical lights generated real snow. The brilliantly colored lights rearranged themselves without need of human touch.  

    This didn’t impress Lavinia Price who was the richest, most fashionable cheerleader in school.

    The basketball team, The Sloan Shifters, were the best in the district and the school plays at Sloan High always attracted a large audience. As you may have gathered, Sloan Select was very special. So special, in fact, students had to be gifted in an unusual way to gain entry. There were rumors a few of them were actually characters from fairy tales, they just didn’t know it yet.

    Some were gliders (they could move back or forward in time). Others could play piano or sing like a dream. Some were shifters (they could change their form) and some were weather changers (they could manipulate the weather). Object movers (they could move objects with their minds) were very sought after. Sara Bright was a combination of all of the above – the most powerful. 

     Lavinia Price, newly recruited cheerleader, weather changer and object mover, could answer just about any question – with the help of her cell phone. She wasn’t impressed by the other students or the entrance hall at Sloane. Her own home was far more glamorous. Rightly or wrongly, she thought study was boring, socializing was everything and her mad skills (more on those later) reigned supreme. Lavinia had her eye on Jack Hunter, though. He’d been newly recruited to the school basketball team from some forgettable corner of LA and Lavinia had liked him since she first clapped eyes on him. Jack was tall with blonde hair and a cute smile.

     Every morning, Lavinia would text her smart phone the same question (it had voice recognition amongst other things and Lavinia could see her face on the screen), “mirror mirror on my phone who is the hottest girl at Sloane?” Every afternoon her cell texted the same response: You are Lavinia.

     That was until Sara Bright arrived.

     Sara was the smartest girl who had ever attended Sloane Select; and the most gifted. She was already taking senior Chemistry and there was talk she could mix potions, any kind of potion, especially love potions.

     Sara was also destined to become quite popular. She was talented, genuinely nice – and pretty, with her dark curls and naturally red lipped smile. Sara kept her distance from Lavinia Price though; it was as if she knew that Lavinia was jealous of her.

     Perhaps that was one of Sara’s gifts, Lavinia thought, the gift of second sight. Sara could answer every question in Math and was particularly good at Physics and chemical equation class. The sophomores nicknamed chemical equation class, chemical romance, because some peeps were working secretly on love potions. Lavinia realised Sara wouldn’t be the first girl at Sloane who came prepared with visions and rare formulas but it didn’t seem fair that she also had Jack Hunter’s undivided attention.

     Lavinia decided to do some research. She headed to the girl’s locker room immediately and attempted to rifle through Sara’s open locker. Her street clothes were dark and shabby – apart from that, nothing. Still, Lavinia sensed her power was being usurped and texted:

Ring ring on my phone, who is the prettiest girl at Sloane?

Why, the new girl, Sara Bright is.

    There was only one word for Lavinia’s feelings: outrage. She’d already done at least six mean things to various girls who thought they were prettier or more popular than her. Lavinia couldn’t believe they hadn’t worked it out yet. She only knew how to rule with fear. It was just who she was.

    Lavinia’s home life hadn’t been that great, her mom was exactly like an older version of her, but that was no excuse. Lavinia knew right from wrong. Being born with (quite) exceptional powers, gave her the ability to gain attention in all the wrong ways. Now, at a school where everyone was exceptional, she’d had to use some old-fashioned nastiness. So far, it was working. Peeps in groups divided in two when they saw her coming.

    Not Jack Hunter and Sara Bright, though. They just stayed talking when they saw her appear, trailed by her mean girl pom poms. She flicked the hem of her cheerleading skirt as she walked by and Jack and Sara laughed. The whole school stopped and stared. Lavinia collected her homework and her lunch from one of the students too afraid to say no to her.

     Once, Lavinia had put a poisonous lizard in someone’s locker. No one knew how she got it, because there was talk that she was neither a glider nor a shifter. Lavinia wasn’t just a weather changer or an object mover. She was the most feared of all… a wicked, little conjurer. Unlike the other students she refused to use her gifts for good. 

     Lavinia could imagine things and make them happen, manifest an object with her mind; it meant her world could appear, like magic, but only briefly. Lavinia’s magic was hollow and brittle, like her personality. People said that’s how the poisonous lizard arrived. Lavinia manifested it, out of thin air. The reptile disappeared as quickly as it appeared so no teacher was the wiser; but everyone was scared of Lavinia.   

    The students were open mouthed when a pathway Lavinia created behind her made a space not just between the gossiping students but merged into a small ocean flowing with waves in the middle of the hallway. The ocean closed up and became a sheet of fire until the smoke alarm sounded and Lavinia shut the whole mirage down. The vice-principal, Mrs Myers, came out screaming but the students just stood open mouthed. They knew it was only Lavinia manifesting visions that weren’t even real.

    Lavinia shook her head. “Why are you all staring at me?” Total Rudeness, Lavinia thought. As she pulled her purse from her locker, she changed the color of her nail polish from pale blue to pink with just the click of her fingers. She was so over people staring at her. They should mind their own business and work on their own dubious talents, Lavinia thought. Sometimes she wondered if her only friend was her smart phone. Her cell never lied but the only way she could control it was by turning the annoying thing off, which she did, right away.

    Lavinia had plans and she didn’t need any more lame advice.  

    Besides, in chemical romance class she’d been working on a formula for invisibility that she’d decided to try as soon as possible. Looking at Sara and Jack huddled together made her think trying it sooner rather than later might be the ticket. She guzzled a small amount of fizzy orange liquid from the tiny ceramic vial she kept on a chain around her wrist. In the minutes it took her to walk from class to the bus stop, it hadn’t worked. Lavinia was wondering what to do in the unlikely event she’d developed the potion with a flaw. Distracted, she didn’t realize Sara was looking at her from the back seat of the bus. 

    “What do you want?”  Sara asked as Lavinia conjured her ticket then moved to take a seat.

    Sara turned around and challenged Lavinia. She was the first girl to ever do this.  

    “Mmm… not so friendly outside school hours, are we?” Lavinia said.

    “… and you’re not so friendly in. Why are you on my bus?”

    “It’s a free country. I’m going shopping.”

     “Where? In East L.A.?”

     “Not exactly…”

      Sara ignored Lavinia and started reading on her tablet.

      Lavinia began to feel her skin tighten and hoped the secret formula would work – just not too soon.

      She looked down at her finger and the polish had disappeared. She felt her lips and there was no gloss. Externals were the first to go. Thankfully, the bus screeched to a halt and Sara moved to get off.

      Lavinia moved also, just as her socks disappeared. It was becoming more and more obvious that Sara was walking towards the opposite side of town.

     “What are you doing?”

    “I’m just going in the same direction as you.”

    “I doubt that.”

SNOW BRIGHT by Summer Day: "Know Your Enemy" #TWO

Know your enemy

    Sara looked at Lavinia’s perfect shoes and pleated skirt and knew she’d never live in a trailer like her. Then she noticed her feet.

    “Hey, your socks are gone,” Sara stated.

    “It’s my…” for a moment Lavinia wanted to tell someone, to share her secrets with the one person who might understand, to make friends. Then she snapped out of it. Lavinia wasn’t even sure the formula worked or how far it would go.

    “Never mind,” Lavinia turned around and pretended to walk in the opposite direction.

     It didn’t work.

     The day had to be overcast and the weather conditions perfect. She took a second swig of her potion. Finally, she had the perfect reason to use it; researching Sara Bright with her braided hair, pert nose and smart girl glasses. Lavinia had wondered why Sara got to school early and walked home in the opposite direction. In any case, Lavinia knew because she’d stolen her chemical romance notes, that Sara was the keeper of secrets. Sara was the only girl in school whose powers came anywhere close to her own. To be smart and gifted wasn’t enough to get into Sloan Select on a scholarship. You had to be more than special.

    It was really weird. Lavinia had been working on her chemistry skills since she was in preschool but it had taken until now to get her most prized formula right. She’d mixed three of Sara’s to come up with it and also taken note of, the equations to make someone love you (warning: never to be properly used). They had been written in Sara’s strong handwriting.  

     Lavinia knew she was not a natural conjurer. Her inclinations always lay in the direction of mischief; she had to rely on technology and potions; Sara had gifts that went way beyond what was considered powerful. They were natural, innate, whereas Lavinia’s powers were not. They relied on basics she’d been learning since she could breathe. Even her trusty cell phone had been gifted to her by the previous queen bee of Sloan when she left; there was no way she could compete without access to Sara’s notes. Why weren’t they working?

    Sara shrugged, turned her back on Lavinia and walked on.

    There was no point in trying to strike up a conversation with someone like Lavinia. For some reason, second sight rarely worked with her. Sara could only occasionally see her deeds, thoughts or intentions. Lavinia was dark inside, Sara could sense it. The last thing she wanted to do was compete with her. It just made her the centre of attention – unwanted attention. At the children’s home, she’d been thrown out of class for opening windows when she wanted to feel the sun shine in and not just through glass. The trouble was, she’d opened the windows without a touch. 

     Her own gifts and talents, which were considerable, had been the source of way too much trouble. Her foster mom forced her to live in a trailer in their backyard, away from her six foster brothers, when she noticed Sara moving objects around the kitchen with barely a glance.

     “I don’t want you influencing the younger children,” her foster mom told her.

      Sara didn’t mind living in the trailer; she just didn’t want others to hear about her gifts. Her foster mom agreed not to tell. After all, Sara had won a scholarship to Sloane and that was all the younger children needed to know. Sara liked her foster brothers. Even though they freaked out when she changed the weather or merged them quickly through time to get to school faster. They thought time travel was like a fair ride but Sara received disciplinary action at Sloan for ‘not using her gifts wisely’.

    Sara couldn’t wait until she turned eighteen and could leave ‘home’ and Sloane Select forever. She wasn’t entirely sure why she’d been born different but there was a kind of joy in knowing there were others like her; Jack Hunter for one.

   Meanwhile, as Sara reached her home, Lavinia was near.

   She’d pretended to retreat, knowing that moment when she was about to give up made it perfect timing to push on. But she had paused, wondering when the formula would take and make her invisible.

   As Sara walked away from her, flowers grew out of the concrete pavement behind her steps and the overcast sky changed to a perfect sunset.

   In that same moment, Lavinia was as clear as air.

   The queen bee looked at the sky and changed the sun to a thunder clap.

   Know your enemy, Lavinia thought. So she followed her.

SNOW BRIGHT by Summer Day: "Sara Bright" #THREE

Sara Bright

    After half an hour, it was getting dark. Lavinia was invisible but she was also lost in this part of Los Angeles. She’d taken the bus practically to the other side of the world – her parents would be horrified – and she wasn’t sure how long this invisibility potion would last. It was due to wear off, and she knew she’d be tired when it did. How could it be safe to sleep on some park bench, here?  

    Finally, Lavinia and Sara had reached a group of homes at the foot of some hills on the outskirts of the city and on the edge of a vacant lot. This was not a nice place to live; at least it didn’t seem nice until Lavinia noticed Sara walking into a ramshackle house, through the back door and down the stairs towards a trailer.

   The van was old and a bit rusty looking. The night was folding in; but something strange happened. The minute Sara entered the trailer it lit up with fairy lights. It looked like a tiny, mobile palace. Lavinia wondered if, apart from Sara, only other gifted people could see this.

    Lavinia walked closer to the van. All you could hear was the crunching of her feet and the slight shiver of her shoulders in the breeze. The closer she got, the more tentative she became. Through the window, Lavinia could see Sara talking on her cell and singing along to a song when she started doing the dishes. But even the dishes seemed like an easy chore; they literally started doing themselves and Sara settled on the couch and flicked on the television. Her life was not as bad as Lavinia had imagined it to be. In fact, it was magical.

   Lavinia thought she should go – it was obvious Sara was a conjurer – she could manifest and move objects, one of the most powerful gifts of all. She made Lavinia feel like a fraud. After all, without her cell, what did she really have? Perhaps this girl could do other things that would make her a match for Lavinia. Lavinia’s envy grew.

    Sara seemed settled in her perfectly lit luxury trailer and Lavinia knew her own parents would be worried about her.

    Just as she turned, a leopard started running towards her in the distance, not really running – he was moving so fast, it was like he was merging; his paws barely touched the ground. Then he merged into a boy and the boy became Jack Hunter. He was a shifter, of course. The leopard part of him must have picked up her scent.

    I should never have worn that perfume, Lavinia thought as she stood her ground. Then, just as Lavinia was about to run, the teenage boy walked confidently towards her, pulling on his shirt.

   As he moved closer, Lavinia noticed he was smiling.

   “Don’t worry, whoever you are. Your perfume put me off.”

    Lavinia froze, knowing if she ran, the ground would crunch beneath her feet.

   During basketball practise, Jack could run faster than anybody else. Lavinia had never seen him actually merge. She knew he only did it when other people weren’t around. It was a pretty freaky condition. He looked so normal. Sara  wondered what he was doing all the way out here in the dark; it made sense that he liked to run in the hills at night,  just being a wild animal, unless… He started walking away from her towards Sara’s van in the distance.

   Then Lavinia knew.

   Sara and Jack were meeting up with each other.  

    The boy knocked on Sara’s door as Lavinia could feel her body re-emerging slightly in the dark; she felt woozy, sleepy and angry. She wanted revenge; Jack was hers. Lavinia was sure he’d invite her to homecoming dance but if he didn’t, she was going to use all the power she could to make him take her.

    Lavinia saw her fingernails emerge first. The color chipped from the trauma of invisibility. She knew she’d have to hurry home before she fell into a deep, trancelike sleep, which gave her an idea.

     Reluctantly, jealously, she left.   

SNOW BRIGHT by Summer Day: "Jack Hunter" #FOUR

Jack Hunter

    “Did you bring it?” Sara asked Jack excitedly.

    “Yes.”

    Jack handed Sara the powerful stone she’d asked for, one that could only be found at the foot of the mountains. It was a good excuse to become a tiger but the changing process was uncomfortable, verging on excruciating. He needed a special reason, or a special person, to go through it to say the least. Jack suddenly felt faint and headed outside. After he threw up, he guzzled some extra water.

    “Gross,” Sara said when Jack returned.

    I did it all for you, Jack thought, as if you’d even notice. Sara had her hair pinned up in braids and her glasses firmly on. She was ready to work. Her formula notes cluttered the small table in the van.

    “I don’t understand it, half of them are missing. I wonder if…” It occurred to her that Lavinia might have them but she couldn’t worry about that now. “We have to find a way for you to change easily, without any pain.”    

    “Yeah, that would be good,” was all Jack said.  It had never occurred to the teenagers that they might be able to stop changing altogether.

     Jack had met Sara at the East LA children’s home when they were very young. No one knew how they got there. At the home, they’d been constantly ostracized for being different. But they were both smart; Sara excelled at Chemistry and played piano and Jack was great at Math and sports which is how they got out of the home and ended up at Sloan on full scholarships. They both hated the social snobbery at the school, were bored with the cliques, and that made them bond instantly.

   “Thanks,” Sara said. She had over a dozen formulas in her head but they needed this special stone - only found at the foot of the mountains - to practise on. She was very glad she hadn’t written everything down, just her alterations to those ridiculous romance formulas Reddie Hood was begging her to fix. Sara had told Red they were only for fun and not long lasting, but this didn’t appear to bother Red.

    Together, Sarah and Jack spent the night – or until the early hours of the morning – testing Sara’s merge formulas and finally changing the stone to soda to fire and back again. It was an amazing new trick, even Sara was impressed. They had never pulled it off so quickly and seamlessly before. They took turns doing the shifting and moving of the objects in the van; practise made perfect. Soon they might even be powerful enough to change each other and to merge quickly. They both knew, anything amazing, any mad skills, took real effort. It was just like putting a ball in the hoop, Jack thought, you had to practice.

    He and Sara had been working on a shifting move that would allow Sara to shift and Jack to move objects (the skill each of them lacked), making them the most powerful duo at Sloan, protecting them against people like Lavinia.

     It had occurred to Sara that Jack had been quite enthusiastic about hanging out with her after school, but she figured he was just as interested as her to learn more about their combined powers. She had no idea he liked her. Not yet.

    Of course it had never occurred to Lavinia when she arrived home, partially invisible, out of breath and tired, that Jack was also a foster child. Both he and Sara had shared the children’s home and had a common bond that would not be broken.

    As Lavinia plunged into a hot bubble bath and flicked her cell to silent, she knew just two things, one: Sara had befriended Jack, two: Jack was hers. Hadn’t she scrawled Mrs Lavinia Hunter all over her English Literature notes?   

   After Lavinia was dressed in her pajamas and robe, her cell charged, she texted:

   Ring ring in my phone how can I find Sara Bright a new home?

   Lavinia, you already have; look around you, work your magic. Jack could like you more than her. All it would take is something fan-tas-tic!

    The next day at school, Jack couldn’t help but notice Lavinia at basketball practise. Lavinia made sure of it. She prettied herself up and used her most powerful, forceful potion. It could take hours… or days to work. She’d keep offering him drinks any chance she got. Lavinia also manipulated the basketball which was totally against school rules. Every shot of Jack’s went through the net. He was the highest scorer; the hero of the hour.

     Lavinia dreamed of the perfect dress for homecoming dance. She drew it in her mind and knew it would magically appear in her wardrobe by tomorrow night. When Lavinia had her moment, at the dance, Sara would be standing alone, like a stalker and the whole school would turn against her.

     Lavinia smiled at Jack through her pom poms which he thought was funny. She never smiled at anyone else. Her nose was so far up in the air, it was hard not to laugh. Lavinia misinterpreted Jack’s smile in return. He was just being polite but she determined to get Jack to like her, more than like her. To that end, she texted:

     Ring ring on my cell how do I make Jack my dance partner do tell?

     Lavinia dear, it’s not as easy as you think. You’ll have to make him another drink. Oh, and get Sara Bright out of the picture… if you know what I mean.

      I don’t, not really Lavinia texted back. It was all becoming slightly confusing.

     Then use your imagination. Sara Bright is your only rival; make sun into snow, turn a wave tidal.

     How would she ever convince him to drink a new potion? Especially a love potion like the one she’d devised? And how could she make it last through homecoming? Of course, it never occurred to Lavinia that love bought was not love at all. Lavinia didn’t care.  

      Jack was a shifter, who knew what her skills could make him do? Shifters were unpredictable.

     Lavinia knew she was a girl who waltzed by using technology to replace real ability. She wore her skirts short and hung around with other mean girls who pretended to be nice and weren’t.  She aced chemical romance class but deep down, she knew Jack would avoid her if he could. It was obvious he only had eyes for Sara freaking Bright.  

      Jack Hunter waved at Sara in the crowd. He was going to ask Sara to come to homecoming dance with him, Lavinia could see it. He was determined. It was time for them to get real – start acting like normal teenagers, less like freaks, at least for one night. Those were Jack’s exact thoughts.

       Lavinia fumed inside.

       What a stalker, Jack thought as he glanced at her. He didn’t like mean little rich girls who’d been gifted with everything including mediocre talent.

SNOW BRIGHT by Summer Day: "The cell phone never lies" #FIVE

The cell phone never lies

    Lavinia dropped her pom poms and raced to the chemical romance classroom. Quickly she mixed various formulas and came up with an extra potion that was sure to have a longer effect. She texted:

     Ring ring on my phone, is this the formula? Please intone.

     Yes Lavinia, you are all politeness when you want something.

     Raising her eyebrow, Lavinia texted: sorry for dropping you.

     Lavinia spent at least ten minutes mixing the formula. She literally ran out of the classroom and caught Jack leaving when her phone rang a red alert.

     The first person Jack loves is the person who wears your winter gloves.

     Cryptically, that’s all the text said.

     Quickly, Lavinia raided her locker to collect her cream angora woolen gloves. She pulled them onto her hands along with her coat. She hoped she’d got it right this time, finally.

     Lavinia wielded her power in the hallway as she chased after Jack. She only had to flick her winter scarf in the air for her minions to part and empty the hall. Lavinia needed this moment, alone with Jack. Her phone kept mocking her texting her the question and answer over and over:

   Ring ring, that boy’s no tool. Who is the fairest in the school?

   Well, you used to be Lavinia, but now you are yesterday’s news. Today it’s Sara Bright.   

    Lavinia nearly lost it, throwing her phone at the wall in anger. She smashed a few of the pink rhinestones but realized how foolish it was to take her frustrations out on her trusty smart phone, and gathered the pieces into her purse to stick back onto her phone cover – later.  She switched off her cell, never one to let the truth halt her ambition.

   Jack was nowhere to be found.

   Lavinia stormed out of the school and marched up to Jack Hunter who was practicing shots through the hoop, waiting for Sara.   

  “You look hot. Here I have some water. It hasn’t been used.”

   Lavinia reached out and handed him a flask.

   He’d never been challenged by a girl before but he was thirsty. He opened the lid.

   “By the way, I know your little secret and I think it’s hot. We might have comparable skills. You should come with me this afternoon. We could all hang out.”

    Jack rolled his eyes and took a sip. It tasted good, refreshing, better than water. He looked up. Lavinia smiled.    

   Jack wasn’t sure what was holding Sara up. They were supposed to be practicing object merging again tonight. It couldn’t hurt to check out the queen bee’s skill set.

   “Drink up,” Lavinia said as they waited in the parking lot, “you played a great game.”

  “Thanks,” Jack said. Lavinia was starting to look much prettier than usual; her personality seemed nicer, her hair blonder, her smile… sweeter.

SNOW BRIGHT by Summer Day: "A chemical romance" #SIX

A chemical romance

    Reason took over just before Jack was about to take another sip.

   “Stop,” Sara said.

    Jack turned around and saw Sara running out of the building.

   “Don’t drink it, she’s added a chemical or something; I’m not sure. Something to make you do whatever she tells you. It’s the part of my notes that’s missing.”

   “Hello?” Lavinia said, as if she had no idea who Sara was. “And who are you to accuse me of that?”

   “Let’s just say I have good instincts.”

   “But you can’t be sure, right? I know you can’t read my mind.”

   “That’s true,” Sara said, “but I know your type.”

   “Really. Oh, that’s right. You have very… peculiar talents.”

   The trio walked towards the car park.

   “Yes, and all you know is potions and how to listen to your cell phone.”

   “Well, I challenge you to a competition. Winner gets to take Jack to homecoming.”

  “Hey, wait a minute, I’m not for sale.”

   “You should be so lucky,” Lavinia said. This wasn’t the Lavinia Jack had seen a minute ago.

  “Sure, but no… props,” Sara said, “ ‘cos there’s no way you’ll win once we take your cell off you.”

  “Okay. But I get to choose the place – my place. Now. Game on. Race you both there.”

  “Wait, what’s your address?”

  “Since you’re so clever, you work it out.”

   And almost instantaneously, Lavinia disappeared. Whether she moved so quickly, or she could actually become invisible, Sara wasn’t too sure.

   “I think she has an invisibility potion,” Sara said. She could see it quite clearly. “And a love potion… she’s more powerful than we thought.”

   “I’m going to trace her.”

   Jack merged into a tiger and followed Lavinia to her home. When he arrived he merged into human form and texted Sara the address.   

   Lavinia insisted on bringing Jack a drink which he declined.

  “Hey, I don’t want any part of this stupid competition and I don’t trust your drinks.”

  “Pity, it could be fun. I think we’d be great together.”

  “I doubt that.” The sip of potion he’d already taken had clearly worn off as they waited for Sara to arrive on the deck of Lavinia’s luxury beachfront mansion.

  “Maybe she’s not coming.”

  “Oh, she’s coming,” Jack said. “Sara likes a challenge.”

  “Mmm… I don’t know what you see in her.”

  “Who told you I like her?”

   Lavinia waved her phone at Jack.

  “I know everything.”

   “Gimme that. No props, remember.”

   “Sure.” Lavinia handed Jack her cell.

   “I trust it’s in safe hands.”

   “It is.”

   “You must be thirsty from all of your… exertions.”

   “I’m fine,” Jack said, even though he was starting to look enviously at Lavinia’s infinity pool. The house itself had dark, ornate decorations inside.  

    Moments later, there was a knock on the door. Lavinia opened it.

    “Hi,” Sara said.

    “Hi, I didn’t think you’d show,” Lavinia sniped.

    “Well, that was your first mistake.”

     Sara had taken longer; she’d stopped by her desk in chemical romance class to pick up a few tonics. Without her phone, Lavinia would never know. Sara expected her powers to be severely impeded on her rival’s turf. She knew a few antidotes to whatever the meanest girl in school had planned might be necessary.

    “So, why did we have to meet here again?” Sara handed Jack a drink from the vending machine at school.

   “Thanks,” Jack said, gulping the soda. Shifting made him seriously thirsty.

   “My place has the view.”   

    “Oh, right.”

    The trio looked out at the sparkling ocean in the afternoon sunlight. Suddenly, the sky turned cloudy and lightening rang out. Lavinia paused for a moment.

    “Wait, I didn’t know we’d already started,” Sara said.

     Lavinia smiled just as the sun began to shine brightly again.

    Suddenly, the soft waves lapping to shore turned from mid to large then almost tidal. One enormous wave seemed to gather all of the others and form a huge tsunami-like wave of water.

    “Stop!” Jack shouted. “Killing surfers is not part of the game.”

    “You’re right, as always. That’s what I like about you, Jack. You are such a humanitarian. It’s wonderful to have the voice of reason.”

    Sara was impressed that Lavinia’s skills had developed with the help of her notes. With or without her phone she was now a force to be reckoned with.

    “Here’s what I suggest,” Lavinia said. “A truce. We should all be friends and work together to make homecoming dance, perfect. To make everything at school, perfect. I’ve decided to become… good. I want to be part of the ‘in’ crowd. I want to be part of this crowd. We three have the most powerful skills in the school. I suggest we friend. What do you think?”

      Sara shrugged, she often drew blank where Lavinia was concerned. “Let’s make a toast with soda – that’s all I have. But I promise there are no potions in the bubbles!”

     Jack turned to Sara, unsure. Lavinia seemed friendly but he knew she was dangerous.

     “If I can’t see any danger, it might be because there isn’t any,” Sara whispered.

     The maid arrived with drinks, sandwiches and a bowl of fruit.

     The maid tasted the drinks and food for them, to prove it was safe.

     “Perfectly fine,” she smiled.

     Jack tucked into the food hungrily. Lavinia handed Sara a juicy, red apple.

     Suddenly, Sara had never been so hungry, so keen to take a bite.

     And she did.

     Almost immediately, she collapsed.

    Her apple was poisoned, Jack’s sandwich was laced with love potion – a love potion that made him like Lavinia – so, at first, he barely cared that Sara was lying motionless on the ground. Moments later, he was moved to place a cushion under Sara’s head. Lavinia had used a powerful potion to remove doubt and fear. She had filtered it through the heating system.

     Lavinia’s love potion had also been filtering through the air all afternoon and Jack had arrived earlier than Sara. (Even so, the potion only worked on boys!)

     Lavinia rubbed her palms together. She was thrilled that her plans were in process. Her maid just shook her head.

    “I hope you are right and these childish potions are only temporary. You promised you’d never do this again…”

     “I lied,” Lavinia said, laughing.  

     After Jack collapsed on the couch from too much of the formula, Lavinia had the maid turn off the air filter.

     Sara fell into a trance like sleep that only love’s true kiss could wake her from.

     Jack woke first and Lavinia told him to carry Sara home then return to take her to homecoming dance.

     Jack did exactly what Lavinia told him to. He found himself unable to resist and was soon driving towards the vacant lot near Sara’s van. He stopped the car. Homecoming dance was a distant memory away and Jack was delusional. All he could say was Lavinia’s name. All he could taste was the sweet sticky juice of the colorful potion. Strangely, it tasted of all the most amazing things in the world: oranges mixed with berries and the flavor of honey. It tasted, good.

SNOW BRIGHT by Summer Day: Homecoming #SEVEN

Homecoming 

     In a split second, Jack found himself seated beside Sara who was lying on the couch in her van. Eyes closed, seemingly fast asleep, Jack’s cell was in his hand. He’d been fielding texts from Lavinia.  

     It was almost evening, Jack reasoned. He had no memory of the afternoon that had preceded the darkness.  All he remembered was Lavinia and her concerned face. Lavinia was their friend, wasn’t she? He and she were going to homecoming dance together, weren’t they?  That was all he knew.

    Sara breathed deeply on the couch in her trailer. He thought he better let her sleep.

    It was strange that there were no lights on in her van, the dirty dishes were stacked in the sink, the bed had been left unmade. The place was a mess. Sara’s magic was far stronger than that. He wondered what had happened. Then he realized it was late. He had to get dressed and drive to Lavinia’s house. They had a date to go to homecoming dance, didn’t they?

    That was when he heard a rap on the wall of the van.

    He opened the door and six boys, all between the ages of eight and twelve, all staring up at him, stood outside.

    “What’s happening?”

    “Huh?”

    “We’re Hughey, Dewey, Henry, Matty, Donny and Lonny. We’re Sara’s foster brothers. We have to be quick or our foster mom will notice we’re not in our rooms. Sara sent us a text before she went to that wicked Lavinia’s house. You must be Jack.”

      “Yeah.”

      Dewey continued, “We know all about Lavinia.”

      Henry added, “She’s pretty powerful.”

      Matty said, “She used to be our student adviser in elementary school when we were only six years old.”

      “Lavinia blamed us for all her wicked schemes,” Donny added.

      “She causes trouble wherever she goes,” Lonny confirmed.

      Then, the boys added in unison: “She’s mean.”

      Jack’s skin itched, his memory was returning. Lavinia was wicked but she wasn’t as good at chemical romance as Sara. She couldn’t, for example, stop the formula properly. It was wearing off. Jack was returning to his senses. He had an idea. He couldn’t remember that afternoon, but he could remember he knew how to merge, back in time, back to yesterday. So he did.

     Instantly, he was back in chemical romance class, after it had ended. He got up from his desk, walked past Lavinia who smiled at him. Strangely, he ignored her. He felt himself doing this and couldn’t stop. It was weird because they were in love, he was sure of it. They were going to homecoming dance, weren’t they?

     This time, when class ended and Lavinia grabbed his hand for lunch, he made an excuse and ran back to the empty classroom.

    He searched Lavinia’s desk and found Sara’s chemical romance notes. There were trance formulas and love formulas and forever potions all written over Sara’s handwriting in Lavinia’s scrawly hand. Lavinia’s wicked formulas were scrawled over Sara’s initial equations; all things that were too advanced and banned in school.

     It occurred to Jack: Lavinia was a hot mess. Her ‘love’ was trickery. He’d been played. Sara was the girl he really loved. Sara was under a spell that only… it said here in Lavinia’s handwriting… true love’s kiss could break.

SNOW BRIGHT by Summer Day: True Love's Kiss #EIGHT

True love’s kiss

Jack needed to summon every ounce of energy to go against the spell, to do what his heart intended.

    He’d dressed for homecoming dance, determined to ‘act normal’ as his foster dad would have advised. He’d saved to buy a real car so instead of merging into various animals in order to arrive at a destination quickly, he could drive.

    But time was important tonight. He knew, according to Sara’s own notes, he only had thirty-six hours to release Sara and he’d already wasted most of them. It was hard, going against everything the voice inside told him – go to Lavinia, Lavinia needs you… He knew it was a lie, all of it. He could feel it inside, in the place where love and memories meet. He could feel it in his heart.

    When he arrived on the road that took him to Sara’s place, he realized there was only about twenty minutes until Sara would be in a trance forever. There was no release from that, at least none that Sara had written in her chemical romance notes.

     It wasn’t fun, but he did it; he merged. He became a cheetah, the fastest running land animal on the planet and got to Sara’s van in double quick time. He tied his dinner suit around his collar in a packet. When he merged behind the trailer back into human form, he was dressed in the suit he intended to wear to homecoming.

     Dewey and Henry were sitting on the steps of the trailer playing computer games. The boys were taking it in turns to protect their sleeping foster sister which was kind of cool.

     “Okay boys, I have the antidote, it might be better if you guys go inside now. Your foster mom is looking for you.”

   “Is she going to be okay?” Dewey asked.

   “Sure.”

   “Okay,” Henry said.

   “Yeah, I was getting bored with this anyway.”

    It was hard for Jack to walk inside the trailer. He didn’t really want to kiss her. His mind told him not to. Fact is, he couldn’t stop thinking about Lavinia with her Barbie princess looks and perfectly wicked smile. But he told himself, it’s just a hoax, eyes on the prize.

    Sara was lying on the cabin couch. Jack noticed the hem of her blue jeans had water from the ocean, still damp. He thought that was weird, as if nothing had changed from this afternoon, apart from the fact that Sara was still breathing.

    He looked it up.

    “A short kiss… must be on the lips.”

    He looked around. This was going to be weird.  He leant forward and kissed her lips. Jack sat back, feeling nothing… almost.

    Overcome with a feeling of wellbeing, he sat back in the couch on the other side of the van. Outside, the night sky seemed to shine with stars and the familiar feeling crept over him again, the one he’d been feeling for a while now. It went beyond friendship and towards a more lasting connection.

   Sara opened her bright blue eyes.

   “What happened?”

   “It’s me… Jack.”

    “Why are you dressed like that… did you?”

     Jack put his hands in the air.

    “It’s a long story. Not exactly a fairy tale but the next closest thing. You must have been studying trance formulas in chemical romance. Of course, Lavinia…”

     “Now I remember. Lavinia is wicked. She hates us…”

     “Well, not exactly us…”

     “I mean she likes you… did you?” Sara felt her lips with her perfectly unmanicured fingers.

     “Before you freak out, it’s here. You should know, when I kissed you I totally didn’t want to…”

     “But…”

     “I’m not finished… before Lavinia put a spell on us? It wasn’t just friendship I felt for you. It says here, true love’s kiss is the only thing that would wake you.”

      “Oh… right. I felt something too.”

      They smiled.

     “I have a surprise for you. My car’s outside. I thought you might like to come to homecoming dance.  We have… an appointment to meet Lavinia there.”

     “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

     “The school dance might be perfect, neutral territory to put an end to our challenge.”