21

SOLEIL

I'm standing outside the magician's tent eavesdropping on his conversation. He's speaking to someone in hushed tones. I peer through the curtain and see he's with a woman.

Her thick dark hair hangs down her back. She's dressed like a belly dancer in red with harem pants and a cropped top exposing her stomach and blue skin.

Suddenly she disappears and, in her place, there stands Emperor Zurg from Buzz Lightyear.

The scene around us shifts and Zurg is now standing next to Spiderman. The captain does this weird dance and transforms into Spiderman.

There are two of them. The original and the one that once looked like Zurg.

I'm so confused I rub my eyes to clear my vision because evidently, I'm seeing things.

The scene changes again. I'm now walking down the sidewalk of Creole Square and see Brice. I smile in greeting determined not to come across as a bumbling idiot.

As he gets closer, we lock eyes. He smiles back. When he's a few feet away, Spiderman comes crawling along the wall behind him. However, this doesn't look like the friendly neighbourhood Spidey. In fact, it looks like he's after Brice.

I speed up wanting to reach him first.

I need to warn him.

"Hey!" I'm shouting and flailing my arms wildly about.

Before Brice can turn around Spiderman has him surrounded and trapped in a box. Weird but better than being trapped in a spider's web.

I'm banging on the box, screaming in Panic.

"Brice!"

"Soleil!" He answers back. He sounds so far away.

Suddenly, I find myself having an outer body experience as I watch myself banging on the box, trying to reach Brice on the sidewalk of Creole square.

The town is quaint with clean streets and large potted bushes dotted with pink flowers. It all appears so vividly as I find myself lucid in this dream I remember having before.

I'm floating further back until I'm blanketed in darkness and sitting in a theater as I watch myself on stage.

I look around me and see no one.

I'm alone.

That is until the largest snake I've ever seen in my life moves through the wide aisles and approaches the stage. It's a smoky black, 10 feet tall, and double that in width.

I lean back glad to be sitting in the balcony seats as I watch the basilisk make its way to the front. The giant serpent wraps around the stage before stopping before the other me banging on the box.

When it opens its mouth, I think it's going to swallow us whole.

Instead, a smaller snake with a pattern of flowers emerges from the pink bush on the sidewalk and starts hissing.

The behemoth hisses back.

Are they communicating?

*

I slowly blink my eyes awake as I adjust to the light filtering into my room. I sit up and stretch feeling rejuvenated and shake off the bad dream. I instinctively reach for my phone but come up empty.

I get up and look around my room as I stretch my back.

Something is amiss.

I'm not a messy person but this scene doesn't look right. I could have sworn I left my room in disarray. I head to my PC but catch myself in the full body mirror outside my bathroom door.

My eyes widen at my hair that resembles a bird's nest. I slept in a T-shirt in this humidity without my bonnet?

Nah ah. I only wear silk. No wonder my shirt feels damp.

I search my brain trying to recollect my memory from the party. I stretch out my hair in misery remembering how great it looked after Char straightened it. This is going to take me hours to fix.

What the hell happened?!

I turn my room upside down searching for my cell in the laundry hamper and my bed.

Who changed my sheets?!

I'm so frustrated I grab my hair which feels dried out. I plop down on the seat in front of my computer and turn it on. I nearly fall over when I read Tuesday 7AM.

I scramble for the shower and strip down only to notice the string hanging between my legs. WTF?! When did my period start? Have I been moving on autopilot? I pull it out, wrap it in tissue and toss it in the bin only to hesitate at the shower door.

Anxiety creeps through my skin. I take a deep breath and close my eyes only to have flashes of Brice in the shower looking menacing.

I turn on the water's spray and lather my body wash only for another memory of Brice to assault me. I freeze. Have I been in the shower with him before?

It can't be. I would have remembered THAT.

I shake the weariness those images bring and quickly rinse off. I allow the water to run through and soak my hair as I lather conditioner attempting to coax my kinky-coils into submission. I'll de-tangle her at the end of the day.

I sit down, quickly smooth some leave in, and braid my hair back into a knotty rope. I wrap my hair in a low bun as I replay the events of Saturday night –

Getting ready in my dorm, meeting the Saints at Le Tableu, going over to the Halloween party, being stared down by Brice, him carrying me up the stairs, him hovering over me on the bed...

My nipples pebble and my body heats up at the memory. I'm going through the motions of getting dressed in my checkered skirt, white shirt, and looping my tie when the montage continues.

I see Mark and Hailey, the awkward discussion I had with him outside, leaving with Brice, telling him about the wish and seeing the fury on his face.

I bang my head in mortification.

What a disastrous night.

I don't want to leave my room, but I've already missed out on the past two days.

Did I have too much too drink? Was I spiked?

The last thing I remember was getting in Tshepo's car with Brice. I have to speak to him. He would know what happened and hopefully he has my phone. Its 7:30AM. I've gotten ready in record time.  I grab my biology books from the shelf, stuff them in my bag and steel my nerves to brace myself for the weirdest day yet at Milton House.

I walk through the common room which consists mainly of the younger girls. I greet a few as I hurriedly make my way out and see Zahara up ahead.

"Hey," I offer with a smile.

"Howzit Soleil, its good to finally see you" she gushes excitedly.

"You too?"

"Sooo where'd you disappear to after the party?" she wiggles her eyebrows.

"Friday's party?"

"Yes, Halloween night..."

"I uh actually came down with something and came back to my dorm early."

I look up wondering if she'll believe the lie only to see she's stopped walking. A deadpan expression sits on her smooth, creamy face as she cocks her head to the side. Her curls follow from the high pony she has her hair tied in.

"Jy moes take me for a fool, neh?" her Cape-Malay accent seeps through.

"What?!" I ask her feigning confusion. I continue to make my way to the science block.

Zahara's long honey toned legs catch up to me. I see her pull out her phone, tap on the screen for a bit and hand it over to me.

"It's a live of Hailey, balling her eyes out and drinking on Friday night."

I don't understand a word she's saying but I can read the comments well enough.

Hailey is sloshed! 😂🤣

Is she speaking English? 🤔🤨

We stand with you girl 💪❤

Throw the whole dude away 😭🚮

Give me a chance and I'll have you crying my name 😜💦

I wearily hand the phone back after watching two more minutes of snot, shots, and incoherent rambling. It doesn't take a genius to figure out she's crying over Brice. But why if he claims that she's his sister?

"Well that's sad and embarrassing," I offer.

"Jy dink? She took it down a few hours later. Unfortunately for her. you can't delete the internet. Someone took a screen recording and she's an official meme."

I would feel bad but I can't remember much of what happened after we left. I do remember her calling me a bitch though. I let that slide considering the extenuating circumstances.

Zahara hands her phone back to me and I see a remixed version of Hailey balling her eyes out to the background of Cry Me A River. I cringe in second hand embarrassment. She's currently trending under #crymeariver #jola99.

People can be cruel for the sake of entertainment.

"Anyway are you and Brice official or what?" she continues non-pulsed.

"What?! Are there pictures of us?"

"Funny you should ask. There aren't. No one would dare drag Le Roux. Just people from the party claiming they saw you two head upstairs then head out together looking very cozy."

"Uhm okay then. Nice chatting to you. Gotta head to class before Balmer arrives."

I quickly wave and dismiss myself when I see Charlondra turn the corner.

"Char!" I holla loudly enough to get her attention.

When she spots me she pulls me into the near empty class and gives me a hug.

"Where have you been?" she asks checking me from head to toe.

"I was hoping you could tell me."

"What? No. You left with Brice. I ended up going home with Andrews and Headboy because Mark was upset and left early. Things became awkward with Gale and I couldn't explain why you two had disappeared. You weren't replying to my texts and I ended up sneaking stress shots. When I went to look for Zanele and them, they were gone. So where did you disappear to?"

"I was with Brice at the Manor and the next thing I remember was waking up in my dorm room."

"What? Are you telling me you cant account for the past 48 hours? Did that grey eyed beast do something to you?" Char questions her voice rising.

"Shhh!" I hush her. "I lost my phone which is why I haven't replied. I keep having these flashes of what happened but its not clear. I woke up feeling well rested and..." my period had started.

Or was it my period. What if...

Brice walks in with Tshepo and they take a seat on the other side of the class.

Are things that bad that he moved back to his usual spot?

"Yeah, that happened. Imagine my shock when you didn't show up and the love of your life was back in his seat?"

I swallow the lump in my throat forming for two different reasons. Did I do something wrong or did he?

I clear my throat and say, "Don't call him that. Let's talk after class."

I busy myself opening up my textbook and notes for biology as my bestie does the same. I'm thankful for the silent reprieve.

I cant help but think back to driving in the car with Brice. I had texted Char before getting in so I had my phone then. Told him about the dumb wish and he was furious. If looks could kill I would be on the side of the road somewhere between Milton Village and Maverick Manor. That's if he didn't already kill us in a head on collision with the speed he was driving at.

Professor Balmer walks in breaking me out of my morbid thoughts. This week her hair is an electric pink. She's an eccentric woman in her mid thirties who keeps the subject fun. I choose to focus on the forces of nature instead of those at war in my mind.

*

I return to my dorm room a couple of hours later. My stomach rumbles in protest having skipped breakfast because I woke up late. I open my snack drawer and groan at the healthy prospects that stare back at me.

Why did I give away my sweets and chocolates? I need comfort food not bird feed.

I settle for a bag of nuts as I check my school emails and exam calendar. The first one is tomorrow. Great!

A calendar notification lets me know that I have a tutoring session with Brice. I immediately close the popup deciding to cancel those once I work up the nerve to address him.

I then begin to straighten out my room. My mind quickly flits to Mark and the Dance, and I wonder if that is still happening. We left things on shaky terms but definitely better than he-who-shall-not-be-named. I just need a day to get my life back on track without the distraction of boys.

Once order has been restored, I open up my Pinterest board as well as a few other apps on my wide screen. I'm looking for dresses while I kill the time till lunch. There's no way I could concentrate on studying right now when my stomach is unimpressed with the trail mix.

*

Thankfully Char got my email and we were able to meet up in the dining hall. She filled me in on the gossip and surprise surprise, I'm one of the headliners.

I ended up getting the other side of the story since she spent the rest of the night with Jessica Andrews because Hailey was in a foul mood. That's around the time she supposedly went live. Hidde ensured they returned to Hawk House safely. At least one of the men in that family isn't a sociopath.

I wasn't in the mood to address my amnesia so I turned the topic back to Charlondra who seemed to have had a good night. I'm glad that one of us enjoyed ourselves.

I stand from my seat and roll the tension out of my shoulders. My brain is fried and I feel exhausted. It's 6PM and I decide to skip dinner in favour of an early breakfast. I stuffed myself to bursting during lunch despite the constant stares I felt directed my way. If there's one good thing the school fees are well spent on, it's definitely the food.

I get started on my hair and find it therapeutic as I part my head into 6 sections. I apply the oil mix I formulated and use it to gently separate the strands that have matted together with my fingers before attempting to put a comb through this catastrophe.

By the time I'm done and ready to hit the shower for a shampoo and conditioner its 8PM.

My fingers are pruning but that's soon forgotten when the soothing spray hits my scalp. I still feel slightly anxious but can't pin point why other than the looming exams tomorrow. English is a nice little warm up for the biggest series of tests I'll write in my schooling career.

I take a deep breath and try to relax allowing the hot pressure to pierce my skin. That  is until I feel a draft of cold air behind me. Despite my inner voice telling me not to turn around, my curiosity wins over and I find myself face to chest with Brice.

Before I can let out the scream scratching at the back of my throat, he cuffs my mouth.

"Shhh" he whispers into the shell of my ear.

I must be dreaming. This is a nightmare. Wake up, Soleil! Wake the fuck up!

I blink my eyes rapidly only for my view of the shower to remain. This is not a dream.

He slowly releases his hold over me but my heart is galloping to death's door.

"How did you get in here?" I ask the first question that pops into mind.

"What happened to your hair?"

He can't be serious. You! You happened to my hair! I want to scream. He's toying with me. He wants to get my guard down so he can kill me.

"Puma Satan!" Get out Satan!

He rolls his eyes dismissively. Either God is no longer on my side or I've completely lost the plot. I shut my eyes when I meet his steel gaze.

"Are you a d-demon? Am I being punished?"

"No, Soleil. Don't insult me."

"Then what are you?" I force out with as much confidence as I can muster.

My eyes focus on his sculpted pecks and the smooth ridges of his abs. His skin is flawless. I don't dare go any lower and I can't risk looking into his eyes either.

"A man. A myth. A monster - you decide."

Despite the warmth of the enclosure goosebumps break out over my skin and my nipples pebble. I'm somewhere between terrified and aroused.

I decide to turn around and not entertain the apparition because this is a sure sign I'm having a mental breakdown if I'm hallucinating to this degree.

Just rinse your head and go to bed, I mentally coach myself.

I just need to get through this little episode and the next 4 weeks.

Lord God, I swear I no longer like him.

I'll stop thinking about him.

I'll move on.

Please just make it stop, I pray.

I nearly jump out of my skin when I feel his fingers running through my hair.

I don't even have the strength to stop him.

This is pretty deep if I'm having sensory hallucinations. It's actually quite soothing how he messages my scalp. They're gonna commit me if I were to ever utter a word of this to anyone remotely sane.

Common sense comes to the rescue when I come to terms with the fact that this is not a hallucination. He's actually here in my shower. It feels like deja vu.

No, I think we've been here before.

"You seem to be doing a lot better," Brice says.

"What did you do to me?"

His jaw ticks. He doesn't say a word. I risk looking into his eyes and immediately regret it. I've always admired his eyes and body from afar. Right now he looks downright fearsome.

"I took a memory walk through your mind to see what happened. What the root cause of all of this is. I didn't realise how fragile you were."

I nod my head despite not understanding what he meant by memory walk. I wanted to speak to him and now that he's here, I find myself tongue tied. I need some space.

I move away from his fingers still working my head and rinse out the excess water. I manage to maneuver around Brice's big body and quickly wrap myself in a towel feeling less exposed. I wrap my hair too and quickly exit the bathroom.

"Who were they?" he asks, following behind.

"What are you talking about?"

"The murder you witnessed when you were a little girl hiding in the  vent."

"That's none of your business. Where's my phone?" I suddenly remember.

He chuckles as if I've said something funny but there's no humour in his cold eyes.

"You should have thought about that before you made your silly wish. Now, you are my business."

I'm too tired too argue. It's 9PM and I still have to style my hair before it dries out.

"My parents I offer up."

I grab my clothes and a pad before locking myself in the bathroom hoping he'll at least grant me the privacy of getting dressed sans audience.

"I've already seen it all. No need to be modest now."

I ignore his cocky taunt.

"My phone?" I try again when I get out.

"I'll look for it."

When I chance a look at him I notice he's put on some briefs. But those white Calvin Klein's hide nothing. My eyes bulge at the ridge that protrudes through the material.

I move the chair from my work desk to the body mirror to distract myself. I apply some leave-in and settle down to put in some twists. The ends remain straight. I need a trim. I think she's suffering heat damage.

Brice pops into view in the image staring back at me. I had almost forgotten about him.

Almost.

For a while we don't say anything. He just watches me do my hair while I watch him trying not to go past the dip of his hips wondering when he'll disappear .

"What do you know about your family history?"

"Not much." The little I do know I'm not giving up.

Two down; four to go, I encourage my weak arms that are starting to ache.

"Have you ever considered you might be a witch?"

I scoff and turn around in disbelief.

"What gave you that idea? I didn't even know what I was doing. Do you know how many swindlers and soothsayers are out there? How was I supposed to know that wish would actually be granted. If I knew I had a guaranteed wish to make, I promise I wouldn't have wasted it on you."

His eyes darken and I immediately regret my big mouth.

"What would you have wished for ma petit?"

"For my parents to come back," I say sad and deflated.

He lets out a breath. His eyes soften. I cant stand to see the pity so I focus on my hair which is half way there.

"Don't. You can't bring back the dead. You only open the door for masquerading spirits who bring nothing but misery."

I don't know what to say to that so I remain silent and complete my twists. I glance at the bed with the freshly changed sheets. I found the old ones soiled in the hamper this morning.

"Did you change my bed."

"Yes, and you."

My face heats up. I'm too mortified to say anything let alone a thank you.

"Your surname - Spellman - is a warlock's surname," he continues.

"My dad was African-American. They were ascribed surnames according to the house of the slave masters so..." I leave him to draw his own conclusions.

Could my ancestors have been owned by warlocks? The gears in my mind shift thinking of my dad's family history. I haven't been in touch with his side of the family much. I plan to remedy that this coming holidays.

For the record, my daddy was an artist and my mama was a chartered accountant. However, I'm in no mood for show and tell.

"That being said, not just anyone can wield magic or tap into it. There was a reason why you could."

"Which is..." it seems like he's alluding to something and at this point its anybody's guess.

The silence stretches on till I'm done with my hair and done with this conversation. I slip on my bonnet, turn out the lights and crawl into bed.

"Feel free to see yourself out. I need my rest for English Paper II tomorrow. And next time knock," I call out into the darkness.

There's no response. Just the dip of the bed and a warm body sliding behind mine.

"Next time, huh?"

The breath of his voice grazes my neck sending shivers down my spine.

"Brice..." I intone with warning.

That doesn't deter him from slipping his arm around my waist and drawing my back flush against his chest. It feels good but my mind is still so unsettled.

"Did you... When I was out of it... Did we..." I can't even formulate a complete sentence.

"What are you asking me Soleil?"

"I don't remember much of this weekend and I'm bleeding. I feel violated."

He maneuvers his body over mine and eases himself between my legs. His weight bears down on me, stretching me apart.

"Your body would remember what it's like to have me on top." He grinds his erection against my core and I shut my eyes to suppress the moan his action illicits. "And I promise you won't ever doubt if I've been inside you. I'm much bigger than a tampon."

His words excite me. My core clenches at the way he makes me feel and the images he evokes.

"You may not have raped me, but let's not pretend you didn't mind fuck me," I spit back, annoyed my his arrogance.

He's silent. I'm too vulnerable to look into his eyes in this position. I keep them shut as his body stokes my most primal desire.

"Touche. Goodnight, Soleil." His lips lightly trace my own before I feel his weight lift off.

When I open my eyes, he's gone.

WC 3957

14 | 03 | 2023

I feel like the student who had to do extra for handing in their assignment late.

I'm honestly questioning my decision to upload on Saturday's after this weekend's bender lol

I'm going to try upload another chapter before then. Operative word being try

This is your PSA to park your feelings far away from the internet.

Talking point on this chapter:

What is your perception on dreams and why we have them?