INFILTRATION

BACKFIRED- I

“Eeny, meeny, miny, moe. Catch a tiger by the toe, if he hollers let him go, Eeny, meeny, miny, moe.”

The girls had been playing tag for the past thirty minutes. They all sounded like children that they weren’t. As usual, Hailey led the pack, her shrill voice ringing out shrilly. For the better part of thirty minutes, she had begged Jinxabell to join them, but as usual, Jinxabell wasn’t interested.

The boys weren’t entirely left out; of the drama either; they huddled together in a corner playing hand games and trying to beat each other with tall tales of who they had slept with, and who was next on their list.

Lewis, the class captain, had announced earlier on, that the teacher taking the class period was down with fever and wasn’t coming in today, so that left them with ample time on their hands to misbehave. Misbehave they did.

Jinxabell felt they were all dumb - the girls for playing a game that was meant for children, and the boys, well, because it didn’t seem like they had any future ambition. She regretted seating in front because it put her in the middle of class affairs, so what she did was trade with Hailey. Some days she sat at the back, other times, she stayed in front.

Today was one of those days where she couldn’t be bothered with anything. Her emotions oscillated between jumpiness and boredom. At first she had sat at the front but later moved to the back. Her attention span was zero to minus hundred; she couldn’t seem to keep her mind on anything, except to stare at a chair that sat in the middle of the class beside the window. An empty chair.

“Hi, Lone Ranger!’

Jinxabell looked up to see Abel standing in front of her with a smile on his face.

“Hi, redhead.” She shot back at him.

Ever since Jinxabell joined the class, Abel had relentlessly asked her out on dates. The answer had unfortunately for him been the same - no. She wasn’t interested. So he had settled for being her friend instead.

His grin widened as he straddled a seat opposite her. There was silence as he stared at her. Her fingers thrummed the table restlessly, and she wasn’t even aware of doing it. The expression on her face was strange, and her attention was fixed on something as she stared straight ahead of her.

Abel turned his head and followed the line of her stare and then swiveled his head back to look at her.

“Heard she fell into a coma the next day after attending a pyjama’s night at Hailey’s.”

Jinxabell said not a word, so he continued.

“Heard you attended.”

Jinxabell remained silent as she continued staring straight ahead.

“Heard you also started something called a seance.”

Jinxabell still said nothing.

Abel leaned closer to her, bending the chair and whispered. “People are saying her brother has come to get her and take her to the other side.”

At this, Jinxabell burst into laughter, making Abel jump back and almost fall off his seat. Other students turned to look at them curiously.

“Do you believe in all that hocus pocus? Really, Abel, I had more confidence in you. There’s no such thing as bringing a spirit back from the dead to talk to a living being. That’s crap, and you of all people should know this. It was all a game, and they fell for it.”

Abel c****d his head to the side as lines appeared on his forehead. “But . . . the girls said they slept off and by the time they woke, you -“

“Oh come now, red head, they were all sleeping off before I said we should play another game. It was all games. Not my fault they fell for it hook, line and sinker.”

“Then how come Janette fell into a coma right after?”

“Maybe she didn’t like the sight of Hailey’s home, or she took something poisonous at Hailey’s or — how the hell should I know?” She shrugged in exasperation.

As Abel was about to say something, the door opened and someone walked in. The girls playing tag all squealed and jumped up to welcome the person.

All the guys looked up to see who it was. Some wove at the person, while others continued talking amongst themselves.

Abel got up and walked over to the group of girls gathering round the person.

Only one person stayed on her seat, wondering what had gone wrong. Jinxabell. She had an incredulous look on her face as she stared at who had just come in.

It was Janette - the girl who had mysteriously fallen into a coma.

Yet here she was in the flesh and thriving.

Thoughts raced through Jinxabell’s mind at top speed.

What was Janette doing here?

How come she was suddenly better?

Something must have gone wrong at Hailey’s.

She was so lost in thought, she didn’t notice when a shadow fell in front of her. Something tapped her on the arm. “Jinx?”

She blinked and almost fell backwards as she stared at Janette. She even looked better now after coming back from the coma. Her cheeks were rosy as if she had used blush on them, but Jinxabell knew Janette never used make up. Not even eyeliner.

Something definitely happened, she thought to herself as she kept staring at her.

“Thank you, Jinx, for helping me meet with my brother, even though I don’t remember any of it.” She brought a hand up to her forehead as a far away look crept into her eyes. “He must have ———.”

The rest of her words were lost as something caught the attention of Jinxabell. She stared fixated at Janette’s face wondering if her eyes were deceiving her.

Without any forewarning, Janette leaned forward and enveloped Jinxabell in a hug. When she released her, she smiled. “I feel so much better now, after coming out of a coma, and it’s all thanks to you.” She smiled once more, and then walked to her seat.

Jinxabell couldn’t speak. She felt the blood draining from her face, and she became as white as a sheet. Her hands and feet were sleek with sweat as she kept wringing her fingers.

Without thinking, she swept her books in her bag, stood, and walked out, amidst calls from Abel.

She walked all the way to the fields. There, she plopped on the ground, her fingers shaking as she brought out a pack of cigarettes and put one to her lips.

Her fingers wouldn’t stop shaking as she lifted the hem of the dress she had on, inch by inch, until it showcased her left thigh. Her movement became more feverish as she repeated the same process, exposing her right thigh.

Not seeing what she was looking for, she stood and lifted her dress high up, not caring that happened to pass by could see her, her mind intent on one purpose only.

“It can’t be, NO!” She shook her head furtively.

She threw the pack of cigarettes on the ground, picked up her bag and ran all the way home. She burst into the house, expecting to see her mother sipping tea on the sitting room chair, but she was nowhere to be seen.

She ran up the stairs, two at a time, adrenaline fueling her veins. She passed the landing, but failed to see the black tell-tale foot marks on the floor. It was when she got to the corridor, she stiffened, noticing a change in the atmosphere. Underneath the smell of lavender and roses that filtered in from the living room, was the rank smell of rot and decay with a tinge of sulphur. It was the smell of an otherworldly being.