Out of the Bayou: Secrets

Three

Magnolia

My last few hours of school were absolutely miserable. Not only was I damp from the earlier incident, but I also had to ignore all the chuckles and sideways looks I was getting from everyone. It was hard to concentrate, gaining me a chastising conversation with Mrs. Simoneaux. After Mrs. Simoneaux’s class, my last class of the day, was Mr. Leblanc’s class. He gave us time to work on our projects since he didn’t want to start anything new with the holiday week starting. My history project was weighing on my mind heavily. Even though I had plenty of time to work on it, I was so intrigued by a book I found on the folklore of the Rougarou during my search in the library.

This book tells the tale of the Louisiana werewolf or Rougarou as it has been known for centuries. The 16th century is when the legend originated. It was called the Loup-garous beast, which is French for werewolves. They were blamed for everything that would happen in the villages. Many people were tried for being these beasts, like the witch trials in Salem. Over the years, the legend took twists and turns. The name even changed to Rougarou with the creation of the Cajun dialect that was a mix of French and English. It went on to say that children were made to behave by threatening them with the beast coming in the night to steal them. It was also said that the Rougarou would hunt down Catholics who didn’t follow the rules of lent. Another page said that a curse would change someone into a Rougarou for 101-days. The only way to change back was to transfer the curse to someone else. It also stated that the Rougarou would be perplexed by counting past 12, so to keep a Rougarou from attacking, people would set out 13 items around their bed. The Rougarou would then count the items, stopping and starting over again at 12 until the sun rose, making the Rougarou leave before the sun would hit its skin.

Wait, what did I just read? I love history, but some things are just off the wall sometimes.

As I put the book in my backpack, the feeling of someone watching me made me look up to find Everett’s cold eyes glaring at me. I quickly looked down at my watch, hoping it was time for the bell to ring. As if reading my mind, the bell sounded. I jumped from my seat to make a fast exit, only to be tripped by Eli. I braced myself for impact as I fell forward only to be surprised by arms reaching around me to stop my fall.

Much to my surprise, it was Everett. The look in his eyes was unfamiliar, almost that of warmth and love. In a flash, it was gone. An odd feeling came over me as it sounded almost as if he smelled me. I must be hallucinating. Everett let me go so fast that you would have thought I was on fire.

“Magnolia, are you OK?” Mr. Leblanc said with concern.

“Yeah.” I squeaked out as I ran for the door to catch my bus home.

I miss Savanah. She would have come to my rescue in all of the situations I found myself in today. I pulled out my phone once I took my seat on the bus to send her a text with the hopes of a little comfort from this eventful day.

-Hey, Van. I miss you. I had such a rough day. I was harassed by the spawns, covered in water, tripped, and confused by Andrew and Everett. -

-Hi. I’m sorry that does sound rough. Tim is here. TTYL –

Well, crap.

An hour later, the bus pulled down my street. I got off the bus just in time to see Everett pull into his driveway in his Camaro. Much to my surprise, Laura was not with him, neither was any of his other usual entourage. As he got out of his car, he looked at me, seeming like he was about to walk over to me. When he took a step toward me, my mother called out to me from the front porch, causing him to stop in his tracks and head into his house. My mother stood there until I walked up the steps. She folded her arms

over her chest while pursing her lips at me.

“Why exactly were you looking at that Landry boy like that Magnolia?” my mother said with a stern voice.

“I wasn’t. He was just there when I got off the bus.” I told her.

“You stay away from that boy. He is nothing but trouble, just like his father.” She bellowed.

“Okay momma. I mean. Yes, ma’am.” I swallowed as she looked at me angrily.

She stood there silently for a moment, as if reading my soul.

“Supper is on the stove. It should be done in an hour. I have to run to the store to get your father’s beer that I forgot. Please watch the food to make sure it doesn't burn. I should be back before it is finished.” She explained as she walked to her car.

As she left, I felt as if someone was watching me again. I began looking around at my surroundings. That is when I noticed something shining in the trees along the bayou. I decided against going to see what it was and turned to head into the house. My eyes caught sight of Everett in his window as I moved to the door. He was looking at me through the window. The look he was giving me seemed to set me on fire with lust. Our eyes were locked on each other until the sound of a dog barking startled me, causing me to blink and look away for a split second. When I looked back, he was gone. I released the breath I didn’t realize I was holding in, and a sound escaped my throat that I had never made before. Did I just moan? What is wrong with me?