Hell School

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

  Shitty stuffs begin....

 I was short of words and my breath was starting to leave me. I hid myself behind the pastry fruits aisle, just perpendicular to the pasta and noodles aisle. She will leave very soon. I said to myself, breathing loudly, my heart kept racing to eternity and back.

 I was deep in my subconscious. Suddenly, I heard a short cough beside me. I opened my eyes, then I wished I didn't. It was Miranda. She must have spotted me when I saw her, damn she's so good.

 "Heyyyy," I slurred, feeling stupid and embarrassed.

 "Hey," she said, smiling at me in a flirty manner.

 "Sooo, what are you doing here?" I asked rubbing my sweaty palms together. I started to tap at my trolley's handle. And now I wished Ronald was with me, he has always givee confidence with people especially with the girls.

 "I shop here," she said, giggling at me. I now start to feel like she is into me. I summoned every bit of confidence within me.

 "Your hair is pretty," I said, and regretted it immediately. But it did its job well. Ronald always says "whenever a girl is into you, comment on her hair to make her feel special, then look into her eyes if it is speaking volumes," he would then grab a girl to show me how it's done.

 I knew I hit the nail on the head. She kept giggling and curling her brown braid rolling down to the waist, with her fingers.

 "Thank you," she said looking down at her groceries to avoid eye contact with me.

Then one of Ronald's lesson tips resonated in my ears, "if she avoids eye contact during a conversation, you are seventy percent closer to your target." He would then hold my hands, rubbing it softly with his fingers, "then you do that."

 I was ready to heed his advice this time. I closed in on her, then hold her hands hoping she would resist, it only got her aroused and liked it.

 "You free tonight?" I asked, looking into her glowing black eyeballs. 

 Miranda giggled, "it depends," she said. Now gazing into my eyes, piercing my innermost soul.

 "On what?" I asked.

 "Where we are going, what we are doing as well as what we are eating."

 Now I am sure I had gotten her, so I put the icing on the cake.

 "We going to the cinema to catch up with the last episode of the Trapped Souls series and the popcorn there is great, you'll definitely enjoy it."

 The Trapped Souls series is the very thing every ternager in Meldow wants to watch. It talks about children whose souls were trapped by ghost who can't get into the underworld. The Souls were their tickets to find peace and rest in the underworld. It is s**t scary and I have never watched the previous seasons, but I only tried to act cool and bold like a man.

 "You have your tickets?" She picked a cereal packet from her trolley, pretending to read its contents.

 "Way ahead of you," I lied. And I prayed it is still on sale at the broker store down the street. 

 "See you at eight then," she pecked my cheek real quick, and left.

 "Yeah... see you at eight," I mumbled even though she was gone. I was still rubbing my cheek, replaying the scene in my head. It was like one of my virtual world where I had the liberty to do whatever I want, I still could not believe it.

 I hurried back home, humming and tapping my feet on the ground. Now I know how a little girl feels like after receiving Santa's gift on Christmas. Although the sum was scorching hot, I didn't care. I basked in its awesomeness, until it nearly blinded me. I could hear the birds sing and wished I could sing like that. Hundreds of them - Ravens - flew over the street. For two minutes, they fluttered their wings, it wasn't strange for birds to fly over Meldow's beautiful sky, but Ravens? They've been extinct in Meldow long before I was born. When I was little, my father always told me stories about how the Ravens invaded every home, destroyed things, killed people - yes killed humans - and left without returning. The deduced reason was that Meldow hill was too hot and started becoming unbearable for them so they left for greener pastures. Out of the blues they returned? I was not really bothered by it though. I only looked forward to eight pm.

 "You look happy," my mother said as she sets the food on the dining table, "what is it about?"

 "I got a date tonight," I said with a smile on my face, dropping the groceries in the kitchen.

 "With whom?" She inquired, grinning ear to ear.

 "Miranda." I didn't know why her said that, strange things happen anyway.

 "Ooh Miranda Davis?" She goes to the kitchen to bring the soup.

 I picked an apple from the fruit basket on the dining table, "you know her?" I asked, driving my teeth into the apple. I was not surprised, my mother knows practically every human soul living in Meldow hills. 

 "The girl living with her Granny beside the grocery store?" She said, serving my food, "everybody does."

I never knew she lived on my street, so close to me and with her Granny? Nobody told me about that.

 "Granny?" I asked taking a pause at my apple. 

 "Everybody knows Granny Lolo."

Everybody except me. Not even Ronald told me about it.

 I lost my appetite, but my mother won't let me waste food, so I forced the rice down my throat. I rushed upstairs to my room after finishing it up without taking the plate to the kitchen. I was mad and excited as well. I want to yell at him real hard and tell him his tips worked.

I jumped on my bed, stuffing my face into the fluffy pillows, I reached out to my phone on the shelf.

 About to call Ronald, his call came in. I picked it up but heard someone else - something else - talk in the phone. I cut the call. I dialed back. I heard the same voice talking in a strange language. Different thoughts came to my head, Has he been kidn*pped? What will happen to my date?. Confusion clothed me like a bedspread and I was lost in the strangeness of things.