A Heck of a Hex

Chapter 3

She could hear hip-hop music pouring out of Dalia’s room. The door shook from how loud the music played. Lucille knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Dalia called out. The door swung open, Lucille stepped inside, shutting the door behind her. Dalia was lying on the bed; she was glancing up at the ceiling.

The voice on the radio belted out the lyrics:

“You betrayed me. You’re dead to me.” Dalia saw it was her sister.

“What do you want?”

Lucille’s ears started to ache as well as her head. Next, she walked over to the stereo and turned it off. The sweet sound of silence filled the room for a brief and relieving moment before Dalia sat up and went all Linda Blair on Lucille.

“Did I ask you to turn off the stereo?” Dalia fired at her sister.

“I didn’t want to join the ranks of the hearing impaired today,” Lucille shot back.

“What do you want NARC?” Dalia asked.

I’m sorry I let it slip about the party,” Lucille said.

“It just didn’t feel right lying to Mom and Dad,” Lucille said.

“You just can’t stand me being happy, can you?” Dalia asked.

“That’s a load of crap,” Lucille answered. “Do you even want to go to this party?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Dalia asked.

“You’re so worried about your reputation, that you probably let Rachel bamboozle you into going,” Lucille said. Dalia’s nostrils flared and she felt her temples grow hot.

 Dalia leaped at Lucille and they began rolling around on the ground. Clothes got torn and hair got pulled. Suddenly Flo came stomping into the room.

“What’s going on around here?” Flo asked. Dalia and Lucille stopped fighting.

“Nothing,” Dalia said.

“You’re sisters,” Flo pleaded. You’re supposed to be on the same side!” their mom added.

“We got it, Mom,” Lucille replied. With that, Flo turned and left.

“We’re not sisters anymore!” Dalia said.

Lucille wanted to snap at her; she wanted to say something to get back at her.

“Who does she think she is?” Lucille thought bitterly. Her heart hurt too much. She had never seen such hatred in her sister’s eyes. It especially hurt the anger was directed at her. Lucille walked away defeated and with her head down.

That Monday, Lucille and Elise were standing next to Lucille’s locker as Dalia and Rachel walked by them. Dalia pretended not to see her sister. “It looks like Elise is still mad at you,” Elise remarked.

“I’m afraid so,” Lucille answered.

“Don’t worry,” Elise said placing a hand on the shoulder of her best friend.

“I’m sure this will all blow over soon.”

“I hope so,” Lucille answered. The two-headed in opposite directions. During morning announcements Lucille tried to get her sister’s attention, but it was in vain. Dalia continued to ignore her sister.

The bell rang and the day was set to begin. At lunchtime, everyone swarmed Dalia’s lunch table. She signed autographs for her classmates. The cafeteria was abuzz with the chattering and squeals of excited students. Here it was the digital age, an era where someone could become famous just for talking into a camera. Your tube fame is a curious thing; it’s a definite result of a digital world. It’s a world obsessed with the idea of being connected without any actual physical interaction. In the United States as of 2018, any teen with internet access could fire up their phone, laptop, or desktop computer and watch their peers, whether they ever met them or not, and watch their videos.

Their smiling faces surrounded her while Dalia’s heart beat faster in her chest. She tried to conceal her smile as her classmates showered her with adulation. These were the same people that just last week had ignored her, they felt just so much vehement disdain for her, that their hypocrisy could flood the world twice over. Fame could do a lot to erase many past mistakes. This was an athlete with a talent they once admired. Next, she was a social pariah; now she was a hero for her YouTube.

Did her video touch any of these students legitimately or connect with them personally? No. It was all because she had YouTube fame. Her sister truly cared for her, she had even stuck up for Dalia, and now Lucille faced being ostracized herself. Rose and Colleen sat at the Drama Club’s usual table while Elise and Lucille were forced to sit at a rarely used table; it wobbled and had obscenities carved in it.

“This stinks,” said Lucille. Elise stuck a spongy plastic fork into a spongy macaroni and cheese and looked up at Lucille.

“What stinks?”

“My own sister won’t talk to me,” lamented Lucille. There’s got to be some kind of way I can win my sister back.

“Maybe you could enter the Radio Camden Contest,” Elise suggested.

“Radio Camden is having a contest?” Lucille asked. Elise nodded.

“At 4:00 pm be the eighth caller to correctly identify who plays the killer in the original Friday the Thirteenth film.”

“Betsy Palmer,” Lucille said. “My dad is obsessed with that movie.” Dalia received a strange text on her phone.

“You have been hexed! Love is the only way out.” That was the wording of the text.

“What?” Dalia thought. “Delete.” At 4:00 pm Lucille turned on her radio and dialed the number to Radio Camden. It came up busy so she tried it again. Troy was the name of the Radio Camden disc jockey. He came on the radio in a full booming voice.

“That was caller number 5; we are still looking for caller number 8.” She called a couple of more times. It was still busy. Lucille called again. Finally, it rang. She crossed her fingers, took a deep breath, and held it in.

“Hello,” Troy said. “Congratulations; you are caller number 8. Who played the killer in the original Friday the Thirteenth?”

“Betsy Palmer,” Lucille answered.

“You are correct! You win two tickets to the Boys Without Knees rap concert in Harmony, Ohio.” Troy announced.

“The tickets will be sent to you after you fill out the registration form we send to your email. “What is it?”

Actorgirl@g*******m, Lucille answered.

“Enjoy the concert,” Troy said.

“Thank you!” Lucille said. She was thrilled. It gave her hope to mend fences with Dalia. When she hung up, Dalia entered the room.

“I heard you on the radio,” Dalia said. “What gives? You don’t even like Boys Without Knees.”

“No,” Lucille admitted. “I know you do. I was hoping you would forgive me and we could attend the concert together.”

“I was hoping to take Rachel,” Dalia said.

“Oh,” Lucille answered. “I guess that would be okay.”

“Good,” Dalia muttered. “Maybe then she’ll forgive me for not going to the party.”

Next, Bob walked up to Dalia.

”This package came for you today.” He handed it to her today and Bob and Lucille looked on as Dalia opened it. Staring at her was the Golden Play button, along with a note from YouTube.

“Dear Dalia, We want to congratulate you for passing the one million subscriber milestone. We wish you the best of luck and keep making the world smile with your videos.”

Dalia read the letter.

“Congratulations, sweetheart,” Bob said.

“Thanks, Dad,” Dalia answered back.

“Yeah,” Lucille chimed in. “Congratulations,” Dalia rolled her eyes, ignoring Lucille.

“I’m going to go call Rachel and tell her about my Gold Play button.” Dalia turned and hurried off to her bedroom. Bob looked over and noticed how sad Lucille seemed.

“What’s the wrong pumpkin?” Bob asked.

“Dalia still hasn’t forgiven me for telling you and Mom about the party,” Lucille admitted. Bob sat down next to his daughter on her bed. He placed an arm over her shoulder and pulled her in close to him. She could smell his aftershave; there was a citrus-type scent to it.

“Rather pleasant,” thought Lucille.

“You’re both fifteen,” started Bob. “Your hormones are raging and you are both feeling strange things. Give Dalia some time; she’ll come around.” He smiled as he looked into her eyes.

“Feel better?” Bob asked.

“Not really,” Lucille shrugged.

“It’s always darkest before the dawn,” Bob said.

“Florence and the Machine?” asked Lucille.

“Who?” Bob asked.

“It’s a band,” Lucille answered.

“Oh, I see,” Bob said.

“It’s so cool. Isn’t it?” Dalia said into the phone.

There was a brief pause at the other end of the line.

“It’s way cool,” Alex said. ”You’re in big trouble!”

There was a sound like a dial tone from hanging up.

“Hello?” Rachel said.

“Did you hear that?” Dalia asked.

“Hear what?” Rachel asked.

“There was a man’s voice on the other end of the line,” replied Dalia sounding confused. 

“I didn’t hear anything,” insisted Rachel. “Maybe you’re picking up on some interference.”

“Perhaps,” Dalia said.

“So you’re definitely taking me to that concert?” Rachel asked.

“For sure,” replied Dalia. “Talk to you later bestie.”

Later that night while Dalia slumbered, she had a terrible dream. It began with her on the basketball court. The place was empty and dark; the dribbling of the basketball and the squeaking of sneakers were the only sounds in the gymnasium. She juked right, faked left and gave a quick spoon move, then shot the ball. The swishing of the ball sliding into the hoop filled Dalia’s ears with intoxicating music. She soon heard clapping and laughing.

“Stupendous,” she heard a voice call out. Dalia looked over and saw a man who was dressed in all black, seated in the bleachers, and his face remained in the shadows.

“Hello,” he said, his voice devoid of emotion.

“Who are you?” Dalia asked.

“Don’t you recognize me? Alex asked.

“No,” Dalia answered. “Should I?”

“You signed an autograph for me,” Alex said. “Only you gave a false name.

“Okay, Dalia answered cautiously. “What are you doing here?”

“This is your new reality,” Alex answered. “You have grown to resent your sister. I am presenting to you a new reality where you have no sister…”

“Are you nuts? This sounds like the plot to some bad fantasy novel,”

“I am a very powerful warlock,” Alex insisted. “I have lived for centuries. You will spend the next eight years in this reality with this timeline continuum. You will be an only child. Do you have any questions so far?”

“None,” Dalia said.

“Your time will be accelerated. Those eight years will merely feel like a matter of a few hours to you,” Alex continued. At the end of those eight years, you will be presented with two doors.

 One will be blue, your sister’s favorite color. The other door will be red, your favorite color. One of them will lead you back to this reality and you will have to repeat this eight-year loop. The other door will lead you back to the reality where you have a sister.

You will not know which door is which!”

“That sounds like a bunch of mumbo jumbos,” Dalia said.

The twin gymnasium doors swung open and Dalia walked toward the light.

She stepped through the doors and her new life was set to begin.

The doors swung shut behind her. She soon found herself at home in bed. The alarm clock buzzed. Then she reached out her own arm and turned the dumb old noisy thing off.

She sat up in bed and stretched out.

“Just a dumb dream,” Dalia thought. After getting dressed, she was startled by the sound of the smoke alarm going off. She raced toward the stairs and practically leaped down them. Dalia found her dad frantically waving a towel at the smoke alarm.

“Dad?” Dalia asked.

“Yeah honey?” he replied.

“Why are you cooking?” Dalia asked. He looked puzzled by this question.

“Your mom is teaching late this semester, so I agreed to take care of a lot of the cooking. By the looks of it, I will be preparing a lot of frozen meals or getting takeout this semester!”

“Since when does Mom teach?” Dalia asked looking puzzled.

“Since you were born,” Bob said. Dalia remembered that her mom had quit her teaching job when Dalia and Lucille were in seventh grade. Seeing Lucille fulfill her dream of becoming an actress had inspired Flo to become an author and join a local theatre troupe.

“Where’s Lucille?” Dalia asked.