A Heck of a Hex

Chapter 5

“Sorry,” Alex sneered. “I have to amuse myself sometimes,” Dalia muttered under her breath. The next day Dalia awoke to the sight of being in her own bed. She held a telephone in her hand. Dalia could hear Rachel talking on the other end of the line. Dalia placed the phone up to her ear.

“Rachel,” she whispered.

“Where’d you go?” Rachel asked. “I think you fell asleep on me.” Rachel said.

“Could you hold on for a second please?” Dalia raced down the hallway and found her sister, sitting on her own bed, moping.

“LUCILE!” exclaimed Dalia.

“What?” Lucile asked. Dalia kissed her sister on the cheek, hugging her too.

“I missed you so much!” Dalia said.

“We just saw each other a few minutes ago,” Lucille stated.

“I know,” Dalia began.

“I just felt like it was a lot longer. I want to apologize for what I said earlier. We’ll always be sisters. Do you want to come with me to the Boys Without Knees Concert?”

Lucille’s eyes filled with excitement.

“Do you mean it?”

Dalia nodded.

“Of course. We’re sisters, best friends for life.” They hugged again.

“Be right back,” Dalia said. She went back to her own bedroom to tell Rachel that she would be taking Lucille to the concert instead of her. There were some yelling, swearing, and tears, as to be expected. Rachel slammed down the phone. Then Dalia saw her mother appear in the doorway. Her red hair hung down past her shoulders.

“I already asked your sister and she said yes, Flo started. Since your dad’s away at that coaching seminar for the weekend, why don’t we order a pizza and watch chick flicks?”

“Sounds great, Mom,” Dalia said. They all sat on the sofa while the film played. All the ladies were dressed in pajamas. They grabbed tissues by the handfuls, constantly blowing their noses sounding like broken trumpets. All the ladies swooned when the hunky protagonist appeared on the screen.

Chapter 5

Rachel walked up the driveway while music pulsated. Drunken dancing could be observed through the window. She headed to the front door. Rachel walked in and had to push past the mass of hormonally charged humanity. She happened upon Devan and Craig.

“Hey,” Devan said. “Where’s your friend?”

“Oh, she couldn’t make it,” Rachel said.

“Gee, that’s too bad,” Craig stated.

“Why don’t you get our friend a drink?” prompted Devan. Craig did as he was told.

“Care to dance?” Devan asked.

“Sure,” Rachel answered. Then Craig returned carrying a red cup.

“A drink for the lady,” Craig said, speaking in a phony British accent. Rachel took the drink.

“Why don’t we go someplace where we can talk privately?” Devan asked.

“I’d like that,” Rachel replied. Devan and Rachel headed upstairs and went into an empty bedroom to talk. She began to feel faint after a little while. She closed her eyelids and passed out. When she awoke a couple of hours later, Rachel found herself being driven home by her mother.

“Mom?” Rachel asked. “What’s going on?”

“We were called by an anonymous caller and told you were unconscious at a college party,” Rachel’s mom admitted.

“What about my car?” Rachel asked.

“Your father is driving it home,” her mom told her.

“Do you have any idea how stupid it was to go to a college party at sixteen and lie to your parents about it?” Rachel’s mother asked.

“I’m sorry,” Rachel said.

“We’re going to have you examined at the hospital and then we’re going to the police station,”

Rachel’s mother said. ”We believe you were roofied.” Those words hit like a ton of bricks. Roofied. These guys seemed so nice. What did they do?! Rachel wanted to curl up in a little ball and hideaway. She had tried to talk Dalia into going with her to the party. She realized Dalia could have gotten drugged too.

What if Rachel was pregnant? Would her parents let her keep the baby? Would they make her keep the baby? Would they make her put the baby up for adoption? What would happen to her chances of being a college hoop star with a screaming baby at home? Rachel did not know the answer to any of these questions. She looked at her mother with deep regret and said:

“I love you and I’m sorry.”

“I love you too,” said Rachel’s mother.

Chapter 6

Bob returned home early on Sunday morning. He found his three favorite ladies asleep in the living room. Flo was asleep on the couch and Dalia and Lucille were sleeping on the floor. He kissed his wife and daughters on the cheek and headed off to bed. After everyone awoke, the entire Becker family enjoyed some quality time together. They all sat at the kitchen table playing Scrabble. The next day at school, Dalia received a strange surprise. When she walked into Mr. Jenkin’s classroom, Dalia found a statuesque blonde standing in front of the class. She wore a black knee-length skirt and a red blouse.

“My name is Miss Hobbs,” the woman began. “I’ll be your sub for a little while.” There were a few whistles and a couple of students clapped.

“I want this class to be fun but foolishness will not be tolerated!” Miss Hobbs said.

“Is that understood?” The class all agreed. So she went on about her task of teaching the class. Her movements were graceful. She moved with the ease of an elite athlete. The bell rang and the students began filing out of the class. Miss Hobbs called Dalia over to her desk.

“I must ask of you to endure these next seven days. You have been hexed. If you endure these next seven days, I will cure you of the hex,” Miss Hobbs said.

“How do you know all of this? Also, why do I have to wait seven days?” Dalia asked. Miss Hobbs's hair turned white. Her skin became blue while an immense glowing light shot out from her fingertips.

“I am the goddess Paloma,” Miss Hobbs said. “Alex has put a block upon my powers to intervene.

“I don’t know if I can make it seven days being hexed by that lunatic Alex,” Dalia admitted.  

“He’s already tried to kill me once.”

“Alex needs you alive,” said Miss Hobbs. “He can’t t*****e you if you are dead.”

“That’s not very comforting,” Dalia thought.

“I advise you not to let Alex know that you have received counsel from me,” Miss Hobbs warned. “He could become desperate and no one needs a desperate warlock running around. Very dangerous!” Then Palomo turned back into Miss Hobbs. Dalia’s mind reeled.

“Seven days of Hell!” Dalia thought as she left the classroom. Her mind remained in a vacuous state throughout the day. She never even noticed that Rachel was nowhere to be found.

“Who cares about Rachel?” thought Dalia. “She’s so wishy-washy.”

She went home and cranked up the stereo. The music helped to drown out the busyness of her mind. She sat at the dinner table stoically.

“You ok pumpkin?” Bob asked. “You’re awfully quiet tonight, and you barely touched your ziti.”

“I know Dad,” said Dalia. “I’ve just got a lot of stuff on my mind.”

“Care to talk about it champ?”

“Not really,” Dalia said.

“Might make you feel better,” Bob coaxed.

“There are just some things you don’t want to talk about; you just have to get through them,” Dalia stated. She tossed and turned in bed that night. A terrible dream came upon her. Dalia found herself in the cafeteria surrounded by smiling and laughing students. Her classmates’ laughter soon turned to screams. Kids were jumping out of windows. Several kids poured salt into their eyes. A massive stampede started; a few children were trampled to death underfoot.

 Dalia raced to the bathroom and examined her face in the mirror. She winced at her own grotesque appearance. Her hair was missing, her eyes were sunken in, as were her green cheeks. She was afflicted with warts all over her cheeks and her teeth were black. Dalia awoke at 5:00 am. She raced to the bathroom, and turned on the light, fumbling around in the dark at first. Relieved, Dalia found her normal face staring back at her. She had pink skin, no warts, with just one tiny blemish on her chin. This was more the curse of puberty than a warlock’s hex.

When she got on the bus it was raining. The students on the bus remained inert, sluggish. No matter how much rain midwestern boys and girls were exposed to, phenomena like rain and snow, several of them became grumpier and more tired.

“If anyone complained about the weather today, they would get popped in the mouth. There was no way any of their petty problems compared with being hexed by a warlock!” Dalia thought. There was a pop quiz in geometry.

“Is there any way I can make it up?” Dalia asked the teacher.

Relax Dalia,” Mrs. George said. “It’s only one quiz worth five points and you’re doing very well otherwise.” Mrs. George started patting Dalia on her shoulder. In gym class, Dalia reared back and smashed Liza Davis in the face with a kickball. The students all surrounded Liza as she held her nose, writhing around on the ground in pain. Coach Molly hustled over and knelt beside the injured girl.

“Honey let me see,” Coach Molly insisted. Liza removed her hands from her nose and sprayed blood onto Coach Molly’s face. She tried to mask her anger and revulsion.

“Bobby,” Coach Molly began. “Please escort Liza to the nurse’s office.” Bobby did as he was told. The rest of the students looked at Dalia, whispering amongst themselves, with their cruel eyes studying her. Dalia tried to shrink down.

“Somebody get the janitor,” Coach Molly instructed. “All this blood needs mopped up.” Dalia stayed after school to shoot hoops. She didn’t feel like going home. The pounding of the ball made its own music. The squeak, squeak, squeaking of Dalia’s sneakers on the hardwood floor sounded through the gymnasium too.

“Life always goes on,” Dalia thought. She had a week of crap to go through. Afterward, she would be free of the curse. She thought of next season. Dalia would be one year older; she had a great defensive game. She was only fifteen but she had to improve overall. Her life would be full of ups and downs. She would find love and maybe lose it, typical life stuff. There were experiences in her life that had really tested her mettle, and she persevered. She shot hoops for around an hour and then called her dad to pick her up.

“Dalia,” her father smiled. He handed his daughter an envelope.

“This came for you today,” Bob said. She tore it open and found a check for four hundred thousand dollars; it was from YouTube.

“That’ll help with you and your sister’s college education,” Bob admitted.

“You can take out two thousand dollars to spend on yourself.”

“What about future checks?” Dalia asked.

“You can keep those,” Bob stated.

“Sweet,” Dalia answered. That afternoon Dalia decided to take a walk. She could feel eyes studying her. She kept on walking. The clopping of her tennis shoes hitting the wet pavement filled the air.

“Meow.” She heard the meowing of a cat behind her. Dalia turned around and saw a cat with one eye, and a heart-shaped tuft of white hair across his chest. The rest of the fur was black. She bent down to pet the cat. It leaped up into Dalia’s arms. The feline purred contently. She nuzzled her cheek to his.

 Suddenly a guttural growl sounded behind her. Dalia spun around on her heels to find a ratty German Shepard, down on its haunches, snarling at her. She looked down at the cat who was shaking like a freezing man in a snow storm. Dalia kissed the top of his forehead. Now the German Shepard began barking. The sound gave the cat a jolt of fear to the feline, causing him to leap out of Dalia’s arms and race down the street. The dog chased after the stray cat. Dalia took after the dog.

“Leave the cat alone!” Dalia yelled after the k-9. Alex’s voice sounded in the breeze.

“You can’t escape your fate, Dalia!” The sound of that voice caused her knees to buckle and shake. The leaves on the trees began to shake.

“You’re not going to beat me!” Dalia defiantly exclaimed. Next, a pack of dogs happened upon Dalia. They snarled and their back hair stood straight up as they crouched down. Dalia took off like a human pinball. The pack of dogs chased after the frightened teen. She cut across lawns. The slobbering mongrels scampered, closing in on her, and wanting to go in for the kill. Her breathing matched the dogs’ panting. She reached her mailbox. Then Dalia raced inside.

 Her heart pounded in her chest. She leaned back against the door; she could hear the beasts scratching at the door. Their barking echoed through the door, quaking. Flo entered the front room.

“What’s going on?” Flo asked.

“This pack of dogs chased me home,” Dalia said.

“Are you alright?” Flo asked. “They didn’t hurt you, did they?”

“No,” Dalia said. The next day Dalia stepped outside and a raven popped out of a hedge. He followed Dalia onto the bus. The ebony bird perched and sat in the seat next to her.

“Are you comfortable?” Dalia asked. His glassy eyes stared up at her. He tilted his head to the side while gazing up at Dalia. When the bus stopped, Dalia hopped off the bus and the raven followed her into the school. Rachel noticed the bird hanging out with Dalia. This all happened by Dalia’s locker.

“Who’s your friend?” Rachel asked.

“I have no idea,” Dalia replied. “Little guy has been following me all day.”

“You’re not a witch are you?” Rachel asked.

“No,” Dalia started. “I have been hexed though.”

“Wow; really?” Rachel asked. Dalia nodded.

“It really sucks.”

“Why don’t you swing by my house; we’ll see if we can get you hex free,” said Rachel.

“You mean that?” Dalia asked.

“Sure I do,” stated Rachel. “I’m a witch.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Dalia asked.

“Would you have believed me?” shrugged Rachel.

“Probably not,” answered Dalia. After school, Dalia and Rachel headed to Rachel’s house. They went right to the basement. There was a poster of a unicorn on the wall and under that a sofa. Dalia plopped down on the couch. Rachel retrieved a book on witchcraft from the shelf and sat down next to Dalia. Rachel looked in the book, her jaw tightened, and her eyes narrowed.

“It says we need a lock of the person’s hair who hexed you,” Rachel confessed.

Dalia bit her lower lip.

“I don’t know if I could get that close to him.”

“You have to try,” Rachel pleaded.

“You don’t want to stay cursed forever do you?” Rachel asked. Dalia shrugged.

“It’s only going to take seven days. After that, the hex will be lifted.”

“A lot can happen in seven days,” Rachel answered. “Even…”

Dalia and her friend locked eyes. Something invisible slugged Dalia in the gut. Nerves.

Anticipation of what could be said ate away at Dalia’s mind.

“What?” Dalia asked.

“Death,” whispered Rachel. Dalia shuddered.

“I don’t want to think about that,” muttered Dalia.

“Get a piece of his hair,” Rachel instructed.

“I don’t think you want to do that,” said the raven. Rachel and Dalia exchanged confused looks.

“You have been a very bad girl,” the raven said turning into Alex.

“You will suffer, you wretched girl,” Alex warned. Rachel charged at Alex but he seized her, lifting her high in the air, gazing deep into her eyes. His eyes held her transfixed.

“You are mine child,” he snarled. “You are under my power,” Alex commanded. “You will spend every waking moment from now until your task is complete, trying to kill Dalia Becker!”

He released the girl and she landed on her feet. Rachel turned and glowered at Dalia, squatting down, and hissing. Wherever Dalia tried to walk, Rachel cut her off. Alex observed the scene with a grin on his face. Rachel lunged at Dalia. She ducked under her outstretched arms and started up the stairs. Rachel closed in behind her. She reached out and swatted at the air. Rachel grabbed Dalia’s ankle. Dalia caught herself with her knees and ankles. It was painful, but it kept bones from being broken. With her free foot, she kicked Rachel in the face. She released her grip and gave a shrill cry of pain. Dalia scrambled to her feet and ran, meeting Rachel’s mother when she opened the door. Dalia ran past her. The mother had to tackle the daughter.

“We’ve got to have you institutionalized,” the mother threatened.

Alex, like the raven, walked by the thrashing teen.

“I’ll kill you,” warned Rachel

That night Lucille shook her sister by the arm.

“Let’s go,” Lucille whispered.

“Where are we going?” Dalia asked.

“I don’t know,” Lucille said. “I’ll explain later.” They headed to a nearby set of woods.

“What’s going on?” Dalia asked.

“Mom and Dad were acting freaky,” Lucille said. “I’m pretty sure they are wanting to kill us.”

“Dad was in the garage, sharpening his ax, and making chopping noises. Mom was muttering to herself while brandishing a butcher knife.”

“They are obsessed,” Dalia confessed. Then she went on to explain about the hex.

“What can we do?” Lucille asked.

“We’ll stay here tonight and tomorrow we’ll talk to Miss Hobbs,” Dalia suggested. They slept on the ground. The next day they headed to school dirty. Lucille and Dalia met Miss Hobbs after Dalia’s English class.

“I’ll let you girls stay with me until it blows over,” Miss Hobbs said.