THE WRETCHED

EARTH

Jenna's curly brown hair was something she hated and loved because it was hard to comb but then it allowed her to do several styles. She loved that she could do box braids and not have to worry about taking extra care when combing. Her hair was something she prided herself in; it was one of those indicators of her two cultures; being the only child of her black mother and Latina father, she did have a very rich cultural heritage. Her big mesmerizing brown eyes were a copy of her mothers' almond-shaped eyes.

"I tried to die my hair yesterday," Kara her best friend said as she took out her red velvety lipstick from her school bag. They had skipped the programming class to get ready for the party at Rockys' place.

"It doesn't look like," Jenna answered, her eyes glued to her phone, she had just taken a photo of herself and was editing it on her phone before she opted it on her i********: account. She crossed her thin long legs and leaned against the wall, her eyes darting to Kara's hair for a second before she resumed back to her phone, "she caught me, otherwise, my hair would be a neon pink right now,"

"You don't do that Kara," Jenna answered, rolling her eyes, "you should have gone to a salon and have it done... your mum would have had no other option than to let you keep it,"

"You say that because your father lets you have those red highlights on your hair whenever you want. My mother would kill me," Kara replied, popping her lips to see if the lipstick was fine, "I had to really beg her to allow me to attend this party,"

"Try applying for a hostel next time Kara," Jenna relaxed her weight on the wall, "let's go," 

Kara felt that Jenna had such a strong personality that her parents found trouble in taming. Jenna wasn't the type to do as she was told, she always had something up her sleeve and Kara sometimes worried for her friend but Jenna would only think that Kara was trying to intervene in her personal life if she tried telling her that maybe listening to her parents once in a while would do good for their relationship. Kara wondered how they had ever become friends; they were two opposites of the same coin yet they got along better than anyone in the school. If that lousy Dave hadn't tried snatching Kara's phone on her way to school and Jenna coming to her rescue by throwing rotten oranges at him then she doubted that they would have ever become friends. It had happened in a split second; at first,  she had been shocked by Jenna's action and then the next second they were laughing at a very angry Dave who had stormed off towards his house.

"I hate having hangovers," Jenna wined as the bell rang, it signalled the end of school hours.

"yeah well, maybe you should stop going to every party Rocky throws," Kara replied as they made their way down the stairs to where Rocky parked his car, his friend Scott sitting on the front seat of the car, his legs hanging loosely on the side.

Jenna made an incoherent noise at Kara's remark, "and miss out on Scott's hilarious jokes? No way Kara,"

Kara pursed her lips, "we both know you only go because you don't want to miss out on Scott's handsome face," she replied, her tone teasing.

"You might as well shout for everyone to hear," Jenna replied. The students were crowding the campus hall as they came out of their various classes. A girl sneaked a look at Jenna who in turn raised an eyebrow daringly, "at this rate everyone is going to know I have a massive crush on Scott," she whispered to Kara as they descended down the stairs to the parking lot.

Kara laughed lightheartedly, she liked it when Jenna got all riled up over silly things.

Rocky's lips stretched out into a wide toothy grin when he noticed Jenna approach them. He had always liked Jenna in a way that he wished she would allow him to be more than just friends with him but his flirting game with her seemed to be down. He could never get her to have coffee with him after classes nor even go out for a movie at the mall. The only time she accepted his requests was when there was a party... she was one wild girl, she would never say no to a party invite.

"You guys should have been here by 5 pm," he faked disappointment, his forehead furrowing as he pursed his lips.

Jenna as she would always, rolled her eyes, hugging him subtly on the side. He would have loved to get a good look of the view from the back... he internally scolded himself, maybe that's why Jenna could never take him seriously and always called him a p*****t.

"Takes time to look this fly as a mother," she answered back, pulling herself from the hug.

He wanted to smack that fine ass as she walked past him towards Scott.

"Your eyes might just fall," Kara's sweet voice snapped him from his fantasy.

"After I get a taste of that fine ass," he replied, going in for a hug.

"It's funny how you're always dreaming," she answered back, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Am a romantic at heart," 

Kara seemed calm but her heart was beating faster than she could count. The way he smiled reminded her of sunny mornings with a warm relaxing breeze that swept across her face, softly massaging her scalp with pure tenderness. She would never get tired of watching him, the way the corner of his eyes crinkled when he laughed and how his lips always seemed so soft that she wanted to reach out and run her thumb slowly. She stopped herself, he would never look at her like that. It would always be Jenna, he only had eyes for Jenna yet Jenna would always like Scott. She chuckled, isn't it funny that the person we want always wants someone else yet we want nothing to do with the person that loves us.

"What's so funny," Rocky asked.

She shrugged, "nothing, just an observation," she replied, her eyes catching glimpse of the way Scott's eyes undressed her... but she could be wrong because he quickly looked away, smiling at something Jenna said.

Jenna although she wanted to spend a lot of time with Scott, he seemed off... he was distracted by something and she couldn't figure out what so she did the one thing she had mastered overtime, "what's wrong?"

He smiled, "nothing," he replied but she could see the troubled look in his eyes.

"To be honest, you're quite distracted,"

He sighed, "Troy was supposed to be here but I don't see him,"

Jenna for one knew that Troy and Scott weren't that close enough for him to be worried but she thought it better to let it go.

The party was at Rocky's place. It was an only invite party since Rocky's house was in a luxurious estate and he didn't want to have too many people as it would be harder to control them. It was a gated community that oozed money and riches. Jenna sat at the front seats with Rocky who was more elated than anyone while Scott and Kara took the back seats. A grumpy Jenna snapped at Rocky more times than he could count on the drive to the party, he had asked Troy to go earlier and make the arrangements before people arrived so that he could have the opportunity to drive Jenna. 

Scott felt like the space in the car was too small; he felt suffocated in the most pleasing manner. His hormones raged inside the cage of his body... boiling and almost spilling. He didn't know how much longer he sit next to Kara and not want to reach out and rub the back of her hand that innocently rested in the space between them. He took a deep breath to calm his raging heartbeat yet it did nothing but only make him more anxious to whether he was behaving weirdly. 

"Will you be drinking tonight?" he asked and then mentally kicked himself for asking such a question. She would definitely think he was weird.

Kara smiled, "not really, I prefer smoking in the corner alone,"

"That makes two of us except I drink alone," he replied, trying his best to sound calm. It amazed him how much a petite girl like Kara could make his heart beat faster than a five-kilometre run could. He was never afraid of doing something yet when it came to telling Kara how he felt about her, his heart became a vegetable.

Kara laughed at his comment, making Jenna turn her face towards them with a curious expression, "can't I just sit at the back?" she whined.

"You're stuck with me," Rocky replied with a chuckle.

Jenna turned to face the front, a frown framing her features, she hadn't liked the way Scott looked at Kara when she laughed. she'd watched them the entire ride and that little voice inside her head told her that he liked Kara. She fought with it but it came on stronger... something was definitely going on.

The party had already begun when Rocky pulled up at the house. Jenna hadn't waited for the others to get into the house. She'd grabbed a bottle of vodka on the kitchen table and gulped down the contents...a satisfactory feeling creeping up raising up inside her as the liquid burned down her throat.

"You should be careful with that," a deep low voice said. Jenna put down the drink to look at the stranger that had interrupted her vibe with the drink. She locked eyes with a tall lean guy with a nervous smile dressed all in black. She chose to ignore him and raised the bottle once again to gulp the contents but he grabbed it from her, his smile never leaving his lips.

"haven't you heard that you should never come between a girl and her vodka?" she asked sassily.

He leaned a bit towards her, "I have heard never to gulp down a bottle of vodka,"

"You heard wrong,"

"I'm pretty sure I heard it right," he answered back, "if you're going to master up courage by drinking then you might as well not do it,"

Jenna studied the boy standing before her, a shy smile creeping on his face. His face was oddly familiar yet she couldn't place where she'd seen him. He had thick bushy eyebrows that framed his oval face shape in a way that made him cute, it was one of those things that one immediately identified. He had round child like eyes that made his face look more youthful, vibrant and an ever present wonder stirred in its brown depths. She noticed the way his mouth quickly curled down, "you're staring," he said.

"Don't you like it?" she asked, her eyes fired up with amusement.

He chuckled nervously, "I didn't say that,"

"Have I seen you somewhere?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"We share most classes," he answered, "you're probably ever busy to have noticed,"

She nodded her head  mocking, "you're the quite type huh?" she said, "You know Rocky?"

"He's my cousin,"

She grabbed the vodka bottle from his hands, "well then... I'll see when I do," she said while brushing past him. Arold let out a deep breath, he didn't know how he had the courage to talk to her. He had just dived right into it when he saw her, his mouth licking the boundaries he'd set for himself. He wasn't the social type, maybe that's why no one really ever recognised him. If it weren't for his cousin, he'd never talk to anyone. He wondered sometimes whether he was mentally alright or he was just that way. His father often complained that he needed to get out of the house. it really got to his nerves that his father was always telling him to go out, "go have fun with your friends," he would say, "why aren't you like the other kids?" he asked him once; that had been the last straw. A week later he told his father that he was moving out to live near the campus and his ever overbearing father had sent him to live in Rocky's house. He wanted to rebel so badly. He didn't like the course he was taking, it had been his father's option to do it because he wanted him to go work at his research company. He would take English Literature at a hearts beat but then that would earn him a free ticket out of the family and he didn't have the heart to leave his father alone especially after the death of his mother. 

Kara, Rocky, Scott, Troy and Jenna sat in Rocky's room away from all the noise in the living area. 

"We should play truth or dare," Kara suggested.

"That's a childish game," Rocky replied, barely glancing at her as he went through his phone.

"We need a little child like play," Scott replied, his heart breaking from the sad look on Kara's face. She was a simple girl, no drama, just chilled and he didn't like seeing her sad.

"Yeah we should," Jenna added, her eyes twinkling. Rocky switched off his phone, "ok, I'll start,"

"truth or dare Scott,"

"I pick truth," he answered, his eyes stealing glances at Kara.

"Who's your crush?"

"Kara," he answered without missing a beat. It had become so common for Rocky to tease him about Kara that he got used to it. He realized everyone had froze, well... Jenna and Kara froze. The two of them a show of different reactions. Kara's eyes bulged out in shock while Jenna's eyes seemed like they were about to tear up.

"You're joking right?" Kara asked, denial in her tone. Her eyes seemed to be pleading with him to take it back but he could have been wrong, he thought.

Jenna didn't wait for his reply, she grabbed her bag and ran outside, her eyes betraying the overwhelming emotions she felt. She felt like a thousand rocks had been put on her heart; wearing it out with each second that passed. She felt her a sharp pain pierce her chest, her heart squashed and bleeding. Her teary eyes blurred her way but she kept on moving, pushing people out of her way until someone grabbed her arm, jerking her back.

"What's wrong Jenna?" Rocky asked.

"Am sorry," came Kara's small voice.She stared at them, her mind blank for a second. Kara's teary eyes told it all... she wasn't to blame and neither was Rocky. She took a deep calming breath, "I just want to be alone," she said, her eyes finding the tall silhouette of a very confused Scott standing at Ricky's door, "we'll talk later," she added. Rocky released her arm, nodding at her.

Jenna wiped the tears that fell from her eyes and descended down the stairs, trying her best to appear calm.

She chose to go through the back door in the massive modern kitchen to the garden. She had come to love Rocky's place mainly because of the garden. The beautiful daisy flowers and white roses that adorned the garden was something out of a fairy tale... a fairy tale she had always wanted to have since she was a little girl. She'd imagined giving herself to her one true love in a garden, surrounded by the humming of birds, the twinkle of the stars in the night and the presence of sweet smelling scents of the flowers. She sat on a wooden chair in the garden, wrapping her arms around herself in a protective manner. She hadn't realised how deep her feelings for Scott were until she was running from the room. She had been so stupid, she thought, how could she not have realized that he liked Kara? She caught him several times looking at Kara but she'd been so invested in her own feelings. In someway she felt like she hadn't been the best friend to Kara, maybe she'd been the one to come between them. She let out a loud sob and covered her face with palms of her hands. She didn't want to go back again, she didn't want to see them. She willed herself to be strong but the more she tried to hold back her tears, the more she felt like crap inside. Jenna felt someone sit beside her, she didn't want to see who it was...most probably Kara.

"Go away," she said.

"I didn't realize you're such a kid,"  it was the boy she'd met when she arrived at the party. She peeled her plans from her face and frowned at him, he was smiling.

"What's so funny?" she asked, her voice raspier.

"Why are you crying?"

"It's none of your business,"

"Whatever it is, will it matter in five years?" he asked.

She was quite, her mind suddenly openly thinking about his question, "no," she found herself saying.

"Then why cry over something that's not permanent? Don't get me wrong... it's good to let out your emotions but don't druag it for long,"

"what do you know?" she snapped at his attempt to give her advice.

"The reason we hurt ourselves is because  we overthink the situation even after it's done...that's what you're doing,"

She looked away. She didn't like the fact that he was giving her life advice but to some extent, she appreciated that he had said it because some part of her let go and relaxed.

"whetever," she said.

The moon shone around them, it's cool glow cast over them like an embrace. The night suddenly turned to complete darkness for a moment, the birds stopped their glorious chirping, the wind went still and the trees stood numb in the darkness, the ground shook for a second and a dark cloud formed overhead the two strangers who had no idea what lay before them, they would have never foreseen the adventure life had for them not even the astrologers would have known. It had been a secret, always had been... a secret that would shape the lives of two completely different individuals.The whole world went still for a second, nothing moved, the plane in the sky stopped, the girl about to punch her friend went still, the footballer about to shoot his teams winning goal went still midair, the cheering fan at home went still while his popcorns stood mid air in celebration and the bullet mid-air failed to move and in that second... Jenna and Arold sank into oblivion.Nothing would prove that a second earlier they had been sitting on the empty bench, what remained of them was a void filled then with air... Kara stood a few feet away from them, her fallen tear suspended midway and then things were back to normal... the punch hit the best friend, the popcorns littered the whole living room and Kara was left wondering where Jenna and Arold had gone so fast, it was as if they had disappeared into thin air. It was impossible.

 Her observation would later be termed as delusion as a search party was organized for the two missing teenagers in the area but deep down Kara knew something otherworldly had happened that night. She felt it in her bones and she wanted to find out.