Tuesday morning, 5:03 am.
I woke up, squinting my eyes to the beauty of the early morning sun that penetrated through my glass windows. The lights shone on my skin with a caressing blaze and it almost made me forget the trouble I had been in the previous night.
I jumped into a blue jeans skirt- short, about two and a half fingers above my knees, then wore a crisp dark purple top that ended somewhere on top of my curvy waist, exposing my glorious tummy to those that care. Because of my abilities as a werewolf, I could hear from afar, and I had heard what people had said about the way I dressed- countless times. I had heard quite a few girls gossip about me and call me slutty hookers and all sorts of bitched up names. But I was on an apex level of giving no S H I T about gossip- and doing things this way had always paid off. I love looking perfect so I trudged over to my stand-up mirror in a far corner of my room to have a prolific view of how I had dressed. Sitting on the single black leather upholstery in front of my mirror made me realize a couple of things about myself. As much as I hated to admit it, I shared a lot of common facial qualities with my father. Though I had a hazy and flashy memory of what my mother looked like, from what I was seeing in the mirror, I think I had more to share with him than her. My father was tall, about 6’2 or more perhaps but I wouldn’t say that I was short either. As a girl at 5’10, no one would argue it was bad for our gender. We both shared the same caramel skin, though mine appeared more pale-looking than his. I had big eyes, grey of colour. I had an oval-shaped face, long too though not exactly like his. I had a lot of things I was proud of myself and. . . I looked at my phone.
“Shit, I don’t want to be late,” I mumbled to myself. I threw my bag over my back and strode out to the car pack. I hopped in and drove the speed beast to school. I had to change my mind halfway through my journey. I assumed that Stephanie might be on her way to school already so I didn’t fancy the idea of visiting her first before going to school. It was 7:40 when I arrived so I had to walk straight inside the class. I sat at my desk waiting for the commencement of the first lesson. But for straight 20 minutes, Stephanie was nowhere to be found. Odd. Wasn’t it? I tried to relax. Maybe she might have been delayed by traffic, I thought. I must confess, the lesson I had received the whole day came down on me vague, pointless- nothing was understood. And that was because my new friend Stephanie hadn’t been to class the whole day. To be honest, it got me worried. When the lesson was over, without delay, I drove to the last place I had seen Stephanie. I stopped my car and walked up to her gate and knocked. I knocked and knocked and knocked but no one answered. I pushed on the smaller gate and it swung back and hit on the wall behind it. I entered the compound and moved straight to the bungalow I saw upfront. The beauty of the house drew my attention for a minute. I had to stop to feed my eyes. The whole place looked neat, and arranged, though not that big, it sure looked like a good place to raise kids, it was a home. No wonder Stephanie was such a nice-looking girl, I thought. I pressed the bell button on the door side and it whizzed somewhere inside the house. I waited until I heard someone open the door from behind.
“Hi, Thelma!”
“Hi Steph, I didn’t see you in school today. What’s up?” I asked. Thelma was in a nightie gown, yellow of colour. To me, it was odd wearing that by that time of the day.
She waited for a few seconds before she finally said something. “I didn’t feel like showing up today.”
“Huh? Why?”
“You see eh-m, I’m just, I am just not ready for anything today.”
I frowned. “Is it because of Eric?” I asked.
She grimaced. But didn’t say anything. “You know what?”
“No.”
“Go on inside and bring my earpiece for me and then go prepare for a party.” I smiled at her. I changed my mind. I wanted to ease her stress. I wasn’t happy my friend didn’t look happy. It didn’t feel right.
“Party?”
“You heard me right.”
She scoffed. “I don’t think I-”
“Don’t think anything Stephanie” I uttered with a stern voice, cutting her off. “Go prepare for a fucking party and quit pussying around.” I tried to calm my voice. “That’s if you still want to be my friend.”
“Huh!” Her beautiful eyes glowed, might be surprised by my threat. I guessed she didn’t take it lightly. “Okay. Give me a minute.” She turned around and zoomed off inside. I waited for a while. She didn’t waste much time like I would have wasted if I decide on preparing for something. I was sure disappointed when she came outside.
“Let’s go,” she said and smiled.
“Let’s go where?” I asked.
“To the party of course.”
“With this. . . with this long gown? Who are you following with this thing?” I asked? Stephanie wore a long sapphire gown, it swallowed the set of modest breasts she had. The gown ended below her knee level making her look like a grandma.
She looked at herself up and down, frankly assessing. “What’s wrong with this?”
“Everything is wrong with it, Thelma. Anyway, you don’t have to worry. Just follow me.”
I drove her to a shopping mall. I found her a gown that I liked and asked her to wear it so I would see how she looked. When she did, it looked sexy on her, perfect.
“Perfect.” Came out from my lips. The dress complemented her dark, glossy and elegant skin. It wowed me.
She looked freaked out. Her eyes rolled over me in lazy speculation. I guess she wasn’t comfortable in the dress but who gives a fuck? I paid the bills and grabbed my friend’s hand. We finally headed to the party.
6:40 pm, Tuesday evening.
When we came down from the car, the stars were gradually occulting the sky in bright yellow sparks above. It will get dark soon, I thought. Something sneered me into thinking. What would my father say when I come back late? We moved into the party hall, Stephanie trailing behind me closely. She looked tense. It came to my notice that it might have been her first day at a party. But I knew she would get used to it. It was just a matter of time, I thought.
The dancehall was a blast. Party lights of colour blue, green, yellow, and red were hung on the ceilings, offering rotational flashes across all ends. The music was loud, though it only got better when I was inside. The DJ and some of his crew stood on top of the stage. The stage was two to three feet higher than the ground the dancers were dancing on. Atop the building was another floor which I think was reserved exclusively for the VIPs. It looked serene, calmer than the ground we stood on.
“Care to dance?” I asked, my voice swallowed by the loud music thundering everywhere.
“I can’t hear you. Raise your voice, please.”
“I said,” I drew in a long breath through my mouth and nose, “do you care to dance?”
“Nah, not now.” Stephanie half smiled but didn’t look at me. Her attention had been drawn
I wasn’t surprised. “VIP it is then.”
We both climbed up the stairs. We found a comfortable spot where we sat down. It offered us the chance to view the dancehall perfectly without any obstruction.
“Do you like it?” I asked.
Stephanie just nodded but her eyes were on the crowd below. It was obvious she had been carried away by the excitement. I waived to a waiter. He was tall of a man, slim and dark. He was on white long sleeves tucked inside black trousers. He covered the white he wore with a plain black jacket.
“Good evening beauties,” he said and smiled cheerily. “What would please your evening?” his voice came out soft like he had been a member of a church choir.
“Huh?” I pressed on my lips. “Any Martinis?”
He nodded. “Red Martini,” he responded. “You want it in a cup or-”
“Don’t we look like we can down the whole bottle?” I asked him.
He giggled. “I wouldn’t know.”
“Then get us one bottle and two glasses.”
He nodded and left. Stephanie glared at me until I wasn’t too comfortable about it. “What?”
“Isn’t that alcoholic?”
“You mean the Martini?”
She nodded.
“Of course. Where’s the fun if you do not take any alcohol in a paaarty?”
“I am sorry but I don’t take-”
“No buts,” I interrupted her. “Anything I take you take. Anything I drink you drink. You heard me?”
She hesitated for a while before she finally said, “Yes.”
The waiter served the drink. Stephanie and I spent the next couple of minutes, talking about ourselves, joking, and discussing boys. I didn’t know I would end up talking about my family too but I did. It wasn’t easy though. I discovered that she had a great sense of humor. She was pure inside just like she looked outside. I never knew I would ever have a female friend just like her.
“I need to use the toilet, Thelma.”
“Okay, dear,” I said, my voice loud. “Keep your eyes peeled. Some guys here are ready to grope your ass down there.”
She smiled beautifully. “I can take care of myself.”
She turned to leave but I held her arm. “I mean it. Keep your eyes sharp.”
“Okay mum,” she replied, smiling. “I will watch my ass.”
Huh! I smiled. I had never seen her using that type of language before. At least she was gradually getting along with the street language, I thought and smiled. I took my time, watching, nodding to the rhythm of the music, and waiting to get tipsy before I go down and grabbed someone’s son down there to dance with me. Perfect plan. Isn’t it?.
I waited for Stephanie. I mean I waited and waited. I didn’t check what time it was when she left but I was sure she had stayed for more than 10 minutes. That was unusual. I became worried. I decided to go to the restroom myself. I sipped a little from the Martini and walked down to the restroom. I saw the one for the ladies and I pushed on the door. The door opened to a hallway that connected about six or five toilet rooms- I wasn’t too sure. But it was dead quiet. The kind you see in a morgue. I opened the first door to my right but it was empty. I opened the second, empty. An odd feeling began to growl deep inside my stomach. Wasn’t there supposed to be a public place? Why was it dead-quiet? I was furious. I went to the third door, but it was half-opened. I pushed at the door and it swung freely for a while before it hit something. Something I couldn’t see yet, hooked it from behind. I forced myself to breathe. I managed to peer right inside and I received the greatest shock of my life.
“Stephanie,” I screamed. I saw her lying in a pool of blood. She was lying on her back while her legs were spread, the white underwear beneath her two legs showing. I rushed inside and knelt, my eyes were slowly gathering tears. I didn’t remember the last time I had cried. On a closer look, her white eyes showed, her black eyes gone. I crossed my hand on her head. Blood. Blood was welling down from there.
“Stephanie,” I screamed again. “Please, wake up. Don’t die on me.” She didn’t respond, she didn’t move, she didn’t blink. I busted out crying. Crying hard. Very hard. It was unlike me. Tears filled my eyes until I could no longer see normally. I had to wipe it off with my left hand. I looked around to see if I would see blood anywhere apart from the floor but I didn’t. I thought she might have slipped but it didn’t seem so. Something might have hit her but from where?
“I told you,” a familiar voice said, “I will catch both of you. I thought you knew who you were fuckin with.” A mocking laugh ensued.
Anger. No, rage. No, fury. In fact, they all descended on me and soaked me, both body, spirit, and soul. “Eric,” I said angrily. I turned around. That instant, I didn’t mind turning into a wolf. As much as I hated it, that was the first thing my wolf told me to do. I wanted to kill him. I wished it was a full moon. I wanted to snap his throat. But he hit me with something hard. I fell to the floor and little stars clouded my vision that instant. I could barely see him, hear him. He appeared double. But something remarkable happened. I picked up a scent. The same scent I had perceived earlier. Suddenly, a man whose image was blurry stood behind Eric, behind the entrance. While Eric was still probably talking shit at me, the man turned into a creature with four legs. I tried to stay awake to see what would happen but I just couldn’t. I was too tired to keep my eyes open. I wish I could. I wish I could. But one thing was certain. Someone just saved my life. A werewolf did. A man, that I was sure. But who was he? Who was the guardian angel?