LS: The Beginning (6 page)

The impending arrival of Julie was making me so nervous, how would I behave around her that wouldn’t put her off or endear me to her. I wasn't a supporter of heartbreaks and I
preferred a lady turning me
turninh
 down and not the other way around. The way I saw it, I was going to break her heart either way. Lisa was my favorite.

The day was slowly coming to an end and I couldn’t help but agree with the saying:
A problem shared is a problem halved
. Indeed, it was. I was glad I spoke to Stacey. That night, I went straight to bed with nothing in my stomach but on the bright side, feeling no rue.

Chapter Five

A Date With Julie

I tossed and turned throughout the night, I could barely sleep. Images of Lisa kept flashing in my head and it felt like I’d
  
seen her somewhere, but it was difficult to remember where or when. As I lay on my king-sized bed throughout the night, my eyes were shut but my mind was alert. I kept rolling across my bed as though I was in a battlefield.

After several hours of restlessness, my body came to a halt. I was awake. I glanced at my alarm clock and it was still quiet and then I realized it was Saturday. I got up and stretched my legs, glancing at the amazing view through my glass wall. It was bright that morning, though there was fog veiling the window opposite my bed.

I felt a bit woozy; my feet were hard to move and my head throbbed. It seemed as if I had
hadddddd
hangover, even though all I took the previous night was
nothing
. 

I wandered into the bathroom taking my time over my usually hurried routine I wore
sweatpants and a white vest and proceeded
for an early morning breakfast.

The kitchen cupboards were filled with boxes of cereals, cartons of noodles, bags of crisps and a vast array of other items. I prepared a bowl of cereal with strawberry yogurt and strode to the dining table to eat, but once again my taste buds failed
me: the cereal was tasteless. This was my favorite breakfast food, therefore it had
nothing to do with the cereal, plus I was famished. It was so agitating. One minute ago, I could eat a double cheeseburger; the next, a
bowl of cereal was an impossible task. I found myself in an awkward predicament; my mind wanted food but
my body rejected it.

 
Why is this happening to me
? My subconscious questioned.

I went to my room and lay down on my bed, while the hands of boredom caressed my soul. I had no assignments and I wasn’t really into sitcoms and nowadays reality shows. However, I occasionally went to the cinema to watch the latest box office movies; the gigantic screen and sound effects made the movies seem more realistic, better to watch especially in 3D.

After a while, I stood up from the bed and decided
to give my Audi a cold bath. As I strolled outside hoping to do
some good work, I found my car gleaming. I frowned. As dazzling as the site was, it was also annoying. There was nothing for me to do. The grounds looked so well kept;
the leaves that had been all over the lawn and pavement had vanished.

I never knew Stacey cleaned the grounds,
I thought as I headed to her room.
I found her in bed making a phone call. Stacey’s room was a bit
smaller than mine but more decorated. She’d done the decorations the first
week she moved in. The pink curtains in the room would open and close at will
with
a push of a button. Her flat screen was
the same size as mine, and her queen
sized bed was suitable for a fairytale princess with the head and foot of the bed taller than an average man’s
height, which I wasn’t. I was about 6`4”. She had canvases on the walls of her room and her closet was
smaller than mine but teeming with clothes and a whole section for her shoes. To me, she really deserved kudos for her work.

“I guess you like washing cars?” I jabbered. “Well, thank you.”

Stacey told the person on the phone to call her back, and then she hung up.

“Err, you’re welcome, but washing cars?”

“You didn’t wash my
car?”

“No, I’ve been in bed all day. It must be the man my mom hired. He comes to clean the
grounds every week and since this is your second week he must have
cleaned your car twice.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” she replied

“All right, that's cool then.”

“As for cleaning indoors, she left that for me because I told
her I’d do all the chores as a thank you for allowing me to stay. I was really tired of living in the same house as my folks.”

“Oh, I see. Well, that's really nice of you.” I smiled, looking at the canvases on the wall.

“So were you able to eat this morning? Or have you eating yet?”
 
 
she asked.

“Sadly, I wasn’t,” I replied. “I’m just going to live like this,
since my best guess is it has something to do with the powers I received.
Though, I won’t classify this food issue as a gift.”

“Aw, I’m so sorry about that,” she said with heartfelt concern.

“It's okay,” I replied, moving toward the door. “Don't slip off; I'll be back in a minute.”

I dashed down to the kitchen and put up a tray of breakfast I carried it up to her room, knowing it would ease her from
the stress of cooking. I knew she wouldn’t want cereal like I always
did so I made toast, scrambled eggs, baked beans and orange juice
without pulp, just the way she loved it.

At the door, I called, “Knock. Knock.”

“It’s open,” she replied.

I entered her room holding the tray directly at my waist. She smiled the second her eyes caught sight of the food and quickly leaped out of bed

“You shouldn't have,” she said

“It's no biggy. Enjoy your breakfast. I'll be in my room.” I handed her the tray and left.

Later, I tried to connect with Lisa telepathically but for unknown reasons I couldn’t. On what I had planned to be my last attempt, the doorbell rang. I stood up from my chair and headed for the living room. As I opened my bedroom door, I saw Stacey heading to the front door.

“Please if it’s Julie, take her to the living room,” I said.

“And if it's not?” she asked.

”Find out what he or she wants and then come fetch me.”

I knew Lisa didn’t know the
way to my house, so I didn’t bother to inform Stacey about her. Besides, I didn’t believe she’d visit me even if she knew my place.

As I returned to the chair behind my desk, I glanced at the screen of my MacBook and saw an unread message on my student email account. The message was titled,’ Assignment’ and the name of the person who sent it was Sharon Foster. An image that looked like a paperclip was in between the name and the title of the message. The message read:

***

I've attached an assignment on Waves101 to this email and I'd like to convey Dr. Raymond’s sincere apologies for getting this email late. By the way, I got your email from your personal teacher. I hope you don't mind.

Kind Regards

Sharon Foster

***

I closed the web-page of the email without opening the attachment, there was going to be time for that. I entered my closet and selected a slim-fitted
sweatshirt. I grimaced as I looked at my hands in the mirror: they looked really pale, at least that's what the mirror said and it never lies.

“Stephen,” Stacey called

“In a minute,” I yelled. 

As I walked out of the closet, I found Stacey sitting on my office chair.

 “Who was at the door?” I asked.

“It’s Julie. I took her to the living room as you asked,” she said.

“Okay. Thank you," I replied, smiling.

I left my room and went downstairs to meet Julie. Striding in the living room, she was sitting on one of the white sofas with her legs crossed. I felt a lump rise in my throat as my eyes caught her bleached round eyes. Stacey had served her a glass
of red wine, even though that wasn't included in my instructions – but then what else was the wine bought for?

The moment I inched closer toward her, she
stood up and placed the wine glass on the side stool. Her light skin glowed as though she had swallowed the sun. Her heels were as tall as a can of Pepsi and her neck was bare, which
made her look elegantly beautiful.

I walked up to her and wrap her under my arms.

“You look beautiful," I said.

She gave a warm smile and said, “Bless.”

What? Bless?
I ignored her response. Maybe that was slang or something. Frankly, I didn't care which, thanks to her stunning appearance.

We sat down on separate sofas. “Stacey just informed me you were stopping by. How are you?”

“I’m good. I was hoping we could go out for dinner,” she said.

I thought I’d heard Stacey pretty clear when she said Julie
wanted to come pay a visit, not go for dinner – like on a date. The thought of giving an excuse lingered in my subconscious, but she looked so gorgeous that no guy in his
right mind would say no to her.

“Oh that’d be lovely, but I’d have
to change. I can't be seen with you, wearing this.”

She smiled.

“

You’re a joker, Stephen.”

“I'm glad I amuse you. Please, excuse me,” I requested, standing up from the sofa.

I went to my closet and selected my usual dress code, and then came down to meet her. She’d put on her jacket, ready to step
outside. I quickly collected my jacket from the coat rack near the
door.

Closing the front door of the house, I pressed my car’s remote key to
open its door and as the car lights flashed, Julie said, “I’m taking you out, remember, so we are using my car.”

I looked over at the car beside my Audi. Julie drove a jet
black convertible Mercedes. It shone in a way that I could see my
reflection as I looked at it. I fancied girls who drove ostentatious cars. It
made them look in control, which I loved most.

“Can I have the keys?” I asked.