LS: The Beginning (7 page)

“Sorry, it obeys only my command,” she said, smirking.

I sniggered.

Strangely,
I'd become complacent after few hours of normality.
If
I could get through this maybe I could go the distance,
I thought.

For a moment there, I was
human once more – but the feeling drifted to a close when suddenly my head began to throb. The pain lasted for a few minutes, but, my o my! I was in agony for those few minutes. I fell to the floor landing on my knees, and placing my hands on my head. I couldn't scream and I couldn't cry. I'd never felt such pain before. It felt like my brain was going to explode but without damaging my skull. How weird?

Suddenly, the pain stopped and the first thing I heard was the sound of Julie's heart, beating faster due to my fall. The second thing I heard was Stacey and her male friend's voices, despite the fact she was in her room. Okay, something was definitely wrong.

Before Julie could open her mouth and say a word, I stood up and drew closer to her.

“I’m all right, just a slight headache.”

“A slight headache? A headache that knocked you off your feet, that was quite scary.”

“Sorry about that. Let's get going.”

Julie slipped into the driving seat and didn't reply; she seemed vexed.

While in the car, I was still able to hear Stacey’s phone conversation until we were miles away from my
house. If not for the fact it was Stacey’s voice, I would
have freaked out and probably asked Julie to postpone our dinner.

We arrived at the restaurant, which looked exquisite from the outside.
The Tyrona
was inscribed on its glass walls. A man in a suit showed us
where to park the car; in a safe and secluded spot where no harm could befall it. I was glad
we took her car, although mine would have probably gotten a similar spot.

I opened my door and with the zeal of getting
to Julie’s before she could open it, I ran very fast and got to her door in a second. It was always when I'd thought of something or
someone that these strange symptoms kicked in. I had been thinking of Stacey
and the fact she was alone in the house when I had the unforeseen migraine.

Julie seemed dazed as I opened her door.

“How did you get over
here so quickly?” she asked.

“I guess I'm a good athlete,” I answered.

She grinned. “Nice,” she said.

Julie had booked a table for the two of us that morning; we were directed
to a table near an amazing looking aquarium. She reached for a seat, but I
moved faster and offered her the seat with a grin on my face.

“Why, thank you,” she said.

“You’re welcome.”

I sat opposite
her, gazing at the restaurant. The chandeliers were made of different sizes of stones and the tables were of different sets, depending on the occasion. The restaurant looked very busy, as the servers moved swiftly around the tables.

I was excited about the dinner since it was my first in Sloutenville,
but
the only thing I didn’t find amusing was the fact I was with so many
people in the same vicinity, while I had these gifts or perhaps diseases. As I sat down opposite Julie, I could hear everyone’s thoughts and words within the restaurant; I couldn’t
differentiate the thoughts from words. I felt a great deal of pain as words kept jumbling in my head,
but I did my best to remain calm.

“What do you think of the place?” Julie asked in a seductive tone.

“It’s idyllic,” I replied. “Thanks for
bringing me here.”

Julie’s cheeks flushed as she smiled. “It’s my pleasure,” she said.

After a few minutes, a lady wearing a uniform came over to our table.

“What would you
like to drink, sir?” she asked.

I grimaced. “Please, ask the miss first,” I said.

She looked at Julie.

“Miss, what would you like to drink?”

“I’d like a bottle of Cristal please, for the gentleman and I,” Julie
requested.

I was impressed with the way Julie handled the order. She
reminded me of an ingénue I’d watched in a romantic movie. I fancied elegant women.

“Tell me a bit about yourself,” I requested.

“What would you like to know?” she asked.

I'd have known what she was thinking but I had to shut down
those
senses. How did I do that? I really don't know. All I did was to focus on the conversation.

“Hmm, where are you from?” I said
.

“I’m from London, England. Just moved here two years ago,” she
said
.

I’d wondered if she was a British, because her accent was captivating and this confirmed my suspicion.

“To be honest, I’m not used to asking questions, so please could you
interrogate me instead?”

I expected her to look disappointed after my second question or
request; instead she looked delighted I wasn’t going to be the listener.

“Okay. Where are you from?” she buoyantly asked.

“My parents live in Nigeria but
they’re citizens of this country. They moved to Africa when I was born.”

“Oh really?” she asked.

“Yeah, I have dual nationalities,” I said.

“Same here, my Mom's Italian and I spent my first five years in Italy.”

Just then, our Champagne arrived in an iced wine stand, which was placed next to the table between us. The server opened the bottle of champagne, and expertly poured each glass out, leaving us as quickly as they had arrived.

“Hmm, what are we toasting to?” I asked. We became silent, but I was pushed to read her mind and
get her
toast
before she could say it. “Let’s make a toast to a new relationship between friends.”

Actually, that was her first thought – her last thought wasn't pleasant to say aloud. Again, we drank in silence for a while, staring at each other until she
ended it

“Why don’t you have an African accent?” she asked.

“That’s a good one. I was home schooled all my life, so I didn't
mix with people. Also, I was anti-social, hence I hardly
interacted with the few friends I had. The only time I'd gotten to mix with people was in my
first year at a university in Africa, but sadly I was used to being
alone.”

“Wow! That answers a lot,” she said with satisfaction. “What type of
sports are you into?”

“Basketball and Soccer.”

“Oh good,” she said, smiling. “I can remember the last time I asked you, you claimed you’re not into girls. Are you into
boys?”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“No, I'm not. I just haven’t met the right
girl yet.”
I was forced to lie, because I couldn’t inform her that I'd seen someone and Lisa was
that one.
“What about you? Do you have a boyfriend?” I asked.

“No, I’m single," she replied. “I broke up with my boyfriend recently and I just want to have a bit of fun for a while.

“I see, cool." Glancing at her blonde hair, I said, "Your hairdo is lovely.”

“Aw, bless,” she replied. This time I wasn’t confused. I already knew she was British.

Julie picked up the menu card and I did the same with the one in front of me,
but
then I remembered I couldn’t feel the taste of any food in my mouth; the feeling was
excruciating. As I lowered the menu
card, the most disturbing picture appeared opposite me. It was Lisa
and her boyfriend. I watched as his hands stroked her hair and rested at her waist.
I'd give anything to be in his shoes right now,
I thought.

“What are you staring at?” Julie asked, noticing my distraction.
She turned and saw the couple sitting near the glass wall; they looked
so happy together.

“Oh! David and Lisa, they’re like the best couple,” she said.

Her statement kept on reiterating in my su
  s
bconscious. It was painful
to realize that Lisa was seeing someone. I could hear David whispering
romantic words into her ear:
You look so gorgeous tonight. I can spend the entire evening looking at your precious face.

I turned to look at the exit door. At that moment the thought of leaving Julie
in the restaurant popped into my head. I couldn’t bear to see Lisa in another man’s arms, but again I
composed myself.

Our server returned.

“What can I get you?” she said

“Style Crab Cakes,” Julie requested.

The server keyed in Julie’s order into the electronic order. As for me, I didn’t want to order a meal and eventually not eat it. Waste of money and food.

“A glass of water please,” I muttered.

“Aren’t you eating?” Julie asked.

“I’m sorry. I really don’t have an appetite. It’s getting so bad I even had to see the doctor today," I lied.

Frankly, this girl was turning me into a cold blooded liar. I didn’t like that. If I couldn’t be myself around her, then there was no need of being around her,

“Okay, if you insist, but I hope you’re all right?” she asked.

“Yeah, I am.”

I looked at Lisa, noticing something strange about her: her face, hands and legs were glowing red, not in a good way. While Julie had swallowed the sun, Lisa had apparently felt Mars would be good to absorb. It seemed as though she’d gone through the same sort of changes I'd gone through. I wasn't sure if it was conjured out of anger or pain; she
seemed so happy considering all the different smiley faces she wore every few minutes.

Then I recalled how she’d said she could create
and manipulate fire. Putting two and two together, I guessed her red
colored skin was a symptom similar to the paleness of my skin, which
made me look like I was wearing makeup. Also, her side of the table was empty – just like mine,
but I couldn’t conclude.
Maybe she wasn’t hungry
, I thought.