Talisman (34 page)

I tilted my head towards the ceiling. 
A myriad of colored spotlights flashed randomly while a large mirrored disco ball hanging over the center of the dance floor flooded the room with swirling specks of light.  My ears vibrated to the beat of Lady Gaga’s latest song as we walked down the small stairway.  It looked like almost the entire Senior and Junior classes were in attendance.  They were all dancing, sitting and chatting, or making-out in the dimly lit corners of the room.

My eyes
may have been captivated by the gym’s ambience, however I noticed instantly that everyone else’s seemed fixated on
me
.  We reached the bottom of the steps to find a crowd of Mike’s teammates swarming around us.

“Is that
you
, Shiloh?” almost every one of them asked.

I simply nodd
ed and kept relatively quiet.  From out of the corner of my eye, I saw a few of them making perverted gestures and giving Mike their “looks of approval”.

I let out a deep sigh
. 
Jerks
.  Their dates kept telling me how nice I looked.  Some were so shocked they couldn’t believe it was
really
me.  It was flattering, but it made me think,
How crappy do they think I look any other time?

With her crown perfectly p
ositioned in a poof of red hair, Kara Leighton pushed her way through the crowd, heading straight for Mike.  In a blatant attempt to snag his attention, she pressed her breasts (which were falling out of her red sequined dress) onto his chest and supplied him a provocative peck.

“
Now I know you aren’t going to refuse the
Homecoming Queen
a dance, are you?” Kara asked Mike as she ran her fingertips all along the edges of his crisp white bowtie.

Though her performance was amusing, I still felt bad for Ty. 
Why is he dating such a slut?

“Maybe later, Kara.  I
just got here with Shiloh.  You know,
my date
,” Mike announced uncomfortably as he removed her hands from his chest.

“Shi’s
not really
your ‘date’,” Kara replied with a silly laugh.  “She won’t mind.”

I tried to contain my giggles as I
maneuvered behind her.

“Where is she anyway?” Kara asked.  “Did she bring some books and
run over to a table to study?”

She was laughing pretty hard at her own joke, but soon noticed that no one else around her had even cracked a smile.
  I tapped her on the shoulder.  As she turned around, I greeted her with my demurest look.

“Hi, Kara,” I said sweetly.

“
Shi?
  Is that…
YOU?
” Kara choked out in a gasp.  Clearly she was shocked, but as her eyes narrowed, I picked up on something else.  As shiny as what that garish red-sequined dress was, all I could see staring back at me was the color green.

“In the flesh,” I replied as I raised my arms and
slowly twirled around in a circle.  I figured a little fun was in order.  Payback for all the times she had stuck me with her messes at the Drive-In.

Kara looked over at Mike, who I could tell hadn’t taken his eyes off me (which I still found bizarre).  She straightened her crown with
one hand as she flashed me a catty smile.

“It was really nice of Mike to bring you to the dance.  You’ve never been to any school dances,
have you?
” Kara probed.

“No,” I replied curtly, waiting to see where she was going with her question.

“Well, it was very
considerate
.  You never told me that you liked dances, Shi.  If I’d known, I could’ve found
SOMEONE
all these years to take you to at least one of them.  I wouldn’t know myself, but I’m sure it must be awful sitting at home every weekend —
all by yourself
.”  She turned to Mike and added, “That was really
charitable
of you.”

The expression on my face remained still
while I listened to the sound of several
“ooooo’s”
echoing through the crowd of classmates gathered around us.  I stared back at the prissy little bitch, mentally noting that she looked like a shiny-pageant-reject-turned-hooker, what with all of those blinding red sequins blazing.  Not to mention, the tacky tiara sparkling around a bad, brassy dye-job.

“Kara, now
that is a beautiful,
bright
dress.”  I circled her and looked all around the bottom of it, squinting my eyes.  “Where on earth do you have it plugged in?”  Several chuckles ensued around our now heated huddle.

“
Yes…
I’ve been told I really
light up a room
,” Kara quipped as she flicked a clump of red hair off her shoulder and threw me a smug smile.

Kara was really full of herself this evening.  Her “highness” w
as playing her role all right — always trying to be the center of attention.  I watched as she fiddled with her crown and randomly waved to classmates calling out congratulations to her, left and right.

A festive bouquet
full of various fall flowers lay in the bend of Kara’s arm.  I found myself strangely fixated on it, not able to look away.  While the group of couples lingered around us, my ears began to muffle out the sounds of their chitchat.  Suddenly, the lively room became still, almost lifeless.  Now, the only sounds I heard were the soft strikes of a piano being played somewhere off in the distance.  A lavender spider mum caught my eye.  I reached over and pulled the frilly flower out of what now appeared to be a large floral arrangement that sat atop a marble pedestal.  The lights around me were now shining brightly, like the warm sun during the middle of the day.  Even stranger, I noticed a medley of colors flickering and dancing on my hand like a kaleidoscope.  I pulled the mum closer and twisted it under my chin for a moment.  The flower petals felt soothing as I twirled its stem, allowing them to caress my skin.  Then from out of nowhere, a growing sense of anguish began to churn inside me, unlike anything I’d ever experienced.  It felt like my heart was being slowly ripped from my chest while my stomach ached with a horrid feeling of emptiness.

Abruptly, the soft and somber sounds of the piano music stopped. 
The next thing I heard was Kara’s voice yelling out at me.

“Excuse me!”
Kara snapped as she snatched the spider mum out of my hand.  “What are you
doing
to my bouquet?”

I stared back her, utterly confused.  The bright lights had faded, and the baffling dream-like image was gone. 
The only thing that lay before my eyes now was a very ticked-off redhead, waving a bunch of flowers in my face.

Quickly,
Mike pulled me off to the side.  “
So
, do you still feel like singing your, ‘I’m not drunk’ tune?” he posed.

I snapped out of my daze and
jerked my arm from his grasp.  “
I told you
…I’m
not
drunk,” I mumbled under my breath, even though I wasn’t quite sure what had just happened.  It appeared that I’d experienced some sort of
strange vision
.  But oddly, the horrible feeling that lingered in the pit of my stomach was still there.  It wasn’t a physical pain, but an emotional one, like my body was being engulfed by waves of sorrow and despair.

“Who’s
DRUNK?” Kara belted out in a loud, nosey voice as she pushed her way over to us.  Mike glared at Kara and
“shushed”
her immediately.  That only fueled the Homecoming queen’s curiosity. She pointed to me.  “Shi? 
Shi’s drunk?
  You’re kidding?” Kara chortled.

“Not so
freakin’ loud, Kara!” Mike scolded.

“I’m sorry,” Kara insisted as she tried to
muzzle her laughter.  “I’m just shocked that the biggest goody-goody in our class is…
lit!
”  With that said, the little witch started cracking up again.

I ignored her, mainly because I was too busy trying to catch my breath from the
suffocating feeling of sadness rising from my gut.  I pressed on my belly and took a few deep breaths.  Kara and Mike eyed me nervously.

“You’re gonna be sick,
aren’t you?
” they both asked, almost like they already knew the answer.  Mike seemed genuinely concerned.  Kara put her hand up to her mouth.  She just looked queasy.

“NO!”
I snapped as I straightened myself up.

The pain was intensifying.  My eyes scanned around the gym, desperately s
earching for the closest exit.

“Excuse me,” I blurted as I pushed
past them and hurried to the ladies room.

To my disappointment, Coach Hayes was standing in front of the door I needed to pass through.  He was one of the chaperones working the exits, looking for any kind of suspicious activities.  He didn’t seem too interested in the comings and goings of any students at the moment.  He was too busy admiring his diamon
d-studded trinket, obviously reminiscing about the “good ‘ole days” (before the steroid-bust).

“Excuse me,” I announced flatly as I attempted to
rush around him, lowering my head to avoid any eye contact with the jerk.  Coach Hayes snapped out of his daydream and threw his hand in front of the door.

“
Not so fast, young lady.  I have to stop all the students coming in and out of the halls to check for drugs and alcohol.”

“I’m just going to the ladies room,
” I replied with my head still down.

“
Oh
, you came here with Mike.  You’re
his
date,” Coach Hayes confirmed.  “Boy, you two make a good lookin’ couple.  What’s your name,
honey?
”

You’ve got to be kiddin’
, I thought as I raised my head.  Once his eyes focused in on my face, I knew the exact second he recognized me.

“
Wallace?
  Shiloh Wallace?  Is that
YOU?
”

“Can I go
now?” I snapped as I glared back at him.  Immediately, he stepped out of my way.

“
Oh, um
…Did you remember to thank your mother for me?” he called out abruptly as I pushed open one of the doors.

I stopped and gave the
metal push bar a tight squeeze.  In my mind, it was his neck.  I whipped around.

“
No
.  I didn’t get a chance.  She’s been in and out of the house so much lately.  If she’s not over at Mr. Anderson’s feeling which of
his vegetables are the firmest
, then she’s having Mr. Mayfield
snake her pipes
.  But I promise, if I don’t catch up with her, I’ll have
MY FATHER
relay the message. 
Okay?
”

To my delight, the loudmouth coach seemed to be at a loss for words as he wrestled with an unnerving case of the jitters.

That should give him something to really worry about!

There weren’t too many people on this side of the building, just a few students returning to the gy
m.  When I passed by a janitorial closet, I heard a few sounds coming from behind the closed door.  It sounded like things crashing to the floor, followed by a few intense muffled grunts.  I rolled my eyes as I headed for the ladies room, which was up ahead on the right.

Several
girls were strolling out as I entered. All of them asked, “
Shiloh,
is that
you?
”  I ignored their questions as I rudely pushed by them and bolted into an empty stall.

I locked myself inside and tried to catch my breath.  The wretched feeling in my gut had started to subside, but I found myself still nervous and starting to get a little light-headed.

What the Hell was in that bottle?!?
 
I should’ve known better than to drink anything like that — especially if it came from Lazarus Xcavare!

As soon as
I’d calmed down, I exited the stall.  There, under the harsh bright lights of the ladies room, an idea took form.

Maybe it would
be a good idea to check my motor skills, just to see how bad off I am?
  I started thinking about all those cop reality shows Daddy and I had watched in the past. 
That’s what I need…A field sobriety test
.

I threw my clutch on a shelf underneath one of the mirrors.  I looked down at the tile on the bathroom floor.  I found a starting point and proceeded to fol
low one of the long grout lines that extended all the way to the other side of the room.  Even in stiletto heels (that I was in no way accustomed to) my gait was perfect.  I didn’t stumble or stagger one bit.

I thought about all the other drills the officers
would ask their suspects to perform. 
They always check how mentally alert they are with their ABC’s.
  I started reciting them forward and then backward. 
They sound fine to me
.