“To the first game of our senior year,” Kimmie said and stood. She raised her bottle of water. “And the best quarterback in the country. Win us a game, Jay!”
The others at the table clapped and whooped, while the girls on the cheer squad raised their bottles in a toast.
Adrienne swallowed hard and did so as well. She sipped it, relieved it tasted like cherry.
Don’t be so lame! She lectured herself. It’s just water.
She drank more, relaxing. It wasn’t the blood of a deranged voodoo priestess, just flavored water. Mickey plopped a slice of pizza on her plate then tried to offer one to Tara, who just passed her plate down to the girl beside her.
Sensing someone watch her, Adrienne looked up.
It was Jayden. He wasn’t smiling. His gaze went from her to the bottle and lingered before he looked away.
Was he thinking of what happened at his grandmama’s last night?
Her spirits dampened a little. Maybe he was more upset about what happened than he let on. He’d been smiling and happy to see her earlier, but maybe the blood red drink was too much of a reminder.
What if his grandmama called him and told him again that Adrienne was cursed?
She drew a deep breath.
Enjoy today. It was the best day of school ever. She’d wow everyone – including Jayden – at the pep rally and then cheer her heart out at the game tonight. Tomorrow, she’d splurge on some nice nail polish then go out with Jayden after her shift reading tarot cards.
This was her year. She was going to relish every second of it.
“You wanna hang out after the game tonight?” Tara asked her.
Adrienne froze, not expecting yet another incredible addition to her already amazing day.
“Yeah,” she said. “I would.”
“We usually go for pizza. It’s all we eat on Friday’s,” Tara said, smiling. “Seniors buy. It’s my turn tonight.”
Adrienne didn’t want to think about what happened if it ever came to be her turn to buy. How on earth could she afford to buy pizza for the whole football team and cheer squad?
“Jay has to take care of the twins, so he won’t be there,” Tara added.
“Twins?” Adrienne echoed.
“Our sisters. We take turns during the school year so we can have like, a life.”
“You’re …” Adrienne tried to grasp what Tara was saying. She glanced at Jayden.
Devil. Death. Six of Cups.
Suddenly, the cards she’d seen Sunday made sense. Jayden’s cards had been haunting her all week.
“Stepsiblings. His daddy adopted us when he married our mama,” Tara explained. “Our parents are too busy for the two little ones, so we take turns.”
“I know how that feels,” Adrienne said with wry emotion. “I pretty much raised my three younger sisters before coming here. If you ever want a babysitter, let me know.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, sure.” Adrienne smiled. “It’s what friends do, right?”
Tara appeared startled. She said nothing for a few seconds.
“Um, I guess,” she said finally. “Thanks.”
“No problem.”
Adrienne wolfed down her pizza, grateful to eat real food instead of salad for lunch. She calculated how much money she’d save if she didn’t have to pay for lunch on Fridays. It was at least ten extra dollars a week. It would add up fast.
Lunch passed quickly, and she went to her next class. No one had called her Swamp Girl all day, though a few students snickered to see her dressed in the cheer uniform. There was nothing any of them could do today to upset her.
She finished Kimmie’s water the next class and dropped the bottle in a recycle bin. Her throat was tingling by the time she sat down in the last class of the day. The pep rally would take up the final period, and her excitement was growing.
When they heard her sing, they’d never call her Swamp Girl again. The whole school would know she was meant for something great.
Adrienne cleared her throat a couple of times, attributing the scratchiness to nerves. Even knowing how good she was, she felt anxious about singing in front of Jayden. He’d heard her practice, but he’d never heard her really sing. They’d asked her to sing the National Anthem at the pep rally then one other number, the school’s alma mater.
Too nervous to focus on the instructor, she checked her email and was excited to see an email from her mother.
Hi baby,
I don’t remember all of it and can’t recall the original French. It was one of them fairy tales meant to teach kids lessons. I think it went something like …
A man gave the gods his spirit for a black magic spell
that would grant him riches.
The gods took not his spirit but what he cared for most.
A curse times three came upon the bokor who created the blood magic
that took the lives of thousands.
Ninety-nine lives was the price of the bokor’s magic, and the bokor’s life.
The man was spared but brought the curse of ninety-nine upon his family.
He spent his life with gold and pain and only his greed
kept him warm at night.
That’s all I can remember. When are you coming back? You seem so far away.
Love,
Mama
Adrienne re-read the disjointed tale many times, perplexed by it. Candace seemed to think either Adrienne’s family did something terrible or were the target of someone’s vengeance. What if it was something different? What if one of her ancestors was the bokor who created the blood magic that hurt thousands?
Who were the man and bokor? Why was the man who bought the spell in pain? What was it he cared for most of all? Who were the ninety-nine who died?
The more she thought, the more confused she became. Much of the story was missing. Could Candace make any sense of it?
Adrienne jotted down her questions. She wrote herself a reminder to mention the sticky notes, too, when she saw Candace next.
The bell rang, jarring Adrienne out of her thoughts.
Adrenaline jolted through her. She stood in sync with the rest of the kids in class and cleared her throat once more. It felt … swollen? She hummed to loosen it up on the way to her locker. Following Kimmie’s instructions, she put everything away.
Her attention went to the single photo she’d put up in her locker, the one Rene gave her of Therese and Jax.
Get my journal back.
Adrienne’s smile fell. She studied the picture. Maybe she shouldn’t go for pizza after the game tonight but find Candace instead. Was she being selfish by not going right away?
Jax cared for her sister too much to destroy the journal.
What was the mysterious leaver of sticky notes worried about, if not Jax ruining the journal?
“You ready?” Tara asked, pulling her from her thoughts.
“Yeah,” Adrienne answered. Her voice was husky, the way it was when she had hay fever in spring. She cleared her throat uncomfortably. “Just grabbing a good luck charm.” She tugged the photo free and tucked it into the small pocket of her skirt. She debated for a split second, not liking the idea of leaving her iPad where she couldn’t see it. She’d never owned anything so expensive. She preferred to keep it with her.