The door to Xandra's room crashed open, a frantic Jasmine barreling in. "Sunny! Are you okay?" She grabbed a fistful of the sheets and gritted her teeth. "Mark my words when I see that–"
Xandra sighed with a hand on her throbbing forehead. "I'm fine."
"You aren't!" Jasmine snapped with a finger pointing at her. "I heard what–"
"Jasmine," came Xander's voice, followed by footsteps. He gave Jasmine a reprimanding look before sitting on a chair beside Xandra. She was leaning against the bed frame, hands still massaging her temples.
"Drink up." Xander instructed, holding the glass of water out to her. Xandra took it with half a mind, eyes still closed. The chill water cascaded down her throat, cooling it down at least a little. Her eyes hurt. Her mind ached. She felt hot all over.
"You have a fever." Jasmine said, palm firmly pressed against her forehead. Xandra opened her eyes for the first time to see the blurry face of her friend. Jasmine's eyebrows were knitted close, lips pulled downwards.
"We told you to rest, Xandra." Reprimanded Xander, pulling her attention to him. Like Jasmine, his face was twisted in concern, though his frown was considerably deeper. "I shouldn't have let you accept the job at all."
"I wanted to."
"It obviously wasn't a good decision." He shot back then sighed. "I'm the older one here; mom entrusted you to me. And I say you're not handling the festival anymore."
Xandra's face didn't change as she mulled it over. After a while, she sighed and nodded meekly. The sculpture was still a hot pile of garbage but she was getting tired. And she couldn't care less anymore if the festival sucked.
Beside her, Jasmine cheered and clung to her arm. "Great! Let's hang out!"
Xandra barely registered Xander's chuckle as he left her bed side and walked out of the room.
She turned to Jasmine with a tired gaze. "I have a fever. Don't get too close."
"Like I care?" Jasmine jumped on the bed and only nuzzled closer. "I'm not taking no for an answer. So shut up and cut that depressing crap." She closed her eyes.
Xandra exhaled. "You'll catch my cold."
She mumbled something undecipherable, her breathing slowly becoming labored.
It took a while for Xandra to loosen up, but when she did, the exhaustion of her dream started catching up to her. It was as if she'd slept for ages, yet still woke up like she'd been awake for a hundred years.
The short nap was much more rewarding than the long sleep. And she didn't dream too. When Xandra woke up, Jasmine was already awake. She was silent as she picked at the bed sheets with a thoughtful look on her face.
Xandra stirred, pushing the covers off herself. She wasn't feeling any better than before, but the room was starting to get too stuffy for her.
"Going to shower?" Jasmine asked, uncharacteristically gentle. "You should. You stink." Xandra grimaced.
Without a word, she grabbed clothes and headed for the shower.
Xandra barely remembered anything past that, besides the cool water running down her hot skin. She barely remembered breakfast, Jasmine, or Xander. Her mind swam in circles, trying to find something, yet circling right back to a missing thought. What it was, she didn't want to know.
The glare of the sun stabbed her eyes. The overgrown vines tickled her legs. Cursive blue letters focused on her vision, a sign beaten down and half buried in ivy.
YOU ARE READING
Counter Clockwise
General Fiction"I wish...time would just stop." Sleeping has always been Xandra's getaway, but an impending vacation back to her hometown forces her to fully succumb into her mind. She has just been exhausted, working to the bone. And all she really wants is for t...
