The Sacred Pendant

Chapter 5

It was five on the dot when Celine got home. She stood at the front of her aunt's house, stupefied.
The house had been nicely painted in pure white. Flower pots stood beautifully in the sides of the well trimmed lawn. Margenta's house no longer looked isolated and abandoned.
"Wow! " Celine exclaimed, "I'm I at the right house? "
"Amazing, right?" Someone said and Celine turned to see Chi resting her hands on the wooden fence, smiling.
"I was really surprised too when I came home and saw your aunt's house like this. It's beautiful, " Chi said. "By the way, where have you been? I've been home since. What took you so long? Did you get lost on the way?"
Celine ignored Chi and walked towards the door.
"Come on, Celine, don't be all grumpy. I'm truly sorry, " Chi said apologetically. But Celine didn't want to talk to her.
Celine reached the door. The once old door was now a well polished wooden door with a door knocker. She opened the door and closed it angrily with a bang.
Celine immediately forgot she was angry when she saw the pristine sitting room. The dusty old couch and table where no longer there neither was the sitting room as empty as before.
At the wall, close to the window, sat a brown couch with a white throw spread neatly on it and scatter pillows on the throw. Beside the couch was a brown recliner with a footstool at the front. At the other side of the couch was an occasional table with a lamp on top. A coffee table stood at the front of the couch and a vase with artificial flowers stood on it. A big flat screen TV hung on the wall and beneath it was a small drawer with a DVD and remote controls on top. The floor was beautifully covered with floorboards. Celine grinned.
Just imagine how lovely and wonderful it would have been if I had been welcomed like this on my first day here, Celine thought , Aunt Margenta is really full of surprises.
"Celine! " Chi called from outside.
"Oh, I can't believe I almost forgot about her, " Celine said and rolled her eyes.
"Celine! " Chi called again knocking the door with the door knocker.
"Go away! " Celine shouted angrily.
"Please, Celine, I'm really sorry, " Chi pleaded. "Please, open the door, let's sort things out. Please."
"I don't want to sort anything out with you, " Celine said.
"Please, we are friends and friends have misunderstandings some times, " Chi said.
"I'm not your friend! Go away! " Celine bellowed.
"Don't say that, Celine. We are friends. Please, open the door, let's talk," Chi pleaded.
"No! "
Chi knew Celine would not open the door no matter how much she pleaded and she was not ready to stand on the doorstep all night; so she opened the door and let herself in.
"I didn't tell you to come in so get out! " Celine shouted angrily.
"Don't be harsh, Celine. I know you are mad at me. Sincerely, I know. But please, I want you to know that I didn't really have much of a choice, " Chi said.
"You had a choice, Chi, you had a choice! " Celine said with tears pricking her eyes.
"Sincerely speaking, Celine, I didn't. If I had not gone with Don, he would have been so mad with me. I had to choose between my relationship with Don and my relationship with you and -" Chi paused.
"And you chose him, " Celine said and broke down into tears.
"I'm so sorry, Celine, " Chi said and tried to hug her but Celine pushed her away.
"Leave me alone, " Celine said with tears pouring down her cheeks. "I don't want to be friends with you anymore."
"Please, Celine, believe me when I say I'm sorry. I know my apologies won't make up for what happened but please, Celine, " Chi pleaded sincerely. "If it makes you feel better, I said good things about you to him."
"Y-y-you did? " Celine stammered.
"Yes, I don't know if it will make him become friendly with you; but it was worth a shot, " Chi said.
Celine managed to laugh amid her tears. Chi smiled and hugged Celine tightly.
"I'm really sorry. Please, don't be angry with me, " Chi said.
Celine wiped her tears with the back of her palm. Chi released Celine and helped her wipe away her tears with her thumbs.
"I wasn't really angry before; I was sad. It really hurt my feelings to hear Don call me a bitch and have you walk with him instead of me, " Celine said, sniffling softly.
"I'm sorry. Don knew it would hurt your feelings that's why he did it. He's a jerk, " Chi said.
"Yes, but a cute one, " Celine said and laughed.
"Yeah, he's a really cute jerk, " Chi said and laughed too.
"Did you really say good things about me to Don? " Celine asked.
"Yes, but things kinda turned a teeny tiny bit bad when I told him you live with the creepy woman next door and that she is your aunt, " Chi said with contrition.
"What??? Why did you have to tell him that?" Celine asked, embarrassed.
"I'm sorry, I thought it was a good idea. But, come on, he was bound to find out one way or the other; so I told him, " Chi said.
"And what did he say about it? " Celine asked, already getting scared.
"I don't think it will be a good idea to tell you, " Chi said, avoiding eye contact with Celine.
"Tell me, Chi! " Celine demanded.
"Are you sure? It isn't really good, " Chi said.
"I'm sure. Tell me what he said, " Celine said. Her heart was palpitating and it made her chest hurt again.
What could he have said, Celine wondered.
"Chi...! " Celine called desperately.
"OK, fine. I will tell you but please, promise me you won't get heartbroken and cry again nor be angry with me, " Chi said.
"Fine, I promise. I won't cry neither will I be angry. Please, just tell me. I badly want to know, " Celine begged.
"OK, he said the first time he saw you you looked kind of weird but now it's pretty clear where you got your weirdness from. It must be in your family's blood. And he said though he is allergic to cats, he prefers staying locked up with a hundred of them than with you, " Chi said, trying hard not to sound as mean as Don was.
Celine's heart began to ache badly.
Don hates me to the core. Even before I answered those questions, he already hated me, Celine thought and burst into tears again.
"Oh, Celine. Please, don't cry. You promised me you wouldn't, " Chi said almost in tears and hugged Celine.
Celine cried for what felt like eternity.

"This house is really beautiful, " Chi said, wanting to start a conversation after a long time of silence.
Celine's head was rested on Chi's shoulder with Chi's hand around her. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying and her head ached badly.
Celine straightened herself on the couch and adjusted her head well on Chi's shoulder before replying.
"Yes, but this wasn't how I was welcomed on my first day here, " Celine said.
"Really? How then? " Chi asked, eager to keep the conversation going.
"I want you to imagine this parlour empty, dirty and dusty with only a dirty couch and small table at the middle, " Celine said.
"O...kay, I've imagined it and trust me, you didn't have a good welcome," Chi said and Celine laughed.
"Ouch, " Celine winced. Laughing made her head ache more.
"Sorry, may be you should take some painkillers, " Chi suggested.
"I don't have any, " Celine said, placing her hand on her head.
"I do. We have a first aid kit in our kitchen. I could get you some painkillers from it, " Chi said.
"No, there's no need for that. I don't want you to go; I don't want to feel alone again, " Celine said.
"Oh, Celine, I promise not to let you feel alone ever again. You will never be alone because I'll always be here, " Chi said and Celine smiled.
"Why? " Celine asked.
"Why what? " Chi asked.
"Why didn't you go away when I shouted at you to? Why did you still insist on us being friends? " Celine asked.
"I don't know, may be it's because I like you, " Chi said.
"But we hardly know each other, " Celine said.
"We don't have to know each other before we can be friends. We will learn to know each other during the course of our friendship, "Chi said.
"Thank you, " Celine said, "Thank you for not going away. "
Chi grinned.
"It's getting late, won't you go home? " Celine asked.
"Don't worry, I already told my mother I would be spending the night with you, " Chi said.
"And she agreed? I thought everyone thought my aunt was a witch, so why would she let you spend the night here? " Celine asked surprised.
"She didn't agree but I'm here anyway, " Chi said.
"Thank you, " Celine said. "I'm famished."
"Let's check the kitchen and see what we can make, "Chi said.
"I can't cook, " Celine said, embarrassed.
"Then you are lucky that you have a friend that can, "Chi said and tickled Celine.
"Don't do that Chi, you know my head hurts, " Celine said, laughing.
"Come, let's go to the kitchen, " Chi said. She helped Celine up and they went to the kitchen.
The kitchen was as pristine as the sitting room. The cobwebs were gone and everywhere was sparkling clean.
"This place looks like a kitchen now," Celine said looking from the fridge to the sink, the gas ring, the dishwasher, the oven, the grill, the breakfast table and the high stools.
"Sit on one of the stools while I go check what's in the fridge and drawers, " Chi said.
Celine sat down resting her hands on the breakfast table and watched Chi open the fridge and rummaged through its contents.
"O...kay, what can make for us, " Chi said scanning the fridge contents with her eyes. Chi looked at the side of the fridge and found potatoes.
"Great, I can boil some potatoes and make egg sauce. That will done faster than rice, " Chi said bringing out eggs from the fridge.
"Why don't you go take your bath, " Chi said. "You are still on your school uniform and you know you need to wear it to school tomorrow."
Celine looked at herself.
"Yes, I forgot I'm still on my uniform, " Celine said.
"Go pull off your uniform and take your bath while I do the cooking, " Chi said peeling a potato with a peeler.
"OK, " Celine said. She went out of the kitchen and picked up her bag in the sitting room.
Celine got into her bathroom, pulled off her clothes and on the bath she had filled with soapy water.