Chapter one
Maybe it's the darkness, maybe it's the silence maybe it's my mind playing tricks on me... who knows? The wind just felt different tonight. The darkness more sinister. The silence less companionable and more formidable. Not that I'm an expert on these things... they just felt... unnatural.
"Hellllooo? Earth to space cadet Samantha! Checking for mental awareness!" Bony knuckles rapped sharply against my skull and I winced back, barely managing to keep my coco upright.
"Ouch!" I glared at the girl sitting across from me with flashing black eyes.
She gave me a flick on the nose. "Oh save your bad ass technique for someone who lets it intimidate them!" she advised. "I'm immune." But I noticed she had scooted her chair back a few feet.
Rubbing at the biting ache on my nose I didn't relent my glare. "Sure you are Trish. What ever lets you sleep at night."
A wicked grin slid over my friends face and she licked her pointer finger provocatively. "That would be a hot jock and a bag full of toys." she gave me a wink and leaned forward. "Make it an adventurous one and I'll sleep for a week."
I rolled my eyes. "Can't wait for your mom to hear that one T. I'm sure her face will make a great card to scare little children when you tell them stories of brain eating monsters."
Trish shuddered. " Yeah...let's keep that little secret to ourselves okay Sam? I'd rather not have world war three inside my house."
Shrugging I sipped my beverage.
"Oh come on! It's not like you're going to get in trouble for not telling. I mean seriously you saw how she reacted when she caught Johnny Timmins kissing me on the front porch!" Her blue eyes opened wide and she pouted with her puffy pink lips. I nearly spit out my drink.
Hastily I swallowed and tried not to choke. "Ha! Kiss? If I recall correctly he had you pinned up against the wall with your legs wrapped around his waist as you moaned."
Frowning at loosing the battle Trish tossed her curly caramel hair over a shoulder and crossed her legs and arms . "Humph! It's not like it was our first date or something! We'd been dating for six months!"
"How did your mom describe your moans?" I pretended to think and tucked a silky strand of black behind my ear. "Oh that's right! 'Sounded like a cat caught in a washer'." I broke out of my fake accent and ducked as she chucked a sugar packet my way.
"Like you know anything! Seriously, you know nothing about attraction- isn't that right miss virgin lips?"
"Better than miss open legs."
"Ah! I cannot believe you just said that!" A rainbow of packets rained over my head. "Take it back! Take it back! Take it back!"
"No way!"
A sharpened wood sliver spun passed my ear. Apparently there weren't any sugar packets left.
"Samantha listen to the girl with the weapons!" Peanuts whizzed by my ear.
"Don't tempt me Trish, we both know I have better aim than you and we both know who will win if you don't stop throwing stuff." I warned between laughs. In answer I had to dodge a spray of raisons and M&M's from her pouch of trail mix.
"Yeah- me!"
Before I could counter a shadow fell over me and an angry waitress with a pinched mouth glowered down at me. "I hope you're planning to clean this up girls!"
My gaze met Trish and she mouthed 'Plan B' at me.
So I plastered on a fake smile and nodded. "In fact if you would bring us a couple of brooms we'd start right away..."
