The Voodoo Bell

Part 1: Chapters 1-5

Chapter 1

Birthday Surprise

The end of October is always a bit chilly, but this year, the wind had a particularly noticeable bite to it. As I walked down the street to my friend Lilly's townhouse, I found myself pulling and tugging at my thin cotton cardigan to keep it into place. I wished that it had buttons in the front, like some of my others. I had even pulled the sleeves down as far as possible as a make shift shelter for my hands. The things that I do to myself for style. The tiny black thing was a perfect complement to the royal purple tank and skinny jeans that I had donned for the evening's events. Unfortunately, it was just for looks and did nothing to keep away the cold.

I took the last few steps around the corner of 5th and Grady Street, where Lily had lived for years and looked up at her bright red, welcoming door. I bounded up the front stairs, trying not to throw my clumsy-self off balance in these boots from hell. Without even knocking, I reached forward and turned the door knob. A welcome blast of heat hit my face as I stepped through the door.

Since it was after 6pm, I know that Lily's mom must be at work. She has worked second shift at the hospital ever since Lily's dad left them a couple years ago. She said the money was better and she didn't mind being up late. With her absence certain, I called out "Hey" as loud as I could up the tiny set of carpeted steps, shedding the boots so that I wouldn't get dirt on the creamy carpet. A muffled "Blair, get your ass up here!" came from the top of the stairs and I started moving to head up to her room.

Sliding past the half open door to her bedroom, I found her standing in front of her closet. She was half dressed in only black leggings and a bra. She was staring into her wardrobe.

"What's up, birthday girl?" she said, smile beaming as she turned to face me.

"Nothing much, just psyching myself up for whatever crazy stunts you have planned for me tonight." I said, taking time to scrutinize her appearance. "What are you doing?"

In response, her face instantly transformed into a scowl, "Ugh, I can't decide what to wear. I wanna be HOT tonight. Eric might be there and I have to show him what he is missing."

"I thought you were over him?" I asked a bit puzzled.

"Oh, I am." She replied. "But, if he is there, it will probably be with Kassie and I just want to show him what an idiot he is".

I giggled at her vindictiveness and went to sit on her bed. I sat and crossed my legs in front of me and rested my face on my hands. Knowing Lily, this might take a while.

Fifteen minutes later, Lily had settled on a skin tight red silky dress with tiny straps and a bit of lace that hugged the edge around the top of her breasts. Her blonde hair fell down around her shoulders in a loose set of curls. She had finished the look by adding a bit of eyeliner and bright red lipstick that matched the dress. The pair of red heels she had slid on to her feet were just icing on an already dazzling cake.

"So where exactly are we going?" I asked a bit curious and feeling more than slightly under dressed compared to her.

"Out", she teased, "It's a surprise".

I knew a lost cause when I saw one and Lily had put on her steel mask. The one that let me know that she would not be telling me anything until we were officially at our destination. I could tell that she was really excited for tonight and that gave me butterflies in my stomach.

In our friendship, Lily was always the outspoken firecracker, down for any form of crazy shenanigans and I was the little mouse that had stayed in the shadow of her personality. I had never minded being the side kick. In all honesty, I would probably just sit at home reading books all weekend if I didn't have her to pull me along. That's why when she had suggested planning something to do on my birthday, I had known to expect the unexpected. "After all, you will only turn 21 once!" had been her argument and after an hour of dragging my heels, I had conceded.