A Penny For My Thoughts ~ phan

I

Dan

I should've known Friday the 13th wouldn't let me off the hook for once. I'm such an idiot.

If I had just stayed cooped up in my room all day, scrolling through tumblr and avoiding all human interaction possible, maybe everything would have been okay. Sure, I had enough human intellect to barricade the doors and stock up on every kind of junk food imaginable days in advance to eliminate any need to leave the house. That much was a given. But although I had correctly determined the amount of chocolate necessary to keep me sane on such a day, it turns out that even seven locks don't always keep everyone out. I never thought my lucky number would let me down the way it did.

It was the undeniable urge to pee that convinced my legs to rise from rest and step a little further into the world. Still four walls away from potential harm, my brain tricked my heart to pump just a bit slower as I strolled across the carpet towards the bathroom. Past the front door I went, my eyes on the prize of relief each step of the way. That is, until a shock of pain burned through my bare heel and caused my body to instinctively bend forward, a flower whose time it was to wilt.

There I was, one hand grasping my foot while the other pressed against the wall, leaning with all my might as if gravity had any healing properties to offer me. The bad luck had found me no matter the extensive measures I went through to ward it off. Questions whirled through my mind like a tornado, fear making up the crushing winds and debris. I liked to think that the snowballing buzzing sound along with it was merely a symptom of the devastating situation I had gotten myself into and the remaining ten hours just teeming with rotten promises. But of course, it was not the time for the universe to be on my side.

Biting down hard on my lip, I subconsciously left the ceasing pain for a moment, allowing my foot to continue as it may as I moved my eyes towards the floor. I knew crossing my fingers would be too late in the moment when a fuzzy yellow spot revealed itself in the midst of thrummy blackness. Realizing what it was, I dropped to my knees and scooped up the tiny creature.

"Oh crap. Please don't be dead, please, please," I murmured, blowing lightly on the honeybee. To my dismay, the bee remained stagnant, even as I poked it around a bit. Maybe to some it wouldn't have been such a bad thing, accidentally killing that bug, but I knew better. Sent by the universe, the motionless bee specifically signified the arrival of an unwanted visitor. And on Friday the 13th, no less!

Before I could take the time to think through who would possibly show up unannounced, the buzzing from earlier made its way back into my brain. Not a single bolt of vibration tickled my cupped hands as pure instincts put the pieces together for me. My head snapped up to direct my eyes towards my brown door with the seven locks locked and secure, just the way I liked it. Around the edges of the seven locks: a swarm of bees crawling and multiplying as if the outdoors was trying to suck them into oblivion. They shot out of the doorframe at full velocity, clouds of paper thin wings grazing every wall in search of something.

Hastily, I rose to my feet, the spectacle shocking away the pain in my heel just long enough to hobble forward. Recalling it now, I don't know what insignificant feeling could ever have manifested itself into my mind getting me to move closer to that horrible scene. Then again, fate can be very tricky.

Mouth agape like the fool I would be remembered as, I unlocked all seven locks with immense difficulty, jolting my hand back to the safety of my chest with every tiny body that flashed past. Somehow, I managed it. Honestly, the whole thing felt like a dream.

I gesticulated like a crazy person as I threw open the door, the wood banging against the wall doing nothing to scare any of the bees out of my clothes. Because apparently that's a thing that they do, treat each sleeve like an uncharted path and each pocket like their own personal hive. In a sense, it was torture, the stinging machines coming from any and all sides as I feebly attempted to keep them away from my face. Mouth clamped shut, I could barely see over my flailing arms and the beasts that refused to go unnoticed, the whole world turning into bright yellow fear.

Then, a voice.

"Oh my god. What have I done? Okay, whatever you do, do not move in any way; they only sting when they feel threatened. I'm going to go get a net. You, stay still."

As if I had any other option.

The voice wasn't one I recognized but that hadn't stopped me from being trusting in the past. However, I couldn't help but wonder how in the world a measly net would save me from the rapid hail composed of a species that wanted me gone. With any luck, those were the unwanted visitors that would come and go just as a reminder that attempting to escape the day was futile. The voice would come back with their all powerful net and I could move on for the time being. 'I'll be fine', I thought, my breathing coming out to the rhythm of wheels spinning out of control as my body teetered on the edge of a nervous breakdown.

Who was I kidding?

"Ok, I'm back. Don't worry. I'm an experienced beekeeper, I know exactly what I'm doing. I hope."

Great.

As much as I would love to get into the specifics of what happened next, I really wouldn't love to. Let's just say, there was no consent on my part when the voice insisted on "checking" my clothes, not to mention my entire living room for "the essential queen". They must've found her because with a satisfied "ah ha!", a whole layer of bees were stripped away, a rather startling feeling as I had mistaken them for a part of my skin at that point. The vacuum of the outside had regained its power with the help of a stranger. I almost felt grateful for the magical savior the universe slipped me. That is, until I remembered who was at fault in the first place.

I was so mad that I failed to become flustered by the stranger's breathtaking features. I even forgot about karma.

"What is the matter with you? What kind of 'experienced beekeeper' lets their little demons fly around and attack the first person they see? I could be allergic to bees for all you know! You could've killed me!"

I was a good couple inches taller than the stranger and thank god I was. My stress was off the charts. The surprisingly steady and equally forceful retort from that soft face, those shimmering eyes, was intimidating enough already.

"Well I'm sorry if I'm not a wizard who can just say the magic word and instantly control their minds! You think I wanted them to get loose? If I lost the queen I would've had to get a brand new one from god knows how far away that would take weeks to arrive not to mention the fact that this is my career and I'm running dangerously low on honey. And if I don't have the honey, I don't have a roof over my head! So stop complaining, you-you trash can!"

Taken aback, I stared mindlessly into the blue diamonds of the stranger's eyes, so beautiful and strong. It was almost a shame that such burning anger could wash it all down the drain. And how dare they call me a trash can after putting me through a ridiculous amount of emotional trauma?! Who do they think they are?

Though the rather poorly delivered insult felt like the end, especially considering I couldn't think of a comeback for the life of me, the exchange was all but over. For a while we just stared at each other, like two little salt and pepper shakers not quite knowing what to make of the foreign spice before them. Why would the universe insist on mixing us together even with our battling flavors?

"Well," said the stranger, the heat behind their eyes nowhere close to cooling off. "Good day." With one last huff, they spun around and descended the porch steps, clutching the vibrating box of demons as if trying to hold their racing heart into their body where it belonged. With one last blink, I stared at their black head of hair, the background smudging at the edges as humans made their way through the day. Maybe they were watching me, I couldn't be sure. All I knew was that I had never felt so vulnerable.

I turned back into the house and closed the door behind me. The air was as still as sleep, the walls as long as silence.

That's the last thing I remember before I died.