Trinity

One: The Seed

          A dark figure appeared out of the corner of my eye. My gaze shifted over to the large window at my immediate right. A snake? Sure enough, the head of a solid black snake could be seen on the other side of the glass, peering into the classroom. It almost seemed as if it was staring right at me. No. It was definitely staring right at me. As I locked eyes with its reptilian head, a fuzzy numbness plagued my mind. I wanted to look away, I wanted to break free. But that now seemed inexcusable. The snake started to gently rock side to side, while all other images slowly faded away until there was nothing but me and those equally black eyes. I felt a pull to mimic the snake's movements, but a small part of me remembered I was in public. My muscles were on edge, wanting to move so bad. The pull was getting stronger. I felt my body start to shift to the left and--

"So. What do you think this whole dinner with your parents is about tonight?" Laurie whispered to me, snapping me out of my trance. The world came back. When I glanced back at the window, the snake was gone. Was I dreaming? I hope Mr. Morris didn't notice.

"I have no idea. They never want to have family dinners, so I guess it must be pretty important," I shrugged, matching her low tone. My parents never wanted to do anything with me, much less each other. It was getting difficult to recall the last time I had even seen either of them.

Laurie chewed on the end of her pen cap. "Well... try to wrap it up quick so we can hang out after, okay? I'm in dire need of girl time." When wasn't she needing girl time? If it wasn't complaining about her on-again-off-again relationship or venting about whichever teacher made her feel less than bright, than it was definitely about how crazy her large family was driving her.

"I'll see what I can do," I nodded, finally returning my attention to the abysmal man who decided teaching the youth of America was his true calling. Much to my chagrin, he was staring right at me. Arms crossed, foot tapping. Not good.

"Ms. Evers? Do you have something you'd like to share with the rest of the class?" I could see a vein starting to form on his forehead.

"No, sir," I smiled sweetly, swallowing a long list of insults. It was the end of our senior year, you would think he would cut us some slack. In just a few short weeks, I'll have graduated and be far away from here, and Mr. Morris will have new students to contend with.

For the remainder of Mr. Morris' thrilling lesson, I couldn't get the image of the snake out of my head. It felt so real. Like an omen of something to come.

__________

My house has never appeared welcoming, with its foreboding mass and grey aesthetic. Today was no different. I entered the grand foyer, squeaking out a tiny, "Honey, I'm home!" There weren't even dust mites to reply. I let my bookbag slide off my shoulder and land with a soft thud, while stretching and kicking off my shoes. While I rarely physically saw my mother, I wasn't too keen on receiving an impersonal text telling me not to drag dirt throughout the house.

"You're home," my mother spoke, startling me. She was on the second floor, looking down on me. Her face was gaunt and dark with heavy bags that sagged beneath her eyes. I don't recall her looking quite this stressed the last time I had seen her.

"Nice to see you, too," I said, heading toward the stairs.

She crossed her arms and sighed as if she didn't like my tone. "Our guests will be here in a couple hours. Your father and I expect you downstairs and ready by 7:45." And with that, she disappeared back into the confines of her room. I stopped dead in my tracks. Guests? What guests? I'd never met a single friend, co-worker, or even extended family member of my parents. What guests could they possibly have? My mother popped out to tell me to bring my bag and shoes with me upstairs.