A Goddess Wears Orange

Chapter 1

Yumi had always wondered how it would feel to be like her sister. Even for just a day. Even for just a moment.      

“Okay, let’s take a vote. All in favor of A, raise your hands.” 

She’d watched how her sister operated for years, and she still couldn’t figure out how she did it. Ate Tala made it look so easy. First place in a dance competition? Not a problem. Consistent Principal’s Lister? Piece of cake. Gorgeous hair, flawless skin, a knock-out figure, outgoing charm that made everybody fall in love with her—particularly true for the boys who lined up outside their house to ask her out? Check, check and check. 

For years, Yumi was half-convinced that her sister had been swapped with another baby at the hospital. How else could she explain the way Tala shone as bright as the star she was named for, despite being borne of two wonderful but otherwise dull and ordinary parents? Especially when compared to her extremely dull and ordinary younger sister, whose name meant beautiful and graceful but whose personality was anything but. Honestly, the only other explanation Yumi could think of was that her sister was a witch. 

But as it turned out, it wasn’t Tala who was the witch. 

“Hmm. All in favor of B, raise your—wow, okay. Do we even need to count hands?” 

The class erupted in cheers. Yumi felt hands on her, patting her shoulders and promptly getting caught in her curls. A couple of girls congratulated her while the others began yelling out plans and ideas, adding to the din. A part of her thought it was all kind of silly. She hadn’t done anything worth being congratulated for. But the rest of her flushed with pleasure and laughed along with her classmates, reveling in the warm feeling of approval and belonging. 

From a few seats away, her best friends Fran and Lisette sent her slightly worried looks. Yumi didn’t blame them. Her own stomach churned as Natalie, the class president, erased the whiteboard and wrote the words “Theme: Goddess of Love” in big, bold letters. 

Goddess of Love. Yumi gulped. At least they weren’t calling her a witch anymore. She glanced around the classroom, noting the curious but encouraging looks being bounced her way. Her classmates didn’t look horrified or scared of her, nor did they seem like they were making fun of her. Right now, they just seemed preoccupied with discussing possible menus for their class’ café/drinks booth for the school fair. No sign of them turning into a lynch mob and running her out of the campus yet. 

Far from it, unbelievable as it was. They didn’t want her to keep her creepy abilities away from them. They wanted her creepy abilities to be the main feature of their section’s entry to the week-long school fair, which was going to be held in a little less than a month. They wanted her to use her power to tell love fortunes for their customers. Instead of relegating her to the background as part of the work and clean-up crew, they actually wanted her help in winning the prize for best booth this year. They needed her; she was important to them. The thought made her giddy. 

She also had a chance to use her power to help people. At the moment, though, helping people didn’t seem as important as the chance to finally be noticed for herself. No more lurking in her sister’sshadow. No more being the dull, average, stick-thin, unruly-haired, clumsy backdrop against which Tala shown all the more brightly. She, Yumi, was finally going to be a star in her own right. 

Emboldened by the notion, she raised her hand. “How about a fruit shake stand? We can do a sort of mystical, New Age thing to go with the fortune-telling.” 

Again, to her surprise, the class responded positively to her suggestion. “Yeah, fruit shakes! My aunt runs a fruit shake shop in our street. I can probably get her to help.”