My Voodoo Queen

Chapter 1

My name is Alanza Oliveira; I am supposed to be Brazil's Voodoo queen, my mother's legacy, and a doctor. Instead, I am one of my mother's disappointments, I am a clinical herbalist, a principal, a healer/nurse, a midwife, an Afro-Brazilian woman, a philanthropist, and a protector. I have two mothers who finally got married in 2013, one is mocha-skinned and the other is caramel. 

Daiane Oliveira is 54-year-old, tall, mocha, curvy, and beautiful. The strict and paranoid physician is the iron-fisted Macumba queen of Rio de Janeiro. Mãe or mother wanted the perfect child, so she literally created a child with her soulmate, instead she got a child who in her opinion didn't live up to her expectations. She wanted me to be a doctor with her own practice like her, but she has a daughter who is a holistic doctor. The ironic thing is that Mother has "clients" (both voodoo and patients) top dollar for her help, but she spends the money on nice things. Mother has a tendency to resort to extortion and blackmail, which is why she has quite a few businesses back home.  

Mamãe or mommy is Juliana Santos de Oliveira, my best friend. The beautiful, 5'5, curvy, funny, and free-spirited woman is proud of me no matter what, as long as I am happy. Mommy is Mother's nurse and shaman. Shamanism is hereditary; they can talk to spirits to see into the future, cure illnesses, and diagnose diseases before anyone or anything. 

As for me, I live in Kesa, Ohio, in a plantation-style mansion built for me as a gift from Mommy, much to Mother's dismay. Kesa is a diverse college town that has a shopping center. My home serves a clinic, an apothecary, a school, a shelter, an orphanage, and a sanctuary. I take in witches and practitioners of color, so they can have a safe place to stay and learn how to control their powers. Mother thinks I am picking up strays and freeloaders. Here is the layout of my home:

1 clinic

1 apothecary

1peninsula kitchen

1 nature-inspired living room

1 elegant dining room

2 U-shaped classrooms with laptops

1 huge servant quarter (6 beds, 1 full bath, and a fridge)

1 huge art deco bedroom (mine, full bath)

1 Bohemian bedroom and full bath for teacher Mavis 

1 eclectic bedroom and full bath for teacher Acacia

1 traditional bedroom and full bath for 8 people

1 glam bedroom and full bath for 8 people

1 industrial bedroom and full bath for 8 people

1 contemporary bedroom and full bath for 8 people

1 eclectic bedroom and full bath for 8 people

3 traditional home offices for Mavis, Acacia, and Alanza

1 rustic social room

1 ritual room/basement

1 attic

1 nursery 

2 children's bedrooms with 2 full baths (16 beds in total)

1 laundry room with 12 washers and 12 dryers

1 greenhouse 

1 shed

1 chicken coop

1 goat pen

1alarm system

There are several rules to abide by in Oliveira's Academy:

1. Stranger danger

2. Everyone carries their own weight

3. You either work, go to school, or both

4. Contribute to the household

5. Your abilities should not only benefit you but others as well.

6. We are going to church every Sunday, unless you are sick, stay in your room

7. Do not harm one another

8. Education and knowledge is life

9. Outcasts are welcome

10. No drug dealing, prostitution, or scams

11. We do not hurt the innocent, we help and protect the innocent

12. No drugs

13. Know when to give freebies, but charge a reasonable amount. The supplies and the security on this place are not cheap.

14. Don't bring just anyone home, and don't give out the security code. Bring a stranger to my home, you are responsible

15. No drama

16. You have a brain, use it

17. Salem witches and us get along like oil and water, be careful. Salem witches think we are weird, but we witches  and practitioners have to stick together

I called my apprentice and ward Aimee to round up everyone (students, teachers, and one of the security guards) to get ready for church. We go to a Catholic Church because Catholicism and our religion are not that different. It also helps that the priest is Ghanaian and knows who and what we are. Father Solomon Bello is a friend of Mother, and he sponsored my visa and let me stay with him when my house was being built. Father Solomon is very open-minded and good people, I couldn't wait to see him.