Quelen was having a bad day.
She had missed her alarm and was late for her morning class. Her university students. Had been loud when she walked in, revelling in the temporary freedom, and they were loud for the rest of the class. They had never really quieted down.
Fighting a headache, she had gone to get herself a coffee in the teachers lounge and put her money in the machine. It was only when the coffee was brewing that she realized there were no cups.
She had searched for one but to no avail. When the coffee was ready, it slid out of the machine and sprayed outward, all over her new pant suit. She would have to wear a white pant suit to work that day.
Quelen had gone to the washroom to clean herself off. The hallways of Kilkades Dare University were full of students. She tried to block out the noise. When she stepped into the washroom, the lights were out.
She flicked them on and took a step.
Which is when she slipped in the blood. She landed with a wet thwack on the tiled floor and stared into the dead eyes of a student. At least she thought he was dead. He better be, with all of that blood pooling around him.
Stupid fucking white suit, she thought. She tried to sit up but couldn’t. When she tried again, she fell again. She landed in the pool of blood, once more making that muffled thwacking sound.
“Did you need any help?”
The woman’s voice was kind and she held out a hand to Quelen. She took it, noticing the womans skin. It was as cold as ice. “Thank you.” She said. “Be careful of the body.”
“Oh, I’m not worried about him.” The woman said.
Quelen looked into eyes that were the colour of wheat and hair the same colour framed an oval face. “I wouldn’t worry about him.” The woman said. “It looks like he’s had better days.”
She grinned and held out her hand. “My names Peppermint Patty.”
Quelen jerked. “Like the Peanuts character?”
“That’s what everyone asks. But I’ve never seen the cartoon.”
“You’ve never seen Peanuts?”
Peppermint shook her head. “Nope. First name Peppermint, last name Patty. That’s my name.” She smiled when Quelen took her hand. “Odd name to be sure.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Aren’t you the least bit freaked out by the dead body on the floor?”
Peppermint laughed. “No, no not at all. He’s dead. And I’m the one that killed him.”
Qulen sucked in a breath. “What do you mean?”
“Well, kill is a little strong. I merely suggested that he wasn’t worth anything and that he ought to do us all a favour.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You don’t have to. I’m a succubus.” Peppermint said. “Men are like candy to me.”
“Succubus’ don’t exist.”
“Whatever you say dollface. Listen, I gotta go. Are you going to be ok on your own?”
Quelen looked down at herself, at her ruined suit, at the dead body. “I guess so.” She said.
“Oh!” Patty laughed. “Right, we can’t have you looking like that can we? Let’s see.”
Quelen watched as Peppermint began to sing in a soft, chanting rhythm. Despite herself, Quelen felt her eyes closing, felt her body growing heavier. Then she heard a snap and opened her eyes.
The blood was gone, the body was gone and so was Peppermint. She looked down at her suit to see that it was no longer white, but a soft coloured rose. She had never sent his suit before. She put her hands into her pockets and there was a rustle of paper.
Taking the paper out of her pocket, she looked at the words there. “Believe in yourself. And I hope you like the suit. I figured this colour was better than white and your white suit was so 1984.”
With shaking hands, Quelen put the note back in her pocket. She needed a drink, she thought.
Fuck it, she thought again, she would have three. All good things come in threes right?
No comments:
Post a Comment