Tempting Jocelyn

4. I Hate Mondays...1

Being the first day of the week, Monday was never my best day. First, I had to say goodbye to the weekends, then prepare for the earliest class, keeping in mind I won’t be leaving school early either. It was like my lecturers all came together to discuss and decided to fix Monday as their favorite day to give us lectures. My timetable was packed today, and the last one I had was at three o’clock, which would go on for an hour and fifteen minutes.

My luck was never the best on Mondays. I was having the worst hair day with my wavy ginger hair all over the place, and no matter how much I tried styling it, it just didn’t come out nice. I’ve had hot coffee spilled on me this morning at my favorite café; tripped and fell embarrassingly on the stairs while rushing to meet up with one of my classes; and lastly, bumped into someone by accident who sent my papers flying all around the place. Plus, one of my lecturers sprang on us a pop quiz.

My head was presently being supported by my hand on the desk; my tired eyes were droopy, and having a hard time keeping up with the present lecture. Even though I scribbled down a few points from the lecturer in the notebook, I doubted it made sense. Afternoon classes were the worst. More than half the class was just as tired and lazy. Immediately, he declared the class over; I sighed in relief and slumped onto my desk with my head facing sideways.

Students packed up, murmuring and shuffling out the hall while I remained seated. My notebook was lifted from the desk, my biro gently pulled from my fingers and dumped into my leather bag beside me before it was zipped.

“Is it over yet?” I asked, still slumped lazily on the desk.

“Today’s lectures? Yes. Monday? No.” My friend and roommate, Chelsea, crouched beside me so that her smiling face was within my line of sight. Her eyes, the color of fossilized tree resin, sparkled as she laughed, even though almost hidden behind the wispy bangs of her natural light blond hair. How could anyone look so energetic on a Monday afternoon?

I groaned out loud in response while forcing myself up, “I hate Mondays.”

“I know.” She handed me my handbag, which I reached for, and we made our way out of the hall.

We were like the opposites of each other as we walked together down the corridors of our school. Chelsea’s straight hair had not one strand out of place, her round eyes vibrant with life as she smiled welcoming at anyone we passed by while hopping beside me in tight jeans and an equally fitting top. On the other hand, I had my hair all over the place, trudging down the halls in boots, loose pants, and a baggy top, displaying a gloomy expression and glowering at anyone in my way. My hands remained in my pants pockets till we reached outside, then I took out my shades to protect my eyes from the glaring Georgia sun.

“How long before our shift?” I asked, too lazy to check the time myself.

“About twenty minutes.” She responded, and I groaned out loud once more.

“Do we have to go in today?”

“You don’t; I do.” She joked as we made our way towards the school parking lot where my car was parked. She was correct; while I had wealthy parents ready to sponsor my every move, Chelsea had had to learn to fend for herself from a young age. She’d been taking care of her sick mum and little sister for a while now before coming to college, but she still worked different shifts at various jobs to fend for and send money over to them back home. She was at this college through a scholarship and had to study hard to retain her scholarship while juggling different jobs.

“Why do you even work?”

“You know, I don’t even remember why.” I shrugged as we hopped into my car. It was a Mercedes C-class convertible my dad got me for my eighteenth birthday. I wasn’t a fan of it because of the attention it attracted, but I couldn’t say no and break my old man’s heart.

“Some milkshakes first?” I suggested as we buckled into our seats.

Chelsea and I first met on my first day at college. We had the same class and sat beside one another, talked, and found out she was looking for a roommate to rent with. The dorms had already been filled up as she booked late and lucky for her, I already had an apartment so I asked her to move in.

After two years, we knew a lot about each other, but I never told her about my witch family or the supernatural world. It was all to be kept secret from humans, and that balance shouldn’t be disturbed. Imagine the chaos that would ensue when they all know their predators freely walk with them every day.

“Woo-hoo!” I hollered, accelerating down the road with the wind blowing through our hair, milkshakes in hand, and my other hand on the wheel. Reaching our destination, I swerved in and parked my car in front of Louis Pizza Palace.

Louis Pizza Palace was an average restaurant owned by Louis, a French man whose father had built and named it after his son. Louis took over after his old man retired, and he’d managed to increase its fame by a good enough percentage and expand it a bit, some remodeling here and there to meet with today’s designs.

“Ah, here comes daddy’s little princess in her golden carriage. Why don’t you go spend daddy’s money at some boutique instead of wasting our time!” I heard someone mock as I gently slammed the door to my ride and ensured it was locked. I rolled my eyes, turning to face one of my archnemesis, Sophie. And no, archnemesis wasn’t a bit too strong for someone like Sophie. She had her hair up in a messy bun, an apron around her neck, stained with cheese, sauce, and something brown while she stood hands akimbo.

“Did our “nice” customers shove a straw up your ass, Sophie?” I blinked innocently while walking up to her, with Chelsea struggling to hide her laugh by sipping her drink.

“Joke all you want, Jocelyn, but you won’t be laughing when Louis fires you two for being late. Tatiana and James left half an hour ago, and he’s been the one waiting tables for you two. So good luck.” She smirked and then sauntered back into the restaurant. My smug look dissipated, and I turned to Chelsea, panic-stricken.

“Half an hour? Chelsea, you said we had twenty minutes left!”

“Yeah…Fifty minutes ago!” She threw an accusing glare at me, tossing her empty cup into a nearby trashcan, causing me to look away in guilt as I recalled the reason for our lateness was me. I just had to make a quick detour home, ignoring Chelsea’s protests, and change into my denim playsuit.

The restaurant at this time was slowly getting full with customers coming in from work and school, waiting to be served after a long and tiring day. I can see Sophie taking customer orders with another waiter and attending to another table while some remain unattended.

“Girls, you finally made it.” Both Chelsea and I jumped from the voice behind us and turned to see Louis, our boss, in an apron, with a tray of food in one hand. He had a broad smile on, but those eyes looked murderous.

“L…Louis, my man. Listen, we can explain….” I started to say, already racking my brain for some excuse, but he halted me by raising his other hand.

“I don’t want to hear it, Jocelyn.” His smile disappeared, and his accent became thicker as his tone changed. He shoved the tray in his hand at me and pointed to a table behind us, “Take this to that table and keep working till your breath runs out.” He nudged me away and then proceeded to instruct Chelsea on her job.

That was how our day in the restaurant started off, and with today being Monday, it was a bit more hectic here. It was usually like that, especially during weekends, not that I was complaining. My job was still fun; teasing Sophie and watching her glower at me all day, annoying Louis till he cursed out loud at me in French, and accidentally spilling drinks on sweet nagging customers. It was an excellent way to relieve the day’s stress.

“Ah… I’m exhausted.” I took off my apron and stretched, slumping on one of the chairs in the staff room.

“I wonder why, seeing as you neglected some of your work,” Chelsea muttered, seated on the floor while packing up hers and my stuff as we prepared to leave.

“Still mad about earlier?” I stood and went to lie beside her, resting my chin on my hands and putting on an apologetic face. Louis had threatened us later on with firing us the next time we were late for work. Chelsea had thrown me another accusing glare and had been giving me the stink eye ever since.

“I already told you, if you want to change before work, then make sure to pack extra clothes as we won’t always have the time to make a detour back home. You almost made us lose this job, and while that may not affect you at all, it does me.” Chelsea was rarely ever mad, and when she was, it was mostly because she was disappointed about something or someone like she was with me right now.

“You’re right. I’m sorry and will try to be as responsible as I can from now on.” I promised, adding a sincere smile, but she only rolled her eyes at me before pulling out my hand from underneath my chin, showcasing my crossed finger. Caught, I could only smile apologetically once more.

“How did I end up being friends with you?” She sighed while I stood to hug her from the side as we both laughed.

“You love me.” I could feel her eyes roll even without looking up.

“Girls, I need you to make a delivery,” Louis announced, strolling into the staff room with a stack of pizza boxes in hand and Sophie following behind. “These boxes need to be delivered tonight as soon as possible.” He dumped them on the table beside us.

“Now? But our shift is over!” I stood up to oppose, not wanting to divert anywhere else but home. I had been dreaming about my bed all day. “Besides, isn’t that Randy and Dan’s job?”

“The boys left to deliver the last orders, and they won’t be back anytime soon. This order just came in, and since you two are done with your shift and live together, you can help deliver this on your way home.” He suggested, and my eyes shifted for a second behind him to see Sophie stand with a smug smile.

“Well…why do we have to do it and not her?”

“Because she does not have a car and will be locking up later.”

“But…” I continued to object when Chelsea sighed;

“It’s okay, Jocelyn. We can just deliver it on our way home.” She gave me a warning look to back down, probably to compensate Louis for today.

“Fine.” I reluctantly gave in with a sigh. “But what do we get in return?” This earned a scoff from Sophie and a raised eyebrow from Louis.

“Jocelyn…” Chelsea’s warning tone didn’t deter me this time.

Louis smiled, stepping closer and crouching slightly so his face was directly in front of mine. “How about I don’t fire you for coming late to work, spilling drinks on half my customers, neglecting your job, and eating while on duty. What do you say?” He kept his smile on, but I could see the pits of hell blazing in his eyes.

“Can’t talk right now, Louis. Got some boxes to deliver.” I grabbed the boxes and headed out, where it was dark now, to dump them in my car. Chelsea walked out a few seconds later, holding our bags and tossing them in the backseat.

“Got the address.” She announced, hopping into the passenger’s seat.

It was luckily a short drive, but it felt like we were leaving town with fewer houses around, and soon, we found ourselves in front of an iron-wrought gate. It stood tall with its intricate designs, creating spirals at the top where a raven cawed and landed on, spreading its wings wide, giving it an eerie feeling.

“Um…Chelsea?” I gulped, staring up at the bird as its eyes searched around the night till it blinked down at us. “Are you sure this is the place?”

Also confused, she brought up my phone, “That’s what the map says.” She shrugged just as the bird took this time to caw once more before flapping its wings and fluttering away.

“I so will murder Louis if we get lost or run into psychopaths.” I wearily sighed, proceeding past the gate and into the dark.

We drove for a while, surrounded by the dark, tall creepy trees that cast shadows on the road with their crooked branches, dried leaves that crunched underneath my tires, and the trilling sounds of cricket. I wasn’t sure if it was the night’s air or the spooky feeling this place got that sent chills down my spine; either way, I pushed down on the pedal, my grip on the wheel tightening, hoping to be out of here faster.

I exhaled in relief, noticing lights flashing ahead from a building, and drove faster towards it. For a second there, I thought we were lost. As we got closer, our eyes widened in amazement when the view of a mansion got more apparent. Trimmed bush hedges lined the foot of the building’s brick walls that proudly loomed up to the sky, and the broad lawn was our companion as I drove on a small path leading up to the house. Its surroundings were mainly illuminated by lights coming from the windows, and maybe because it was dark, but its beauty left me in awe like a kid seeing the Macy’s Great tree for the first time.

“Wow,” Chelsea whispered beside me, just as dazed.

“Where did Louis get customers like this?” Chelsea gushed while I parked near the portico. She reached for the pizza box as we headed to the front door with her gazing around mesmerized while I stared around skeptical. The chilling feeling I had from earlier on hadn’t disappeared, and when I looked up, I saw a crow circling above the mansion. For some reason, I believed it to be the one we saw at the gate’s entrance, but it couldn’t have possibly followed us here.

After hitting the doorbell, we waited patiently, and not long after, we heard a lock click, and the door was swung open. A man, a butler maybe, considering how he was dressed formally in a suit, sporting white gloves on his hands, stood before us, staring down at us with a frown and a questioning look.

“Hello! We’re from Louis Pizza Palace, here to deliver your order.” Chelsea sang, handing out the boxes to the butler, who hadn’t said a word. His eyes glared down at the boxes, not reaching for them, and I saw Chelsea slowly lose her smile. He suddenly turned then and retreated back into the house without still saying a word, leaving the door open and us in the doorway.

I shared a look with Chelsea, both of us confused, but then she shrugged and stepped forward. I immediately grabbed her arm, “What are you doing?!”

“Dropping off these boxes so we can go home.” She noticed the panic in my eyes and added, “You can stay and wait for me here if you don’t want to come in.” She then proceeded inside.

“Or we could just leave them here,” I whispered harshly after her, but I was ignored. Sighing, I knew I had to follow after her. “I have a bad feeling about this place,” I muttered, cautiously stepping inside and following after the weird butler and my suicidal friend.

After strolling around the large house, we soon emerged into a large pool where we finally saw persons sprawled lazily on loungers littered about. They were mostly guys who all had shorts on showcasing their abs except one who seemed much younger and had a tank top on, sporting a set of headphones over his ears. There was a lady among them also in a summer dress that stopped mid-thigh and exposed her long pale legs with her short hair in a side part covering half her face but not her cherry-colored lips. She sipped from a glass and read from the page of a book while the guys mostly had their eyes closed or stared up at the stars in the night.

Like this, one was able to stare and appreciate their beauty. I had seen a lot of beautiful people in my life, but these guys were a whole new definition of perfection, and I knew Chelsea felt the same way as she had her jaw hanging. I wanted to keep on admiring them, but something about them just seemed off. Even the butler was nowhere to be seen anymore.

Then, one of them suddenly snapped his eyes open and focused on us. Their color reminded me of jade gemstones, and I watched a smirk appear on his lips as he stood up to his full height without taking his eyes off us.

He focused mainly on Chelsea, stretching his hand out to her, and I heard his sensuous tone command, “Come here.” Those two words alone were coaxing enough for even me to let my guard down and want to oblige, even though I was not the one being spoken to. However, I gained my senses and shook my head quickly. Warning bells set off in my head at how his tone gave off a familiar vibe.

When I stared at Chelsea and saw the entranced look on Chelsea’s face, I got my confirmation on who or what exactly this guy was and his friends.

Vampires.