Tempting Jocelyn

2. The Cold Witch...

"Are you out of your mind?!” Carol hissed into my ear while grabbing my elbow forcefully, halting me in my steps. I turned to see her eyes blazing down at me with an evident scowl on her face. “Do you have any idea who those two were?”

“Don’t know, don’t care, Carol. Now, let go of me.” I spelled the words out slowly for her, my voice taking a lower tone. She glared at me for a couple more seconds before doing as I asked. My glass was now empty, so I replaced it with another as a waiter walked by. If I was going to tolerate my sister and mum a bit longer, I would need more than a drink to help me through.

Carol sighed beside me as we resumed walking, “Tanya is from the Lexington family.” I stared at her, clueless about the name. “You know, where the High Priestess was chosen from, and no one talks to Tanya that way. She’s very unwelcoming to jokes about her height.” She whispered the last information.

High Priests or Priestesses were leaders of each witch coven, usually chosen by witch elders. I didn’t study much about witches since I wasn’t one of them, but I sometimes stumbled upon books about them as a child living with my mum.

“Wow, and I care about this because….”

She groaned once more, face-palming her forehead. “Your big mouth will land us in trouble one day, Jocelyn. Just don’t ruin this night for mum.” She warned, but I only stuck my tongue out at her. Childish, I know.

However, my tongue froze mid-air when I caught something, or rather, someone from the corner of my eyes. A few feet from us, I could see the reason why I was here, looking regal in her long violet dress that almost was sweeping the floor, her blond hair styled and cut short like it always was, not one strand out of place, eyebrows up in perfect arches and lips painted a rich rosewood. As always, a pearl necklace adorned her neck, which she presently stroked while listening intently to another woman beside her.

A lump formed in my throat instantly, causing me to gulp down my remaining drink, hoping it would give me the confidence I so lack right now. On second thought, maybe I should just go home and give her a call, explaining I had been here but left early. Caroline could even be my witness.

I was about to bolt when my dearest sister caught hold of my arm and began dragging my ass along with her. “Where do you think you’re going so soon?” She grinned from ear to ear like the devil she was.

“I was only going to get a drink.” I scoffed, only I don’t think she believed me as she only rolled her eyes and continued to drag me towards my doom. She always was freakishly strong, even with her skinny figure.

As we got closer, I soon realized my grandma was there also with the duo, and soon, the three of them burst into laughter at something grandma said. She was the first to notice me, and I watched her eyes light up while I smiled brightly back at her.

“Jocelyn, dear! You’re here finally.” She stretched out her arms towards me in a hug, and I had to crouch a little as she was shorter. I’m instantly engulfed by her flowery perfume scent and homely feel.

“Grams.” I pucked her cheek before stepping back.

“It’s been so long since you last visited. Feels like ages since I last saw you. Have you suddenly forgotten all about your old granny here?” She joked, holding both sides of my face with her arms so she could inspect me before letting me go.

“Sorry, grams.” I gave her my best apology smile. “School is a nightmare that barely gives me enough time for me.” It was the best lie I could come up with at that moment, but I knew Grams could never be mad at me. She loves me too much to be.

“That is no excuse, young lady.” She scolded but still had that big smile on her face.

“I see someone’s finally here after the party began almost two hours ago.” The icy Queen finally spoke, and I couldn’t stop my heart from jumping a bit in my chest. “And your…outfit. What is this? A funeral?” Not a minute in her presence, and I’m already being berated into next week. She hasn’t seen me in six months, and this is how she welcomes me?! I took a deep breath before finally turning to her and giving her my attention.

“Good evening to you too, mum. I’m fine, by the way, thanks for asking. Oh, school? Stressful as always. The traffic on the way here was so bad, which explains why I’m late.” I blinked innocently at her even though I knew she could see the sly fox lurking beneath my eyes. Traffic was terrible but not enough to make me this late. I just took my sweet time in the shower to spite her.

Her eyes narrowed at me, “Don’t act coy with me, Jocelyn.” The warning was evident in her tone, and I immediately wiped off the smile on my face. Oh, she wasn’t playing tonight. I needed to be on my best behaviour, or she would teach me how to.

I noticed the other lady she had been talking with wasn’t with us anymore, and now it was just us family: grams, mum, Caroline, and sweet little me.

“Don’t be so hard on her, Stephanie. She is here after all.” Grams, my sweet hero, came to my rescue while I took a step back, away from Stephanie. Grams was always the one to get me out of trouble while growing up. I would never have survived all these years under my mum without her.

“She should be.” Caroline decided this time as good as any to butt in as she shifts to stand beside mum, having a suspicious look on her face, and I just knew anything that was about to leave that mouth next wouldn’t be good. Standing side by side with mum, I couldn’t shake the thought of how much they shared so many features and seemed so alike even with their body shape. One could mistake them for sisters even since mum was doing a great job of still looking young.

“Earlier on, we both ran into two lovely guests of ours: Miranda and Tanya - Tanya Lexington - and Jocelyn had been exceptionally rude.” Oh, the b***h! Of course, she would rat me out, just like she always did since we were kids. “And, she made fun of Tanya’s height.” She added, victoriously smirking while I promised murder with my eyes.

“You what?” Mum’s voice was just as cold as her icy blue eyes, which always seemed to terrify me. I always was amazed at how she could show her emotions through her eyes without changing her facial expressions.

Damn you Caroline.

I was just going to say, “Hi,” and then leave with a pretty smile, but thanks to my dear sister, that smile would be downwards.

“Oh, dear. Not Tanya’s height.” Grams grimaced as Caroline confirmed with a nod of her pretty annoying head. She was probably skipping in joy in her head, proud now that she had seemed to turn everyone against me, including my sweet Grams.

“You haven’t even been here for five minutes, and already you’ve shown what a troublesome, immature, and insensitive girl you are.” Oh, she’s mad. If this was a cartoon, smoke would be coming out of her ears. I don’t get why she’s more worked up today than usual. Usually, she’s easily irritated, but tonight, it was a lot worse.

Mum began to dramatically massage her temple with her fingers, “This is what studying far from home causes you. Your manners are completely gone, or at least the little I succeeded in incorporating into you, and God knows I tried.” Oh please, I resided barely two hours away, minus the traffic, and I recalled how much of a hassle I had to go through just to get her to agree with me going to my college of choice or even letting me rent around the area. I had to plead with my dad and Grams to make her see some sense. She only ended up agreeing because it was within the same city. I mean, what was her obsession with me? She let Caroline pick her school and study in a different country without any problem.

“Well, since I’m such a pain in the as…arsenal,” I quickly watched my words when my mum directed another warning glare at me. “I’ll just leave quietly and stop embarrassing you with my ‘childishness’ and ‘insensitivity,’” I suggested, happy to be out of here as soon as possible.

“I never said I was embarrassed by you, Jocelyn.” She didn’t have to. “Do you even know why I organized this party?”

Yes, because you’re a snobby b***h who likes to show off like every other witch in this room. Of course, I didn’t actually say that to her face, knowing it wouldn’t end well for me.

With no response from me, she sighed some more, “Did you even read the email I sent you?” Now, it wasn’t that I didn’t read it; I just didn’t properly read it. So, I read only the first paragraph, which started as:

Jocelyn,

I’m hosting a party this Saturday night, and I expect you to be present, formally dressed and…

The rest just didn’t seem necessary to me. Mum hadn’t even started with the usual pleasantries like: How are you? How is school? Hope you’re alright… No, my mum was one to get straight to the point and didn’t care about anything else in the entire world. She’s great, right?

“Of course, she didn’t.” Once more, Caroline decided to jump in when no one bloody asked her to. She was four years older but obviously an attention seeker. “Mum is being appointed as an Elder, dummy.” Oh, I could just wring her neck for being so perfect all the time.

“Wow. Congrats, mum.” I managed to feign surprise, then cautiously went in to give her a hug, but she remained stiff till I was done, lightly patting her back before shifting back.

Witch Elders were essential leaders in witch coven and the most powerful after the High Priest or Priestess. They were like consultants for the High Priest, and when it was time to pick a new High Priest, they were chosen from the Witch Elders. It was great mum was being appointed as one. At least my shameful human nature wasn’t stopping her from achieving greatness. Why then did she bother inviting someone like me to such an occasion, knowing I could ruin things? I obviously didn’t belong here.

“Since that’s covered, can I go home now? I have this big test tomorrow….”

“It’s Sunday, tomorrow.” Grams narrowed her eyes in suspicion at me.

“What can I say; the lecturer really wants us to take this test.” I shrug, hoping they bought it. Mum hadn’t said a word still, staring blankly at me, almost as if waiting for something else.

“You would leave without seeing me?” A familiar low voice behind me caught me off guard for a second, and I froze before my lips slowly widened into a big smile.