Tuesday morning, I didn't wake up early. I woke up almost too late, but I made it to class just in time. I didn't get to the parking lot early enough to park in a spot close to the door. I wanted to park as far away from Finn as I could, but I got there so late. I ended up parking one row away from him, but only a few cars down. Cheyanne was in my first period, and I had to sit next to her, since that was the only open seat when I ran into the classroom right before the bell.
I was wearing my black tee shirt with black leggings and jean shorts over them. I also wore my black, lace-up booties and a white jacket. I put my hair in a high ponytail, and didn't have time to put on any eyeliner or mascara. I might be mad at Finn, and even though I originally bought these clothes so I could fit more with his style, I really did like my new edgier look. It made me feel stronger somehow, like I was becoming more myself, and I would let nothing take it away from me. Not even my anger at Finn. I was grateful to him for opening me up to many things. But he was nuts if he wanted me to believe I was a snake. I mean, that was crazy, right?
I sat at my desk ignoring Cheyanne and just trying to focus on the reading we were doing in class that day. halfway through class, Cheyanne dropped a folded piece of paper on the floor close to my foot. I picked it up and tried to hand it back to her without saying anything, but Cheyanne nodded her head.
"That's not mine," she whispered. I looked at her confused and then looked at the paper. My name was written on the back of it. I opened it up.
It said, "I like your new look. I'm really sorry we aren't friends anymore, but I just wanted you to know that I don't hate you. Even if things can't be like they were, I wish we could at least still be friendly with each other."
I scribbled a reply, but I waited until the end of class to give it back to her. I wrote, "Thanks. I feel different, now, but I don't hate you either." I laid it on her desk and walked out of the classroom without saying anything else to her.
My next class was so boring, I almost dozed off while listening to the teacher lecture. I rubbed my eyes and, when I looked back at my notebook, I started thinking about last Saturday night when I went to Finn's for some reason. I remembered walking into the woods and seeing dim lights ahead and hearing chanting. I had my flashlight on my phone on, and I was trying to walk quietly. I did see Finn standing in the middle of the stone circle. That's right! He was a Celtic Warrior, bare chested and barbaric, but also beautiful. He wasn't very muscular, but his body was more toned than I had expected. I just stood there, staring at him with his arms raised and head thrown back. Then, there was a hard pulse against my chest and I woke up on the ground.
The bell rang, and shook me out of my reverie. It was time for lunch. I still wasn't really very hungry, but I got my lunch tray anyway. I didn't want to sit with Finn and Weston. Kimber and Ashley still weren't talking to me, and even though Cheyanne and I didn't hate each other anymore, I didn't want to sit with her either. I sat at the empty table I sat at before Finn invited me to sit with him and his friends. The food was so boring and motionless. I pushed it around with my fork, but I still couldn't make myself eat it. I looked around the cafeteria. Cheyanne saw me and waved. I waved back without smiling and kept scanning the crowd. I found Finn, and he was watching me. I glared at him and returned my gaze to my lunch tray.
Maybe I did interrupt Finn doing a ritual, but could I really have been a snake? I still couldn't believe it. I dumped my lunch tray and returned it through the dish window. I didn't want to sit alone outside at recess. I really just wanted to hide, but even in hallways and bathrooms that weren't that busy, there was always someone around. I went to the bathroom. I didn't have time to put eyeliner or mascara on this morning, so I thought I would just do it now while I was trying to waste time. After I applied both to my eyes, I blinked and tried to admire my reflection, but my eyesight got blurry suddenly. Thinking some bit of make-up had fallen in my eye, I pulled my lower eyelid down and rolled my eye around in the socket. I leaned close to the mirror, but what I saw filled me with horror. The whites of my eyes had faded into a brown, and my pupils became vertical slits. I stepped back until my back hit the stalls.
What was happening? I moved back to the mirror, leaning in slowly, tilting my head and wavering from side to side. Suddenly, the bathroom door opened, causing me to jerk and blink. It was Kimber and Ashley. I looked back at my reflection. My eyes had returned to normal. I stood gripping the sides of the sink and gasping, trying to collect myself.
Kimber and Ashley came to stand on either side of me, and I looked up at their reflections in the mirror. They both had their arms crossed, trying to look intimidating. I straightened myself up and put my make-up away in my backpack.
"Did you and Finn break up?" Ashley said, with an expressionless face. Kimber mimicked her on the other side of me.
I started to wash my hands in the sink. "No, but I don't think it's really any of your business." I took my time scrubbing the soap under my fingernails and between my fingers.
"It is my business since I was friends with Finn before you ever came along." She spat at me.
"But he didn't ask you to be his girlfriend. So, as far as I'm concerned, that means he doesn't want it to be your business." I stepped around Ashley and took some paper towels to dry my hands with. Her mouth dropped open, and Kimber mimicked her. I tossed the used paper towels in the trash and picked up my bag from under the sink. Placing one strap over my shoulder, I said to them, "Look, I still think we could be friends, but I am Finnegan's girlfriend, whether you like it or not." With that, I turned and strolled out of the bathroom with my head held high.
I decided to go to the library until Science class started. Where did that attitude of mine come from? I would have never said anything like that before. And I was so protective of Finn, even though I was mad at him. I may not believe that I was turned into a snake, but some weird things were definitely happening with me. What about my eyes changing in the mirror? Could I have just imagined that? I haven't been able to sleep at night much these past couple of days, maybe I was just hallucinating because my brain was tired and over strained.
When I got to the library, I sat at a study desk in the back. I had planned to read my novel until the bell, but I was so tired. I zipped my jacket up all the way to my neck and and laid my head in the middle of my crossed arms on the desk. I'll just take a nap, instead.
I saw Finn standing in the forest again, but I was looking up at him. His figure was a distorted shape made of reds and yellows and greenish blues. He looked warm and I felt cold. He reached out for me and I went to him willingly trying to wrap myself around the warmth of his shoulder and neck. I didn't have arms or legs to hug him with, but instead I was using my entire body.
The bell woke me up, and I realized I had been dreaming. Or was I remembering? I gathered up my bag and went to Science class. I sat next to Finn, but I didn't say anything to him. He tried to smile at me, but he looked sad. I wasn't as angry with him as I had been, but I still didn't quite understand what I was feeling. I had to shake it off. We were supposed to give our presentation today. There were still several groups who weren't ready to present today, so the teacher just went down the roster. Finnegan and I were the third group to present.
He explained the water molecule, and I explained the salad dressing project. I had less enthusiasm, but more confidence. When we were finished, the teacher praised us on a job well done, and we took our seats again to listen to the other presentations. At the end of class, the teacher had the groups that presented today turn in their packets and essays. Finn caught up to me in the hallway.
"Elise, please talk to me," he said. I stopped and turned to face him.
"Finn, I don't really know what to say right now. I don't know what I feel," I told him.
"That's fair, but..." he paused, looking hurt, "you don't want to break up, do you?" His whole posture seemed to droop. I felt sympathetic toward him then. I had been cruel, and I didn't know where this attitude was coming from.
"No, of course I don't want to break up. It's just a lot to digest."
He let out a sigh of relief and smiled. He took my hand and gave it a light squeeze. "Ok," he said, "but before you leave today, will you meet me at my car? I have something for you from my mom."
I cocked my head to the side, "Your mom? What is it?" I asked.
"Just meet me after school. Please?"
I nodded my head and slipped my hand from his as I walked away toward the library for my last period of the day.
I focused on my library duties and worked on homework all through class. If the dream from my nap earlier was a vision of what happened on Saturday night while I was in snake-form, that meant that Finn didn't make it up. Which meant that he was more powerful than he looked. And the way he was acting after, his power even surprised him. Didn't he also say the Elders were shocked? I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself down. I thought of the time Finn showed me his special spot in the forest and I felt the elements around us as we became part of the forest. I tried to be still, sitting in the library, but I couldn't concentrate because some students came in to return books and look around at the shelves. Before the bell, I closed down the computer lab and waited with my bag by the door. I didn't even go to my locker. I just headed straight to the parking lot and stood by Finn's car, waiting. My car wasn't far from his anyway, since I was late getting to school.
When Finn walked up, I stood with my arms crossed tightly in front of me, under my breasts.
"Elise," Finn had dropped his bag on the ground and was reaching for my hands. I reluctantly uncrossed my arms, but as soon as he had a hold of my hands, he pulled my arms around him and embraced me, holding my head to his shoulder and pressing his cheek against the side of my head. I had missed him holding me, and I relaxed into him, holding his body to mine and breathing him in.
"Finn, I remember more of that night." I told him. He held me away from him and looked into my eyes. "I believe you. I just..."
"I'm so sorry it happened, Elise, but I don't want you to be a snake forever. There are still so many things I want to do together."
I took his hands and kissed the back of one of them, like he had done to me before. "Me too. I'm sorry I reacted the way I did."
He cupped the side of my face and pulled me to him again. He whispered in my ear, "You shouldn't feel sorry for that. I understand." I laid my hand over his against my face. "I never want to lose you," he said. I could hear him breathing next to my ear, and I hugged him tighter, burying my face in his neck.
We stood in the parking lot, embracing each other, until most of the cars had gone. We pulled away from each other and he said, "Oh, right. My mom and Celeste charmed this for you." He put his bag in the backseat and pulled out a necklace from his center console. It was a flat stone pendant with a silver edge. He dropped it into my hand, and I turned it over to inspect it. The back of it looked like the inside of a shell with glass or resin poured over it to make it have the same flat shape as the other side. It was on a silver chain. "It's green marble and abalone, which are good for guiding you through tough, emotional circumstances and encouraging peace and mastery over psychic connections. They charmed it to protect you and keep you focused so you can level up and suppress the snake-form." He explained. He unclasped the necklace and put it around my neck. I moved my hair out of the way for him. He was leaning in close to me. Once the necklace was on, I held the pendant in my hand and looked down at it. Finnegan was still standing close. I looked up at him and he was staring at me. He took my chin between his thumb and the knuckle of his forefinger. My heart quickened it's pace. His finger traced the bottom of my jaw and his hand came to rest on my neck under my ear. "I was worried I might not get a chance to do this," he said, then he pulled my face to his and kissed my lips. I closed my eyes and opened up to him, kissing him back and tasting him. My skin felt electrified when he pulled away from me. He looked lovingly into my eyes and whispered, "Mo Cuishle, I love you."
I melted in his hands. "I love you too, Mo Cuishle." He kissed me again, more passionately. Some football players who were coming out to the football field saw us and called out to us, "Get a room!" We pulled apart, laughing and still embracing.
I told him I had to go home, but I would call him later, or text if I couldn't call. He kissed the back of my hand through my open window, then stepped back and I drove home. I couldn't stay mad at him. I might have to be a snake-girl, but at least I could still be Finnegan's girlfriend. And we loved each other. Snake-girl, or not, I was still happy.