Chapter 5 Saved By My Mate

• Tuesday morning, 5:03 am.
• I woke up, squinting my eyes to the beauty of the early morning sun that penetrated through my glass windows. The lights shone on my skin with a caressing blaze and it almost made me forget the trouble I had been in the previous night.
• I jumped into a blue jeans skirt— short, about two and a half fingers above my knees, then wore a crisp dark purple top that ended somewhere on top of my curvy waist, exposing my glorious tummy to those that care.
• Because of my abilities as a werewolf, I could hear from afar, and I had heard what people had said about the way I dressed— countless times. I had heard quite a few girls gossiped about me and call me slutty hooker and all sorts of bitched up names.
• But I was on an apex level of giving no S H I T about gossips— and doing things this way had always paid off.
• I love looking perfect so I trudged over to my stand-up mirror at a far corner in my room to have a prolific view of how I had dressed.
• Sitting on the single black leather upholstery in front of my mirror made me realize a couple of things about myself. In as much as I hated to admit, I shared a lot of common facial qualities with my father.
• Though I had a hazy and flashy memory of what my mother looked like, but from what I was seeing in the mirror, I think I had more to share with him than her.
• My father was tall, about 6’2 or more perhaps but I wouldn’t say that I was short either. As a girl at 5’10, no one would argue it was bad for our gender. We both shared the same caramel skin, though mine appeared more pale-looking than his. I had big eyes, grey of colour. I had an oval-shaped face, long too though not exactly like his. I had a lot of things I was proud of myself and. . . I looked at my phone.
• “Shit, I don’t want to be late,” I mumbled to myself. I threw my bag over my back and strode out to the car pack.
• I hopped in and drove the speed beast to school. I had to change my mind halfway through my journey. I assumed that Stephanie might be on her way to school already so I didn’t fancy the idea of visiting her first before going to school.
• It was 7:40 when I arrived so I had to walk in straight inside the class. I sat on my desk waiting for the commencement of the first lesson. But for straight 20 minutes, Stephanie was nowhere to be found.
• Odd. Wasn’t it? I tried to relax. Maybe she might have been delayed by traffic, I thought. I must confess, the lesson I had received the whole day came down on me vague, pointless— nothing was understood. And that was because my new friend Stephanie hadn’t been to class the whole day.
• To be honest, it got me worried. When the lesson was over, without delay, I drove to the last place I had seen Stephanie. I stopped my car and walked up to her gate and knocked.
• I knocked and knocked and knocked but no one answered. I pushed on the smaller gate and it swung back and hit on the wall behind it. I entered the compound and moved straight to the bungalow I saw upfront.
• The beauty of the house drew my attention for a minute. I had to stop to feed my eyes. The whole place looked neat, arranged, though not that big, but it sure looked like a good place to raise kids, it was a home. No wonder Stephanie was such a nice-looking girl, I thought.
• I pressed the bell button on the door side and it whizzed somewhere inside the house. I waited until I heard someone open the door from behind.
• “Hi, Thelma!”
• “Hi Steph, I didn’t see you in school today. What’s up?” I asked. Stephanie was in a nightie gown, yellow of colour. To me, it was odd wearing that by that time of the day.
• She waited for a few seconds before she finally said something. “I didn’t feel like showing up today.”
• “Huh? Why?”
• “You see eh—m, I’m just, I am just not ready for anything today.”
• I frowned. “Is it because of Eric?” I asked.
• She grimaced. But didn’t say anything. “You know what?”
• “No.”
• “Go on inside and bring my earpiece for me and then go prepare for a party.” I smiled at her. I changed my mind. I wanted to ease her stress. I wasn’t happy my friend didn’t look happy. It didn’t feel right.
• “Party?”
• “You heard me right.”
• She scoffed. “I don’t think I—”
• “Don’t think anything Stephanie” I uttered with a stern voice, cutting her off. “Go prepare for a fucking party and quit pussying around.” I tried to calm my voice. “That’s if you still want to be my friend.”
• “Huh!” Her beautiful eyes glowed, may be surprised by my threat. I guessed she didn’t take it lightly. “Okay. Give me a minute.” She turned around and zoomed off inside. I waited for a while. She didn’t waste much like I would have wasted if I decide on preparing for something. I was sure disappointed when she came out from.
• “Let's go,” she said and smiled.
• “Let's go where?” I asked.
• “To the party of course.”
• “With this. . . with this long gown? Who are you following with this thing?” I asked. Stephanie wore a long sapphire gown, it swallowed the set of modest breasts she had. The gown ended below her knee level making her look like a grandma.
• She looked at herself up and down, frankly assessing. “What’s wrong with this?”
• "Everything is wrong with it, Stephanie. Anyway, you don’t have to worry. Just follow me.”
• I drove her to a shopping mall. I found her a gown that I liked and asked her to wear it so I would see how she looked. When she did, it looked sexy on her.
• “Perfect.” Came out from my lips. The dress complemented her dark, glossy and elegant skin. It wowed me.
• She looked freaked out. Her eyes rolled over me in lazy speculation. I guess she wasn’t comfortable in the dress but who gives a fuck? I paid the bills and grabbed my friend's hand. We finally headed to the party.
• 6:40 pm, Tuesday evening.
• When we came down from the car, the stars were gradually occulting the sky in bright yellow sparks above. It will get dark soon, I thought.
• Something sneered me into thinking. What would my father say when I come back late? We moved into the party hall, Stephanie trailing behind me closely. She looked tense.
• It came to my notice that it might have been her first day at a party. But I knew she would get used to it. It was just a matter of time, I thought.
• The dancehall was a blast. Party lights of colour blue, green, yellow, red were hung on the ceilings, offering rotational flashes across all ends.
• The music was loud, though it only got better when you are inside. The DJ and some of his crew stood on top of the stage.
• The stage was two to three feet higher than the ground the dancers were dancing on. Atop the building was another floor which I think was reserved exclusively for the VIPs. It looked serene, calm than the ground we stood on.
• “Care to dance?” I asked, my voice swallowed by the loud music thundering everywhere.
• “I can’t hear you. Raise your voice, please.”
• “I said” I drew in a long breath through my mouth and nose, “do you care to dance?”
• “Nah, not now.” Stephanie half smiled but didn’t look at me. Her attention had been drawn.
• I wasn’t surprised. “VIP it is then.”
• We both climbed up the stairs. We found a comfortable spot where we sat down. It offered us the chance to view the dancehall perfectly without any obstruction.
• “Do you like it?” I asked.
• Stephanie just nodded but her eyes were on the crowd below. It was obvious she had been carried away by the excitement.
• I waived to a waiter. He was tall of a man, slim and dark. He was on white long sleeves tucked inside black trousers. He covered the white he wore with a plain black jacket.
• “Good evening beauties,” he said and smiled cheerily. “What would please your evening?” his voice came out soft, like he had been a member of a church choir.
• “Huh?” I pressed on my lips. “Any Martinis?”
• He nodded. “Red Martini,” he responded. “You want it in a cup or—”
• “Don’t we look like we can down the whole bottle?” I asked him.
• He giggled. “I wouldn’t know.”
• “Then get us one bottle and two glasses.”
• He nodded and left. Stephanie glared at me until I wasn’t too comfortable about it. “What?”
• “Isn’t that alcoholic?”
• “You mean the Martini?”
• She nodded.
• “Of course. Where’s the fun if you do not take any alcohol in a paaarty?”
• “I am sorry but I don’t take—”
• “No buts” I interrupted her. “Anything I take you take. Anything I drink you drink. You heard me?”
• She hesitated for a while before she finally said, “Yes.”
• The waiter served the drink. Stephanie and I spent the next couple of minutes, talking about ourselves, joking, and discussing boys.
• I didn’t know I would end up talking about my family too but I did. It wasn’t easy though. I discovered that she had a great sense of humor. She was pure inside just like she looked outside. I never knew I would ever have a female friend just like her.
• “I need to use the toilet, Thelma.”
• “Okay, dear,” I said, my voice loud. “Keep your eyes peeled. Some guys are ready to grope your ass down there.”
• She smiled beautifully. “I can take care of myself.”
• She turned to leave but I held her arm. “I mean it. Keep your eyes sharp.”
• “Okay mum” she replied, smiling. “I will watch my ass.”
• Huh! I smiled. I had never seen her using that type of language before. At least she was gradually getting along with the street language, I thought and smiled.
• I took my time, watching, nodding to the rhythm of the music, and waiting to get tipsy before I go down and grabbed someone's son down there to dance with me. Perfect plan. Isn’t it?
• I waited for Stephanie. I mean I waited and waited. I didn’t check what time it was when she left but I was sure she had stayed for more than 10 minutes. That was unusual. I became worried. I decided to go to the restroom myself.
• I sipped a little from the Martini and walked down to the restroom. I saw the one for the ladies and I pushed on the door. The door opened to a hallway that connected about six or five toilet rooms— I wasn’t too sure. But it was dead quiet. The kind you see in a morgue.
• I opened the first door to my right but it was empty. I opened the second, empty. An odd feeling began to growl deep inside my stomach. Wasn’t there supposed to be a public place? Why was it dead-quiet? I was furious.
• I went to the third door, but it was half-opened. I pushed at the door and it swung freely for a while before something hooked it from behind. I forced myself to breathe. I then managed to peer right inside and I received the greatest shock of my life.
• “Stephanie——” I screamed.
• I saw her lying in a pool of blood. She was lying on her back while her legs were spread, showing the white underwear beneath. I rushed inside and knelt, my eyes were slowly gathering tears. I didn’t remember the last time I had cried. On a closer look, her white eyes showed, her black side gone. I crossed my hand on her head. Blood. Blood was welling down from there.
• “Stephanie,” I screamed again. “Please, wake up. Don’t die on me.” She didn’t respond, she didn’t move, she didn’t blink. I busted out crying. Crying hard. Very hard. It was unlike me. Tears filled my eyes until I could no longer see normally. I had to wipe it off with my left hand. I looked around to see if I would see blood anywhere part from the floor but I didn’t. I thought she might have slipped but it didn’t seem so. Something might have hit her but from where?
• “I told you,” a familiar voice said, “I will catch both of you. I thought you knew who you were fuckin with.” A mocking laugh ensued.
• Anger. No, rage. No, fury. In fact, they all descended on me and soaked me, both body, spirit, and soul.
• “Eric,” I said angrily. I turned around. That instant, I didn’t mind turning into a wolf. In as much as I hated it, that was the first thing my wolf told me to do. I wanted to kill him. I wanted to snap his throat. But he hit me with something hard. I fell on the floor and little stars clouded my vision that instant.
• I could barely see him, hear him. He appeared double. But something remarkable happened. I picked up a scent. The same scent I had perceived earlier. Suddenly, a man whose image was blurry stood behind Eric, behind the entrance.
• While Eric was still probably talking shit at me, the man turned in a creature with four legs. I tried to stay awake to see what would happen but I just couldn’t. I was too tired to keep my eyes open. I wish I could. I wish I could. But one thing was certain. Someone just saved my life. A werewolf did. A man, that I was sure. But who was he? Who was the guardian angel?