Serpent's Deceit (Entry 003)

The sun has set long ago by the time I reach home. Mom’s car is in the garage meaning she is back from work. I can not exactly tell if it is a bad thing or a good one for me. I normally have a curfew until 8, I think. I am not sure because I usually come home before sunset, well, way long before sunset, and long before my curfew. It’s past sunset now but not past 8 yet, so I don’t think I’m in trouble. 

“I’m home!” I announce, walking through the front door because the house is basically silent and I need to get the vibe before planning my next action.

“In the kitchen!” Mom yells back in response. Judging from her tone, I guess I’m safe. Throwing the bag on the couch in the living room, I make my way to the kitchen. 

The yummy aroma of chicken stew hits my nostrils as I enter the kitchen. Mom pushes something in the oven and closes the door before fixing the settings. 

“What is it?” I ask, peeking inside the oven over her shoulder. That looks like bread dough. 

“Garlic bread,” she answers before turning to me. As soon as her eyes fall on me, she scrunches her nose hard.

“Eh, you….. Why do you smell like that?” She moves back, keeping a hand before her nose.

“Like what?” I ask, confused as I try smelling myself. I smell a little sweaty but nothing unusual. I smell like this every day after coming from school.

“I don't know. Like you haven't been in the shower for days. Go take a shower first. Then come back downstairs.” She almost shoves me out of the kitchen before I can protest.

“But I'm hungry.” I still try but she waves me away with a gesture of her hand. “Shower first.”

I try to smell myself again. Nothing. Where is she getting that smell from? Well, it won't hurt to shower first. So, I don't complain anymore.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

It does not take long for me to finish showering. I go downstairs after that to help mom. We make small talk with her asking about my study, school, and stuff like that, and me asking about the gossip in her school. She is a neighbouring elementary school teacher and trust me when I say this, they have all sorts of gossip literally going around the neighbourhood. 

By dinner, dad comes home. We always have our dinner together at the table. That is an unspoken rule and a tradition that is never deferred no matter what. Family time is important, even if it is spent silently sitting together.

After dinner, I go back to my room as mom and dad sit down in the living room to watch their favourite show. They have called me to join them as well. But unfortunately, I have got school work that needs to be taken care of. So, I have passed.

I have finally got the time to check my phone after coming home. Besides spending time with my family, another reason behind it is that my phone has died down. I have left it to charge. 

After switching it on, I find 20+ new messages. Needless to say, most of them are from the group chat that includes my friends and me. I might get the reason behind Noah's abduction. Well, two messages are from him in my personal inbox where he is violently threatening me. And another message from my mother asking about my whereabouts. That is sent before I have set foot in the home. 

No messages from Dax. I am not expecting either. He is not a texting person exactly. Over a year of dating and we probably do not even have ten messages in our inbox. He mostly talks on calls. And his favourite interaction is face-to-face where he can touch me, smell me, and feel me. He says my laughter sounds different in person, more real and more human. He says he can watch the way my eyes light up mid-sentence when I am talking about something that I find interesting, notice the tiny pause when I get shy, or the way I fidget when I am nervous. Through text, he gets mere words. In person, he gets me. That’s why he prefers it.

I have gotten three missed calls from him. And another one is incoming. I let it ring. I am not picking this one or any further calls from him tonight. I am not mad at him. I just feel numb and don't know what to say. 

I have known that my boyfriend is a drug addict and he regularly takes shots even before starting dating him. But as I said, I have never witnessed it. Out of sight, out of mind. Now that I have, this seems like a big deal and I need time to process it. 

When the ring finally ends, I enter Noah's inbox first. His messages say, “You, a piece of social menace, I will show you what I can do when I get my hands on you next time.”

Sounds kinda poetic? Well, that is because he never swears. I'm not sure about the reason behind it. He promised someone, I guess. There is actually a pretty emotional reason behind it. I just do not remember at this moment. He replaces the curse words with something else which often ends up this dramatic.

I leave his chat, unreplied just to piss him off more. He is online, so it will work. I need the data about what he has done before replying to his messages. I enter the group chat and it looks something like this —

Erin: Anyone got the plant reproduction system slides?

Tyler: Why are you discussing the reproduction system in the group chat when I'm right beside you?

Erin: Will you shut up, please, honey? 

Erin: I got the test tomorrow. Anyone, please?

Sophia: Inbox 

Noah: NO ONE WILL TALK TO TULIP EVER. SHE IS A BACKSTABBING, COLD-HEARTED TRAITOR. IMMA KILL HER. IF YOU TALK TO HER, YOU ARE ALSO A TRAITOR AND IMMA KILL YOU TOO.

Noah kicked Tulip out of the group chat 

Hunter added Tulip to the group chat 

Erin: Wtf?

Hunter: Noah. That's a pretty strong accusation you are making. May we know the reason? 

Noah kicked Tulip out of the group chat 

Hunter added Tulip to the group chat 

Noah: WHY THE FURRY DO YOU KEEP ADDING HER BACK?

Hunter: Because you keep kicking her out. We need the full story to decide what to do with either of you. And stop with the ‘all caps’. It's annoying.

Noah kicked Hunter out of the group chat 

Jessie added Hunter to the group chat 

Hunter: Wtf?

Hunter kicked Noah out of the group chat 

Jessie added Noah to the group chat 

Jessie: Stop behaving like a child. What the hell is wrong with y'all?! Stop kicking out people. Noah, stop with the dramatics and tell us what happened.

Noah: She betrayed me.

Jessie: Fucking how?!

Noah: She left me to die alone

Jessie: I swear to God, Noah

Noah: And left with her boyfie

Tyler: Were you caught ditching again?

Noah: THAT'S NOT THE POINT

Tyler: Why not? You committed a punishable act by getting caught.

Erin: That's why I keep telling Noah to start dating. Now you understand why?

Noah replied to Erin: Why?

Erin: So that your girlfriend can bail you out when you get caught, stupid.

Jessie: I highly doubt his girlfriend will even bother to get him out

Noah: Why?

Jessie: Because you are an idiot 

Noah: NOW Y'ALL ARE BULLYING ME. I'M NOT STAYING WITH Y'ALL ANYMORE 

Noah left the group 

Sophia: ?

Sophia: Why isn't anyone adding him back

Jessie: Because we are tired of his bullshits. He will come back after a while.

The chat ends here. No one has added him back. I leave the group chat and enter his inbox.

Tulip: I can add you back to the group with compensation 

Noah: No need. Thanks.

Leaving his chat, I enter Sophia's and text her to send me today's history note. She is the nerd in our group. You would get anything and everything related to study from her.

Noah: Don't think I will beg you or that I have no one else

Tulip: Well, no one else added you back and I offered. So……..

Noah: What do you want in return?

Tulip: Oh, you're willing to give me something in return, now?  Well, then tell them that we are good and give me a treat tomorrow.

Noah: That's a lotttttt

Tulip: Ok then forget it

Sophia has sent the notes already. I pull out the textbook to start working on the assignment our history teacher gave us. We have time before submission but it’s a hard topic and we have just had the lecture today. So, I want to finish some of the work while I still have the lesson in mind.

My phone tings with a message from Noah.

Noah: I didn't say I'm not agreeing 

When I don’t reply, the rate of messaging increases.

Noah: Ok, deal

Noah: Hey, come back

 

Noah: Where are you????

Tulip added Noah to the group chat 

Jessie: What happened now?

Noah: All good

I don’t say anything and no one bothers either. That’s because, with Noah, you can never be sure what he will do next. HIs tantrum and mood swings are the most unpredictable things in the world. 

I go back to my assignment. After around half an hour, my phone starts ringing again. Thinking that it is Dax again, I do not bother looking. But I don't know what prompts me, I take a glance at the last moment. And the name that is floating on the screen makes my stomach drop.

Ray.

It is my best friend with whom I have lost connection for over a year now.

There is no way that I did not leave trying to contact her. Nothing worked. She just vanished.

I was aware that she was alive and well-kept. But that's all. 

We have been maintaining a long-distance friendship for three years since her parents died and she left the country within a week. It wasn't like she never came back after that. She did but it was rare. However, that didn't hamper our friendship in any way.

However, that just stopped altogether on one random night, one year ago. We talked till two in the morning and the next day, she vanished. I could not find her anywhere. Her phone number was not available anymore, nor were her social accounts. I contacted her relatives and friends whom I know but no one could give me anything. I tried everything I could think of. The only lead I got was that she contacted some people occasionally from random numbers and talked for a few minutes. All of them were normal conversations, as nothing happened. However, they could never call her back. When they asked the reason, her responses were vague and random. Needless to say, I didn't even get that much from her.

So I stopped investigating hoping that she would eventually call me too. She never did and one year had passed. Now I'm staring at the blank screen that has just had her name on it with a blank brain. Has my turn finally come? But the call is cut off. What do I do now? Do I call her back?

She relieves me of the problem by calling back. Before overthinking starts taking over me again, I receive it. A long moment of silence. Then, a question comes from the other side of the call. “Tulip?”

Oh, the familiarity of her voice! How much I wanted to hear that voice! How much I missed her! It is like hearing a favorite song I haven’t played in years. Or like finding an old hoodie at the back of your closet and realizing it still fits just right. Or like tasting a childhood snack and being twelve again for a second. I have been so wrapped up with everything else that I don’t realize how much I have missed the presence of hers until I’m hearing her again over a phone call.

All of that comes crushing on me and a sob leaves my mouth before I get a word out. She hears it and immediately starts consoling, “Oh, my baby, don't cry. I'm here now, okay? I came back to you. I'm gonna explain everything. Don't you cry.”

Sniffing, I ask her, “What do you mean?”

“My flight just landed. I'm at the airport now. We can meet at this moment if you want. I can come straight to your house. What do you say?” she asks as if it is the most natural thing to do. My emotion changes from nostalgic melancholy to baffled one. I sit there dumbfounded trying to process what she has just said. 

“You…… What ……. Wait a second. Let me process,” I reply vaguely, my slow brain trying to keep up with the sudden turn of events. She chuckles hearing my fumble. “Okay, take time. I will call you a while later.”

The call has ended and I'm once again staring at the black screen. What just happened? 

If I summarize it, my childhood best friend, with whom I had no contact for a year, has just called me to tell me that she has returned to her motherland and is ready to explain everything about why she has gone MIA on me. Not to mention, she is ready to come to my house instantly. This is beyond weird. Also, I don’t think it is a wise choice to just call her to my house at this hour.

Making up my mind, I call back on the same number. Luckily, it rings. After ringing for two or three times, she picks up. I speak first this time. “Tomorrow. Before class. At the cafe we used to go.”

She chuckles again. “Deal.”

The call ends for the last time. And I have such a giddy feeling in my heart that I have talked to my best friend after ages and that we are meeting tomorrow after decades. I don't realize that I have forgotten to ask her how she is calling me from the same number if she has lost it long ago.