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33: SLEEP PARALYSIS
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The Mate Agreement 34: PAINTBALL COMRADES
William has been awkward all morning, after he’d woken up staring terrified at the ceiling and I had to calm him down. Thankfully I’d been awake. Thankfully I’d been staring at him as he slept like a creep. Thankfully, he’s too preoccupied with being cold and distant to know that I’d been ogling him in his sleep.I stomp up the steps of the school bus, wiping sweat from my brow and momentarily appreciating the blast of cool air that greets me. Acadia Central City is way warmer than I’d expected, than any of us from the Academy are used to. The weather here is on the brink of changing from a cold winter to an abrupt summer, and so the nights are cold, but the afternoons hot. Evin’s words, not mine.We’d been instructed by Mr. Ortega to wear something we wouldn’t mind ruining for the team building activities. Thanks to Wilma, my only fitting wardrobe options included a polo shirt and booty shorts —which I didn’t wear because I’m not mentally deranged.I smooth down the old red My Chemic
The Mate Agreement 35: SUDDENLY
Jennifer and I trudge back to the rest of the class group after having our score marked down by Jimmy Beiber. With the excitement of winning worn off, an awkward silence falls between us. Every now and then she glances at me, and from my periphery I see her opening her mouth to say something, hesitating, and then shutting up.“Just say it.”She sighs, tugging at the edge of her ponytail before a determined expression settles on her features. She stops walking and turns to me, the orange flag held limply in her hand. “I’m sorry about Ben, although it’s not my fault, and it’s not his fault, and it’s not your fault either.” She takes a shaky breath, looks up at the blue sky. “None of us can control the mates we get. We can only accept them as they are and have faith that the selection is never wrong.” Her gaze flutters back to me, a small, almost sad smile on her face. “I hope you understand that, Isabella. And I hope we can move on from all this and go back to being good friends.”We we
The Mate Agreement 36: PICKY EATER
Well this is awkward.William Ravenstone is sitting next to me, Bibah and Akio across us like it’s a double date. We’re in a restaurant downtown, a few blocks away from The Sizzling Grill and the hotel, where we would've been getting out of our paint-splattered clothes and resting our sore muscles, if it weren't for Akio’s insistence on being hungry and Bibah patronizing him.Well to be honest I’m sure all four of us were hungry, but I didn’t want to grab a late lunch in post-paintball clothes with William in a cramped booth next to me.“What’s taking so long…” Akio complains, his leg bouncing under the table, his neck craning towards the corner our waitress had rounded and disappeared almost ten minutes ago.“Maybe if you hadn't ordered half the menu, our food would be here by now.” I glare at him, crossing my arms.He pouts, looking to Bibah for help but she simply shrugs, and goes back to tapping vehemently on her phone screen. Three empty bottles of water were arranged on the tabl
The Mate Agreement 37: POISON
I finish eating my fries dejectedly, unable to savour or enjoy them because I’d lost my appetite. And yet, I’m still hungry. Opting for something healthier, I take Bibah’s fruit bowl that she’d left behind, contemplating asking the waitress for any type of alcoholic drink they might have. I sigh, glancing over at William who’s still asleep. Maybe it’s best to stay sober. Three spoons of sliced watermelons, apples and grapes later, I lose my fancy for it too. I drag over a plate of untouched spicy noodles, removing the chopsticks from the napkins and tasting.It’s no longer hot, but it’s not bad, I guess.“Enjoying the meal?”I look up at the waitress who had asked; all blond hair and pearly white smile, the same girl that had served us our food. She has a heart-shaped face and an air of natural sweetness, like a Southern Belle.“Um, yes, thank you.” I answer politely, trapping more noodles in the chopsticks and hoping she gives up on being polite and making conversation.Unfortunately
The Mate Agreement 38: THE GIRL WHO SHOULD'VE DIED
It never should have happened that way. We never should have gone out that day. But I’d insisted. And because I insisted, Wilma insisted. Our father could never say no when both his daughters teamed up on him. If only I’d changed my mind. If only the prospect of going to the mall for some silly clothes had felt distasteful to me. If only I hadn't insisted on riding in the backseat with him.It had been raining, heavily. The kind of rainfall that sounds more like a storm; wind howling, windowpanes trembling, and the droplets hitting the roof, the glass, the earth with a vengeance. Mom had been too lazy to join us, curled up in bed with a romance novel and a mug of hot mint tea. Maybe that’s what had saved her. If only it’d saved Dad too. If only he’d been adamant on being left alone in his office, playing chess and sipping whiskey.But no amount of wishing, no amount of ‘If onlys’ can change the past. I’m powerless to stop it. All I can do is remember.I’d been annoyed with Wilma when
The Mate Agreement 39: EDIBLE
I’m vomitting.That’s not even the wild part. Listen to this.I’m vomitting, and William Ravenstone is holding a large bowl under my face. I can smell the pungent, acidic odor of whatever I’m throwing up, like rotten cheese. I throw up more. His wrist is holding up my limp head, my hair gathered in his fist.“This is gross…” I groan in-between heaves. “It’s so- I’m so-”“Shh,” he replies, and I fall back into slumber, shuddering and gasping while he wipes my face with something cold and damp.Time passes.I think time passes, although I have no sense of it.The clock says 3:05 A.M when I sit upright again. A wet compress falls into my lap. I glance over and jerk in surprise at the weight on the bed next to me.“How are you feeling?” William asks, shifting a chess piece on the chessboard in his lap. He’s sitting against the headboard, lit up only by the glow of the lamp next to him on the nightstand. I notice a stack of medications arranged there neatly too. My gaze moves back to the c
The Mate Agreement 40: CHOCOLATE
When I wake up again, it’s morning, sunlight streaming into the room through the large windows and opened curtains. I blink a few times o clear away the bleariness of my sight, looking around and feeling a twinge of disappointment upon noticing that the space on the bed close to me is empty, and so is the couch. I stretch and hear my bones crack like my joints are rusty and in need of oiling.With a stifled yawn, I sit upright.The maddening headache is gone, and so is most of my fever, although I can’t remember much what has happened in the past twenty-four hours. My stmach still feels queasy, and very, very empty. It growls, as if to acknowledge my thoughts.I glance around the room for anything to eat, and my gaze zeroes in on an ancient-looking wooden bowl on the nightstand. With a series of twists and crawls and groans, I make it to the other side of the bed, and notice a small note with neat cursive handwriting. It says: EAT ME. Vaguely, it makes me recall the things that Alice
The Mate Agreement 41: RAIN
Unfortunately, I cant stab Mr. Ortega, or Mrs. Valerie, or the Doctor they came to see me with. William had given me one of his shirt -which was too large and too gray in my opinion, but I wasn’t complaining because it smelled like him and only common decorum was keeping me away from balling up the shirt and deeply inhaling it until I pass out of breath.I sneak a peak at William who’s leaning forward and talking with Doctor Foster. He’s not shirtless -to my bitter disappointment and dismay, he’d pulled on a black shirt before letting them in. These three adults standing in the middle of the room like they had teleported there, had robbed me of a shirtless Ravenstone.Still, he looks quite dashing in that black t-shirt.“Caillou?”I snap back, looking to Mr. Ortega. “Yes?” I answer, my throat still sore, my voice mostly croaky.“I asked if you can remember what you ate and drank before passing out back at the restaurant.” He repeats, shifting from one foot to the other, and staring do
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