More Than Meets The Eye

By the time I got home everyone was already gone. I stopped and picked up some movies and healthy snacks on the way home. It was starting to get dark so I decided to go inside and wait for my friends. I was just about to open the door when I noticed a box sitting beside the door. I looked to see who it was for and it had my name in big bold letters. I tried to find a return address but there wasn’t one.
I went up to my room and sat on the bed. I opened the box and inside was a small chest. It had the same weird symbol as my necklace and three others inside of a circle. The circle was divided in four parts. Written on the four sides were the words “Protection, peace, life, and wisdom.” It was locked but there wasn’t a key. It was then that I got that strange feeling again. I shivered, sat the box on my desk, and went down stairs to find something to open it with.

I walked in the living room and my friends were all there waiting for me.
“You guys can’t knock?”
“Do we ever?”
“You could start.”
“PMS much?”
“Sorry, I just haven’t been myself lately. Let’s get the snacks ready.”
We started getting the snacks out and decided that, since it was Halloween, we would go to the store and get some real snacks. I grabbed my keys and we started walking to the car. Out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw someone across the lawn. I turned to look but no one was there. Jasimine turned to see what I was looking at and asked, “What’s wrong with you today, Tabs?”
“What? Oh, nothing I’m just feeling a little paranoid I guess.”
“Did you stay up watching scary movies again last night?” she asked.
“Yeah. I guess that’s what it is.” I looked over again, just to make sure. I thought I saw a shadow behind the tree but I just shrugged it off. Nothing was going to get me down today.
The wind started blowing and I got that feeling again. I walked over to the car and got in the drivers seat. I looked over at the tree beside our fence and I saw someone running on the other side of the fence. “Did you guys see that?” I asked in a whisper.
“What?” asked Vanessa excitedly.
“She’s been watching scary movies again”, replied Jasimine, rolling her eyes.
“I’m serious. Did you guys really not see that?”
“Tabs, it’s Halloween. It’s probably just some freak from school trying to scare us. Look, there’s nobody out there.”
I felt embarrassed. She was probably right. The kids from school were always being immature and trying to scare us. “Yeah. I bet it was just Nikki and her friends trying to scare us. I feel so stupid. I bet they’re the ones that left that box on my porch earlier.”
“What are you talking about?” she sounded as if she didn’t know if she should laugh or be scared.
“They left a freaky chest thing on the porch. I found it when I got in from school.”
“Well, there you go. They were probably just waiting to see you freak out or something.” I nodded and pulled out of the driveway. I still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

When we got to the store, Vanessa started flirting with Kenneth. They hooked up a couple times but nothing ever came of it. “I don’t know why she wastes her time with him. He only uses her for one thing.” I whispered to Jasimine as we started through the store.
“I know. Every time he gets in a fight with Cynthia he comes running to Nessa.”
She was right. That’s the only time he paid any attention to her at all. Then she stays in her room for a couple of days. She doesn’t even go to school. She just cries for two days when he doesn’t call. Then we find out he made up with his girlfriend that morning. “She’s too good for him.” She looked at me as if I was crazy.
“I think she deserves it after treating Brian the way she did.” Brian is Jasimine’s current boyfriend. Vanessa dated him for three years and cheated on him every chance she got. He would have never found out had it not been for Jasimine.
“Are you guys done, yet?” Vanessa was jumping around like a child on a playground.
“You know, this would go much quicker if you would help us.” Replied Jasimine.
“Fine. What else do we need?”
“We already have everything.” Jasimine said and walked away.
“Why does she always do that?”
“Do what?” I asked.
She glared me and said, “You know exactly what she does Tabs. I think she’s the one that told Brian about us. That’s why he’s dating her. She is so not his type.”
“Why, because he knows she won’t cheat on him?” she looked hurt. “I’m sorry Nessa. I didn’t mean to…”
“…No worries. I’m fine. I’m over him, so it doesn’t matter anymore.” She linked her arm in mine and began pulling me and said, “What matters is that I have a date with Kenneth tomorrow night. He dumped Cynthia this morning. Isn’t that great?”
I stopped and turned her towards me. “Nessa, I say this because I love you, don’t make this mistake again. He’s just going to go back to her in the end and I’m not sure Jas and I can deal with that again.”
“I’m not going to make that mistake again. I promise. We’re just going to the movies.”
“Okay.” I said trying to sound as if I believed her. We found Jasimine and headed home.