Page 6 of Prayer of the Damned

“Are you packed and ready for your trip tomorrow?”

“Yes, of course. I went over the suitcases Betty packed and added a few items of my own.”

“If you need anything else, please update the dorm staff, they’re briefed to provide you with anything you need.”Of course, I never thought otherwise.

“Thanks, Dad,” I answer purely for the sake of good manners.

“So I assume you’re getting ready for bed? Your flight’s at 8 AM. We wouldn’t want you to be late.”

“Ah…” I stammer. “Of course,” I lie. I don’t know exactly why. I’m over eighteen, after all. Legally I can do anything but drink alcohol, and if I were in Europe I could do that too. Besides, any teenager who just graduated would be expected to go to a graduation party with their friends, wouldn’t they?

“Excellent, Bellcolor. Have a good night, then, we’ll talk tomorrow.”

“Good night, Dad.”

I had no choice but to lie, right? He would’ve said no, because I have an early flight. If I spent all night partying, I might miss it. Just the possibility that he’d say no makes me anxious. But when I think more carefully about my lie, my knees start to shake. I’m so stupid. This whole house is networked with cameras. How will I sneak out without getting caught? We live in the top floor penthouse, I can’t exactly escape through a window. And there’s a camera in our private elevator too. I’ll just have to slip out under cover of darkness and pray my father won’t feel the need to check the security cameras.

I can be so stupid for a girl who’s meant to inherit a medical empire. Maybe my father has a point and I’ve caught the American stupidity he so despises.

When I think about being thousands of kilometers away from my father once my lie is exposed, it manages to calm me down a bit.Well, whatever. Maybe it’ll be part of my new life. A rebellious phase every growing teenager has to put their parents through. Maybe he’ll even be pleased with it. Because when you really think about it, if I never rebelled I really would go crazy, wouldn’t I? It’s a sign that I’ve recovered. I feel great too, for a change. I’ve stopped taking my pills since last night. It’s just a miracle. Divine revelation and a miracle in one day.

Religious fanatics spend their whole lives waiting for something like that, and here I am, a total atheist, getting both on the same day I wanted to die.

Lucky me.

I wait for Betty to turn off the lights and go home. As usual, she activates the alarm and wishes me a good night before the elevator doors close behind her. When I’m sure there’s absolute silence beyond my bedroom door, I finally pull my ear from the door and carefully open it.

I pull on a black cloak that reaches my knees, and tiptoe out of my room. I cling to the walls – I don’t know why, maybe because I’ve seen spies do it in movies – and make my way to the elevator door. I disable the alarm, to keep it from going off if I get back too blurry-minded and make a mistake punching in the code.

I’m sure I’d make an exemplary spy, joining Her Majesty's secret service and alongside James Bond or something like that.

When the elevator doors open, I take off my cloak and press it to the camera in the corner of the ceiling. That’s where it stays all the way down to the parking lot. My arms get tired from the uncomfortable position, I have to stand on the tips of my toes and stretch my arms up, cursing myself for not making enough effort in gym class. Clearly the C I got was too generous.

When the elevator doors open at the parking lot, I hurry to put the cloak back on and, hunched over, make my way to the row of cars we own.

I choose my G500 Mercedes jeep because for some reason it suits my sneaking around. Aside from its black color, its windows are tinted too, which will make it easier for me to drive upright instead of staying bent down to avoid the security camera on the left side of the exit. Perfect. Ms. Belle Fucking Bond.

I put Trent’s address into the built-in GPS, after finding it on the invite making the rounds on the popular kids’ social media, and I start driving where it tells me to go.

Trent lives in a New York suburb, so I’ve got a relatively long drive ahead of me. I hook my phone up to the car’s media system and choose an appropriate playlist for a party atmosphere.

I have no idea what’s popular when it comes to music these days, but it’s enough to put ‘party’ into Spotify and the app does the rest. I sing along with the artists – the words repeat themselves and they’re pretty catchy – and I dance along in the driver’s seat. It’s pretty good work considering I’m a brand-new driver on a New York street, and I’m filled with a sense of pride. Looks like driving is another skill I’ve discovered in myself tonight, along with my styling skills. And my spy capabilities.

As the skyscrapers disappear in the rearview mirror, and the scenery around me changes, I assume I’m getting close to my destination. A monstrous and well-lit house appears aftera while, and the group of teens lounging on the front lawn confirms that I’m in the right place.

Wow, the neighbors are pretty forgiving to these just-graduated teens. It must be awesome to have good relationships with the neighbors, though I wouldn’t have a clue about that either.

I take a parking spot that’s pretty far away, since most of the guests made it before me, and I walk towards Trent’s house, passing faces that I recognize from school corridors. Their confused expressions tell me they're trying to figure out who I am. That, or they know who I am, and they're baffled as to why I was invited.

The sounds of music erupting from the house are overpowering, and as I walk through the front door I’m almost deafened.

“Bell-bell, you’re here!” Trent calls out. I twist my face. We’ve gone from Bella to Bell-Bell? Okay.

“Hi,” I shyly say, waving a hand.

He carves a path through his friends, swaying on his way to me. When exactly did he find the time to get so drunk? I turn to stone as he hugs me tightly, and manage to get a grip on myself and hug him back so I don’t come off as a weirdo.

He steps away from me and reviews my appearance, and suddenly I question my fashion choices. When he smiles, I decide I pulled it off after all.

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