Friday afternoon and the sun settled high in the sky casting slanted rays of sunlight through the kitchen window of a small country home. Outside the heat was unbearable and the humidity was even worse. An old, weathered fence shuddered in the faint breeze that brought only momentary relief from the blazing sun while pumpkins and hay bales decorated the yard. Halloween had come to the sleepy little fishing town of Hopesdale, Louisiana and everywhere decorations filled the yards of the citizens’ homes.
Caileigh hid from the heat of the afternoon sun in the cool air conditioning of her house. She was seated comfortably overlooking the table that looked as though a library had thrown up across the once clean surface. Books and papers littered the table creating chaos. Words and diagrams peered up silently from open pages and lined paper that held notes she had taken from class. A sigh fell passed her lips as she stared at the mounds of research that lay before her like a canyon that she could not see across.
She fidgeted in her chair when she heard the hinges from a door creaking behind her and she turned her head to see her roommate walking out.
“Hey, Lance,” she said smiling warmly at him.
“Hey, Caileigh. What are you doing?”
“Homework. Research.” Caileigh shrugged her shoulders and laughed. There was obvious boredom in her expression; an almost desperate need to occupy her mind with something other than homework.
“Fun.” Lance walked toward the refrigerator door and opened it only to peer inside with a vacant look on his face.
He couldn’t remember what he was looking for as he stood there gawking into the cold fridge with an expression on his face that one could only describe as comical. Caileigh turned her body, twisting it so she could face him. Baby blue hues watched him as he stood in the doorway of the fridge as if she was perplexed by what he was doing.
“Trying to cool the whole house, via the fridge?” There was laughter in her tone as she shook her head.
“Uh, huh? What?” Lance peered up at her as his face began to turn a deep shade of red that moved to his ears. The color was bright like a lighthouse beacon that guided ships inland.
“Never mind,” Caileigh said with a soft laugh. “So, have any plans this weekend, fish-bait?” Her eyes settled on him.
Fish-bait. That term was one of those endearing nicknames that Caileigh used for Lance. She would never forget that day either. A summer barbeque at her family’s home and she had invited a handful of random people just so she didn’t have to be at the party with her parents older friends. She had just returned to Hopesdale after spending most of the year at a private school in New Orleans. Caileigh didn’t know anyone and couldn’t invite people. At least not until Lance had run her over and quite literally bowling her over with his body. She yelled, he apologized and out of desperation she invited him to the party which he reluctantly accepted. Poor, shy, Lance didn’t have a clue what was in store for him.
He had come to the Kharg estate not expecting that he would be invited to swim in the family’s man made pond which at the time was home to a very colorful and friendly Koi. No one would have guessed that the Koi would familiarize himself so well with Lance who had never been in a body of water outside of a bathtub. He had floundered like a fish at the affections of a lonely Koi and Caileigh delighted in the awkwardness of her new friend. Caileigh endeared the nickname fish-bait to Lance since that day.
Lance finally moved away from the fridge after grabbing a small bottle of water. He looked at Caileigh, focused on her soft blues and moved to sit at a chair beside her.
“I don’t really have any plans.” He uncapped the top of the bottle and took a deep drink of its contents.
“Me either. The boyfriend is out of town.” Caileigh’s tone remained neutral on that topic.
“Oh? Well, we could do something if you like.”
“Oh! We could check out some haunted houses!” Caileigh’s eyes brightened with her suggestion.
“You mean those campy haunted houses with fake skeletons and actors dressed in badly
designed costumes?”
Caileigh looked at Lance while he ranted about the cheesy haunted house attractions and couldn’t help but start laughing loudly at this.
“Yeah yeah, those! It’ll be fun. You know it would be,” she said.
“Okay okay. I’ll look on the Internet and see what I can find.”
“Yay! A night without homework, should be fun right?” She grinned widely at him as she shut her book and watched him stand to head to his room.
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