I Accidentally Summoned a Demon

Chapter 1: Unexpected Guest

Katherine clutched the script to her chest, keeping it covered with her cream cardigan as she rushed through the rain to her house. The sun wasn't down yet but the dark clouds above made it so it seemed dark. She tried to avoid puddles as she ran down the uneven sidewalk and avoided the street when cars passed by, hitting water that piled up in the gutter and spraying it everywhere.

By the time she made it home, the rain had soaked through her cardigan and got several of the script pages wet. She sighed and set the papers down on the kitchen table before peeling off the cardigan, hanging it on the back of one of the wooden, kitchen chairs. She kicked off her boots and peeled off her socks, letting them drop to the floor with a loud slop.

Her auburn hair stuck to her skin as she tried to pull it back behind her shoulders before grabbing the wet papers and spreading them out on the wooden floor. A circle made the most sense to her, then she could just sit in the middle to read them while they dried and not have to get up. So she laid them out in order in a circle before going to her bedroom.

Water had a way of making everything stick, making it hard to get undressed, especially when wearing leggings. Katherine peeled off her clothes and at first was tempted to leave them in a bunched up pile on the bathroom floor. She stared at the pile and scrunched up her face, knowing full well she'd be mad at herself later if she didn't at least lay them out flat.

She hung up the wet clothes and got in the shower shivering. It took a while for the hot water to soak in and take away the chill though it didn't seem to fully leave. Closing her eyes, she tried to rid herself of all the annoyances from the day. Having to run home in the rain was really the last annoying thing that happened.

Acting was always something she wanted to do but she'd always been incredibly shy. She longed to be like the people who had confidence enough to go on stage and she'd finally worked up the nerve to audition for something last semester. She only had a small part in the play but it was enough to encourage her to try again, for something bigger. Auditions were tomorrow and while others had gotten together to practice, her awkwardness had her being left out of the group running lines and going for pizza afterwards. In fact, Ashley made a point to say Katherine was not invited.

As if that wasn't bad enough, her year and a half crush on Jason Macker was still going strong and now Ashley had her eyes set on him. Katherine felt invisible most the time but especially so when Ashley walked in the room. Today, Jason hadn't even graced Katherine with a small smile that she often got although they rarely spoke to each other.

There was also the minor fact that Ashley was going for the same part Katherine was.

Katherine breathed in and out deeply, trying to let the heat from the shower calm her nerves before she went back to practicing her lines. She wanted to do well tomorrow, she'd been working very hard and wasn't about to give up just because of a bad day.

After the shower she worked in leave-in-conditioner to keep her curly hair as tamed as possible before putting on dry leggings and an oversized cable-knit sweater along with wool socks. That chill wasn't completely gone yet so she decided to stay bundled and make a hot drink.

The old wooden floor creaked under protest as she made her way past her circle of papers to the kitchen. It was an open floor plan, except for her closed off room. She started the tea kettle and grabbed her favorite mug, an oversized mug with the Oscar Wilde quote "With freedom, flowers, books, and the moon, who could not be perfectly happy?".

She opened the cupboard and stared at the contents, fully aware she should probably stick with an herbal tea of some sort to help her relax so she could sleep before auditions. But there was also hot chocolate. Hot chocolate had too much sugar and would probably keep her awake.