After two hours of near-endless coding, Genevieve dragged her aching body to the bathroom. She grimaced at her reflection. The curls at the base of her braids were a bit rough and her eyes. Gosh, those dark circles. The Panda eyes were getting worse. She made a face before turning to fix a quick shower.
Even bathing proved difficult. She ended up spilling shower gel on the floor, and for some infuriating reason, the heater wouldn't work properly. When she pulled on her nightshirt, she was irritable, hungry, and ready to devour whatever concoction Lisa came up with.
Genevieve discarded the idea when she entered the kitchen.
A mountain of filthy pots, pans, and bowls was stacked in the sink. What she guessed was flour dusted the counter on several spots, and two eggs lay smashed on the floor. The only positive thing about the chaos was the aroma in the air. Frowning, Genevieve took a long sniff, trying but failing to name what was making her salivate like crazy.
"What happened?"
Lisa turned and beamed at Genevieve. Her face was smeared with flour and what looked like brown food colouring. "It worked! I made my first cake."
"Cake?" Genevieve blinked, trying but failing to make sense of what she just heard. "You baked a cake for dinner?"
Lisa grinned and nodded. "Aha."
Genevieve's shoulders dropped as she made her way around the landmines on the kitchen floor. "Look at the place." She walked past Lisa and inspected the wall. "Is that margarine?"
"I'll clean it up," Lisa said, tone breezy and excited. She gripped Genevieve's shoulders and steered her towards a neater part of the kitchen.
"Tada!" Lisa waved a hand with flourish.
Something large, brown, and misshapen sat on the small table. There was no way that was dinner. No way.
"What do you think?" Lisa bounced on her feet, an unsure smile forming on her lips.
Genevieve stepped closer and observed the 'cake'. It resembled a large clump of mud from one angle and a crushed top hat from another. What were those white circles on it? An edible thing shouldn't look like that.
"What's this?" Genevieve shifted her gaze to her still beaming cousin.
"What?" Lisa's smile faltered. "Isn't it obvious? It's a cake."
"Good Lord, Lisa. That looks like some random giant took a dump in the middle of my kitchen. What are those white things on top of it?" Genevieve observed the cake warily. "I think it's eyeballing me."
"Stop hating." Lisa produced a gleaming cake cutter and plates. "I bet it'll taste bomb. Come on, have a slice."
Genevieve shook her head hard. "Nope. I'll pass on this one."
Lisa butchered the cake anyway and dumped a dense slice on each plate.
"Go on, have a bite." Lisa pushed the plate forward.
Genevieve eyed the brown disaster with misgiving. "You know what," she forced a smile, "I'm not hungry."
Lisa's eyes grew serious. "I need feedback on my first attempt at baking. See, I'm taking a bite." She shovelled a forkful into her mouth and chewed.
"What the..." Lisa furrowed her brow as she stared in wonder at the cake. She took another forkful, moaning as she chewed. "You need to try this, Viv. Damn." She paused chewing and thought for a second. "If it doesn't taste good, I'll give you those Jimmy Choo you've been begging for."
No way. Genevieve drew nearer, eyebrow cocked in disbelief. "No jokes?" That pair of shoes was insanely expensive and stupidly gorgeous.
Lisa shrugged and took another bite. "Yep, cross my heart."
Genevieve grabbed the plate and took a bite before Lisa changed her mind.
"The hell am I eating?" Genevieve stared at the cake, thoroughly stupefied. How could something so disgusting-looking taste so heavenly? What sorcery was this? It tasted chocolaty with faint traces of caramel. There was also this... this divine taste of something else. She couldn't recognise or describe it. Even the texture of the cake was sublime. It melted in her mouth, flooding her taste bud like nothing she'd ever had.
Wow.
"I guess that's an 'A' huh?" Lisa asked, hope shining in her eyes.
"Nah. Don't flatter yourself. It still looks horrible."
Lisa tossed her dreads over a shoulder and gave a proud shrug. "It's the taste that matters. I'd go clean the kitchen. Don't finish the cake."
***
That night, Genevieve and Lisa lazily watched reruns of Impractical Jokers and stuffed their faces. It felt like the cake had a high effect because every prank in the show made them bray like donkeys, slap their thighs, and hoot.
It was 12:15 AM when they decided to go to bed. Half asleep and disoriented, Genevieve made her way to the bathroom. Even though she was exhausted, she was happy and light-headed. As she absently dragged her panties over her hips and walked out of the bathroom, she didn't notice the spilled shower gel on the floor.
Her fall was swift and painful, but almost as soon as a sharp pain exploded at the back of her head, it disappeared. Groaning in confusion, Genevieve sleepily stared at the ceiling for a solid minute.
"Nope, not getting up." She turned over and managed to crawl on her hands and knees to bed. Thankfully, sleep came the second she pulled the sheet over her head.
***
"Hey, wake up!"
Genevieve shifted and hugged her pillow tighter.
"Come on, wake up," the voice urged. It sounded like a child's, loud and high. "Getting up early is a trusted success regimen."
Genevieve pulled the pillow over her head and sighed as sleep gently lulled her back into its loving embrace.
"It's 9 AM already. You're so late for work, I bet that nice boss of yours will fire you this time."
Flinging the pillow aside, Genevieve rolled off the bed in a tangle of sheets and confusion. Hopping on one foot, she stumbled then landed hard on her butt. She blinked like an owl then frowned at the sound of a giggle. "Huh?"
That's weird.
Then Genevieve saw her.
There was a child sitting at the foot of her bed.
Gripping her chest, Genevieve sprung to her feet and crashed into her dresser. She glanced at the small silver-rimmed clock at her bedside. 6:02 AM. What was happening? How did a girl end up in her bedroom? Cold sweat formed at her brow as her head throbbed in time with her racing heart.
"You look like you saw a ghost." The girl glanced behind her. "There is no ghost behind me."
Genevieve stared. The girl was probably seven years old. Dark curly hair held in two buns. Extremely cute facial features that seemed almost cartoonish. She had on a white shirt and dark pink jean dungarees.
"Stop staring," the girl said and observed her feet as if she was suddenly shy.
"W–what are you doing in my room?" Genevieve detangled herself from the sheet and approached the girl.
"Hi." The girl waved then suddenly squeaked and pressed her hands against the sides of her face. "Oh boy. I'm so excited. Is it obvious I'm excited? Forget I asked that. My name is Adarosa, call me Ada for short."
Shutting her eyes and drawing in a long breath, Genevieve cupped her forehead. "Look,"—she pointed at the door with a lax hand—"I need you to leave. Tell Lisa to take you back to your parents."
"I don't have parents."
Genevieve sucked in a breath. No, Viv. Calm down. Do not go there. Ghosts do not exist. She could smell Lisa all over this.
"Lisa!" Genevieve called out in anger. Maybe watching Impractical Jokers last night was a mistake. Her stupid cousin must have woken up super early just to piss her off.
Turning to the still smiling girl, Genevieve nodded at the door. "Come with me." She didn't wait to see if the girl followed before matching straight for Lisa's room. She had gone too far this time.
"I can see the future," Ada said in a low ominous voice. "I see you looking and sounding crazy."
Genevieve gritted her teeth but ignored her. The child had a mouth on her.
She pushed Lisa's door open. The troublemaker was still asleep, her pyjamas clad legs thrown apart and a map of drool lining her cheek.
Ada stifled a giggle or tried to.
"Wake up!" Genevieve pulled Lisa's leg.
"Lemme," Lisa mumbled and drew her legs to her chest. Genevieve only pulled harder until Lisa sat up and rubbed her eyes.
"What?" Her voice was gruff from sleep. She scratched her neck and pouted, eyes still shut.
"Explain this." Genevieve pointed at Ada. "Did you invite one of the neighbour's kids over again? You know I don't like it when you do that without my permission. And so early? Why?"
Lisa blinked slowly before looking in the direction she pointed. "What kid?"
"This isn't funny!" Genevieve clenched her fists and stumped her foot. "I woke up to a child in my bedroom for heaven's sake! Don't you think that's too far? Bringing a child into your pranks. Are her parents aware you did this?" Genevieve wanted to throttle Lisa.
"I can't see anyone, Viv. Please, it's too early. I'm going back to sleep." Lisa plopped into the bed and pulled the sheet over her legs.
Genevieve snatched the sheet, balled it, and chucked it across the room. "Take this child back to her parents."
"What are you talking about, Viv? Are you okay?" Lisa groaned and dragged a hand over her face as she sat up. "There's no one here with us."
Something about the way Lisa spoke made Genevieve pause. Her cousin wasn't joking. She was observing her with genuine worry, all traces of sleepiness gone from her eyes. Genevieve gulped before slowly turning to face Ada. Unease crept up her spine.
"Told you you'd sound and look crazy, but ya'll never listen to kids." The girl laughed and snapped her fingers. A bowl of popcorn appeared in the crook of her arm. She assumed a lounging position in thin air. "This will be interesting. Carry on." She grinned before stuffing her mouth.
Refusing to accept what her eyes were seeing, Genevieve pointed in the girl's direction with a trembling finger. There was a ringing in her ears; the sound rose, drowning out Lisa's voice.
"I've gone mad. Oh my God, I'm insane." Genevieve gripped her head, unable to tear her eyes from the child happily munching popcorn.
Maybe I'm high. Am I dreaming? Is this a prank? No, it's not a prank. Lisa wouldn't go this far.
"Maybe she's some sort of demon..." Genevieve mumbled. Was the room spinning?
Ada cocked her head. "Demon? You mean like this?"
The girl's appearance suddenly morphed to a tiny red devil, complete with small horns, a tail, and a trident. The weirdest part was that the avatar actually looked cute. Genevieve gawked as strength left her legs.
"Nah, that ain't me. I'm an angel... an angel of love." With a puff of white, her appearance changed. Dazzling silvery robe, large wings, bobbing halo.
The girl spread her arms, smile wide and expectant. "What do you think?"
Genevieve crumbled to her knees as she struggled to breathe through the tightness in her chest. "Lisa... something isn't right."
The floating child drew nearer, eyes round with what looked like worry. "Are you okay?"
No, just no. Genevieve toppled to her side as a sudden dizzy spell hit her. Lisa rushing over was the last thing she saw before darkness came.
________________________________________________________________________________
How would you react if you were Genevieve?
Boy, I would call on Jesus and all his angels. 😂
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Love y'all