Cursed To The Alpha

Chapter 26

We are woken by persistent loud banging on Janie’s front door. ‘You expecting anyone?’ I ask Janie.

‘No, maybe it’s for my mother?’ Janie yawns.

Mrs Twittlebug shouts out for Janie and me. Her call for us echoes up the staircase. We quickly change from matching pyjamas to casual clothes, ensuring my tail is tucked in, and my beanie is on. We bolt downstairs to find Imogen trembling with fear in the front doorway, hugging herself.

Mrs Twittlebug stares at us, ‘This girl said she’s a friend from school, but I’ve never seen her before.’

‘Oh, er, yes, Mum, this is Imogen from the academy,’ Janie says, awkwardly introducing her.

‘It’s nice to meet you, Imogen. I’m Mrs Twittlebug,’ she says, but Imogen won’t take her eyes off Janie, her eyes water as she tries to speak, but the words won’t come out.

‘Are you all right, Imogen,’ Janie’s mother asks. ‘You’re shaking terribly. Are you cold? Let Janie make you one of her special teas. She learnt the recipe from her grandmother,’ Mrs Twittlebug says proudly.

Imogen makes eye contact with Janie, ‘You knew I was going to die. You were right about the car accident,’ she says shakily.

‘You were in a car accident?’ my mother asks, concerned.

‘Thanks to Janie’s warning, I wasn’t. If she hadn’t warned me-.’

Janie quickly grabs Imogen’s hand and pulls her behind her into the kitchen, away from her confused mother. ‘Let’s make you that herbal tea,’ Janie shouts over her shoulder.

‘Imogen will be fine, Mrs Twittlebug, no need to worry. Janie and I will take care of her,’ I say as I awkwardly follow Janie and Imogen into the kitchen.

I watch Janie quickly brew a chamomile and kava herb tea and discreetly wave her hand over it, whispering a quick chant, then passing it to Imogen. Janie then quickly checks to see where her mother is and sees her outside a window gardening.

We wait patiently for Imogen to take a few sips of tea. The trembling subsides, and her breathing steadies. Imogen eyes the tea suspiciously but is also surprised at how it’s helped so quickly to calm her down.

‘Imogen, what happened,’ I ask her.

‘When Janie told me she saw my death after I was to get into a blue car at night. I thought she was crazy. I thought she was just trying to scare me, but then when you locked yourself in the cubicle with me, warning me again. The look in your eyes told me you were being serious. Although I know being able to predict things is impossible. I couldn’t stop thinking about the party and the car and the thought of it being true. I almost didn’t go to the party, but Martha, Sandra and Tori convinced me to go. Then after the party, one of the guys who had been drinking heavily persisted that he drives us home. Sandra said she’d be upset if we didn’t take the offer as it’s the guy she’s always had a crush on. So, we followed Sandra and the guy to his car, and I felt the most eerie feeling as I saw his car was blue. Martha and Tori got in the car with Sandra, and then they became angry at me, as I didn’t want to get in the front passenger’s seat or the car at all. They told me if I was going to be a weirdo and ruin their night of fun over your stupid predictions, then I’m just as dumb as you both, and that I couldn’t hang out with them anymore,’ she says, taking a deep breath.

‘I had my hand on the car’s door handle. I was going to get in, but then my body froze as if someone had cast a spell over me, and the only way I could move was by stepping backwards. Martha turned her nose up at me and said it looks like I’ve made my decision then the guy sped off down the dark road. Not even a minute had passed, and I heard the smash. I ran as fast as possible, and when I arrived at the scene, they had just crawled out of the car, covered in cuts and bruises. The car was wrapped around the tree, with the front passenger seat being where the car hit and bent. If I had gotten in that seat, I would have been crushed to death on impact. The police and ambulance came, and I couldn’t take my eyes off the passenger seat. I couldn’t even move to help Martha and the others as they crawled out and lay there waiting for help. I was taken away in the ambulance for shock, and then I spent the whole day unable to speak as everything that happened before the accident, the warnings you both gave and then the aftermath of the accident kept replaying in my mind. It wasn’t until later that night, last night, that I could finally speak and was discharged. My parents wouldn’t leave my side all night when we got home, and then I told them I was coming here to work on a school project this morning. I figured if I told them the truth that I’m alive because of your prediction, there’d be no way they’d believe me,’ she says.

Janie and I glance at each other somberly, then back at Imogen. Janie takes her tea, places it on the side table, and then takes Imogen’s hand. I then move closer and take Imogen’s other hand.

‘We’re so glad you’re okay, Imogen,’ I say in a soft meaningful tone.

Imogen stares between us, ‘I don’t understand why you would want to save me. I have never been nice to either of you and hang out with your worst enemies at the academy,’ she says.

‘You haven’t really been horrible to us either,’ Janie smiles. ‘You’re the only one in that group who never went out of their way to bully us. In fact, it felt more like you never even noticed us, isn’t that right, Rose?’ Janie says, looking at me.

I nod and smile.

Imogen frowns, ‘I noticed you both all the time. Even though everyone thinks Janie is a little weird. You are still the most beautiful girls at the academy and the most talked about. Why do you think Martha, Sandra and Tori hate you both so much? They’re jealous. They even claim they’re prettier and should be the most popular. I didn’t think it was fair to bully you for those reasons. I don’t agree with bullying in general. I knew if I were to stare or spark conversations with you, it would annoy Martha and make her bully you both even more than she does,’ Imogen explains.

‘I rang Martha before I came here this morning. To talk to her about the car accident and make sure they were all okay. Martha was angry at me, and she said I’m a freak and to stay away from her and her friends, that Janie is a crazy witch and has cursed me,’ Imogen says.

Janie and I both jolt and stare at each other, biting our lips with worry.

‘Martha didn’t even ask me if I was okay. She didn’t even care that I was sent to the hospital in shock,’ Imogen says and cries into her hands.